Archive for the ‘ Social Media ’ Category

Social Media & Recruitment -more questions than answers?

[tweetmeme source=”GaryFranklin”]
I am going to start off by saying I am a big fan of some of the Social Media platforms and the use of them in the recruitment process. I am not an expert as some claim they are themselves; I am an enthusiast with real first-hand experience in using them.

Over the last few years I have been an active participant on some of the online communities and platforms that many many people are using. In that time some of these platforms have proved to be very enjoyable and useful indeed, especially Twitter and LinkedIn. I am comfortable with each and get a huge amount of satisfaction from both. They have both had a huge impact on my life.

Thousands of people try to convince us that mastery of the various Social Media platforms is essential for all those looking for work. Others promote them as essential platforms for agencies and employers as recruiting tools. Many of us have been to presentations that deal with the issue of using Social Media platforms as recruiting tools; some of these delivered by people with more knowledge than us, others I fear by people who might have some understanding of online communities but know little about their application and use in business, let alone recruiting and share their basic knowledge only for a fee. All of these presentations however tell us that if we are not using Social Media we are missing a trick and won’t have access to either the jobs we seek or the candidates we need to hire.

Yet I’ve had conversations with plenty, mostly senior people, who either don’t have LinkedIn profiles or that they have taken their profiles down because they are fed up with the annoying spam they get from head-hunters, agencies and recruiters. One could argue that if they setup their profiles right then this shouldn’t happen. Sadly they don’t and it does. There are only just over 100 million profiles on LinkedIn. That leaves the vast majority of the market workforces not on it.

Much has been said and written about the power of social media as a recruiting tool and to be honest most of it is rubbish and promotional speculation created by people or companies who want you to spend money with them. I do believe there is value in embracing the platforms to get the most out of them. There are benefits and yes people and companies have used it to further themselves, myself included. I’ve found a fantastic job (or it found me) as a result of my enthusiasm for Social Media. I’ve also made some of the best friends I could hope for, but it is not the be-all-and-end-all. Most of the people I know who embrace the various Social Media platforms use it for engagement and interaction on a personal level, many indeed use it for business purposes, either to promote themselves or their businesses in one way or another. That is the great thing about LinkedIn and Twitter, as well as all other Social Media platforms; it is different things to different people. It is not absolute.

In speaking to many in-house recruiters and many agencies each month the subject of the best ways to find the right candidates is always part of the conversation. Some use the various platforms very effectively, however the majority still don’t. They, as well as the candidates they seek tend to rely on traditional methods of attraction; job boards (including LinkedIn in this format) and agencies etc. One thing is clear, many people in recruitment can’t or don’t make much use of Social Media platforms either because they lack the time, interest or sadly the social skills and confidence to do so or they don’t believe they actually need to. (It shouldn’t be a surprise. Let’s face it many many people still don’t know how to use a phone effectively). In fact I would be extremely surprised if most job hunters don’t go to agencies and job boards and corporate sites first to find work, rather than think of to various alternate social platforms. I don’t blame them. If the companies don’t use them what point is there?

This leads to the two questions that prompted this blog post:-

If the Recruiters are not using Social Media platforms why should Candidates and why are they being pushed so hard to do so?

If the Candidates are not using Social Media platforms why should Employers and why are they being pushed so hard to do so?

I am sure there are plenty of opinions as well as answers to these two questions, would love to hear what you all think.

music of the day = Everblue by Paul Cusick

2011
05/29
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
Recruitment
Social Media
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25 comments

Write your own damn blog!

[tweetmeme source=”GaryFranklin”]

I am willing to be up front and state that I have moderated a comment on this blog post and rejected it as spam. It was the inspiration for this spontaneous post.

Unfortunately there are one or two people that tend to comment quite a bit on other peoples blog posts in order to antagonise or worse, just plain promote themselves, their company or their products under the guise of very thinly veiled comments. Not here you don’t.

It is a dilemma isn’t it? Do we allow open and honest debate letting anyone comment and letting the reader decide or should we give a slap to those that abuse the platform, lazily using it as an opportunity to influence, abuse or promote to someone else’s readers?

I suspect that the usual suspects will respond to this. If they do should I point them out so that you can read what they write on other people’s blogs and see why I am taking this stance?

Thoughts please.

2011
05/23
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
Business
Networking
Social Media
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Do you need a LinkedIn Profile to be trusted?

