January 2024 and we begin with a topic that is often a stress point for both – organisations and professionals. For some reason this age-old problem never seems to change. You might disagree if your experience has been great. But many of us as professionals, find it a tedious task to “find” the right talent for our teams. And this has somehow not evolved in so many years.
Let’s first address lack of talent when looking at building your teams.
On innumerable occasions, we have heard leaders talk about lack of good talent, when it comes to PR agencies or the Corporate side of the universe. With the growing popularity of the Communications field, post graduate colleges and long-time existence of the agencies, one is left wondering on why this is even a problem. How did this issue not go extinct like so many other creatures? Or do we have great talent out there and are yet unable to identify them? The reality is that there is enough and more deserving talent out there and more than required opportunities across industries. After having engaged with enough hiring teams, across organisations and spoken to talent looking for a change (second or third jobs), have discovered that the gap lies in the way the candidate is shortlisted. Bringing on board talent is a criticial activity, for the long-term growth of the company, however most times this often rests with junior or mid-level team members in the resource team. Exceptions being senior roles being headhunted straight out there. So, back to the resource team, which often shortlists probable candidates basis the right or appropriate words used in their resume. Simply because the JD – job description – has been made with a lot of attention to detail. This document is what makes the resource team get into a robotic process, when hiring. They feel it’s a sacrosanct document and one that they need to follow, because the team hiring is far more equipped to understand the technical talent they intend to hire. Sometimes, this gap is corrected at the start of the process and many a times it’s never corrected. And that’s why a lot of brands suffer with building the right culture and ethos, to bring together a diverse set of employees together. Phew, too much information! Hiring a professional, for any team is a process involving multiple requisites and varied layers of human engagements. So, let’s try and make this more people-oriented and try to know the candidate as a professional, beyond just the resume. Maybe then a lot could be addressed.
Now comes the crucial part, finding jobs.
Interestingly an engineer turned social media maverick shared some unique ways to beat the online job portals. And then added a layer of changes to be done for every application, any candidate makes. A tedious task if you ask me. Because someone else once recommended to make a resume completely pictorial and not more than one page. The recommendations were endless. But what works as a brilliant charm is networking. When looking for a role, you need to evaluate the opportunity inside-out. Read all about its reputation-building capabilities over the years and then engage with people from that industry and category. This is the only way for you to realise if you are the missing piece of the puzzle or that perception and reality are poles apart. This exercise not only helps you sustain longer but keeps one motivated to learn and grow.
If your talent and passion is what you are being paid for, then you are walking the ikigai path. But if there is a disconnect then instead of delivering sub-par performance, curate your professional career differently. Just thought it’s a good start to gear up for change in 2024, with this discussion.
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Building brands through story-telling is what keeps me going! Having spent 18years in this industry, I am far more excited to experiment on what's next to unlearn. Worked with industries across FMCG, Oil & Gas, Technology, Fashion, Telecom, Media House, F&B and now Sports, my curiosity to craft a narrative only gets deeper. Marathons, Black Coffee, learning about Scotch and Malts, reading everything i can, travelling, are few of other personal passions that I happily pursue.
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