Being a hiring manager gives you insights into the hiring process that are impossible to attain as a job seeker, no matter how many resumes you write or how many interviews you are invited to. Why didn’t you get the job? It’s not always the painfully obvious stuff that you read about in interview horror stories — showing up late, drunk, or taking a cellphone call in the middle of the interview. You don’t need to arrive wearing sweatpants or make inappropriate jokes to get a thumbs down in the first 10 minutes.

Recently, at the Golem Technologies blog, Charlie Balmersummarized the top issues that will lose you a job offer, and based on my own experience, they are spot on. Recently, for example, I had to hire someone for my own team, and I had 200 applicants for a single position. In a situation like that, it’s critical to develop methods for rapidly reading candidates, or you’ll spend the rest of your life trying to find the right person for just a single opening. If you’re in the job market, pay attention to these critical issues and you’ll improve your chances a hundred-fold.

 Trim your resume. If your resume is more than two (printed, dead-tree) pages long, it’s too long. Your accomplishments should be tightly edited blasts of information, not verbose or rambling paragraphs. The rise of online resumes doesn’t give you permission to waste HR and the hiring manager’s time, and the rule of thumb that no one looks at your resume for more than about 30 seconds still holds true.

Know why you like your current job. You should be able to clearly articulate what it is about your current role (or your last position) that really excited and motivated you. You should understand what drives you, and be able to talk passionately and articulately about that. If it seems like you don’t care, have no passion, or are just looking for another paycheck, the hiring manager will pass. He or she needs someone who loves what they do and will thrive on helping the company succeed.

Have real-life anecdotes. You’ll get questions about how you handled particular situations in the interview. Know yourself and your own job history well enough that you can recount examples from your own work experience. If all you can talk about is what you would do in the future, it won’t instill much confidence.

Have the skills listed in the job description. Or at least be honest that you are trying to change roles and are willing to take a more junior position to learn and grow. Bottom line: Don’t mislead the interviewer about skills you don’t really have or experience you haven’t yet accrued. And arrive prepared to do some hands-on work, just in case you’re asked to work through a problem, project or situation that is representative of the role you’re interviewing for

As such we are seeing a marked increase in the number of CVs finding their way to us over the last two weeks.  A large part of the job of a recruitment consultant is to spend a number of hours sifting these applications for a variety of roles and it has struck us that job seekers seem to have forgotten that key saying “first impressions count”

We are finding an error free CV a breath of fresh air when really it should be the norm.

This is therefore an issue that needs to be addressed as we as consultants (and we know of several of our clients) are inclined to right off potentially good candidates due to lazy errors on CVs. 

A “bad” CV shows a lack of care and attention to detail as well as a generally lackadaisical attitude to job hunting.  Think of it from an employers point of view, seriously, why would you employ someone who can’t even be bothered to spell check their CV!?

Always remember this two page document (if it is over two pages you are waffling and need to cut some out!) is potentially the most important document you will write (if you want a job that is) and you need to make it more than just a piece of paper. 

It ideally needs to tell the potential employer that you are the one for the role in regard to qualifications, skills and attitude.

A CV should list the following:

1. Your name and contact details – funnily enough we cannot give you a job if we cannot get in touch with you.
2. A profile – what your strengths and future aspirations are.
3. Education – most recent first. 
4. Work history – again most recent first and bullet point your duties – we are not psychic and do not know what you do on a daily basis.
5. Computer skills, languages and any other specific skills (first aid, health & safety etc)
6. Hobbies / interests – very important as it gives the employer an idea of whether you will fit into their current team.  Try not to put socialising as it implies you will always have Monday off!

So, to secure the interview for your dream job:

1. Always send a cover letter ensuring the name of the contact and the company are correct.  Also check your sign off – a letter to Mr J Bloggs does not end Yours faithfully!
2. Check the font, size of font, bullet points, line spacing, dates and bold/underlined are consistent throughout the document. 
3. Don’t waste space by putting unnecessary information on – we do not need to know
4. Always list positives andnever complain about previous/current employers
5. Most importantly check the spelling and grammar!!!!

Once you have what you consider the finished article, get a second opinion from someone you trust, or pop in and have a chat with one of our consultants who can give you an unbiased opinion, make any required changes and then complete the application process as soon as possible. 

Even if you don’t get the job, at least you will know it is because you did not have the relevant skills, not that your CV was a load of rubbish!

The DeafBlind climb team

 

The team set off at 4:15am and by 1pm had reached the summit. Sadly, though, Meg was not there with them. Not, of course, without a legitimate reason! A short way from the summit, a gentleman called Jim who had joined the group half way up and was climbing Ben Nevis in memory of his late wife, went into hypoglycaemic shock with suspected hypothermia. Meg and fellow DeafBlind team member George turned back to help him back down the mountain, forgoing their chance to complete the challenge. 

Nearing the top

At 9:55pm the rest of the team made their triumphant return to the bottom of the highest mountain in Britain – a fantastic achievement made by an inspirational team.

