Welcome to Dynamite Recruitment - one of the South's leading multi sector specialist recruitment consultancies.Of course it goes without saying that we fill vacancies fast, but our difference is in the delivery.

Since our launch in 2011, we’ve been driven by a relentless pursuit of excellence, and we’ll stop at nothing to secure the best talent for your business. We are focused on achieving the best results for our clients and candidates, constantly varying our interview and screening techniques, adapting our attraction methods and tools to ensure we stay ahead of the game. We’re more than just another agency. We partner with our clients, enhancing employer brand perception and supporting candidate engagement throughout the recruitment and onboarding process.The team at Dynamite are honest, direct and above all passionate about what they do; about our business, and about yours. We’re also nice to people. We treat our applicants how we’d like to be treated ourselves and we work with them to enhance their career chances, providing clear feedback, coaching and support – even when it’s difficult to hear.Sounds great…? Yes it does, but we differ from many other recruiters as this is far from worn out rhetoric. A glance through our online Google and Facebook reviews will evidence hundreds of first class candidate experiences. We are also one of the most award winning recruitment businesses around, so you can be confident your needs will be managed by a professional, dedicated, well trained, invested, passionate recruiter who will become unapologetically obsessed with scouring the market for the best people, for you!

<h2>Added Value Benefits.</h2><ul><li>Regular salary reports, sector specific client seminars with leading speakers – employment law, taxation, skills assessments, onboarding.</li><li>Corporate interview facilities</li><li>Video interviewing</li><li>Nationwide UK coverage</li><li>White labelling</li><li>Client branded recruitment microsites</li><li>On site assessment centre delivery</li><li>Interactive web chat function with immediate CV feedback</li><li>Recruitment outsourcing</li><li>Advertising services</li><li>Skills &amp; salary benchmarking</li><li>Retained research projects – competitor mapping</li><li>Employer branding consultancy</li></ul>

We love tech. At Dynamite we make interacting with our team a breeze with web chat and instant CV feedback for those clients that would like to use it. We run a paperless process where candidates access their own dedicated portal to search and apply for the latest vacancies and registration paperwork is all completed electronically.

Clients using temporary workers are also provided with a portal login where timesheets can be approved and invoices downloaded. We can integrate with many internal talent management systems, and we offer clients dedicated careers microsites to enhance their brand and boost talent flow.In addition we operate on one of the most advanced recruitment management systems, combining Artificial Intelligence with the gut feel of a great recruiter. Our team can all access their records using a highly advanced app, ultimately ensuring your vacancies never miss the best candidate.

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Dynamite Recruitment exploded into the recruitment marketplace in 2011 when Founder and MD Matt Fox launched the business. The vision was clear - to create a boutique, quality focused recruitment provider built on honesty and integrity. One that would offer a tailored service delivered by the best recruitment professionals in the market. Matt worked with a select group of previous colleagues who now hold senior, strategic roles within the business, to define a fresh, personal yet professional brand identity void of industry cliches.

<h2>About Us.</h2>

If you are a consultant with proven recruitment experience in any sector or someone with the drive and energy to build a career with us and are interested in building a career with us then get in touch

<h2>Ready to Join Us?</h2>

Constantly outperforming the competition, offering a superior recruitment experience

<h1>Ignite Your Search</h1>

We are specialists in many key sectors covering both temporary and permanent recruitment. Through passion and commitment of everyone in the Dynamite team, we are devoted to the delivery of a superior recruiment experience

<h2>Sectors.</h2>

We listen, and we understand our clients... When Dynamite Recruitment was born, we asked many of the clients we had worked with for years why they continued to show us such loyalty. The response was simple. Relationship and Delivery. We had worked hard to immerse ourselves in their respective companies, and outperformed the competition. We were more passionate about performing, and so consistently sourced the right people.

Are you looking to turbocharge a career in one of the most lucrative industries around&hellip;? Whether you have little or no industry experience, or if you&rsquo;re an accomplished Consultant with experience in any discipline, Dynamite offers a great environment in which to build or further your recruitment career.
We believe that successful environments are motivational, positive and supportive. We do all we can to develop our people and you can expect to be invested in heavily from a training and development perspective, and for hard work to be well rewarded.

<h2>Trainee Consultants.(recruitment executives)</h2>
We regularly recruit trainees into our business with great success &ndash; in fact many of our Managers and high earners started their recruitment journey with us as a Trainee, or Resourcer. We look for people with a positive attitude, bags of initiative and work ethic.
Some form of sales experience helps, but more important is a &lsquo;get things done&rsquo; approach and hunger to succeed. If this is you, we&rsquo;ll guide you through a structured training programme where you will learn about our business, the industries we support and specialise in, and recruitment in general.
Training is mostly &lsquo;on the job&rsquo;, but you&rsquo;ll also benefit from working with specialist external trainers, shadowing other key colleagues and working with our Directors on specific topics. All of our Managers are CMI qualified in Leadership &amp; Development and we support our people in studying for professional qualifications where relevant to your role.
This is all part of a clearly defined career path, where you will be able to enhance your skills along with responsibilities and of course &ndash; earning potential!
<a href="/join-us/#" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">See All Vacancies</a>

<h2>Experienced Recruiters.(recruitment executives)</h2>
We&rsquo;re keen to talk to experienced recruiters at all levels for tailor made opportunities across our business, reflecting our business journey but also your life goals and balance.
Whether you work best in an office or on a hybrid basis &ndash; there are endless reasons to join Dynamite aside from salaries and commissions. They&rsquo;re obviously great, but that&rsquo;s a given. Check out the many other reasons to come on our journey&hellip;
<h2>Perks of The Job.</h2>
<ul>
<li>Flexible hours and working patterns &ndash; Full time, Part Time, Hybrid etc</li>
<li>International trips and incentives</li>
<li>Regular reward &amp; social programme</li>
<li>Private Health Insurance</li>
<li>Denplan</li>
<li>Wellbeing Package with Private GP Service</li>
<li>Discounted / Free Apple Watch</li>
<li>Impressive discounts with a range of retailers</li>
<li>25% discount at The Village</li>
<li>25 days annual leave</li>
<li>Personal Development &amp; Career Path</li>
<li>Winners of several &lsquo;Employer of the Year&rsquo; Awards</li>
</ul>
On top of all this, we&rsquo;re thoroughly excited to offer you an opportunity to do something amazing. Though our partnership with Seven Clean Seas &ndash; EVERY candidate you place while working as part of our family will result in the removal of a whole kilogram of plastic waste from the ocean. Cool right?
<a href="/join-us/#" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">View Open Positions</a>

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We are specialists in many key sectors covering both temporary and permanent recruitment. Through passion and commitment of everyone in the Dynamite team, we are devoted to the delivery of a superior recruitment experience.

Welcome to our website. If you continue to browse and use this website, you are agreeing tocomply with and be bound by the following terms and conditions of use, which togetherwith our privacy policy govern Dynamite Recruitment Solutions Ltd’s relationship with you inrelation to this website. If you disagree with any part of these terms and conditions, pleasedo not use our website.The term &amp;#39;Dynamite Recruitment Solutions Ltd&amp;#39; or &amp;#39;us&amp;#39; or &amp;#39;we&amp;#39; refers to the owner of thewebsite whose registered office is 1000 Lakeside North Harbour, Western Road,Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO6 3EN. Our company registration number 07668667. The term&amp;#39;you&amp;#39; refers to the user or viewer of our website.The use of this website is subject to the following terms of use: The content of the pages of this website is for your general information and use only.It is subject to change without notice. This website uses cookies to monitor browsing preferences. If you do allow cookiesto be used, the following personal information may be stored by us for use by thirdparties: [insert list of information]. Neither we nor any third parties provide any warranty or guarantee as to theaccuracy, timeliness, performance, completeness or suitability of the informationand materials found or offered on this website for any particular purpose. Youacknowledge that such information and materials may contain inaccuracies or errorsand we expressly exclude liability for any such inaccuracies or errors to the fullestextent permitted by law. Your use of any information or materials on this website is entirely at your own risk,for which we shall not be liable. It shall be your own responsibility to ensure that anyproducts, services or information available through this website meet your specificrequirements. This website contains material which is owned by or licensed to us. This materialincludes, but is not limited to, the design, layout, look, appearance and graphics.Reproduction is prohibited other than in accordance with the copyright notice, whichforms part of these terms and conditions. All trade marks reproduced in this website which are not the property of, or licensedto, the operator are acknowledged on the website. Unauthorised use of this website may give rise to a claim for damages and/or be acriminal offence. From time to time this website may also include links to other websites. These linksare provided for your convenience to provide further information. They do notsignify that we endorse the website(s). We have no responsibility for the content ofthe linked website(s). Your use of this website and any dispute arising out of such use of the website issubject to the laws of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Dynamite Recruitment joins Bluestones Group
&nbsp;
In an exciting development for Dynamite Recruitment, we can now announce that the business was acquired at the end of October 2024 by one of the leading recruitment investment companies in the UK,&nbsp;<a title="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbluestonesgroup.co.uk%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7Cmatt.cody%40bluestonesgroup.co.uk%7C8e6d4d60b96d4991845008dd0d6c4be3%7C60dee61f311a4f1f9fe94fe2a68302c3%7C0%7C0%7C638681481072249335%7CUnknown%7CTWFp" href="https://bluestonesgroup.co.uk/">Bluestones Group</a>. The move has seen 100% of the business being acquired by Bluestones and will unlock additional investment and support to help the business fully realise its growth potential and ambitions.
&nbsp;
Coinciding with the move, Fran Curtis and Katie Dalgleish - with nearly 20 years' collective tenure with Dynamite between them - will become joint Managing Directors. Originally established in 2011, Dynamite Recruitment now has 11 employees and is headquartered at Lakeside in Portsmouth. The business recruits temporary and permanent personnel across the commercial, retail, technical, accountancy &amp; finance, and financial services sectors; and provides RPO and outsourcing support for selected clients too.
&nbsp;
Bluestones Group CEO, Steve Pendergast commented:
&nbsp;
"Acquisitions continue to be one of the three primary growth vectors for the Group. Dynamite is well-structured, has strong client and candidate relationships, and we believe that with our support and investment can continue to grow at pace. I look forward to seeing the business evolve and scale".
&nbsp;
Joint Managing Director, Katie Dalgleish commented:&nbsp;
&nbsp;
"Leveraging the extensive support, investment, and network of expertise at Bluestones will help us accelerate our growth plans. We're genuinely excited about what the future holds as part of the Bluestones Group".
&nbsp;
Bluestones Group has been firmly on the acquisition trail this year, and this is the eighth such business that has been acquired this calendar year. Bluestones invests in recruitment and staffing services businesses and has developed an enviable portfolio of over 30 such businesses across a range of sectors and locations.
&nbsp;
Joint Managing Director, Fran Curtis commented:
&nbsp;
"Importantly for us, the Bluestones approach is to maintain and build upon our strong brand identity, the family feel of our business, and the personal approach to how we operate. So, day to day there'll be no immediate or obvious change for our clients and candidates, but this is a fantastic opportunity for our business and the people within it".
&nbsp;

Dynamite Recruitment joins Bluestones Group

Having prepared some questions to ask in an interview will definitely make your life easier. The last thing you want is to stumble and the last hurdle when the hiring manager asks, &ldquo;Do you have any questions for me?&rdquo;
Remember an interview&nbsp;isn&rsquo;t just a chance for the interviewer to grill you&mdash;it&rsquo;s your opportunity to decide whether a position would be as great for you as you would be for the position. So it&rsquo;s vital to have a few good questions to ask in an interview as a candidate.
To get you thinking, we&rsquo;ve put together a list of the best questions to ask in an interview. Don&rsquo;t&rsquo; use this as a be all and end all, this is just a starting point, some of this stuff will be covered during the course of your discussion and different questions are relevant to different companies/positions.
Firstly,
Top tips for asking an employer questions in a job interview
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Don&rsquo;t say you have no questions.&nbsp;You probably already know that whether you&rsquo;re stressed or relaxed, whether you think you&rsquo;ve fumbled the conversation badly or you&rsquo;ve got this job in the bag, the worst thing you could say is, &ldquo;Nope, I&rsquo;m good.&rdquo;
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Be flexible, don&rsquo;t be afraid to deviate from the list if your questions have already been answered or if you think others will be more appropriate.
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Ask at least a few conversation related questions.&nbsp;Show you&rsquo;re invested and you&rsquo;ve been paying attention throughout the interview process by customising your questions&nbsp;to the specific position and company
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Don&rsquo;t just ask questions at the end.&nbsp;Interviews work best when they&rsquo;re a conversation, so don&rsquo;t be afraid to pose questions when it makes sense throughout the conversation.
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Ask questions you really want to know the answers to.&nbsp;Don&rsquo;t only ask questions you think will impress your interviewer. With a few exceptions (which we&rsquo;ll cover) this is your chance to ask about the topics you&rsquo;re really curious about&mdash;and will affect whether you even want the job. Maybe a project that really excited you when you read the job description hasn&rsquo;t come up during the interview. Perhaps it&rsquo;s not clear to you what the job actually entails, and you want to ask what a typical day looks like.
Here are some examples of questions to ask:
1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Can you show me examples of projects I&rsquo;d be working on?
2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What attributes does someone need to have in order to be really successful in this position?
3.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What learning and professional development opportunities are available to your employees?
4.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What metrics or goals will my performance be evaluated against?
5.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Why did you come to this company?
6.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What&rsquo;s your favourite part about working here?
7.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What&rsquo;s one challenge you occasionally or regularly face in your job?
8.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What direction do you see this company heading in over the next few years?
9.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What gets you most excited about the company&rsquo;s future?
10. Who will I work with most closely?
11. Who will I report to directly?
Questions NOT to ask!
Just as important as knowing what questions to ask in an interview is knowing what to avoid. While you want to make sure you have all the info you&rsquo;d need before taking a job, some questions are better asked after you&rsquo;ve gotten an offer, or once you have started the role, and maybe not on your first day!
When does my PTO kick in?
Just how much is the monthly childcare allowance?
When do I start? &ndash; Too cocky!

What should YOU ask in a job interview?

&ldquo;Hiring Manager, and Recruiter &ndash; what is the difference?&rdquo; A candidates guide&hellip;
To attract, vet, hire,and onboard talent, companies will need the help of two key parties: hiring managers and recruiters. During your job seeking process, you will hear the terms &ldquo;Recruiter&rdquo; and &ldquo;Hiring Manager&rdquo; said to you many times, but what do they actually do, and is there a difference?
To answer what is the difference between hiring manager and recruiter is in simple terms, the first being responsible for the process and the other being responsible for the outcome of the process.&zwj;
&nbsp;
What does it mean to be &ldquo;responsible for hiring&rdquo;?
Now, when we talk about the &ldquo;responsibility in hiring,&rdquo; it refers to the outcome of the process, i.e., the person that gets hired, and not the entire process, i.e., the journey up until the point the hiring decision is made. In those terms, it is the recruiter who manages the hiring process and the hiring manager who makes the final hiring decision.
While hiring is best done as a collaborative operation, it is the role of the hiring manager that has to hold the outcome of the recruiting process. Therefore, when a bad hire happens, it is the duty of the manager to investigate the issue and craft better recruitment measures.
&zwj;
&zwj;What is a Hiring Manager?
A Hiring Manager is someone hiring for positions on their team. Yet hiring managers typically don&rsquo;t necessarily spend much of their time hiring; hiring is just one part of their job responsibilities. Instead, they have a title that describes what they do, like Head of HR, or Customer Service Manager or Senior Accountant. They only become a &ldquo;Hiring Manager&rdquo; when they have an open role they&rsquo;re hiring for.
Some of their responsibilities may include:
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Writing the job description
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Requesting interviews with qualified applicants
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Collecting feedback from the team about what they think of an applicant
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Offering the role to an applicant, or feeding back a decline with hopefully some constructive feedback.
&nbsp;
What does a Recruiter do?
A recruiter&rsquo;s main job is connecting qualified candidates with a company&rsquo;s open roles. This means they&rsquo;re trying to find people with the right skills and experience to match what a company is looking for.&nbsp;
Some recruiters sit internally within a company&rsquo;s HR department and hire only for roles within that company. Other recruiters may work for a recruiting agency and help multiple companies. Companies without internal recruiters will hire agency recruiters to help them find candidates. Dynamite Recruitment are an agency.
Some of a recruiter&rsquo;s responsibilities may include:
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Finding qualified candidates on job boards and LinkedIn and inviting them to apply for a role
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Reviewing submitted CV&rsquo;s&nbsp;to see if they fit the job requirements
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Conducting an introductory interview with an applicant
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Providing information about a company&rsquo;s salary and benefits, and more detail of what the job will entail.
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Liaising with the Hiring Manager and candidate to arrange interviews, start dates, managing any unforeseen hold ups and the coach the candidate through the Hiring process.
&nbsp;
&zwj;How does they work together successfully?
1. Get to know each other
The first meeting between a Recruitment and a Hiring Managerstablishes the search's expectations and kicks off the hiring process. Hiring Managers should inform recruiters about their team and the position the role will play within it, as well as the qualifications and experience required. This provides recruiters with a starting point by narrowing the search parameters, as well as the background knowledge required to successfully engage with candidates. Recruiters, in turn, can assist in the establishment of a timeline and the formulation of an oveverall recruiting strategy.
2. Communication
To be effective, Recruiters and Hiring Managers maintain regular contact, and hold post-interview updates via phone, video call, in person, or email. This type of open and consistent communication helps both Recruiters and Hiring Managers with staying on top of applicant expectations, competitors, and the current job market. On the other hand, if feedback is delayed or doesn&rsquo;t happen at all; further interviews, hiring decisions, and onboarding can all be delayed. Having open lines of coounication with candidates is also essential. Setting clear expectations for next steps and providing timely feedback, as well as transparent negotiations, extending offers, and onboarding, are all critical. Even if you don't end up getting onboarded, it's critical to provide you with a positive interview experience.
&nbsp;
Dealing with a Hiring Manager:
When talking to a hiring manager, you want to sell yourself on why you&rsquo;re right for the role &mdash; after all, they makes the final decision on whether you&rsquo;re hired or not.
Compared to the conversation with the Recruiter, a Hiring Manager will likely ask you more in-depth questions about your skills and experience, your successes and your failures.
This is also a perfect time to assess whether you think they would be the right Manager and company for you. You can so this &nbsp;ask questions about their communication style, the team, and how they measure success, and what their procceses are.
&nbsp;
Dealing with a Recruiter:
When talking to a Recruiter, it&rsquo;s really about seeing if you&rsquo;re a match for the company you have applied for &mdash; and that doesn&rsquo;t just include your experience. It&rsquo;s also whether you match more logistical things like working preferences (remote, hybrid, in-person) and salary range, location etc.
Be honest about your experience and what you&rsquo;re looking for. It&rsquo;s better to know upfront whether the role is right for you rather than wasting your and the company&rsquo;s time down the road. This means you can (and should!) and ask the tough questions&nbsp;about salary, working preferences, and company culture.&nbsp;A recruiter might not know all the role&rsquo;s technical aspects, the specifics of the team structure, or how the role is managed. These are good questions to ask the Hiring Manager
Be consistent with communication throughout the application process, this includes any interview rescheduling, feedback, you&rsquo;re availability etc.
&nbsp;
We hope this helps, and squashes any confusion you may have had with these to recruitment terms! We will be posting more of these definitions in the future so please keep checking back in. If you are unclear about anything in your job application process, then get in touch for a helpful chat with one of our consultants.
&nbsp;

