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Welcome to issue 343 of the ukrecruiter newsletter. Just a quick reminder if you haven't yet visited our recruitment job board. It is specifically for jobs in recruitment: traditional, on-line or corporate HR. It's free to advertise your recruitment jobs until 15th Feb. | 
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CONTENTS
Visit http://www.ukrecruiterjobs.co.uk for the latest recruitment industry jobs. |
The Seven Deadly Sins - Part Seven: Pride Hopefully my series of articles on the use of the Seven Deadly Sins has given readers something to think about before they pick up the phone. None are meant as the be all and end all of candidate acquisition. The objective with these articles has always been about encouraging you to think before picking up the phone. It’s about tailoring your approach to the specific candidate. It’s about not being viewed as just another recruitment consultant launching out a pre-prepared spiel. It’s about tailoring your approach to what you believe will motivate them to consider a move. With this in mind it’s now time to draw the series to a close by considering our final sin for motivation. It’s a nice easy one. It’s Pride. Pride is essentially the human desire to be regarded as more important or attractive than those around us, either through right or achievement. In other words, we want to be recognised as being something special.
Phil Hesketh is a sales guru with whom I had the chance to learn at an early age (admittedly as a teenager helping him renovate his new home!). He states that one of the most powerful things you can say to an individual is this – ‘do you know what I like about you?’ Think about it. You are letting someone know that they have something special, something they can feel proud of. Just the use of a simple phrase - ‘what I like about you is…’ will be absolutely invaluable in getting that borderline candidate interested. If you remember nothing from the last seven articles then do remember this. Dan Atkinson is a director of Accite Executive research. He has been in international search for over ten years as a provider of research and researcher training services. He holds a BA in Behaviour in Organisations from the University of Lancaster. contact dan@accite.co.uk, www.accite.co.uk or 01423 565 999. The "My Favourites" feature is back next week. Why not submit your 3 favourite web sites (see the guidelines at http://www.ukrecruiter.co.uk/articles.htm) via contact2@ukrecruiter.co.uk |
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Article One: Recruitment training… or lack thereof! By Gaynor Lowndes There are very few industries or professions that do not have stringent training requirements for those wishing to practice within. Unfortunately, the recruitment industry is one of these few. It is no secret that, as a trainer, I see recruitment training as an issue that affects, and will continue to affect, the evolution of our industry, as we attempt to improve our reputation, and provide a higher standard of service. The recruitment industry is notorious for throwing its new consultants in the deep end and we continue to wonder why our industry has such a high burn-out rate, and a less than desirable reputation with many candidates and clients. The reason is so simple that you would expect it to be obvious: You can’t do the job, when you don’t know the job! As an industry, we have managed to develop implied “excuses” to release ourselves from the need to properly train our consultants, and face the training issue as a whole. Here are some of the most common excuses that I have come across in my time as both a consultant and a trainer. It is my hope that, whether you are a manager, consultant, resourcer, or administrator, you will join me in releasing the grip these excuses hold over our industry, and take steps to ensure that our credibility as an industry is improved by an emphasis on quality training of our consultants. Excuse No 1: “It’s personality that really matters.” While it is true that some people may have a personality suited to sales roles such as recruitment, we tend to focus on this element too much. Often, if somebody has a “bright and bubbly” personality, we assume that this trait will, almost by default, bring them recruitment success! Sure, personality plays an important role, but it is not more important than learning the basic and advanced skills of the job! I know a number of highly successful consultants who are very quiet and reserved. People are often surprised that, with their personalities, they “made it” in recruitment, but it shouldn’t be surprising at all, as they have an intimate and practical understanding of the skills required to succeed in the industry, as a result of dedicated and intensive training. Knowledge is power, and the most outgoing, extraverted individual will have great difficulty succeeding without it! Excuse No 2: “A promotion from receptionist to consultant is a logical progression.” I make a point of questioning team leaders I train who admit to promoting receptionists to consultants. I have absolutely no problem with this in itself; it is more than likely that the receptionist has