A very enlightening article in the Arabian Gazette described some huge mistakes that recruiters make when seeking candidates for Middle Eastern firms.
Though some of these blunders are universal and not strictly limited to recruiters in that particular area of the world, some of them touch directly on the biggest mistakes employers can make when trying to attract high calibre candidates (usually described as executives but not limited to that role).
Interestingly enough, the filling of management, executive, and other key roles seems to be a struggle in the region’s firms. This is due to more than just employer mistakes during recruitment efforts, and includes:
- Telling and selling – A lot of effort goes into making firms appealing to job seekers. Known as an employer branding, this doesn’t always touch on the things that higher caliber employees will find important. A different strategy may be essential to attracting the appropriate candidate.
- Positioning the work as an immediate need – Few experienced professionals are going to feel comfortable pursuing a position that is not a good fit to their overall career goals. If you are describing the work as filling a more immediate need rather than as one that can shape and steer the department or firm, you may not get attention from higher caliber recruits.
- Not actually seeking the “best candidate” available – Hiring experts advocate always having face to face meetings when hiring upper level employees. However, there is a distinct trend in firms not talking to and meeting with enough of these high caliber candidates to allow quality to be accurately gauged. Noting that a “bell curve” must be created through the selection of candidates, one expert indicated that meeting with too few high level candidates does not give an accurate portrait of the very best.
- Hiring the best interview – High level candidates are bound to be persuasive and effective people. Unfortunately, this can make it too easy to hire the person who performs well in an interview, but who may not perform well on the job. In other words, be careful about evaluating only the personality.
- Avoiding specialized recruitment services – If you have access to a specialist recruiter familiar with your industry, niche, or Middle East location, you may find your recruitment efforts far more successful. They can help you refine job descriptions and even clarify goals that will allow you to identify and attract the most suitable candidates available.
Hiring higher level recruits is difficult, and particularly if you are going to hire non-domestic professionals to handle significant projects or jobs. Being aware of the mistakes listed above can help you and your recruitment team to avoid the biggest (and often the most costly) errors.
Though some recent statistics pointed out that corporate career websites are a popular recruitment tool in many Middle East firms, there is still a lot to be said for working with recruitment companies with well established relationships throughout the region.
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