Hello hiring machines!

Welcome to the SportsGrad Talent Newsletter, your bite-sized guide to attract and retain elite operators.

Every fortnight, we share insights from our community to help you hire better candidates who stick around for longer.

Quick note: The SportsGrad Pro newsletter has now transitioned into the Sportsgrad Talent Newsletter. If you’re receiving this unexpectedly, do us a favour and forward it to your manager and HR gurus 😎

This week in the SportsGrad Community, I asked: ‘What are the key things you look for when applying for a job?’

One of the consistent themes that came through was that candidates want to be super clear on what their roles and responsibilities are (as we all do), but within that, wanting to know how those responsibilities can elevate their careers in the long run. For example, if a key responsibility was to perform inbound and outbound calling in your membership department, then what is the career prospects within your organisation as a result of performing those responsibilities?

Candidates are wanting to align themselves with a role that fits in with career goals and values, so sharing some insights into a day-in-the-life of the role and how it can help build their career could be a tactic to use when building job descriptions.

Here’s 5 things candidates are looking for when applying for a job.

1. How can the Roles and Responsibilities further my development

25yo working Full-Time: “I want something that allows development and progression in certain areas so I can develop the role into something larger with time. Remuneration should also match the workload and responsibility”

24yo, working Full-Time: “Personal growth is the biggest thing for me. If I look at a position and there isn’t a single role or responsibility that I’ve never done before or I’m nervous about, I won’t apply. Why? Because those risky steps are where you develop your own personal skillset the most”

Member working a number of casual roles: “I’d want to be able to go into the position knowing I’m capable of completing some of the required skills but I would also want to have some growth areas including room for promotion down the line”

2. What specific experience and education I need to perform in the role

Recent Grad, working Part-Time: “I look for the roles and responsibilities but also what kind of experience or education they’re looking for. If everything matches then lastly their success and values they abide by”

Recent grad, working Part-Time: '“As a grad it's the training for me. I'd love to have a supervisor who really teaches, it's the question I ask the most in interviews”

3. What Software / Programs I’ll be required to use

Recently hired Member: “In terms of what is included on a posted job… there’s always information on the roles and responsibilities, skills required, software familiarity and a company brag. It’s great to be able to see some of the different technology they use and whether I’m proficient in those programs”

4. What the company culture looks like

24yo, working Part-Time: “For me a big thing is the culture in the organisation. A lot of jobs in my desired field pop up from local councils, but having worked for a couple myself and friends and family working for others, I know council jobs are just not the best fit for me culture wise.”

31yo, Masters Student: “The organisational work culture is definitely on the top for me and the amount of possibilities and opportunities we have to excel and move forward in our careers with that organisation. With little bit of corporate experience, I've understood that our work should not be monotonous. The more challenging it is, the better it'll be”

32yo, working Full-Time: “I listen to how my current peers speak about the business. The longer you spend in an industry the more you seem to learn about organisations without even stepping foot inside. Obviously always with a grain of salt, but generally speaking its very much the corporate pub test”

Recently hired Member: “The main thing which is often missing is a range of pay, not that money alone should drive your desire, but because you can assess the level of seniority and outcome targets from this, the second thing is information about the company culture and what their values are (you need to trawl socials etc to do your due diligence and determine whether these are true)”

5. How the role fits in with the bigger picture

23yo, working Part-Time: “I’m always looking towards the future and thinking about how this organisation and specific job is going to benefit me in the long run. Is it just a stepping stone to have a job and some income until the next thing comes along, or is the an opportunity to really develop and boost up my skills set and experiences. Having spent the last year or so working in a number of different roles within events teams at different orgs, I have learnt that there’s so much to do to put together an event of any scale”

“Another thing is travel and days/events outside of the office. Am I going to be spending all day Mon-Fri in an office or am I able to spend some of those days on the road/outside working on an event/activation”

Want a taste of who’s inside our Community? Read their stories 👇🏻

• Clayton Henderson: Commercial Partnerships, Golf Australia

• Parth Suri: Community Engagement, Adelaide Crows 

Talent Recommendations 🔥

Each fortnight we showcase talent inside the SportsGrad community who we think is ready to jump straight into a role. Reach out if you’d like an introduction.

1. Sydney based member with over 3 years experience, currently working as a freelancer with skills in video content and editing

2. Melbourne based member, 2 years of experience in financial consulting, looking for a fresh start in performance analytics

3. Melbourne based member, over 2 years of experience in national professional leagues here in Australia in media and communications roles.

Other ways to get involved with SportsGrad 🤓

📈 SportsGrad Pro Discount - Help your staff grow their career by tuning into monthly industry expert Q&A’s and building their network. Book a call.

🎪 Join a Job Fair - Showcase your organisation and roles available to our community. Express your interest.

🤝 Attend a Meetup - Meet talent and help your staff grow their network by attending an industry meetup. 50% discount applies for Corporate Members. Get your tickets.

💬 Join a Q&A - Got an industry superstar in your ranks? Get them to share their career wisdom with our community. Nothing needed to prepare, jump on a Zoom, answer some questions, and ‘pay it forward’. Get involved.

Latest Podcast episode you may enjoy 🎧

That’s all for now! Whenever you’re ready, there’s 4 ways we can help you hire great talent and promote your brand.

1. Post a job to the SportsGrad Community job board

2. Get unlimited job posts and talent recommendations for your organisation by becoming a Corporate Member.

3. Need to fill a role ASAP? Book a call to chat about recruitment

4. Want to develop your staff? Let’s chat SportsGrad Pro or Meetups

Let’s get it!

Ryan Walker 💛

Co-Founder

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