See walker Nina Smirnoff’s blog about it here, where you can also donate money to DeafBlind Scotland: http://networkedblogs.com/l83WO

And also George’s blog can be found here: http://self-catering-cottages-scotland.blogspot.com/

The charity and the climb both sounded so fantastic that Red Recruitment directors Rachael (aka @RedRecruitment) and Meg (aka @MegatRed) decided that Red had to get involved. The first move was that we bought high-visibility rucksack covers for the climbers, so that other teams on their way up Ben Nevis would see what this particular challenge is about. But that didn’t quite seem enough – Meg was so inspired by the challenge that Michael has set that she offered to join the team on the climb! So, this Thursday July 21^st, Meg Jones will be hiking her way up Ben Nevis to raise money for a really great charity. We are SO proud of her (aww!) and wish everyone who is on their way to Ben Nevis right now the very best of luck.

For more information on the challenge and to donate money please visit http://networkedblogs.com/jfIQi

The new Agency Workers’ Regulations (AWR) legislation comes into force in October, and they will mean big changes for those of you who take on temps. After 12 weeks of employment, agency workers will gain a lot of the same employment rights as their directly employed counterparts. We are producing a fact sheet so you know how it will affect employers. See our website for more details; we will keep you posted

iPhone interview innovation

The true 21^st century candidate can now upskill on the move, with a suite of iPhone and Android device apps available giving bite-size interview training tips to the tech-savvy interviewee. The apps, called “Fit for the Job”, last 15-20 minutes and give candidates the opportunity to pick up a few last-minute hints while they take the bus or train (preferably not the car!) to your office. Click here  for Recruiter magazine’s full article

Minimum wage increase

As you may have already heard, on October 1^st 2011 the National Minimum wage will go up again, prompting a rethink on how much you need to pay your staff. For those aged 21 and over it will become £6.08, for employees aged 18 – 20 it will be £4.98, and for 16 – 17 year olds it will go up to £3.68 per hour

Why go local?

Here at Red Recruitment we firmly believe in making the best of local talent when recruiting. An article in Recruiter this May lists several reasons why it’s a fantastic idea. For one thing, it’s a sure-fire way to tap into channels of local customers, as it reflects really well on a business when local people know that opportunities aren’t going to be outsourced. It is also likely to encourage your staff to stick with you, as without a long commute they are better placed to establish a good work-life balance, which is something that candidates often tell us is important to them. In case of the famous Shropshire floods, or long winter snow drifts, local folk will find it easier to get to work than those who have long distances to travel. Finally if, like us, you love your local area, what better way to contribute to its overall prosperity by drawing your staff from the nearest talent pool? Read the full article here

 And in other news…

Dead Good Undies Gets the Bubbly!

In April we sent out an online questionnaire to all of our most recent clients, asking them to assess the service that they have received from us and let us know what they would like us to do differently. For their trouble, those who responded were entered into a prize draw for to win a bottle of Taittinger. The lucky winner was Jane Garner of Dead Good Undies. Congratulations to Jane, and many thanks to all who filled out our questionnaire. Your responses are enormously appreciated; all comments have been taken on board!

Top Up Your Management Skills 

On Wednesday 15 June, from 10am – 1pm Beyond Expectation, Kay Heald HR and Red Recruitment are joining together at the Monkhouse Granary to offer you a unique opportunity to attend a “Management Skills Top Up: Peak Performance” workshop which will give you practical support and advice to help you to manage your most important (and most time consuming) assets – your people. Find out how to set, manage and monitor staff performance, learn how to tackle poor performance issues and have a positive outcome, and discover the coaching techniques you need to harness your staffs’ potential. Contact us to book your place or to find out more about it

Rachael Walks at Midnight

Following on from her great success on the Pontesbury Potter back in March, Red Recruitment director Rachael Stone will be taking part in the Severn Hospice Midnight Walk in Shrewsbury this July. She will be looking for sponsorship to spur her on while she raises money for this fantastic local charity, so do give her a ring on 01743 352222 if you would like to sponsor her. See here for more information on the Midnight Walk http://bit.ly/gqgTph  where there are still places to sign up if you would like to take part

Tuesday, 14 December 2010

Until 31 January 2011 Red Recruitment will be holding the VAT on all permanent placements at 17.5%

VAT will rise to 20% on 4 January 2011, however, Red Recruitment will continue to charge 17.5% on all placements made before 31 January 2011. So, if you need to hire a new member of staff, please contact us as soon as possible to take advantage of this fantastic money saving offer.

Thursday, 11 November 2010

A superb new testimonial from a permanent candidate placed last month

Red Recruitment Solutions Ltd are not like all the other recruitment agencies that insist on you taking time out to visit their offices to register then do nothing with your details or offer you unsuitable vacancies.

Rachael took the time to meet me out of town and out of office hours taking up as little of my time as possible. Interviews for jobs that I was genuinely interested in were quickly described to me with detailed information emailed. Throughout the whole process everyone was exceptionally friendly and an excellent career move was swiftly offered to me.

Should I need or want to change jobs again I would definitely recommend Red Recruitment Solutions but as I am so happy with the placement they secured for me I am just happy to recommend them to others.

Thursday, 28 October 2010

We have received a super testimonial from a client we have recently worked with and would like to share it with you.

Red Recruitment recently helped us in our search for a PR Executive and we were hugely impressed by both their professionalism and their ability to exactly match our brief. The shortlist of candidates for first interview was excellent and we were faced with the enviable decision of having two perfect people to choose from by the second interview. The team at Red didn’t just match our job spec but found people who would be a great fit with our existing team and whose aspirations matched our own. Thank you for a job brilliantly done and it’s been a genuine pleasure to work with you!