Corporate culture meets recruitment

A fascinating article here in the Telegraph which makes an interesting link between corporate culture and the recruitment process.

It is often said that the UK has a skills gap - the gap between the skills that firms need & want, and those which are on offer from prospective job candidates.

In her article, Carmen Watson (who runs a leading recruitment agency) suggests that there is also a culture gap. Job candidates may have all the skills and experience set out in the job description (indeed they may be over-qualified). But will they fit in with the prevailing corporate culture of a firm? Can it be that softer areas such as personality & work-ethic are more important than qualifications and technical skills when it comes to securing a job?

I thought one point made by Watson was particularly pertinent. Firms are increasingly prepared to recruit candidates without the required skills or experience (which can be provided through training) so long as the cultural fit is good.

The implications for job candidates (and our students) are clear. Qualifications are no guarantee of a job. I like this quote from the article:

“Personality, attitude, cultural fit. These are all things that are put first, above and beyond skills and qualifications on paper. If you are fully trained but won’t “fit in” with an organisation’s values then you don’t stand a chance against hundreds of other applicants.”