Welcome to our January newsletter
A belated ‘Happy New Year’ wish to all from the Recruitment Matters team!
This is our January newsletter featuring a mix of industry news, helpful information from recruitment industry experts, tips to help you improve and grow the profitability of your business and, of course, news from ourselves at Recruitment Matters about our training courses, products and services.
We’ll open with some stimulating words from Warren..
"Here's to 2008"
Realise your vast potential
Write a heart-felt book
Dump your baggage
Change your job
Transform your total look.
Make life-changing decisions
Get the emotional confidence to “do”
Study for a qualification
Open up a business
Find you.
© Warren Kemp 2008
This week has seen considerable turbulence and falls in the Stock Market – let’s hope that the 0.75% rate cut announced by the US Federal Reserve will result in other leading markets following suit and will encourage a return to relative stability in the coming days.
Around £60bn was wiped off the value of leading firms as the FTSE 100 Index fell around 5% amid fears of a US recession. At one point the index was down 329 points, or nearly 6%, more than the drop triggered by the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.
Among the recruiters hit were: OPD Group - down 12.5p, Michael Page - down 8.25p, Empresaria - down 8p, Morson - down 7p, Imprint - down 7p, Robert Walters - down 5.75p and Hays - down 5.75p. The FTSE is down nearly 12% on the opening mark of 6456.9 this year - the worst start to a year since records began in 1936.
Certainly, we have seen significant bookings for our ‘Recruiting In A Tough Market’ course but have to confess to having mixed feelings, as we’re not sure to be pleased or concerned!
We had a very positive response from you last year to the ‘Recruiters’ Guide to Handling Researchers’ series of articles contributed by David Steel of Exacta Research. He’s taking a well-earned breather this month but we can look forward to more from David in the future.
We were contacted by Simon McCollum, CEO of McMann Associates whose team are tackling the notorious ‘3 Peaks Challenge’ in June to raise funds for three worthy causes – Cancer Research, the WWF and NSPCC. Read below to learn how you can contribute and support them in this major challenge.
We have another contribution this month from our networking expert, Will Kintish, who will be sharing many great networking tips with us today and in 2008 – this time, it’s the first of two features on ‘Working the room – how to start.’
We also have some great tips from Neil Kirby and our very own trainers, Warren Kemp and Matt Wilson. For more tips and advice, please visit http://www.recruitmentmatters.com/free.php .
We like this to be very much an interactive newsletter and we welcome your comments and feedback and will be happy to feature your contributions on important industry issues and your advice on how to improve the success and professionalism of our marketplace. As you will see below, in return, we will show our gratitude by featuring a link to your company, as a contributor to this publication.
We at Recruitment Matters have a simple underlying philosophy to everything that we do, and that is, by helping each other to improve, we all stand to benefit in this large, dynamic and fast-growing industry.
Please send your potential editorial contributions to ken@recruitmentmatters.com.
McMann Associates ‘3 Peaks Challenge’
McMann Associates are looking to set a challenge every year in order to raise money for charities that its employees support. This year we are attempting the notoriously difficult ‘3 Peaks Challenge’ in June 2008. This will involve climbing Ben Nevis in Scotland, Scafell Pike in the Lake District and Snowdon in Snowdonia National Park, North Wales. This will mean we will have to walk/run a marathon on rough terrain and cover 450 road miles within 24 hours. We have put together a team of walkers/runners and a support group of drivers and very important sandwich makers.
We’re currently training very hard for the challenge, putting in hundreds of miles throughout the country to give us the best chance of beating the 24 hour deadline. We would be very grateful for any donations you would like to make. We have decided to represent Cancer Research, the WWF and the NSPCC. We have chosen a charity to represent each mountain we will be climbing and you can donate to all 3 or one individually. Throughout our training, we will be posting updates and pictures of us all slogging it out in the cold in the hope that we can raise over £1,000 for each charity. To make a donation please click on the mountain/s you wish to sponsor.
