Posts Tagged ‘ Interview ’

The Future Can Wait………….. Get Recruitment Basics Right Now

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I’ve not blogged much over the last few months and not put down anything of substance since before Christmas. Some of this as a lack of inspiration, but the majority of it was to do with the fact that I was consumed by job-hunting activities before Christmas and then focused on the start of a new job in January and since then. Stressed yes!

I know in 2010 when I was job hunting I was able to find inspiration to blog pretty much each day. So why the difference? Well to be honest it was the lack of difference that was the cause.

In 2010 I wrote about my adventures and frustrations as a job hunter, outlining many of the failings and inadequacies I was encountering from agencies, so called exec search firms and in-house recruiters as well as outlining my own successes, shortcomings and failures, offering titbits of advice to others in the same situation. So the difference this time around was the lack of difference, i.e. nothing had really changed and if I was to repeat the same process I could have just reposted many of the posts from 2010. This year however I was exposed and engaged far more by search firms than contingent agencies. My thoughts on these types of organisations and their over inflated sense of worth may well be a post in a few weeks.

One thing that was clear to me, as those who will have read the few posts I wrote in the last 3 months of 2011 will have seen was my frustration over the lack of attention to the basics and the poor execution of what should be a relatively straight forward and simple process.

In November I was asked if I would like to contribute to a Christmas Blog Calendar by Ed Scrivener, owner of Scrivener Recruitment. Ed is someone I have never met, other than on Twitter, nor is his company one that I have done business with. But we had “spoken” on Twitter about various subjects non-work related so didn’t hesitate to agree. Obviously as a job hunter any exposure to a wider audience is a good thing.

What follows is the post that Ed ran on his blog on 5th December – thanks Ed.

Not a week goes by when I don’t read something about the Future of Recruiting. I admit I do read much of it because Recruiting or Resourcing is what I do and what I have a passion for. I am also hungry to learn. Some of what is written, such as Recruitment 3.0 & Recruitment 4.0 by Matt Jeffrey is clever thinking and some of it may even become reality, however there is much written elsewhere that is poorly thought out and fails or will fail on many levels.

Whatever the quality of the thinking or the writing they are all overlooking one thing: the Now of Recruiting.

It is all well and good to speculate on the future however I believe our time will be best spent making sure that we all address the fundamentals today. In the vast majority of companies the basic processes, capabilities or attitudes for successful Rescouring just don’t exist, and this is the same whether you are a large or small organisation; whether you have in-house Resourcing teams or not. Very few organisations have the sophistication to apply the proper respect.

Yet when it comes down to it the way we will recruit in 20 or 200 years is unlikely to be any different to how it’s been done for the last 5000 years.

Let me explain

For centuries recruitment was typically done by the fighting forces; they found out about or impressed (attract) a warrior, courted him (engage) and bought his services (hire). Then in the world of commerce of the last 300 years the same principals have applied, but instead of armies and warriors the world has had commercial organisations and workers, but the same simple steps apply.

Absolutely nothing has changed, nor do I suspect will it. What has changed are the means by which we can attract and the facilities that allow us to engage on a one-to-many basis; today we use a vast variety of other communication channels, many of them are so new that they appear to be different, but strip away all of the hype and the technology and we are back to the basics. Today we have all of these wonderful new platforms and channels that give us a wider audience to broadcast to yet Rescouring remains a high-touch activity, where all of the principals of the past remain constant. We have to speak with people and do so with respect.

Today people expect a certain degree of sophistication during their quest for work. They have far more choices than any other time in history; choice of employer, location and job type. They also have a choice of platforms through which to seek out suitable jobs; old and new. Information about employers is available from so many different sources and the new facilities available to Resourcers allow a greater flow or information, targeted and general.

We still have to review a person’s background one way or another. It doesn’t matter if the CV is dead or not – what a stupid conversation that is, what matters is that the Resourcers have the information to review. What matters is how an interview is conducted, what is said and what happens in them. They are what matter. What matters is how you treat the applicants during the courtship (engagement) and acquisition (hiring) phases. What matters is the impression a new employee has on his or her first day and in the first 3 months – it has a significant impact on their performance for the rest of their time with your company. What matters is how capable the Resourcers are and how much they respect and understand the value they bring to the business. What matters is how you and your company are perceived by the world’s employable. What matters is what they say about you when you are not listening.

