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In this month's newsletter...
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Welcome to our September newsletter
This is our September 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.
Homeworking on the riseBritain is embracing a more flexible working week and turning into a nation of homeworkers, according to a survey by home insurance company, Zurich.
Opportunities in ScotlandContributor: Donogh O’Brien, Munro ConsultingFor many chasing the elusive work life balance, Scotland has increasingly become a destination of choice, particularly working across the “central belt” with excellent transport links between Edinburgh and Glasgow by rail, road and even bus. Did you know that Newcastle can be reached from Edinburgh in ninety minutes and London in little more than four hours by train? Contrary to those who have never ventured ‘North of Watford,’ Scotland does experience much fine weather throughout the year and most noticeable in summer months with the extended daylight hours providing golfers a chance to get in an evening game! Scotland presents a unique possibility for frustrated commuters. Diverting that travel time to a career in Scotland can connect you with scenes of stunning natural beauty such as Loch Lomond, the Ayrshire coast, Perthshire and the Borders. Similarly on the East coast, travel from Aberdeen through St Andrews to Edinburgh and down to North Berwick towards Newcastle. Donogh O’Brien who heads the Public Sector practice at Munro Consulting, Scotland’s leading independent executive search organisation with offices in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and London, has done just that. His office base is Glasgow and he is regularly seen travelling by train between Scotland’s political and cultural capitals, Edinburgh and Glasgow, respectively. He feels his own experience of relocating from London to the Ayrshire coast has given him the perfect work-life balance from the surroundings of “Golfer’s Paradise”, a fifty minute commute to Glasgow City Centre and an ability to bring up a family where property prices are still “affordable!”
Recruiters’ Guide to handling researchersContributor: David Steel, Exacta ResearchStep Three - Approaches Once a client has verified an identification list, the next stage in the process is for approaches to be made to the seemingly most relevant targets. I say ‘seemingly’, as no researcher can ever truly know who the best person to approach is in a structure until he or she picks up the phone to them. For example, a Sales Manager in one firm may look after a small team and earn £10k/20k less than someone with the same title in a competitor but with a much bigger team to manage or territory to cover. A good researcher will write a strong-yet-snappy brief and show it to you before commencing with the approaches, allowing you to tinker if needs be. The key aspect of an approach brief is to deliver the main points around the role and the person required within a timescale that allows a target surrounded by colleagues to listen and understand without feeling uncomfortable or under pressure. A tight brief will: (1) allow a researcher to introduce oneself and let the target know that they appreciate it might be difficult for them to talk, but all should be fine if they can at least listen for a couple of moments. More often than not, a target won’t be able to say much, so a researcher needs to take hold of and manage the conversation. Targets who say “maybe” or “yes” are then given the opportunity to suggest a good time to have a further chat, often of an evening or at a convenient time later that day. I encourage researchers to swap mobile numbers, e-mail addresses, etc, with potential candidates to allow the lines of communication to flow without having to make awkward calls to work numbers during the day. A good researcher will also strive to understand a candidate who expresses no interest in the outlined opportunity – is it due to salary, location, remit, etc, or simply that they’re happy in what they’re doing and not open to other opportunities? Amazingly, not everyone is interested to hear what else is available beyond the reception area of their current employer! Again, I’m always keen to point out to a researcher that a target who feels uncomfortable with the approach at work can often say “not interested” simply to get out of the conversation, so it’s important we give targets every opportunity to allow us to contact them at a better time to have a ‘proper’ chat about the role in hand. There is nothing like a strong referral from a relevant target who does have good reason to stay put, so we always ask those who don’t want to pursue any given opportunity if they can think of anyone who could potentially fit the bill. We’re *not* asking if they know anyone who is looking, as such, rather an individual who when matched up to the job/person spec is the perfect fit, regardless of whether they’re happy or unhappy in their present job. From a day’s worth of approaches, with a strong brief and some good conversations under their belt, a researcher who has three or four ‘warm’ potentials to speak to that evening/the evening after will more often than not find themselves with at least two or three good candidates to play with. A few days like that in a row and a researcher can arm you with a potentially strong list of candidates to play with. David Steel is Research Director at Exacta Research, a recruitment research company who provide a candidate research service to help clients find the best possible candidates across all sectors and levels. For further information email hannah@exactaresearch.co.uk, visit www.exactaresearch.co.uk or call 08000 856 618.
Happy PeopleHappy people attract happy people to them and, as a general rule, good things tend to happen around them. The opposite is also true.
