Finding the right professional staff can be challenging for a financial firm.
As financial recruiters, we understand the consequences of making even a single bad hire. Our years of experience in financial recruitment have provided a key takeaway — asking the right questions is only part of finding and successfully placing a long-term hire.
We Know What Can Go Wrong.
Over the years, we have seen it all: Not asking the right interview questions, not having enough time to interview all the candidates thoroughly enough to compare them, frustration over sifting through candidates from recruiters who are new in their roles or don’t understand the role or fit. So often, we see firms focus on the big picture and leave the details unexplored.
Initial interviews need to involve questions that will ignite more insightful views of the candidate, the role and how they truly fit into your company’s culture and long – term goals.
The interview process takes time. The most efficient option is to hire a professional recruiting firm. Candidates for roles in private equity, hedge funds, and investment banks need to be carefully vetted. Only a recruiter can provide that dedicated time and efficient process.
Delegate The Daily Management of The Hiring Process.
If you need to free yourself up to manage your own business, while maintaining your own hiring momentum, partner with a recruiting firm.
Not all recruiters are the same. Anyone can flog resumes around in the hope that one is the right fit. Our recruiters take great care to ensure that all stakeholders work toward the same goal and that everyone’s interests are aligned. We believe a good hire starts with the screening process.
We pride ourselves on the three simple reasons our screening process is so successful:
1. We are scrupulously honest.
We are honest, sometimes to our own detriment, but it’s been our experience over the years that being candid works for our process. We don’t stretch the truth. We work very hard to give you the straight story.
We are direct with candidates and clients alike. Because we strive to be authentic, candidates and clients know that we’re always representing them accurately. We never misrepresent a job to a candidate and likewise, we never misrepresent a candidate to a Client.
2.We work diligently to make the right fit.
Our job is to find the right candidate for your role. We know that it is expensive to recruit. That’s why our firm’s partners conduct our searches for private equity and hedge fund investment professionals and investment bankers, not inexperienced associates looking for a set of key words on a resume.
We also take into consideration what our candidates’ long term career goals are and what a client’s firm can offer them. If they take the role, we want to make sure it’s with a place they will want to stay for the long term. If goals don’t align, we know that is unlikely to be a strong match.
For us, it’s important that we take the time to get to know our clients and their culture. Not all environments are identical, so it’s critical that we consider all the factors that make up a firm’s culture.
What are the values, behaviors and experiences of the organization?
Does the client describe the actual culture or the aspirational culture?
What kind of personality does a candidate need in order to fit there?
By making sure that we understand our client’s culture, our recruiters can better assess which candidate will best fit as a new member of that organization.
The reason we have a track record of long-term tenure for our placements is that we do take the time to get to know all parties involved.
3.We evolve with the Industry.
Our process has worked for us for many years, but our process evolves with the market. We stay on top of industry trends, but we find it invaluable to learn from every candidate and every client.
It’s important not to get stuck in one way of doing things. Taking a dynamic approach that entails some adaptation of the new, while we remain true to core values, has brought us success throughout the years.
Don’t Waste Time on Another Hire You’re Unsure About.
Download our recruitment readiness audit to uncover how your organization can make the most of your next recruiting partnership.
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Not ready for a recruiter just yet? Here are some creative interview options to keep in mind.
Interview Over Lunch
Going out for a meal can reveal a lot about someone.
Is the candidate considerate of others?
Do they display good manners?
Do they get irritated or flustered over the service?
These behaviors may indicate how the candidate might treat other staff or how they’ll respond in a stressful project situation.
Alternatively, send the candidate out with the team and leave the hiring manager behind. They will see if the candidate will mesh with the rest of the team. What are their initial impressions or takeaways?
Take a Tour
Stay in the building and show candidates around your company. If confidentiality is not an issue, introduce them to some colleagues. Are they genuinely interested in how the company is set up, how people work together and the true culture of the office? It will also provide the candidate with a sense of the firm’s day to day environment.
Ask Insightful Questions
Astute candidates will be prepared for all the canned interview questions,and will try to find clever ways to turn any negatives into positives.
To get beyond rehearsed answers, ask questions that help assess the candidate’s personality. Behavioral questions or brain teasers help to see how creatively a candidate thinks on his feet and if they can handle the unique challenges of the position.
Try to go deeper with your interview questions, for example:
Tell me about the worst mistake you made in your current role. How did you handle it and what did you learn?
What do you do when you have a fundamental disagreement with your boss?
How do you stay motivated when work becomes discouraging and markets turn against you?
How would your co-workers, friends and family describe you?
If you found this article interesting, you might also like our post, “7 Ways to Nail a Telephone Interview”