[tweetmeme source=”GaryFranklin”]
I have a question for you; the post title isn’t it. But first a bit of background

For those that don’t know I frequent the Twitterverse quite a bit and am generally happy to chat with people in the open on Twitter about anything that interests me. Yesterday evening I struck up a conversation on Twitter with @Jerry_Albright, someone who follows me and whom I have followed for some time and is known to many through his blog www.jerrytherecruiter.com. Jerry and I share a professional interest in recruiting and as of last night I now know that we also enjoy fishing. So the conversation continued. After a while I get a question from a completely unknown Twitter user. Not a problem as this happens a lot and I concluded that this person follows Jerry or had searched on conversations around fishing and decided to join in. Always glad to talk fishing with people. On further investigation, his Twitter profile indicates that he too is interested in recruitment, so two points of common ground. Tweets go back and forth and nothing alarming happens at all. However being curious by nature I decide to find out a bit more about this chap.

My first port of call is always LinkedIn. I am a big fan of LinkedIn and have been using it daily in my professional business life since early 2004. In fact I found out this week I am member #150,542, which is very cool. I use LinkedIn lots, far more than I use Facebook or any other platform, Twitter aside, as a recruiter to find potential candidates and as a Group owner to engage with other people. So when it comes to looking into someone’s background, even if it is just to find out where they work or have worked, where they may live, to get an idea of who they are, LinkedIn is always the first place it turn to. Invariably it provides me the information I need. So when I looked this chap up, searching different permutations and couldn’t find a LinkedIn profile, it unnerved me quite a bit. Was I right to feel this way?

Now he is likely to be completely genuine and has done nothing at all suspect or underhand. There are many genuine reasons for not having a LinkedIn Profile. Am I right to question and doubt or am I narrow in my thinking?

So the question I have for you all is:-

Would you trust someone on Twitter if you couldn’t find a profile for them on LinkedIn?

2011
03/27
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
Business
Networking
Recruitment
Social Media
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16 comments

Friends Like These

[tweetmeme source=”GaryFranklin”]

I have had one of those weeks that are so rare that they stand out as truly brilliant and memorable.

It didn’t start off well to be truthful, Monday was very stressful and by the end of it I have booked myself a nice two week break; recuperation from surgery! Yeah not nice but needed and as such I’m strangely looking forward to it.

So why was the week so good? Those of you who are active on Twitter and who follow me will have seen that I also follow a very special lady. A lady who within the last 12 months has gone from being a total stranger, to being someone very special to me. This week Sarah Knight commenced and then completed her climb to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. People who know Sarah and have followed her training and her blog know how committed she was to not only the climb but in using it to raise funds for charity. She kept us updated with texts that got translated by some clever technology into tweets so on Tuesday morning I know for a fact that the vast majority of Sarah’s Twitter followers were commuting to their places of work with smiles on their faces and loads of respect for what she had achieved – well those that were breathing anyway.

Earlier this week also, there was a little bit of magic that had an impact and effect on me. Normally readers of the myhellisotherpeople.com blog usually anticipate either something insightful or at the very least a rant from The HRD. Something that at the very least stimulates or incites emotions in most readers. This day was no different in that respect. Yet in all other respects the post, The Strength to be Different was. The HRD, or Theo to those brave enough to speak with him (heeding the warning to keep hands closed and arms by ones side) had written one of the most moving pieces I have had the pleasure to read. A proud Dad sharing with us all, his feelings and love for his Son on his birthday. It brought tears to my eyes and a large smile to my face that even now is still there with the recall. I know it moved others it was that uplifting.

Not finished yet. Just before Christmas a couple of my other fave people lost their jobs when the company they worked for was closed down. Mervyn Dinnen was resolute to the point of denial, or at least that was how it felt from where I was. I read his blog avidly, talked to him, had coffee with him, introduced him to people I knew who I thought might be able to help. Mervyn remained his usual calm (well sort of) and smiling self. On Weds night this week I asked him how things were going and was pleased to hear that there might be good news on the horizon. Yesterday I was thrilled to find out that he had not only taken a new job but it was THE job that he set out to get. Jobsite are lucky to have him on board. I am so excited for him.

As if that wasn’t enough I actually bumped into The HRD at the station this morning. All the millions of commuters going in and out of London’s many train termini at any time and there we were walking next to each other at the same time; me on my usual commute, him not having a scooby’s where he was going or how he was going to get there. He is in HR so cut him some slack and it was too early for him to have had his requisite portion of raw meat. He always makes me smile. So off to work I go with a plan to meet with Gareth Jones, the other person who lost their job before Christmas mentioned in the paragraph above. Over lunch we covered quite a few topics, high on my list was his job hunting activities. And yes! There was good news. Gareth has so much experience in his locker, a very sharp business mind and a catch for anyone. I can’t reveal much, but again I am so made up for him.

So my week has been that memorable because four people, who over the last year have become close friends, are very special and mean the world to me have achieved or done something that has meant a lot to them. I didn’t do much out of the ordinary myself, I didn’t achieve anything but my friends did and they are happy.

