How to work with recruitment agencies

 Lots of people moan about how badly treated they are by recruitment agencies, and I am not defending any of the poor practice that there is out there. However some of the criticism comes  from a fundamental misunderstanding about what the agencies exist to do and how they operate.

Recruitment firms specialise in certain jobs/professions/sectors. You will be wasting your time if you approach people who don't fill roles in your niche.

You need to remember that  you are not paying the recruitment agency, the employer pays them so they really struggle to spend time on you as it is not bringing in any money unless they can place you. So back to finding the recruiter who fills jobs in your target niche..and you may need to get down to finding the recruiter who fills jobs in the company you want to work for. So you have to do your homework and prep.. don't expect them to be circulating your details around all their clients .. this is an employers market.

Then you need a fabulous keyword rich CV and pitch which tells them why you will get them a a 'hire' and thus commission. Then you need to build the relationship so that they know you are valuable to them. Then don't annoy them by being a pest and contacting too frequently.

They are struggling too, so be supportive and helpful to them!

Why do I need to do a covering letter?

Many of the jobs that people in the public sector apply for require a CV and a supporting statement; so I get asked about what to do about a covering letter.

Think logically about what the person who is reading all this information wants to know.

They want to know what you have done, your experience, qualifications  and your  skills. The Cv will tell them about your experience. It will set out your key achievements in reverse chronological order. It will tell them about your main achievements from which they can see what sort of skills you have got. If your Cv is a skeleton your supporting statement is the flesh and blood.

Your supporting statement should give some expanded examples of what you have done and how you did it. It is used to judge whether you have the skills; so structure it around the person spec and talk about what you did and how you did it.

So where does that leave the covering letter. Put yourself in the shoes of the reader; what else do they want to know? Well why you want the job, whether you understand the job, whether you are committed to the job. Don’t waste your opportunity to sell your enthusiasm by saying ‘herewith, attached is my application’. Use it as part of convincing them that they should meet with you.

CV, supporting statement and cover letter are the holy trinity of applications, use each well.

For more support and advice on how to get paid more, promoted faster and feel more satisfied go to www.maryhopecoaching.co.uk

What will cause your CV to be put in the bin?

A survey of 7000 HR Directors, HR Managers and decision makers came  up with the following list:

• Coloured paper,
• Using lots of different fonts/italics/bold. 
• Over egging of skills and achievements.
• Stock phrases such as “team player but can work alone”.
• Overuse of buzz words and jargon. 
• No covering letter.
• A “dump” of detailed job descriptions for every job held

And I’d add:

• Too much type and not enough white space
• Crowded pages
• Functional rather than chronological approach
• Big gaps in your history with no explanation

It's your shop window, make it attractive and quick to read at a glance!

And it is unlikely that a conscientious public sector organisation committed to equalities would literally put your CV in the bin without reading it, but it’s better not to take that risk.

When people read CVs they do so quickly and are scanning for the key requirements and experiences.. make it easy for them. Many public sector organisations still like to use application forms, because they get all the information they want in a clear, well laid out and easy to follow fashion. It is consistent and they find it easy to compare.

If artistic creativity is a requirement of the job then you can let your imagination run riot, otherwise KISS (Keep it simple stupid). Don’t imagine that a highly original presentation will make you stand out. Let your achievements speak for themselves.

For more support and advice on how to get paid more, promoted faster and feel more satisfied go to www.maryhopecoaching.co.uk

Can you learn to do interviews?

Can you learn to do interviews?

I’ve just been helping deliver  an assessment centre for a senior role and I had carry out the competence based interview element of the day. What made this a particularly interesting experience was that some of the candidates had recently been through a similar centre and had had good feedback,   and others were new to the process completely. So out of the  candidates  who were having a second chance, what was the impact of prior experience? Did they learn anything from their feedback/experience?

[nb There were no psychometric ability tests which are designed to have a test / re-test reliability in this assessment centre. The tests were analytical report writing tests. No one re-sat a personality test. ]

All, bar one, of those who had recently had feedback altered their behaviour. Their examples in interview were better chosen and described. Their performance in the group exercise was more relaxed and natural. They timed the written exercises better.  They were relaxed and knew what they were doing.

Interestingly that did not automatically mean they were selected to go to the next stage. Whilst they handled the exercises better, their improved technique did not automatically lead to a pass mark for all of them. Only for some of them.

How did they compare to the brand new to the process candidates?  There was a marked difference, those who had had feedback were much more polished and able to deliver succinct and relevant examples. They inspired more confidence. But some of them had really great experience and were strong candidates without that extra polish.

And the overall outcome? Two of the ‘new to the process’ candidates went through to the final stage and two repeaters.  In the end it was a candidate who had taken the feedback from round one on board and really understood how to present themselves, who had done really thorough research and who built good rapport with the panel  that was appointed.

So you can improve your performance.  The reality is that you need to be both good at the job and good at the assessment process to beat off the competition. Not being able to deliver on the day can seriously damage your prospects.  Understanding the assessment process and what is required can really help you develop your ability to succeed. Practice can’t make you perfect but it can certainly help you on the way to promotion.

For more support and advice on how to get paid more, promoted faster and feel more satisfied go to www.maryhopecoaching.co.uk

Are you doing all you need to in order to manage your career well?

Careers advice is what you get at school or university  after someone has given you a questionnaire test, chatted to you and then they tell you what job you should do. Or something similar.

But career management? What is that? In this rapidly changing world with organisations and sectors making huge changes and adjustments.. how can you mange a career?