Yet few leaders of companies, HR departments, Resourcing departments (if they exist at all), and hiring managers take it seriously enough to invest the necessary time, money and above all the commitment to the task; to doing it right. That is what matters

Yes we have all of these new and wonderful shiny platforms that allow us to reach and engage with more people, but without the basics they are useless.

These are the basics. These are what you need to get better at today. Get the basics right and you will then be able to start thinking about the future of recruitment.

2012
02/05
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
Recruitment
TAGS





8 comments

Are Your Interviewers Good Enough?

[tweetmeme source=”GaryFranklin”]

When you interview people for a job you are asked to make a judgment call on whether the people you interview are good enough and suitable for your company, but what makes you think you are good enough to do the interview and represent your company? Are you suitably trained to conduct a proper interview and make that decision yourself? I suspect not.

The vast majority of hiring managers whether they work in HR or not have never been trained how to interview people; the psychology, the questions to ask, what not to ask, how to decide who is good enough or what good enough looks like.  Many will have the information needed to sell the company and the job to each candidate, but fail disastrously by simply asking the wrong questions, focusing on the wrong competencies in a person’s background appropriate to the role, not listening to the answers given and not exploring each answer or further.

I know some companies train and certify every manager before they are able to open a Requisition, before they are able to hold an interview.  Why don’t more do it?

What is often forgotten in the recruitment process is the candidate.  There are plenty of articles and blogs written about how poor the candidate experience is in the majority of companies, yet little attention is given to the quality of interviews.

Do you realise you could be missing out on very good talent for your organisation because your interview processes or the people doing the interviewing is substandard, boring and in some cases illegal.

In an interview a good candidate will be interviewing you and your company. Or they would be if given the chance to.  They too have to make a very important choice.  To a greater extent the decision the candidate has to make is far more important and crucial than the decision you have to make.  If they get the decision wrong it could screw up their life; if you get it wrong you rectify and move on.   Candidates therefore must be given the opportunity to represent themselves and as most interviews follow a typical Q&A format the right questions need to be asked to elicit the appropriate answers or at least stimulate the appropriate level of discussion.

I will give you an example from recent personal experience.  I was being interviewed for Director, Global Recruitment by an HRD.  The role was very senior and of a strategic leadership nature, yet a ridiculous amout of time was spent going into detail on a project I worked on in early 2008, that was purely transactional and not at all relevant to the role I was being interviewed for.

Where were the questions about the ATS they are about to acquire and deploy, my thoughts related to the announcements from LinkedIn made just that week, to the use of social media, candidate experience, employer brand, the impact of the AWR or many others more relevant to the most senior resourcing role in the organisation.  I think you get the point.

This is not a rant nor is it a specific observation on that one incident – there have been others in the last 7 weeks – this post is purely an observation about the lack of attention and lack of priority given to one of the most important jobs/functions in a company; that of an interviewer.

So before you judge a candidate be sure you judge your interviewers’ ability,  otherwise you will be failing your candidates and losing out on the good people you set out to acquire.

How many companies train and certify their managers before they let them near an interview room?

Do you?

2011
11/21
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
#myjobhunt
End-to-End Recruitment Lifecycle Management
Recruitment
TAGS





16 comments

Recruiters – What are your 3 Burning Questions?

[tweetmeme source=”GaryFranklin”]

A month or so ago Emma and I were invited to present at the End of Year Recruitment Conference held this last week and organised by The Recruiter Network. This would be the first time we had stood up as The FIRM in a public environment and wanted to do something that was in keeping with our core values – we chose “sharing knowledge”.

There are many ways in which standards can be raised for hiring managers, recruiting practitioners working in-house and for sales people working at agencies; arguably the biggest of these is by gaining an understanding of how we all work. It is probably fair to say that very few agency staff know what it is like to work in house or what the roles and responsibilities of recruitment or HR practitioners are and the challenges they have.  There are guesses; some right, some wrong, but rarely known

With this in mind we felt a little information sharing could go a long way. If the in-house function is performing well, has the sophistication, resources, competencies and desire then the use of agencies will be eliminated in that organisation. However, I doubt very much that this model is widely adopted and that the vast majority of companies will chose to use the services of agencies for one reason or another. Let us remember though that the vast majority of companies do not have a dedicated competent in-house Rescouring teams and as such companies choose to use agencies. Hiring managers who manage their own process typically won’t have a clue how to resource properly, despite what they themselves will think and as such will tend to use an agency or worse, multiple agencies for expedience. Nothing wrong with that if it works well for all parties.

