Time for a Change in Recruitment Sales

Time for a Change in Recruitment Sales I’ve got a secret. When I left university, I didn’t know what to do with my career, so I became a recruitment consultant. I’d only turned up to register for temporary work and they offered me a job which my student overdraft couldn’t turn down. When I joined this large recruitment firm, which shall remain nameless, I was sent on a week’s training course. I had naively assumed that becoming a recruitment consultant would be all about helping people find work, helping them with their CV and matching engaging employers with excited potential employees (as well as some actual consulting). After five days of intensive sales training I was slightly more clued up. I was taught that the receptionist was my enemy. How to lie to get to speak to the person you wanted to talk too, and how the key to success is all about making phone calls. Lots and lots of phone calls. All you had to do was ask for the meeting, ask for the vacancy and it shall be given. I’m not a natural sales person, so it wasn’t long before the world of telephone recruitment sales and I parted, with very little regret on both sides. Without disclosing my age here, let’s just say this was quite some time ago, certainly more than a decade. So why are so many recruitment consultants still ringing me up using the same techniques I was taught all those years ago? Same old same old A few weeks ago, what sounded like an eager new recruit happened to catch me at my desk. ‘Do you use agencies?’ said he. ‘Yes we do, we have a PSL etc.’ said I wearily. ‘I am really pleased to hear that you use agencies, he replied, this means you understand the benefit that recruitment agencies can bring your business’. I am sure that this stuff does work sometimes; typewriters and monkeys and all that, but it’s not intelligent. I’m also surprised by the amount of speculative CVs I receive, especially when they are candidates that are nothing to do with our industry, roles we are recruiting for or even in areas where we actually have offices. And yes, I still get CVs in the post â€" in 2012! My final moan is when agencies ring and say that they are representing a candidate who specifically wants to work at our company. Am I really your only phone call of the day then? Good stuff This mild rant might sound like I have a downer on all recruitment consultants. Not so. Over the years I have worked with some great recruitment consultants (consultants, not agencies), and still do. I have consultants that I can ring up, and they know exactly what I need and who is going to fit into my business, that I can have frank and open conversations with and I trust totally. They are absolutely part of our recruitment strategy, even though we put a lot of effort into our direct hire model (which is working great, thanks for asking). I would just like some agencies out there to do something different with their sales approach, and embrace the way that business and technology is changing. There are some agencies out there doing really good stuff in social media. If I wanted a job tomorrow then I know who I would call and it would be one of those consultants with a great profile who are active in promoting their personal and agency brand. They tweet and post interesting stuff, not just the roles they are hiring for. They run seminars on things that interest me without a big sales push.  And they don’t bombard me with sales calls from 1989. There just aren’t enough of them. I’d like to ask………. So my requests to agencies: stop cold calling me when you know nothing about my business. Stop starting your conversations by telling me you are in the area next week and would like to come and see me to tell me what you can do for my business. Like most HR people, I just don’t have time to meet people speculatively. Use LinkedIn properly. Don’t just post to everyone in your network saying how great your candidates are when they are irrelevant to most of your contacts. When I highlight a role in my team I am hiring for on LinkedIn or Twitter, don’t ring me and ask me if you can work on it, like I just didn’t think if it myself. Don’t send a spec CV. And finally Update your scripts and don’t tell my receptionist that it is a ‘personal’ call to get through to me and then tell me it is about ‘personnel’ when I pick up the phone. I learnt that one on my recruitment consultant training course. Related: Do You Expect Too Much from Recruitment Agencies?

