THE Candidate Experience – Recruitment’s Holy Grail?

Over the last few years, the term “candidate experience” has been debated, spouted, blogged and supposedly sought out by each and every recruiter in the world – but can recruiters ever really deliver THE candidate experience which the candidate is looking for?

I speak with candidates on a daily basis and am used to hearing the stories about lack of care for the candidates – as an Internal Recruitment Manager I do my utmost to ensure that all candidates are treated with respect and have full feedback as soon as we have made a decision, but I am sure there are some candidates who feel that they are hard done by for the following reasons:

1) They wanted a job I was recruiting for

The sad fact about recruitment in 2013, is there are often many applicants for one role – many of these are qualified to do the role and a good majority would have been a joy to work alongside, but the reality is only one person can be offered and start working in that role which means no matter how well informed the candidate is, they are going to feel rejected and therefore have a slightly negative feel towards the process – even if just initially.

2) We love to complain

My brother and I still joke about Dad’s rants of “I will write a letter” when he had been on the end of bad service – now, he just e-mails and tells everyone else to do the same!  This is part and parcel of society today – we love to criticise but are slow to praise.  How many candidates have thanked you over the last 6 months for exceptional care?  Probably a few, but the minute you drop the ball – boom – back to the dark side we go.

3) Can’t please everyone

Whether someone has had a good experience or not is also in the eye of the beholder – some candidates love automated e-mails, where others think they lack tact and professionalism; some candidates get frustrated when phone calls are not returned, whereby others accept a need to chase for their dream job – each job search is different, each candidate is different therefore surely each person’s view of THE candidate experience is likely to be different.

I strongly believe that all candidates are entitled to a polite and courteous service from recruiters – I was brought up to believe that manners cost nothing but mean everything – however, I think if more people focused on delivering a common sense and well mannered approach to recruitment, the candidate experience would be smoother and the search for THE candidate experience can stop distracting our efforts of recruiting.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

I have neglected my blogging recently and have vowed (again) that I will improve this year – I have lots of great ideas, and I must knuckle down and get them all published!  The recruitment industry and function is in an amazing phase of change and the challenges this sets us and problems it solves fascinates me.

Recently, I returned to full time work and am now the Internal Recruitment Manager for a fab financial services company – dealing with agencies, online boards and other suppliers has been an eye opener – more blogs will come on many topics around these in due course, but as I have been planning 2013, it made me think – there really is no other industry I want to work in!

Fund Raising CV, LinkedIn or Careers Management Clinics

It is (unbelievably) October and once again I will be offering individuals appointments (Skype, telephone or face to face) to discuss their CV, LinkedIn profile or other aspects of careers management in return for a donation to one of my two nominated charities for the year:

Different Strokes – a charity which was set up and is run by stroke survivors for stroke survivors enabling stroke survivors of working age to optimise their recovery, take control of their own lives and regain as much independence as possible through the provision of rehabilitative services, information and advice.

The Stroke Association – a charity which, for the last 20 years, has been working tirelessly to both educate the public about stroke, and how to prevent it with astonishing results, research into stroke and its causes as well as working with stroke survivors and their families helping them to find their life after stroke.

So, if you haven’t looked at your CV in the last 2 years – whether or not you are looking for a role; if LinkedIn was something you just accepted an invite to rather than used as a fabulous networking tool or if you are considering a new direction in your career what better excuse could there be than to donate to a great charity and at the same time invest in your own future!  My motivation for this challenge can be found on my personal blog – I hope it inspires some of you too!

Donation links are below, and appointments can be booked through e-mail: info@knockbuckle.com or by telephone 01252 720663.

Donations to Different Strokes.

Donations to The Stroke Association

When 50 Shades of Grey is not a great read!