So to our presentation. The idea was to ask agencies what their Burning Questions are and discuss some of the reasons the questions needed to be asked and hopefully provide answers and insights.

1. What are the 3 Burning Questions you, as a recruitment consultant, would like to ask your customers (hiring managers)?

2. What are the 3 Burning Questions you, as a recruitment consultant, would like to ask HR or Resourcing teams at your customers or prospects?

3. What are the 3 biggest issues or frustrations you have when dealing with HR or Resourcing functions?

The questions were posted on Surveymonkey. Using Twitter and the UK Recruiter newsletter we invited agencies to ask away.

We were given a 50 minute speaking slot at the start of the conference and as such unfortunately we couldn’t discuss every question asked. Some were just too stupid anyway.  These are the ones we addressed or at least we tried to on the day. Thanks to the discussion in the room amongst the delegates we sort of ran out of time.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Question 1. What are the 3 Burning Questions you, as the recruitment consultant, would like to ask your customers (hiring managers)?

  • What is more important, cutting costs or finding the right candidate?
  • What would be your ideal Agency/Customer relationship?

Question 2. What are the 3 Burning Questions you, as the recruitment consultant, would like to ask HR or Resourcing teams at your customers or prospects?

  • Do you have favourite agencies/recruiters and why?
  • Why do you block access to hiring managers, even when we are a recognised and trusted partner?

Question 3. What are the 3 biggest issues or frustrations you have when dealing with HR or Resourcing functions?

  • Feedback …………or a lack of it
  • Poor job descriptions or briefings on the positions
  • Not responding to telephone calls (messages) or emails

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

From many of the questions it is clear that some agencies really do want to learn in order to help their customers. It was also clear from some of the reactions in the room to the answers we were giving that agencies simply do not know nor can they comprehend the scale of some of the challenges in-house people have – there were gasps after Emma gave one example of what her teams are dealing with on a daily basis. It is also clear that many companies would do better by engaging more with their suppliers and teaching each other how to work together.  Better results for all I suspect will be realised.

I welcome further questions

I welcome further answers

If you would like to discuss any of these questions or any others that you have please let me know. My contact details can be found here.

2011
11/06
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
Recruitment
The FIRM
TAGS









6 comments

Things That Job Hunters Hate – #myjobhunt

[tweetmeme source=”GaryFranklin”]

Last week was my first week of availability; I’d forgotten how exciting job hunting can be. Yet, despite really enjoying meeting new people, the conversations that result and the relationships that evolve, job hunting is not easy. I find it both fun and fascinating and very hard work all at the same time. That’s when it’s going okay. In fact even when it is going okay it saps the energy, both physically and mentally. The concentration required is very taxing to say the least. I know I am not alone in admitting it can be very stressful and intimidating at times. But let’s face it unless you want to give everything up, you have to keep going. But can you imagine what it must be like for those who have been out of work for so long that they can’t say it’s going okay?. How stressful and confidence sapping must that be?

I had three months’ notice that my contract was definitely coming to an end and therefore I had plenty of time to get the #myjobhunt process started. I thought I had the time, but in reality when still getting stuff done in the day-job, job hunting was very very difficult, almost impossible to do aggressively yet the pace did pick up in the last two weeks. The number of contacts, referrals and interviews I had lined up was a real surprise to me. In the last week, my first week of availability I’ve had a couple of days where there were two interviews each day, each with companies new to me and in markets alien to me. All with the same challenges but with their own unique requirements to be met. I will I hope have done a good job in all, but likely as not I won’t be the preferred candidate in all of them. But I’ve been fortunate to have the opportunities to sell myself. The refreshing and mature aspect of these companies is that their HRDs are not misguided into believing that market or industry sector experience is crucial at this level. It frustrates the hell out of me when I get told “sorry you don’t have retail (or similar) experience” or “you haven’t been an HR Generalist” or as one person said to me this week “we may decide to take someone from a general HR background because they have better communication skills”. I’ll let you judge and feel free to comment.

