The candidate experience - how employers can punch above their weight

While most recruitment related headlines focus on the rise of AI and the chronic shortage of graduate opportunities across the economy, the untold story is how hard it can be to fill roles requiring more experience. Competition for high calibre senior quantity surveyors or senior buyers that can take a team to the next level is often fierce.  So, what can you do to stand out from the competition?

Strengthen Your Corporate Image

Anyone who has tried to sell a role into a candidate will know that mentioning the  employer or project can immediately pique or lose a candidate’s interest. Stronger candidates may require some encouragement to engage with opportunities at brands they haven’t heard of or don’t immediately appear to fit their aspirations.

Corporate image is not easily built or transformed (for the better) overnight. Instead it is a combination of how former and current employees speak about the business; it’s reputation around treatment of suppliers and subcontractors; the reputation of leadership teams; perceived consistency of delivery on live projects; and industry awards and press coverage.

The companies that do this well are those that have embedded a core set of values, designed reward structures to reinforce them and then proactively and consistently communicated them. This corporate image is particularly important when employers are looking to engage candidates who are not actively job hunting.

Sharpen Your Employee Value Proposition (EVP)

EVP is the implicit or stated reciprocal expectations of the organisation and the employee. It goes beyond the employment contract and stated roles and responsibilities to include the unwritten expectations of both parties to one another. For the employee it will include expectations around remuneration, flexible working, work life balance, company culture, career development etc. For the organisation expectations of the employee will include an adherence to or ideally embodiment of the company vision, values and culture.

The more clearly articulated the vision, values and culture are, the less opportunity there is for the expectations of the employer and employee to become unconsciously misaligned. Where there is conflict between the company’s understanding or enactment of the EVP and the employees’ expectations it can unsettle a team and lead to individuals prioritising their agendas over those of the organisation.

During the recruitment process candidates will quickly, and generally unconsciously, pick up whether the employer has a clear EVP and how well it fits with their own expectations and values. The better the recruiter or hiring manager is briefed about the teams aspirational and actual EVPs (there will normally be a gap), the more aligned the shortlist of candidates will be. Transparency around the gap between reality and aspiration can often encourage better candidates at a mid to senior level to engage in the process.

Prioritise the Recruitment Experience

For most candidates, the recruitment process is their first real insight into how your organisation operates. It will either confirm or challenge everything they’ve heard.

And it will set expectations for the future.

Again, clarity and consistency from everyone involved in the interview process is often a differentiator. Think about: the role (including career development) and responsibilities; the employee value proposition; the company vision, values and culture; and the team’s role in the organisation.

However, expectations are not only set by the content of the interviews but by the structure of the process. Poor communication or missing deadlines undermines confidence in the company’s competence and makes candidates question (at both a conscious and unconscious level) whether the employer values them. It is little surprise therefore that employers who stick to their original timeline are more successful at attracting the better candidates. The ability to meet self-imposed deadlines shows respect, professionalism and competence that gives candidates confidence.

Finally, the recruitment process is not simply about the employer looking for strengths and weaknesses in a candidate and setting expectations. It is also an opportunity to sell the role by finding out what motivates each prospective employee and then tailoring pitches and offers accordingly. By considering “remuneration” in the widest, most flexible possible terms, employers can often build an offer that excites employees far more than a competitive base salary. For example, different aspects of the EVP will resonate with different employees. Hiring managers can leverage flexible working; a commitment to environmental standards or social benefit; a highly structured career plan to commercial leadership; a particular commitment to training; a particularly strong project pipeline; or a focus on performance incentivisation depending on the prospective employee’s motivations and so differentiate themselves from the competition.

Conclusion

Attracting the top talent is rarely a case of offering the most money. It is about leadership. Organisations that are clear both internally and externally about their vision, values and expectations and consistent in how they embed those, generally attract better candidates who are aligned with the business’ interests. And this perpetuates a virtuous circle. Stronger hires reinforce the culture, enhance delivery, and elevate the organisation’s reputation—which in turn makes it even easier to hire the next wave of high-calibre people.