I took my 8 year old nephew to school last week.  He took me into his classroom, introduced me to his teacher and showed me some of the work they were doing.

On a wall at the back of the classroom there was a display entitled – When I Grow Up I want to be a…

Being a recruiter I was naturally drawn to this display, and here are…

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I consider myself to be extremely lucky.  I have had a long career as a recruitment consultant, manager and - most recently - company owner.  I am now in a unique position where I talk to recruitment people all day long… Don’t feel sorry for me – I kind of like it.  Some people like listening to East 17 cd’s… me?...  I like talking to recruitment people… and… listening to East 17 cd’s… sometimes at the same time…

Point is that quite often in our industry there is…

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I was going to entitle this post Why Recruitment is like the Titanic… but I didn’t.  However, sometimes you do really feel like DiCaprio – you remember, the king of the world scene - standing on the bow of the ill-fated liner, fists pumped and happier than a pig in you know what.  But in the recruitment world you are always only one submerged iceberg away from disaster… in hindsight Why Recruitment is like the Titanic would have probably been a far more apt and…

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This is not another blog espousing the virtues of social media… no social media, in particular Twitter can be a bitch.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Twitter… I dedicate a couple of hours a day to the Twitterverse - usually early in the morning, or late in the evening. I love finding out recruitment news as it happens – and retweeting appropriately.  I enjoy seeing what roles are available and trending, and the witty banter between recruitment industry heavy…

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What if I was to tell you I’ve been holding back? No really...  I’ve been keeping secrets from you…

My last 2 blogs covered such ground breaking and thought provoking issues as whether we should wear ties, or carry compendiums in the recruitment workplace.  Some of you saw it for the light hearted entertainment it was supposed to be, whilst others wanted me burned at the stake – or banished to the Victorian equivalent of Siberia (in my estimations that location would be Orbost,…

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At the risk of offending about 97.2% of corporate recruiters in the industry – It’s time I raised what I believe to be a very  important issue.  I’m all about breaking the stereotype, promoting a unique personal brand and offering a point of difference…. It’s hard enough as a recruiter to distinguish yourself from your competitors in a saturated market, and the last time I looked there was no mandatory uniform all recruiters must stringently adhere too with Orwellian…

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It’s tough out there in the commercial contingent recruitment world – I know, I live in it too.  Clients seem to hold regular reverse auctions for fees, playing one recruiter off against another 3 or 4. Candidates swear they are being transparent, then they continually move the goalposts throughout the process and competitors pull out all stops to make the placement – sometimes ethically and sometimes… well…completely unethically.  It can be disheartening, frustrating and bloody…

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I’m back at work this week after a refreshing 3 week break - if you can call driving 4,500km’s from one end of Australia to the other, with a 2 & 4 year old in the back seat a refreshing break…

‘Are we there yet?’

‘Can we stop at McDonalds?’

‘Are we there yet?’

‘I’ve got to go to the toilet…’

‘Are we there yet?’ I’m sure you get the general idea….

Anyway, back at work I was tucking into my chicken salad sandwich and bottle of water in the food…

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Those of you who have read past posts will know that I am a Rec2Rec…  I source, and place the best recruiters in the market into reputable agency brands… Tough job I’ve got – no seriously, I have a tough job. 

My candidates are recruiters and my clients are recruiters – oh, and I’m a recruiter also…

And, guess what?... The majority of you reading this article are recruiters as well.

For the most part we, (that’s you and I), speak the same language,…

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So, you open up your email and find this waiting for you…

 

LinkedIn

Norman Timbuktu has indicated you are a fellow group member of The Recruiter Network - #1 Group for Recruiters

I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.



- Norman Timbuktu

Hmmmmm… There it is right there…. Should I accept?  I’ll quickly check his profile… Ok, he’s a Masters Graduate (Computer Applications) from…

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I meet with a number of Recruitment Consultants every week who are looking to move on from their current position, or step up to their next opportunity…  I probably speak with a further 10, or more on the phone….

 And, to be perfectly honest I’m lucky if I meet with one a week who I consider a good, old fashioned ‘A’ Candidate…

It’s not to say that these candidates are not fantastic on paper… On paper most of these candidates look great…. On paper most of these…

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Let’s be honest, to be successful in recruitment you need a combination of hard work, industry knowledge, deep networks, hunting instincts, a little luck and a healthy dose of ego…..

Unfortunately, there are no doctors in recruitment – believe me, not a single doctor specializing in recruitment… I know, I typed Recruitment Doctor into Google and all I got was a list of medical recruitment agencies. So then I tried…

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Conjures up images of Cher and that song - that charted at number 1 in Australia and Norway, number 3 in the United States and number 6 in the United Kingdom. 

And that music video set on the USS Missouri with Cher straddling a cannon, and wearing a fishnet body stocking…. But that’s not what I want to talk about…

 

I was representing a candidate to the market last week.  A candidate that I thought was very strong… You know the type: a walking…

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I was in an interesting Client meeting last week, getting feedback on a candidate who had been through 2 interviews and had 3 reference checks taken.

‘Craig,’ the client began, ‘We’re not going to proceed with John….. We just don’t believe he makes the boat go faster…’

Did he just say what I thought he’d said? Make the boat go faster?? Last time I looked John was neither a Mercury 150hp outboard, nor an America’s Cup sailing want-to-be….

My obvious confusion…

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I’ve been in recruitment for a long time, a helluva long time……. Not quite as long as it’s been since a Tigers premiership, but a long time nonetheless… (apologies here to any interstate, or international readers, but it is AFL finals and I needed to vent of behalf of downtrodden and anguished Richmond supporter base….).

I don’t know the accurate stats, but let’s say that the number of interviews I’ve conducted during my time in recruitment runs into the thousands. I consider myself to be a… Continue

A recent conversation with a client went something like this…..

‘Craig, I need someone now! We’ve just picked up a major PSA client with volume roles. At the moment I’m working the desk and it’s taking me away from what I need to do…’ Note the tone of desperation in this Manager’s voice…..

‘Sure, John, we’ll get on it straight away. It may take a while to find the right person. Would you consider a Contractor to help you out in the meantime?’ There I said it… the dreaded ‘c’… Continue