I suspect there are many job hunters out there in the same position and not having a good time of it at the moment and it certainly doesn’t help when short-sighted hiring managers ask for irrelevancies or focus too much on what someone has done in the past, rather than looking harder at the knowledge and attributes they can bring and what they are able to do. Sadly this is all too common, the vast majority of interviewers and hiring managers simply do not know how to interview and assess someone properly. They lack the skills themselves to explore candidates’ abilities and potential. They therefore let themselves down by missing out on good people for the future development of their department and company and they let the candidate down too. And we all know the impact a bad interviewer or bad interview experience can have. Getting a consistent approach to interviews, questions and evaluations should be a top priority for every Resourcing leader and business leader – it’s not that hard to do either and depending on the size of your organisation can be rolled out very quickly too.

Ok so questionable job requirements, over ambitious wish lists and crap interviewers are some of the frustrations that we can all relate to, but there is one that I think we would all agree just isn’t acceptable yet still happens all too often. Post-interview feedback. Or the lack of feedback to be precise.

During the last three months of my contract I was pursuing a position with one particular company. A job I really liked the sound of and was very excited about. I had 5 interviews with this particular company; one with their most senior global resourcing person and another with their most senior HRD in EMEA. They were very pleasant and professional and gave me a good sense of what their plans were and what many of their company and personal business values were. Sadly I was to be disappointed on two fronts with this company. Firstly I didn’t get the job but knowing the chap that did helped me accept it with a smile. Secondly and what I was more disappointed about was the lack of feedback. I received none whatsoever. All I got was that they chose someone else. In my case I gave over 8 hours of my time (inc. travel) to attend these interviews.

It was over a month from the last interview to being told I didn’t get it, so I wasn’t surprised but given the values and the conversations I’d had I was surprised when the search firm still wasn’t able to get me any feedback. We all know this happens; it’s talked about and complained about by candidates all over the world. I would suspect that this it is the biggest complaint that candidates have.

Now I don’t write this to have a pop at that particular company. As many of you know if I was that bothered personally I’d not hesitate in naming them would I? But really you/we should all do better than this. It is not only lazy, wrong and rude it damages your personal reputation and that of your company.

In my position as recruiter looking to be recruited I am probably more relaxed about this most candidates. From a Resourcing Manager’s perspective I am appalled.

As a candidate I do have in insiders understanding of the processes involved, the expectations and the acceptance that things aren’t perfect and therefore don’t take it too personally. I could bitch and moan and complain how unfair it all is, actually I do that quite a bit, but I knew what it would be like at the outset. Job hunting is all about motivation, not getting too disappointed and being tenacious. Much of the motivation comes from being able to identify where you went wrong and be encouraged that you can improve. Not that many people are self-aware enough to know where they screwed up, so they really on the feedback of others. Receiving post-interview feedback really does help and it should matter too. From a candidates point of view it is required for learning purposes or just plain closure. From the company’s perspective it is essential to give a real and valid reason to ensure that you live up to the promises and value you spoke about in the interview.

From the other side of the fence, the Resourcing Managers’, don’t you realise the damage you are doing to you own personal reputation let alone the feelings a candidate might have towards your company as a result of not taking 15 mins to provide feedback to someone? If you don’t I am sure your CEO would like to have a word. If you don’t then I’d gladly spend time explaining why and help you improve your approach and processes.

In the last month or so countless people have ask me how my quest has been going. On every occasion I reply “it’s going okay”. Never good, never great and never poorly, just okay. And it will always be just okay until I sign on the dotted line; then it will be great. There could come a time when I want to describe it as poor, maybe if I’ve been turned down or had bad feedback. But until any of those times actually happen, it will be okay. This is good.

So, job hunters, but strong and keep going, think about how you can improve as you go through the experience.
Employers be honest and fair and respect the candidates – you have to be better because as with last year many of you are not as good at hiring as you think you are.

thanks for reading

Music of the Day; As I Am by Dream Theater

2011
10/10
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
#myjobhunt
Job Hunting
Recruitment
TAGS







2 comments

Do CVs contain the truth?

[tweetmeme source=”GaryFranklin”]

Is tailoring a CV to fit a job or a company dishonest? Is it deception?

Do we as Recruiting Professionals or hiring managers not want to know that what we are reading is the absolute truth and not just a version of it?

As a job hunter I only have one stream of experience that might be relevent to the roles I am applying for so don’t see the benefit, but ……………………….

Discuss.

