August 24th, 2010
Obviously effective recruitment and talent attraction has to start way before the interview stage. You can’t really evaluate a candidate’s suitability and capabilities if you have not thought through and clearly identified the objectives of the role.
Job specs are almost always based on duties, responsibilities and experience requirements but they they can be much more effective selling tools when they also define expected performance and set objectives – this gives a perception of challenge and tells the candidate what is expected of them in order for them to be successful in the role. Here are our top tips of what should be included:
• Major objectives
• Changes and improvements needed
• Problems to solve
• Technical challenges
• Management and recruitment of staff Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: candidates, job specification, Recruitment
Posted in Recruitment | No Comments »
August 19th, 2010
Despite various economic pundits warning of a double dip, we are finding a slow but steady return to the ‘war for talent’ in all or specialist areas. What’s interesting though is that many employers seem to have forgotten that they are selling as well as buying. Despite the proliferation of press coverage about employer branding and how important it is, many employers expect consultancies to recruit in the dark!
For the best chance of success, it’s important for them to have as much information as possible so that they can really sell the benefits of working for your organisation. So spell out the attractiveness of your company in key areas such as: success factors and achievements of the company; future growth prospects; career development paths, promotion opportunities and training; social events, teambuilding and investment in people. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: candidates, Recruitment
Posted in Recruitment | 1 Comment »
August 13th, 2010
We’ve seen several recruiters join us from a sales background. Angela Haines previously worked selling classified display ads and in field sales before moving to Handle Recruitment to recruit in our digital division. This is her story…..
“Working in sales prepared me for a move to recruiting by teaching me how to be tenacious and organised, and how to be persuasive rather than pushy. I was attracted to recruitment as it’s more of a consultative role and selling people is more interesting than selling advertising space! I’m grateful for the background I had as the sales training you receive in modern large corporations is excellent, and many of the skills I learnt were fully transferrable.
Recruitment is a great role to come to, from sales, as you have your own business area and if you love building rapport, it’s an interesting sell. Recruitment is all about building relationships with people and establishing the best career path for them, which can have a positive effect on their whole life. That’s a really satisfying achievement. You’re dealing with people and emotional choices, as they decide whether a job is right for them and whether they’re right for a client, so if there’s any doubt or wavering, persuasive abilities combined with real listening skills are crucial and can lead to the experience being very rewarding for all concerned.
Sales experience helps when you’re persuading a client that they need to act quickly to get a good candidate, as other companies and recruiters are also in competition for them. You’re at the centre of the transaction, a facilitator as well as a salesperson, so it’s an amazing feeling when it all comes together – and you get to make commission from it too”!
Tags: candidates, Recruitment, Sales
Posted in Handle Recruitment, Recruitment | No Comments »
August 11th, 2010
We thought we would share with you our guest blog on HR Zone which was published recently, authored by our very own Gill Bell.
Now there are more jobs on the market and more talent willing to move, does this mean that candidates are finally in the driving seat when it comes to recruitment?
A lot has changed over the past year. In the summer of 2009 we were experiencing what some called the worst recession since World War II. With budget cuts leading to widespread redundancies, suddenly the number of job seekers on the market rose to a level never seen before by many in the recruitment and HR sectors. It became very much a client-led marketplace, with employers able to call the shots; offering perhaps less than competitive salaries, having a selection of candidates to choose from and spending longer on the decision-making process. However now that we’re in 2010 and we are all hoping that the downturn is behind us, there are more jobs on the market and there is more talent willing to move. Does this mean that candidates are now in the driving seat when it comes to recruitment?
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: candidates, Recruitment
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August 8th, 2010
Here at Handle we do like to feel as though we go that extra mile. And to prove it we decided that some of our female clients deserved just a little a bit of TLC. Cue Lisa from our Office division who organised a fantastic night of pampering courtesy of our friends at Benefit Cosmetics.
Their team of professional make-up artists arrived at our offices, armed with lipsticks, blushers and eye shadows in all colours imaginable and worked their magic!
While we were given expert tips on how to perfect that smoky eye and achieve that healthy glow, there was also time for a glass or two of bubbly – and some delicious cupcakes from Lola’s bakery.
Our clients from from ASOS, EMAP, PPL and Creston certainly seemed to enjoy their makeovers - cakes, bubbly and make-up – what more could a girl ask for?
Tags: client service, Handle, marketing, Recruitment
Posted in Handle Recruitment, Recruitment | No Comments »
July 20th, 2010
The recession may be (hopefully) behind us and there’s certainly a lot more recruitment activity around but it’s still a really competitive area – particularly in our specialist areas of media, music, film and high visibility brands. So what can you do to make yourself stand out from the crowd? Here are our top five tips:
• If you haven’t had direct experience of brands within media and entertainment you will at least need to demonstrate a real passion, interest and understanding of the marketing issues involved.
• Be aware that creativity on its own is not enough – there’s a real emphasis on insight and analysis coupled with creative flair and thinking ‘outside the box’
• There’s a big focus on communication skills – there are some big personalities in our sector!
• Most interviews will now entail some form of presentation – so be prepared to prove your worth and demonstrate that you will be a good investment.
• There are a range of competencies needed: project management, commercial awareness, and strategic vision – make sure that every relevant skill set is on your CV.
Whilst you are here, check out our latest jobs!
Tags: CV, marketing
Posted in Handle Recruitment, Recruitment | No Comments »
July 8th, 2010
It’s no secret that the digital market and particularly the use of social media has exploded in the last eighteen months. How many of us followed the election on Twitter getting real time updates minute by minute? And look at the way Pepsico has campaign managed the return of its drink Mountain Dew .
In our industry, this has manifested itself in a whole new market for specialists who can help organisations understand how consumers interact with content – and then build relevant and meaningful relationships with those customers.
And it’s a really interesting talent pool. For one thing, it’s dominated by Generation Y who are motivated by a variety of things. Sure, money is important but so too are considerations such as lifestyle, culture, working hours, location and flexibility. And it’s also a diverse pool. The digital arena is an ever evolving market covering not only social media but affiliate marketing, CRM, SEO and online PR. What this means is that it may not always be obvious from someone’s job title that they have the skill sets that an employer may be looking for.
So the message to hiring organisations? Think about being more innovative with retention strategies and the way reward packages are structured. Be flexible about job titles on CVs – don’t miss out by being too rigid. We’ve written more about talent issues in the digital market in Figaro Digital magazine which you can read here.
Tags: digital, Generation Y, Social Media, Twitter
Posted in Handle Recruitment, Social Media | No Comments »
May 6th, 2010
We hope you like the new look and also the new features.
Don’t forget to checkout our social networks.
Subscribe to our RSS feed so that you can be first to hear about new jobs.
Also, check back on the blog regularly for interesting news and articles.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
