A recent Sterling <a href="https://www2.staffingindustry.com/eng/Editorial/Daily-News/UK-A-third-of-employers-say-their-direct-competitors-are-beating-them-in-the-race-for-top-talent-64337">study</a> reported that employers are losing top talent to competitors, due to slow hiring processes. Of the jobseekers surveyed, a huge 71% revealed that they had dropped out or considered dropping out of their most recent interview process.  The top three reasons for this were; the process was taking too long, too complicated, there were too many stages.Your interview process is your first impression. Long gone are the days of hoop jumping and unreasonable tasks. Instead, the competition for talent demands fewer interview stages; that are well structured, over a period of 1-2 weeks. You might feel this is an unreasonable ask, to make a decision on a potential candidate in a short space of time, but your competitors are already doing it.So, how do you create a positive candidate experience whilst maintaining confidence in your interview process? Here are some tips for achieving both:PlanAlthough the ideal interview structure will vary based on the company and role-seniority, in general an ideal structure includes 3 stages: a video call, a face-to-face meeting and the offer.  Any skills-based or technical testing can happen during the face-to-face or as a take-home test. Clear communication of this timeline upfront helps manage expectations and reduce any frustration.Prepare Refer back to the job description, which qualities and skills are important for you to assess and how will you do that? Typically, competency-based questioning is used. It allows you to assess their skills, knowledge and abilities and this can be necessary. What it doesn&#39;t provide however, is deeper insight into their interpersonal abilities. This is where a behavioural-based conversation is important, particularly in a start-up, where this person will be a part of shaping your culture. What motivates them? How capable are they at strategic thinking and problem-solving? How do they approach difficult situations with colleagues? You want to create an open and honest conversation about their background and experience, without reducing it to a quick-fire Q&amp;A.Pitch The interview is an opportunity for you to communicate your why, your values and your mission. If you’re a founder, you may have pitched to many investors already, and you should look at this similarly. It&#39;s your opportunity to sell your company and the role to the candidate. A sense of fulfilment is a key factor for every candidate looking for a new role. This often comes from feeling like a valued addition to a team trying to achieve a goal. Help create this feeling of value by explaining the business’ overall goal and how this role fits into the greater strategy.Process You need your interview process to leave candidates with a positive impression, regardless of the outcome. Like any relationship, you need to create a secure, trusting starting point if this is going to work for the long term. Aim to be approachable and create a relaxed atmosphere. Provide opportunities for candidates to interact with potential colleagues or tour the workspace, giving them a glimpse into your company culture. Prompt Be prompt in your decision making. Don&#39;t wait a week to communicate or make an offer. Negotiating an offer to secure a talented candidate can be another hurdle. But a great process and experience up to this point can be invaluable in your chance of making the hire. Or,  if you decide not to make an offer, make sure you still provide respectful feedback. This is vital for the longevity of your employer brand. Negative experiences spread much faster than good ones. Mastering the interview process is crucial for securing top talent. Being honest, transparent and prompt throughout the process will create a great experience for candidates. This will lead to better hires, more meaningful relationships and a strong employer brand. Start-up hiring requires more than just a few interview tips - we have a wealth of strategies and tactics to share.As your growth partner, we take pride in providing support wherever you need it. Whether it&#39;s crafting tailored cover sheets, detailed shortlists, enrolling you in investment accelerators or offering feedback on your pitch decks, we&#39;re here for you.<a href="https://findrs.co.uk/contact-us">Get in touch</a> to learn how we can help you succeed!

Are you driving away valuable talent with your interview process?

