The value of conversations in SME recruitment. Why conversations matter more than you might think.
How much weight do you give to conversations during your recruitment process? Do you use them to ensure a good cultural fit in your finance recruitment?
In SME hiring, it’s easy to focus on the concrete parts of a candidate’s application: their CV, qualifications, and technical skillset. These are, of course, important. But when hiring senior finance talent, one of the most effective tools at your disposal is often overlooked: conversation.
Every interaction you have with a candidate, whether formal or informal, offers a valuable window into their character, communication style, and cultural fit. In SMEs, where a senior hire can have a profound impact on the wider team and business strategy, these moments of conversation matter.
The Interview: Your most powerful conversation
The formal interview is the cornerstone of most recruitment processes. At senior level, it’s about more than verifying facts from a CV. It’s your best opportunity to explore:
- Leadership style
- Strategic thinking
- Problem-solving approach
- Self-awareness
- Alignment with your business goals and values
For SME founders and hiring managers, these interviews offer you a key opportunity to dig into how a candidate will approach the challenges unique to your business. If conducted well, they can uncover not just capability, but mindset.
At Artemis Clarke, we see such value in this that the final step of our recruitment process is always a detailed, structured interview with every candidate.
Informal Conversations: The hidden gem
It’s not just the formal conversations that matter. Some of the most revealing insights can come from the smaller, more informal touchpoints throughout the recruitment process.
Initial Contact
Often the first interaction with a candidate is arranging an interview. Whether it’s over email, phone, or LinkedIn message, this stage provides clues about the candidate’s:
- Responsiveness
- Communication style
- Enthusiasm
- Professionalism
Slow or disengaged communication here might suggest a lack of interest, or a red flag for how they would operate with stakeholders in your business. Equally, pushy or passive-aggressive communication from a candidate might be at odds with your company culture.
Interactions with Your Team
Every person who comes into contact with the candidate can offer a perspective. How do they treat your team? Are they polite, personable, and engaged? These impressions help build a more rounded picture of their leadership style, approachability, and emotional intelligence.
Don’t underestimate your team’s instincts. They’ll be working closely with this person.
The “Look Around” or Team Intro
When a candidate meets the wider team or tours the office, their guard is often lowered, making these interactions more natural and relaxed. It’s a great opportunity to see how they behave when not actively trying to impress you. Are they curious? Do they ask good questions? Do they show interest in your people and values?
A candidate who is disinterested or dismissive at this stage, no matter how strong they were in interview, might not be the right fit for your business.
The “Could I spend 10 hours with this person on a flight?” consideration
Finally, for senior level hires, you need to make sure that you will be able to work closely with the successful candidate.
We like to ask the question: “Could I spend 10 hours with this person on a flight?” A good way to test out this question (which is cheaper than booking a long-haul flight) is to simply take the candidate out for lunch or dinner. The more relaxed setting, alongside the activity involved, can be a great litmus test for how you would work together.
Conversations provide context
While CVs and technical credentials provide structure, conversations offer context. They help you:
- Understand how a candidate thinks and communicates
- Judge cultural and team fit
- Anticipate how they will represent your business internally and externally
This is especially important in SMEs, where roles are broader, leadership impact is immediate, and the right hire can be transformative. The conversations can help you ensure cultural fit in your senior finance recruitment.
How we help you get the full picture
At Artemis Clarke, we believe in the power of conversation. Over more than a decade of finance recruitment, we have refined a process that combines rigorous technical assessment with careful attention to every interaction we have with candidates.
Whether you are using our full-service recruitment solution or tapping into our bespoke skills assessment service, we help you go beyond the CV and interview answers to uncover the person behind the application.
Ready to make your next senior finance hire count?
Get in touch to find out how we can help.
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Photo by Filip Rankovic Grobgaard on Unsplash