Recruiting Fundamentals for Young HR Managers

Early-Career HR Professionals

HR officers and coordinators in the first two to five years of their careers who want systematic recruitment skills.

HR Generalists Adding Recruitment

Generalists whose roles have expanded to include recruitment without formal training in the function.

Line Managers Who Hire

Managers who participate in hiring decisions and want to conduct better, fairer, more legally sound interviews.

Nationalisation Programme HR Staff

HR professionals managing Saudization, Emiratisation or equivalent programmes who need to recruit national talent effectively.

NGO and Development Organisation HR

HR staff in NGOs and development organisations managing recruitment in competitive talent markets with limited resources.

Small Business Owners Starting to Hire

Entrepreneurs hiring for the first time who want to do it systematically rather than by instinct.

Why this module matters: Recruitment that begins with writing a job advert has already made its first mistake. Module 1 covers the preparation that determines whether you hire the right person, starting with what role you are actually filling and where to find candidates to fill it.

• Workforce planning basics: anticipating recruitment needs rather than reacting to them
• Job analysis: understanding the role before you describe it
• Writing job descriptions that attract the right candidates and deter the wrong ones
• The GCC talent market: where to find candidates for different role levels
• Nationalisation and the talent pipeline: sourcing Saudi, Emirati and other national talent effectively
• Sourcing in African talent markets: platforms, networks, educational institutions, diaspora

Why this module matters: Unstructured interviews are only marginally better than random selection at predicting job performance. Module 2 builds the structured interview design skills that make interviews actually predictive.

• CV screening: what to look for, what to ignore, how to avoid biases that screen out the best candidates
• Shortlisting criteria: comparing CVs systematically against job requirements
• Competency-based interview question design: the STAR framework applied to GCC-specific scenarios
• Behavioural interview questions: past behaviour as the best predictor of future performance
• Interview structure: opening, questions, candidate questions, closing

Session includes: live interview design workshop

Why this module matters: Designing an interview is not the same as conducting one, or preventing your own biases from determining the outcome before it is halfway done. Module 3 builds both skills through practice.

• Interview technique: building rapport, probing for depth, managing time
• Cross-cultural interview dynamics: different expectations around self-promotion and directness in GCC and African candidate populations
• Unconscious bias in recruitment: the specific biases most likely to affect hiring decisions
• Legally defensible interviews: what you can and cannot ask in different jurisdictions

Session includes: live interview role-play with structured peer feedback

Why this module matters: Selection decisions without a scoring framework are gut decisions in professional language. Module 4 builds systematic selection tools and the legal knowledge for defensible hiring decisions.

• Interview scoring: evaluating candidates against criteria systematically
• Panel debrief: managing group selection decisions and avoiding groupthink
• Reference checking: how to get useful information from referees told to be positive
• Making the offer: salary negotiation, counter-offers, managing the gap to start date
• Legal compliance in GCC and African markets: equal opportunity, data protection, employment law requirements

Why this module matters: A hire that leaves in six months is a failed recruitment. Module 5 covers the onboarding that determines whether new hires stay, and the metrics that tell you whether your process is working.

• Why onboarding matters: the first 90 days as the strongest predictor of long-term retention
• Designing an onboarding programme that integrates new hires effectively
• Onboarding national employees in Saudization and Emiratisation contexts
• Recruitment metrics: time to fill, cost per hire, quality of hire, 90-day retention
• Employer brand: how your reputation affects your ability to attract the candidates you want

Most effective when delivered to HR staff and hiring managers together, using real role scenarios from your organisation and sector. Contact us to discuss.

Does the course address recruitment for nationalisation targets?

Yes. Recruiting national talent in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, where to find candidates, how to attract them, how to assess them fairly alongside expatriate candidates, and how to manage the specific dynamics of nationalisation recruitment, is addressed specifically throughout the course.

Is this suitable for line managers who are not in HR?

Yes. A significant proportion of participants are line managers and team leaders who conduct interviews regularly but have never received structured training. The course is practical for both HR professionals and hiring managers, in-house delivery is particularly effective when both attend together.