Best Practice Magazine: Recruitment; you're hired
17/08/2006
Alan Redman, Director, with Criterion Partnership writes in Best Practice Magazine:
Academic and professional qualifications are seen as a prerequisite for potential candidates, but personal attributes are just as important.
Recruitment is always a hot topic, whether for your own firm or when advising clients on how best to recruit. Finding the right people with the necessary technical skills can be difficult, so firms need to look beyond academic qualifications.
The government is currently working towards getting 50% of all young people in university by 2010. MBAs are also seen as a must-have for business executives. It’s understandable, therefore, that many think academic qualifications are a prerequisite for a prosperous career.
However, from Bill Gates and Richard Branson to Simon Cowell and Jamie Oliver, there are a number of successful business people without higher education qualifications ready to prove this theory wrong. Indeed, there are also partners in accountancy firms who do not possess an honours degree.
In accountancy, professional qualifications are required to ensure standards are upheld, but these can be gained while in a working environment. Commonly known as graduate trainee programmes, training or apprenticeships are a key part of a business career.
During the television programme, The Apprentice, viewers watched a shortlist of eager candidates, including a lawyer and a Cambridge graduate, endure a 12-week recruitment process for a position within Sir Alan Sugar’s business. In the end, Sir Alan, another self-made millionaire who didn’t pursue an academic route, chose Michelle Dewberry, a former telcoms programme manager with only two GCSEs.
By impressing Sir Alan with her work ethic, people management and negotiation skills, Dewberry shows that an individual’s attitude and personality can be just as vital as an education. This doesn’t diminish the importance of a good education – Dewberry herself recommends that students strive to pass their exams.
The problem is that recruitment can sometimes be overwhelming. Certain positions attract a huge number of applicants and many firms do not have the time or resources to implement a lengthy assessment process. Instead, they set minimum qualification criteria, such as 'educated-to-degree-level', simply to narrow the field and save time. The concern is that the firm could be missing out on a rising star...
To see the interview in full please visit Best Practice Magazine website