Over the years, we’ve witnessed the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to recruitment. Finding the right people for your business is always a journey, but it doesn't have to be a difficult one. We've come together to put our years of experience helping great companies secure top talent into a handy list of advice. Here are Initi8's eight top tips for businesses to remember during the recruitment process:

1. Nail your job description

Putting time and thought into the job description will pay off in the long run. Think carefully about the exact hard and soft skills the role requires. Avoid downloading a generic role specification, as chances are it won’t do the job justice.

2. Seek out and embrace diversity

Don’t count someone out because of their background, their race, their age or if they have a disability. Sometimes, the best people for the job are the people you least expect.

3. Let your recruitment agency do the shortlisting

Trust your recruitment agency to look through profiles and shortlist candidates. But work collaboratively with them by providing 3 killer questions to ask candidates. Your agency can then record the answers through a short video interview, to give you a flavour of your potential candidates.

4. Don’t lose momentum

Time is of the essence in a recruitment process, so be clear about what’s going to happen and when. Ensure your team is aligned by booking key dates in with them and planning ahead of time.

5. Make use of relevant technical tests

When recruiting developers for example, use pair programming exercises as this will efficiently show you the capability of the candidate whilst giving them a taste of your business. If you opt for a take home test, ensure it is short otherwise candidates may drop out of the process. We can help with this element using our testing platform and our testing partners.

6. Prepare for the interview as if you are being interviewed

The interview is as much a chance for you to sell your business, as it is for the candidate to sell themselves. So be on time, be presentable, have your questions prepared, have a location sorted and know your candidate’s name.

7. Prioritise quality over quantity of candidate experience

It’s not always about how many years someone has been in the industry; it’s about how they’ve made use of their time. A recent graduate could have made good use of their time in previous short internships and a quick learner to boot, or an older candidate looking to change sectors may well have invested a lot of time learning your industry before making the move. Give them a chance and they may prove to be the best hire yet.

8. Make meaningful offers

Ensure you make the best possible offer you can. It should be based on the value of your candidate, not solely on what you think they’ll accept. Get this right and you’ll build long term trust from day one. Make your offer via your recruitment agency, as they will be just as keen as you to confirm the hire.

Learn more about how we can help you build the best tech teams for your business here. For more industry insights and advice, join the Initi8 community over on LinkedIn and Twitter.