Music of the Day = Angels Walk Amongst Us by Anathema

I hope I have many more weeks like this

2011
02/11
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
Networking
Recruitment
Social Media
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How much visibility do you want / need when Job Hunting? – Day 32 #myjobhunt

[tweetmeme source=”GaryFranklin”]

Since Day 1 I have been blogging frequently about my quest for a new job. When I started I did it purely to reflect on the day past. Within 2 days this had changed. The response I got from people gave me confidence and made me realize that this blog could be a fundamental tool in my job hunting activities. By the end of the first week I couldn’t believe the response and support I had received from so many people, some of whom I had already met, many I had not. It was however Week 2 that things really took off and by the end of Week 3 I had secured my first offer (Day 16). I think I have already written about how I got to Week 3 previously and will no doubt do so again in more detail, once #myjobhunt comes to a conclusion, if in fact it does before I lose interest in writing about it.

Since Week 3 and that offer I have come to realize something and it has been on my mind since. I have made my job hunting activities so open and visible to people, what will happen and what will people think of me if I don’t secure a job? Of course it is inevitable that people will start to wonder why people don’t want me. What will happen if I get a job and then it doesn’t work out? What if I can’t cope? What if …..? What if…..? So many what ifs? I have asked myself if writing this blog was the sensible thing to do in the first place and how can I stop without any negative impact.

Then I looked at the positives of the blog. The blog almost became my CV, the opportunities it created for me, not only actual jobs, but further discussions to take my career in a different direction have been constant throughout the last six and a bit weeks. Some are not for me, others have been too much for me i.e. I didn’t think I was ready or not likely to meet the expectations of role. Some have been great but the salary or rate and location hasn’t worked well. Others still haven’t mature yet and may or may not at all.

The blog has given me so many new perspectives on things; it has taught me some huge lessons about the market and the ability (or lack of) of the many practitioners in it; good and bad. It has made me think and be more reflective about what I want and what I can do. The good thing is that all of the lessons learned will be taken into my next job and built upon and shared with my colleagues, hopefully adding value at each step. This whole journey has taught me so much and no matter what, I expect I will still continue to blog in such a manner going forward.

This quest, this journey so far has been very emotional; worrying, stressful, annoying, humbling, inspiring, enjoyable, amusing. I have to this point, every step of the way enjoyed it immensely and I have made some terrific new friends.

Music of Day 32 – Daydream Believer by The Monkees – very loud and singing on the train!!! Oh yes I did! And others joined in!

How much visibility do you want / need when Job Hunting?

On Day 30 I got the call I was waiting for (and dreading!).

Today I accepted a job. I start 1st October 2010.

THANK YOU EVERYONE

2010
09/15
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
Job Hunting
Networking
Recruitment
Social Media
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Job Hunting, it’s all about Commitment, Confidence, Calls and Choices – Day 30 #myjobhunt

[tweetmeme source=”GaryFranklin”]

This post represents my feelings from last week. If I were to keep true to the trend established in previous posts it would be a summation of Day 30 of #myjobhunt, which represents 6 full weeks of job hunting. Yet, I am going to sum up my feelings of Week 6 rather than making the post about a specific day.

Having been away with a great group of people at #SocRecCamp the previous weekend the week started on a high. I was just happy to have had the experiences in Devon. As the week progressed my mood changed.

Week 6 was certainly the lowest I have been throughout my quest for work or at least that was how I felt at times. A few things started to dawn on me that made me question what I was doing, why I was doing it and what it meant for my wife and I. It also made me question what I was actually looking for. Did I want the perfect job where my competencies and experiences could be fully utilized; a job that I would feel a passion for, a commitment to and one that would give me the challenges and the satisfactions that many don’t get to realize. Or did I want a pay packet?

I was beginning to wonder.

When I first started out Week 1 caught me by surprise, the number of opportunities I uncovered and the number of vacancies that my friends and colleagues passed my way was overwhelming as was the constant support. It all looked so positive and continued to look that way for a few weeks. In Week 6 however the number of appealing opportunities had come down to just 3 positions that I had interviews for. So my pipeline was very thin, opportunities coming my way were fewer, and fewer still were appealing. At the same time others who I know were getting jobs and starting them inside my own 6 week window. So of course I had to ask myself if I had the right mental approach, as well as if I had the right approach and strategy to job hunting.

As great as it seemed to test the power of Social Media and not use agencies I still have bills to pay. When I started #myjobhunt I did not aim to only use Social Media – all I wanted was a job. Yet after a few days my confidence was such that I became the biggest advocate of Social Media as a job hunting tool or set of tools. By Week 6 my confidence was waning, in fact it started waning in Week 4, once I became officially unemployed, as the doubts and the natural concerns about the future crept in.

