For those who read my blog, you'll know I've recently changed jobs, and I've been pretty slack in posting here in the last year.  Some will say "again?" others have been congratulatory, I have to say it has been an interesting experience.  I'm 37 years old and I'm into my 5th professional job (not counting the moss farming, kitchen hand and service station attendant during University and high school).  Being the new boy again, facing those nerves of the unknown, will they like me? will…

When it comes to qualifying, there are 3 questions I live by.  The first is "Why is this position open?"  The second is "What are the details of the job?"  And last, but certainly not least, "What is the budget for the project?" These seem simple enough, and easy to say...but so many people I have worked with don't ask these questions, and then wonder why their candidate doesn't get hired or the company goes dark on them.…

Like thousands of people around the world you may be contemplating updating your CV whilst you enjoy a spot of R&R this Christmas but will you get it right?

Speak to three recruiters and you’ll get three opinions as to how to lay it out, what to include, etc. There is no correct answer as we all have our preferred style because we believe it works.

However, some things are fundamental and you should get them right so here is a short list of…

Picture the scene.

A leading consumer goods company with a well known portfolio of brands. A key brand in their portfolio has been identified for investment, an element of which is to be targeted in a new advertising campaign to communicate and deliver the key brand benefit (KBB) and core message.

They want to appoint an expert (advertising agency) to work with them to develop the best and most effective, relevant way of communicating the message to their target…

If you are like me, you are excited for Season 5 of Mad Men to start in 2012.  While I can’t wait for the 1960′s chic, Don Draper’s next life escapades and what happens to Sterling, Cooper & Draper, I’m most excited to see the creative process and new advertising campaigns they create.  (Yes, I’m a marketing nerd!…)

After re-watching the past few seasons, I once again came across one of my favorite themes from Mad Men.  Whether it is determining the direction of a new ad…

Have you ever gotten the call from a friend because you are a recruiter and they need a job? As the conversation unfolds and you hear the woes of the market, the reason the current job has wronged them, and all the other reasons the work world is not kind to them. Admit it, in the back of your mind you are thinking… NO WAY is this person getting a new job anytime soon. They have to change their mindset.   

Why then do we exude the same behaviors and expect to be that GO TO person for…

There is an increasingly troublesome trend creeping into UK recruitment this month and that is sending in a CV without first talking to the candidate who owns it. Who owns the CV, then? I firmly believe it is the candidate and them alone. It is their life story after all, and I think they’ve lent it to us to advertise their wares but not without limitations.

Twice this last month I have received advice from clients saying that they already had the CV from another…

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! In this Christmas Special, Jim Stroud remembers previous Christmases and ponders what is really important. Special thanks to the Stroud Family for pitching in on this episode.

DO THIS NOW!…

Cast your eye over any article, blog or tweet regarding 'social media' platforms and pretty much every time you will hear LinkedIn included in the list, especially when talking about 'social' recruiting.  I don't know about you though, but I don't see LinkedIn as social technology at all, certainly not in the same way as I would see Twitter or perhaps…

So you are on the lookout for that hardcore technology developer with the 2 skills your Client is calling you down every day about; “Paul where are you on that search …? We are really under a lot of pressure …” You drop everything again, to re-focus on the search and finally;  in the depths of a search, through 5…

During this holiday season please remember that friends do not let friends get drunk and sing Christmas Karaoke.

For some smiles let's play you know you are a recruiter if...

You know you are a recruiter if you go to a party, meet a new person ,when they tell you what they do for a living you ask them how long they have been there.  If it's less than a year you immediately think..not recruitable yet, then ask them how long they worked for the commpany they…

The holiday slow down is here.  At least for us it is.  Every year around this time we see things slow down in recruiting.

Many companies shut down the process of hiring for certain positions until after New Years, many have budget and needs analysis going on, and of course many in recruiting/HR along with hiring managers are on vacation or wrapping up to end the year.  So things slow down.  Fewer new job orders, fewer things in early stages moving forward.

Looking back at…

This is the second in a short series of tales that all left me with the same feeling; that I need to increase people’s respect for me and what I do.

The scattergun candidate

All recruiters want to work with great candidates and we all want to find that particular jewel of a person that has not worked with any other recruiter and is not generally known to our clients.

A few…

“We are getting too many applicants as it is”.  This is a phrase I’m hearing more and more from recruitment marketing organizations. Organizations feel this way for a few reasons:

1. They feel their recruiters are swamped as it is and additional screening would just add to the work pile.

2. They are currently hiring candidates that are good or acceptable for…

How to make video job descriptions (and why you should be producing your own) is the topic when Jim Stroud interviews Will Staney of VMware and investigates how they are successfully using video job descriptions to recruit active and passive candidates online. If you are not using video job descriptions in your recruitment strategy, no doubt you will consider it after this episode of The Jim Stroud Show. At the very least, video job descriptions are an employer branding opportunity your…

We've reported throughout the year that social media skills are in high demand by employers as it is becoming a more integrated business strategy. Human Resources professionals – especially Recruiters – are more and more commonly required to have skills and experience with social…

The coolest thing I saw this week

Source: Dvice

The Fort Lauderdale Winterfest Boat Parade is usually a standard affair: big boats with great lighting parading down the Intracoastal Waterway, people lined up on shore to wave, admire and imbibe. Every…

Preparing a highly targeted and personalised cover letter and you are already on your way to a brand new job. Obviously, you will need a professionally written resume also! By impressing the reader (hiring professional) and they will enthusiastically move onto your resume. Disappoint the reader and your resume will be deleted.

Will a perfectly written cover…

Two weeks ago I took my eldest son to the 2012 Year 7 Orientation Day at his new secondary school. All the kids and parents were milling around before the event started. There was an excited buzz in the air as students from many different primary schools checked out their future school-mates.

As I was waiting for the formalities to start, I was looking around the hall and noticed the school motto plastered across the wall: There is more in…