CRS NEWS - the Caribbean newsletter
for Petrochemical Industry Professionals
... a leading supplier of technical resources in the Caribbean
Issue 1.14
July-August 2008

 

Editor's Intro


Well, the "Summer" vacation is just about over and it's back to earning a living.  Hopefully, you are fired up and ready to reach for the stars.  This issue is focusing on how prospective employers should treat and respect "star" candidates.  Hopefully you are one of them.

NOTE:  Back issues of CRS NEWS are published at http://www.crsoilandgasjobs.com/Newsletter.htm.
 

Hiring Stars - what not to do

There's a big difference in the pace of life between a developed country and a developing Caribbean country.  T&T wants to reach developed status by the year 2020 and Jamaica has a deadline of 2030.  One area that will probably be hardest to bring to developed status is the speed of doing business.  Any business professional who has ever worked in North America or the UK/Europe will tell you that it is frustrating when Caribbean clients take a long time to make decisions (and it makes it hard to plan cash flow).

An example of this slow responsiveness can be seen in the hiring of staff.  While I have not been a recruiter outside of Trinidad, I have experienced being a candidate in the UK.  Over there, the recruiters in the agencies that I signed up with worked very fast (as we aim to do at CRS) and employers made their hiring decisions very quickly.  This was necessary as good candidates would receive a choice of  job offers with corresponding pressure to accept by a short deadline.  I can remember trying to delay decisions or having to reject offers because the company I wanted to work with took longer than the rest to make their offer (it worked out in the end).

In the Caribbean as elsewhere, it's always hard to find great candidates with a strong track record.  Yet there are employers who appear to believe that they can take their time and that these "star" candidates will still be happily waiting around for them.  The feedback we get from these top talents is that they feel ignored and disrespected, and this is a turn-off.  So much so that even if they have not secured another job, they will turn down the offer from the slow moving company as this tardy response reflects badly on how the company operates.

Another huge turn-off to candidates is having to do repeated interviews.  Two interviews is normal, three is OK for more senior people, but four or more and the recruiter has to bring all her persuasive powers to bear to get that candidate to turn up.  So many interviews suggests that the employer does not value the candidate's time or that they can't make up their minds about them.  Either way, it comes across as offensive, and believe me, it makes people ANGRY.

The final no-no in hiring top people is to make a lower offer than what was originally advertised.  There was a case many years ago of a highly-skilled foreign yachtsman who CRS submitted for a position for which no locals had the qualifications.  We told him the salary range given to us was very reasonable by local standards, though clearly much lower than what he was accustomed to earning.  Anyway, after much persuasion he attended an interview.  The hiring team were very excited as they had little prospect of seeing anyone else to fit their requirement.  They made him an offer on the spot - about $2,000 below the minimum they had given us.  Well, my man just got up, walked out, jumped on his yacht and sailed away, never to be seen again!  That time, we were also the angry ones as we felt undermined and made to look unprofessional.   Everyone lost!

When you are trying to woo rare talent (or any kind of talent) please respect their time and their sense of worth.  It's always an employee's market when it comes to star candidates.  Once insulted, they will never take the job and the company's reputation will be put in question.  Good luck with your head hunting!

Tell Us What You Think


(Referring to our last newsletter "Hiring Friends"
http://www.crsoilandgasjobs.com/Newsletters/Newsletter%20O&G%201-13.html)

A well written article, and should help reinforce that the correct process of recruitment could save much time and money over the long term. After all, if you recommend the person and they do not perform - who's reputation is going to suffer??! ... Susan

Appreciated the article, so relevant to my region, where someone is always a "good" friend or a distant relative who really needs a "job". HR personnel have a hard time dissuading Department Managers etc to step back and allow the Company's hiring policies and guidelines to run its course to enable the "best" person for the job to get the job.  In a highly technical company HR personnel seems almost limited at times to push for transparency since they rely on the advice of the technical mangers to recommend the best candidate for the job, and they unfortunately are also often the same ones pushing for their "friends" etc to get the job... Tricia

Have you had an experience where hiring someone's friend has turned out to be a disaster?  Please tell us about it.... Susan

We would love to hear what you think of this issue of CRS News. And of course, if you have any suggestions for upcoming issues that you would like to share with us, please send those too.

Comments, suggestions, feedback?
 

Subscriptions


You are currently subscribed to CRS News HTML as [Email]
If you find this information valuable then please pass it on to a friend.

Unsubscribe here
(using email address that you wish to unsubscribe)

Subscribe here
or click on http://www.crsoilandgasjobs.com/Newsletter.htm
to specify a different email address from your current default.

Psychometric Testing

LOOKING FOR A QUICK, CONVENIENT, INEXPENSIVE YET HIGHLY EFFECTIVE WAY OF TESTING THE SUITABILITY OF PERSONNEL FOR THEIR JOBS?

Have a look at this renowned UK psychometric test, now available online

Online Psychometric Testing

Who is CRS?

Caribbean Resourcing Solutions Ltd (CRS)

www.crsoilandgasjobs.com

.... a leading provider of technical resources for permanent and contract jobs in the Caribbean and elsewhere in the world.  We are based in Trinidad & Tobago.

We also do technical recruiting for Information Technology professionals. 
http://www.crsitjobs.com/

© Copyright 2008 Caribbean Resourcing Solutions Ltd.
All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

In This Issue:

  1. Editor's Intro

  2. Hiring Stars - what not to do

  3. Tell Us What You Think
     
  4. Subscriptions
     
  5. Psychometric Testing
     
  6. Who is CRS?

See our website for a complete list of JOBS

To find out more about a particular job below, click on the Job Ref below its description.

  New requirements include:

QA/QC Inspector (TRINIDAD):-
To inspect civil parts of the work, e.g. block work and foundations. Fill out inspection and test plans, inspect materials to ensure they conform to specifications etc.
Job Ref:SJ252

 Still urgently required::

Process Engineer (TRINIDAD):-
Assist in the safe and efficient running of the Plants. Involved in the management and planning of plant operations as well as management of a number of varying projects. 
Job Ref:SJ250

Senior Mechanical Engineer (TRINIDAD):-
Responsible for improving and ensuring plant mechanical equipment safety and reliability.
Job Ref:SJ249

Electrical Engineering Graduates (TRINIDAD):-
Multinational Companies seeking University Graduates (2006-2008), BSc Electrical Engineering. Graduates must be motivated, eager to learn and prepared for overseas travel. PLC experience will be an asset.
For more info contact Stacey  - Job Ref: SJ247

Engineering Specialist - Instrumentation/Control Systems (TRINIDAD):-
Perform and check moderately complex calculations and design for Control Systems and Instrumentation Engineering and other work using both computer-aided and manual design techniques.
Job Ref:SJ246

Field Service Engineer - Processing (TRINIDAD):-
To provide commissioning, preventive maintenance and troubleshooting services for the company as well as conducting training of customers' personnel.
Job Ref:SJ237