TensionContributor: Neil KirbyI recently received a very detailed e-mail making some suggestions about something I’d been working on for a while. I was initially rather annoyed – “not only were they simply wrong, but didn’t they know the effort I’d put into this piece of work?” I’m sure we all find ourselves in situations like that, where there’s tension, maybe between 2 people, 2 departments or 2 companies. Each side has it’s own different position and over time these can become entrenched. The outcome can become frustration, with parties remaining locked in dispute or maybe having a parting of the ways. I resisted the urge to respond immediately and as I became aware of my feelings, I thought of two things: 1. Considering the intent of the other person or party – what’s their purpose in putting forward their viewpoint? What I found was that their intent was actually the same as mine; we just had different views about how to achieve it. 2. I then stopped thinking about the answer in terms of either them or me. It wasn’t whether I was right or they were right. I shifted from OR to AND. If we were both right, what would need to happen? Changing MY thinking helped me to see an alternative which satisfied both sides. 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.
Writing effective website advertsContributor: Rory Blyth, BlueSky PRThe first thing to remember is that writing adverts to a certain set of rules is much easier than approaching them without. It’s important that adverts vary, but if you view these instructions as a kind of frame around which you can fit the information in your particular style, then you won’t go far wrong. These basics apply to web, as well as hard copy, so let’s cover them first, before dealing with the specific requirements of internet writing. The framework of an advert should be based on drawing your reader in. A popular system is AIDA – Attention, Interest, Detail and call to Action. This means the most important thing at first is to grab your reader’s attention – get the most attractive, interesting pieces of information in your title and opening lines. The second is interest – so set the context, by making the company or the location (for example) interesting – keep asking yourself at this stage ‘do I want to read on?’ After a few sentences, once you’ve grabbed the reader’s attention and piqued their interest, explain what the advert is about. If they’re still reading now, they’re going to want some information and be more accepting of detail, so only at this end point do you give the detail that isn’t hugely attractive in itself. But remember, if it’s not absolutely necessary to communicate and it’s not a plus, think about losing it. Finally, it’s essential that you finish with a call to action – tell the reader directly ‘get in contact now’ and give them the contact details that they need. That way you won’t lose them. These are the basics of writing a good advert – entice them, provide detail and then compel them to get in contact ASAP. Those rules are the same for web adverts, but on the internet there are other issues to bear in mind as well. Firstly, if you’re writing an advert for a jobs board, it’s really important to know the search criteria for that board, so get in touch and ask them. Once you know, you can make sure certain words appear in certain places in your ad. ‘Optimisation’ means placing words that people are likely to search for in relation to what you’re offering, within the text of your advert. This is important, as it directly contributes to the number of page views that you’ll get. But experience has taught that if adverts are optimised to the point of gibberish, viewers will rarely read to the end. The lesson is to include those important words early on, but make the sentences as meaningful as they would be otherwise – keep it readable and accessible. Also, make the title stand out – there’ll be a long list of near identical adverts saying ‘Systems Analyst – Financial Services – £50k’ for example, so ‘International Systems Analyst – Financial Services - Dubai’ should stand out in the crowd and generate more hits. Rory Blyth is a consultant with BlueSky PR, the specialist PR and marketing firm for the recruitment sector, he can be contacted on Tel: 0845 130 8291, Email: rory@bluesky-pr.net
“Can it wait?”Kick-start every day and really drive your desk by making 1 hr 30mins of continuous outward bound calls each and every morning. An aeroplane spends 10 times more energy taking off than it does flying in the air. Once you’re up and away - keep going. If in that 1hr 30min period, you get a vacancy, a lead, or a candidate who says ‘yes’ to going forward for a role then ask yourself “Can it wait?” If it can wait until your 90 minutes of calls are over (and 90% of the time it really can), then keep on going picking up that phone again and again. Too often it’s easy to stop once you have a new vacancy, and proceed with searching your system for candidates. Before you know it, lunchtime arrives and you have made only a handful of calls all morning. Keep phoning for more jobs or chase more candidates that you couldn’t get yesterday. Fill your funnel!Matt Wilson is a consultant with Recruitment Matters with a current focus on our Two Day Induction, Telephone Skills and Interview Skills courses. For more information on Recruitment Matters, our training courses, services and products visit www.recruitmentmatters.com, telephone 0800 0749289 or email info@recruitmentmatters.com.
