My name is Gary Franklin. I am a successful in-house recruitment manager with 13 years recruitment experience and I am looking for a new job. Further details of my background can be found at My Contact Me page

I will consider all options; permanent, contract or interim
I will be available to start a new job on or after 7th September.

- Reducing recruitment costs through use of direct sourcing methods and tools

- Strategic planning and delivery of time challenged projects

- Creating and building online candidate communities

- Social Media & Online Recruiting tools

- ATS /CRM /CMS Evaluation, Selection and Deployment

Please don’t ignore the above. It is very very important that you remember it. It is after all what this blog is all about and probably the most important thing I will write about on Day 13.

So Day 13.

After my so called day off yesterday I was expecting to be energized for Day 13 and to some extent I was. I had a leisurely morning meeting with a friend for coffee and a chat planned. An interview and another exploratory conversation later in the day would then give me the opportunity to apply myself to #myjobhunt again.

I fired up the PC late today. It was around 6.30am, I think and spent a good couple of hours responding to email and reading blogs. One email I needed to respond to was to provide a prospective employer a proposal for a contract with them. This of course I gladly did. However it proved rather difficult. I had spoken with the HR Director at this company at around Day 7 or 8 and promised to get them the proposal the next day. I thought I had done this and was rather embarrassed and dare I say concerned that they were now chasing me for it. On looking for the email in my Sent or Draft folders, I couldn’t find it anywhere. The only thing I could think of was that I had written it, which I clearly recall doing, not actually sent it, then not noticed when I closed down, thus lost it forever. A potentially fatal error to make. No matter how genuine it is, it doesn’t look at all good. I just hope that the proposal proves of interest now and is not dismissed out of hand.

Another email I needed to respond to was from another Twitter contact that, in trying to help someone in his network sent me details of a job at Starbucks, who are looking for Head of Resourcing & Organisational Design in the UK. I’m afraid to say that this was not a role that suited me but could be useful to others in my network. So I decided to pass it onto a number people I knew who are also looking for a new job right now. Good deed done.

I left the house today at 8.30 to give myself plenty of time. I know I was only meeting a friend but still didn’t want to be late. As it happened there was no traffic and I got to where I needed to be almost an hour early. No problem. Almost from the moment I left the house I was on the phone. The result of one of these calls was to book a meeting for next Tuesday with a company that I would so want to work for. And they are hiring as well. Shouldn’t get my hopes up but can’t help it. I had another call with Andy Headworth whilst in the car, who explained that he had passed my name to someone who was looking for help in finding work in the UK and as an in-house recruiter. Happy to help – and no I am not considering acting as an agent. Been there, done that, got bored. I have more fun and get more satisfaction from what I do now. Or would do if I had a job!!! Haha.

To coffee with Lisa Scales of Talent on Demand. I’ve only known Lisa for a few months but it feels like years. In fact, despite talking to her daily via phone or on Twitter for the last 6 months, this was only the second time I’d met her. This is the same for so many people I consider friends now. Strange, but the initial exploratory interactions online in a semi-professional format have led to familiarity and a level of comfort that is recognized by us all. I am sure there is a psychology study waiting to happen in this. We discussed so many subjects; sand, surfing, camping, cider, communities, web sites – all highbrow stuff. As if?

Anyway back to Day 13 of #myjobhunt. One of the thoughts that came to me earlier in the day was that my energy levels had dropped off, as had my focus. Two things came to mind as being the reason for this. Firstly I had been so busy arranging interviews and attending the interviews, that I hadn’t paid too much attention to keeping my pipeline full and thus I needed to give myself a kick to re-energise not only myself but also the whole of #myjobhunt. The second thought was that I am now in Week 3. The efforts and messages I put out to my networks in Days 1-5 are not new news anymore and thus the initial swell of positivity and the number of opportunities has slowed down. Whether this is because I now know of all the immediate opportunities (I doubt it) or because I have lost a bit of focus (probably), the result is the same. I need to remind people(as well as myself) of what I am doing and why I am doing it and also need to apply myself with the focus I had in Week 1. I refer you to the top of the page again! I am looking for a new job and welcome any and all help. This is not a plea but more a statement and a reminder.

So whilst I actually applied to two new permanent jobs, sent my CV to an agency that specializes (we’ll see) in Interim placements, set up a meeting as mentioned above, sent out a proposal for a contract, arranged an interview for Monday afternoon and finally arranged another meeting for next Tuesday to discuss possible consulting work, I need to get back to some basics and pick up the pace.

Oh yeah, the interview I was supposed to have at 2.30pm was postponed for the 2nd time. Rescheduled for Friday. All confirmed this time. Good stuff

Music of the Day – White Knuckles by Alter Bridge

Lesson learned today. Well apart from all of the above. Don’t just send an email to someone. Double check you have sent it and then ask for confirmation that they received it. If in doubt call them. Every email you send has a purpose, make sure that purpose is received, read and understood. I didn’t and it may have cost me.