Gatwick Diamond Business | Our Perfect Candidate

Finding the Perfect Candidate is something of a dark art and, for me, it all rests on attitude.  In the past year, I’ve recruited three new people to my team, two of them are Apprentices, and I’m delighted with who we’ve got.

The organisation I run, Gatwick Diamond Business (gdb), is quite unique in that we are a Membership Body for businesses around the region.  We currently have over 400 members and we provide them with networking opportunities, publicity and the opportunity to influence issues that affect the local economy.  We are focused on customer delight as the members have a choice whether to belong or not and, like most businesses, there are competitors that our members can (and do) belong to.

So, in recruiting, I am looking for people who care about what they do, are proud to do it and are prepared to go the extra mile.  These are all rather clichéd terms, but they are important.

I’ve been told that our selection process is rigorous and that several candidates have found it daunting.  I don’t see that as a bad thing as we need to be sure the right people are in the job.  In my career I have definitely been in the wrong job and I know that happened as a result of me winning the recruitment process rather than being right for the job.

So, what do we look for?

 1 – Responsibility:  One of our key questions is to ask a candidate to demonstrate when they have taken responsibility for an issue, even if they weren’t the cause of it, and what they did to resolve that issue.  This question sets people apart.

2 – Customer Care: We also ask them to demonstrate when they have given or experienced exceptional customer care.  It’s very easy to lose a client from any business and all of us have to work hard to maintain the members’ satisfaction.  Which brings me to

3 – No-one is responsible: The success of the business relies on the team working together for the aim of delivering a great experience for our membership.  No small business can afford to have a member of the team that isn’t willing to pull their weight and support the others.  Of course, we have clearly defined roles, but flexibility is important.

4 – IT literacy, spelling, grammar and attention to detail: When applying, please check all your grammar and spelling.  If you are going to be communicating on behalf of your employer, then that communication reflects the business and I know that we want to stand out from the crowd for the right reasons.  One applicant told me they were very good at “prove reading” … proof that they weren’t!

An ethos in this business is “What can we do to make it easy for people to spend money with us?”.  If the customer has obstacles in their way, either through process or attitude, then they will choose another provider and none of us can afford for that to happen.

So, be prepared to demonstrate that you care, you are responsible, you are a team player and you can represent any prospective employer in the right way.

If you want to find out more about gdb, please visit www.Gatwickdiamondbusiness.com or call 01293 440088 and (I believe) any one of the team will be delighted to hear from you.