Heres How Phone Addiction Could Be Affecting Your Career and Your Life

Heres How Phone Addiction Could Be Affecting Your Career and Your Life The invention of the cell phone revolutionized life as we know it. In a matter of years, the magic of the smartphone, in particular, has brought the world together in ways that would have been impossible just a century earlier. For example, over 250,000 health and lifestyle apps were created in 2016, equipping users with a host of tools to help maintain their well-being. But just because your phone and its numerous apps have so many helpful uses doesn’t mean everything that a phone brings to the table is a net positive. Cell phones have quite a few negative side effects that have become more and more apparent as the early years of the smartphone era have played out. One of the worst of these is the problem of phone addiction. Every time your screens light up with a notification, you get an instant high. This means you’re literally creating (or for many, have already created) a chemical addiction to the experience of using your phone. While getting a dopamine high isn’t a negative on its own â€" it’s literally released every time you do anything you enjoy â€" it does come with the risk of training you constantly check your phone in a manner that can quickly become unhealthy. This problem has resulted in the development of the concept of digital wellness, or steps that can reduce the ill effects of addiction to technology. If you find that you simply can’t bring yourself to stop incessantly checking your phone, it’s always by your side, or you prioritize it over everything and everyone around you, it might be time to consider just what an addiction of this nature can do to you over the course of time. Professional Concerns While a genuine addiction to your smartphone can hurt your life in practically every area, here are a few of the most detrimental ways that overly-prioritizing your phone can negatively impact your work and career. Productivity A whopping 55 percent of employers consider smartphone addiction to be the biggest killer of workplace productivity. Indeed, the closer an employee’s phone is to them while they work, the harder it is for them to concentrate. The mere knowledge that our phones are nearby can cause an incessant distraction and a gnawing temptation to check for those addicting notifications. Attention Spans When we use our smartphones frequently, it increases the likelihood that we’ll also use them absentmindedly or in order to pass time. In addition, regular use tends to lead toward increased mind-wandering and a struggle to maintain a proper attention span. Needless to say, the inability to focus can take a huge toll in the workplace. Car Accidents One element that is common for the majority of employees is the dreaded commute. Smartphone-caused distracted driving is rampant at this point, and it can include things like: Sending and reading text messages Reading directions from a cell GPS Making calls Checking notifications Talking on your phone The introduction of the smartphone into our professional lives has made us continually available. This often includes when we’re driving, which turns every smartphone owner willing to check their phone as they drive into a road hazard. https://www.pexels.com/photo/bag-electronics-girl-hands-359757/ Personal Concerns Of course, the harm of phone addiction extends beyond your career. Even if you can manage to separate the business side of your phone use when you’re not at work, the effects continue to stretch into our lives outside of the office as well. Here are some of the worst ways that the inability to put your phone down can take a toll on your personal life: Social Media Versus Social Time It’s disconcerting to know that phone addiction and social media addiction are both serious issues … and are both intimately intertwined. After all, the former enables the latter. If your phone is in your pocket, it allows you to check for those all-important social media notifications in order to get a quick hit of dopamine, even if that means you’re straight-up ignoring a family member who is standing right in front of you. Mental Health In a study released in 2016, it was discovered that problematic smartphone use was connected to things like: Anxiety Depression The need for touch The fear of missing out (FOMO) In other words, smartphones were often intimately tied in with some of the deepest mental struggles that plague the modern world. Of course, the irony of it all is the inability of a smartphone to genuinely provide a solution to any of those problems. Finances One subtle way that our smartphones affect our personal lives can be in the form of an actual financial burden. The inability to separate yourself from your phone makes it a “necessity,” even when those soaring phone bills get out of hand. If someone loses their job, it’s typical procedure to cut the cable, stop eating out, and trim the budget in general. And yet, an addiction to your smartphone can make it one of the last things to go before big-ticket items, like the mortgage or your car, allowing that phone bill to continue digging a deeper financial pit that will take time and effort to get out of. Trying to Keep Your Phone in Its Place The struggle here boils down to finding a balance. There are obviously numerous benefits to having a smartphone. The struggle comes with diagnosing when it’s becoming more of a detriment than a benefit. Once that’s done, it’s time to start working on addressing the problem by putting that phone down when you’re not using it, checking it less, turning off those notifications, and leaving it behind whenever possible. This guest post was authored by Brooke Faulkner Brooke Faulkner is a writer, mom and adventurer in the Pacific Northwest.  She spends her days pondering what makes a good leader.   And then dreaming up ways to teach these virtues to her sons, without getting groans and eye rolls in response.