It is not just about me either. I’ve been in similar positions before and was hoping never to be back here again. Each of those times my wife was a rock, a fantastic support even when things got as bad as they could have done. I didn’t want to put her through the worry again. It was obvious to me that once my gardening leave and my employment finished in Week 4, her stress and worry levels more than doubled. Then after our decision on Day 26 to withdraw my application from that technology company I decided I had to make her a promise – I promised to have accepted a job by the end of September. I was confident that I could get a contract; even one that didn’t advance my career would still pay the bills. I had also resigned myself to using agencies to hunt for work. I don’t care. We need to live.

These are all issues and concerns that all out of work job hunters go through; I know I am not alone.

All these feelings despite having had a terrific interview on Wednesday and a few other leads coming my way. If the Wednesday option doesn’t pan out then I would actually be starting all over again, back to Day 1 or Day 2, and I suppose it was this realization that hit hard. Or was it just that I had interviewed for that one job that I really wanted?

On Thursday a contract position that I had interviewed for in Week 2 disappeared on me. The company concerned changed strategy and thus the need for contract support went away. This didn’t help my mood or my confidence.

The call I wanted didn’t come.

On Friday morning, Day 30, I got loads of Twitter DM’s, texts and emails from people all asking me how I was. Whilst I so appreciated the support, I was trying to get my head away from the anxiety of wanting the phone to ring by doing something else. A two mile run helped but I felt like I was a teenager again. I even Tweeted a message later in the day, “Why don’t they call?” – I got some stupid answers to that!

I had to go out at about 1pm. This is a good thing; it meant that I would be busy and likely as not be able to get a signal on my phone. Still every time my phone rang with a number I didn’t recognise or with number blocked my stomach did some gymnastics. Each time it rang with a number I did recognise I answered but wanted them off the line soonest. It was one of those days were I was in and out of signal so that each time I got a signal I checked voice mail and returned calls only to have more calls come through and leave messages whilst on the phone. The call I wanted didn’t come through.

If you’ve read previous posts you will know I don’t get a signal at my home and have taken to walking or driving to the top of the hill about half a mile away to get one. So having left home at 1pm and not heard anything by 4pm I was resigned to not getting the call until Monday. I was actually okay with this. After all there was actually nothing I could do at this point. I was nearly home at 5.20pm and about 20-30 seconds from losing signal when I got the call.

I now have a choice.

Music of Day 30 – Nothing Else Matters by Metallica – I know, seriously I was listening to the Black album – coincidence eh?

Thanks for reading

2010
09/13
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Job Hunting
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Recruitment
Social Media
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Job Hunting is About Making Right Choices for the Right Reasons – Day 27 #myjobhunt

[tweetmeme source=”GaryFranklin”]

This is Wednesday and Day 27. I’ve been unemployed for 2 whole weeks now. Gone in a flash! Feels like the first push has come to a head now. For the last week this was always going to be a big day for #myjobhunt with two final, or at least that was how they had been billed, interviews.

So before I get into the events and thoughts of today, let’s have a quick look at yesterday. As you have read in this and other blogs a few friends had a camping expedition in Devon over the weekend. It was one of the most relaxing and fun filled weekends I have had in a long time, maybe because there was very little pressure and the only expectations that had to be realized, were we would laugh, have a lot to drink, get very wet surfing and not have nearly enough sleep. The big point of this for me was the laughter and the relaxation with friends that have cared and have supported me throughout #myjobhunt. Talk of work was avoided and only touched upon in general or lighthearted banter. With sixteen very noisy, confident and extrovert people in a reasonably close environment you would have thought that I wouldn’t have had time for serious reflection, yet this is exactly what I was able to do, albeit briefly.

On Monday of this week I had a long conversation with Mrs F about the progress of #myjobhunt. No concerns apart from making the right choice. It doesn’t necessarily come down to choice and in this particular case – I’ll get there in a moment – it wasn’t about choice.

Since Day 1 I have been pursuing a job with an American technology company and have had a number of interviews, all of which have been blogged about here. I had a supposed final interview last week which resulted in another final interview to be had this week, today in fact. At this point I didn’t have a choice. As I mentioned very early on in Day 1 or Day 2 a candidate needs to get an offer to make a choice. Well that is not entirely true. I had the choice to withdraw my application altogether, didn’t I?

And that is what I did; I withdrew my application after 6 interviews. Didn’t see that one coming did you?

Why? You may ask. There were number of reasons if I was being really picky and critical, however the key deciding factor was that I did not have a good feeling about it. I didn’t have a bad feeling either. This means I had no emotion attached to it and to pursue a job that, if I got it, would have meant a 130-mile round trip, which I was poorly motivated by would have been wrong; not only for me, but to them too. Also after 6 individual interviews for the same role I was pursing it, they were not pursing me. I don’t want that to sound arrogant but they hadn’t once called me after an interview to ask me for my feedback, nor had they given me any feedback or a compelling reason to want to work for them. It won’t therefore surprise you; it didn’t me, to know that all they said when I called to tell them was “thanks for letting us know”! (WTF???) I think that response justifies and verifies that I had made the right decision to pull out.

