How to attract the best experienced talent for senior roles

As all recruiters know, filling senior positions with great candidates can pose a real challenge across almost every sector. There are significant costs involved (in time, productivity and even in staff morale, as well as money) if you employ the wrong person and have to start again a few weeks or months later. So, how can recruiters attract the best senior level candidates for their role?

In this article, we look at key considerations when recruiting for senior roles and highlight things that can help make the process quicker and more effective. 

Don’t try to rush the recruitment process

It’s a challenge when the important senior role needed to be filled yesterday, but rushing into making an appointment is often counterproductive. The specialist skillset and experience that you’re looking for will usually mean that your pool of potential candidates is narrower than for less senior roles, but taking a bit of time to carefully consider the options is always worthwhile. 

There is a balance to this. Taking so long to make a hiring decision that your first pick candidate ends up finding another role in the meantime is not something you want to encounter, but by using specialist tools like a candidate search platform, you can identify top talent quickly and hit the ground running, reducing the amount of manual work you have to put in to the early stages. 

Consider the importance of cultural fit

While cultural fit has importance for every level of employee, it tends to move up the priority list even further for senior roles. A shared ethos and goals that your new senior hire can buy into is essential for a good long-term fit. The way that you market the employer and the role can play a big part in effectively communicating the company culture, as well as the other specifics of the job. 

Emphasise inclusive policies

Recruiting and retaining great talent for senior roles can be assisted by ensuring that inclusive policies are implemented and communicated effectively. Having inclusive policies in place can not only mean that you potentially attract from a wider pool of candidates, but it can also be a strong retention tool at every level of the employer’s business. 

Some potential examples of inclusive policies include:

• Ensuring that reasonable adjustments and accommodations can be made for employees when required
• Flexible working arrangements
• Mental health and wellbeing support
• Menopause/Menstruation policy
• Inclusive language and communication

Utilise existing employees to help with recruiting for senior roles

Nothing is as effective as seeing or hearing from existing employees about the positives of working for a specific company. And this doesn’t mean sticking a microphone in front of an employee and asking them to list why they love their employer, while their employer looks on – it means capturing genuine under-the-hood content of the business operating and telling the stories of employees thriving in that environment. Social media is the perfect platform for this kind of content, helping to communicate what it’s like to work there and highlighting potential paths to further progression and growth. 

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