Start recognizing patterns in problems

Start recognizing patterns in problems I think each person struggles with one, singular thing. I learned this when I was a graduate student in English. Each writer we studied actually wrote the same book over and over again. We each have a primary question in our lives. Rob Toomey, a friend who is an expert in personality type, coaches executives. He sees that its always the same problem that holds each given personality type back. ISTPs, for example, (which is the farmers type) have trouble planning anything in the future. They lack commitment to anything long-term. ENTJs (what I am) have trouble with tact. They lack a sensitivity that many people require in order to listen. So, anyway, I notice that the farmer and I have the same argument over and over again. And like writers and executives, the farmer has one problem: he cannot separate from X. A problem we have, which I dont think has actually been a problem until this post, is that Im not allowed to mention the thing he cannot separate from. So it will just be X. Anyone who has read this post or this post can figure out what X is. And after just a little while with him, I knew that the farmer did not actually need an adult relationship with a woman until he separated from X. Which leads me to our ongoing battle. He thinks he is separated. I do not feel like he needs me because he has X. I bring up examples. For example, during the first five months I lived with him he lied to me about that he was doing his own laundry. Guess who was doing it? This is what he says when I point it out: Im really sorry. Youre right. Im really sorry. But he honestly believes hes separated from X. In fact, when he reads this post he will think its unfairly focused on his issues. So let me tell you all the things that are difficult about me: I want to talk about everything, all the time. I get anxious that hell leave me. (Because he has X, and because he has dumped me about 20 times. Heres an example.) So this is what we do. We go in circles all the time. I say I dont feel close to you because you have X. He tells me that I have a problem and I need to get over it. I get a lot of emails that read like the post Im writing. People think their work situation is so complicated and I have to understand all the motivators. But look, Im telling you that even if you substitute X for the problem, in every email I get, its easy to see what the answer is: Get off the train or sit down and shut up. I am not getting off the train. But Im going to need a really good book or something to get me through the ride. I answer lots of email from strangers because I learn so much: Its hard to see our own problems but easy to see others problems. By now, I have enough practice telling other people how to deal with their bad job problems, that I know what I have to do: 1. Make the person Im dealing with feel special and important so they like being with me. 2. Stop letting myself use the language of a victim. If I choose to stay, then I am picking my situation so I need to talk like I mean to be where I am. 3. Find side projects to make life feel better. I tell people to add things to their job description so that the job gets betterdifferent people, different learning goals. These are all things I can do now. To make things better. So then we had maybe the 4,000th fight about me being less important than X. And there was nothing to do. He has nothing to say anymore. He thinks Im crazy and cannot talk rationally. Trying to take my own advice, I cleaned up the porch. The porch is freezing right now. Even though its only October. But I love the porch. I kept the sofa out there because we did our whole courtship on the sofa, and I thought wed sit on it a lot still. But it turns out we never do. So I threw it out. Sort of. It was really heavy. So I just opened the porch door, pushed the sofa out, and left it there. And then I turned the porch into an office for myself. The farmer was pissed about the sofa. And it sat there for five days before we could even talk about it. I worried that wed have a big fight about it, but I forced myself to put the bad feelings aside, and for the whole week it was our picnic spot for after-school snack:

7 Must-Have Accessories for Digital Nomad Girls

7 Must-Have Accessories for Digital Nomad Girls Every girl dreams of having the adventurous and exciting lifestyle of globetrotting and experiencing new places, people and things on a daily basis, all while getting paid. However, its not an easy decision, nor the right one for everyone, since it takes a lot of courage and sacrifice to become a digital nomad girl. But once you do, youll learn the beauty and the endless spectrum of possibilities when being part of the digital nomad community. Below we shared seven must-have accessories for every digital nomad girl out there who is getting ready to leave her comfort zone and start traveling full-time! 1. Mobile hotspot Since your job is to stay available and connected with your clients, internet connectivity is the number one on your must-have list. Unfortunately, traveling will take you to areas where the internet connectivity is slow or theres no service at all. This is why you need to be prepared and equipped with hotspots which will help you connect to data services in more than 150 countries by using telephone carriers of the particular country. 2. Noise canceling headphones Being a digital nomad means that youll be enjoying traveling but will also have to work under many less than ideal circumstances, such as at busy and noisy locations. To focus on your work, youll need noise-canceling headphones. Additionally, you can use these to shut down the voices on the bus or airplane when you need some time off or simply wish to rest. 3. Portable speaker If music plays an important role in your daily routine as background sound while working or a tool for daily relaxation or an improvised party in the middle of nowhere, a portable speaker is a must. There are tons of options to choose from, including various shapes and colors of this cute little accessory which is super easy to cart around the world. 4. Power adaptor Being a digital nomad means that both your professional and private life depend on technological devices. Hence, country-specific power adapters are an essential if you plan to have your gadgets available at all times. Invest in a quality Go Travel adaptor and worry no more about not being able to plug in and power up anywhere you go. 5. Kindle Packing dozens of books every time you move from one place to another can be a hassle and a baggage obstacle. However, theres still enough time to squeeze in a chapter or two during work and travel adventure breaks. Turn to Kindle instead of paper books and have your want to read list right in front of you whenever youre in the mood for a reading session on the airplane, in a hotel room or at a restaurant by the road. 6. External battery pack Nowadays, no one should hit the road before getting an external battery pack. Its small, its affordable, and it’s a lifesaver when youre stuck in the middle of nowhere.  Wait no more and get an external charger compatible with all your gadgets so that there will be no need to panic next time the low battery notification pops up on one of your screens. 7. First aid kit Digital nomads live an adventurous and spontaneous life, which comes with a certain amount of risk. In order to keep things under control and be ready for some unexpected situations while traveling the world, purchase a compact and portable first aid kit and keep it with you in your car or in your suitcase at all times. This way, wherever you go, youll feel safe and ready to take on new challenges. No matter how fun and exciting being a digital nomad seems, it can also be exhausting and complicated, unless youre prepared well. However, if youre ready to roll with the times and get your business online, become a mobile freelancer or work remotely, you will discover the incredible benefits of such a lifestyle. If you are already a digital nomad or thinking about becoming one â€" take note of this ultimate list of must-have accessories for a successful, safe and fun nomad lifestyle.

TodoBook turns your Facebook News Feed into a productivity tool - Debut

TodoBook turns your Facebook News Feed into a productivity tool - Debut We are all  about this. If youre the kinda person who regularly has procrastination struggles, weve got a solution for you. TodoBook is this nifty little Google Chrome extension that turns your Facebook News Feed into a to-do list. Neat, huh? Heres what TodoBook looks  like When you download the extension, the code hides all of your recent Facebook updates. It then replaces them with a simple, fuss-free to-do list. The extension gives you a wee little tutorial showing you how to edit, add and delete your list items, then lo and behold, your Facebook has turned into a productivity tool. You may be thinking: The Internets homepage and procrasti-trap surely cant be stopped by a simple to-do list. Well, this is where the TodoBook extension shows its true value. You see, you cant actually access your News Feed until you tick something off the list.  This forces you to be productive in order to get the reward of News Feed access. Even then, its only for a limited time.   See that timer on the left? As soon as it runs out it will revert back to your TodoBook screen, only unlocking after youve completed another task. Of course, there  is a Quitter function, but you know, youll definitely feel like a fool if you use it. There are even a few options for you to customise your to-do list: you can use the nuclear option of only allowing yourself access to your News Feed only after youve completed every task, for example. You can also select how much time you want it to unlock for. So, no more binge-watching Tasty videos until youve done your homework kids. But then again, theres always the option of going on your phone darn it. Feature image via Pexels Download the Debut app and  get Talent-Spotted by amazing graduate employers! Connect with Debut on Facebook and Twitter

