This is a good question to ask yourself whether you are looking for a job or looking to recruit a new person in to your team.

A candidate I met recently summed up her expectations and her foundation for choosing one position over another: “If I am not going to be home with my children then I want to be part of a family (at work)”. We are in a market which is candidate driven and candidates have choices often with several offers and positions to choose from. I hesitate to oversimplify what is often a daunting and an anxious time for both candidates and clients however it consistently comes back to “how you make me feel” and that works both ways. Underlining this statement is a whole stack of emotions and I dare anyone to fully understand the complexity of emotions and why we feel like we do!

From the very first interaction, usually from an advertisement a candidate has seen the way the firm or company has projected itself in print – the tone, the style and the sound of the words to a prospective employee. The application process can be long, arduous, and feels like jumping hurdles or can actually be engaging, personal, timely and tailored. When you answer the applicant’s email, is it responsive, welcoming and engaging or a stock standard reply?

Get the feeling! 

In the interview the candidate will be nervous and as the interviewer you might be too. Building rapport is the first step and an important step - some might call it the small talk. Not to be underestimated, the candidate is measuring the engagement on how they are feeling in the room and the relationship that is developing. The interviewer is also forming an impression on who this person is who has applied. Put simply, “do you like me and do I like you?” and “are we on the same page?” (that’s value driven). There are many articles written on how to run an interview and on how we can get it wrong – chosen the wrong job or offered the job to the wrong candidate. Savvy candidates know when you are looking and talking with them (not at them) and understanding what they want and a proactive employer knows how to engage, really engage.

Not only do you need to feel that you like your colleagues, you also need to like the clients you work with too - even enjoy socialising with them. A candidate is looking for a collegial work environment. Now that doesn’t mean that they have to feel the love with everyone all the time but it does mean there is respect both ways for diversity; diversity of work style, thinking, practice and so on. You need to understand and relate to the clients you are working for. If you don’t then you are never going to perform to your best. For example, if you take a relaxed, personable and at times, fun approach then maybe you are more suited to working with small to medium sized organisations or firms and private individuals.

The work environment needs to reflect your values as does the job needs to utilise your skills – that’s the “fit”. It could be your ‘family away from home’. A set of values might be described as open and honest, having respect and being recognised for who you are. Values are what you stand for and can’t live without. If you join a team or firm that has different values, then you may not stay long term. Obviously, you need the skillset for the role because without that it will become apparent very quickly that you can’t do the job. Candidates will get a feeling about the ‘personality” of a firm or team and if there is mutual trust and understanding by the way you make them feel.

How you make someone feel outlasts anything that you might say. Feelings come from the values that you hold. As too in a candidate choosing one role over another; all the thinking and analysis of which job and where, the pros and cons, the money, the location, progression opportunities, it is often how you make them feel that sways the decision on which job or employer to choose.

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