“Hiring Manager, and Recruiter – what is the difference?” A candidates guide…

Starting a new career is nerve-wracking, whether you&rsquo;re finding purpose after University or changing careers at a later age - and those nerves get worse when you don&rsquo;t have experience.
&nbsp;
If you haven't worked during your time at university or are looking to move into a career field, you may be finding yourself in the classic catch-22 situation where you need experience to get a job, and a job to get experience. You probably have more experience than you think. Most soft skills are transferable, and if you love learning new things, you&rsquo;ll adjust to a new position quickly.
&nbsp;
Below are tips to help you boost your application and get your foot in the door interviewing for roles you don&rsquo;t have demonstratable experience in.
&nbsp;
RESEARCH INTERNSHIPS &amp; APPRENTICESHIPS
&nbsp;
If you're struggling to secure a long-term or permanent position, internships and apprenticeships are great ways to gain that much-needed experience. They make it possible to earn a wage while acquiring first-hand knowledge of a job or organisation, are useful for building a network of contacts and can sometimes lead to permanent employment.
&nbsp;
An&nbsp;internship&nbsp;looks impressive on your CV and can make you stand out from the crowd. Some larger companies may run formal internship programmes, so check the websites of organisations you're interested in regularly to see what is available, smaller businesses do not always advertise apprenticeships so you&nbsp; may have to contact targeted companies directly
&nbsp;
On an&nbsp;apprenticeship, you'll be employed to do a real job while studying for a formal qualification. You'll sign a contract with your employer, and then receive training in a specific profession.
&nbsp;
Apprenticeships vary in length and can last for up to four years with the majority of apprentices being guaranteed employment upon completion.
&nbsp;
VOLUNTEER
&nbsp;
Volunteering&nbsp;positions are a sure-fire way to boost your employability, especially if you have no relevant experience. Although unpaid, you'll profit from the skills and contacts you gain.
&nbsp;
Volunteering experience shows commitment, initiative and a strong work ethic, which are all valuable, appealing traits to prospective employers.
&nbsp;
You&rsquo;ll also develop a range of sought-after, transferable skills, such as:
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Teamwork
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Confidence
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Time management
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Adaptability
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Communication
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Organisation
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Work ethic
&nbsp;
BUILD YOUR NETWORK
&nbsp;
When you're starting out with no experience, who you know can be just as important as what you know. A recommendation to an employer from a personal contact can go a long way. But how do you build up a network of contacts if you're struggling to enter the world of work?
&nbsp;
If you're at university, utilise the contacts available to you before you graduate.
Make the most of&nbsp;open days, careers fairs, recruitment networking&nbsp;events&nbsp;and employer talks or lectures. Visit your university careers service to see if they can put you in touch with employers in your area of interest.
&nbsp;
Keep in touch with lecturers, the people you meet on work experience placements or internships and fellow volunteers - you never know when these contacts might come in useful.
&nbsp;
Social media is also an effective way of building and maintaining your professional network. Being on sites such as LinkedIn, and following and connecting with companies and individuals in your chosen field, can yield impressive results.
&nbsp;
BE HONEST &amp; EMPHASISE EXISTING SKILLS
&nbsp;
Being honest about your experience is vital but being apologetic about your lack of experience may hinder your chances of finding a job.
&nbsp;
When you're&nbsp;writing your CV, focus on the skills you do have, rather than the ones you don't. Analyse the job description and list all the skills and personal qualities that make you a good fit for the job.
Emphasise transferable skills such as communication, energy, drive, ambition. leadership ability, team working and attention to detail.
&nbsp;
Also, don't forget your participation to any clubs or sports teams etc you've been part of while at University, This is because you'll have developed skills in areas such as team working and leadership
&nbsp;
TARGET REALISTIC ROLES &amp; TAILOR YOUR APPLICATION
&nbsp;
There's nothing wrong with aiming high, but if you've no previous experience, starting your job search by applying for senior roles is pointless. Be realistic and instead target entry-level or junior jobs and be prepared to start at the bottom and work your way up.
&nbsp;
Do your research and apply to companies that interest you. Tailor each application and ask if there are any entry-level positions available, as you're looking to break into the industry.
&nbsp;
Tailoring your CV for every job you apply for may feel like a time-consuming task; but trust us, it&rsquo;s worth it.
&nbsp;
The person looking at your CV wants to know that you&rsquo;re a plausible fit for the role, and that you&rsquo;re passionate about fulfilling it. Not only will tailoring your CV enhance your suitability, it&rsquo;ll also demonstrate your interest in the role and company. This means you&rsquo;re more likely to get shortlisted, and ultimately secure the job you want. Let&rsquo;s face it, it&rsquo;s much better than blending in.
&nbsp;
Parts of your CV you want to consider tailoring:
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Personal statement
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Work history
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Skills
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Work-related qualifications and training

Tips On How To Get A Job With No Experience

After a challenging year for talent and recruitment in 2023 due to a range of factors, including an uncertain economic climate, talent priorities have shifted for many businesses. But how will this impact the emerging industry trends for 2024??&nbsp; To understand the recruitment priorities and challenges the UK will likely face in 2024, 900 UK-based professionals involved in their organisation&rsquo;s recruitment decision-making in 2023 we researched and interviewed.&nbsp; The findings of this research have revealed nine trends and considerations, both positive and negative, that the industry is anticipating for 2024. By identifying these trends early, organisations can prepare for the challenges 2024 is expected to bring and create a proactive strategy for success.&nbsp;
1. TALENT DROUGHT&nbsp; &ldquo;93% of hiring managers are concerned about a talent drought rolling into 2024.&rdquo; Demographic shifts, including an ageing population and lack of EU workers, are reducing the pool of available, experienced, and qualified workers. In 2024, the UK&rsquo;s job market will further experience a shortage of skilled candidates as rapid technological advancements contribute to a significant and growing skills gap due to the specific skills required to work alongside new tech.&nbsp; Not only are organisations struggling with the low supply of qualified candidates, but 79% of hiring managers anticipate reduced talent attraction budgets for 2024, with only 4% expecting an increase. This will potentially exacerbate the challenge of sourcing in-demand candidates from a limited talent pool.&nbsp; To address this challenge, many organisations are outsourcing their talent functions, with 50% already outsourcing and 27% considering outsourcing in 2024.&nbsp;
2. (DE&amp;amp;I) &ndash; IT MATTERS&nbsp; 2024 is not a clean slate, and a range of factors from 2023 will continue to impact the landscape of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&amp;amp;I) into the new year. In particular, the cost-of-living crisis, low retention rates, and increasing skill gaps are increasing external pressure that could see organisations falling short of DE&amp;amp;I efforts. While it is still a high priority for many organisations, there is evidence that the DE&amp;amp;I focus is slipping due to external factors. &nbsp; 42% of C-Suite leaders said they currently consider DE&amp;amp;I a minimal or limited priority.&nbsp;
3. KNOWLEDGE GAPS 19% of UK organisations say they lack accessibility initiatives. While the Equality Act 2010 protects individuals regarding accessibility and recruitment, including support with application forms and interview arrangements, there is a strong knowledge gap among hiring managers.&nbsp;
This confusion is clearest when recruiting temporary and contingent workers, with almost 31% of hiring managers saying they do not feel adequately equipped to handle situations which may require knowledge of UK employment law if dealing with temporary and contingent workers.&nbsp; This topic brings us onto our next consideration for 2024.
4. STAFF MISCLASSIFICATION &amp;quot;94% of hiring managers agree there should be increased clarity regarding the legal distinctions between permanent employees and temporary/contingent workers.&amp;quot; Worker misclassification is a pressing concern for UK hiring managers, as the resulting compliance issues are expected to be a major challenge in 2024.&nbsp; Three categories of people provide work for an employer: employees, workers and self-employed (contractor/freelance). As each status has different rights and benefits, problems can arise when people are misclassified, particularly employees being misclassified as workers or self-employed, and therefore missing out on certain rights. &nbsp;&nbsp; While mistakes are often honest errors, the reason behind misclassifications does not soften the consequences - employers could be held liable for breach of statutory rights, resulting in back payments, fines, and reputational damage.&nbsp; An increased focus on training and support around recruitment and employment law will be essential in 2024 to prevent the trend of worker misclassification from becoming a greater concern.&nbsp;
5. AI&nbsp; AI was certainly one of last year&amp;#39;s biggest trends; in 2024, we are likely to see its continued popularity. However, the primary AI trend for 2024 will be learning that automation is not always a perfect solution, and its implementation should be carefully considered. Automation can be used to automate the search for top talent and speed up recruitment processes, but it has been noticed that automated software does not select candidates in a neutral way. Because AI is reliant on the data it is fed by humans, a lack of diverse teams and extensive testing can mean that AI&rsquo;s learning models perpetuate unconscious biases. &ldquo;81% of hiring managers have encountered challenges with bias and discrimination issues when using AI in the recruiting process.&rdquo;&nbsp; As women and ethnic minority talent are typically underrepresented in certain roles and sectors, AI poses a challenge to diversity and inclusion and will require an increasing amount of vigilance as its use continues to become standard practice in 2024.
6. SPEAK TO DEPARTING COLLEAGUES&nbsp; The current social media and review culture has made the management of employer branding more crucial than ever before. Dissatisfied candidates and employees may take to platforms like Instagram
and TikTok to share negative experiences, which could potentially impact the image and reputation of the company. According to Glassdoor, &ldquo;84% of job seekers find ratings and reviews crucial in deciding where to apply, highlighting the significant impact of poor reviews on talent attraction.&rdquo; Proactively engaging with departed employees and understanding friction points could potentially result in valuable insights that could improve retention and existing employees&rsquo; satisfaction while also minimising the negative feedback left by departing employees.&nbsp; 55% of the employees surveyed said they were not asked to attend an exit interview. Additionally, 38% were not asked for feedback after resigning from their last job.&nbsp; Reasons departing employees gave for leaving their roles Ineffective or toxic line management &nbsp;34.5% Lack of recognition 32.25% Negative company culture &nbsp;28.2% Toxic working environment &nbsp;27.7%
&nbsp; 7. RETURN TO WORK 81% of organisations are shifting away from remote work, with 30% of employees required to return to the physical workplace, and 51% encouraged to do so. Whilst some may say this is understandable, this shift is a potential pitfall for HR departments. &nbsp; For organisations with a blended workforce of remote, hybrid, and in-office employees, those who continue to work remotely may feel disconnected and receive less attention than their office-based counterparts. Unclear expectations can lead to reduced productivity, disengagement, and increased turnover. Consideration for this blended workforce is essential for a diverse and optimised workforce, and managers should focus on driving integration between remote workers and their onsite peers. HR departments and managers must find ways of blending workforces and pay consideration to individual circumstances in return-to-work situations, particularly during policymaking. &nbsp;
7. QUICK TURNAROUND A prolonged hiring process can slow down business and frustrate leaders and candidates, as experienced by 92% of businesses, who reported losing candidates due to lengthy processes in 2023.&nbsp; If the onboarding process has multiple rounds and there is procrastination between the stages, there is a significant risk that candidates will lose interest, resulting in the possibility of losing top talent to competitors. If the candidate decides to move elsewhere before completing the interview process, the procrastination would have resulted in significant amounts of time, effort, and budget being wasted.&nbsp;
&ldquo;To avoid slow approvals and secure your top candidates in 2024, hiring managers and candidates must maintain regular communication to ensure that everything possible is being done to secure top talent and prevent candidates from being left in recruitment limbo.&rdquo; said &Aacute;ine Fanning. &ldquo;This could include making approvals in advance to ensure the process is smooth for candidates and deliberation is minimised within the organisation.&rdquo;&nbsp; &amp;quot;48% of UK businesses admitted to losing out on talent due to procrastination on numerous occasions.&amp;quot;

Recruitment Resolutions, Considerations and Trends for 2024

BLOG &ndash; PREVENTNG AND OVERCOMING CANDIDATE GHOSTING
&nbsp;
Set the scene: The jobseeker&rsquo;s profile is perfect. When you meet with the candidate, the two of you click. Everything is rosy you&rsquo;re confident in your next hire.
&nbsp;
But since the interview, nothing, tumbleweed, you&rsquo;re scratching your head for any clue what&rsquo;s happened even though you&rsquo;ve sent several messages and even tried calling.
Welcome to the frustrating world of candidate ghosting.
&nbsp;
&ldquo;Ghosting&rdquo; is a term many are familiar with due to the world of online dating, however being on the receiving end of the silent treatment from candidates is also unfortunately becoming a situation more and more recruiters and hiring managers alike are finding themselves in.
&nbsp;
According to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.roberthalf.com.au/blog/employers/candidate-ghosting-nightmare-recruitment">a recent LinkedIn report</a>:
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 95% of recruiters say they&rsquo;ve experienced ghosting
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2021/03/29/the-ghosting-trend-are-job-candidates-just-not-that-into-you/?sh=526d9628132e" target="_blank" rel="noopener">76% of employers say</a>&nbsp;they have been ghosted by candidates
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 40% (!!!) of candidates believe it&rsquo;s reasonable to ghost an employer, with 28% having actually done it
&nbsp;
So the first questions is WHY? &nbsp;Ben Eubanks, Chief Research Officer at Lighthouse Research &amp; Advisory found:
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 40% wanted more flexibility than employers were willing to provide
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 35% indicated the company took too long to extend them an offer
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 33% stated they had a poor interview experience with an employer
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 29% noted they simply got a better job offer from another business
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The company implemented a policy requiring employees to return to the office.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
&nbsp;Eubanks also found that
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 46% of candidates have ghosted an interview
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 7% of candidates have failed to show up for their first day of work.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Besides this list, the changes in the job market has no doubt had it&rsquo;s part to play. Clients currently have 25% more open positions than 2019 with 25% few applications. This means if the candidate applying doesn&rsquo;t have all of their expectations met, they have plenty of other options out there for them.
&nbsp;
The good thing about these points is now that we know the causes of candidate ghosting, we can be proactive in the prevention.
&nbsp;
Here are some action points:
&nbsp;
Develop a Transparent Recruitment Strategy
Work with your team to clarify your business needs for each hire and be sure that you&rsquo;re keeping the candidates and the agency in the loop from the get-go. In order to manage expectations, tell them your expected timeline and give them an overview of what the interview process will look like. In addition to increasing the success of your recruitment efforts, this type of strategy can also help you tell your employer brand story in an authentic way that will minimise turnover.
&nbsp;
Keep Communication Open
When it comes to the interview process, everyone will agree: there&rsquo;s nothing worse than being left in the dark. Touch base with your agency and candidates early and often, letting them know when they can expect to hear from you and delivering on your promise to reach out.
&nbsp;
Focus on the Candidate and Their Experience
Many candidates are intimidated by the interview and recruitment process. To help them feel at ease, create a comfortable environment and have a conversation rather than firing questions,&nbsp;find out about who they are and their goals. It&rsquo;s a great way to build a strong relationship from the beginning.
&nbsp;
Make an Offer They Can&rsquo;t Refuse
Take into consideration salaries and benefits that are being offered by your competitors locally and nationally. In this market you don&rsquo;t have the luxury of starting low and negotiating higher. Bonuses, hybrid working, annual leave, private health care, maternity and paternity leave to name a few make a big difference.
&nbsp;
Use Alternative forms of Communication
Know candidates&rsquo; communications preferences and adjust your approach accordingly. Some candidates (mainly younger) don&rsquo;t check email often, and they are unlikely to take a phone call from an unknown number. If you&rsquo;re having trouble reaching interviewees, send them a text message instead.
&nbsp;
Craft Messages that Encourage a Response
Win interviewees back with persuasive language. Personalise the communication by mentioning what you admire about their skill set and how they&rsquo;d be a valuable addition to your team. There is nothing more off putting than a generic response, which makes the business look like they do not care. End the message with specific next steps, such as &ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to schedule a follow-up meeting for later this week to discuss the job offer and a possible start date.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
Be Flexible
Offer candidates flexible interview scheduling including evenings and weekend time slots. By accommodating candidates&rsquo; schedules, they may be more likely to move ahead in the process.
Virtual interviews are also a good option for busting some ghosts, even if your team has already returned to the office.&nbsp;45% of job seekers say being able to interview from anywhere is appealing, and 37% say they feel less intimidated at the prospect of interviewing remotely.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Ultimately, it&rsquo;s about putting yourself in a candidate&rsquo;s shoes. What would&nbsp;you&nbsp;want from a recruiter and hiring manager right now? What would make a business stand out from the competition, and make&nbsp;you&nbsp;want to move toward an offer? These engagement tactics are good next steps to help curb ghosting.

