Monday of this week started off on an upbeat note. Two potential placements coming to a close after months of what I am beginning to regard as not recruiting but “search and rescue missions”. Rescue for my clients who need that very specific candidate who has the skills, will fit with their group and is in the range they can afford. Rescue for candidates both active and passive who for whatever reason are worried if employed or really worried if not employed.

The first portent that…

Working with management consultants sounds simple enough doesn’t it? Some may say ‘it is; I pay a fee, and I get a service or deliverable back’. I’m here to tell you this is wrong and if this is how you’ve been working with your consultant, you are missing out!  While a vendor may come and go with little interaction to deliver a service, the work with a…

Here is something that should make those in a recruitment agency feel proud of what they do and genuinely value their service. At Cpl we took the last 500 placements that we made and analysed the contact with the candidates that we had placed. What was really interesting was that the average number of contacts with the successful candidate (defined as email contact or connected phone conversations) was 21 times. Naturally some of these candidates would have been spoken to over a 6 month…

Employers have consistently increased their demand for social media skills this year. Since January, the volume of online job ads has increased by 40%, with more than 10,000 new ads posted during September. Demand was seen in many job functions – Marketing and Public Relations, Web Development and Software Engineering, Recruiters, Sales, and many other fields.

Of the 20 occupations with the highest demand for social media skill sets, 19 have seen increases when…

Well actually ‘How’ I made CPL being the most visited recruitment agency web site in the country is not that exciting. The site has a really good SEO since my second job is SEO Consultant: www.SEOConsultant.ie and I managed to get a really good inbound links to it. So no wonder other agencies are using CPL.ie as a sample site when defining what do they need on their next web site. Recruitment trainers are showcasing the features of…

The biggest cause of placements going wrong, is people making assumptions.

Placing a candidate starts with building a relationship with that candidate and establishing ‘terms of engagement’, if you like. Usually, it is essential to develop a rapport and a tight co-operation to ensure the right match is made.

From a candidate point of view, working with a recruiter to find a new role should be painless. In fact it should make the process much smoother overall!

A good…

It was on a day where it was overcast and the rain just wouldn't go away, it was at a time where someone doubted my ability to create incredible outcomes even though I had done so dozens if not hundreds of times before.  Yet folks forget, and must be reminded again, and again, and again. 

In the case of shifting circumstances, economic ill tidings,…

As a foreign job seeker trying to find work in your new country, the odds are stacked up against you. Not only are you competing against other foreign job seekers, but you’re competing against domestic job seekers who share similar skills and experiences. After working with foreign job seekers from all over the world in every type of industry, I have found that the most…

Chances are that you or someone that you know has been impacted by the recent economic upheaval of the past few years. Companies have downsized, closed plants, relocated, moved operations off-shore and even outsourced or automated many jobs. These were themes that played out across the country and continue to have a ripple effect even in our business of talent…

One of the biggest trends in recruiting today is the development of Talent Networks.  Here’s how I define a Talent Network (definitely feel to add your definition in the comments):

A Talent Network is a community of candidates that a recruiting organization builds organically through opt-in and sourcing and most importantly, engages with (via social media, email, SMS) to drive qualified candidates & hires into their recruiting…

Men: 40, Women: 6.

REEEEAAALLLY?

Because they show “ties” for several of the top 40 listings, there are actually 46 people on Fortune’s 40 Under 40, an annual list of business movers and shakers.  13% Women.  You have to get to #20 (#21 really) to see the first woman.  How very sad.  Fortune has been…

Would a football coach ever think about playing and winning at football without their playbook? A playbook contains offensive, defensive and special team plays with techniques and vocabulary relating to game plays as well as information about team formations. Football playbook's are given to each team member at the start of the season's training…

Age discrimination claims have hit record levels in the United States! According to msnnbc.com the figures have risen from 16,000 in 2006 to 23,000 in 2010. That staggering number has skyrocketed, one due to unemployment and two due to the generational gap in the work force today. Those 55 and over are unemployed for an average length of 52.4 weeks. The average is just 37.4 weeks for younger workers, according to AARP employment data. The harsh reality is their age is part…

It could happen? Ok not really but what started me on a very passionate post that I had to quiet a bit after a few drafts were the comments from an infograph on How Recruiters Use Social Media, by Erica Swallow about how recruiters use social media to screen candidates. The comments were spiced with bits about how people cannot believe a recruiter would eliminate…

What has become the norm in the recruiting industry is that social recruiting dominates the headlines. I have to ask, why shouldn't it?  The two biggest names in social media are LinkedIn and Facebook. LinkedIn just concluded its' very successful LinkedIn Talent Connect 2011 and The Recruiting Innovation Summit was…

Good morning everyone.  I am in the research phase of starting a staffing business from home and would like some guidance.  I am attempting to enter the administrative/support industry focusing on entry level to mid.

I would like to know from anyone who has experience in this industry what some of the hiring trends are that you are currently seeing?

What kind of fees generally should I expect to ask for?  What is the average fee for a placement in this industry?

Are you seeing…

I have always enjoyed meeting and connecting with people – my husband has always joked that I ‘work the room’ where ever we go – weddings, parties, concerts, waiting in line –any line -, political functions, vacations, cruises – anyplace there are people. I seem to have a natural knack to talk to people I don’t know and get them to tell me more about themselves. Actually, meeting people in this way is pretty easy – you have at least one thing in common, you’re at the same event and that is a…

These are dire times.  The economy is sketchy, and employees can do foolish things in desperation.   Many people need money, and more often than not,  a fair portion of an employer's staff is probably in straits with overdue payments on everything from mortgages to the telephone bill.  So in some ways it should be no wonder that employment theft is on the rise.

Employment theft is on the rise and industrial espionage has actually increased significantly during the past few years.   In…

Are you a contractor desiring a permanent position?  Some professionals desire the stability of a permanent position, while others enjoy the evolving and changing aspects of contract work. There are some things you can do to help you take steps towards a permanent position, if you are looking for that stability.  Here are some steps to help you stand out among your competition.

Treat the position as more than just a “stepping stone” to another position.  You need to work with…