What is the best way to hire in sustainability?

Despite the political pushback on sustainability, there are still corners of the market that are growing, and hiring the right people is as much a problem and opportunity, as it ever was. 

The strategy for this recruitment has fallen into the ‘cost saving’ bracket, and firms are favouring advertising vacancies and then wading through the candidates who have applied. The optics are good. Post a job and get 100s of applicants, and then pick the best one! 

If we were in a growing market, with favourable macro conditions, would firms be ok with this? Pick the best of the 20% of the available candidates who are actively seeking an opportunity? Not normally, they would be looking for sustainability professionals who are doing well in their current role; candidates who are well incentivised, and who have clear development opportunities. 

The way to find these sustainability candidates is through a mixed recruitment process, where you advertise the job, but also where you do proactive outreach. Now, this might be by the in house recruitment team, or through an external agent, bt the key is to make sure that the market has been covered. 

If not, how are you going to find the diverse candidates who don’t feel confident in applying for the job? Or, the person who doesn’t even see the advert because they are too busy? How are you going to ensure that you haven’t missed someone better who could be a game-changing hire? There night be someone who isn’t looking for a new job, who would move if approached, who will add another extra 20% in terms of productivity and who wouldn’t be a flight risk because they are on a development curve. 

Another concern is that people who are applying to the adverts need a job for now. Whne the market picks up will they move again for something which is more aligned to what they are looking for?