To highlight the importance of competencies in the recruitment process, the Midlandjobs.ie website has now uniquely had a new field to our job listings screen, especially for Key Competencies. We strongly encourage employers to consider using competency based recruitment techniques in 2021.
Of course skills will always be important for securing a job anywhere. And yes, good qualifications are often a minimum requirement. However there does seem to be some disruption to the usual norms of hiring going on right now, amid the uncertainty of a pandemic-hit jobs market of 2021.
In fact, the only certainty about the supply of talent this Summer, will be uncertainty itself. Uncertainty about how many skilled new hires a business will need before the end of this year. Uncertainty around how many qualified candidates will be available, already located on the island of Ireland [and are therefore not subject to hotel quarantine]. Uncertainty if overseas candidates will even be free to travel this year to take up jobs in the Midlands.
The adoption of Competency-based recruitment techniques in this scenario, could provide employers with the chance of securing suitable staff, even in this restricted pool of candidates.
Competency recruitment is to an extent, about focusing only on the absolute MUST HAVES!! You’re reading the cv and asking yourself if there is any evidence of your pre-designated key competencies. So even if there may be some shortcomings in the skills and qualifications, if those key competencies are present at all, you could potentially proceed through the stages of the recruitment process with this candidate.
The key to success is in deciding what those key factors are as you write up the job description and job ad, all of which takes a little longer at the start. It also makes the job of the pre-screening that little bit more onerous. But it’s at that all-important point of hiring that the hard work pays off in spades. Now you know that while your successful candidate may not be coming to you necessarily with all of the boxes ticked, they certainly have come through as having the ideal “attitude” and approach to the job you’re hiring for. You know they will hit the ground running and they will be a safe pair of hands. You can at least hope that you’ve uncovered a gem and that your hire will turn out to be a win-win for both the company and the candidate.
Silver Lining
From a candidate point of view, many may not realise that the demand for talent in many sectors continues unabated, despite the disruption to business caused by the pandemic. Could this be the opportunity that many talented local candidates have been waiting for? – their moment to shine. And the good news for candidates is that competencies (not to be confused with aptitude) can actually be developed throughout your career. You can train yourself for competencies.
We know in Midlandjobs that there is no shortage of competency in the Midlands. Naturally occurring, home-grown talent, already located in or in some other way connected to the Midlands region of Ireland. In a normal year, international job-boards help to channel cv’s through from overseas candidates. And so the eyes of employers may inadvertently be drawn away from local talent. It could be very beneficial therefore that local candidates strike while the iron is still hot in 2021 and keep a close eye on job opportunities with local employers on Midlandjobs.ie and all job boards used by Midlands employers.