Candidate Ghosting - Not Just for Tinder...

In our last blog post we spoke about how technology is changing long standing rules on the way that we work and what this means for the workplace in the future.
However there is a new generation entering the work place making arguably more influential waves than AI and Zoom &ndash; Gen Z.
Born between 1997 and 2012, they are expected to account for 27% of the workforce by 2025. As employers seek to attract and retain the next Gen(eration) of talent, they are having to take into consideration a new set of values, motivating factors and incentives.
They are the first digital generation to grow up with no memory of life before the internet. They have never rented a Blockbuster video, played a CD player, read a paper map or used a floppy disk.
Named the &ldquo;first global generation,&rdquo; Gen Z are growing up in a society where global content and information are freely available, and where one-click shopping for goods with same day delivery from anywhere in the world and having 700 TV channels is taken for granted.
According to the Yello Recruiting Study, email is Gen Z&rsquo;s number-one choice to communicate with potential employers. But while email is still king when it comes to sharing marketing materials, scheduling interviews, and coordinating offer letters, a healthy mix of many communication channels might be the key to winning over talent. A growing number of Gen Z candidates also rank text messaging as a favourite way to connect with employers
These are the most important Gen Z communication preferences to keep in mind throughout the recruiting process:
&middot; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Keep it Speedy - 17% of Gen Z job seekers expect an offer less than a week after the first interview. Cut down on time-to-hire and provide frequent updates throughout the hiring process.
&middot; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Use a multi channel approach - Gen Z may rank email #1, but they still expect recruiters to connect with them through a variety of different communication channels.
&middot; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Face to face - 51% of Gen Z job seekers prefer face-to-face communication, and want to form trusted relationships with their recruiters.
While salary is still the most important factor in deciding on a job, Gen Z values salary less than every other generation. Given a choice of accepting high salaried, boring job versus work that was more interesting but didn&rsquo;t pay as well, Gen Z was evenly split over the choice.
Some 42% of Gen Z workers value work-life balance, remote working and flexible leave as their top priorities when looking for a job and can change jobs up to 10 times between the ages of 18 and 34. The old concept of a career ladder running from the mailroom to the Director board could be replaced by something much more ad hoc and flexible.
Diversity and inclusion matter a lot to Gen Z.
86% of Gen Z job seekers cite a company&rsquo;s commitment to diversity as an important factor in deciding whether or not to accept an &nbsp;offer. More than two-thirds would be reluctant to accept an offer if they didn&rsquo;t meet any underrepresented employees during the interview process.&nbsp; Once hired, 78% would consider finding a new job if they found their employer wasn&rsquo;t committed to diversity in the workplace. &nbsp;
They also want their employer to care about the environment. They seek evidently sustainable companies, both to work for and buy from. This could start a shift in companies&rsquo; mindsets, marketing and strategies. And actions speak louder than words: Companies must demonstrate their commitment to a broader set of societal challenges such as sustainability and climate change
Every new generation changes the world of work, from the influx of women into the workforce to the way Millennials raised awareness of issues like mental health. But Gen Zs are coming of age in the wake of a historic pandemic and at a time when the climate emergency poses an unprecedented threat to humanity. What they look for at work &ndash; and what they will not accept &ndash; is likely to have enduring repercussions.

Gen Z - Influencing and the Workplace

AI is officially taking over the corporate world, and the recruitment industry and hiring process is no different. However, many have a misunderstanding or misconception about what AI really is and what it means for our industry. Contrary to fears that it will eventually end up costing people their jobs, AI and automation can actually help to&nbsp;add the human element pf Recruitment.
According to the LinkedIn&rsquo;s Global Trends report, employers report that AI is most helpful for:
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Sourcing candidates
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Screening candidates
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Nurturing candidates
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Scheduling candidates
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Engaging candidates
According to further research by LinkedIn:
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 67% of employers state that recruitment AI saves time
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 43% of employers state that it removes human bias
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 31% of employers state that it delivers the best candidate matches
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 30% state that it saves money
Many recruitment companies use AI to aid their processes without even realising it is AI. Job board Watchdogs, suggested database CV&rsquo;s, automated emails etc.
Below are four more in depth examples of how firstly recruitment is already using AI (1-2), and then how we might use it in the future (3-4) to attract top talent and stream line the recruitment process.
Targeting relevant candidates
You can do this by tracking a candidate&rsquo;s behaviour on your website and sending them customised content and messages based on their interests. Recruitment tech also has the ability to analyse hundreds of thousands of profiles in a matter of seconds. It can source both passive and active candidates based on their job title, industry, location, experience and more on job boards, CMS, and sites such as LinkedIn ensuring that you reach relevant candidates wherever they are significantly expanding your talent pool.
Screen CVs and applications
Determining the quality of potential hires is essential during the recruitment process and Recruitment software can automatically rank, grade and shortlist the strongest candidates based on the given skills, experience and qualities necessary for the job.
Provide chatbots*
According to <a href="https://ideal.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ideal</a>, 67% of candidates have a more positive impression of a company if they receive consistent updates throughout the application process. Recruitment chatbots can offer candidates real-time updates and interactions, 24/7. They give candidates a chance to ask questions about job requirements or recruitment timelines, while providing helpful feedback and suggestions about the next steps. According to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ibs-group.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IBS group</a>, 99.3% of candidates who interacted with a recruitment chatbot were satisfied with the process.
Digitise interviews
Recruitment interview software narrows down a large applicant pool in order to make the final round of in-person interviews more efficient and specialised. Additionally, automated technology can easily schedule these in-person interviews in a way that aligns with both your calendar and the candidate&rsquo;s preferences.
One house hold name example of this is Vodafone who&rsquo;s hiring team started using AI-based software to screen its video interviews. Once candidates recorded themselves answering a set of standardised questions, the A.I. programme would assess them for candidate suitability, based off of factors such as body language, facial cues and speech cadence. Over 50,000 candidates have participated in these video interviews!
&nbsp;
LAST BUT DEFINITELY NOT LEAST:
*ChatGPT 
ChatGPT can assist recruiters in crafting compelling job descriptions, optimising job postings and job titles for maximum visibility, and suggesting relevant platforms or channels for candidate sourcing by industry.
Another invaluable use case of ChatGPT is in creating interview question banks. ChatGPT can assist recruiters in generating a wide range of interview questions tailored to specific job roles, competencies, or cultural fit, along with more innovative and problem solving skills questions that dig a bit deeper into the candidates capabilities.
Additionally, ChatGPT can be a valuable resource for recruiters when it comes to writing Boolean search strings, assisting recruiters in constructing complex Boolean search strings by suggesting appropriate operators, keywords, and modifiers. This helps recruiters save time and effort while conducting comprehensive candidate searches, resulting in more targeted and relevant results.
&nbsp;
See, it's not all that bad, is it?

AI - What Does it Mean for Recruitment?

ANNIVERSARIES & BABY SHOWERS

Can you recruit on TikTok? The short answer is a resounding yes. In this post we detail why, and offer our own tips for how to recruit on TikTok.
&nbsp;
Should You Consider Using TikTok for Recruitment?
Despite its explosion in popularity during the pandemic, many business people still regard Chinese-based, video-driven social media platform TikTok as being just for fads, funnies and silly little dances.
In truth, that perception couldn&rsquo;t be more wrong. So with stats indicating it&rsquo;s currently one of &ndash; if not the &ndash; fastest growing social media platforms around, we felt it was time to ask: can you recruit on TikTok?
The short answer is a resounding yes. To give more context, below we&rsquo;ll explain why TikTok is becoming a worthwhile tool for recruitment, and offer our own tips for how to recruit on TikTok, too.
&nbsp;
Why is TikTok good for recruiting?
The TikTok app has been downloaded over 3 billion times globally across all smart devices. In the UK it&rsquo;s used by almost a quarter (24%) of all web-savvy 15-25 year-olds, and a consistent 9% of all people in both the 26-35 and 36-45 year age brackets. Those represents enormous numbers of people who are either just about to enter the jobs market, or represent the biggest body of people likely to be actively looking for new roles. The opportunity to market roles to this people in a place they actively frequent online is enormous.
It&rsquo;s a fact brands are gradually becoming aware of. One notable example is the success of this TikTok-based 2021 recruitment campaign from Scottish restaurant chain Buzzworks, which had already garnered over 650 applications many months before its closing date.&nbsp;
However despite this, TikTok recruitment is still in its early days &ndash; which makes the platform far less inundated with job postings than, for instance, LinkedIn. At the same time, the younger demographic usage means that with TikTok, you&rsquo;re far likelier to reach a younger demographic for those intern, lower-skilled and entry-level skilled roles. All of which suggests TikTok hiring is something to take advantage of on as early as possible.
&nbsp;
How to recruit on TikTok
When it comes to how to recruit on TikTok, there are a number of approaches you can take &ndash; both indirect and direct.
1. Indirect: Using TikTok to tell your brand story
As we&rsquo;ve previously explained on our blog, having a compelling brand story can work wonders for your candidate recruitment. You can therefore indirectly use TikTok for recruitment by simply showing up on the platform with regularly-posted, engaging content that lets potential employees see behind the curtain at your company and get a feel for life at your brand.
2. Indirect: Using TikTok to promote thought leadership
Thought leadership essentially means showing your expertise, and TikTok is a fantastic place to create content that does exactly that. Creating shareable video content that gives great advice and sets your brand apart as a leader in its field is another great example of how to recruit on TikTok in an indirect way.
3. Indirect: Using TikTok to advertise your products and/or services
Our third and final indirect TikTok recruitment suggestion is to use TikTok ads to grow the commercial side of your business. As we explained in our brand-building post, potential employees fall in love with a brand based on what it does well, so for TikTok-favouring Gen Z prospects in particular to see you adopting their favourite emerging social platform, will give you more of a footing to connect with them once you launch your more direct and targeted TikTok hiring efforts.
4. Direct: By proactively looking for candidates
Our first direct suggestion for How to recruit on TikTok is to literally get on the platform and have your hiring managers search for talent. Last year, TikTok trialled a US-based initiative called TikTok Resumes where American jobseekers could create their own video CV for employers to peruse. While we would expect that to arrive in the UK in the near future, your hiring team could get ahead of the game by actively looking through TikTok content to find UK-based influencers and make contact with them for suitable job openings. Our suggestion? Do a search for the field or the kinds of skills you&rsquo;re hoping to find, along with the word &lsquo;UK.&rsquo; You&rsquo;re likely to find people who have just the kinds of experience and skills you&rsquo;re looking for.
5. Direct: By listing your latest vacancies in video form
If you&rsquo;re ready for your business to start creating content, you may wish to start off your TikTok hiring strategy by using creating videos that list your current vacancies (if you&rsquo;re a small firm) &ndash; or (if you&rsquo;re a little larger and have a regular stream of open positions) a handful of your latest ones. Make sure to include the most important information on the video in text form, including job role, location and salary, and any relevant hashtags in the video description. Give a call to action in the video for people to click the link in your profile&rsquo;s bio (you can&rsquo;t add links directly into TikTok videos, sadly), and make sure you point that link to the best place for candidates to learn about your open roles.
6. By creating your own dedicated, hashtag-driven recruitment campaigns
Once you&rsquo;re up and running creating content, you might decide it&rsquo;s time to run your first dedicated campaign. For this, you can go the organic route (if you have enough followers) or use TikTok ads to target the people who are most likely to be interested in your roles.
The method of using TikTok for recruitment leverages the interactive aspect of the platform by asking people to create their own TikToks with a specifically-defined hashtag. This approach to TikTok recruitment is incredibly clever because it also leads to the creation of organic content that promotes your business, meaning you get the benefit of finding fantastically talented, creative and passionate candidates, while also widening the impact of your brand.

Should You Consider Using TikTok for Recruitment?

Seven Signs It's Time To Change Jobs

Work With Us To Fight Plastic Pollution! |

This week we had our best ever turnout for our Employment Law Seminar in association with Trethowans Solicitors. We had a new speaker, Kathryn Casey-Evans from Trethowans, who gave an informative and humorous talk covering legislation updates over the last 12 months including some key cases, along with a focus on effective management of disciplinary and grievance investigations.We enjoyed holding the event at our office residence, Lakeside in North Harbour, Portsmouth, using their auditorium.After the event we invited attendees to visit the Dynamite office, meet the team and to ask us any questions about what and how we do our work! It was great to see so many people come along.Feedback was fantastic, so we hope to welcome Kathryn back again for a second seminar planned for November.Thank you to all that attended. See you next time.If you would like to receive details on our next event, please contact Helen Pyper on&nbsp;<a href="mailto:helen.pyper@dynamiterecruitment.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">helen.pyper@dynamiterecruitment.com</a>

GREAT TURN OUT FOR DYNAMITE'S EMPLOYMENT LAW SEMINAR

What a great collection of reviews received over the last 24 hours. We now have over 500 5* reviews across Facebook and Google...so don't just take our work for it!Sydni -I’m not one to write reviews but I have to make an exception. Couldn’t have got the job without Jess! She was so helpful and any questions I had they she was happy to help. Went into my interview confident and within half an hour of leaving I was getting the call that I got the job! Thank you so much, you have given me the fresh start that I was looking for and wanted. Really couldn’t have done it without you!!Matt - Excellent company. Helped me so much with getting my new job and even after I had started Amy caught up with me to see how it was going. Would recommend to anyone who is currently looking for employment.&nbsp;Michael - They managed to get me a decent job within two weeks of finding me. Would highly recommend. Contact&nbsp;<a href="about:blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: inherit; background-color: transparent;">02392 455422</a>&nbsp;to discuss your next steps or visit our website to view all our live vacancies.

GREAT CANDIDATE REVIEWS

This week the team have received some fantastic feedback from candidates that I just need to share with you. The recruitment industry is challenging and frustrating at times, however when a candidate or client responds with such heart felt comments or gestures it makes all the long hours worthwhile!Here are just some of the comments founds on our GOOGLE Reviews from this week:"AMAZING! Helped me so much and so quickly! First job Amy found me, I went for the interview and got the job! So happy and would highly recommend using Dynamite Recruitment. They give you tips on how to smash your interview and constantly in contact with you through the whole process! Also ask for Amy, she’s super nice and really helpful :) 10/10!" Laura"I have had an extremely positive experience with this company, in particular Fran. She has been nothing less than efficent, friendly, professional, encouraging, and very thorough during the whole process of finding me the perfect role that I was looking for. Nothing is too much trouble for her, even when I contacted her once out of office hours. She is an asset to the company. And Dynamite are by the far the best recruitment company I have ever had the pleasure of delaing with. Thank you Fran and your team, from one very happy candidate" Hayley"I have registered with them last winter. Very energetic team. Special thank you for Jess who is passionate. Thanks for the support" Michael"From the start I've had the same person Jess she really helped me get the job on top of my skills, she gave her full support, guides with interview questions and expectations. Taking the time to ensure I was ready, I felt like I'd made a friend who was really wanting this as much as me. Jess, you've truly been amazing thank you just doesn't feel enough!" ElizabethTegan also received a beautiful bunch of flowers from a delighted candidate, so thank you to everyone who has taken the time to recognise our team, it really does mean so much to us all.