This week I have been involved in many discussions and debates around writing CVs – now, I certainly do not class myself as a CV writing expert, but I do read my fair share of them on a weekly basis as a recruiter, trainer, career coach and friend!  I don’t envy jobseekers writing this important document – I have spoken before about the reams of pointless information out in the world and the fact that everyone is suddenly an expert in CV writing and picks holes in your document!

One aspect which is often overlooked, is how a CV will look when printed – often in greyscale, to save on colour cartridges.  Recently, I have seen a number of CVs with 3 or 4 colours on them (logos, e-mail / weblinks, key data, words from the job spec competencies) – not my favourite lay out, I will admit, but on the screen, they look smart.  However, when they are printed out in grey, the different shades of grey become muddled and the reader can be left confused.

I have learned this week, and will research it some more, that dark grey is an easier colour for the brain to process on a white background than black, and so maybe 1 shade of grey is a good thing for CVs, but keep it simple, use only 1 colour and leave 50 Shades of Grey in the fiction aisle!

Social Media – What You Can’t Control.

This week, I have discovered that my Pinterest board is about 1 person (no, not me!) – all c.1900 pins!  To say this was news to me, would be an understatement – personally I thought it was a scrapbook where I could lose myself in memories of old, dreams for the future, calorie free food and indulge my love of fast cars, beautiful clothes, music and quotes – but to this 1 person, it was all about them.

Everyone in the recruitment process is increasingly aware that their online presence is likely to be monitored at some stage – countless pieces of advice are out there about controlling your privacy settings on sites where you are able to; joining relevant groups only; posting on topics which you are truly knowledgeable or passionate about and keeping on top of your own online presence.  This is all well and good – but how can you control how all of that is interpreted?

As I have found out, you can’t.  I have looked at my boards with fresh eyes and still cannot fathom why they should think that way, but that is their entitlement – I can control what I pin, tweet, post on FaceBook and LinkedIn, but I cannot control the way anyone interprets them.

Is this a problem in recruitment?  I would argue no more so than if you don’t hit it off with someone in an interview – at the end of the day, people are beautifully complex beings and are not likely to make decisions of such magnitude based on 1 tweet, 1 pin or or status update that they feel uncomfortable with any more than they are likely to dismiss you as a viable applicant or employer if 1 answer at interview is not 100% as they would have answered it!  Let’s face it, interpretations are a part of life – your e-mail address, your post code, your education, the car you drive, your clothes – all of these will leave impressions and be interpreted differently.

I am not suggesting you change any habits with social media – if you are mindful that it is all out there, and keep your eyes on all that is posted by others on your profiles, an employer or employee will find that when they meet you in person, they have already met you online (if you have been screened).  Like most things in life, social media is just another thing where you don’t have full control!

Have a Facebook Fan Page? Read On!

2 posts from me in 2 days?  Unheard of!  Don’t worry, I am not planning on making a habit of it, but as so many clients, suppliers and friends have Facebook fan pages, this seemed the quickest way to let you all know!

PLEASE NOTE:
Facebook has updated its user policies regarding the ‘News Feed’ and ‘Fan Page’s which now means that only a small number of people that “Like” a Fan Page actually see Posts and Photos.

In order to see all of the fan page updates, click or hover over the “Liked” button (located beneath the main cover image of the page) and click the “Show in News Feed” option when the small menu appears.

Now, go spread the word and protect your businesses!

Massive thanks to Mark Sims of RallyGallery.com for the tip off!

How Long Does Perm Recruitment Take?

When we are working with clients, we always speak about the length of time it will take to get someone on board.  Whilst there is no 100% correct answer – I have taken in and filled a permanent job in 48 hours in the past with the start date occurring within 90 hours of registration, but sadly, the majority of permanent campaigns – especially at the senior end of the market or within very niche areas take longer – I would say 12 weeks +.

Having debated this with some clients, associates and industry connections, I thought I would throw it out to a LinkedIn poll – there were the results we got:

There are clearly anomalies, and longer notice periods in certain sectors, but what are your thoughts on these results?