Finding candidates is an important part of recruitment. But when an appointment proves difficult, the most useful support may begin much earlier – and continue much further – than the shortlist.
The UK recruitment market has shifted. Candidate availability has increased while vacancies have fallen from their post-pandemic highs. Yet specialist positions can still prove difficult to fill, including across Kent, Sussex and Surrey.
When that happens, the answer is not necessarily to generate more CVs.
Recently, TN Recruits Managing Director Neil Simmons and Emma Moss, Director of Legal Recruitment, visited a long-standing Sussex law firm that had been experiencing difficulties recruiting for specialist positions.
Rather than taking another vacancy brief, they spent time reviewing what had happened during previous recruitment processes: the interviews, questions being asked, how responses were assessed and whether managers were getting the information they needed to make a well-evidenced decision.
The conversation led to practical interview guidance tailored to the firm and the positions it recruits.
It is one example of what recruitment support can look like when a consultant knows a client beyond the vacancies they have placed with them.
That understanding is also built outside an active recruitment process. Our consultants visit workplaces, take part in local business networks and build relationships across Kent, Sussex and Surrey. Being present in those communities gives us valuable context around how organisations are developing and what employers and candidates are experiencing.
For another business, the support might look different. It could involve defining what is genuinely needed before a job description is written, considering how responsibilities should sit within a team, advising on interview structure or sharing candidate feedback to understand why a process is not producing an appointment.
Support can continue after an offer, too. Notice periods, counteroffers and the weeks before somebody joins all create points where an experienced recruiter can provide context and maintain communication between both parties.
The CIPD recommends structured interviews, with candidates asked consistent questions and assessed against agreed criteria. The principle is useful beyond interview technique: establish what you need to know, gather relevant evidence and make decisions against what the role actually requires.
At TN Recruits, introducing suitable people remains fundamental to what we do. But our responsibility to a client does not begin when we send a CV or end when an offer is accepted.
Being closely connected to the business communities around us strengthens the knowledge and perspective we bring. The service itself goes further: understanding each organisation, being available when advice is needed and contributing wherever our experience can improve the recruitment process.
Because the value of a recruiter should not be measured only by who they find, but by what they contribute throughout the process.
