The Risk & Compliance Recruiter. Helping Financial Services & FinTech clients recruit and retain the very best Risk & Compliance professionals
SO WHY'S IT IN THERE? I was discussing a role recently with a client and I'd got the job spec in front of me. As I usually do, I looked to challenge some of the requirements specified in the job spec to drill down into the what the client was really seeking. This is a brief summary of our conversation. Job Spec: Must be educated to at least Bachelors degree level Reality: Relevant experience is more essential than a degree Question: SO WHY'S IT IN THERE? Job Spec: Relevant compliance qualifications are essential Reality: No they're not Question: SO WHY'S IT IN THERE? Job Spec: Previous managerial experience is essential Reality: It would actually be an ideal 1st managerial role Question: SO WHY'S IT IN THERE? Job Spec: Must have at least 5 years' Compliance experience Reality: 3+ years' Compliance experience will be enough Question: SO WHY'S IT IN THERE? The problem is that such job specs with their inaccurate requirement criteria actually serve to discourage people from applying. They sow seeds of doubt in candidates' minds which it can be really difficult to overcome. OK, so the Risk & Compliance job market has slowed, but that doesn't mean it's easy to recruit. Far from it in fact. If you're recruiting at anything up to Manager level, it can still be a real challenge. So why are you putting people off when you should be doing everything you can to encourage them to apply? And so the next time you look to recruit, go through the job spec and particularly the Requirements section. Are your Essentials really essential? Are they even Desirable? If not, ask yourself the question. SO WHY'S IT IN THERE? #compliance #riskmanagement #financialcrime
I also find that the job titles are often way off what the role actually is. For example 'Senior Client Services / Experience Manager' is usually a Customer Service role paying a pittance. This will have the opposite effect, people will see it and apply thinking its a step up from what they already do, only to find out it would be a sidewards step at best, therefore wasting their time and that of all involved 😩
Iain Scarlett
8mo
Job Specs: the biggest barrier to DE&I
Saba Munir
8mo
I seem to be coming across some very “interesting” questions - one of which was “what was main occupation of your household when growing up”!
Zarah H.
8mo
Genuinely don’t know why so many of these jobs require ‘relevant compliance qualifications’ - if the person already has relevant compliance experience.
Mark Russell
8mo
I hear ya Mark Wilson. One of my other favourites recently.... client said to me the language requirement was a prerequisite. Fair enough. When I pushed on it they said, well er, its a nice to have.... 🤣
Andy Taylor
8mo
I hate most job specs for that reason. They don't say that much and half the things they ask for are impossible to deliver on or as you say, inaccurate! You surely want people to apply not put them off!
Ruhall Ahmed
8mo
Mark Wilson there are too many obstacles. Will this change though?
John Kennedy
8mo
Brilliant Mark, such valid points
Experienced Risk, Resilience & Governance Leader
8moIf I had the talent & time there’s a book to be written about what I call the ‘curse of the template’ - it’s not only JDs that are affected, in huge numbers of areas there’s a conversation that pays out in business; “do you have a template / straw man / previous version?” with the noble aim of making things a bit quicker. The downside is the number of stock phrases that litter these documents with very little thought from the ‘author’ on whether they’re actually relevant.