Creative Hiring - Expect the Unexpected

The new US President has no previous political experience, displayed a talent for breaking all conventions of electioneering, which has continued into government, and shamelessly pitched populist opinions to win. At face value he barely fit the requirements of the Presidential role and yet successfully secured the biggest job on the planet. Political sentiments to one side, he is a ‘left-field’ candidate if ever there was one!

Arguably everything a Head-hunter does is geared to finding the one right answer for a client; the right candidate.  If we accept that all of the candidates on a shortlist can ‘do’ the job, it quickly becomes a process geared to assessing how successful that person can be in that specific environment. The interview and assessment process is all about ensuring that candidates are able to articulate their successes and accomplishments in a manner that translates positively into the prevailing culture of their prospective employer. ‘Fit’ is everything. This process might sound plain and a bit ready baked, and conversely ‘fit’ could be seen as delightfully imprecise! Do challenge, disruption and creativity really play a part in a search?

The answer is a resounding yes. While the process seems linear, the challenge to the brief and consideration of disruptive approaches is usually done up-front, talked through in the briefing process, ensuring that the whole search team (client and consultant) are on the same page. This process of stretching, stress testing, projecting reflections of the market on to the hiring landscape and agreeing what good and great look like brings the brief off the page. At this point the job description stops being a two dimensional document, and starts to become a living breathing candidate.

Recruitment is a simple business. There have been no substantive innovations to the underlying recruitment process since the industry began. But it’s not process that differentiates. Creativity is innate and unique to each assignment. A creative search assignment is based wholly upon trust between client and consultant.