NSPCC http://www.justgiving.com/mcmannsprintupbennevis
WWF http://www.justgiving.com/mcmannsprintupsnowdon
CANCER RESEARCH UK http://www.justgiving.com/mcmannsprintupscafellpike
If you require any more details about our challenge please send an email to 3peaks@mcmann-uk.com and we will answer any questions you have.
Recruiters’ Guide to Networking
Contributor: Will Kintish
Working the room – how to start [1]. There will be a second article on ‘working the room’ next month.
1. Arrive early if you feel nervous. Most people feel uncomfortable so this is one way to avoid the issue. They then have to face you.
2. Go with others until you have the confidence to go alone but separate once you start to feel comfortable.
3. Think positive. “I’m going to meet new contacts, gain useful information, or create new business opportunities.” This should calm the nerves and remind you clearly why you have attended.
4. Wear your badge on the right hand side, this ensures that when you shake hands your name is clearly seen.
5. Smile, make good eye contact and offer a firm handshake for your first contact. These actions create that first and long lasting good impression.
6. Look for someone you don’t know standing alone and make the first move. Usually they are not standing there by choice, they’re nervous and don’t know anyone; that’s why they are alone.
7. Ask permission to join, introduce yourself and start to ask open questions. “Where have you come from?” or “Whose guest are you?” are two simple icebreakers.
8. Reflect how you would feel if someone came up to you. It is likely you will be extremely grateful. Turn this on its head and make the first move. You will never be rejected.
9. Give your name clearly and slowly; you do want them to know who you are, don’t you? Try first names only - it’s friendlier.
10. Bear in mind that peoples’ names are, to them, the most important sound in the world. Not remembering peoples’ names is nothing to do with memory - it’s all to do with your attitude.
11. Ask your new contact to repeat their name if you don’t hear it in the first instance. They won’t be upset; in fact they will be pleased that you are interested.
12. Repeat their name on introduction and use it early on in the conversation to help you remember.
Will Kintish and his team show people how to attract more business and clients by helping them become more confident and effective business networkers. For more information, email willk@kintish.co.uk, visit www.kintish.co.uk or call 0161 773 3727.
Jobs slowdown reported
December’s Report on Jobs, from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG, contained worrying signs for the UK labour market as well as the economy as a whole.
The research found that permanent staff appointments rose at their slowest rate in fifty-four months, while temp billings increased at the weakest pace for twenty months. Pay inflation also fell back reflecting slowed growth in demand for staff and easing skill shortages.
Commenting on the latest survey results, Alan Nolan, Director at KPMG said: “As the full impact off the credit crunch on the economy is still uncertain, businesses are becoming more cautious. Thus, the growth in both permanent placements and temporary demand for staff continued to slow last month. There is even speculation of redundancies within specific sectors such as HR and investment banking. In the coming months, employers will be reviewing resourcing requirements and either considering redundancies or maintaining a flat headcount as a way of riding out the storm.”
Helen Reynolds, acting CEO of the REC maintained an upbeat message adding: “Despite demand for staff slowing, and much speculation that the credit crunch is already having an adverse effect on the jobs market, the recruitment industry remains reasonably upbeat about job prospects in 2008. On a general level, there are still other drivers for the demand for staff. Factors such as the imminent change in workforce demographics and the need to replace retiring employees will mean that employers will need to rely on temporary and permanent employees to meet resourcing challenges, keeping the labour market buoyant.”
“Skills shortages remain a challenge. With welfare reform firmly on the government's agenda, the key focus for 2008 must be employability. It's about matching the right skills to the right jobs and it's crucial that employers and the government utilise the experience and expertise of the private recruitment industry to help make this a reality.”
Time management – make the most of today!