2011
08/07
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
Job Hunting
Recruitment
TAGS







17 comments

Different Approaches for a Different Year – #myjobhunt Week 1

[tweetmeme source=”GaryFranklin”]

Well that was an interesting week.

Having decided to take the week off to recharge my batteries I found myself thinking that I should spend some of the time looking for the my next job. The weather however was conspiring against me. Who wants to be stuck on the phone or at a PC when the sun is shining? A rare occasion in this year’s British summer.

On Weds I woke early (by holiday standards) having been stupid enough to book a PT session for 0800. When I left the house at 0745 for the walk through the woods and across the fields (that sounds very Larkrise to Candleford doesn’t it?) to the gym it was already very hot. By the time I got there I was already warmed up and then after 15 mins on the bike, up and down virtual hills I was dripping! Not nice for the next 2 hours. Like any good Personal Trainer Chris was not going to let me falter, slow down or give up regardless I cried and screamed like a baby.

It was therefore about 1100 that I finally booted up the laptop, tuned into Planet Rock and went about finding another suitable position.

Those that read the blog posts I wrote during #myjobhunt 2010 will know that I don’t tend to use typical approaches of job boards and agencies when proactively looking, or at least I didn’t then. On Wednesday I started out thinking that this year was not likely to be any different. I would continue to engage with as many people as I could and generate interest and referrals from my Facebook Friends, Twitter Followers and LinkedIn Connections. Or at least try.

Whilst this approach was and is working very well, it became clear that this year is significantly different to last year. This time last year I was happy to take a job that would enhance my career, either doing a job that had exciting content and development opportunity or one that would give me the opportunity to progress in the future. I spoke to everyone, I met as many people as I could, and chased down every lead I could. In having this approach I was lucky enough to have quite a few positions to chase and consider. This year I still need to do the same.

Yet it dawned on me that having been fortunate enough to land a job managing and leading change in the function in a complex organisation as we go through a sizable corporate and HR Transformation, the kind of job that will now float my boat has changed. Jobs like these tend to be quite senior and as such there is a tendency to give the vacancies to Search firms. In doing so it sort of eliminates the chances of referrals. I have already experienced it once in this year’s quest for a new job. A friend got in contact to say that they were looking for a person to run the European Recruitment function. I sent my CV knowing they had already given the role to a very expensive Search firm, a firm I have experience with and know how and what they charge. It was little surprise to get feedback a week or so later that they were really interested in my experience however, were quite advanced with another candidate presented by the Search firm. Of course the potential employer had probably paid in the region of £60,000 to the search firm already and wanted to think they were going to justify that expense, so a referral no matter how relevant would be a bit embarrassing wouldn’t it?

Despite the fact that in-house recruiting professionals of all grades are extremely well networked and connected to each other in the UK and elsewhere, thanks to The FIRM and other networks, I find it disappointing that Search seems to be the first port of call when hiring at this level. I may be disappointed but not surprised. In fact one position I am very keen on at the moment is as a result of a Search firm contacting me. So I am not complaining just making an observation.

One other problem with finding out about jobs and then being referred to the Search company, supposedly managing them, is that when you track down the Search firm and the so called “consultant” no one is ever available and you have to leave a message. You can never reach them nor will they bother to call you back? A Search firm called JD Haspel didn’t seem to be interested in being disturbed and haven’t called me back despite messages I left at the beginning of the week. Anyone use them?

Rant over.

By Wednesday evening I started to think that maybe I needed to contact as many search firms as I could that specialised in HR positions – are there any? That is the trouble. Where would I start? I recognised I probably needed to get in contact with a few, maybe those that I knew already would be more respectful and speak with me. Makes sense doesn’t it? So while I am mulling these thoughts over and trying to get motivated to speak with people that for the last year I have been targeting in my efforts to reduce costs (typical isn’t it? But I won’t corrupt myself by doing it any other way), I start surfing, reading blogs, and posting comments. Always a good way to get noticed in the right forums.

I then started trying to organise my LinkedIn Connections and exploring positions posted on The FIRMs job listing. I looked at one particular position posted in The FIRM that had also been posted to the wider LinkedIn platform, which then led me to a couple of positions that looked good. I sent an inMail to one of my connections for help on one, applied for another and saved a couple for later follow up. I also started noticing the differences in how companies and recruiters posted their jobs on LinkedIn. It was interesting that some jobs would have plenty of enticing detail whilst others would have lots about the company but little about the job itself. It is poor how some people think that they don’t have to sell and attract. Come on! You have to make a job look exciting otherwise why on earth would anyone apply, at this level? We want to know more, we want to hear it all, we like a challenge.

