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Posts Tagged ‘jobs’

HOW TO: Gain Twitter Influence

November 3rd, 2010 By seb Filed Under: Everyone

Guy Kawasaki and Robert Scoble have vastly different philosophies when it comes to gathering Twitter followers. Kawasaki puts his bluntly: ‘My strategy is that Twitter is a marketing broadcast platform, and so the way it gets to be the best platform you could have is to have as many different followers as possible, which to put it mildly, is radically different from most people — who believe they should have a Kumbaya soulful experience with every follower.’

Scoble, on the other hand, is more of a quality over quantity kind of guy: “Caring about number of followers is going to take you down a path that’s not very satisfying…Even if you get the numbers, if you’re surrounded by a million [jerks], is that as much fun as being surrounded by a thousand brilliant, fun, great people?”

Both Kawasaki — the co-founder of media aggregation site Alltop, author of nine books, and former Apple Fellow who uses Twitter to broadcast the interesting articles collected at Alltop — and Scoble, a bloggerwho has carved out a niche in world-changing technologies, have met their own definitions of success. Kawasaki has more than 300,000 followers on Twitter. Scoble has about 146,500 and a Klout score higher than Lady Gaga’s (though she does admittedly have roughly a 6.5 million person lead in number of followers).

We spoke with Kawasaki and Scoble to get their keys to Twitter success. Here’s what their advice had in common. (more…)

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The age of interims rises

October 13th, 2010 By Ant Filed Under: Candidates, Employers

The average age of interims is rising, according to new data from Impact Executives, part of the Harvey Nash group.

The data shows that the proportion of interims over the age of 55 has risen in the past year, while 3% of respondents were over 65.

The data also shows that while last year the number of interims on assignment was fewer than those not on assignment, this year the balance has shifted again, with 55% working and 45% not.

Christine de Largy, managing director of Impact Executives, says: “These results do not set out to shock or buck the trend but reiterate our continued message that things are heading in a positive direction, just at a slow, steady pace. We have also noted that in interim appointments, maturity and expertise will be important differentiators in cost reduction or profit improvement.”

This shows that during this time of recession, wisdom and experience of past tough times are invaluable to businesses.

Source: Recruiter.co.uk

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Glimmer of Hope

September 14th, 2009 By julian Filed Under: Everyone

Britain’s employers are reporting improved recruitment plans for the first time in three years, offering a “glimmer of hope” to jobseekers in the run-up to Christmas, according to a survey out today. But employers are hiring older, experienced workers rather than young unemployed people, adding to fears for a “lost generation”.

In a survey of 2,100 UK employers, the recruitment specialist Manpower found that 80% of employers anticipated no change in headcount over the next three months, while 9% intended to actively increase numbers. This pushed the UK’s net employment outlook up to -2 for the fourth quarter of 2009, from -6 for the third quarter. The figures measure the balance of employers’ hiring intentions over their plans to fire people.

Mark Cahill, managing director at Manpower UK, said: “There are a number of early positive hiring indicators emerging, from employers in sectors including finance and business services, public and social, and construction, which suggest we may have reached a turning point.”

Manpower said that the UK had similar hiring intentions to France and Germany, despite both countries recently declaring an official end to their recessions. It added that Japan, on the other hand, had a much worse employment outlook than the UK even though its recession has been declared over.

“France, Germany and Japan have already declared themselves officially out of recession. If the UK is to mirror this recovery and retain its position within the global business arena, it is essential that temporary labour, which will provide both job creation and business growth, be embraced by employers,” added Cahill.

Ireland and Spain had the worst employment outlooks with a balance of -8. The most positive was India with a net outlook of 25 and Brazil with 21. The US’s outlook for the final three months of the year was -3, down from -2 for the third quarter.

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Heading for graduation?

July 14th, 2009 By julian Filed Under: Candidates

Let’s now fast forward to those students who are part way through their degree and will be looking to start work in a year or two years time……

Do you have 1 or 2 years left on your degree? Now is the time to be thinking of your career!

Key is the consideration is that the jobs market is highly competitive, so you need to be able to stand out. How do you stand out as a graduate? Yes of course, the institution you study at and the grade you attain help recruiters assess your ability but there is a lot more you can do.

First up, have you considered internship? During those long summer vacations, why not work for a games company for 3 months and gain a real insight into working life. EA Internships place you on a live game team and hence give you really meaningful work on a game that will ship to millions of people…plus you get paid and most importantly you get you name into the game credits. You will also gain some vital contacts and build your network. If you are good you may even get a job offer for when you graduate.

Now imagine if you are the recruiter and you get a selection of cv’s. All are similar ie they come from great Universities and have strong grades but one cv has the added value of an internship. Which would you prioritise for interview?