I know! I know! They may have had that response because I was not the person they wanted anyway. But please???!! They and we have to give a candidate a better experience than that. It wasn’t a bad one and it won’t change my views on their products, but it wasn’t good enough for my requirements as a candidate, or by my standards as a Recruitment Manager.

Dusted down and moving on.

I was also contacted directly by a couple of members of The FIRM who proposed ideas to me or wanted to explore my interest or availability. Another couple of online contacts had put resourcers at other companies in touch with me and these need to be followed up.

So whilst the pipeline is not as long as it was previously it is still there. But it needs me persecute it and not let the opportunities slip me by. It is important that I follow all of these up to be sure I am not overlooked, nor show anyone any disrespect. If I have done this to you already I apologise.

Onwards and Upwards – Day 27: I travelled into London with my usual tunes on my iPod – yup you guessed it Genesis, Suppers Ready – for an interview in the City. I love the City, as I do most of Central London, but the City is special and was looking forward to this one having had a great call with both the recruiter and the hiring manager last week.

(SIDE NOTE -Trouble was the Tube strike hangover today. Now do they think us stupid? “signal failures” crippling the network the day after a strike. Says much about the intelligence somewhere in that mix! The irony is that they are striking over the possibility of maybe 800 jobs being cut and yet their laziness and not going to work today was delaying me for an interview. Lazy work-shy b#@*&$+s)

Where was I? – oh yeah stuck at Baker Street. I got to the City in the end in plenty of time – my usual 30 minutes safety window intact. The interview seemed to go well, but I think they are always difficult to read. That is all I will say. I am very keen on this one and don’t want to tempt fate. True to their nature the recruiter called within 2 hours to ask me for my feedback; however that call turned into another interview of sorts. This recruiter is awesome and asked me questions about the questions I was asked in the interview proper. What a way to make sure I had been focused, paying attention to the key points and taking it all in. So now I have the wait to hear. This is the worst bit. I am tight with anticipation on this one.

Music of Day 26 – Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd
Music of Day 27 – Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones

The one big downer of the last few days is the news that Connaught, the housing facilities maintenance company has gone into administration. There are a few of their recruiters in The FIRM that are likely to be affected or at least left worrying in uncertain times. I mention it because it means that potentially a large number of people – 4500 reported – could be in the same boat as me soon. It is not nice and I wish them all success in finding replacement opportunities soon, should they need to. One of their number, a recruiter and a member of The FIRM contacted my directly on Twitter yesterday, thanking me for this blog! He has taken something from it and reported to me today that he has already arranged two interviews on his Day 1– so I have competition in #myjobhunt eh? Seriously this is great news and of course I am glad I help in a small way – who would be?

What was also interesting is that he has been able to do this using his network of contacts and not relaying on the traditional and “so last year” approach of calling the agencies.

So if anyone reading this is looking for a technical recruiter in the Thames Valley, Surrey, Hants or London please give Jon Harrison aka @jonnieboyh a Tweet. Let’s see if we can take this social media networking thing to the next level shall we?

I want a job and that is till my #1 priority but if I can help others find jobs and if I can help companies find candidates by Paying it Forward, then I will.

And NO NO NO I am not starting my own agency again!

It’s called Social Recruiting

Just in case you are wondering what my background is my LinkedIn profile is a click away

or at

in the About Me page above. My contact details can be found in the Contact Me page and am open to any type of conversation that will help me or help you.

Thanks for reading

2010
09/08
POSTED BY
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Job Hunting
Networking
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Putting My Back Into Job Hunting, Not a Good Idea – Day 25 #myjobhunt

[tweetmeme source=”GaryFranklin”]

My name is Gary Franklin and I am looking for a new job.

My last blog post was almost a week ago. That was Day 21 of #myjobhunt, this is Day 25. Having said that, the activity that took place on the last 3 days of last week probably amounts to enough to make it Day 21 and three quarters. But each day is separate.

So what happened on Days 22-24? Like I said last week, I was going to take it easier for a week. I needed a real break to be honest and whilst some might say that I have it easy being out of work and not getting up etc etc. blah blah…….you will know that if you have been in this position it can be very tiring, both mentally and physically. Yet a real break is not an option – I cannot afford to get used to not working, which is all so easy to do whilst the weather is warm. I can also tell you the way I have gone about it has been a lot more stressful than I had taken it to be. To the point that last week I could hardly move because of pain in my back and shoulders – all caused by a bad seating position, at the dining room table and not the desk in the attic, (and yes I’m at the table now) and of course the intensity and self-induced tension of the #myjobhunt process.

