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Welcome to issue 385 of the ukrecruiter newsletter; our first issue of 2009. Here's hoping for a better 2009 than that which is currently being predicted! | 
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CONTENTS
Visit http://www.ukrecruiterjobs.co.uk for the latest recruitment industry jobs. |
My Favourites During 2008 we alternated the original "my favourites" feature with top tips. For 2009 we are considering new options for this area of the newsletter. Could we have your feedback on your preferences: a) original "my favourites every week (ie, 3 sites recommended by you) b) one mini recruitment related website review every week (written by a subscriber each week) c) a number of series of top tips (eg, marketing, sales, IT, internet related) d) a variety of all of the above throughout the year e) something else - please suggest! Responses to louise@ukrecruiter.co.uk |
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Article One: How to Write a Job Ad That Attracts Top Talent! By Kelly Magowan In today's talent short market, old-age writing practices can no longer get you the results you are after. Businesses cannot afford to place a brief, poorly written ad with minimal details about the job, matched with spelling mistakes and poor grammar, and expect people to apply. Like all other forms of marketing, time needs to be spent on the content of your ad as you attempt to attract the reader's interest. You need to spend the time upfront getting the detail and content of the job ad right, as it will result in you attracting the right types of applicants. Below are some areas to think about before you write your next £50K+ Job Ad. 1. Know the Golden Rule - AIDA It's called AIDA, just like the opera. And it has been the time-honored golden rule to follow when writing or reviewing any ad, in any media, for anything. It works like this: A is for ATTENTION Your first job is to attract your prospect's attention. A strong, interesting and relevant headline is essential. In the case of premium job ads it might be as simple as the position title and the salary offered. Alternatively, use a catchy benefit-based promise that sets the position or the opportunity apart. Consider your audience and what would appeal to them and catch their attention, as a Marketing, IT, Engineering, Finance, HR role etc will all have different trigger points for the reader. It is essential that you know and understand your target audience if you are to connect effectively with them. Competition for top talent is tough and individuals are more discerning and savvy than ever. They know exactly what they want and will work hard to get it. Your advertisement must illustrate empathy and understanding of their desires and needs. Don’t beat about the bush. Get straight to the point. Let them know you’re on their wave length. A great way to do this is to write to a particular person, someone you know well and is exactly the kind of person you want to attract. It may be a friend or colleague or someone you’d love to win over. If you’re after another top brand manager for example, show the copy to your current best brand manager and ask for their input. Research shows that job ads that include salary information attract a higher proportion of better quality and relevant applications than those without. In addition job ads that are written for a single specific job will grab the reader’s attention over a job ad that includes a few positions in a single ad. I is for INTEREST The first couple of paragraphs of body copy must grab and hold your reader’s interest and encourage them to read on to find out more. Make sure that the ad is interesting and relevant, noting that it is important that the ad includes actual specific information about the job, its purpose, responsibilities, leadership, career progression, salary, benefits and the team. Always consider the reader while you are writing and ask yourself if the information is going to be of interest. General statements do little to engage the reader and result in your ad becoming a blur amongst all other indistinguishable ads. If the ad written is of poor quality, your employer brand in turn becomes associated with this poor standard. D is for DESIRE The way to create desire for the position is to sell the benefits of the job. You want your target job seeker to think: “This sounds good. I want to learn more about this position. This is for me.” You can achieve this by breaking up the body copy with sub-headings or bullet points to make it easy to read and to highlight important points. Again be sure to include facts and information about what the job actually entails, specific skills required, the rewards and benefits of doing the job well, the quality of the team etc. Expand each ad you prepare to include the Employee Value Proposition (EVP) to translate the job seekers interest for the ad into desire for the job. Desire can be created in a few well written paragraphs. There is a fine balance between having a very brief ad and one that goes on for pages, remembering that the reader will spend no longer than five minutes reading your job ad. A is for ACTION Remember the role of your advertisement is to connect with quality job seekers. A successful ad will result in quality job seekers pressing the Apply Now button, an outcome each ad should strive for. Ensure your words are engaging enough to urge the job seeker to action. This can be subtle such as “For more information about this terrific opportunity call….” or very punchy such as “Interest in this position is sure to be huge. Make sure you apply now.” Only use these big statements if indeed they are true and if they are suited to your target audience. Bear the AIDA rule in mind when writing your ads, and always check the finished copy to make sure you’ve covered the bases. Have someone in your team review the ad for you to see you are hitting the mark. Writing a good ad copy is something that takes time to do well. This will require more time spent upfront collecting and preparing the copy for the ad however it is more likely to result in you attracting the right type of applications for the position and shorten the time to hire. Finally more information is contained in
http://www.sixfigures.com.au/downloads/SixFigures_HighSalaryEarners_Report08.pdf Kelly has been specialising in the arena of Human Resource Management, Recruitment and Career Counselling for close to 12 years. In 2008 Kelly launched Six Figures www.sixfigures.com.au the premium job site for $100K+ jobs, a site created to provide job seekers with a trusted online source to find six figure opportunities across all industries and professions. |
Advertisement No strings savings on recruitment software Chameleon-i provides a complete online recruitment software solution at a fraction of the expected cost. With easy-to-use, business-critical tools that allow you to run your agency smoothly, measure its success, match and place more candidates, launch marketing campaigns and serve your clients better. Backed by free award-winning customer support, Chameleon-i is better for your bottom line. Find out more at www.chameleoni.com or call 01483 600376.
