I’ve had a few smaller selection procedures behind me, and I’ve handled them a little differently each time. That’s why it never occurred to me that hiring could be full of pleasant, but also really strange situations. HR specialists probably don’t get bored at work, because one bigger selection process and I have so much to tell…

Marketer wanted
Perhaps you’ve noticed from my recent posts on LinkedIn that I’m looking for a new marketer to join my team as an assistant. I’ve found that in addition to administrative tasks, I need help with other things, from creating briefs for copywriters to creativity in my own and client projects.

This time, I approached the selection process a little differently. I prepared a recruitment ad and placed it on Startupjobs.cz, then shared it wherever I thought appropriate. The offer was up for about 30 days, was viewed by around 2,000 people, over 100 applicants applied, and I conducted 10 interviews with the best ones. Or at least I thought they were the best.

Right at the beginning, I first created a pre-selection from all the applicants. I then sent a few short tasks to these chosen ones, because I needed to find out mainly how they think. From them, I then selected 10 people to meet with in person. How did it all turn out? I hired 2 people, one for this position and one for another position.

Publishing the offer on Startupjobs helped me reach people I probably wouldn’t have reached in my bubble. But it wasn’t always entirely desirable. However, when you want to find a diamond, you first have to dig through the stones. I completely agree that when looking for quality people for better positions, it’s better to directly approach specific people. Headhunters could tell stories. But that wasn’t the case with the marketer position I was offering. For comparison, when I was looking for developers, I didn’t even consider Startupjobs and now I have two in my team who work well with us.

Sometimes I was left speechless
I’ve heard and read all sorts of stories. Sometimes they were great stories, other times I was left speechless. For example, when I received an application in English for an ad that requires almost no knowledge of English. Just, why? But I appreciate the effort to stand out, that’s for sure…

A few applicants I sent a task to complete, of course, didn’t deliver it. I immediately thanked them for applying and informed them that since they didn’t complete the task, I couldn’t consider them for the next stage of the selection process. That’s fine, but one lady then contacted me on Instagram saying she didn’t receive anything. Okay, I resent the assignment and gave her a chance to complete the task by the next evening. That seemed fair to me. But even the next day, no task anywhere. When I asked why she then wanted a second chance, I got the answer that she supposedly sent the task, she just didn’t say where. No matter how I looked, of course, nothing came through to me.

From one applicant, in response to the task assignment, I immediately received a message that he would first send me a price list. So that I couldn’t abuse his work, apparently. I understand the idea that within the selection process, no one wants to do anything for free, but here it was just a few small things, like a post on LinkedIn, a comment on the work created, etc. Just so I know if we have a similar view on the matter. The possible use of the processed tasks is always about an agreement. One of my recent LinkedIn posts was actually prepared by one of the applicants, who of course gave permission to use it.

Another applicant then sent me their CV in the form of a photo of the displayed CV on their monitor. Just coming up with this way of sending a resume must have taken a lot of effort. We don’t have to go far for other bizarres. On my LinkedIn I published a post where I touched on this whole issue. In addition to a poll where every other voter said they had experienced some kind of bizarre at least in every selection process, some, like copywriter Lucie Zitterbartová, immediately confessed in the comments:

“The biggest bizarre was a lady who applied for a designer position, didn’t write anything at all to me about her professional background, but I learned that in elementary school she wrote a very nice essay, won a competition with it, and made her mother happy. She has a dog, I don’t know what else completely irrelevant she slobbered into the cover letter.”

The problem was that she was looking for the reason for the rejection. So I told her the truth, that she wrote me a ton of things I don’t need and don’t want to know, and that are irrelevant to the job, and nothing that would convince me to even invite her for an interview. She didn’t have it well written even in her CV.

“Instead of some ‘Ah, thanks’ she started a shitstorm that how dare I and that I must be a terrible cow because she was doing… I don’t know what, but she mentioned some big brand, and that she was a branďačka and that she just wanted to be human…”.

Extension of own marketing to HR
Some present themselves more within their specialty, others less. If you are more visible (of course in a positive light), it can affect not only your business from the perspective of new clients or projects, but also HR when looking for new people for the team. I learned that applicants often asked about me within the e-commerce bubble. The fact that they received positive feedback confirmed to me that I already have a name in the e-commerce world and that the way I do it is the right one.

Not missing the most interesting e-commerce events, drawing know-how and stories from the top of the industry, establishing new contacts and strengthening ties with colleagues and clients is fun for me, but also a business card. That’s why I put together an E-commerce Calendar that I’m happy to share with you for free. Attending events will be easier to plan for you, just like for me.

Lessons for next time? Watch out for fuckups
Unfortunately, I also didn’t avoid fuckups. During the selection process, I directly in Startupjobs used mass responses to make communication with a large number of applicants easier, as individual communication would have been beyond my means in such a number. And now to the fuckup… I accidentally sent a message to the applicants I was about to reject in the first round (after whom I didn’t want them to process the task) that I was rejecting them for not sending the task. Shit happens. Just read what you’re sending to whom, even if you think you know it.

What does all this mean? The next time I embark on hiring and will be accepting someone else into my team, I know what strategy to choose (LinkedIn and other social networks, Startupjobs, contacting specific people…) and also what can all happen during the selection process. I’ll just be ready.