Let us imagine that there is a bank that credits your account each morning with £86,400; it carries over no balance from day to day, and every evening the bank deletes whatever part of the balance you have failed to use during the day - now what would you do? You would draw out all the money, of course! Well each of us has such a bank – it is called time. Every morning it credits us with 86,400 seconds and every night it writes off as lost every second that we have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance; it allows no overdraft, and each day it opens a new account for you. If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours. There is absolutely no going back; there is no drawing on tomorrow; you must live in the present on today’s deposits and invest it so as to achieve the utmost in health, happiness and success. As they say, ‘the clock is ticking.’ Make the most of today!
Now let me share some simple thoughts with you. To realise the value of one year, ask a student who failed a grade. To realise the value of one month, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby. To realise the value of one week, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper. To realise the value of one hour, ask the friends who have been waiting for you. To realise the value of one minute, ask the person who has just missed the train. To realise the value of one second, ask anyone who has just avoided an accident. Finally to realise the value of just one millisecond, ask the sprinter who has just won a medal in the Olympics. Treasure every moment you have and treasure it more because you have shared it with someone special or you have done something special, special enough for you to spend your time on.
Remember, time waits for no-one. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift – and I guess that is why it is called the present!
Warren Kemp is principal and lead trainer with Recruitment Matters. For more tips, advice and information on Recruitment Matters visit www.recruitmentmatters.com/free.php, telephone 0800 0749 289 or email warren@recruitmentmatters.com.
It’s OK for you
Contributor: Neil Kirby
Yes I enjoy my work. Helping others to be clear in what they want, free of any personal barriers, is something I’m passionate about.
Can it be that way for anyone?
Earlier this year I visited the USA and, while there, went to Seattle, to the “World Famous Pike Place Fish Market”. This sounds like a grand title for a fish market, but I travelled three hours each way in one day to visit them. So what have they got that makes them so special?
It’s an attitude, which they’re passionate about and follow meticulously. It’s embodied in some simple ideas:
- Being present – giving people your full attention.
- Choose your attitude – decide what attitude you’re going to have.
- Have fun – it’s amazing what difference it makes to customers when you have fun and enjoy your work.
- Make their day – go out of your way to make a difference to someone’s day.
And it works. For what might be a cold, hard, routine job with long days, they’ve created a dynamic, vibrant, enjoyable working environment and hugely successful business.
Many of these ideas are now incorporated into TheEnableProgramme™ and I have an 18-minute video on FISH! if you’d like to see for yourself.
If you have any questions or comments on this article or issues you face, please contact me (in confidence) on 01707 395850 or email me at neil@neilkirby.co.uk. There’s no obligation.
Neil Kirby is a life coach and a leading practitioner of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP).
The ‘glass wall’
Most senior managers feel trapped in their job but find it difficult to move on because of a ‘glass wall’ which hinders their search for a new post, according to research by TheLadders.co.uk.
The survey shows that three out of four senior managers feel "paralysed" in their hunt for a new job. They often complain of a lack of opportunity or poor understanding of the senior jobs market, the survey reveals.
Jim Hunter of TheLadders.co.uk says: "Only 20% of those executives surveyed felt in complete control of their careers. Yet decades of psychological research shows that a high degree of internal control is closely associated with successful career management and job satisfaction. Control is both a cause and consequence of career experiences, so glass walls in the form of real and perceived barriers could actually be undermining executives' sense of control."
The study also found that one in 10 are worried that colleagues will find out if they start looking elsewhere for a new position.
Offer testimonials
The difference between a great reputation and one that is not is that people will recommend you. Go out of your way to get people to do so, ask interested parties to contact a previous client/candidate - every time. Most won’t bother. The fact that you have offered is testimony enough. So why am I so keen on you doing this?
Well, when you have a great reputation and people recommend you and will happily give testimonials, then price is NEVER an issue. Let’s look at the example of electricians - if your whole house had fused and you couldn’t fix it, if you didn’t know any electricians, you would pick up Yellow Pages phoning around with two questions “How much and how quick?” Let’s consider the same example, but this time your friend has just had his house rewired and he said the electrician was excellent. This time you phone your friend up and ask for the number and then, when you phone the electrician, you only ask one question “How quick?”
