Recently a fellow entrepreneur asked me to take a look at a job ad that she had created for an account manager role. Now I believe that anyone who is accountable for customer relationship needs to truly live and breath the essence of a business. To be completely at one with it’s vision and values. It is not just about doing the job; it is about being the ‘brand’. A walking, talking personification of the beliefs of the business.

You may well think that I am slightly over the top when it comes to this. – however in every role at RedBalloon this has served us well. Recruitment at RedBalloon was transformed about six years ago to be a ‘dating game’ making sure that we both get to know each other. It is not one sided – more an opportunity to explore best fit. It is for us to establish not just what the candidates could ‘give’ to the business – but make sure they have an insight into what they can expect to ‘get’ – how their career will be enhance from being a part of our team.

We are not creating an entitlement culture here. More’s the point we appreciate that individuals doing their best work – create a team that is focused and playing to win a big game.

This starts at the very first interaction that we may have with a potential RedBallooner ie we have worked really hard on the language in all our different job ads. Making sure that there is nothing hidden, we are transparent and authentic. We know that RedBalloon is culturally not for everyone – it is important that we let people know that. We have a variety of roles currently listed on our careers page – take a look at the language we use.

We want authentic, values driven people – who may not be perfect. But will be when they are surrounded by high energy people playing a big game.

Whether you are an employer or candidate take a moment to re read a job ad – not from what you want – but what candidates/employers might be looking for. The ad may need to transform itself.

Be realistic when writing an ad. If you write it looking for a super hero, yet without the salary and conditions to match, there is a massive disconnect – your integrity is already in question. And if you are a candidate – you too cannot expect to be paid at the top level if you don’t have the skills, experience and values to match the role. (Best not oversell yourself either – your values will be in question pronto).

A third of Australian’s in their first month of employment have already decided when they are going to leave. The recruitment process has failed – perhaps on both sides of the table.

Recruitment is a dating game…

Advice to candidates: Be yourself, authentic and real – do not over sell yourself – you will be found out.

Advice to employers: Be yourself, authentic and real – do not over sell yourself, the company or the role – you will be found out.

Taking time to go through the ‘dance’ of recruitment is well worth the investment.

Good luck.

Here is the video we use as part of our recruitment process: