Job Hype Ineffective In China

By Frank Mulligan, Talent Software

Itís no great news for us to say that job seekers have choices. The problem in China is that they have so many choices that power rests almost entirely in their hands.

As a result, one of the things that they can do is ignore you. This is actually worse than if they were to say bad things about you because most professionals have sufficiently well developed judgement to read between the lines when someone rants about your company. Ignoring you signifies a degree of distain which is something most of us find difficult to handle.

So what kind of things do they ignore?

Top of my list would be Job Descriptions. These often read like a list of characteristics that neither Jack Welsh of GE, nor Jack Ma of Alibaba, could ever aspire to. These are normally given, in no particular order, as Leadership, Teamwork, Initiative, Methodical Approach, Creativity, Persistence, Hardwork, Focus, Results Orientated etc. etc. etc. If we were to follow the logic of many Job Descriptions the two Jacks would never be able to get a job. Most of us would be unemployed, while offices and factories would remain empty.

If this wasnít serious it would actually be funny.

Itís worth noting that many of the characteristics listed above are mutually exclusive. Creative people can produce great results but often only when you leave them alone to do it. Expecting them to be inspired within the constraints of a tightly knit group simply does not make sense. Expecting them to be methodical is verging on the ridiculous.

The second thing that professionals ignore is advertising. I think a majority of professionals have a 6th sense when someone is tryng to pull the wool over their eyes. Much of what we see in recruitment advertising falls into the area of branding and marketing. It promises the world but delivers little. And everyone knows what it is so they ignore it.

The third and most personal thing that candidates can do is ignore you. This arises because highly sought after professionals in China are interviewing you as much as you are interviewing them. A lot of the time they donít like what see, and because you have such a small history with them, you cannot tell what it is that they donít like.

Whatís worse is that they will never tell you. At interview they will appear to pay attention to what you are saying so that you donít lose face. After all, from their point of view, there may be something to be achieved above and beyond the interview itself. Developing a relationship that might yield a result in 10 years is a reasonable 1-hour investment for many professionals in China.

So if you are in HR please leave out the Where will you be in 5 years time, Mr. Candidate? Focus on the value of your company to the candidateís career, and the culture fit between your them and your organisation. Basically, prepare the individual for an interview with the line manager so that he only has to deal with the technical issues.

If you are a line manager dig in deep with the candidate on technical and process issues. Challenge them with a simulation or work sample, and tell them honestly what it is that they would be expected to do on the job. Leave the cultural fit issues to HR.

Letís all skip the hype.

Comments to: frank.mulligan@recruit-china.com