The Working Environment

1 year ago

When most people think about recruitment, whether they are the recruiting business or the applicant, their focus is generally the role, its requirements, the daily duties, the skillset of the person, their experience and qualifications. The considerations, both from the perspective of the employer and of the candidate, can often place a disproportionately narrow emphasis on the individual and the role into which they will fit, rather than contemplating the often most impactful and yet commonly overlooked factors – the wider team, company culture and working environment.

A candidate will generally seek out “the role” they are looking for, the salary and the status. They will research the company itself – but regularly with a view to answering any posed questions in an interview setting rather than with the intention of deciphering the company attitude, ethos, and in a nutshell – whether or not they would enjoy working there.

The same error often befalls the employer themselves. They may focus on the person they want and fail to consider the likelihood of successful integration into the larger team or indeed, into the organisation itself.

Most of us have experience or will know someone who has taken an apparent dream job, only for it not to live up to expectations or pan out as planned due to friction with other employees or mismatch between company and employee values or attitudes. Similarly a company may recruit the seemingly perfect candidate who simply doesn’t gel with the rest of the team. The team has such a large impact upon the successful conjoining of employer and new employee, that it merits larger focus. For their part, the new employee often knows during their first week – if not instantly – whether the environment is one into which they will fit, whilst the welcoming organisation will undoubtedly also have an opinion.

It isn’t a case of fault, of someone being “difficult” or of a company being “bad” or “good”. As in the case of all relationships, – friendships, life partners etc, it simply comes down to whether or not both sides are suited to one another.

For this reason, NXT encourages all applicants to focus not just on the role, but on the type of place they wish to work. Attention is given to a candidates personality, attitude, likes and dislikes when determining where to place a prospect or whether to proffer them for interview, whilst factoring in the company’s character, culture and identity alongside.

NXT’s recruitment manager, Emma Lindsay explains “It’s all about the match, and that’s one of the things upon which we pride ourselves here at NXT.

Unlike many other recruitment agencies, we don’t just look at CVs and job descriptions. We place enormous emphasis on getting to know our clients well, both businesses and applicants, and only via doing this can we marry up the two in anticipation of a successful outcome.

I would encourage all applicants to consider factors other than purely the job role, such as the wider company structure and environment. Ask yourself, where are you most likely to flourish? Where would you fit best? Instinct is often the best indicator. If something looks to be the preferred option for you on paper, but after interviews and research your gut is pushing you in another direction, listen to your gut”.