As mentioned in Day 21, the Wednesday of last week, which would have been Day 22 was dominated by a final interview (the 6th) with the Head of Global TA for a company I had been speaking with since Day 1. The interview lasted for 90 minutes and I seemed to get on well with them. At the end of the interview he suggested that he wanted me to have a conversation with their Head of EMEA – the business leader not the TA leader. It was the EMEA Head of TA that I was interviewing for. (Interview #7!!) He also suggested that he would like me to speak with the same chap that hadn’t bothered to make 4 previous attempts at an interview (#8 !!!). I expressed by reservations about that idea and suggested it wasn’t appropriate. He agreed.

I still have the final final interview on Wednesday of this week.

Last week I also commented on a terrific telephone interview I had with an in-house recruiter (she was terrific!) This resulted in me having a second telephone interview with the same company, this time with the Head of HR, EMEA. Now this interview was arranged on the Wednesday whilst I was driving back from the above interview and I hastily agreed to do it 08.30am on Friday 3rd Sept. Nothing wrong with that, except that I went to the Robert Plant concert in London on the Thursday night. Not only did I not get to bed until 2.30am Friday morning, but my ears were ringing and my voice didn’t work when I woke 3.5 hours later! I was a bit relieved to say the least that the interview times got mixed up and had to be rescheduled until later in the morning. All faculties working, I had a great chat with the Director, some of whose questions were very clever; one about LinkedIn connection ownership focused my wind like a razor. Thankfully I have read many comments on this issue and thus not only have my opinions, but also have those of others and options to present. I was invited to meet with her for Wednesday of this week at their offices in Central London. I was also asked to prepare a First 100-Day Plan for the interview. Best interview approach so far.

During each of the days I was sent Tweets, emails and LI InMails from so many generous people informing me of different vacant positions. I also found a couple of interest in some of the online groups and forums I frequent. I had a conversation about one that sounded pretty interesting – a 6 month interim position. However when the issue of rate was mentioned it was far below what the current climate/market is paying. We then had a very good conversation about this and what other roles are paying per day, I was able to provide details for them to do some checking if they required. Whether it makes any difference to them, budgets being budgets I don’t know. I’ve not heard back. I didn’t take the rate personally at all. It is what it is. I’ve spoken with so many candidates that take it as a personal insult when the rate or salary is not to their liking. Why do they do this? Do they think they are unique? Do they think they are a legend or the gift the company is waiting for? There is no need for it and it will most certainly not win you any favour with any agency or employer, regardless how unrealistic the salary or rate they can afford is.

On 3.5 hours sleep I packed the car and set off to spend the weekend in a field on the north Devon coast with a great bunch of people for the inaugural #SocRecCamp. Each of these people are prominent online in the recruiting business from one angle or another and have been supportive of me and #myjobhunt to the extreme. This is all I will say on this post but I will have a recollection of the 2010 #SocRecCamp in a later posting.

Music of the last few days –
Rock n Roll – Robert Plant & The Band of Joy (live Bluegrass version) – genius.
That’s Not My Name – The Ting Tings for campfire (gas lanterns) smiles

What have I learned these last few days? It is important that when companies go to market with a position they have scoped it out correctly. If a role is worth upwards of £350 per day, you will not do yourself and your reputation in the market any favours by only paying £250 per day. Yes, you are likely to get someone to fill the job; however one would question the levels of ability to reach the competency heights you need. Better to pay to get the job done properly and get the right experience from the market, than give the market a negative impression about your inability to pay or how much respect and value you give to certain functions. Remember Employer Brand is very hard to repair at the individual level. This is obviously not a job hunting lesson but it is certainly something I can remember from a job hunters perspective next time I am involved in a discussion with Comp &Ben or a hiring manager.

Another lesson learned is that I cannot maintain the high levels of energy needed if I don’t help myself. Exercise and good posture whilst sitting are both essential. I do not recommend having lengthy conversations on the phone or going to interviews when uncomfortable or in pain. I was for the last two weeks, as a result I was very distracted, had lower energy and stamina levels and my enthusiasm and therefore my chances of success were reduced. All Fixed now though.

Just in case you are wondering what my background is more can be found via my LinkedIn profile

Please Tweet or pass onto others who may know others who can help me.

thanks for reading

2010
09/06
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Recruitment
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Poor Job Descriptions Damage Employer Brand – FACT it happened today! – Day 21 #myjobhunt

[tweetmeme source=”GaryFranklin”]

Yesterday was a long weekend Bank holiday in most of the UK and with Friday of this week being the first day of #SocRecCamp, this week was always going to be a very short week and as such I had resigned myself to taking it relatively easy. This was further justified by the fact that today would likely be the first day back into the office after the summer holidays for many. Sound reasoning and I was sticking to it.

Shame others didn’t read the same script. (haha only kidding!). Still it did stop me from getting out of bed until nearly 10am making and having my morning coffee sitting in the sunshine. When I did login (in the sun – I am allowed to gloat aren’t I?) I noticed that two emails had come in from recruiters at companies that didn’t have the luxury of the three day weekend. One was of particular interest. So I did after all have an email or two to send today and a couple of calls to make!