I work in the field of career management and coaching so obviously I do believe that people can manage their careers but sadly not enough people do that. They drift, they hop, they jump in what they perceive to be an upwards direction. Sometimes they are pulled by the attractiveness of a new opportunity, sometimes they are pushed by unhappiness in the role or organisation they are in. Few people plan strategically.

Career management is a process by which individuals develop, implement and monitor career goals and strategies. It may be art or it may be a science; in my book it needs to be a bit of both. Whichever it delivers huge benefits.  Research shows having career goals means people can outperform those  who do not have goals or who only have a weak commitment to their goals. Those with goals are more optimistic, they are more resilient, they work harder, are engaged and are more successful at finding new roles. People who engage in career management generate more job interviews and more offers. They obtain higher salary offers and are more realistic about their job expectations. They are more effective in job interviews. In other words their careers are more successful.

The cornerstone of good career management  is research, what is sometimes called career exploration: research about yourself and research about the world of work. That’s the science part. It is the making the decision once you have got the information that leads into the world of art and metaphysics.

Career management is not a one off activity; it is on going throughout life. It is an adaptive process. But it is particularly important to engage in active carer management when you are leaving university, when facing the decision on whether to move from a technical to general management role, when your family circumstances change, if you are facing job loss, when you face a set back in your career , when you are offered a dramatic job move, when you feel the dissatisfaction of boredom or frustration with a difficult boss. These are critical time to make the right decision rather jumping into something because of the expectations of others, the opportunity is there or you feel  you have no choice.

What does it take to be good at career management?

There a five key elements of this iterative, messy process:

·         Know thyself

·         Understand the environment

·         Develop realistic goals

·         Adopt strategies that can deliver your goals

·         Be prepared to adjust those strategies when new information comes to light

Are you doing all you need to in order to manage your career well?

How to make career decisions - 7 key strategies

How to make career decisions - 7 key strategies

There are seven key reasons why it is really hard to make a career decision and identify clear career goals. Adopt these strategies to overcome the sources of indecision.
Strategy 1: Increase your  information about yourself and want you want . To make a decision you need to work really hard at understanding your interests, strengths, values and lifestyle preferences.
Strategy 2-Increase your  information  about the  organisation your work for. Make sure you really understand what your organisation does and where there may be opportunities for you and what possibilities exist. Could you create your own role?
Strategy 3 –Increase your  information bout the external environment.  If you know that your organisation can’t or won’t  provide opportunities then you really need to explore outside that organisation and beyond your sector. All my years as a headhunter taught me that every organisation is more complex and more interesting that it looks from the outside. Get into the detail and really discover what goes on.
Strategy 4 –Overcome any lack of decision making confidence. It  can be really difficult to make decisions about new roles or new directions. Use all the decision making tools that you might use in a business scenario. SWOT, Force field analysis, foursquare decision making tools. Then tap into your emotional resources, go back to what your interests, desire and goals, meditate, pray or reflect. And ask how you will feel if you don’t do this thing.
Strategy 5- Overcome the decision making fear and anxiety that can produce a paralysis. Literally it can cause panic attacks. So using your decision making tools calm those fears.  Really focus on looking at the risks you might be taking and identify each of them; then  brainstorm the measures you can take to reduce the risk. Really think through what’s the worst that could happen and what is the worst that is likely to happen. What would you do then?
Strategy 6 –Consider the stakeholders and talk to them. There may be conflicts between what you want and what someone else thinks you should do. In the end it is your life. However you need to garner support by showing them how passionate you are, how carefully you have researched the decision and how carefully you have identified the risks.
Strategy 7-Overcome your constraints. If you have a lot invested in one profession or one organisation then it may be difficult to contemplate leaving to do something different. Again there area  whole range of decision making techniques that can support you to weight the balance of doing something different.  What’s clear is that research shows if you do all your research you can make life changing decisions with less stress and are more likely to succeed in your chosen path.  
Highly anxious people may jump to conclusions before they are really ready, they may make premature or hastily contrived decisions. Or they may be paralysed and make no decision. Information and research are the keys to helping you make the right decisions at the right time.
For more help and advice on how to set and achieve your career goals talk to Mary Hope at www.maryhopecoaching.co.uk 

Who do you want to work for?

International employer branding specialist Universum has released its ‘global talent attraction index’ for 2011 and, for the third year running, Google has proved to be the most attractive employer for both business and engineering/IT students.

The rankings reflect the preferences of over 160,000 career-seekers studying for degrees at top academic institutions in the world’s twelve largest economies .

In the business sector, the big four accounting firms once again occupy the remaining top five positions, with Apple the only new entrant to the top ten.  

The top-ten rankings are as follows: 

  

1   Google 

2   KPMG 

3   PwC 

4   Ernst & Young 

5   Deloitte 

6   Microsoft 

7   Procter & Gamble 

8   J.P. Morgan 

9   Apple  

10 Goldman Sachs 

So OK that's research amongst people studying for degrees in ten major countries. But it does be the question about what it is that those students think will give them job satisfaction. Working for a company with a funky product may not  give you all the satisfaction that you might look for.. working for a big accountancy firm may not give you all the security you wish for... What you might want from those first employers is great training so that you have a really solid foundation to your career. Within a single sector or profession you will find a broad variety of cultures and styles, some may suit others frustrate.  Later in life you may want to change your priorities so that you can meet different needs, you will be much clearer about what culture you can fit into and what you hate.

What is driving your career? what kind of organisation do you want to work for? Talk to me discover the underlying drivers of your career and learn how to identify options that will work for you www.maryhopecoaching.co.uk