Also I noticed for the first time the links at the foot of the job ad. These are LinkedIn generate links called “People Who Viewed This Job Also Viewed”. Bingo! One job led to another and two more applications were made as a result. It was strange though and I am sure I was doing something wrong, some of the jobs I was finding by following these links didn’t come up in searches I ran on LinkedIn. I’ll figure that one out.

Wednesday had not finished there either. Whilst I was reading through LinkedIn I was also active on Twitter and monitoring a couple of lists. Two people who I have got to know over the last couple of years, one of whom I have never met, suggested two leads for me, both with full contact info and full introductions and both of which could very well lead somewhere. One a contract and the other a permanent job. Thank you to both, Ken and Mat for your generous assistance with both of these, pie and pint on me when we meet up.

Thursday was a day out. I was hoping for sunshine but the rain was torrential for the morning. I was out and about in Somerset, a part of the country that was a communications dead zone! It made me a bit nervous not only being without a cell phone signal but without email as well. I start to sweat and twitch when that happens for 10 mins on the train, but I was 6 hours off-grid this time.

Once I did get back to civilisation and my email downloaded I was pleased to see that one of the leads from the previous day had started to move quite nicely and needed some follow up when I got home. This was duly addressed.

Friday was dominated by two interviews in the City. These were effectively 3rd and 4th interviews in follow up to the 2nd interview I had on Day 1 (Monday). I was very excited and very nervous about these. I don’t tend to get nervous about much but as I have said previously the stakes are higher this year and the good opportunities are not likely to be as prolific as they were last year. Besides, everything I had found out and heard about this company has been positive and appealing. The job itself is a perfect opportunity for me to do again much of what I have done in the last year – but differently.

On the way into London I had so many good wishes sent my way by online and offline friends. I cannot begin to tell you just how much they all meant to me, made me smile and relaxed me. On my way home last night I received a few texts, DMs, WhatsApps and emails asking me how I had got on and how the interviews went. My initial reaction and thoughts were very positive. I enjoyed meeting both of the people today and felt that the interviews went well. But then I got to thinking. Replaying both of them in my mind through the evening the doubts started to creep in. Questions like “did I give a good performance?”, “was my answer the best I could have given?”, “should I have volunteered more?”, “did I talk too much?”, “did I listen enough?”, “why didn’t they ask me about some of the compliance issues?” and so on.

These sorts of thoughts are inevitable despite being unhealthy. I can only help I have done enough to maintain their interest and if haven’t I have to make sure I use the lessons learned to improve myself for next time.

Fingers crossed eh?

2011
08/06
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
#myjobhunt
Job Hunting
Recruitment
TAGS









1 comment

Do You Really Need to Ask About Salary?

[tweetmeme source=”GaryFranklin”]

In the last two weeks one thing has stood out for me, leaving me feeling slightly uneasy because I am unsure whether I am right or not, strangely despite how I feel about it.

I’ve had a view on a particular matter as a recruiter and recruitment manager over the last few years and then much more so as a candidate last year during #myjobhunt and more recently.

What do you think when you are asked “What is your current salary or package?”

Do you answer? Why do you answer?

What purpose does it serve to ask the question? What purpose will it serve to answer the question? Surely this is an irrelevant question and on one’s business but mine?

In organisations where a rigid grade or compensation policy doesn’t exist, I can understand knowing what someone is currently earning helps construct an offer and package to fit the candidate and helps to avoid over paying someone. Yet is it still relevant? Shouldn’t you know how much you want to and can pay and still achieve worth to your business? Are you not asking for a multitude of problems and challenges by making yourselves open to negotiation.

In the larger more complex organisations the compensation packages are mapped directly to the Job Families and the Grades. New vacancies are generally submitted and approved based on the budget available, grade and salary banding (the guidance received from either the Recruiting or the Compensation & Benefits departments). Offers are made accordingly to qualified candidates.