The Benefits of Working with a growth partner like Findrs if you’re a start-upI believe the first 10 people in a business should be recruited through word of mouth or a personal network. Afterall, the first 10 people are critical to a company’s success through first rounds of investment. Once you have received your first-round investment and you’re ready to scale you have a few options on how you find people. You could persist with the word of mouth method, but at the rapid pace that you try to scale this could be problematic. You could try creating your own ads and hoping you get applications, but this can be time consuming and there’s little guarantee that you will find the right person. Then you’ve got the Agency / Consultancy option. Which has many options in itself.  One increasingly popular option is working with a “Recruitment Growth Partner”. Growth Partners are agencies that work as a sole recruitment agent to a new business that enables them to grow at pace with top talent. What are the main benefits of working with a Growth Partner? You get a VP of Talent, Internal Recruiter and Executive Search Consultant rolled into one person / contact. <h5>A Growth Partner can act as a VP of Talent, Internal Recruiter and Executive Search Consultant in one</h5><ul><li>VP Talent – The strategic thinking person who helps shape the recruitment programme of the next 25 hires. Creates the messaging and talent branding needed to be successful in securing the best talent possible. Can be involved in standardizing recruitment processes like the Interview or offer Processes. </li><li>Internal Recruiter - The workhorse in the growth process. The person who painstakingly finds, attracts and qualifies profiles before putting them into formal processes with hiring managers. Can also manage relationships with External Recruiters if roles are particularly niche. Also accountable for the recruitment process and ensuring candidates are working through the process or being rejected. Is on the frontline for talent branding. </li><li>Executive Search Consultant – An Executive Search Consultants are required when recruiting for highly critical positions in the business. C-level and management people , Sales and Product  teams. They ensure they have scoured all available media and platform to present the best possible shortlist to the assignment. </li></ul>Having a growth partner that can wear all 3 of these “hats” means a more qualitative process and more cost-effective solution. <h5>You get someone who&#39;s customer obsessed</h5>Boutique recruitment agencies will tend to work across a large number of clients in a niche sub sector. For example Desktop Support professionals across London. This means they’re constantly on the hunt for new customers and not taking the time to full understand their customers – just the assignment. A growth partner will take the time to understand everything about the business currently and where you want it to be. Meaning they will get into the hood of you business, including: the Culture, Genysis, Founder origin stories, strategy. They will quite simply be customer obsessed and do everything they can to make you successful in terms of growth. Here at Findrs we’ve been known to spend a day or two at the office of a client just to understand them better. <h5>Terms and conditions may be geared towards start ups</h5>Start-ups have one particular monster they’re always fighting – Cashflow. Cashflow is rightly named the biggest reason for start ups failing. As a business lands new customers it will need to purchase resources and services to meet that demand. Sometimes the balance between revenue and expenditure gets offset and the business goes bankrupt. At Findrs we’ve tailored our terms to be start up friendly to ensure we minimise the risk of hiring people. Increased rebates, payment terms across a year and fair fees. <h5>Dedicated searches to every assignment</h5> “Specialised” Recruitment Consultants cycle their workload. They generate as many candidates and as many clients as possible and see what matches. It wouldn’t make commercial sense for these types of recruiters to use advanced recruitment techniques to generate candidates. This typically means when assignments are difficult, they will likely prioritize other “easily” completed assignments with other clients. This is particularly true for agencies that are part of a “PSL”. With a growth partner – an assignment is worked until it’s completed. This will mean a growth partner might go through advanced talent acquisition techniques to unearth that hard to find talent. <h5>A completely bespoke solution </h5>A growth partner will take the time to make the solution completely bespoke to your business. Coversheets, Recruitment Brochures and Recruitment Software all tailored to work best for you, meaning that you change the way the recruitment function works at any time. <h5>Need I go on? </h5>Are you a start up that needs help with headcount growth? Struggling with managing multiple agencies or just not getting results from them? Come and speak to us at Findrs about how we as your Growth Partner can be the difference between success and failure. <a href="mailto:Chris@findrs.co.uk">Chris@findrs.co.uk</a> | 0113 833 5855