Therefore at a little after 10.30am I took my coffee up to my “office” at the end of the lane and had two very interesting calls.

It is worth pointing out that over weekend I completed posting notifications of #myjobhunt to other online communities and replicating my blog on http://www.ere.net for good measure. It was from these extra efforts that three of the calls I made today came about.

The first call of the day was a follow up to an approach made to me on Day 20 by an agency that had been given my details by one of my friends from The FIRM. They have an interesting, role that having glanced at the formal job description needs time to read and digest properly. On this issue, this company and its job description, as with others I have reviewed over the last few weeks, needs some serious work if they want candidates to take them seriously. This one is 6 – yes 6! pages long and has so much corporate bollocks in it that they embarrass themselves. Sorry it has to be said. Still it will get read, digested and understood if I can. I would love to name this bank, just to open a discussion with them. I know I could do a better job than they have. Another future blog – when names will be mentioned.

I have yet only seen one clear and proper job advert from a large company that actually inspires me to want to read it. This is quite educational seeing this all from an applicant’s perspective considering for the last few years I might have written some of these same absurd descriptions or what might pass for them thinking that they do the job. I hope I didn’t

Job descriptions need to advertise and inspire. The only objective, yes the one and only one objective is to stimulate an application from the candidate. Anything else is corporate overload. Someone in HR and legal will point out that they have to cover bases, however this can be done in a formal situation or as part of a contract I am sure.

I digress on a mini-rant. Sorry.

The second call of the day was very refreshing. Not only was the job itself almost a perfect job for me but the recruiter I was speaking to was almost perfect in every way. This was by far the best telephone call I have had with an in-house recruiter EVER! Detailed, knowledgeable, thorough, persistent, courteous, interested, managing the conversation for her goals and also setting my expectations correctly. If every member of my team was like this person we would be setting all of the standards for others. I hope one day I get to meet her.

So 1 hour in the “office”, with all of the usual harvest time farm vehicles going past, kicking up clouds of dust as they go and I have a permanent job and one interim opportunity onto the pipeline.

On getting back to my laptop I had received confirmation of a final interview for tomorrow afternoon.

I have been since last Wednesday, the day I finally left my job, been feeling a tightening across my shoulders and in my neck. The tension of being unemployed was there. Not sure why given that #myjobhunt was progressing pretty well. It might have something to do with the pipeline drying up a little as mentioned last week. There are always doubts, concerns, insecurities and a dampening of confidence in any quest. This is no different. But now I have left the company it is all very very real. Also as I get close to the final interview planned for tomorrow, a decision process could be very imminent. There are now 2 or 3 really exiting jobs in the pipeline but only one of them is advanced and with the others not likely to happen fast they are not going to figure onto the decision grid in the same time frame, if I am in the fortunate position to have to decide. That’s a new day though, a lot can happen yet.

Of course I may not get offered the job I am interviewing for tomorrow; therefore I have to keep seeding the pipeline. But in doing so there is a risk to being attracted by the glow coming from over the horizon. Let see what happens tomorrow shall we?

To add to my confusion I get a call later in the day from a company, in response to interest expressed to a role posted on The FIRM’s job listings. This one too sounds as if it could be a role that will offer me the challenges sought. A few hurdles (hopefully not roadblock) to overcome on this.

So tomorrow is going to be another big day in #myjobhunt. As I stated in Day 1 it is my objective to get an offer so that I have a choice, by having a choice I am able to make a decision and thus be in control. I have been fortunate to have had a choice already during the last four weeks, if all goes according to plan I am hoping to have another as a result of tomorrow.

Music of Day 21 was Asylum by Disturbed

So aside from a final interview for a very good job tomorrow I have Robert Plant in concert on Thursday evening and then off to #SocRecCamp on Friday.

I will explain in detail what #SocRecCamp is in anther posting, however as a taster it is a group of Social Media enthusiasts, all of us involved in recruiting, (Consultants, Agency, In-house, Press, Software), who having met via Twitter over the last year have decided to go camping, yes in tents, and surfing in Devon over the coming weekend. There is one of the 16 who hasn’t met any of the others yet but most of us are comfortable enough with each other from online interaction and phone discussions we know what to expect. Laughter!

2010
08/31
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#SocRecCamp
Job Hunting
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Job Hunting, must be Deliberately Deliberating – Day 20 #myjobhunt

This is the end of Day 20 and Week 4 of #myjobhunt – I am now unemployed!

[tweetmeme source=”GaryFranklin”]

The good news is that I can start the job of my choice immediately. The bad news is I don’t have a choice right now and can start work immediately.

