Interim Moves: A Guide for Job Searching & Hiring in 2024

Welcome to 2024! A whole new year, 365 new days, for new possibilities, new opportunities, and growing success.

In this first article of 2024, we’re going to dive into the world of interim recruitment from the perspective of candidates and clients to support you and your team in getting the year off to the right start!

Candidates

Before you dive into your new job search, take some time to reflect on your career goals. Take a minute to consider what your strengths and weaknesses are, responsibilities and work environment that aligns with your wants and needs, because having clarity in your goals will help you to target opportunities that resonate with your desired professional journey much better.

I know it can be a pain and time-consuming sometimes but allocate some time to focus on and refresh your CV and professional social media profiles, like LinkedIn, ensuring your latest accomplishments, skills, experiences, and personal professional brand are effectively showcased to potential employers in your network. Believe me, a strong online presence is crucial these days!

Connecting with lots of people in your relevant field(s) on LinkedIn is great, BUT are you really utilising them to their full potential? Are you just connected but not effectively using them as part of your networking capabilities? Use your connections wisely, connect with people of relevance to you and your future aspirations, attend industry events, and consider starting conversations with them and making friends, network, why? Because networking can open doors to so many hidden job opportunities! Thank me later.

Some of the best, and most rewarding things you can invest in, is yourself, physically, mentally, and academically. Believe it or not, there are so many FREE open-source courses, books, and other information online and in-person that can help you enhance your skill set. Attending workshops, webinars or even pursuing qualifications relevant to your career goals will help demonstrate your commitment to those goals and show continuous learning that can set you apart from other candidates.

Applying for roles that align with your values. For an interim role, the role or company may not tick every box you’re looking for, and that’s okay, as long as it’s something you find interesting.

Speak to recruiters who have a focus on your market sector, specialists in their fields, with the connections, the clients, and the know-how to guide and support you in the best way possible for the future of your career.

Employers

Begin the year with a solid, well-defined plan.

You will have most likely spent time reflecting on your team needs, identifying skill gaps, maybe team shortfalls and expectations for 2024.

Evaluate your staffing requirements, identify projects, spikes in workload or roles that may require immediate attention with specialised expertise, and consider engaging with interim professionals as a solution for an effective strategy to meet those needs, meet deadlines and achieve project success.

Following this evaluation, partner with key, reputable recruitment agencies in your teams’ sector, that specialises in interim placements. By doing this, you will have access to a considerably larger, un-diluted pool of readily available candidates, who will help expedite the process, and save you both time and resources. Specialist recruiters, like us here at Harvey John will support you to identify your needs, and work with you to tailor your interim hiring strategy to align with your team’s short-term goals, but with long-term effects.

The roles you have identified as requiring interim support are to be clearly defined with their responsibilities, expectations, and objectives to ensure that both you and your recruitment partner are aligned, and the onboarding process is short, and smooth.

Another beneficial treat that comes with interim professionals, is that with their un-biased opinions and vast market experience, they can give you impartial advice about how your company operates, your team, the workload, management, the list goes on. It may well not be what you want to hear sometimes, but feedback, no matter if negative or not, is fantastic for the growth and continuous improvement for you and your team.

Talking of teams and feedback, strong communication is not only a great thing to have with interim employees for feedback, but to have with your permanent team also. Spend time having 1-2-1 catch ups with your team to understand any of their concerns, aspirations and challenges in the workplace, and adopt an environment where they feel comfortable expressing their needs, strengthen cohesion, and provide you with valuable insights for team professional development, happiness, and effective interim hiring decisions moving forward.

I know I’m a recruitment consultant, and obviously, I, like all recruiters, want your team to grow and evolve, but it’s also paramount to remember that your existing, permanent team is important. In addition to hiring interim staff, investing in the professional develop of your permanent employees will only make your team and function stronger! Training programs, workshops, mentorship initiatives, and promotion plans will enhance their skills and capabilities, as-well-as long-term success for the team. Invest in your team, and they’ll invest in you.

So what have we learnt?

The significance of crafting a meticulous plan for success this year cannot be overstated for you or your team.

For employers, a well-thought-out strategy provides the framework to identify short term needs, assess team dynamics, and align hiring efforts with business objectives. This foresight not only streamlines the hiring process, but also positions your company for resilience and success in the face of oncoming challenges.

On the flip side, those of you job-seeking, a carefully devised plan will serve you as a roadmap to navigate through the competitive job market, allow you to clarify career goals, enhance your skill sets, and strategically target opportunities that align with your aspirations.

As we step into this new year, the job market holds promise for both candidates and clients alike. Both must have proactive approaches to reflection, planning, and set the stage for mutual success, and a productive work landscape, not just for this year, but for many, many years to come.

Embrace the opportunities that the new year brings and may your career and/or staffing endeavours be met with success!

For further information or support on job-seeking or hiring interim professionals:

Toriâh Wilson – toriah@harveyjohn.com

David Waddell – davidwaddell@harveyjohn.com

Georgina Hayes – georgina@harveyjohn.com