Recruitment in Finance: How to sell yourself in an interview

Selling yourself and your organisation throughout the recruitment process is becoming more and more important in today’s candidate-led market. The interview stages are no longer a simple step-by-step process per department, it’s crucial to be open to adapting your recruitment process to suit the type of person you’re looking for, as well as the level of position. Here at Page Personnel we want to help you hold interviews and promote your brand effectively in order to attract and hire top talent.

With the technology we have available today, assessments can now be done online and through video. Being open to different interview techniques will enable you to reach candidates further afield and showcase your flexibility. It is important not to stick to looking in the same areas to recruit for talent, if you’re looking for a particularly niche skill set, then a targeted advertising campaign on relevant job boards and social media is a great way to attract talent you may not have been able to reach otherwise. 

Regardless of the role you are recruiting for, we recommend speaking to a top recruitment specialist. Of course they will help you find a suitable candidate, but they can also provide a wealth of information on candidate availability and skill set, salary benchmarking, and what route to take in order to find the best people.

It is important that you are prepared to sell the benefits of joining your organisation throughout the interview, this will ensure the candidate leaves with a positive impression. Find out what the candidate’s main motivators are and the career goals they have set themselves, and discuss how these can be achieved for them within this new role. This will highlight the potential future development they have within your business. If possible, use examples of other employees with a similar background to them who have had career successes within your company to bring this message to life.

The first thing candidates will do after looking through a job spec is to research the company via their website. Your website will show a reflection of your business on a wider scale as well as the company culture. A website that isn’t user friendly may deter the top talent from wanting to join your organisation as this is a direct reflection of your business as a whole. 

It is important to look at your company reviews on Feefo, Glassdoor, Trustpilot  for example, to see what past employees have said about you. Most candidates will look at this information before the interview to get an honest sense of the organisation.

The best people to show your company culture, values and overall message, are your current employees. There are a variety of ways you can use your employees to attract new talent, launching a ‘refer a friend’ scheme and incentivising your staff to market your company to their personal and professional networks will broaden your horizon, and potentially reach people that were out of your range before.

Utilise an area of your website to showcase written interviews, case studies or videos of existing employees talking about why they love working for your business and what their journey has been since joining. This will resonate with potential new hires as they picture themselves in a new role.

Employers can often make the mistake of conducting an interview that’s too rigid or structured. This doesn’t give room for the candidate to show their personality. Conducting a more informal first interview and using this as a fact-finding exercise for both parties can create a relaxed environment, and allow you to discover if the candidate is the right personality fit for your team and wider organisation.

The second interview stage can act as a more formal discussion around their skill set and job history, as well as drilling down on certain areas from the first interview that you want to discuss further. Give the interviewee the opportunity to express themselves and you’ll discover who they really are.

If the perfect candidate comes along don’t hesitate. Hesitation is one of the main reasons companies aren’t securing new hires. There is a decline in top talent becoming available in today’s market, therefore, it is important that there are no gaps in your recruitment process. This will ensure you aren’t missing out on the best candidates. Any long pause or period of silence from your side will most likely lead to candidate uncertainty.

If you are looking to hire in the finance sector, please get in touch with one of our recruitment specialists today to discuss all of your hiring needs.

Associate Director, Page Personnel

T: 01753 826 351

E: chrismcelkerney@pagepersonnel.com