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HR rallies against retirement age

July 14th, 2009 By julian Filed Under: Candidates, Employers

Most HR management professionals (64%) believe the mandatory retirement age causes a loss of valuable knowledge and talent, according to a survey from TAEN – The Age and Employment Network, and the Employers Forum on Age.

And of those that had removed the mandatory retirement age, more than three quarters viewed it as a positive step.

Chris Ball, chief executive of TAEN, says”The survey shows that the arguments against repeal of the national default retirement age (NDRA) do not correspond with reality. Most employers, even those that have mandatory retirement ages, say it is of no help in dealing with under-performing employees. Yet this was a major reason for the NDRA when the regulations were introduced.

“Similarly, while organisations with mandatory retirement ages say it helps their succession planning, those who have got rid of mandatory retirement say they get on fine without it.”

Security of postgrad courses sought by graduates

More than three in five graduates are contemplating further study due to the tough jobs market, according to figures from Milkround.com.

The survey shows that 15% consider a postgraduate qualification is “essential”, 16% “beneficial”, while 13% did not think they needed a postgraduate qualification, but would still like one.

Milkround.com spokesperson Mike Barnard says: “Postgraduate study is becoming increasingly popular among graduates who are taking a look at the harsh realities of finding a job this summer and realising they need to beef up their CV or face an uncertain future. Employers have fewer vacancies but more candidates applying, meaning they can be picky when choosing their graduate employees. If the skills don’t match up, a CV will go straight in the rejected pile – it’s that simple

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Going that extra mile to secure the role..

June 17th, 2009 By julian Filed Under: Candidates

NEW YORK (Reuters)

Job-seekers are using unusual gimmicks to grab the attention of potential employers, such as in one case sending a shoe along with a resume to get a “foot in the door,” said a survey released on Wednesday.

Almost a fifth of hiring managers report seeing more unconventional tactics this year, compared with 12 percent who said so last year, according to the study by CareerBuilder.com, an online jobs site.

Faced with the highest unemployment in 25 years, candidates are trying a variety of tricks, including:

* handing out resumes at stoplights

* washing cars in a company parking lot

* staging a sit-in in a company lobby to demand a meeting with a director

* sending a cake designed as a business card with the candidate’s picture

* handing out personalized coffee cups

* going to the same barber as the company chairman to have the barber speak on his behalf

One job-seeker attached a shoe to a resume as “a way to get my foot in the door,” a respondent told the survey.

“The search for employment is taking longer and is more competitive than it has been in past years,” said Jason Ferrara, senior career adviser at CareerBuilder, in a statement. “To compensate, some candidates have turned to extreme tactics.”

But he cautioned: “While unusual job search antics may attract the attention of hiring managers, they need to be done with care and professionalism so that candidates are remembered for the right reasons.”

The online survey was conducted for CareerBuilder by Harris Interactive among 2,543 full-time hiring managers and human resource professionals between February 20 and March 11, 2009. The overall results have a margin of error of plus or minus 1.94 percentage points.

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Ways to select the right recruitment company

April 15th, 2009 By julian Filed Under: Employers

After the boom years of recent times, one thing that the UK is not short on is recruitment companies. The continuous growth experienced over the last 5 years, pre the drop off, has meant that agencies have been able to spring up anywhere and everywhere, fulfilling the recruitment needs of the growing businesses nationwide. This phenomenal growth has come at a cost, most notably a quality cost, with ‘agencies’ rather than consultancies operating to a sales lead, numbers based business model, forsaking the consultancy lead, partnership ethos that is an essential element in any successful talent partnership. Here’s some tips on selecting the right recruitment partner;

Tip no.1

Check for expertise in the area. The consultancy should know about local qualifications, the registration process for professional bodies and have some background for such operations.

Tip no.2

Go personally to their offices, meet the team, check their surroundings and their employees and make sure that their company culture fits in with yours.

Tip no.3

Meet the people who will be working with you to find your talent. Recognise them as your partners, understand that they are trying to help you grow your business by recruiting the right talent, engender an environment of honesty so that their feedback is conducive to positive change that further enhances your business offering.

Tip no.4

Reference your recruitment partners, talking to their other clients to get feedback on both the business and the consultants you work with. They are the most trustworthy sources on this matter but be careful on rushing to call the number they gave you immediately. It could be anyone. Research the company on the Internet and make sure it’s a really credible source.

Tip no.5

Investigate the kind of support they offer as the way they treat the candidates tells a lot about their business and will dictate the quality of candidates that are attracted to their business, and as a result, yours.

These are just a few tips on making the right choice. The fundamental driver should be to ascertain whether their business is as professional as your, that their emphasis on quality and culture is as focused as yours and that they understand the strategy goals of your business and how talent fits in to your growth strategy. If your consultancy ticks all of these boxes, you have yourself a real partner rather than just an agency trying to ‘sell’ you candidates.

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