Working With A Growth Partner

One of the key decisions every early-stage start-up founder faces is determining what roles will have the greatest impact and value at this pivotal stage of development. While it&#39;s natural to focus on finding the right people, it&#39;s crucial to define the &quot;what&quot; and &quot;why&quot; before the &quot;who.&quot; We&#39;ll walk you through the steps we use to figure out the roles and functions your start-up needs to thrive.
<h3>Step 1: Create an Organisational Chart</h3>Create a comprehensive organisational chart that clearly outlines the current roles and responsibilities of each team member. Emphasise the critical functions necessary for efficient business operations, categorising them into areas such as product development, sales and marketing, operations, finance, and customer support. Be sure to include any outsourced responsibilities as well. Since founders wear multiple hats, this step is crucial for identifying any imbalances in responsibilities.
<h3>Step 2: Identify Key Skill Gaps</h3>With your critical business functions in mind, identify the skill gaps within your current team. Ask yourself: what expertise is lacking that&#39;s essential to execute those functions successfully? Why is hiring to fill this gap important? Are you utilising your own time effectively, or could you delegate tasks to another team member or outsource them? We understand that relinquishing control over certain aspects of your day-to-day business operations can be challenging, but it&#39;s all about finding ways to optimise and enhance both your own and your team&#39;s performance. 
<h3>Step 3: Define Roles</h3>Once you have identified the skill gaps and critical functions that require support, it is time to create and define the necessary roles. Consider the title, responsibilities, and objectives of each role. In some cases, it may be possible to combine certain roles into a single position, reducing responsibilities and saving onboarding and salary expenses. Don&#39;t be afraid to add your own creative touch to role titles. Additionally, assess whether it makes sense to bring any outsourced roles back in-house. Start-ups thrive when team members can collaborate seamlessly across functions. As you make hiring decisions, ensure that the roles you bring on board can work cohesively. Something which is important to consider when deciding what functions to outsource.
<h3>Step 4: Budget</h3>A seemingly obvious, but important step to mention. Set a realistic hiring budget with contingency, to avoid unnecessary pressure. Consider factors such as current market salary, taxes, pension, onboarding costs, and any hiring expenses. Leverage the expertise of Findrs to benchmark salaries and gain insights into talent availability. Keep in mind the availability of talented individuals and the time it takes to hire for high-demand positions. You don&#39;t want to rush or make hasty hires out of desperation. 
<h3>Step 5: Prioritise Roles Based on Impact</h3>As tempting as it might be to hire for various roles immediately, not all roles will have the same level of impact on your start-up&#39;s success. Prioritise roles that have a direct influence on revenue generation, customer satisfaction, and product development. For example, hiring a top-notch salesperson might be more critical at this stage than hiring a full HR team, a role that you could outsource. Leveraging freelancers and contractors to fulfil specific tasks and projects allows you to access specialised skills without committing to long-term hires. <h3>Growth Workshops</h3>Findrs use these steps to facilitate team growth planning workshops for start-ups across the UK and Europe. Hiring decisions in a start-up can seem extremely overwhelming and critical, but by helping you to identify your critical functions and prioritising roles based on impact, you&#39;ll set a solid foundation for your start-up&#39;s growth. With a well-defined roadmap of what roles your business needs, you&#39;ll be better equipped to find the right individuals who can drive your vision forward. If you need assistance in articulating a list of responsibilities for a new hire or if you are uncertain about the role or its title, Findrs can offer valuable support.

Mastering the Art of Startup Hiring: 5 Essential Steps to Build Your Dream Team

<h4>&quot;Tell me about a time when...&quot;</h4><h4>
</h4>When it comes to interviews, employers want to get to know you — how your experiences have shaped you and how you respond to certain situations. Preparing for behavioural-based interview questions is essential to making a great impression. Taking the time to craft a strategy that includes all the necessary elements for success is key. Having a plan that reflects your personality and shares your unique strengths and motivations can really help you stand out. It&#39;s important to take the time to prepare and show your genuine self to employers.
While the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) has been a go-to framework, we&#39;ve got our own twist with SOAR (Story, Options, Action, Results). This approach focuses on the whole story rather than just specific circumstances, aligning your behaviour with the values and competencies of the company.
Story - The first step of SOAR is to tell a compelling story that sets the scene for the interviewer. These stories should captivate the interviewer&#39;s attention and clearly illustrate your skills and achievements. Instead of rigidly following a formulaic STAR structure, the SOAR method encourages you to focus on storytelling. Share engaging narratives that paint a picture of the situation, what was the context, who was involved, and what made it challenging.
Options - Next, showcase your critical thinking skills by discussing the various options you considered. Explain the challenges you faced and the different paths you contemplated. This will demonstrate your thought process and collaboration skills. It’s also important to show that you not only had good ideas, but also the ability to listen to others. What were your thoughts at the time? What factors were influencing your decision-making? Even if an option didn’t work as planned, focusing on the thought process of how you came to your decision can demonstrate your problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
Action - Now, explain what you did, how you did it, and why you choose that option. Use detail to show the interviewer how you approached each step of the process. Be sure to take ownership of your actions and decisions, and explain how you arrived at your final decision. Emphasise your thought process, resourcefulness, and adaptability.
Results &amp; Impact - Finally, discuss the results and impact of your actions, including quantitative results when possible. If you led a team to a successful project outcome, provide figures for revenue generation or cost reduction. If you improved a process, give specific examples of how it was enhanced and its impact on team productivity or customer satisfaction. But don&#39;t stop there; go beyond the immediate results and highlight the broader impact. Emphasise how your actions positively influenced the team or company, showcasing your ability to drive meaningful change and create lasting value.
Behavioural interviews can be an excellent opportunity for you to showcase your skills and experience. We suggest taking some time to think about your recent work experiences and generate examples that you can leverage during your interview. By using our SOAR framework, you can tell a compelling story that provides context for your actions, articulates your decision-making process, and showcases tangible examples of your impact. Be sure to practice ahead of time so that you feel confident sharing them during the interview. 