A GREAT WEEK FOR RECOGNITION

On the&nbsp;20th&nbsp;August&nbsp;we will be raising money, outside of our offices at&nbsp;1000 Lakeside Portsmouth,&nbsp;for a very worthy cause,&nbsp;The Rainbow Centre&nbsp;in&nbsp;Fareham.&nbsp;The event will involve spin bikes and lots of&nbsp;kilometres!! More details to follow but if you work in 1000 Lakeside please come and see us and help to raise as much as we can. Equally, details will follow about our&nbsp;JustGiving&nbsp;page if you wish to contribute.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/savetherainbow?source=feed_text&amp;epa=HASHTAG&amp;__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARDgKRscllpWw-0c36ou7sEfacN0lwWyNCpMGaSqTkH_L2I9_WFUEGyaGJatCezdK1d2Aze3w0B5YKXzzncguaqFQ_H-tgjMI6NC4Dg9wPyM2Fx4AXUEA3FNKWlrKRvPzAE1MXUoVLJwfuVxmsmyLsvaZeizbqrJu5XuZFPO2MBRfSwKUkSfJ_ceKG0fhCjHViVgjV0u1FS_M7BGpgBU8BB9MPb7FdVwfDOuRFmL56WvVIZZoJGCsIx4QTrLDPoADH94I2nXjqi4izdK_reuRE_D85bYwv396Gnb7feDzuVmY3lyzOKi3NBkEnJbtmQJrq60t1cjmymw-0afcuJFhzBzrU8X1KlH9cvEHu-UNdkSqJbKHAoRloW10jllfE6-v3teIpFKjiuUUc9CWydPqAJVerxsrHrUbMZigqaZDnwTtSFATkdYK2TOSZAh0mVoGopJcQOn5oP8BmXdP3UsfYk4Y8aAyGoB1Az232r_03yvqSarQS_suTXHOHsV-_mDZgam&amp;__tn__=%2ANK-R" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">#savetherainbow</a>About the Rainbow Centre:Founded in 1990, The Rainbow Centre supports children and adults and those caring for them, who are affected by neurological conditions, enabling them to reach their full potential in all aspects of their lives.We work with children with cerebral palsy and other motor disorders and adults with Parkinson’s, MS, cerebral palsy, or who have experienced a stroke or head injury, from across seven counties in central southern England, by providing Conductive Education.&nbsp;This is a system of&nbsp;neuro-rehabilitation, training undamaged parts of the brain to take control of motor functions previously managed by the areas of the brain which no longer work. Participants are viewed as facing a challenge of learning rather than needing treatment for a medical condition. The focus is not only on making movements and actions possible, but developing the whole person: the wish, desire and ability to be active.The Rainbow Centre receives minimal statutory funding. We raise funds from working with corporate partners and a range of community contacts, including schools and community groups, together with funding from trusts and&nbsp;organising&nbsp;events. We also raise funds from three charity shops. It costs in the region of £67,000 each month to run the Centre.<a href="https://www.facebook.com/therainbowcentre/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">https://www.facebook.com/therainbowcentre/</a><a href="https://www.rainbowcentre.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">https://www.rainbowcentre.org/</a>

The Rainbow Centre

This year the Dynamite team are proudly supporting the Poppy Appeal 2020. Given the UK's current situation with COVID, more than ever the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal need help with funds. One impact will be that there are going to be fewer Poppy collectors who volunteer this year who help to raise awareness for the cause.We have therefore decided as a business, to donate to the Poppy Appeal 2020.By partnering your recruitment with us between now and 02nd December 2020 and you'll be helping us with our pledge. Read more&nbsp;<a href="https://conta.cc/329uaYr" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">here</a>:&nbsp; <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/?keywords=igniteyoursearch&amp;highlightedUpdateUrns=urn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A6729360464641310720" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">#igniteyoursearch</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/?keywords=dynamiterecruitment&amp;highlightedUpdateUrns=urn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A6729360464641310720" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">#dynamiterecruitment</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/?keywords=poppyappeal2020&amp;highlightedUpdateUrns=urn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A6729360464641310720" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">#poppyappeal2020</a>

SUPPORTING THE POPPY APPEAL

Last week we held an interesting webinar with Kathryn Kendall, Chief People Officer from Benefex.If you missed it then we have a recording to share with you.The webinar is a direct speech from Kathryn about how her role and how her business coped with the fast changes that Covid bought to the HR world.&nbsp;Kathryn is a compelling and interesting person to listen to, so you'll see no slides or presentations here. Just Kathryn and her insights to how HR have had to adapt and what teams need to think about for the future.Who is the Speaker?Kathryn will be giving us her thoughts on the world of HR at this unprecedented (and frankly weird) time for all of us – how HR has as a profession has been impacted, how it has evolved to support business during this crisis, and will also be talking about some of the specific initiatives in place within her business.Some of you I am sure will have met Kathryn already – we are pleased to have known her for many years. We met around 13 years ago in fact, when Kathryn was Head of HR at Candy King. Kathryn has built an enviable HR career, has become a Fellow of the CIPD and regularly produces thought provoking articles and updates for her HR blog which you can&nbsp;find at Kathryn-kendall.com. After some years in the business as HR Director, Kathryn was promoted to Chief People Officer at Benefex in 2016 – a leading online employee benefits and engagement consultancy.&nbsp;&nbsp;Kathryn is known for her direct, no-nonsense commercial approach, for her reasoned focus on engagement and equality, championing flexibility and for setting and achieving extremely high organisational standards in all areas of her business.A webinar well worth a watch!Request a recording by emailing helen.pyper@dynamiterecruitment.com&nbsp;

RECORDING AVAILABLE OF LATEST WEBINAR

Welcome to Jo Bailey who has recently joined Dynamite Technical as a Recruitment Executive!Jo has over 5 years experience within the recruitment industry and will be specialising in HVAC Engineers, Service Engineers, Sales Engineers, Air Con / Refrigeration to name just some of the areas she will cover on a national scale.Welcome to the team!joanne.bailey@dynamiterecruitment.com&nbsp;

WELCOME TO THE TEAM JO!

<h3>It may only be a spark of good news, however finally we have something positive to share.</h3>&nbsp;Apsco have recently released a Trends Snapshot in August 2020 based on data supplied by cube19. According to the latest monthly data, vacancies and placements are continuing on an upward trajectory as the UK slowly but surely sees businesses re-opening office spaces and some sense of normality returns.In fact, July marks the second month in a row that we have seen an increase in month on month figures, suggesting that the Prime Minister's plans to build build build further bolstered recruitment activity as we entered July.&nbsp;<img src="https://oliver-dev.s3.amazonaws.com/thumbs/500x500/dfdc95b5-b1fc-4fe1-a373-ab53d678cdc8.jpeg"><img src="https://oliver-dev.s3.amazonaws.com/thumbs/500x500/b5a40fbb-acd1-4d65-85c4-0d5157a07d93.jpeg">While year on year figures are understandably still down as Covid-19 takes its toll on hiring, we are beginning to certainly see smaller decreases in annual comparisons, showing encouraging signs that the gap is beginning to close. This positivity is further evident when we look at the daily tracking information which, throughout the month, confirms the continuity of an upward trend.The data in the tables below suggest that the leap we saw in interviews in June has funneled placements throughout July. Revenue from permanent sales at the end of July was up an average of 53% when compared with the beginning, with contract up 11%.<img src="https://oliver-dev.s3.amazonaws.com/thumbs/500x500/04073bcc-cd7f-4f9d-8bd3-ed9a009c50ab.jpeg">

IT STARTS WITH A SPARK

As part of our rebranding we have created some great looking pieces to support you in you job search journey.Our 'hot off the press' candidate guides will give details on how it works to seek permanent and/or temporary work through us and also some hints and tips to get you ready for those looming interviews.We also love to celebrate when you get that final offer hence the congratulations cards from all of us!#youvegotthis #wevegotyou #igniteyoursearch #dynamiterecruitment

YOU'VE GOT THIS

Reviewing the effects of COVID-19 on the ecomony and forecasting it's recovery over the next 12-18 months'Dynamite Accountancy &amp; Finance will be hosting a webinar in partnership with Bank of England.20th August 2020, 9amThe speaker: Andrew Holder is one of the Bank of England's Agents in the Central Southern region, who is the 'eyes, ears and voice' in the area, collecting information about trends and developments across the country, and explaining the banks views and policy decisions to local businesses and other groups.&gt;Find out what’s been happening to the UK economy&gt;Find out what’s expected to happen to growth and inflation over the next few years&gt;Hear how the Monetary Policy Committee’s views on interest rates are evolvingAfter registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.<a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8Oyvq4M1Ru-AnkGLPZHIiw" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">REGISTER HERE</a>

REGISTER FOR OUR NEXT WEBINAR 

After many long months of lockdown, its official… Holidays are back on! With the government's forthcoming announcement on 'Air Bridges' already being widely reported, how many of your staff will stampede to the airport...?Rest assured that Dynamite have a professional, experienced pool of top class temporary workers available NOW to ensure that your business stays on track. As businesses now expect a high number of annual leave requests, our teams of award winning, specialist consultants are waiting for your call! We are able to provide planned or reactive temporary cover even at short notice for holidays, sickness absence or even on a temporary to permanent basis. With great service assured, we are just a call away!02392455422

HOLIDAYS ARE BACK...

This week we held a successful first ever webinar with our fantastic speaker, Kathryn Casey-Evans from Trethowans Solicitors.We had over 200 registered with 75% tuning in on the day. Feedback was great with attendees commenting on the relevant content and how engaging Kathryn is, which is so important when dealing with such a complex subject.A reminder, the topic was reviewing the Employment Law challenges that may occur, as we begin the bring the workforce back to the office. ie - lack of childcare so 'can't' return yet, employees deeming the environment as unsafe and refusing to return and many, many more questions that could arise.I have a recording to share with you. Simply contact Helen on 02392 455422 or email helen.pyper@dynamiterecruitment.com for a copy.We have more online events happening in the coming weeks so watch this space....

RECORDING OF EMPLOYMENT LAW WEBINAR AVAILABLE

MEASURING THE EXTENT OF THE EFFECT OF COVID-19 ON BUSINESS, PLANNING AND HIRING INTENTIONSWe are in the process of compiling a report into the extent of the effect of COVID-19 on the local employment market and the hiring intentions of businesses in a variety of sectors. The report will be made available to all of our clients and the wider business community as part of our commitment to provide added value services, so to make the snapshot we produce as accurate as possible we need your input!&nbsp;Please take the time to answer 13 questions (2 mins duration) about the impact of Coronavirus on your business.&nbsp;In return, if you email helen.pyper"dynamiterecruitment.com with your email address (as it will be completed anonymously) we will send you a copy of our report free of charge.Please be reassured we will not mention your business in the report, and any data provided will be shared anonymously and as part of sector data rather than individually.We would like to thank you in advance for your assistance and input and we look forward to sharing our findings.If you have any questions about the report or its scope, or about how we could support your business please do not hesitate to call or contact helen.pyper@dynamiterecruitment.com&nbsp;Begin Survey here:&nbsp;<iframe class="ql-video" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" src="https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LJCHK52?embedded=1" height="100%" width="100%"></iframe>

WE'D APPRECIATE YOUR INPUT

As we begin to look ahead at the return of the working world post COVID-19, there are many hurdles businesses may face and often in very new territories.&nbsp;&nbsp; Dynamite Recruitment has teamed up with Kathryn Casey-Evans, Employment Law Partner at Trethowans Solicitors to host a webinar that covers the legal point of view if facing resistance from returning employees, contractual issues that need to be addressed and potential challenges with a work force returning from the Furlough scheme. There will be a Q&amp;A session also. Register using the link below: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/164555516377609742 We look forward to seeing you there!

REGISTER FOR WEBINAR! REVIEWING EMPLOYMENT LAW CHALLENGES POST COVID 19

We absolutely are here to help you but because of the current situation our offices are closed and we’re working remotely and on reduced hours. With this in mind please email your enquiry to&nbsp;<a href="mailto:contact@dynamiterecruitment.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">contact@dynamiterecruitment.com</a>&nbsp;which is being monitored, and a member of our team will call you back asap.Stay Safe.

HERE TO HELP

In a world where many offices have moved into the home, we also have some clients continuing to recruit as normal and keen to employ new staff into their team.In particular, customer service remains to be very buoyant. If you or you know of anyone with a retail, office, care work or other customer service background, please do get in touch.&nbsp;These are some of the roles available for people to start now! Skype interviews are being held today/tomorrow...<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/jobs/customer-service-executive-71" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/jobs/customer-service-executive-71</a><a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/jobs/customer-service-advisor-95" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/jobs/customer-service-advisor-95</a>

STILL RECRUITING...

Its fair to say, it's become a very different market in recruitment over the last few days and worrying times in regards to health and business. That said, we still have a number of clients interviewing, albeit often offsite or via the telephone/Skype, but some are continuing with business as normal. Please refer to our 'Live Vacancies' for current open positions. If you are a candidate, we will no longer be asking you to meet face to face with your consultant at Dynamite Recruitment. We will overcome this by spending more time with you over the phone, getting to understand your background and personality.&nbsp; We will continue to spend time with you over the phone for any preparation of interviews you may have. This won't change. Our offices remain open as normal although please do not visit us, unless specifically arranged by a member of our staff. We send you all good well wishes and hope you remain happy and healthy during these times.

ITS A CHANGING WORLD

" Dynamite Recruitment have just secured me a great role in a job I am going to love and will succeed in. The recruitment company not only offers jobs but careers which is what I am personally looking to pursue. The team there that I have experienced are excellent with updates all the time &amp; feedback which is sure to be very helpful in the next interview. I'd like to give a special thank you, to Abby and Dan which have helped me personally and have supported me throughout, overall 5/5, without them I wouldn't have a career ahead of me which is looking so positive as it is!' Jordan - February 2020 Thank you Jordan for a great review. Always a pleasure to assist someone in their next step in their career. Good luck in the new role!

A GREAT REVIEW TO SHARE WITH YOU

A great night was had on Friday at the Brookland Hotel &amp; Spa for Dynamite Recruitment Christmas Party starting with out very own End of Year Presentation and Awards. Reflecting on 2019 and giving us the chance to highlight key individuals. There were 7 awards in total, including Best Client Experience, where clients kindly nominated their consultant with some fantastic testimonials received, an award for Directors Choice and an award for Recruiter of the Year to name just a few! December is a time when we get a chance to look at what has been achieved so far as a business but more importantly, what do we want to improve, change and generally switch up for the next year. 2020 is going to mean loads more social media for us as we showcase what we are doing as a team, company and the jobs that we are working on. We will be recruiting more superstars, creating an environment where people want to work, providing more communication with our candidates on what we have available and new technology for clients to communicate better with us about the great candidates we have to offer.&nbsp; Please share anything you see and help us spread the word. We have set our sights high for 2020 - bring it on! Thank you to all clients and candidates that have played a part in Dynamite reaching a record breaking year. We love what we do, but couldn't do it with out you. Thank you and have a very Merry Christmas. &nbsp;

CELEBRATING 2019...

This week, the Dynamite team carried out a Spin-A-Thon to raise as much money as possible for The Rainbow Centre. Due to a sharp decline in donations The Rainbow Centre has launched a campaign to raise £100,000 by the end of the summer to avoid restricting some of their services or even closure. #savetherainbowEveryone in the office had to endure an hour on the spin bike, outside in the entrance to our office building, and spin for a minimum of 18 miles each! In total we covered the distance from Paris to The Rainbow Centre in Fareham, Hampshire.We are delighted with the kind donations that were raised both online and in the collection buckets on the day. At the time of writing this, our online total is&nbsp;£1,450&nbsp;and our collection buckets raised an impressive&nbsp;£347.02,&nbsp;so thank you so much for everyone at the Lakeside offices and to friends and family for helping us raise this total. Dynamite Recruitment will be topping up this total to ensure we reach our £3K target.We will be keeping our fundraising page open until the beginning of next month as many wanted to donate but couldn't until pay day!&nbsp;<a href="https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/dynamite-recruitment" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/dynamite-recruitment</a>The donation will be made in Stan's name, who has been attending The Rainbow Centre from a young age and they have helped to support his development tremendously. In September, Stan's family would have to start paying for his sessions, should they want to continue his development and therefore for every £250 raised he will receive one free session. We were delighted to meet Stan when he came down to see us 'spinning' on the day!&nbsp;<img src="https://oliver-dev.s3.amazonaws.com/thumbs/500x500/f68cae87-c1f7-470d-bdaf-10bd01d271f2.jpeg"><img src="https://oliver-dev.s3.amazonaws.com/thumbs/500x500/b06662cd-a415-4607-8ccc-9d8d11c7b2d8.jpeg">

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR DONATIONS

This time last week we were on our way to Wembley Stadium to attend the SME National Business Awards. We were not a winner on this occasion but it was a fantastic event to have been shortlisted for. Finalists for Best Customer Service and Best Employer to Work For - Well done Team Dynamite!

SME NATIONAL BUSINESS AWARD

Today sparks the beginning of our exciting new re-brand. This is something we have been working on over the summer, so we are delighted to finally unveil the finished logo and imagery.&nbsp;The website is in phase one of the re-brand so there are some more changes to make but it's refreshing for us to now see it live.&nbsp;We think it creates an impact...do you?

WE HAVE A NEW LOOK

We have hit our 8 years of trading milestone!We now have the largest team we have ever had, offered 4 people promotions this year so far and beaten revenue targets. God only knows what we can achieve, with the most motivated team ever, at Dynamite, over the next 12 months!Thank you to all the candidates and clients that engage with us. We couldn't do it without you.Happy birthday to us!

HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY US

Great morning at the Dynamite Recruitment Employment Law Seminar at Lakeside today with over 100 attendees. Thank you to all who attended, and to Andrew C. For an engaging and informative talk.&nbsp;

EMPLOYMENT LAW SEMINAR HELD THIS MORNING

It's that time of year again when we deliver a vast amount of pumpkins to businesses across the South Coast!Happy Halloween from all of us at Dynamite!&nbsp;

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

<h3>Pandemic recruitment myths…</h3>There’s no getting away from the fact that the last year has been one of the most horrendous on record for most people – lockdowns, restricted movement, negative impact on the economy and the sometimes unmanageable stress levels of anyone trying to run a business in entirely uncharted waters.All of that said, as in the case of the 2008/9 financial crash, the mainstream, sensationalist media have an awful lot to answer for, and their influence is having a profound effect on the current employment market.I have been able to take comfort from the very large number of businesses who after the paralysis of the initial UK lockdown last year, have taken the decision to continue to actively recruit and have stuck to their plans to replace leavers and in many cases, appoint to speculative / growth roles.Undoubtedly there are fewer vacancies across generalist areas – call centres, general administration etc, but in almost all other areas; Specialist, Accountancy, Technical, Sales etc there is consistent demand.&nbsp;The employment market is at the current time, unlike anything I have known in my recruitment career of nearly 20 years. Recruitment activity continues at a medium pace, candidate activity and availability is at an all time low, yet a perception exists amongst those businesses who are recruiting, that an army of top quality candidates will arrive within moments of an online advert going live, because ‘there must be hundreds of people out there at the moment… right…?’ Wrong.&nbsp;In many businesses the recruitment process has slowed considerably owing to additional stages added in readiness for the onslaught of available talent, decision making is taking longer in some cases due to a number of factors. For some, a false perception creeping in that the need to compete and ‘race’ for talent has faded away along with the threat posed by other companies that must be actively recruiting. For others, different focuses that have come in to play – operating a COVID secure business, concerns around remote onboarding and how to do it effectively – an endless list.The reality of the situation is that overall, significant reductions in [quality] application rates are being reported across the recruitment industry. There will of course be sector exceptions to this, but as a result, a further increased majority of successfully filled roles come from candidates in our network, or people we seek out. Put simply – there are very few quality candidates making new applications or&nbsp;looking to change roles.At the £30-50k + marketspace, candidates with two years service or more are reluctant to forfeit this service in pursuit of new opportunities and the uncertainty (along with reduced rights) that may bring. In addition, many of those would be candidates are busy and challenged juggling home schooling duties, and making compromises within the family to enable themselves, or their partner to work some or all of their hours. There is limited appetite to complicate this further by adding a job change into the mix.At the lower end of the salary scale, many candidates are still furloughed. There are of course many people who fall within this category who are desperate to return to their jobs and the sense of purpose and normality that would bring, but also a good number who have computed that 80% of their salary with no childcare, commuting, fuel, parking or sandwich shop bills and the freedom to paint, decorate and dog walk to their hearts content is a luxury not to be given up any earlier than absolutely necessary, so they aren’t looking for a new job either! Add to that the keyworkers, service technicians, heating, fire engineers, property maintenance technicians all of whom are incredibly busy and the newfound demand for import and export roles driven by the administrative burden of the B word, and it all makes for a very interesting dynamic.So lets talk about all of those people who have been made redundant… Of course, there will be a number of people in the market who have fallen victim to company closures or rightsizing in affected areas and my comments in no way seek to play down the stress and anxiety that will have been encountered by those individuals. I’m pleased that we have been able to support many people facing redundancy and help them into new roles and we will continue to do so. It is important to maintain perspective.&nbsp;We all will have heard the many sensationalist media reports about the ‘High Street Blood Bath’, big names across the world of travel, tourism, retail who have been forced to shed headcount in droves. So dark and pessimistic are these stories that we could all be forgiven for the seemingly rational belief that we will all be living in mud huts – penniless and destitute by four o’clock next Tuesday. It is this very panic that keeps us clicking, reading and sharing articles, feeding the pay-per-click machine. If you search really hard though, you will find barely covered stories about the raging success of many other businesses, about how two companies alone - Amazon and Asos have created more jobs between them since the start of the pandemic than have been shed by many of the biggest names put together. You’ll find stories covering the boom in mortgage businesses and the thousands of roles created by supermarkets and food producers. Cumulatively these go a long way towards countering the number of redundant roles, which of course have been significantly limited by the existence of the Furlough scheme.When we blend this with a candidate market which prior to the pandemic was already the driest we have known, the needle has barely shifted in most sectors.&nbsp;&nbsp;For the many businesses still looking to attract talent, to grow or to replace headcount – your employer brand, recruitment process, candidate experience and associated factors have never been more pivotal. Now more than ever, employers need a clearly defined process where timescales are communicated, kept to and feedback provided quickly. Whether a recruitment consultancy is involved or not, it isn’t too difficult in most cases to put together an interactive, engaging onboarding process which can be delivered remotely and we are well placed to offer advice on this without commitment or obligation. There is no question about the value that a passionate recruiter can add in this market - often the attraction of a passive candidate, or a previous contact can make a significant difference.For further information, comment or discussion on any of the points raised here please get in touch.&nbsp;

"There must be hundreds of people out there at the moment… Right…?"​

What is a boutique agency? Well, we know the word ‘boutique’ may conjure up images of impossibly fashionable people sipping macchiatos and typing feverishly on immaculate silver laptops. However, that’s only partially true.Being totally serious, what a boutique agency is in recruitment terms is a small, laser-focused team trained on getting you the right candidate to fill your vacant role. All as efficiently and quickly as possible.As we enter a post-pandemic world, having that focus has never been more important.<h2>THE CURRENT CLIMATE</h2>The reality of the current jobs market is that finding the right people for the right roles is a serious challenge. That’s true for every company, seeking candidates at every career level.In mid-senior level roles, for example, job security is now a huge issue for the majority of employees. Many tenured staff are choosing to stick with stable positions rather than take their next exciting career step into an uncertain probation period, in a new role, at a new company.And the other end of the spectrum, the effects of Brexit mean the pool of candidates for entry-level customer service roles has shrunk immensely.As a result – and despite what recent news reports may suggest – we’re currently in something or an inverted recession. Companies are keen to fill roles, but the number of available candidates has never actually been lower. And the number of&nbsp;quality&nbsp;candidates who are truly suitable for those roles is even lower still.In that recruitment environment, the boutique difference can be&nbsp;invaluable.This blog covers that difference; offering some compelling benefits of working with a boutique agency over larger nationwide names, or trying to recruit for a role by going it alone on jobs boards.<h2>SMALLER MEANS MORE PERSONAL – AND MORE AGILE</h2><img src="https://dynamite-recruitment.staging.krakatoa.eu-2.volcanic.cloud/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBK1l1TWc9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--48e8855b2857cf70c5194c935014265e5f176b1a/How_a_boutique_agency_can_help.jpg" alt="Creative agency looking at sticky notes on window">We’ll start with the most obvious difference between boutique agencies and large recruitment companies. The big recruiters are generalists. They have tons of staff in each office, handling hundreds of vacancies between them – often across every industry there is.With the best will in the world, each recruiter in that position gets precious little time to dive in to your company’s culture, really take time to understand the role requirements, or to build a real rapport with candidates. All of which means the right person for your job is much more likely to get lost in the shuffle of drawn-out processes and target chasing.At a boutique agency, none of that applies. They run lean, focus on a few industries, and work with fewer clients at once. All of which gives boutique recruiters the chance to build better relationships and devote their time and attention to your industry, job spec and culture – rather than rigidly following a process.And because they care more about quality than numbers, boutique agency recruiters are typically far less target-driven. Instead, they’re much more concerned with finding the right fit for your role. The boutique belief is that a job well done will earn repeat business – something that plays out time and time again<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/about" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">&nbsp;in our experience</a>.<h2>EXPERIENCE YOU CAN TRUST – RIGHT ACROSS THE BOARD</h2>If you’ve ever met with one of the major UK recruitment brands, you’ll know they have some incredibly experienced, knowledgeable and professional people on board. People you’ve probably trusted in the past to get the job done and find the right candidates.The issue is, despite attending the important client meetings, those same people often aren’t the ones who end up&nbsp;actually doing the recruiting!That’s because the big-name recruitment companies follow the typical corporate progression plan of promoting people out of the job they did amazingly well, and into a more senior role where they have to adapt.That might be fantastic for the individual recruiter’s personal career progression, but it means that the people doing the day-to-day work of calling candidates and spinning all of those plates are far less experienced. And that typically means they’re less able to spot the small details on a CV or in an initial screening call that can make a big difference.Because boutique agencies are more focused, they tend to staff their teams with highly experienced recruiters at every level. And on the very rare occasion you do deal with a more junior member of staff, you can be sure they’ll have been hand-picked due to a pin-sharp mind and bags of promise.The boutique difference is not just quality over quantity, then. It’s experience, energy and dedication over a formula that’s tried and tested, but lacks a little inspiration and misses some of the magic.<h2>A POOL OF QUALITY CANDIDATES YOU CAN PICK FROM</h2><img src="https://dynamite-recruitment.staging.krakatoa.eu-2.volcanic.cloud/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBK2N1TWc9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--244ed431a2737c736cb46fb51a1a9a6d9397011b/benefits_of_working_with_a_boutique_agency.jpg" alt="Group of peoples are sitting to review the documents while waiting for a job interview">Where the benefits of working with a boutique agency really show up are often in the candidates they have access to.Because they’re experienced, agile and given time to build a real rapport with candidates, a recruiter at a boutique agency is much more likely to have someone in mind the moment they hear about your vacancy. And if they don’t, the fact that they’ve got access to a more focused network of top-tier talent means they won’t waste time finding someone&nbsp;who knows someone&nbsp;who’s perfect for your role.This is also one of the best reasons to work with a boutique recruitment agency rather than trying to fill a vacancy yourself. While online jobs boards let anyone advertise a vacancy, they’ll also let anyone apply. In a normal jobs market, that might mean you’d be inundated with tens or hundreds of unsuitable CVs, and spend unnecessary time sifting through for the one or two that stand out. (And in the business world, time is money). In the current jobs market however, you’re more likely to get next to no responses – unless you have a pre-existing pool of candidates to pick from, or the in-depth knowledge of where to look for them.A recruitment specialist at a boutique recruiter will speed up your talent search no end by giving you exactly that – without sacrificing the quality of candidates that get to you for interview. In other words, the people who will benefit most from a boutique agency are you and your staff. That leaves you with only two difficult choices – the first of which is, which candidate will you go with?<h2>THE DYNAMITE DIFFERENCE</h2>The second potentially tricky choice, of course, is deciding which boutique recruitment agency to work with in the first place.There are many great ones out there – and at Dynamite, we can confidently say we’re up there with the very best in the Hampshire and South UK area. (Our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/about" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">long list of awards and nominations</a>&nbsp;speaks to that, too!).We started out determined to build relationships and avoid the typical recruitment industry clichés, and we’re proud to say that some eight years on we’re doing exactly what we’ve set out to. Our people love finding that ‘golden nugget’ candidate, and they go about it with a passion and purpose our clients love us for.So whether you’re recruiting for roles in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/disciplines/commercial" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">Commercial</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/disciplines/financial-services" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">Financial</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/disciplines/accountancy-and-finance" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">Accountancy</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/disciplines/it-and-technical" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">IT</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/outsource" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">Outsource</a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/disciplines/prestige-retail" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">Prestige Retail</a>&nbsp;sectors, we believe we can offer you all the benefits of working with a boutique agency. In fact, we’re sure of it.To find out how, get in touch using our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/contact" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">contact form</a>, email us at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:contact@dynamiterecruitment.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">contact@dynamiterecruitment.com</a>, or pick up the phone and chat to us on&nbsp;<a href="about:blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: inherit; background-color: transparent;">02393 455 422</a>.

THE BOUTIQUE DIFFERENCE

What are the main things you can do to get your CV noticed by recruiters? These are our tips!Recruiters typically take&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theladders.com/career-advice/why-do-recruiters-spend-only-7-4-seconds-on-resumes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">less than eight seconds</a>&nbsp;to scan a CV before putting it on the yes, no or maybe piles. That’s not much time at all to convince a complete stranger that you might be right for a life-changing career move.That might sound brutal, but the fact is recruiters see a lot of CVs. Their reputation with employers also depends on putting forward suitable candidates. They simply don’t have time to spend on candidates who don’t make an immediate impression on the page.So how can you make sure you’re in with a shout of getting onto the yes pile? Following our do’s and don’ts on how to get your CV noticed should help!<h2>KEEP IT TO TWO PAGES (OR THREE FOR SENIOR ROLES).</h2>Our first top tip to get your CV noticed by recruiters assumes you’re not applying for a senior management or technical role where detail might be crucial. Even if you are, however, brevity should be a big consideration. For the majority of candidates going for every other role, a maximum of two pages will be more than enough. (You could even try for a single page if you think you can condense the info down enough!). And for more senior roles, stretch to three. Either way, though, it’s a good idea to get very clear about the key details you need, and cut everything else.<h2>START WITH YOUR CAREER STORY</h2>A lot of ‘How to Get Your CV Noticed by Employers’ type of blog posts will tell you to open with a personal statement. But we like to see a career story. The big difference? The former works like a shortened cover letter, offering a summary of your experience, skills, and career goals. The latter presents a brief narrative of your roles to date, allowing you to draw attention to the specific ones you want the recruiter to focus on.This is useful for a few reasons. For instance, when you’ve worked many different&nbsp;types&nbsp;of jobs, but want to highlight the common themes and experiences that make you suitable for the position you’re applying for.Alternatively, let’s say you’re applying for a permanent position, but your recent roles have all been short-term contracts. You might want to steer a recruiter away from the possible perception that you’re fly-by-night by focusing on just how much of your career has actually been spent in permanent jobs.Either way, a career story is designed to help a recruiter unpack the information in your CV,&nbsp;and&nbsp;make them want to read it in more detail.<h2>FOCUS MAINLY ON YOUR CURRENT (OR MOST RELEVANT) ROLE</h2> <img src="https://dynamite-recruitment.staging.krakatoa.eu-2.volcanic.cloud/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBKzh1TWc9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--f0a4a99b455ef3d9572e35e47556bbaeed77da30/Quick_Changes_That_Help_Your_CV_Get_Noticed.jpg">Unless you’re switching to an entirely new career, the role you currently hold will be the most relevant to the one you’re applying for. That’s why it’s one of the things recruiters look for on a CV first.Of course, there might be some exceptions to this – like if your current role is somewhat relevant, but one you did previous to it is a like-for-like match. Our suggestion either way is to pick the position that most closely resembles the one you’re going for and tailor your CV by making that section the most detailed.It’s always a good idea to have a stock, generic version of your CV that you edit for different roles, and fleshing out the most relevant part of your experience in a way that’s relevant to each unique role can really be one of those quick changes that help your CV get noticed.<h2>DISCUSS ACHIEVEMENTS OVER RESPONSIBILITIES</h2>In terms of how you go about adding that detail, listing out the most important responsibilities of each role you’ve had is actually seen by consultants as a little lazy. What recruiters look for on a CV is punchy, impressive achievements, backed by numbers.So, if you’ve increased Facebook follower numbers by 20,000 or improved operational efficiency by 50%, use those statistics to hammer home what you’ve achieved, and showcase what you might bring to your next role. It will help you stand out from the crowd-&nbsp;especially&nbsp;if you can then back it up by explaining how you got those results at interview!<h2>USE SPECIFIC KEYWORDS FROM THE JOB SPEC</h2>Lots of recruiters use tracking software to scan CVs for relevant keywords. One of the best CV tips from recruiters is therefore to take the words you feel are the most important and relevant on the job spec, and include them on your CV. Don’t do this to the degree it affects readability, of course. But definitely make the effort to include them where you feel they belong. It could be the difference between getting a call back, and chasing a recruiter on the phone to find out why you didn’t.<h2>AVOID CLICHÉS</h2>Clichés are easy to put on a CV, but one of our top tips to get your CV noticed is to avoid them as much as possible. (We’d say “like the plague,” but that would be a cliché!).Every candidate we come across tells us they are “hard-working”. Many have “specialist knowledge,” and a good proportion of them also class themselves as “tenacious,” “energetic,” or “friendly.” But these are style words. What recruiters look for is substance. Instead, they want to be&nbsp;shown&nbsp;these characteristics – by the rest of your CV, and then ideally by your demeanour; on the phone, or in person. In every area, let your experience, achievements and personality do the talking.<h2>FILL THE GAPS IN YOUR WORK HISTORY</h2><img src="https://dynamite-recruitment.staging.krakatoa.eu-2.volcanic.cloud/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBKzB1TWc9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--774196d99fc52c185703ed7d9ccca5899dca227c/How_to_Get_Your_CV_Noticed_by_Employers.jpg"> Your CV is really a condensed form of your career story, so significant unaccounted-for time gaps between job roles can look like whole chapters are missing.We appreciate that sometimes these things happen – and honestly, they’re not the end of the world. Maybe your old company went out of business and it took you a while to find the right fit for your next role. Perhaps you went travelling. Or you might have taken time out for family.Whatever the reason, these especially large gaps are one of the things recruiters look for on a CV. Maybe don’t draw attention to the smaller ones, but explaining the more sizable gaps in writing can help your credibility and save you an awkward conversation when it comes to that first phone call.<h2>CHECK FOR SPELLING AND GRAMMAR!</h2>As we mentioned at the outset, a recruiter’s reputation rests on the candidates they put forward. Professionalism is hugely important, and on your CV ‘being professional’ means making sure it’s flawlessly proofread and edited for spelling and grammar mistakes. It doesn’t take long to do, either. Simply press the ‘spelling and grammar’ button in Word and make those quick changes that help your CV get noticed.<h2>READY TO APPLY FOR YOUR NEXT ROLE?</h2>If you’ve followed our top tips to get your CV noticed, you’ll be in with an excellent chance of making it past the first phase of the candidate selection process. And if not – maybe that’s because you haven’t found a suitable role yet to give you the motivation?<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/job-search" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">Check out our current vacancies</a>&nbsp;then take a look back through this post to make sure your CV is the best it can be before you hit ‘apply’.Or, for direct advice on sprucing up your CV,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/contact" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">get in touch with us</a>&nbsp;today.