In the last 24 hours I have probably had more new job vacancies come my way than in any other 24 hour period since I started #myjobhunt; all of them contract, with the exception of one permanent job. Unfortunately none of them fit with what I am looking for at this time, or I have been warned away. Of course this may change as time goes on, but for now I am not panicking and am being deliberate about what I am looking for.

To recap:-

I am looking for a Talent Attraction or Acquisition management position that will allow me to create, implement and then deliver against strategies. Or as a Recruitment Process Project Manager.

Areas of specialization: – don’t ever expect me to use the word EXPERT or GURU. In my experience those that call themselves gurus and experts just aren’t.

– Reducing agency spend through direct sourcing channels – managing the change
– Strategic planning and delivery of time challenged projects
– Creating and building online candidate communities
– Social Media & Online Recruiting tools
– ATS/CRM/CSM evaluation, selection and deployment

Now that I have the promotion bit done. What was Day 20 all about then?

I cannot believe how quiet it has been this week. But then it is the last full week of August, it is a long holiday weekend in most of the UK and schools go back next week. So it is the busiest holiday week of the summer.

Deliberately taking it easy today. I spent a couple of hours in LinkedIn, replying to inmails and approving or declining applications to join The FIRM. I was meeting someone at 1pm for a coffee so decided to get organized and go and sit in my “office” for an hour.

I parked up and there were two voice mails for me. One was a third or fourth round of telephone tennis and the other was about a job I had been pursing. I’d already had a couple of qualifying calls with their TA team and was pretty interested to find out more. Alas it was not to be – the company had decided they needed to focus on Germany and therefore moved the position out of the UK. Shame, but understandable. Germany is most certainly one of those countries you have to be in to recruit for. The recruiter at this company is a member of The FIRM and he was very helpful pointing in the direction of a couple of opportunities he’d heard about and chatting about the blog. Great guy, and hope you have a fantastic time on holiday in Switzerland.

I then decided to call some of the people I owed calls to. In particular, Matt Alder of Metashift. I met with Matt on Day 5, I think it as. We’d discussed an idea that had really excited us then and because of Twitter DM’s we both knew we should follow up. However as soon as we started speaking it was clear that neither of us could remember what it was. We got there in the end and agreed some action points. It is all around candidate communities – something that sits perfectly with what I do and what I enjoy. There will be more on this, either as part of the #myjobhunt series or outside of it, as we progress.

So off to meet with Katie McNab @Recruitgal at PepsiCo for coffee. I’ve known Katie for nearly two years through The FIRM and having met her previously this will be the first time that we could just chat 1-1. I was surprised at how keen she was about my job hunting journey and how much of an avid reader of the #myjobhunt series she was. It was also interesting to hear her thoughts on some of the instances detailed in the blog, none of them far removed from my own, but then I’ve read many of her postings on The FIRM’s discussion board and shared a panel with her so had a good idea that we shared the same views on much. They have a Starbucks in their offices in Reading. I thought I’d been spoiled with a Costa at my last place. One interesting fact is that they work summer hours which allows them to go home at 1230 or thereabouts on Friday through the summer months. Now that is a company that looks after its people.

On my way home I called in at my “office” parking place and left messages for a couple of people I should have called back earlier in the week. It’s a holiday weekend Friday – no one around.

I have to be honest I was a bit nervous of the Day 19 posting. Though fully justified in everything I said I am still looking for a job and I cannot afford to antagonize my potential future employers. Yet the emails, tweets, DM’s and conversations I had with other recruiters, both in-house and agency all agreed with my comments and concerns boosting my confidence no end. What was very interesting as well is that some of the people it was pointed at had sent me LinkedIn inmail messages and emails overnight. Very interesting that is too.

In one of the conversations I had today I was reminded of something that I had overlooked. I am so involved with The FIRM that I sometimes forget it is not the only HR or recruiting community that I spend time in. Why hadn’t I posted my availability to those? I have now – some of them at least. Will do the rest over the weekend or next week.

Music of Day 20 was The Hebrides Overture, Fingal’s Cave and the Scottish Symphony by Felix Mendelssohn ……….this was the first piece of classical music I ever bought when I was about 17.

There is much to reflect on from this one week. The power of social media and social networks as a recruiting and job hunting tool. The power of openness and honesty and the willingness of people to help. I learned that the people I interact with daily are very much on the same wavelength and share the same opinions – it is as if we’ve been drawn together byh some strange force. Could it be integrity? I have also come to recognise that despite a self-perceived air of superiority by the in-house recruiting community, including myself until recently, over agency staff, there are some in-house recruiters that just don’t do themselves, their colleague or worse their candidates and employers any favours. And there are some people who work for agencies who are a credit and pleasure to deal with and know.

That’s it. Thanks for reading. Have a good weekend. Day 21 will be Tuesday.

2010
08/27
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