We’re working with some really great clients at the moment, including some really good big blue chip companies who are looking to do some exciting things this year.  So I was really disappointed to hear from one of our clients this week,  that they had not been called by 8 out of 10 of their suppliers, when they sent out their job specs this week .  

Now, I know I’ve always said it is important to meet your candidates and interview them properly, but I think it’s definitely worth talking about any roles that come up even if job descriptions are detailed as it’s so important.  I know that to help you find the right person you want you need to know as much as possible about the team the role the environment and what the business is trying to do.  To do that, you have to have a proper dialogue dialogue and find out what makes companies  tick, and how this job fits into the bigger picture.
You could argue there is no time as there are too many jobs to discuss in detail, but in a market where it is sometimes taking longer than usual to fill critical roles surely this is the best investment of time. Otherwise how do you know your  recruiters are capable of choosing the right person? Very sadly I know a few people who have left the recruitment industry as they feel relationships just aren’t the same anymore and that they are unable to do the good job they have done in the past as everything is being replaced by email. So I feel  as a client, you should insist that you meet your consultants for a proper briefing and also spend time going through the details of a job spec to make sure that the recruiter is clear about what is involved.

January is the time when people make their new resolutions and by the half way mark they have already stuck to them rigidly or ditched them. Finding a new job is usually a very popular resolution and this year is no different.   Candidates tend to start the year with a very specific view of what kind of work they have in mind  and what they want to achieve out of their next position.

The question we are often posed by candidates is whether big is better than small?  (or vice versa) i.e   whether to choose to work in a large company which can offer a good team structure, a strong brand / market presence , structured career progression and training opportunities and benefits  which are second to none.

Smaller companies however often give more exposure to a variety of work, a close knit team (often a flatter structure with more exposure to the management team) and in the instance where there is  a specialism the chance to become an expert .  It is a bit of a chicken and egg situation.

We think there are benefits in both, but to really grasp the individual benefits of working in individual roles it is really important to get a feel of the actual role and where is specifically fits in to the larger team.  Sadly many companies still feel an emailed job spec is enough and don’t put the time in to explain the benefits and terms around the specific role. It’s much easier to find the right person when there is more information about the role outside of just a list of duties.

This morning the press has been filled with news of an optimistic and positive start to 2011. Despite the rise in VAT and the possible increase in inflation, 2011 is looking very positive after the first quarter this year.

Recruitment forecasts show an increase in numbers of people to be employed in 2011 and last year saw more people hired in the private sector than jobs were shed in the public sector. 

We also noticed that November and December saw a dramtic increase in jobs taken and also numbers of people employed to start working in 2011.  

In addition job seekers are now becoming more confident about making a new career move in 2011.  Our forecast this year is also optimistic given the indications we have had from our clients.