Everyone’s Chasing That FeeFrom Gravesend to Grantham, the East Anglian WayFrom Southampton to Swindon and onto Wemyss Bay From Hastings to Hawick and up to Dundee It seems simply everyone’s chasing that fee Simply everyone’s chasing that fee…. From Braintree to Brighton and even in York From Galway to Galloway and back over to Cork From Dunfermline to Derby and down to Torquay It seems simply everyone’s chasing that fee Simply everyone’s chasing that fee…. The other day I met Tom T Trucker – big man, big heart – never short of a recruitment story Some say he’s made more placements than there are sightings - of an Eddie Stobart lorry Tom’s a giant to his clients and a legend to his peers His little black book’s a recruitment ‘Who’s Who’ – he’s been around for years To him a promise is a promise - that’s important you must agree That’s Tom T Trucker’s rather chivalrous way of chasing that fee Simply everyone’s chasing that fee…. Then, with 158 temps out, I met the office high roller Job juggling Josie – the commercial temps controller But, hey! She was on her third loo break and it was only ten past nine! She was in her porcelain palace – chalking, chopping and snorting a line Oh, she came out simply buzzing – full of gay repartee Well that’s Josie’s high octane, self-destructive way of – chasing that fee Simply everyone’s chasing that fee…. How about enthusiastic Emily – constantly out to do her best Quite how she makes any placements – well it’s anybody’s guess Well, she’s great on the phone and soon picks up a job order But then she starts cutting the corners like some demented marauder If she has candidates or not, she promises to deliver A S A P That’s enthusiastic Emily’s over-selling, under-delivering way of – chasing that fee Simply everyone’s chasing that fee…. Then there’s lounge room lizard Lenny – we’ve all met his type Ooooozing and schmoozing - actually believing his hype “Simply fantastic to catch up again” - he croons - “Any chance of a visit?” To his colleagues, his ways are somewhat cheesy - yet perversely exquisite Of course, by the time the flowers arrive – the deal’s a fait accompli That’s lounge room Lenny’s high expense account way – of chasing that fee Simply everyone’s chasing that fee…. Finally, I met Skip the optimistic Aussie – to him there’s always a deal to be had He’s of the glass half full mentality – and that things are never that bad! Skip works hard and plays hard – to his mates, he’s a bit of a wag But to his team if they need one more for target – Skip’ll put one in the bag Negotiation fees are his forte – always charging full whack, that’s his USP That then is Skip’s margin optimisation way of – chasing that fee Simply everyone’s chasing that fee…. Temp controllers are booking it Accounts they are cooking it Researchers are sourcing it Business developers forcing it Marketing are spinning it Perm consultants are winning it Simply everyone’s chasing that fee Simply everyone’s chasing that fee…. Operations are planning it Admin are scanning it Finance department raising it HR strategically phasing it Search consultants are selecting it Managers, they are directing it Simply everyone’s chasing that fee Oh, Yes! Yes!! Yes!!! ……...
Training Course Review – ‘Don’t Become a Frog! 250 Tips For Busy Recruiters’ by Warren Kemp.Reviewed by Sarah Stimson, Indigo Red
Recruitment Matters newsWe’re just finishing a great month in terms of numbers of delegates attending our open courses and October seems to be heading the same way. What’s very satisfying for us is the amount of business that we get as a result of referrals from previous happy customers. Thanks to all for spreading the word about the fine work being done by both Warren and Matt.Don’t forget that we are very pleased to offer customised in-house versions of our training courses or something completely bespoked if you prefer. Please call Ken or email ken@recruitmentmatters.com to explore this option further. A reminder that we have another great new course, ‘Building & Running An Effective Search Desk,’ from Warren, starting on November 20/21st in London – for more information on this, please click here. The year just seems to be flying by… Below is our schedule for the final quarter of 2007 – Q1 2008 will be available shortly. If you require more information or have any ideas for new courses, locations, or topics that you feel that we should be covering, or if you would like to explore what we could do for you on an in-house basis, we would be delighted to hear from you. For more information on Recruitment Matters, our training courses, services and products visit www.recruitmentmatters.com, telephone 0800 0749289 or email ken@recruitmentmatters.com.
RECRUITMENT MATTERS: October – December 2007 Training ScheduleSUCCESSFUL HEAD-HUNTING
TWO DAY INTRODUCTION TO RECRUITMENT Investment £495+VAT INTERVIEW SKILLS FOR RECRUITERS
Investment £245+VAT WINNING NEW BUSINESS Investment £245+VAT WINNING RETAINED ASSIGNMENTS
Investment £149+VAT DON'T BECOME A FROG - 250 TIPS FOR BUSY RECRUITERS
Investment £149+VAT *NEW! BUILDING & RUNNING AN EFFECTIVE SEARCH DESK* Investment £595+VAT. More information shortly. For more information on all these courses, visit www.recruitmentmatters.com.
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