Best of luck! If you need any more help getting ready for your next interview, feel free to reach out to either me or Chris.

The Easiest Way to Ace Your Next Behavioural Interview

Searching for and applying to jobs can be tough and time-consuming, especially when there&#39;s intense competition for most roles - with some receiving hundreds of applications within a few hours. You need to make sure your CV stands out from the crowd and to do this, you need to have a general understanding of what happens once you’ve submitted your CV. Once you know about the CV filtering process, it becomes easier to optimise and tailor your CV to help you secure an interview.<h3>The CV Misconception</h3>It’s a common misconception that once you&#39;ve submitted your CV, it will instantly land in front of the hiring manager, who will carefully review every detail before deciding whether to offer an interview. However, the reality is different. The CV filtering process involves several stages, and you need to optimise your CV to increase your chances of securing an interview.<ol><li><h5>AI/Automated Software Search</h5>Keywords are critical. HR teams or recruiters use software to scan for key terms relevant to the job. This initial automated filtering process helps narrow down the large applicant pool.</li><li><h5>Manual Sift</h5>The HR team or recruiter performs a manual sift, usually reading the top half of your CV to assess your suitability for the role. This means that the content at the beginning of your CV is critical.</li><li><h5>Pre-Screening</h5>With a smaller pool of CVs, the recruiter may conduct pre-screening calls or pass the chosen CVs to the relevant team for further assessment. Based on this stage, candidates are selected for calls or interviews.</li></ol>Since your CV potentially has to make it through three different stages before even reaching a screening call, you need to be confident your CV will compete. Here’s how…<h2>
CV Writing Top Tips
</h2><h5>1) State Your Goals</h5>Be crystal clear about your career objectives and the industries you&#39;re targeting. This is especially important if you’re making a job transition between titles or industries. For example, “looking for a new role as a Chief of Staff in Health or Finance start-ups”. Doing this helps you qualify for the role as hiring managers will instantly see the relevance of your application.<h5>2) Utilise Prime Real Estate</h5>The top half of your CV matters the most. **It may be the only part read by a hiring manager so use this space to qualify yourself for the role. Avoid wasting this valuable space with unnecessary contact details that can go in the header. Instead, use this area to qualify yourself for the role and showcase your most relevant experience. The rest of your CV should reinforce your experience and qualifications.<h5>3) Numbers Speak Louder Than Words</h5>Provide evidence-based examples of your achievements. Use metric-based results to demonstrate your impact. For example: “Experimented with various email marketing software (Mailchimp &amp; BeeFree), using A/B testing to increase open rates from 27% to 54%”. Consider how much more persuasive that is than “Built email newsletters with Mailchimp and BeeFree”.<h5>4) Your Achievements List</h5>When it comes to giving evidence and metrics-based points, think of it like building an achievements list for each role you’ve been in. This is especially important for senior hires as recruiters want to see evidence of what you’ve achieved and the impact you’ve made. Always remember: hiring managers are hunting for the missing puzzle piece in their business. Your CV simply needs to prove that you’re ticking all those boxes and, therefore, are the missing piece they’re looking for.<h5>5) Stand Out Where It Matters</h5>Apart from refining your CV, consider where you&#39;re looking for roles. While LinkedIn and Indeed are popular, it can mean your application is drowned in a sea of competition. Instead try exploring lesser-known job sites like <a href="https://otta.com/">Otta</a>, <a href="https://www.cv-library.co.uk/">CVLibrary</a>, and <a href="https://wellfound.com/">WellFound.com</a>.Additionally, don&#39;t overlook traditional networking methods. Attend meet-ups (check out <a href="https://www.meetup.com/">MeetUp</a>), webinars, conferences, or industry events. Engage with founders and leave a lasting impression. Leverage your network and have a chat with some well-connected individuals – you’d be surprised how willing people are to help when you reach out and ask.<h3>
Need Help Perfecting Your CV?</h3>Writing a standout CV can be daunting, but by following these key principles, you&#39;ll increase your chances of success in the competitive startup job market. If you need a helping hand or some advice reach out to us at Findrs!