5 steps to close the back-to-work-after-kids gap

?5 steps to close the back-to-work-after-kids gap Juggling the responsibilities of a job and of a family is challenging enough. But an unexpected and additional challenge can come when it’s time to go back to work after taking time off to raise children. Carolyn Thompson, managing principal at the Merito Group, works regularly with women looking to re-enter the workforce after taking time off to focus on their families. She says there are several crucial things all parents going back to work should consider. 1. Structure your resume appropriately â€" and be prepared to explain any employment gaps “It’s okay to have a gap on your resume, but be prepared to explain â€" confidently â€" why you took time away from the workforce,” says Thompson. “Explain that it was important for you to be home with your children while they were young, for example, and don’t apologize for that decision. Instead of being apologetic, express confidence in your readiness to rejoin the working world.” The ordering of experience on your resume is also important, according to Thompson. “Make sure that your most relevant work experience is positioned prominently on the page,” she says. “You want to demonstrate to a potential employer that, despite having taken time off to focus on your family, you do have the background and the skills needed for the position for which they’re hiring.” 2. Get caught up quickly Once you’ve been offered and have accepted a new position, Thompson says it’s important to get caught up on anything new to you, and quickly. “If you’ve only taken a few months off, you likely won’t have too much to get caught up on. But, if you’ve been out of the workforce for several years, technologies, systems, regulations, and processes are all likely to have changed significantly,” says Thompson. “Read trade journals, ask friends or family â€" or others in your industry â€" for help learning new computer programs, and, as appropriate, ask your new colleagues for guidance as you gain your footing. The faster you can get up to speed, the more of a positive impression you can make in your new workplace â€" and the more comfortable you’ll feel being back at work.” 3. Set up systems Keeping up with work responsibilities as well as with family or household duties, says Thompson, can be challenging for anyone â€" and this is particularly true for employees who have gone back to work after months or years focused solely on the home. “In the initial months after going back to work, juggling your work and home responsibilities can feel altogether overwhelming,” says Thompson. “Set up systems to help keep you on track and prevent things falling through the cracks,” she advises. “Rely on calendars, lists, reminders on your phone â€" anything that will help you keep on top of everything you need to do, by when, and for whom.” 4. Be prepared for the unexpected As a new employee, you might not be able to take time off for several months. In fact, needing to take time off more than once a month may be considered excessive in some work environments. In this case, Thompson advises the newly re-employed to come to work prepared with a back-up plan for the unexpected. “If your child needs to stay home sick from school, for instance, will your employer allow you to work from home? Discuss these types of situations and allowances with your employer during your final negotiations, as you’re accepting the job â€" and come to work on day one with a mutually agreed-upon plan for how to deal with the unexpected curveballs that family life can throw at you.” 5. If you can’t find a full-time position, consider temporary work “Though your goal might be to hit the ground running in a new, full-time position, it may be a challenge to find the right full-time job for you,” says Thompson. “If faced with this hurdle, consider temporary employment instead. A temporary position in a relevant field can give you something to add to your resume while you continue your full-time job search, and temporary positions can often lead to full-time work.” Going back to work can be an intimidating prospect for many, regardless of how much time you’ve spent away from the office. But, by being prepared and taking these steps, you’ll help to set yourself up for a smooth re-entry into the workforce.

Resume Writing For Microsoft

Resume Writing For MicrosoftIf you are looking to improve your resume, resume writing for Microsoft will be of great help. As there are many people who do not have a Microsoft Word because they are not aware of its true use and since you need to have Microsoft Word skills, you should find out which one of the available tools can help you in your task.Resume writing for Microsoft provides you the information that you need to get an easy and simple job for the future. It has all the basic information about yourself including your name, age, educational background, employment history, professional details and also skills that you possess. Apart from this, you get information on how to format your resume to make it impressive.Besides that, you also get details about easy skills to use. For example, you get details about writing resume in Microsoft Excel or Word. It includes details about writing resume using those basic functions of MS Word and Microsoft Excel. You are given details abou t the templates that can be used for your resume and also how to choose the most appropriate one that can be easily and effortlessly generated by MS Word or Excel.The section on resume writing for Microsoft will include such options as the online resume template and various template available in the internet. They contain all the instructions that will guide you to create an attractive resume. Apart from that, you can also download templates from the internet and have a look at them before you decide to use them. This will help you to have an idea about the features that the template has and also the contents that you can use in your resume.A sample resume is provided in the online website where you will get instructions on how to create a resume that you can use in future. These samples are provided in easy and simple formats so that you can easily copy them and format them for your own use. Apart from that, you can have a look at the sample provided fora job position in Microsoft. You can see how the MS Word functions would work in your resume.Resume writing for Microsoft also allows you to search the best resume by putting keywords and some other information that can be found out by the search engines. You can even add your desired information to the resume and can get a perfect and high quality resume for your job application. There are various elements in a resume including education details, experience details, skills, resume goals, areas of interest and employment history.With this, you can get an overview of the features that are available in the resume and can decide if you want to include them in your resume or not. To get the perfect resume for your job, you can read the information on how to write a resume from the resource box at the top of the site. It also provides information on how to format a resume to get the same.