DIY Recruiting | Recruit Like a Pro
Steps to Successful Recruiting!
Determine the need
Brainstorm and build the job description
Determine compensation
Post and share
Search for candidates
Engage a meaningful interview process
Determine the Need: Readiness Assessment
Evaluate the team's current workload and capacity. Are team members consistently working at or near full capacity?
Is there a clear understanding of how a new hire will contribute to achieving goals?
Is there financial capacity to support a new hire, including salary, benefits, and onboarding expenses?
Are there upcoming projects or initiatives that would benefit from the skills and expertise of a new team member?
Is the team prepared to invest in a smooth onboarding process? Are you giving yourself enough time for effective on-boarding?
Brainstorm and Build a Job Description
Brainstorm
Brainstorm all the things you want this person to do (Dream big and be practical at the same time)
During the brainstorm, you can use company-specific language (PX, NM, Home Office, Forum, etc)
This longer list will typically be the responsibilities section listed in the offer letter
Build
Narrow the responsibilities and the qualifications to 7-8 bullets/section
Add an intro and your value prop to the top of the job description as an introductio
Add industry-specific language (aka keywords) vs. company specific language
Add your website at the bottom to let candidates know who you are!
Play with titles as you are going to market.
Examples:
AFR — try “Financial Associate”
Lead Advisor - Try “Relationship Manager” or “Financial Advisor” or “Sr. Wealth Associate”
Outline of Job Description
XYZ Advisory Group is a dynamic boutique firm committed to financial education and empowerment. We are an all-female organization that is recognized by Forbes as a top Financial Advising firm in the state of Alaska. We specialize in personalized financial plans, guiding clients through their journey with comprehensive services including financial planning, investment advisory, education funding, wealth management, retirement planning, and risk management.
Responsibilities (6-8 bullet points)
Qualifications (5-6 bullet points)
Compensation (Base + overall compensation + bonus/incentives)
Link to your website
Pro Tip: Use ChatGPT to Help Build your Job Description
Prompt to build: “Create a job description. The role is a Financial Associate who needs a series 7 and needs to have been in the industry for at least 3 years. Here are the responsibilities.”
Prompt to simplify: “Simplify the job description to 7 bullet points within responsibilities and in qualifications” or “Simplify the job description to allow for the least amount of scrolling if someone is looking on their phone.”
Build Compensation Plan
Each role has a different compensation makeup. Example: Administrative and operations roles tend to have more of their compensation weighted in the base salary. Sales and client-facing roles tend to have a higher upside potential. Note: We typically see a 10-15% variation in these numbers based on the cost of living in the job location. The variation is not much more than that.
Please use our Compensation Study 2023 to help as a baseline.
Post the Job & Share!
The best place to post most roles is on LinkedIn. Indeed is also a good option if you are looking for a lower level candidate.
Post the Job: Go to Jobs > Click Post a FreeJob > Follow prompts > Post!
Share the Job: Once Created > Click Share > Share with Thoughts
Pro Tips: Job Posting
Add 2-3 qualifying questions - no more
Add compensation range within the body of the post AND when posting
Add any sort of hybrid ability (HUGE impact)
Repost every 5-7 business days
Budget $200-500 per month
Share to network with a non-generic message
Search Your Network - This is HIGHLY Underutilized in DIY Recruiting
Search in LinkedIn add Boolean Search (keywords) to Search Bar > Click Enter > Filter Location > Filter to 1st and 2nd Degree Connections
Example Search Strings:
Investment Operations: “Investment” AND “Operations” AND “Series 7”
Dir. of Financial Planning: “Investment” AND “CFP” AND “Leadership”
Lead Advisor (hunter): “Sales” AND “Planning” AND “Business Development” AND “Investment”
Interview Process
The most common mistake we see is keeping candidates in limbo. Please be efficient and respectful of the candidate’s investment of time.
Pro Tips: Interview Process
Determine 3-4 meetings total
No more than 3 weeks (ideally 2)
Create a brief test or assessment based on the role
Sample ChatGPT prompt: I am interviewing a financial associate. What is a working assessment I can use to determine their attention to detail?
Decide who will ask what
Example: Only one person needs to ask what their compensation expectations are vs. everyone.
Ask each team member to type notes after the meeting
Determine the top 3 'hard nos' before starting
Have a group meeting after the interview process to discuss the candidates prior to making an offer.
Be prepared for a counteroffer!