Why Your CV Isn't Getting Noticed and How to Fix It

If you haven&#39;t put together a careers page yet, consider this your nudge to create one. It doesn&#39;t need to be fancy or complicated (check out the Notion example below!) What really matters is that it&#39;s authentic. We&#39;re not just talking about a list of job openings here. We&#39;re talking about the first impression potential candidates have of your start-up. This is a crucial step when beginning to grow your team and attracting talented folks, so it needs to be more than just a list of job openings.Your careers page is a crucial piece of showcasing your employer brand. Your employer brand is the way you communicate your identity to potential candidates and employees. It exists regardless of whether you invest time nurturing it or not.It&#39;s who you are as an organisation, your mission, what values you stand for, and why people would want to join you on the journey. Investing even a small amount of time will make your hiring efforts much more effective. When candidates visit your website and social media pages, they want to learn more about your company and what you can offer them. You should outline the learning or progression opportunities, the work environment, the tech stack or cool products you&#39;re building. They need to imagine what it would be like to work with you, making them feel that they can make a difference and will be supported. Show candidates that you genuinely care about their well-being and development. 
Key elements to include: <ul><li>Your mission and values. </li><li>Your story. (Humanising your brand is a powerful tool!) </li><li>Any awards or press.</li><li>An introduction to the team (even if it&#39;s just the founders!) </li><li>Employee testimonials. (People listen to people.)
</li></ul>Examples of great ‘Why work with us’ pages from other successful start-ups:<a href="https://nousforyourhouse.notion.site/Nous-careers-d717fd8e80dc422ea7130e8ec6f37294">Nous</a>
If you&#39;re a Notion fan, you&#39;ll love this one. It&#39;s longer, but the content is engaging and authentic!<a href="https://figures.crew.work/jobs">Figures</a>
Watch the funny video at the end. They&#39;ve easily built this through using their Applicant Tracking Software. They also offer lots of benefits and perks. Just keep in mind that if you&#39;re at an early stage, you might not have all of those yet. So instead lean heavily on what you can offer!<a href="https://chillchain.net/who-we-are">Chilli Chain</a> 
Their &quot;About&quot; section is split into &quot;Who We Are,&quot; &quot;Our Values,&quot; and &quot;Why Work With Us.&quot; I love how they focus on career progression and diversity. Their &quot;Our Values&quot; page is great too.If you need any help crafting an attention-grabbing &quot;Why Work With Us&quot; page, improving your recruitment process, or finding your next team member, don&#39;t hesitate to reach out. We&#39;d love to hear what you&#39;re building!

Why a List of Jobs on Your Website Isn't Enough: Crafting a Simple & Effective Careers Page 

&quot;Unlock Maximum Agility: The Findrs Team Structure MethodAt Findrs, we understand the vital role that a decentralized team structure plays in fostering organizational agility. That&#39;s why we empower our teams to lead themselves, allowing them to move quickly and respond seamlessly to customer needs. To accomplish this, we work in pods of three: a Sales Consultant, a Delivery Consultant, and an Interview Process Management Consultant.To ensure that each team is equipped to tackle any challenge, we believe in assembling teams with specialized individuals rather than individuals with similar skill sets. This approach enables us to leverage a diverse range of perspectives and expertise, resulting in superior decision-making and problem-solving abilities.We also prioritize dependency over competition within our teams. By fostering a culture of collaboration and trust, we&#39;re able to establish stronger relationships between team members and function more effectively as a cohesive unit. It&#39;s more beneficial to have your teammates lift you up rather than push you down.As a startup, you can experiment with this approach in the early stages of growth to test its effectiveness. For example, you can form a pod with an Inside Sales Exec, an Account Manager, and a Customer Success person to serve a specific customer base. Or, a pod with a Backend Developer, Frontend Developer, and QA for a particular product line or feature set. The key is that they share a common goal and collaborate to achieve it.It&#39;s worth noting that this method isn&#39;t new. Military and special forces teams have worked in this way for years, recognizing that agility and team play are crucial to building effective teams.At Findrs, we&#39;re always seeking ways to optimize our team structure for optimal agility and productivity. By embracing these principles, we believe that we can create a work environment that is both productive and enjoyable for all. If you&#39;re a startup looking to build a strong, agile team, we urge you to adopt a similar approach. By giving your teams autonomy, fostering collaboration and trust, and building teams with specialized individuals, you&#39;ll be well on your way to creating a dynamic and fulfilling work environment. If you need assistance with implementing this type of organizational structure, come talk to us at Findrs about our Growth Planning workshops and how we build teams for high-growth businesses.&quot;

For queries and support, please email hello@findrs.co.uk

Unlock Maximum Agility - Why Findrs works in pods.

Explore More

Mastering the Art of Startup Hiring: 5 Essential Steps to Build Your Dream Team

Why Your CV Isn't Getting Noticed and How to Fix It

Why a List of Jobs on Your Website Isn't Enough: Crafting a Simple & Effective Careers Page