TOP TIPS TO GET YOUR CV NOTICED

Here at Dynamite we’ve spent the last ten years placing over 4,500 people in permanent roles. Many of those were in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/disciplines/financial-services" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">accountancy and finance sector</a>&nbsp;-&nbsp;and yet, in many ways, we’re just getting started.﻿That’s why we recently announced the promotion of Zoe Jones to manager of our accountancy and finance division, and are now busy looking for people who’ll be the perfect fit to join her and our tight-knit team of ambitious,&nbsp;explosively talented recruiters.Recruiting candidates in the accountancy and finance industry can be a little different to staffing for more commercial endeavours, however. So to understand why, we sat down with Zoe.Here, she discusses what she’s looking for in future team members, plus why our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/client-services" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">clients</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/candidate-services" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">candidates</a>&nbsp;should be excited to take their next step with us on the accountancy career ladder.<img src="https://dynamite-recruitment.staging.krakatoa.eu-2.volcanic.cloud/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBL0V1TWc9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--994317b5bd36b6441afccf0e8a0fd7852e873d0f/Zoe%20Sept%202020.jpeg" alt="Zoe - promotion"><h3>HI ZOE! CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR PROMOTION! THESE ARE EXCITING TIMES IN THE ACCOUNTANCY AND FINANCE DIVISION. COULD YOU START OFF BY TELLING US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT YOU DO THERE?</h3>"Thank you so much; I'm really pleased! At Dynamite I focus solely on roles in accounting and finance. That's different from our financial services division, which looks at recruiting for areas like wealth management and mortgages. In accountancy and finance, we deal with in-house and practice based roles. So, I have a pool of candidates I speak to who have that skill set, and clients looking for those candidates. We recruit for roles ranging from accounts junior graduate roles, right up the way to qualified accountants."<h2>HOW DID THE EXPANSION TO THE ACCOUNTANCY AND FINANCE DIVISION COME ABOUT?</h2>“Before the pandemic I was running the division, then when lockdown hit recruitment obviously quietened down. Now lockdown is over and recruitment is picking back up, we’re looking to expand our knowledge and our reach into different areas. My speciality is the local area, and we’re looking to widen that scope. Adding more people to our team will give us that structure and empower us to find suitable finance and accountancy candidates for vacancies located much further afield.”<h2>ARE THERE ANY UNIQUE ASPECTS TO RECRUITING IN THE ACCOUNTANCY AND FINANCE SECTOR?</h2>“Well answering that in general, the market is difficult across the board at the moment. People are still not wanting to leave their roles right now, and that’s a big challenge. So, a lot of our work across the board is headhunting – not just in my area.“There are also a lot of changes we have to navigate. After graduation we’ll have lots of candidates looking to start their career at entry-level. And at certain times of the year we see financial year-ends when people are actively putting themselves out the for financial contact roles.“It can also get confusing for new recruiters with the different stages of financial and accounting qualifications. Over four years I picked up what the qualifications and levels mean, which can be one filter for us. Having said that, a lot of the time we still look at what the role will entail, and matching it to someone who does that or is looking for that at that specific moment.”<h2>WHAT’S YOUR PERSONAL APPROACH TO RECRUITMENT?</h2>“For me, it’s not just about getting someone who can do the job. It’s also about finding someone who can fit into the team. At Dynamite, we’re like a family. We all get on; we all go out. So we want someone who can join in with that, and who feels comfortable in that environment. We take that approach both when we’re recruiting for someone to join our team, and we’re looking for candidates to join our clients as well.“Sometimes a candidate gets that feedback that the company just can’t see them fitting in, and that’s okay. Not everybody’s going to fit in everywhere. I always encourage candidates to be themselves. It’s not just about what the client is looking for, it’s also about what the candidate is looking for. They need to be able to see themselves working with the people interviewing them and fitting in with the business. That’s ultimately where they’re going to stay long term.”<h2>HOW DO YOU TEND TO WORK WITH CLIENTS?</h2><img src="https://dynamite-recruitment.staging.krakatoa.eu-2.volcanic.cloud/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBL1l1TWc9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--05302834f75122bcabc490be367131fd41d0669d/two_happy_business_people_shaking_hands_v3.jpg" alt="Two happy people shaking hands">Because we’re a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/blog/2021/05/the-boutique-difference" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">boutique agency</a>, it’s not like the larger agencies where they have set structures or targets. It’s a much more personalised approach. I’m not just going to throw&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/blog/2021/08/top-tips-to-get-your-cv-noticed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">CV after CV</a>&nbsp;at a client. I take the time to understand what my client is looking for specifically, and match that with the top two or three candidates where I can explain the reasons why I’ve chosen them.And I work hard to build up that&nbsp;<a href="https://mymarketability.com/blog/why-you-must-build-rapport-with-your-recruiter" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">initial rapport</a>&nbsp;with candidates. I’m proud that I have really good relationships with them. That really helps when it comes to shortlisting the right ones. There’s a lot of work that goes into it, even before we have a new vacancy come in.We also sometimes have clients who want to appoint someone junior where they don’t want them to progress. I’m not going to tell a client I can give them that when I can’t, just to get the fee. In finance and accountancy, the majority of candidates are studying to become qualified accountants. So they are going to&nbsp;want&nbsp;to progress. I work hard to manage expectations and I’m not afraid to say “I can’t support you with that, because the candidates I have aren’t looking for that.”It’s a reality of the sector that businesses don’t tend to recruit in accounts and finance as often as other areas like commercial. I could speak to a client one year and not hear from them for another two years. For me it’s about building that relationship, so they know that when they do need that support again, they’ll come back to me because I’ve built up that trust over that long-term relationship. It’s never about getting the job on; I want to make sure I do a good job and the client&nbsp;and&nbsp;candidate both come back to me.<h2>WHAT TRAITS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR FROM PEOPLE WHO WANT TO JOIN YOUR TEAM?</h2>A lot of people’s perception of recruitment it “it’s just finding people jobs.” That’s obviously part of it, but there’s much more to it.In my team, I want someone who’s keen to get into something that can offer more. Before recruitment, I looked around and thought “all my friends have got a career and they’re doing something with it.” I wanted to get to that stage too. I want my team to have that attitude – to want a clear career path, an idea of where they want to be, and to have that drive about them. So if they get knocked back, which we all do, they need to have that mindset that they’re going to carry on and obviously results will come from that.We’ve found that a lot of the time people who come from other recruiters have a mindset of doing things how they’ve done it before. Whereas we do it a completely different way, and you kind of make it your own. Working with different people you’re free to pick up your own way of doing things, which I think is a really nice thing about working here. There’s no script or anything like that. You’re bringing your own personal touch to the role.If someone is looking for a typical nine-to-five, this isn’t for them. If something comes in urgently, say it’s a temporary position at four o’clock for a role starting tomorrow, I want my team to have the attitude of “I want to get that candidate in.” Your day can change so quickly here, and I want people who love that unpredictability; that element of surprise and excitement. I want to work with people who see it as the opportunity that it is.<h2>SO YOU LOVE PEOPLE WHO ARE EXCITED ABOUT WHAT THEY DO…</h2>Yeah! I’m quite competitive, so if I know another agency is recruiting for the same position, my mindset is “I need to reach out to these people before they do.” Competing against other agencies and achieving that – well, it’s left me feeling really positive.I look at it as having personal goals to work towards. That really motivates me.<h2>AND WHAT DO YOU FIND EXCITES PEOPLE IN THE ACCOUNTS WORLD?</h2><img src="https://dynamite-recruitment.staging.krakatoa.eu-2.volcanic.cloud/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBL011TWc9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--54ca16ae8a9a5d8568e22c6429c574ad9fa6a761/young_man_celebrating_in_office.jpg" alt="Young man celebrating in office while looking at laptop">That’s one of the most interesting things about my job. Because the same things that motivate me, and the people who might join me… they often aren’t the same things that motivate the candidates we recruit.For instance, I work on commission. So the more you put in on the job as a recruiter, the more you typically get out on a day to day basis. But with accounts and finance, the more you study now, the more recognition you might get to be promoted down the line. It’s not about that instant gratification. A lot of candidates at the lower level want that scope for longer-term progression.The questions they consider are: where will they be in the next three years? Are they going to be able to complete their AAT qualification if they’re doing it? And then are they going to be able to move on to an ACCA or a CIMA?And in terms of the opportunities themselves, it ranges from roles performing basic transactions, to then supporting a qualified accountant with their ad hoc duties to gain that experience.That’s what excites them, because it’s what helps develop them to move into that fully qualified role. Which ultimately, is where they want to be.<h2>CAN ZOE HELP YOU WITH YOUR ACCOUNTANCY AND FINANCE RECRUITMENT NEEDS?</h2>Whether you’re looking for your next role in the accounting world, or you’re keen to recruit in that space, we have openings that will interest you.

OUR ACCOUNTANCY AND FINANCE DIVISION IS EXPANDING!

Every company wants candidates and employees who have a positive, can-do attitude. But in our experience, that positivity is something that can be developed from the inside out by a company’s values and overall working culture. Creating such a culture is the tricky part, though. That’s why we’ve penned this blog!Read on to learn about building a positive workplace culture, including its importance and best practices you can follow to make sure your company’s working culture measures up.<h2>THE IMPORTANCE OF CREATING A POSITIVE WORK CULTURE</h2>Companies that create a positive workplace culture always feel the benefits. That’s because happy employees, who feel valued and encouraged to grow, tend to stay where they are and work diligently to achieve the business’s targets alongside their own career goals.Some of the most well-rounded candidates we see come from companies with just this kind of culture. Naturally, there are precious few of them on the jobs market at any one time – and making your organisation as attractive to the ones that are is likely to be a win-win for all concerned.Which brings us to…<h2>HOW TO CREATE A POSITIVE WORKPLACE CULTURE</h2>These are the do's and don’ts of creating a positive work culture that can not only help you retain your best people, but also attract the talent you’ll need to take your business to the next level.<h3>GET YOUR TEAM TOGETHER REGULARLY - BUT RESPECT YOUR PEOPLE'S TIME, TOO</h3>Getting your people together is a great way to disseminate the information you need them to know. You can share successes, offer solutions to problems, facilitate discussion so people feel heard, and catch up about project progress. Whether it’s just one department, a cross-functional working group or even a company ‘town hall’ style meeting, get-togethers help everyone buy into your culture and sing from the same hymn sheet.Booking too many meetings, however, has the reverse effect. It creates meeting fatigue and gives rise to that old saying&nbsp;“this meeting could have been an email.”Worse still, when employees have a hectic workload, and unnecessary meetings are then layered on top, they can eat into people’s work-life balance and even lead to employees feeling resentful. That makes scheduling meetings one of the big do's&nbsp;and&nbsp;don’ts of creating a positive work culture.<h3>OFFER FREE FOOD - BUT NOT AS AN INCENTIVE OR REWARD FOR COMPLIANCE</h3>This point ties into the one directly above. Putting on a good spread of food and drink is a great way to create a convivial atmosphere before a company meeting, and can make people feel that their needs are cared about. However, if the length or frequency of said meetings directly impacts an employee’s quality of life (in the office or otherwise), suddenly the snacks can start to feel more like bribery and employees can quickly lose their appetite – for your food,&nbsp;and&nbsp;your company culture.It all comes back to that salient point about respecting people’s time, and treating them well in a way they care about – not just giving them the things you as a company&nbsp;think&nbsp;they should care about. Which brings us to…<h3>ASK EMPLOYEES WHAT THEY WANT - AND COMMUNICATE&nbsp;AROUND THE CHOICES YOU REJECT&nbsp;</h3> <img src="https://dynamite-recruitment.staging.krakatoa.eu-2.volcanic.cloud/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBL2N1TWc9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--d8a97c21a68d7eae829c11e7bf04e9ba57b86735/Building_a_Positive_Workplace_Culture__Importance_and_Best_Practices.jpg" alt="Warehouse workers giving high five to each other"> When considering how to create a positive workplace culture, it doesn’t get simpler than just asking employees what they want. You can do it in person, or using digital survey tools that offer a layer of anonymity. But either way, employees love feeling like their voice is being heard.However, expectation management around this can be critical. If you find early survey participation is high but then drops off a cliff, it’s likely to be because your people don’t feel they were listened to and lost faith because of it. Acting on the good suggestions (and making it evident that you did) while also explaining your reasoning for the initiatives or ideas you’ve&nbsp;turned down, can be one of the smartest ways to create a positive work culture.<h3>MAKE A BIG DEAL ABOUT PERSONAL CAUSES - BUT BE CONGRUENT IN YOUR HR PRACTICES</h3>One of the more interesting reasons for leaving a company we’ve heard recently revolved around a candidate’s mental health. Their employer, they explained, had run a business-wide initiative to raise awareness around the issue of emotional abuse in the home. They’d even put up posters advertising a mental health charity, and held regular drop-in public forums offering advice on how employees could better manage their mental health.This all seemed very progressive, so when the candidate themselves started to suffer experiences in their personal life similar to those mentioned on the posters, they told us they had initially felt relieved they could go to their management team to seek support.Unfortunately, in practice, not only did their employer not understand the situation or its effects, they actually glossed over it in future performance-related meetings, and failed to make mention of it in any official HR write-ups. The candidate told us they sourced separate resources to support their mental health, and inwardly made the decision to leave shortly thereafter.This shows that, in a working world that’s growing ever more tolerant and empathetic, one fundamental way to create a positive work culture is to create a safe space where employees can be vulnerable with, and seek support from, their managers. The kind of loyalty this can earn from employees can be invaluable.Conversely, not doing so can be one of the fastest ways to&nbsp;lose&nbsp;the loyalty of people who are experiencing personal challenges and feel less than supported by your organisation.<h3>OFFER FLEXIBILE WORKING PATTERNS - BUT WITH SENSIBLE GUIDELINES</h3>Flexible working will be one of the most attractive things employers can offer in the post-pandemic working world. This can mean:<ul><li>The ability to work from home or in the office</li><li>Starting work earlier or later and finishing in line with that</li><li>The ability to purchase more holiday time in exchange for money off your monthly salary – or to sell back any holiday over the company’s minimum number of contracted holiday days</li><li>Or even the ability to work over and accumulate flexi-time, which can then be used at a later date for an early finish or even entire days off.</li></ul>At the same time, the working world is an intricate system where few people work in isolation (even those located in their own home office). One person’s workload can often depend on another completing a task, and flexible hours can occasionally prevent the needed collaboration from happening – which can, ironically, actually serve to frustrate your highest-performing employees.The importance of creating a positive work culture should not be overlooked, and flexible working is a vital part of that. But as many businesses transition to a hybrid hot desk working model, it would also be wise to put in place practices and policies that make sure flexible working doesn’t undermine overall productivity, and to communicate those to employees in a timely and relatable manner.<img src="https://dynamite-recruitment.staging.krakatoa.eu-2.volcanic.cloud/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBL2d1TWc9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--7d6dc0d4b359048a6b0d4e622ae165154c3772c6/How_To_Create_A_Positive_Workplace_Culture.jpg" alt="Young cheery happy positive business woman working at home on laptop"><h3>OFFER PROGRESSION AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT - WITHOUT FORCING IT ON ANYONE</h3>We love go-getters. People determined to prove themselves, climb the career ladder and achieve great things are the lifeblood of our business and our industry. They’re also the candidates who can push your business to greater heights, making finding and retaining such talent a challenging but worthwhile endeavour.And because those people want to feel like they can achieve all of their dreams with your company, that makes offering clear progression and personal development opportunities essential to the importance of a positive work culture.At the same time, not everyone is a go-getter. Some people might be ambitious but simply not in the right place to pursue career development. For instance, is a new parent who’s just returned to work going to be in the right headspace to focus on their career goals, when just getting a decent sleep is their biggest challenge at home? Or is a contractor going to take your personal development process seriously when their contract is due to expire before the planned review date comes around?Fashioning an environment where employees feel they can learn, grow and be appreciated is one of the very best ways to create a positive work culture. So, by all means, seek to create that – but also, be mindful not to force it on those who want to grow along different lines.Instead, why not ask them what those lines might be? It could be that the skills which interest them can’t be gained in your department – but might well be offered by a different area of your business. Present that option instead, and make it&nbsp;their&nbsp;choice whether or not they explore it.<h3>RECOGNISE ACHIEVEMENTS - WHILE RESPECTING PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO PRIVACY</h3>We mentioned celebrating successes earlier, and it’s worth reiterating here that reinforcing accomplishments is one of the do’s of creating a positive work culture. Overdoing that, however, can also be one of the don’ts.Organisations are made up of all kinds of personalities. So while you’ll want your people to all be team players, there are those for whom a job well done, coupled with a “great job” from their manager and a positive performance review, will be all the reward they really need. Publicly showering praise on employees in team gatherings isn’t for everyone, and should be used with restraint to celebrate the truly big wins.However, if you’ve decided that recognition is one of the ways to create a positive work culture in your business, a more low-key option could instead be to use a recognition tool. These allow your team to digitally call out the people in the company who made their work lives better, without making a big deal about it in public.

