I’m sure that there are many ways to mess up an interview and not turning up would probably be high on the list but recent experience would point to some not quite so obvious ways:

Not answering the question put to you would be high on my list. If you don’t have the exact background required and maybe your experience is from a different sector, in my opinion, it is perfectly alright to respond to a question with a answer that begins something like; “Well, I don’t have any direct…

I became very angry on Friday due to a client advising me that a CV I’d submitted to him had been sent in the day before by a competitor. I was the only recruiter who has spoken to the candidate and briefed him on the role too. The client sent me the competitor email as evidence of submission with the candidate CV attached. The cheeky competitor had deleted the words “Personal Profile” from the CV’s opening paragraph and substituted “Consultant’s Notes”. As, if!

I take the…

If you’ve been through Malaga airport you can’t help but notice the new terminal (3) which has been bolted on the end of Terminals 1 & 2 making effectively one long shed. It’s very pleasing to look at architecturally speaking. Someone must be very proud of it.

But that’s where it stops being pleasant. Using it is a chore and maybe even more annoying than Leeds Bradford on my flight out. Malaga airport terminal has been planned by idiots or a committee of idiots and I’ll tell…

Who’s Richard Reid and why do I hate him?  Reid was the shoe bomber and to be fair, I’ve never met him. But still I hate him, why? Reid committed his crime in 2001 hence we are now at the 10^th anniversary of those annoying ‘fake’ inspections at most airports.

Being a long term FM practitioner I get very annoyed at things that are illogical or not quite right. And having just gone abroad again yesterday there were two things at the airport that troubled me:

The first…

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…

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…

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…

I’ve titled this blog in this way as it is the first in a short series of tales that all left me with the same feeling; that I need to increase people’s respect of me and what I do.

The in-house recruiter

A lot has been written about the relative skills of the external recruiter versus the in-house recruitment manager and I don’t intend to enter too deeply into this debate except to share an annoying thing that…

A typical Plc board consists of a Managing Director, Finance Director, Operations Director, HR Director, Sales Director and a Chairman to keep them in line. Maybe there is a Commercial Director and a Property Director too if the particular case suits. But generally, there is not the business owner on the board.

So, this fine group of people are charged with making decisions to ensure the company’s survival and growth. The MD takes the decisions based on information and guidance from…

I was talking to my friend Rob M Wright the other day and he was telling me that he was struggling to find the time to complete his recruitment tasks. Well, he can have some of mine!

From my point of view, somewhere near me there must be a gap in the legendary time space continuum wall where time is pouring into my world like there’s no tomorrow. Literally.

Clients ask me to let them have CVs and then fail to read them for 4 weeks, or ask to meet someone and…

The background to this post is that I was in the middle of a tight negotiation between a client and candidate. The subject was the company car.

The offer letter had the company car entitlement noted in it and an opt out allowance, but no car list.

I spoke with my client and asked for the car list but was told that he'd got 'a nice BMW' set aside for his new starter. "Why?" said I. "Can't he choose from the list?"  It seems that it didn't work like this as there are a few cars…

The other day I wrote about how even the nicest rejection from a CEO can warm the cockles of your heart but yesterday I had a bizarre response that I feel the need to share.

 I recently came across a candidate that I’d met some time ago and she was now looking for her next challenge. After catching up with her latest news and achievements we agreed on a course of action which resulted in an email from me to a CEO of a consulting group. The email was pretty standard stuff but it was…

Today is a special day, not just a Monday but a special Monday; as today is when the FM industry grows by one more person.

The story started several months ago when a client of ours asked if I could find them a Business Development Manager for Scotland and the North; but based in Aberdeen. 'Of course', I said, took down the details and received the role description. After hanging up the phone I thought, 'Oh dear!, a tough assignment for sure. What's in Aberdeen? Oil & Gas people,…

Like most recruiters I rely on email to flag to business leaders the existence of a great candidate. Before you say it or throw a brick bat, I also spend all day on the phone (well most of it anyway). Email is an essential business tool and it allows the transference of quality information such as briefs and CVs etc. that can be considered off-line by our clients.

Too many times, perhaps where the client has no need at the time for my candidate, emails go unanswered and I wonder…