4 reasons why job interviews are JUST like first dates!

Valentines, you either go all mushy and romantic, or dismiss it completely. Is it a consumerism ploy, or is it really a day to show you love and appreciate your beloved? The debate is ongoing. However, this year at Express Recruitment, we’ve decided to embrace the love in the name of the Roman Saint Valentine, which got us thinking about the similarities between recruitment and dating.

Okay, it sounds a little weird, but stay with us, it really does make sense and there are more things in common than meets the naked eye.

Mutual attraction

To establish a relationship early on, having interests in common is of paramount importance. Whether it’s the love of a sport or hobby, lifestyle or even your doting love of fluffy woofers; that one thing in common really helps to create the ‘spark’.

Luckily for us, we have a glorious thing in common, Recruitment. Whether you are looking for a new role, or you are looking for the perfect fit for your role. We want to help you. Ensuring the recruitment is smooth from start to finish. The attraction of a job filled, brings us all together, whether that be from a recruiter, candidate or client point of view. And just like that, a beautiful recruitment, slightly polygamous, dating relationship is born. We don’t know about you, but we would like to see how things progress…

Communication

Now we have established the mutual attraction, we need to keep the communication to an optimal level. There’s nothing worse than having your date and dreading the first text or call afterwards. Who should do it? When should they do it? Should I wave at them on Facebook? Send a greeting by carrier pigeon? The questions go on.

Luckily for you, we’re your middle man, your guardian romantic angel who can help buffer these awkward times and can keep you in the loop. We receive feedback from both candidates and clients, aiding with any logistical issues along the way.

However, it takes two to tango (see what we did there, sticking with the romantic theme) and as such, two to make the recruitment process work.

We guarantee, whenever you have had relationship problems, your confident, self-labelled, ‘wise owl’ friend will constantly remind you that ‘communication is the key to success’. If you don’t give, you certainly can’t take, and this relationship is no different.

In order to maintain excellent balance in the recruiting process, constant communication is key. Keeping us updated with what you may be looking for as a candidate or a client, and how your ongoing search is going, is of vital importance. Has the specifics of your dream job slightly changed? Or even the technical skills needed for your perfect candidate? We need to know, so we can help you. Therefore in this instance, communication really is the key to your recruitment success.

Mutual contacts

Whether it’s a blind date or a drunken communication when you first let your new date around your mates, we all have a friend that will ‘put in a good word for you’. They provide a solid referee for the dating world.

Your new beloved will trust their opinion making you sound wonderful, whilst clarifying all the good things about you, and because you trust this source, you trust the information, and in turn, your new beau.

Obviously, a working reference is much the same. A reference from a trusted company can inform your potential new employer of your fabulous capabilities and wonderful, professional personality. With this information, employers can feel more confident in their choice of having you as their new employee.

First Impressions Count

After being referred by a mutual friend, you wouldn’t turn up to a date looking like Stig of the dump’s long lost backpacking cousin, that hasn’t had time to shower since leaving the Guatemala in August last year (your spiritual awakening can take a lot out of you, we understand). First impressions are incredibly important, especially in the interview process.

You want to seem smart and attractive to your date, and show you are quite simply everything they’ve been looking for and more – the whole package that they’d like to introduce to your parents!

Interviews with our clients or candidates have been arranged on the basis that we think you would be a great fit for the role, or because we have the perfect candidate that would suit your company’s culture. If this is the case, don’t be late or rock up scruffily, as your date wouldn’t think you were serious and neither would the employer. Be early, be professional and be fabulous.

So, this Valentine’s day, let’s all feel the love of the recruitment process, making it rewarding and as smooth as ever.

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