THE IMPORTANCE OF A POSITIVE WORK CULTURE

The Coronavirus has turned the world of work on its head in more ways than one. Going into 2020 we had a very healthy jobs market, but coming out the other side of numerous lockdowns and an awful lot of uncertainty, the demand for candidates now far outstrips the number of people actively seeking new roles. This is by far the biggest candidate shortage anyone here at Dynamite HQ can remember experiencing.<h2>WHY IS IT SO HARD TO RECRUIT RIGHT NOW?</h2>There are a number of factors impacting the current candidate shortage. Brexit has led to massive immigration changes which mean previously plentiful foreign talent is now in short supply. Additionally, many companies have taken more aggressive measures to retain talent, choosing the cost of higher wages over the extra expense of replacing tenured and experienced team members. Those factors, together with the post-pandemic rise of online-only businesses offering the option to work from anywhere, have all taken a chunk out of what was already a tough market, but one where active job seekers were nowhere near as hard to come by as they are now!Then there is the reality of the uncertainty caused by Covid. In many cases, even candidates who might previously have been considering their career options have now taken a&nbsp;better the devil you know&nbsp;approach, staying put until the world gets back to normal.And yet, even though we&nbsp;are&nbsp;well on our way to a new kind of normal, candidate movement in the jobs market still hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels.That means any hirers looking to fill positions need to offer the most compelling package possible to entice top talent to make a move. Re-evaluating job requirements post-COVID-19 and altering what you’re looking for could be one strategy. But in truth, you might also have to make some fundamental changes to your organisation’s expectations and culture in order to attract the kind of people who can push your business forwards.Which leads us to ask…<h2>WHAT MATTERS TO CANDIDATES IN A POST-COVID WORLD?</h2>These are the top six things we’re finding could convince quality candidates to make a move, even in this period of ongoing uncertainty.<h3>1. Efficient and adaptable recruitment and interview processes</h3>In a jobs-driven marketplace where you’re getting tens of applications for every open role, you can pretty much set any interview process you like. But in a world where candidates are already on the fence about even applying, let alone making a move, that’s more likely to turn candidates off the idea of joining you altogether. What candidates want in the post-Covid jobs market is an efficient, one or two-stage interview process that’s scheduled quickly, managed end-to-end with a clear contact point for their questions, and can flex to incorporate video calls if needed, as well as in-person interviews. After all, if they’ve just spent the lion’s share of the past 18 months talking to their current team and clients on Zoom or Teams with no loss of efficiency, why should interviewing to work with your team be any different?<img src="https://dynamite-recruitment.staging.krakatoa.eu-2.volcanic.cloud/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBL3d1TWc9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--ced175d5cdf2ec4cd4d3d98d3804443653b6aab1/Early_career_advice_for_post_Covid_job_seekers.jpg">Also, consider the pre-interview tasks you’re setting and how they might be a barrier to entry for some people. Getting someone to show their skill set by sending a piece of creative work or presentation along with their CV is sometimes necessary, but the more involved you make these tasks, the more they’re likely to cause candidates to think twice. A brief with a few hundred words could be a good idea; but a few thousand could be misreading the room regarding candidates’ inclinations to apply for any roles right now.<h3>2. Flexible working</h3>We mentioned 18 months of video calls above, so this one is a bit of a no-brainer. As we said in our piece on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/blog/2021/10/the-importance-of-a-positive-work-culture" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">creating a positive work culture</a>,&nbsp;flexibility can mean different things to different people. Some work from home days in the current climate will be a must for the majority of candidates, but you may also want to flex on specific working hours, give people the option to buy or sell holiday days, and even allow staff to accrue flexi-time for extra hours worked, which they can take at a later date. And when you consider most candidates would&nbsp;<a href="https://www.comparably.com/culture/tech/all-departments/355-would-you-quit-your-job-for-a-more-flexible-or-remote-work-environment" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">leave their job</a>&nbsp;for a more adaptable company, it shows that flexibility is what candidates are looking for post-Covid-19, arguably more than anything else.<h3>3. Real career progression and/or growth opportunities</h3>This is another one we mentioned in our&nbsp;<a href="http://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/blog/2021/10/the-importance-of-a-positive-work-culture" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">positive work culture piece</a>, but it’s worth reiterating here simply because of how challenging the post-pandemic jobs market is proving for hirers. With family time, personal wellbeing and mental health all higher on the agenda after a year or more of lockdowns, candidates currently in a comfortable role will only consider moving for a role that’s worthy of their energy, passion and dedication.<img src="https://dynamite-recruitment.staging.krakatoa.eu-2.volcanic.cloud/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBLzR1TWc9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--a6fd77062c371efd9952482aac4645aebc36db99/Re_evaluating_job_candidates_post_COVID_19.jpg">It might be that you’ve always offered great career opportunities, but this is the time to make that evident with your marketing. If you have stories from employees who’ve climbed the career ladder, that content should be all over your recruitment and social channels. Or, if your company is especially good at helping people onto the career ladder, you could even run pieces on early career advice for post-Covid job seekers. Either way, make sure the opportunities are there first and let people know about them.<h3>4. Better benefits</h3>Another aspect of your offering you should sing about from the rooftops is your benefits package. This is much more than a set of job perks – it’s a real selling point for your company in the post-pandemic landscape. In a world where candidates are cautious about moving from a settled company role, being able to give them more time with their loved ones, a better work-life balance, help managing their finances, and support with their mental and physical health – and potentially their family’s, too – can be a massive weapon in your arsenal when it comes to attracting talent.<h3>5. Corporate social responsibility</h3><img src="https://dynamite-recruitment.staging.krakatoa.eu-2.volcanic.cloud/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBLzh1TWc9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--f28b5f9c98bcff9bbc5990eec57485b71cd84227/What_Matters_to_Candidates_in_a_Post_COVID_World.jpg">The post-Covid world isn’t just more health and family-focused – it’s more ethical, right across the board. People love working for a place that does good and gives back, and they often want to be involved in projects that give them a warm fuzzy feeling. If what candidates are looking for post-Covid-19 is a sense of fulfilment, then promoting your CSR endeavours, and showing potential employees how they could contribute to them, can be an incredibly attractive recruitment tool right now.<h3>6. The personal touch</h3>When it comes down to it, all of the points we’ve made so far show that what candidates want in the post-Covid jobs market is to be treated like people with their own lives, passions and personal priorities – rather than as simply workers or company resources.Employees – including those who might potentially work for you – want to know companies are considering health and safety measures after the pandemic, and that they’ll be in a supportive environment if they develop Covid or another potentially serious illness. So, if your HR team can illustrate how far your team goes to consider people’s health and safety, it will go a long way to alleviating candidates’ fears about moving companies. And once you’ve done that, you’ll be a step closer to bringing them on board and showing them everything you have to offer!<h2>IS YOUR BUSINESS SET UP TO ATTRACT TOP TALENT POST-COVID?</h2>At Dynamite, we have access to a pool of top talent across key industries including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/disciplines/commercial" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">commercial</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/disciplines/financial-services" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">financial</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/disciplines/prestige-retail" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">prestige retail</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/disciplines/accountancy-and-finance" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">accountancy</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/disciplines/it-and-technical" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">IT</a>. We can also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/outsource" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">take on your entire recruitment function</a>, advertising and vetting candidates for you from our offices in Hampshire.To find out how we can help,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/contact" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">get in touch</a>&nbsp;today.

WHAT CANDIDATES WANT IN THE POST-COVID JOBS MARKET

Counter offers have become increasingly commonplace in the past ten years. When you consider the cost of recruiting a suitable replacement for most skilled roles, the hit to productivity while onboarding a newcomer, and the general lack of candidate availability in the current climate, it’s no wonder that up to 50% of employees who resign end up with a counter offer to consider.But is making a counter offer typically the right thing for companies, and will an employee who accepts one end up regretting it? The answers aren’t as straightforward as you might think.Here, we investigate managing counter offers from both perspectives. <h2>MANAGING COUNTER OFFERS AS AN EMPLOYEE</h2>So you’ve read an intriguing job spec, got your CV together and applied for it – then nailed the interview process, and finally been offered an exciting new position. Congratulations – and well done!But what if your company counter offers? And, more importantly, what if the offer itself is enticing enough for you to consider accepting it?These are the things you should consider before saying yes&nbsp;or&nbsp;no to staying put.<h3>The benefits of accepting a counter offer</h3><ul><li>Familiarity:&nbsp;Some people simply don’t like leaving their comfort zone. If you’re content where you are and had your reservations around moving on to begin with (especially if the travel or work-from-home conditions are more favourable where you are), then an appealing counter offer can help you resolve that cognitive dissonance.</li><li>More money for (often) the same workload:&nbsp;If you enjoy your job but applied elsewhere because you were starting to feel taken for granted, a healthy boost to your monthly income (or your agreed annual bonus) could be the thing that helps you to feel appreciated where you are.</li><li>Do you really want to leave?&nbsp;Do you genuinely love what you do, where you work, and the people you work with? If so, then it’s safe to assume your motivation to apply for the new role was either financial, as mentioned above, or revolved around wanting more flexibility or opportunity. (Or quite possibly a combination of any of those). That being the case, you’re now in the driving seat to get those things while doing the thing you really want to do. That’s a major win, and sets you up to bed in for many more years of high-level productivity in a place you love being, with people you never really wanted to leave behind. In those circumstances, accepting a counter offer could be the best thing for you.</li></ul> <h3>The drawbacks of accepting a counter offer</h3><img src="https://dynamite-recruitment.staging.krakatoa.eu-2.volcanic.cloud/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBL291TWc9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--592f49db1dd77552e1ff4b2be8be9cf4ce5b1be8/Managing_counter_offers.jpg" alt="An exhausted woman puts her head in her hands at her laptop"><ul><li>The risk of stagnation:&nbsp;Staying put can have its advantages, but moving on to a fresh challenge can be even more beneficial. Never underestimate the growth you’ll experience by getting out of your comfort zone. Not doing so when you have the chance can lead to you sliding backwards, which you’re bound to regret before too long. The real question is, does your current role offer the scope to grow and develop the skills you need for the future? If not, accepting a counter offer could be a mistake.</li><li>Reduced job security and damaged personal relations:&nbsp;It could be that company management can’t afford to lose you but also resent you playing hardball. In some situations, they could even make the offer to keep you, just to buy them time while they find a replacement or restructure your department entirely. Then they might manage you out of the business later on or make your role obsolete. Even if they don’t, though, the process you took to get there certainly shows reduced loyalty, and can even mark you out as one of the first candidates for redundancy if the company hits hard times. It can also damage your relationships with co-workers who could feel bitter about your increased wages compared to theirs if they find out, as well as the way you went about getting them. In truth, giving in your notice rarely ever strengthens your position at your existing company in the long term, even if you do decide to stick around. That’s something to be deeply mindful of when you’re considering how you handle counter offers as an employee.</li><li>Do you really want to stay?&nbsp;Only around 12% of people who apply for a new role and give notice do so for financial reasons. For the others, it can be a combination of factors, from needing that new challenge to either the roll or support deteriorating or the company’s politics and culture changing for the worse. Think carefully about why you applied for that new position in the first place. Take the money out of the equation – are you happy with your current job? Your career prospects? The way the company operates and the values it works to? If the answer is no, declining a counter offer and moving on instead is the smartest thing for all concerned.</li><li> </li></ul><h2>MANAGING COUNTER OFFERS AS AN EMPLOYER</h2>So an employee you thought was happy with their role and on board with the company mission has blindsided you by handing in their notice. They’re a key member of your team, and you can’t imagine losing them.How do you handle counter offers in such a situation? These are the things you need to consider.<h3>The potential benefits of making a counter offer</h3><ul><li>Retain crucial talent:&nbsp;Does your employee have a unique set of skills that are crucial to your department (or even your whole company) delivering on your business targets? That can be a tricky spot to find yourself in, and might leave you with no choice but to start Googling&nbsp;‘what should be in a counter offer’.</li><li>Cost-effective (at least in the short term):&nbsp;Between recruitment fees, lost work time and training expenditure, replacing an effective member of the team could actually cost your business a significant sum. In these kinds of circumstances, a sizeable pay increase can feel like a big jump for them, but still a drop in the ocean when you consider the bigger picture. As mentioned above, it can also alert your business to the fact that they’re less loyal than you thought, and more likely to leave down the line. This can allow you to restructure the team so that you’ll rely on them less, and put other top talent in place for if and when they do decide to leave down the line.</li><li>The motivation for leaving might be easy to address:&nbsp;Though they’re rare, we’ve certainly seen examples of candidates going through the whole recruitment process with a competitor, just to put themselves in the best bargaining position with their current company. If you sit down for a one-to-one with your employee and they’re candid that they love where they work but their finances, flexibility or specific opportunities are the sticking point, making the effort to give them what they want could just be worth it – especially if the fix is relatively straightforward.</li></ul> <h3>The likely problems following a counter offer</h3><ul><li><img src="https://dynamite-recruitment.staging.krakatoa.eu-2.volcanic.cloud/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBL3N1TWc9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--715f4e63b7586e4061d8aad61f2bd599500f3ed9/How_do_you_handle_counter_offers.jpg" alt="An irate staff member speaks to their manager">It could cause unrest in your workforce:&nbsp;the urge to&nbsp;retain important talent (especially talent you’ve maybe undervalued until they handed in their notice) is understandable. But if you raise someone’s salary and their co-workers get wind of it, it could hit hard on your entire team’s esteem and even lead to more employees making moves to leave. Even if the adjustments you make are non-salary-specific, like offering the person in question more flexible working patterns, it might cause resentment if your team at large consider this to be preferential treatment. In truth, that’s one of the most challenging things about managing counter offers. You can please one person, but you can rarely please them all, and when the perception of unfairness takes hold, it’s tricky to stop that snowballing.</li><li> </li><li>Their reasons for leaving probably run rather deep:&nbsp;Offering to increase someone’s salary might be the obvious go-to, but as we’ve already mentioned, that’s only the motivation in 12% of cases. The other 88% of employees will want to see changes to the role, company, culture or working practices that you simply may not be able to deliver – especially while keeping your other employees happy too.</li><li>​</li><li>They’re likely to leave anyway:&nbsp;Given the 12% stat above, it probably won’t surprise you to know that an incredible nine out of every ten people who accept a counter offer leave within the next 12 months anyway. That’s near enough the same as the 88% who weren’t money motivated. It goes to show that while those people may allow a sizeable pay rise to convince them in the short term, that novelty doesn’t last – and all the extra investment you’ve made to keep them happy might be better off going into someone new instead.</li></ul> <h2>OUR TAKE ON COUNTER OFFERS</h2>“Our opinion on counter offers? Don’t do it!”&nbsp;says our founder Matt Fox, calling upon his 20+ years' experience in the recruitment industry.“Let’s be candid. 80% of people who accept a counter offer leave anyway within six months,” he explains. “And that goes up to 90% in the first year. In most cases, financials were only a part of the reason they thought about leaving anyway, and when the novelty of the extra money each month has worn off, those tough issues that were their real reasons for leaving remain.”“From an employer’s perspective, it’s important to understand exactly what that person’s motivators for trying to leave were,”&nbsp;he continues.&nbsp;“If they were purely financial, then fine. But even then, if you give them extra cash you’ll run the risk of everyone else finding out and wanting the same. Which obviously could lead to team unrest, and then those people being unhappy enough to consider leaving as well – if only to try and give themselves the same bargaining power.“Similarly, if money was only a part of it, and you aren’t prepared to really fix the management, culture, hours or flexibility concerns they raised, then it’s a sure-fire certainty that the extra cash you’ve stumped up will be wasted anyway further down the line.”“All of that is an employer perspective, of course,”&nbsp;admits Matt. “But the same goes for candidates. If you went for a new role, the chances are it’s because you wanted to leave. It’s best to be honest with yourself and look at where you’ll be happier in the longer term.“Accepting a counter offer can feel great – especially if you get more money for doing the same job with better hours and brighter prospects on paper. But in my experience, it rarely works out, it damages the working relationship, and you end up moving on anyway.“Declining an attractive counter offer can be incredibly brave when it makes sense on paper,”&nbsp;says Matt.&nbsp;“Especially in the current climate, when everything is so uncertain. But being brave and taking a big leap like that is sometimes exactly what you need to do to move everything forward.” <h2>CONSIDERING A COUNTER OFFER – OR CONSIDERING MAKING ONE TO AN EMPLOYEE?</h2>At Dynamite, we’re always here for our clients and candidates. If you’re considering a counter offer from either side of the fence, we’ll be happy to offer our extensive experience and talk you through the things you need to consider in your industry. Just&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/contact" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">get in touch</a>&nbsp;to speak to one of our team.Looking for your next big leap – or need to fill a space that’s cropped up because someone gave notice? Visit our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/job-search" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">candidate job search page</a>&nbsp;or find out about our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/client-services" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">client services here</a>.

