Why Invite Experts to Interviews: 5 Reasons for Success

Table of Contents:

• When do you really need a hiring expert?
• How to find the right expert?
• What else can an expert do?
• How much does it cost to hire an expert?
• How hiring experts helps employers
• How to find an expert: a step-by-step guide
• How to effectively communicate with an expert
• Expert duties: what can be entrusted
• The cost of expert services: what you need to know
• How to choose the right expert for your project

Hiring an expert to screen candidates is a strategic move that can significantly impact your business's success. In a highly competitive labor market, choosing the right specialist is critical.

When You Really Need a Recruiting Expert

The difficulty of selecting a qualified candidate increases when their professional level exceeds the level of those conducting the interview. In such cases, the likelihood of error increases, and, as experience shows, you can hire someone who will speak perfectly during the interview, but ultimately does not live up to expectations. For example, one of our clients faced a situation where the Marketing Director, earning 400 thousand rubles per month, spent a budget of 5 million rubles ineffectively.

Hiring an external expert becomes necessary when:

• Candidates for key positions in marketing and sales require a deep understanding of the specifics of the market.
• There is a need for highly qualified specialists in narrow niches, such as SaaS sales, where the average check is from 5 thousand dollars.
• Positions in the finance department, especially the Director of Finance and Chief Accountant, require special attention and skills.

How to find the right expert?

There are two main ways to find an expert: simple and complex. The simple method is to use specialized platforms, such as LinkedIn, where you can find professionals with the required skills. The sophisticated method includes more in-depth analysis and recommendations from industry peers.

What else can an expert do?

In addition to interviews, experts can conduct job posting audits, analyze corporate culture, and even participate in the creation of team development strategies. Their experience and independent perspective can help identify weaknesses in the recruitment process and suggest ways to improve.

How much does it cost to hire an expert?

The cost of experts' services varies depending on their skill level and the complexity of the tasks. On the market, you can find a price range from 30 to 150 thousand rubles for a consultation, while full support of the selection process can cost several hundred thousand rubles.

How Hiring Experts Helps Employers

In today's business, many companies face the challenge of ineffective recruitment, which can lead to significant financial losses. For example, one of our clients encountered a situation where a recently hired accountant made a critical error in reporting, which resulted in multi-million dollar VAT fines. This incident became the trigger for the decision to outsource key hiring.

Employers increasingly demand not just new employees, but professionals who can help avoid similar mistakes in the future. They are willing to invest in specialist services to ensure a higher probability of successful candidate selection. This creates a unique opportunity to leverage the experience of practitioners – managers and business owners who know how to avoid common hiring pitfalls.

We have come to the conclusion that experts with real-world experience, not just theoretical knowledge, can significantly improve the quality of recruitment. In the early stages, we engaged familiar practitioners and even clients who were willing to share their experience and knowledge. This allows us not only to find strong candidates, but also to build trusting relationships with employers.

How to Find an Expert: A Step-by-Step Guide

First of all, try reaching out to your network. Write to your trusted contacts and ask them to recommend specialists. This is the fastest and easiest way to find a competent expert.

If you don’t find suitable candidates among your contacts, use a more structured method for finding experts.

1. Start with employment platforms such as hh.ru and SuperJob. Here you can find many openly available resumes of specialists.

2. Select 150 to 300 of the most suitable candidates. Create an evaluation table in which you enter their key data and analyze it according to the established criteria, dividing them into critical and desirable.

3. Don't pay attention to salary expectations or resume publication dates. Focus solely on the candidate's fit with your requirements.

4. Contact potential experts by phone or video. Discuss your task and the role they can play. Emphasize the importance of their knowledge for your project and clarify the details of their experience.

5. Select the 10 candidates with the highest scores and arrange 15-minute introductory meetings, for example, via Zoom.

6. After the meetings, you will be able to identify 1-3 experts with whom you want to collaborate.

7. Discuss the terms of cooperation with the selected specialists, including the contract and fee, and begin working together.

How to effectively interact with an expert

Your task in dialogue with an expert is to create conditions for a productive exchange of opinions. Start by expressing a desire to discuss the project with a professional. It is important to adapt your speech depending on the interviewee's field of activity, their level of experience, and age in order to generate maximum interest and engagement.

Expert Responsibilities: What Can Be Assigned

Before the interview, it is worth testing candidates. The task should be realistic and not take a lot of time. Otherwise, applicants may feel that you are using their knowledge to solve business problems. Agree with the expert to create tests and support during the review process. For example, if you receive 200 responses, it will be enough to analyze 30-40 of them with the expert to develop an effective evaluation methodology.

To receive a fair and unbiased assessment, it is important to discuss the expert's payment terms in advance. Establish a fixed remuneration that will be paid regardless of the interview outcome. Hourly pay can be a good option for both parties.

Discuss with the expert the criteria by which the new employee's performance will be evaluated. Ask them to compile a list of key tasks that will help determine whether the new hire has successfully completed the probationary period.

Ideally, the expert can support the new employee during the first month. This can be arranged through regular meetings. Furthermore, after the probationary period is complete, the expert can provide valuable recommendations and feedback on how the employee handled the tasks.

Expert Services Cost: What You Need to Know

Determining an expert's fee depends on several factors, the main one being the time the specialist is willing to devote to your project. For example, if you plan to engage a marketing director, be prepared for their services to cost between 5,000 and 15,000 rubles per hour.

However, it's worth paying attention to rates. I don't recommend hiring overpriced consultants—their fees can reach 30,000-50,000 rubles per hour. Instead, look for practitioners who are actively working in their field, not those who only speak at forums.

Based on my own experience, I can confidently say that a fee of 10,000 rubles per hour will suit about 98% of experts in the market, including company owners. These professionals seek not only financial gain but also recognition. Because they are practicing specialists, they are rarely invited to such projects, making the opportunity to demonstrate their skills especially valuable.

To make collaboration more attractive, it is important to create a comfortable environment for the expert. Emphasize that his opinion will be heard and taken into account in the work process.

Another way of motivation can be the expert's opportunity to hire employees who have passed the interview, but not were selected. At our company, UP Business, we used this approach when searching for a Marketing Director for the cosmetics company Mixit.

How to Choose the Right Expert for Your Project

Finding the ideal expert requires a careful approach, similar to the process of selecting line employees. To make an informed choice, it is important to test as many candidates as possible – don't limit yourself to one or two.

In practice, in order to find "your" expert, it is recommended to consult with at least two to four specialists. During the communication process, you will be able to evaluate whose opinion you trust more and with whom you will be most comfortable working.