Criticality of Job Description

I was surprised to see a mail from our HR Director in Hyderabad Unit to a Vendor directly for submitting some resumes to a Hiring Manager in Mumbai for a niche requirement we had. Usually I need to approve the vendor usage and this process is being handled only by Recruitment Team that directly report to me. I enquired with my Senior Manager, Mahesh as to what is happening. He too was surprised to see the action. Later, the Delivery Head called me to inform that Mahesh and Team are working on this requirement for the last couple of weeks but nothing seems to be moving hence he approached the HR Director at the Unit. I advised Mahesh to meet the Delivery Head to know as to why this helplessness at the Unit.

As per Mahesh this requirement came only on 21st and it is for a niche skill - Custody (part of Banking) with Java. His team submitted profiles immediately but not found suitable. The Hiring Manager sits in Mumbai whereas Mahesh sits in Hyderabad. I advised Mahesh to first get the proper Job Description. He told that Job Description has already been given. When I reviewed, it was only with few words like, Experience : 4 -5 years, Skill: Custody, Java, etc. I could sense some communication gap and advised the Mumbai Recruitment Lead, Sunil to go and meet the Hiring Manager personally. Sunil could gather the "untold" part of the Job Description and published the expectation to Mahesh. Mahesh is very aggressive and capable of meeting any tough target.

I feel, when any business requirement comes, it is very necessary a constructive dialogue happens between the Recruiter and Hiring Manager. This should follow with publishing a Minutes of Meeting to all stake holders. During this meeting one should keep in mind following needs:

1. Understanding the business need - as to why the customer is identifying candidates
2. Role of the candidate to be recruited
3. Experience level and location
4. Domain expertise needed - including the sub modules
5. Expectation at the customer/project site - dynamics, environment, etc.
6. Preferences of the final interviewer against skill level, complexity, etc
7. Project status - what stage OR which part of SDLC - Requirement Gathering, Build, Test, UAT, Go Live or Support
8. The need is for an application development OR for support - what percentage of enhancement/configuration involved OR it is a Level 1, 2, 3 OR 4 Support project.
9. Soft issues - like working in the night, requirement of 24/7 on the call support, travelling, etc.

I have seen Recruiters just jump to any requirement that is being raised by a Hiring Manager and then submit profiles which ultimately get rejected. Utter wastage of productivity. Until and unless we are clear as to what the Business needs, niche and critical requirements can hardly be closed easily.