the potential to be a excellent consultant, but not without sufficient training and skills development! I have a client in legal recruitment who cannot understand why every receptionist that she promotes to run the agency’s temp desk leaves. She is an excellent manager, and her agency is highly successful (except for the temp desk), but she still shakes her head every time her promoted receptionists burn-out and resign like clockwork, saying: “But they had so much potential!” And they probably did. But potential by itself is nothing; it needs to be nurtured and empowered by knowledge and skills development. I urge you, if you are a manager, not to make the mistake of assuming that, because your receptionists observe consultants in action, that they immediately understand how to do it properly themselves. Promote them, by all means, but make sure you provide them with the training and mentoring that will equip them with the skills to get results! Excuse No 3: “All sales professions are the same!” They may be similar … but they’re not the same! I have known many consultants who have come from other sales backgrounds and they have been next to useless as consultants. Why? Because in the recruitment industry we assume that, because they have experience selling software packages or used cars, that they don’t need any further training in order to place candidates. It is this attitude, more than any other, that has given the industry the less than desirable reputation it has with candidates. There is an art to candidate management and care that is obviously different from the client sales process. While there are some agencies where candidate management is left solely to resourcers, the majority of the industry does not work this way. With this in mind, the software salesperson will need to learn how to handle a product that is a living, breathing person whose needs, goals and priorities need to be nurtured and catered for! Once again, there is nothing wrong with employing a non-recruitment salesperson as a consultant (their sales experience will be highly useful), but it must be ensured that recruitment specific skills training in areas such as candidate management are not neglected. These excuses have caused the recruitment industry to suffer for long enough. I believe that it is time to legitimize our existence as a profession and industry, by taking our training requirements seriously. The greatest obstacle to this cause will be changing the mindset of the industry, but if we acknowledge the problems that our “excuses” cause, then solutions can, and will, be found!
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Article Two: The Secret of My Success; Interview with Hanna Smith Hanna Smith is HR Director of Madgex, experts in innovative job board software and engaging user experiences. The award-winning Madgex Job Board Software powers many of the UK’s most successful online recruitment businesses, with a client base that includes: Guardian Media Group, The TotalJobs Group, News International, Emap, Incisive, Centaur, United Business Media and Haymarket. Hanna has been with Madgex from mid 2007 and overall has 7 years HR experience. In her current role she is responsible for all aspects of HR in a company employing over 60 people. Since joining Madgex nine months ago she has helped to facilitate a headcount growth of 100%. She supports and gives advice across the business on recruitment and selection; including process implementation, best practice and innovation. What do you wish you'd known at the start of your career? Which person within the industry has influenced you the most? Which lesson has taken the longest to learn? What is the biggest mistake a recruiter can make? What cliché do you think is true? What Cliché do you think is false? What words of advice would you give to someone starting out in recruitment? What is your favourite interview technique? Tell me about the most interesting assignment you've worked on What's the strangest interview situation you've encountered? Which job would you most like
to recruit? What job would you be doing if you weren't in recruitment? Is there a famous person you'd like to interview? What do you think it is that has made you so successful? If you would like to recommend someone who you feel has been highly successful in the recruitment industry for inclusion in this series please email contact2@ukrecruiter.co.uk with their details. |
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Online Recruitment Update Hitwise top 10 Recruitment
Sites, week ending 2nd February 2008 Louise's UK Recruiter blog Discussion Board Summary comScore: Top 10 Career
Services & Development Sites for December 2007 UKRecruiterJobs:
Traditional, On-line and Corporate HR Recruitment Job Board |
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Don't Miss This REC News Roundup Recruitment Society Event, Second Life – An Employers’ Curse or Blessing?, 13th February, London Free Training Sessions for
Recruitment Consultants, 27th March and 7th May, London |
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Regards
Louise Triance
UK Recruiter http://www.ukrecruiter.co.uk
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