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Article Two: The Secret of My Success: Interview with Lucinda Brown, UK MD GRS Before becoming MD of GRS UK, Lucinda Brown built one of the City's leading legal executive search businesses from scratch in less than 1,000 days. As Head of GRS Legal her 50 strong sales empire stretched from the City to Hong Kong and Zurich via New York and Munich. Not content with running GRS Legal, Lucinda launched GRS Paris in 2008. When she is not running GRS Lucinda enjoys learning about wine. She spends most breaks on a Norfolk vineyard. In 20 years time she sees herself running a dive school on a Caribbean island – but in the meantime she has a recruitment empire to run… What do you wish you'd known at the start of your career? How much recruitment fluctuates so to work even harder in the buoyant times to pay for the less buoyant times. Which person within the industry has influenced you the most? Richard Paisley and Dan Chester, the two founders of GRS. They were the entrepreneurial brains behind GRS at the outset back in 2002 and they created an environment for me to flourish. They showed me how things were possible with hard work, belief and drive. They also showed me how much fun work could be if you enjoy what you do. Is there a person in recruitment you’d most like to emulate? My CEO, Ken Brotherston. No one knows more about recruitment in the industry. He is an inspiration, a great public speaker, leader and entrepreneur. Which lesson has taken the longest to learn? Not to take things personally. What is the biggest mistake a recruiter can make? Not listening and thinking that you won’t be found out if you try and blag your market knowledge. Recruitment is all about being specialist; never more so than now, given the current climate. Clients need expert guidance and the generalist players will go bust in a matter of months. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The industry needs a bit of a shake-up – a clear out of the dead wood that has given it a bad name. It’s just a shame so many people will lose their jobs all at once. Not specialising in your chosen market is the biggest mistake a recruiter can make, and I fear many are about to learn that the hard way. What cliché do you think is true? The harder you work, the luckier you get. What Cliché do you think is false? If you can’t do, teach. What words of advice would you give to someone starting out in recruitment? Learn your market, become an expert, work harder than anyone else. What is your favourite interview technique? Let them speak. Strong candidates will let you know their strengths and poor ones will hang themselves with their own rope. Of course, we focus on competency-based interview techniques given the level of seniority we work at, but giving interviewees the freedom to connect with you and relying on my instinct are crucial to an effective interview. Tell me about the most interesting assignment you've worked on Head of Audit for Vodafone. What's the strangest interview situation you've encountered? A male candidate arrived at the interview dressed as a woman. Which job would you most like to recruit? Chief Risk Officer for Northern Rock or Soc Gen or Group Counsel for an oil giant. What job would you be doing if you weren't in recruitment? Diving instructor in the Red Sea. Is there a famous person you'd like to interview? Barack Obama. My career has been about placing senior people in the right jobs and finding a perfect cultural fit for both candidate and client – Barack has just nailed the most important job on the planet and he’s a perfect cultural fit for such a global role, it would be great to meet the most influential person in the world. What do you think it is that has made you so successful? Hard work & drive, relationship building, surrounding myself with people as good as or better than me - and a bit of luck! This is part of a regular series of articles we run in the newsletter. In each article Louise interviews someone who has achieved success within the recruitment industry. If you would like to recommend someone for inclusion in the series please email contact2@ukrecruiter.co.uk with their details. |
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Online Recruitment Update (This section is sponsored by http://www.1Job.co.uk; "the leading UK job search engine") Hitwise top 10 Recruitment
Sites, week ending 3rd January 2009 Louise's UK Recruiter blog Discussion Board Summary Press Release: AllJobsUK.com
Online Recruitment Index This section is sponsored by http://www.1Job.co.uk; "the leading UK job search engine" |
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Don't Miss This Recruitment Breakfast Seminar,
20th January 2009, London HR Directors Business Summit
2009, 21-22 January 2009, Birmingham |
Please forward this newsletter on to any colleagues or recruitment friends who you think might like to receive the newsletter.
Regards
Louise Triance
UK Recruiter http://www.ukrecruiter.co.uk
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