Don’t Touch The Biscuits!!
Having recently worked with junior candidates as well as teams needing to hire, the divergence of talent attraction strategies between the large firms and SMEs is becoming even more stark.
In the previous article we covered the benefits for the employer so let’s discuss the candidates.
The repeating theme is to not join a brand because it’s a brand!!
In a large grad scheme or associate intake you will be drip fed, focused on producing raw information without experiencing the rest of the project or deal.
You can attend meetings, but NOT speak and NEVER think about having a biscuit. No one will ask your opinion.
There is a better option
At a smaller player you will be a critical resource, overall skill sets will be much improved and you quickly be able to:
· Apply your knowledge to deliver meaningful work.
· Obtain real, deal experience.
· Develop your influencing ability.
· Really demonstrate your hard skills.
· Grow your emotional intelligence.
· You can have an opinion!!
BUT (and this where character and fit comes in).
You must use your initiative.
The scrutiny your work will be under will be much, much higher and there will be nowhere to hide!!
Be Brave And Different
This should be a win win. I know the big firms have to filter huge application numbers but this is a great opportunity for the rest of the market.
In the current environment the opportunities for ambitious graduates are much more varied. If you have the right soft skills to go with your technical skills the careers are out there!!!!
Cut Out The Middle Man!!
Cut Out The Middleman!!
We have all experienced this first hand:
You meet a steady stream of cookie cutter CVs with all the right brands and the same education.
They sell themselves well in interview and even ace the modelling tests….somehow.
However, once through the door influencing skills are exposed, your ultra confident candidate struggles to build relationships internally and externally, and the great modelling or design skills don’t materialize.
Traditionally smaller firms have tapped their junior candidate pool from the fountain of large banking team, pharma or consultancy.
The large firms you grew up in have created a machine that is perfect for their needs and resources, you can’t blame them.
But these needs are now very different for a boutique business or scale up.
Having seen this first hand with smaller asset managers, the small and medium businesses are missing a trick!
Relying on the apex employers to train the right talent for you, is let’s be honest, a little lazy and, more importantly the skill sets have diverged over time.
Those big firms have the bandwidth to develop analysts over time and a huge, deep structure to keep promoting every 2 years.
This is a luxury most don’t have.
A Different Approach
Hire the person not the CV. Don’t be blinded by brands.
The interviews you had in your 20’s don’t engage the candidate in 2024.
Having a candidate meet 8 people who ask the same questions will not assess them properly and lead to a failed process as there is no key decision maker.
Screen for emotional intelligence. This will help with “culture fit.”
Use case studies to test actual skills such as modelling or design but also how they influence whether it’s a good deal or not.
It doesn’t cost you much time or funding given the benefits on offer.
Even the smallest team can reap the rewards of the right junior hire:
Develop and nurture a sustainable talent pipeline through relationships with schools and colleges.
Empower you junior managers to manage and develop people. Creating a new cohort of leaders.
Increase engagement and retention.
Gain bandwidth to deliver more deal due diligence or product development.
Lower payroll overheads.
Grow your employer brand and keep you culture current.
Develop diversity throughout your team.
Give depth to your organisation meaning not everyone is a Director or Principal!!
Develop succession across the organisation.
With the benefits above small firms can revolutionize their teams and leave larger competitors in the war for talent behind.
One Small Step For Man. One Giant Leap For Gradkind
Traditionally smaller firms have tapped their junior candidate pool from the fountain of large investment banking team, pharma or consultancies.
The large firms you grew up in have created a machine that is perfect for their needs and resources, you can’t blame them.
But these needs are now very different for a boutique business or scale up.
Having seen this first hand with smaller asset managers, the small and medium businesses are missing a trick!
We have all experienced this first hand:
You meet a steady stream of cookie cutter CVs with all the right brands and the same education.
They sell themselves well in interview and even ace the modelling tests….
However, once through the door influencing skills are exposed, your ultra confident candidate struggles to build relationships, and the great modelling or design skills don’t materialize.
Where’s the problem??
It’s at source
Grads need proper help at university around the opportunities their study can open up, the scale of the marketplace and basic interview skills.
I have been working with an excellent undergrad searching for his sandwich year placement and have been amazed by his experiences so far:
His university provided a list of the largest firms around…………... That was it!!
No guidance with application processes.
Video Interview – No, not the one where you speak to a real human. The one where you speak to yourself, answering a set of questions.
This is probably going to be the hardest stage for someone who has limited experience in interviewing or selling themselves, unless they had been on the X factor or The Apprentice.
Being someone who is bright, engaging and high EQ my undergrad does well with humans but the initial stages of assessment screen high EQ people out.
Rather than producing academic robots colleges should prepare bright humans.
This is where the diversion needs to be.
The salesy, polished interviewer who is successful in the large grad rotations is not always the person who will be the right choice for an SME.
This is a great opportunity for other hiring teams. They need bright, high EQ people who are motivated and self starters.
The hole in the big firms talent funnel is leaking great candidates more suited to a smaller more nimble team.
Also, the access to the market means there are now a lot of firms where, as a talented undergrad, you can gain the right level of experience while adding real value to an organisation and a great culture.
Chaos to Culture
Chaos to Culture
ITS CHAOS !!!!
(Although a former founder called this COWS!!)
“OMG I have all these people!!! I love the managing the business and the portfolio, I need these people but do I have to manage them myself?”
This will sound very familiar to loads of founders or CEO’s across scale ups but more pertinently within the private markets.
Many organisations start with a team they worked with before. They have;
Success in starting their business and fund raising.
Need smart people to handle scale and hired a cool little team through referrals.
Before you know it you have people who didn’t join with the founders and need to understand what “us” means.
The newbies have ambitions, want to learn more and be rewarded in line with the market.
CULTURE - DEFINE “US”
This grows in the beginning people join you and its great!!!
If you can define what the deal is and what you want “us” to be like and stick to it then you a large percentage of the “bad HR stuff” will not occur.
I often get asked by new CEO’s; “Why do I need HR?”
Although not exhaustive the key areas are because…………
Speed
You will hire into an organized structure, defined roles and responsibilities. They are easy to sell, mean that the new people are productive earlier and see their path in the team. More importantly its clean and fast. Time is money!
Cost
With basic people needs being met your team will be productive quicker and you wont waste money rehiring. An engaged team will be bound to your objectives and give you free effort.
Risk
Immediately setting up basic guidelines and policy might sound dull. However, it immediately means your people know you have their back and can go a long way to defining what sort of employer you want to be. It removes a huge amount of people risk from your fledgling firm.
Human resources doesnt have to mean an army of people with a rule book. Starting off with some simple steps can add to your company performance while removing a big chunk of risk when its the last thing you need.