I aim to solve your immediate and long term Talent Acquisition issues and challenges using insight, experience and innovation

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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!