Thought Leadership

The Technology, Media and Telecoms sector is dynamic, entrepreneurial, full of opportunities and a highly attractive industry to work in. But looking to the future, competition for talent is bound to intensify.

Top performers are the key to innovation and a major success factor in this fast-moving sector. A professional approach to recruiting top performers is a strategic process that begins long before the targeted search for new talent.

Yet many firms oversimplify the process and consequently make obvious strategic mistakes when recruiting top managers. Our compact new publication “The top 10 ways to miss great candidates” draws on the industry expertise of colleagues worldwide. It attempts to identify 10 pitfalls companies should avoid when trying to attract high-flyers.

The first five slip-ups usually occur before anyone is even invited to an interview. This shows that recruiting and retaining top performers starts with strategic thinking, making the company an attractive environment for the sector’s top players. Mistakes to watch out for include adopting a wait-and-see approach to finding strong candidates, involving prejudiced decision-makers and failing to create the conditions for potential success. Focusing exclusively on a candidate’s previous experiences instead of their competencies is also a bad idea when hiring top performers, while offering sub-market compensation never pays off.

The other five mistakes guaranteed to drive away top people tend to occur during the recruiting process. Making a poor first impression and involving too many decision-makers are two ways that many companies lose face. Others fail to make a plan B (in case the lead candidate is lost) or try to oversell their organization to the candidate, which can have dangerous consequences. Finally, firms often fail to provide adequate onboarding processes to ensure that their new hires become effective on the job fast. In short, organisations hoping to attract the right people need to view every interaction with a candidate as a marketing opportunity.

For further insight, download "The top 10 ways to miss great candidates" published by Egon Zehnder International’s Technology, Media and Telecoms Practice with contributions from Diederik Amery (Brussels), Jon Carter (Palo Alto), Nick Chia (Singapore), Emma Gregan (London), Hélène Reltgen (Paris) and Yan Sun (Beijing).