Love Island vs Recruitment

As over 3 million Brits tuned into their daily guilty pleasure at 9pm on Monday night, I couldn’t help but relate Love Island to the world of recruitment, and the importance of transparency and trust. Two of the nation’s favourite ladies in the Villa, Dani and Georgia, suffered from ‘the fear of the unknown’ in the most recent dramatics, and viewers were on the edge of their seats when the re-coupling occurred. If only there was the slightest bit of transparency from within each Villa, everyone’s minds would have been put at ease. Whilst some contestants threw themselves at any new opportunity, others decided to be 100% loyal, however, not 100% trusting. We can all be in agreement by saying that if just one simple phone call was made throughout this time, then minds would have been put at ease and more justified assumptions could have been made. Therefore communication was critical in this scenari

Similarly to recruitment, no one is able to predict how someone can react in certain situations, there are only certain aspects which can be put into place in order to gain clarity. For us as recruiters, we can never rest on our laurels and become complacent, we must gain clarity from all parties in order to manage expectations and achieve the desired outcome.

Love Island also optimises the common phrase of ‘how well do you really know someone?’, as contestants claim to know their partners better than they know themselves. Likewise, you can only assume that 2, 3 or even 4 thorough interview stages and maybe the odd psychometric testing, can give you a clear picture of a candidate and their predicted decisions in pressured environments. However, this is proven time and time again, when the site of ‘new blood’ is introduced and all moral compasses fly out the window.

Whether it be working with an exclusive client or an exclusive candidate, in the current ‘skills shortage’ market, outcomes are unpredictable and you need to ask yourself if you’re doing all you can to confidently assess motives. In order for us to successfully match a candidate to a role and for the good of all parties involved, transparency is key. Employers need to be clear with their wants, aims and objectives, so that realistic job and person specifications can be formed. Candidates must also be truthful with what they are wanting to gain from their own careers, so that us recruiters can align them to the right role. With everything stripped back, this is the only way for recruiters to deliver results for all intertwined parties.