Last year it seemed that only agencies or search firms had an interest in what I was earning in my previous job. None could provide me with a good enough reason for me to give them the info. I can only assume that they preferred to take short cuts to categorise me by a job title and salary to ensure an easy deal closure, rather than my personality, achievements, competencies and potential. Whereas the expert recruiters and interviewers at prospective employers didn’t need to ask. I was assessed and judged properly.

This year is no different. In the last two weeks I have refused to give an answer to that question to three different companies. They come up with all sorts of reasons why they needed to know, one even stating that their client, an HRD in an FTSE 100 organisation, had asked for availability and salary information to be put on a cover sheet. Expectations maybe, but I cannot imagine anyone asking for current info. Why would anyone need to know this?

All the time I was looking to move on from my last job and when I finally took the plunge, I was constantly asking myself, agencies and search companies –

“Why should the limitations and salary restrictions of my current/previous employer have any bearing or influence on what a future employer might consider I am worth to them?”

Please think about it – I’d be interested to hear the thoughts of others on this.

2011
07/27
POSTED BY
CATEGORY
Job Hunting
Recruitment
TAGS







18 comments

Why can’t you fill my vacancies?

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We all hear about the politicians, The REC, the CBI and other commentators that have opinions talk about The Skills Shortage, as if it is a living thing, in generalised terms, yet does anyone actually know what this Skills Shortage is that they talk about? In the real world employers do not generally tend to have too much trouble finding staff to fill their vacancies, certainly not where I have worked. However there are times when filling a vacancy does prove difficult.

I think every recruiter whether working for an agency or doing it for real in-house, as well as most HR practitioners will have come up against a specific real world skills shortage every now and then. This is typical when there is a huge demand for skills required as a result of legislative or processing change. Examples of this might be the major changes in how programs were developed in the 80’s and 90’s from linear coding to OOD (what we take as pretty standard and has moved on to how programs are written today). Computer Operating Systems changed drastically in the 90’s from mainframe and centralised computing to distributed Windows and UNIX platforms. Then you have the business applications that required major process overhauls or innovation; changes to Pensions administration in the 80’s, Y2K (this was when the dates changed from 1999 to 2000 in case you didn’t notice), SOX and more recently Solvency II amongst a shed full of others. Technical skills (not necessarily IT skills) needed to address these business processes or requirements are varied but at the time tend to be either in high demand or non-existent in the job market. But is there ever really any need for it to be this way.

One thing that has been common over the last three decades and remains unchanged today is there always seems to be a lack of planning by business to accommodate these changes. Typically changes to legislation that affect business processes come with plenty of notice to allow businesses to prepare, train and deliver. Its common sense to realise that whenever significant changes need to be implemented there is always a drastic demand for specialist skills. Yet if every company in your market space wants the same limited resources, or the specific combination of requirements that just never existed before, what are you supposed to do, as recruiters and as businesses?

I suspect that many recruiters continue to try and find that elusive candidate or two to acquiesce a hiring manager that has a wish list of demands.

I also suspect that hiring managers hold out for the perfect candidate that can perform and deliver from day one.

Recruiters – Just saying we can’t find what you are looking for is not good enough.

Hiring Managers – Just asking for experience that is not available in the market and leaving a vacancy open for longer than 60 days or more is not good enough either.

Neither attitude helps though does it? It doesn’t get the job done!

Yet despite the fact that so many companies are chasing the limited resources, how many are thinking longer term and looking at ways to actually get the job done?

I can’t understand this. Consider the cost of an empty seat for 3 months, offering zero productivity and a zero prognosis on when it will be filled as well as the impact that empty seat has on other members of the team. Then consider taking a ‘not quite perfect’ candidate and training them over the same period. Not only have you got someone who is taking some of the work now, you will have someone who will fill the seat in 3 months. Surely it’s better to train someone to be productive in three months, than it is to wait for three months then still have no one to do the job.

Very simple logic.

Whilst the hiring managers own the process of business process delivery the recruiters are responsible to ensure that the right skills are acquired for the job. Typically recruiters will have a good feel for the market; if they are doing their job properly they will do anyway. They should have the information, confidence and the trust of their customer community to advise, consult and provide the information to the hiring managers. Be brave say it as it is. If a hiring manager can’t have what they want because of non-availability of and competition for skills or money or any other influencing factor then you need to tell them. It won’t be good enough to just say it, you will have to outline the potential implications along with the options available and how you would propose to ensure that their business plans stay on track.

