Hiring Paranoia

Paranoia is the unaccredited power which drives must of the hiring marketplace.

Employers are concerned about missing out on better candidates so much, that even when they interview a great one, who ticks all the boxes, they still ask to see more. They hesitate in making the commitment of a job offer, because they wonder if a slightly better candidate is out there. Their biggest fear isn’t that the new hire will turn out to be bad, but that they find a better candidate a week after filling the job.

Conversely, candidates have the same neuroses, worried that they’ll find and accept an offer, but totally miss out on their dream role because they just didn’t know it was open. The “Hidden job market”, thousands of job boards, career-sites, and agency websites, make it impossible for any candidate to have confidence that they are aware of every opportunity in their field, and consequently that they might miss out on the perfect one.

With such uncertainty on both sides, is it any wonder that hiring and jobseeking are fraught with this natural paranoia, and a minefield for anyone hoping to remain sane throughout the process?

When assessing any recruitment website, I am looking for signs that the author of each job advert, the designer of the hiring process, and the people behind the running of a successful recruitment website have these pressures in mind, and do everything they can to engender confidence in candidates by sharing as much as possible, being open about the hiring process, and reassuring them of the fairness of the steps to getting hired.

At the point of offer, all candidates want to feel certain this is the right move for them, and all employers want to feel the same. Attention to all details of the candidate journey are proven to pay dividends when it comes to offers accepted, and new hires commencing work when expected.

IMPORTANT DATES:

Nominations will open on Tuesday 3rd August at 9:00AM and closed on Monday 6th September at 5:00PM.

All registered and nominated sites will be considered carefully by our Shortlisting Judging Panel, to arrive at the list of this year’s Finalists.

The Finalists for the National Online Recruitment Awards 2021 will be announced here on Tuesday 5th October.

Our Winners will be revealed at our in-person online awards event, held on Wednesday 10th November.

Stephen O’Donnell
Chair of the NORAs