Matt Wilson is a consultant with Recruitment Matters and is offering an expanded range of courses for 2008. For more information on Recruitment Matters, our training courses, services and products visit www.recruitmentmatters.com, telephone 0800 0749289 or email info@recruitmentmatters.com.
Recruitment Matters news
Where did the time go? It seems like only last week that we were looking forward to the Xmas break and now, it’s almost the end of January. We hope that you enjoyed Warren’s article on Time Management – we’ll be launching a half day course on this subject in Q2 2008 and will tell you more shortly. So let’s work this out – already 2.5million seconds have elapsed since our last newsletter – scary!
A reminder that one big change in our training repertoire is that we are now offering two courses on head-hunting. We have the immensely popular ‘Successful Head-Hunting’ which is primarily for consultants and, new for 2008, ‘Head-Hunting For Researchers And Resourcers’ which has been developed in response to many client requests.
See below for the balance of our January - March 2008 open training schedule. Dates through to June will be released shortly. Don’t forget that we are very happy to deliver these in-house if you prefer, or to develop a tailor-made course more specific to your own requirements.
RECRUITMENT MATTERS: January 2007 – March 2008 Open Training Schedule
RECRUITING IN A TOUGH MARKET (half day)
Trainer: WARREN KEMP
Feb 8th – London
Mar 14th – Manchester
Investment £99+VAT
Link
SUCCESSFUL HEAD-HUNTING
Trainer: WARREN KEMP
Jan 29th – Bristol
Feb 15th – London
Feb 20th – Manchester
Feb 21st – Sheffield
Mar 5th – London
Mar 11th – Belfast
Mar 19th – Birmingham
Investment £325+VAT
‘Bring A Friend’ £225+VAT
Link
HEAD-HUNTING FOR RESEARCHERS AND RESOURCERS
Trainer: MATT WILSON
Jan 29th – Birmingham
Feb 7th – Leeds
Feb 20th – London
Mar 12th – Birmingham
Mar 20th – London
Mar 25th – Liverpool
Investment £295+VAT
‘Bring A Friend’ £225+VAT
Link
TWO DAY INTRODUCTION TO RECRUITMENT
‘Induction for new recruits’
Trainer: MATT WILSON
Feb 5/6th – Manchester
Feb 12/13th – Birmingham
Mar 4/5th – London
Investment £495+VAT
Link
INTERVIEW SKILLS FOR RECRUITERS
Trainer: MATT WILSON
Feb 19th – London
Mar 11th – Manchester
Mar 19th - Birmingham
Investment £245+VAT
‘Bring A Friend’ £195+VAT
Link
WINNING NEW BUSINESS
‘Telephone Skills For Recruiters’
Trainer: MATT WILSON
Mar 18th – London
Investment £245+VAT
‘Bring A Friend’ £195+VAT
Link
WINNING RETAINED ASSIGNMENTS (half day)
Trainer: WARREN KEMP (2007)/MATT WILSON (2008)
Running Time: 9.30am – 1.00pm
Jan 30th – Birmingham
Feb 21st – London
Mar 26th – Birmingham
Investment £149+VAT
‘Bring A Friend’ £129+VAT
Link
BUILDING & RUNNING AN EFFECTIVE SEARCH DESK (two days)
Trainer: WARREN KEMP
Feb 12/13th – Birmingham
Investment £595+VAT
Link
MANAGING TEAMS AND MENTORING PEOPLE (half day)
Trainer: WARREN KEMP
Running Time: 9.30am – 1.00pm
Mar 25th – London
Mar 26th - Birmingham
Investment £149+VAT
‘Bring A Friend’ £129+VAT
Link
For more information on these courses and our other services and products, visit www.recruitmentmatters.com, email info@recruitmentmatters.com or call Emma or Ken on 0800 0749289 or 0044 1483 755559.
Contact us
Recruitment Matters
2 Oakfield Road
Coventry CV6 1ED
UK
Tel: 0800 0749289
Fax: 01483 761709
Email: info@recruitmentmatters.com
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