Our Recruitment Process
-
Our recruitment process is about ensuring the best match for our roles. This means that you are assessing us as much as we are assessing you. We give you as many opportunities as possible to learn about the realities of working at Hanson Wade Group. We want all Waders to love what they do, and where they do it, just as much as we want to find those with the attributes that will enable their success in the role. Below we have outlined each stage of our recruitment process.
CV and Covering Letter
The first stage is our advert which includes the job description. We use job descriptions to explain the specific tasks and responsibilities you will have, so you can get a feel for the role and understand if it’s right for you. The job description also lists the skills and behaviours you will need to use every day for you to be successful in this role. The first step of our recruitment process is to submit your CV and covering letter.
We read and review all CVs that are submitted to us personally, we don’t use AI to screen CVs.
What we are looking for
We want to know how your skills and experience match up with the job description. Successful candidates at this stage are able to tailor their CV to highlight their most relevant experience, and use their covering letter to give us examples of where they have used the competencies and behaviours we are looking for. Your examples can come from a completely different context such as part-time roles, voluntary work, clubs or societies.
Teams Screening Call
The next stage is a 25-30 minute Teams call with a member of our Talent Acquisition Team. This is to discuss your application in more detail, for us to understand your suitability for the role and for you to learn more about it.
We will use this call to discuss your CV and experience. We will ask you some questions about your understanding of Hanson Wade Group, as well as your motivations and any specific behaviours needed for the role.
What we are looking for
We want to understand why you want this job and why you want to work at Hanson Wade Group. We are looking for someone who can articulate their thoughts clearly. If you are not sure if this is the right role or company for you, the screening call is your first opportunity to ask any questions and find out more.
First Stage Interview
The first-stage interview takes place on Teams with the person who will be your manager (also known as the hiring manager) and an additional member of the team. The interview will take 45-60 minutes and is an opportunity for the hiring manager to understand more about your experience, skills and competencies.
During the first stage interview you will be asked questions about:
- Your CV and experience
- Where you have used the skills or competencies outlined on the job description
- Where you have demonstrated the behaviours on the job description.
- Your technical skills or knowledge (if applicable)
We will also give you more information about the role and the opportunity to ask any questions.
What we are looking for
We want to know more about you than we can get from a CV. This interview is an opportunity to share your tangible and real-life examples of where you have demonstrated the skills and behaviours we outlined on the job description. You don’t have to have had a corporate job before to have good examples, you can use other experiences such as part-time work, voluntary work, clubs, societies or hobbies.
The 'Dip'
This is an additional step that most other companies don’t have in their recruitment process. We want you to learn more about the company, the culture and the colleagues (or as we call them ‘Waders’) you will be working with. The recruitment process shouldn’t be entirely one-sided; you need to decide if this is the right company for you, and somewhere you can build you career.
During the dip you will have three 1:1 meetings (virtually on Teams) with Waders who either do the role you are applying for, or who you will work closely with. There is no set agenda for these meetings, so it up to you to decide what you want to use the time for. You can ask any questions you like, for example about the specifics of the role, the day-to-day responsibilities, the challenges, what they love, the culture, the opportunities, the development, or anything else you’d like to know.
All candidates who make it through to the final interview will be invited to a dip.
What we are looking for
The dip isn’t assessed, meaning you cannot ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ this step in the process. But we are looking for those who are curious, prepared with good questions and engage with the process. You may also want to ask questions that will help you to develop your presentation ready for the final stage of the recruitment process.
Final interview
The final interview will be with the hiring manager and another senior member of the team.
The interview will last 60 minutes and is comprised of two parts; your presentation and some further questions.
The presentation is an opportunity to demonstrate what you think you could bring to the role. There may be some questions about your presentation, to help us better understand any points you have made.
We will then ask you some further questions, these will be similar to your first stage interview as we want to learn more about you and your experience. For entry level roles we often focus more on the behaviours we want to see, rather than the technical skills or knowledge you have yet to build in your career.
What we are looking for
We want to see a presentation that is well structured and gives us your own genuine thoughts and ideas. This is a chance to show how why you’d be a good fit for the role and what you have learnt throughout the recruitment process.
We are looking for candidates who have examples and ideas ready that demonstrate where they have used the skills or behaviours in the job description. In entry level roles we don’t expect you to have done this exact job before, so we are looking for your desire to learn, be challenged and push yourself.
Feedback
We know that you have taken a lot of time and effort at any stage in the recruitment process. That is why we are committed to giving you feedback at every stage.