And just engaging with more agencies won’t work either. If the skills don’t exists how are they going to find them?
The solution however lies in the advanced notice and planning, being aware of changes and the impact to resources both in-house and in the job market that these changes will demand. In the HR community we call this Talent Demand Planning. It should be taken seriously by the business leaders and planner, by the HRBP and by the Recruiters, planning potentially up to 18-24 months in advance, yet I suspect it is not.

Why not?

Who knows? Complacency, laziness, nativity, arrogance or worse ignorance of the job market and available talent pools. A combination of the above I suspect comes close.

There is no such thing as The Skills Shortage just poor planning and limited vision.

2011
03/06
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An old post: Will I Win? or I Will Win!

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Originally posted 23 September 2009

I read a very good article this morning, one that made me think hard about behaviour, rationale and the power and control of my own mind

In the article by Peter Bregman in the Harvard Business Blog showed how simple mind games can have a very adverse affect on our personality and our lives. It is a great article and really struck home how much control we give to our imagination and creating fantasies that can all to easily become reality.

In describing the two scenarios; his own personal anxieties after being stung by a number of hornets and the behaviour and actions of his friend in the work place I am sure Peter has outlined situations that we can all see ourselves doing in our daily lives. I certainly can – it is only human nature surely.

Will I Win? or I Will Win! Exactly the same number of letters, the same number words. All that is different is the order they are in. The first has doubt and insecurity running all through it, whereas coming at the same words from a different perspective and using them slight differently they become full of certainty and confidence.

So by taking control of your imagination and reeling in the fantasy before you start living it you’ll have better options. Positive Mental Attitude is what it’s all about. And we can control that! I’m neither an evangelist nor an expert on the issues at all and don’t intend to preach but I read this article and it reminded me that by taking the positive “I Will Win!” stance is actually more enjoyable and relaxing than asking the question.

2011
03/06
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Careful! Think! Plan! Interviews really are very important

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On my Friday commute last week, as on most other days I was busy scrolling through my Twitter feed, catching up on what had been posted overnight as well as having the normal high spirited Friday banter with friends. There is usually plenty to catch up on and read. I only have an hour of over ground commute so am never able to read it all. One tweet however stood out; actually it was a ReTweet or RT.

The original post in its entirety is

“Be truthful if you sleep through/forget/don’t show up to an interview. Employers MAY be understanding.”

This was posted by someone who has as a fair number of followers on Twitter and appears to work for a company with a good website giving what is generally sound advice to job seekers. However I find this tweet quite disturbing. I can’t fault the logic of being honest; it does indeed go a long way. But to actually come out and state something as absurd as stated in the tweet is dangerous.

There is no, I repeat no excuse for sleeping late, forgetting or just not showing up ever. It is inexcusable and indefensible. Now I am sure that the author of the tweet didn’t mean it this way, I would hope not anyway! However if you put yourself out there as an “expert” who advises people on how to find a job and how to perform in an interview, you do have a certain responsibility. Many people will listen to you and if they read and digest that tweet they are unlikely to get hired.

This blog isn’t a rant nor is it intended to offer general criticism of the author at all. Therefore I don’t intend to name or link to his website.

There are many reasons why people can’t make a prearranged interview, many of them credible, understandable and forgivable, however the reason stated above are not amongst these. If you are applying for any job in any company you must without fail and excuse show the company, the job and the hiring manager the utmost respect.

In many organisations Managers want people in their teams that meet certain key competencies or behavioural traits. Now I know many companies don’t get all psych and sophisticated and actually label their selection criteria that way, regardless hiring managers generally have standards they look for; whether it is technical ability, team fit, experience in a certain function etc., the list goes on. Above all else the hiring manager will most certainly want to employ someone who wants to do the job, someone who has the right attitude and will generally get the job done. Decisions to hire are generally based on how an interview has highlighted these attributes.

Conversely oversleeping, forgetting to attend or not showing up for an interview highlights other attributes that to my knowledge are not acceptable in any job. It shows lack of planning, discipline, enthusiasm and respect for the job, manager and company, a lack of common courtesy and importantly a lack of self-respect.

There is no sure fire guaranteed way of making a good impression, of securing that perfect job, but you have to do your utmost to make sure you don’t leave a bad a impression. Good planning will go a long way as will the right attitude.

There are many do’s and don’ts, what are your thoughts?

2011
02/28
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Job Hunting
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