• CLA Consultants and our Client agree the optimum candidate’s qualities, qualifications, skills, personality type and suitability for the advertised position;
• Together with our Client, CLA Consultants Group prepares a quality job advert;
• Our Client and our in-house HR Department agree the advertising strategy including i) social media and ii) print media and iii) Linkedin and iv) online job portals and v) so on. As always, the goal is to minimise advertising costs while maximising the reach to quality candidates;

• From the countless resumes received, our HR department shortlists 10 suitable candidates based on i) loyalty and stability with past employers ii) relevant industry experience iii) quality of resume formatting and grammar iv) education and v) sports and hobbies vi) and so on;
• In the local language, our HR Department promptly arranges a telephone interview with the shortlisted candidates;

• The telephone interview is an opportunity for our HR team to ask the candidate preliminary questions including i) reasons for leaving current employer ii) salary expectations iii) their career expectations with our Client iv) availability v) visa status and vi) ability to supply simple practical answers to our questions;
• We will also evaluate the candidate’s spoken English. Is the grammar and tone easily understood, pleasant and polite? Is he/she convincing in his/her arguments? Does he/she understand the questions asked and give adequate and relevant answers? Does he/she demonstrate empathy?
• Assuming the outcome of the telephone interview is positive, the applicant will be invited for a face to face interview with multiple Staff from CLA Consultants Group;

• CLA Consultants Group and our Client will agree a multiple page questionnaire document for the candidate completion in your preferred language. Examples of question in this document include i) personality profiling ii) 10-year professional plan iii) work style iv) scenario based questions and v) applicants expectations vi) and so on;
• This document helps us evaluate the quality of the candidate including i) their written English skills ii) common sense, simple, concise written answers to business questions iii) the candidate’s ability to research information and present clear and coherent answers iv) the candidate’s expectations from over the coming 12 months and v) the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses;

• The applicant will also be required to complete a personality profiling questionnaire (click link). This step is very important. It matches the personality and behaviour of the candidate to the qualities required by our Client;
• Our in-house Human Resource Department also evaluates candidates for those who are motivated (click link) i) by results or ii) by relationships or iii) by creativity or iv) by analytics;

• Upon our Client’s request, CLA Consultants can include a behavioral and competencies questionnaire in the process. This will further help identify quality candidates who:
• reply to emails and complete required tasks in a timely manner.
• get on with the recruitment process and do what they are asked with minimum questions.
• do not complain, or look for negatives, in the job description.
• do not boast about how good they are (although a healthy level of confidence is desirable).
• Red flags include:
• The candidate is slow to reply to e-mails.
• The style of the reply does not match our Client’s company’s image or values.
• The level of spoken and written English (or another language required by our Client) is poor.
• The candidate is overly negative, demonstrates a resistance to pressure and does not demonstrate a ‘can do’ attitude.
• CLA Consultants’ HR department will rate the speed and quality of the candidate’s replies to the above, signalling the candidate’s hunger for the role.
• If the candidate is still considered a viable employee for the job, he or she will be asked to perform one or more challenging tasks relevant to our Client’s business.

• These tasks will be pre-agreed with our Client. Our team will prepare and supervise the completion of these tasks.
• The tasks are particularly helpful for evaluating candidates’ common sense, simple solution skills, organisation, quality of replies and whether they are business savvy.
• If these tasks are completed to our satisfaction, we arrange an in-person interview with the best two candidates with senior executives from our Client’s company, either at their office or online.

• During the personal interview, observe the candidate: how he or she appears, dress style, eye contact, body language, level of hygiene.
• It’s normal for a candidate to appear nervous at interview, but if the stress level is excessive, the person will not be a good fit for the job.
• Also take notice of the content of what is being said: Is the person more focused on what he/she will get out of the company? Or more focused on what he/she can do for the company? The latter is obviously preferred.
• Determine the level of hunger for the job including their knowledge about i) our Client company and products and services ii) our Client business website and iii) what the job will entail and iv) how that candidate will help the Firm.
• Following completion of the above, CLA Consultants Group will prepare a detailed comparison table; comparing and contrasting the different candidates, together with our preferences marked 1 to 3.
• Our Client will perform a final interview of your preferred candidates.

• To secure independent, honest feedback re shortlisted candidates, CLA Consultants HR department will ring the business owners and senior supervisors from past employers. This provides the most honest assessment of a candidate’s strengths and weaknesses.
• Simultaneously, our in-house Human Resource Department will secure from our preferred candidates the Know Your Employee due diligence documents including i) passport copy ii) identity card iii) bank account details iv) work pass v) educational certificates copy and vi) next of kin details.

• Our team will agree with the Client and candidate the optimum employment contract, in compliance with local government employment laws.
• The employment contract will contain terms and conditions agreeable to both parties, mediated by our in-house Human Resource Department.
• Following satisfactory completion of the above, a final formal employment contract is signed with the employee, including i) remuneration and holidays and ii) the employee’s responsibilities and iii) the employee’s goals for the first month, during probation and for the year and iv) the employee’s goals for the 3 month probationary period and v) the employee’s goals for the next 12 months.
• In the interest of time, the preferred candidate will sign the employment contract comprising an important clause stating ‘This employment contract is valid subject to receiving i) positive professional references from multiple past employers and ii) completion of additional tasks (if any) and iii) final interviews by our Client.
• Only when our Client is satisfied, you will sign off the employment contract.

Average recruitment fees are:

• CLA Consultants Group fees includes i) advertising on print and social media and ii) interview of candidates and iii) negotiating the employment contract terms and conditions.
• CLA Consultants Group fees excludes third-party costs including i) advertising costs and ii) Government fees and iii) lawyers and accountants fees (if any).

• If possible, we recommend our Clients employ the candidate for one or two weeks as a consultant; to work from your office or from their home. This is a great opportunity for our Clients to evaluate the potential employee including i) his ability to fit into the organisation ii) the quality and quantity of his deliverables iii) his common sense iv) his ability to work within a team.
• CLA Consultants and our Clients find this to be a very useful practical step in the recruitment process.
• To protect our Client during this trial period, the potential employee signs a temporary consultant agreement with detailed terms and conditions.

Podcast: Recruitment trends in the UAE

• CLA Consultants HR Department will ensure the recruitment of quality and loyal candidates for our Clients.