OUR GUIDE TO COUNTER OFFERS FOR EMPLOYEES AND EMPLOYERS

2021 was a uniquely challenging year in recruitment, with available roles far outstripping the number of eligible quality candidates looking to make a move in the post-pandemic landscape. Many businesses were caught on the back foot as a result, finding it more difficult than before to fill their headcount.To help you avoid that happening in 2022, we’ve put together our predictions for the top recruitment trends to help you plan ahead.<h2>WHAT TO EXPECT FROM RECRUITMENT IN 2022</h2><h3>1. Virtual hiring and onboarding</h3>The Covid-19 pandemic completely changed the game when it comes to hiring new candidates. In a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.talview.com/remote-hiring-trends-2021?submissionGuid=8bb795d8-c9a2-4a65-87e2-b79694facaf9" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">2020 survey on remote hiring trends</a>, 80% of responding companies said their recruitment process had switched to being entirely online. Despite the return to near-enough normality in most parts of society, the corporate world has now embraced remote working in all its forms – including the hiring process. Our experience suggests the mid-pandemic trend towards remote hiring continued through 2021 – and we fully expect it to be one of the top trends in recruitment for 2022, too.<h3>2. Brand building through social media</h3>Many major brands have a name recognition value and mystique that makes people want to work for them. Whether their dream company is Apple, Disney, Google or&nbsp;<a href="https://www.consultancy.uk/news/23347/the-50-best-companies-to-work-for-in-the-uk" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">Hiscox</a>, leveraging brand value to entice would-be employees into applying for roles is an obvious win for hiring managers.Ironically though, for big corporate brands that can be something of a catch-22. The recruitment team typically get very little say on how a company presents itself at the brand level, which means they might need to turn to other means to make a good impression on potential employees.<img src="https://dynamite-recruitment.staging.krakatoa.eu-2.volcanic.cloud/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBd0F2TWc9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--7355df3f979aeadc9e4fbec7abc5f5db4bc56562/Recruitment_trends_to_help_you_plan_ahead.jpg" alt="A person typing on a keyboard as social icons float upwards">Social media is fantastic for that. It allows staff to pull back the curtain on life at the company, offering real employee experiences and insights into the many benefits of being under the brand umbrella. If you do have more control at the brand level, it can also be an effective way to run recruitment campaigns. Either way, using social channels to build your brand and make your workplace look appealing to candidates is one of our recommended recruiting strategies to implement in 2022.<h3>3. Upskilling and internal promotions leading to more junior appointments</h3>As mentioned above, and in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/blog/2021/05/the-boutique-difference" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">past posts</a>&nbsp;(as well as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/must-hundreds-people-out-moment-right-matt-fox?trk=public_profile_article_view" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">over on our LinkedIn</a>), the candidate market is currently one of the most constrained anyone in recruitment has experienced. That was the case in 2021, and we don’t expect it to change in 2022 – certainly not in the early part of the year! Instead, we foresee it creating a need to upskill junior staff members.For anyone already in the first few years of their career at a company, that’s great news. It’s likely to accelerate their career progression and launch them into mid-level roles faster than they might have progressed previously.The knock-on effect will likely be more junior roles opening up in their wake. Those fast-progression candidates will then be called on to train the newcomers. This dynamic will give greater opportunities to both new university graduates, and people working entry-level corporate jobs like call centre staff. The increase in those roles is therefore likely to be a significant 2022 staffing and recruitment trend.<h3>4. Proactive recruitment practices</h3><img src="https://dynamite-recruitment.staging.krakatoa.eu-2.volcanic.cloud/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBd0V2TWc9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--09fdcdf562a5a7be6d1a261db73adf0f0f50c541/Trends_in_recruitment_for_2022.jpg" alt="Two team members search for candidates on a website">The impacts of the pandemic mean that gone are the days when a recruitment consultant or hiring manager could simply post a new vacancy on a few jobs boards and expect to see the CVs fly in. One of the biggest trends in recruitment for 2022 will be recruiters actively reaching out to candidates and tapping their networks to find the right people to fill promising, but less in-demand, roles.At Dynamite, we already work that way. As a boutique agency, our business is built on the kinds of recruiter-candidate relationships you need to find those absolute gems, and a very small number of our active roles are filled through candidates applying to advertised roles. Instead, we employ a varied mix of techniques to tap into talent often connecting with passive or referred candidates.&nbsp;<h3>5. An explosion in niche recruitment</h3>We’re also predicting the slow death of the generalist recruiter as one of our 2022 staffing and recruitment trends. After all-in, in a candidate’s market where employees are on the fence about moving jobs, the last thing you want is a hiring conversation where the prospective employee feels you don’t understand the ins and outs of the role you’re hiring for.We’ve arranged our boutique recruitment business to tap into that need for niche, specialist recruitment knowledge. Each sector we specialise in is headed up by someone dedicated solely to that business area, and they’re experts at hiring in that space. They know the right questions to ask, the specific points to pick up on, and – using that proactive approach we mentioned above – act as the ideal recruitment filter for your business’s hiring needs.<h2>SERVING YOUR NICHE RECRUITMENT NEEDS</h2>If you’re looking to hire in the commercial, financial, prestige retail, accountancy or IT and technical sectors, we can help.Visit our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/client-services" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">client services page</a>&nbsp;for a feel of how we work, then&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/contact" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">get in touch</a>&nbsp;to talk through the open roles you have available and how we can help you fill them.

LOOKING AHEAD: FIVE RECRUITMENT TRENDS WE EXPECT FOR 2022

Our recently-published&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/blog/2021/11/our-guide-to-counter-offers-for-employees-and-employers" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">guide to managing counter offers</a>&nbsp;made it clear that accepting an offer to keep you at your current company when you have an offer to go elsewhere is something you should be wary of. However, there are two situations where, as a candidate, entering into a negotiation with an employer is not only an option, it's something that's outright expected.Firstly, there’s the obvious option: you’ve interviewed successfully and have just been (or are about to be) offered a role by a new employer. In those circumstances, you may get an offer that’s exactly what you want – or you may not. If the latter, our tips to salary negotiations below will help.Then there’s another situation that’s almost as common. You’re in a role you enjoy at a company you don’t have any intention of leaving, but you also don’t feel you’re being paid quite what you’re worth. It could be that you’ve taken on more responsibility since your last pay review. Or that you’ve been there a long time and your intrinsic knowledge of the company’s rhythms gives you more value. Or even that your starting salary was lower than you would have liked, but you didn’t feel able to negotiate at the time. Whatever the reason, you’ll find something to help you in our employee's guide to effective salary negotiating.First, however, some quick-fire salary negotiation FAQs to get a few key points clear<h2>SHOULD YOU EVER ACCEPT THE FIRST SALARY OFFER?</h2>Some guides of this nature will tell you no, and that you should always negotiate because it’s expected. Our more moderate advice would be that it really depends on how well the offer meets your expectations. Remember, jobs aren’t just about money. If the offer is as hoped and also comes with a role that excites you, good people you can learn from, brilliant benefits and excellent prospects, it might feel like the perfect fit right away. Take each of those factors into account, and only enter into a negotiation if one or more of them isn’t quite right.<h2>HOW DO YOU JUSTIFY A HIGHER SALARY?</h2>The key is knowing what an employer would have to pay someone else to do the job you’ve been offered, or are already doing, to the level you are capable of. To ascertain this, study the job spec and compare it to open roles on the market where a salary range is given.&nbsp;<h2>WHAT IS A REASONABLE SALARY NEGOTIATION?</h2>​Common practice is to ask for an increase of between 10-20%. The keener you feel the company is to acquire or retain your services, the higher you might feel comfortable aiming for. More on this below.<h2>CAN YOU LOSE A JOB OFFER BY NEGOTIATING A SALARY?</h2>It really depends on how you go about it, but in most cases the answer is (thankfully) ‘no.’ Employers respect that you need to do the best you can for yourself. After all, the chances are high that the person you’re negotiating with has done the very same thing for themselves at some point in their career. If you’re tactful, respectful, and realistic with your counter offer strategy, an employer is less likely to be put off by a negotiation, and more likely to see it as a normal part of the employment process.<h2>OUR CANDIDATE’S GUIDE TO SALARY NEGOTIATION</h2><img src="https://dynamite-recruitment.staging.krakatoa.eu-2.volcanic.cloud/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBd0l2TWc9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--ed00832002c013a5c25a867dac34f085899ad9a8/Tips_To_Salary_Negotiations.jpg">These are our top tips to salary negotiations, and equally helpful whether you’re negotiating around a new role or trying to improve your salary in an existing one.<h3>1. Do your research to know your worth</h3>As we mentioned briefly above under the ‘how do you justify’ header, the basis for any salary negotiation is knowing the going market rate for your professional skills, knowledge and experience. The key to effective salary negotiating with employers is feeling secure that what you’re asking for is realistic and achievable. If that’s the case, then assuming you’re confident in your interview ability, if one company doesn’t offer you what you’re worth, the chances another one eventually will. So, know your worth, and don’t feel too afraid to walk away; it puts you in a stronger position mentally and emotionally.<h3>2. Don't be afraid to ask2. Don’t be afraid to ask&nbsp;</h3>As we mentioned earlier, one of the top reasons people feel the need to renegotiate their salary is to make up for low starting pay caused by them not having the confidence to negotiate at the offer stage. Our second tip to salary negotiations is therefore to use the research you’ve done and be confident in asking for what you’re really worth. It might not only save you losing out on money, it might also save you more salary negotiations further down the line.<h3>3. Prepare a list of your best relevant qualities and accomplishments</h3>One of the biggest mistakes you can make going into a salary negotiation is focusing on what you want to get from the employer and how it might help you. Salary negotiations are all about what’s best for business – there is no room for high emotion, or explaining to your employer how a salary increase could benefit your life. (The chances are your co-workers all face similar challenges in one way or another and could use the extra income too). Instead, you need to be clear about the benefits you bring to the business.Preparing a kind of ‘crib sheet’ of your best achievements, biggest strengths, and references from colleagues about your usefulness, all put you in a strong position when bargaining for a better salary. That’s why putting one together is one of our top tips to salary negotiations.<h3>4. Decide on the numbers for your minimum, realistic, and ideal salaries</h3>Going into any salary negotiation, you should know the very minimum you’re willing to accept, and be ready to walk away if you get offered under it. That doesn’t necessarily mean automatically walking away, however – it could be that you need to dig deeper to understand what else the role brings. For instance, a comprehensive benefits package, the ability to work from home often rather than commuting, and the job security of a full-time salaried role (which can be particularly attractive if you’re coming from the contracting world), can all make up for a slight shortfall in your initial expectations. If they don’t, however, then you should seriously ask yourself whether the role is right for you. After all, working hard while being paid less than what you feel you’re worth is likely to cause the kind of resentment that has no place in a person’s life or career.Alongside knowing your minimum salary, another handy tip to salary negotiations is to also think about your ideal salary. If the job spec gives a salary range (e.g. £30-35k) this will likely be the number at the highest end of that. Your realistic salary meanwhile is likely to be a number somewhere between the minimum and ideal numbers. That’s the number you think someone of your skills and experience should be earning.In these situations, it’s a good rule of thumb to ask for the ideal salary amount, and aim in the negotiations to land somewhere around your realistic salary number. However, always be specific in what you communicate by giving a specific number, not a range. Also, remember that this is a negotiation. Only communicate your minimum amount if the offer you’re getting is so far under it that you need to indicate a baseline. Communicating your baseline in any other situation is likely to leave you with less bargaining power, and significantly out of pocket.Whatever number you decide to start with, make sure you’re the first one to mention it. The employer may accept straight away, but they’ll more than likely offer lower. That’s where the negotiation itself truly begins.<h3>5. Ask questions - then fit your experience to the answers&nbsp;</h3>Once you’ve entered into the back-and-forth of negotiating, it becomes time to put forward your case. That’s where the hard work with that crib sheet comes home to roost. However, one of the best ways to take control of the discussion is not by bombarding the employer with your achievements – but by subtly feeling out what they’re really looking for in the role.If they explain to you that they’re looking for someone to excel in specific areas, and you can give solid examples of where you’ve done precisely that, you’ll be in the strongest position possible to make a watertight argument for that higher salary.&nbsp;<h3>6. Know when to say yes and accept no</h3><img src="https://dynamite-recruitment.staging.krakatoa.eu-2.volcanic.cloud/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBd012TWc9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--373bb61060cdce77007798cd1ca23a6cd8614d9b/effective_salary_negotiating_with_employers.jpg">The final tip in our employee’s guide to effective salary negotiating involves knowing when to bring negotiations to a close. It may be that you can’t get everything you want, so what are your deal breakers, and what can you concede on? This can be the most pleasing part of the whole process, or potentially the most frustrating. So bear that in mind, and whatever you do, stay professional. Threatening to leave or take a different position won’t help you, it’s only likely to alienate the person you’re negotiating with.It could also be that the employer simply doesn’t have the ambitions for the role that you do, and therefore isn’t willing to offer as much as you hoped. Or it could be that there wasn’t much to choose between you and their second-choice candidate at interview, and the other person is willing to accept the lower salary.It’s important to recognise that such a situation doesn’t say anything about you or your worth, and not take it too personally. Of course, it may feel personal – especially if you’re deeply invested enough in your career to be reading this article in the first place! But having that kind of separation between your job and your own identity away from work can help you make a cool-headed decision.Once you’ve decided, you can then refocus after the negotiation is over and redirect your energy to whatever becomes your next priority; whether that’s looking for a different role, or celebrating with friends and family about the offer you’ve just accepted!<h2>WHAT IF YOU’RE AN EMPLOYER?</h2>This post may be titled ‘A Candidate’s Guide To Salary Negotiations,’ but we recognise that many of our blog’s readers will be looking at things from the other side of the fence.Our quick tips for negotiating salary with a successful job candidate include:<ul><li>Tell the candidate exactly what you loved about them at interview, what they’ll bring to the company and role, and where you see the role developing with them in it</li><li>If the offer is a little lower than the candidate expected, be as transparent as possible about the market factors behind it. For instance, if you can convey that the offer is in line with the other salaries of the team they’ll be joining, it will help address any sense of injustice they might be feeling</li><li>Explain the full extent of the benefits package the candidate will have access to and the monetary savings they can enjoy because of it</li><li>Finally, talk about other aspects, like when bonuses may happen, when salary reviews may be factored in, and the opportunity for promotions inside the company. If you can effectively communicate that you care about furthering your people’s careers, you’ll be much more likely to have that promising interviewee convert into an exciting new hire.</li></ul><h2>LOOKING FOR YOUR NEXT DREAM ROLE OR IDEAL CANDIDATE?</h2>Find out about our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/candidate-services" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">candidate</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/client-services" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">client</a>&nbsp;services, or see our latest live vacancies&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/job-search" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">here</a>.

A CANDIDATE'S GUIDE TO SALARY NEGOTIATIONS

Most people have one or two dream workplaces. These are the companies you’d give almost anything to simply interview with, let alone&nbsp;work for. Whether you’re reading this post as a candidate, or you’re on the employer side looking to attract talent, you probably have your own dream job or company.Take a minute to think about that company. If you’re lucky, it might be the one you’re already at.&nbsp;Either way, ask yourself what it is that first attracted you to it.The chances are it had a great brand story – and found a compelling way to tell it.<h2>HOW DOES EMPLOYER BRANDING HELP RECRUITMENT?</h2>Employer branding and recruitment are inherently linked in a way you may not consider when you’re inside an organisation, thinking from an employee’s perspective.Depending on the size and structure of your business, those involved in hiring are not always involved in decision making at brand level.&nbsp;Choices made about messaging, logos, advertising and the like can all happen elsewhere in the business meaning you often don’t get a say in aspects of the company that can (and inevitably will) affect candidate perception.From a candidate’s perspective, however, it’s all one company. They don’t see the politics, processes and cross-departmental challenges. All they see is a coherent company brand that lives or dies on its public-facing image. That image is created by the quality of the company’s products and services, and the values it upholds in providing them. In other words, what the candidate sees is the&nbsp;brand story.Your hiring process has the power to uphold or shatter that perception. Uphold it, and you keep the brand consistent with the brand storytelling which attracted that candidate in the first place.<h2>THE LINKS – AND DIFFERENCES – BETWEEN EMPLOYER BRANDING AND RECRUITMENT MARKETING</h2><img src="https://dynamite-recruitment.staging.krakatoa.eu-2.volcanic.cloud/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBd1F2TWc9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--d2e7832d67f6f39ba02a96268915d4b68a966477/recruitment_branding.jpg">If you work in any part of the recruitment process – whether you are a Hiring Manager, an HR Professional, a Director or the Recruitment Consultant who attracts and shortlists talent – then you also play a part in the company’s marketing. After all, how you communicate job opportunities has a heavy influence on the brand’s public perception. For companies who work with employment agencies, it’s imperative that you select one that will tirelessly uphold your brand and represent it in the best possible light through every action and touchpoint with your potential employees.However, it’s important to note that while many recruiters often use the terms ‘employer branding’ and ‘recruitment marketing’ interchangeably, they aren’t the same thing.Take the example of a someone launching their own Fairtrade clothing brand from scratch:<ul><li>Their ‘brand’&nbsp;might be that of a talented young designer with ethical values who wants to use their skills and vision to help change the world for the better in their own unique way</li><li>Their personal brand story&nbsp;is the literal rags-to-riches tale of what inspired them in the first place and how they went from initial idea to launching the brand and seeing sales soar</li><li>Their marketing&nbsp;is how they&nbsp;communicate&nbsp;that personal brand story, be it through social media posts, written blogs, videos, or even being featured in stories by outside media.</li></ul>While that example isn’t recruitment-specific, it’s still about recruiting followers to buy in to a set of values they can identify with, and a brand story they can get behind. The same idea powers many big businesses’ most powerful recruitment campaigns.The link between employer branding and recruitment marketing therefore is that the former is especially powerful when conveyed by the latter, but the latter can feel hollow without the former.However, to truly understand employer branding and recruitment, it’s helpful to look at one of the planet’s biggest recruitment branding success stories.<h2>CASE STUDY: APPLE RETAIL</h2><img src="https://dynamite-recruitment.staging.krakatoa.eu-2.volcanic.cloud/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBd1V2TWc9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--de2de0e024f0049580b21252594aa40ddeeb5521/employer_branding_and_recruitment.jpg"> ddsImage credit:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/science-technology/720866/Apple-Store-Regent-Street-Flagship-Redesign-ReOpening" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">The Express</a>In the eyes of many people, Apple certainly qualifies as a dream company to work for. It also operates in two spaces that we here at Dynamite are very experienced in: technology, and prestige retail. In fact, such is the success of the company’s brand storytelling that most people don’t realise those two disciplines are actually independent companies, Apple Inc. and Apple Retail, operating in synergy as one public face.Much of Apple’s brand success lies in how it uses each avenue to uplift the other.The buzz created by Apple Inc’s&nbsp;aspirational, product-led marketing and advertising&nbsp;helps to push customers to Apple Retail stores, where they’re met with a&nbsp;hotel-inspired customer experience&nbsp;that encourages product use and in-person interaction with helpful, smiling staff.In turn, this love for the brand’s products and a similarly slick customer-facing retail experience, drives Apple fans to work in those stores; selling those products, fixing them behind Genius Bars the world over, and even working with them to deliver inspiring creative experiences like talks and&nbsp;customer workshops.Throughout this all, Apple talks to its customers and its employees (or would-be employees) in a similar fashion. Much like the brand’s seminal ‘Think Different’ campaign used brand storytelling by asking would-be customers to adopt a challenger mindset, the company’s retail branch has a brand story encouraging employees not to sell, but to ‘enrich lives’ through their interactions and the retail experience they help create. Apple Retail also supports this with&nbsp;public-facing content, written in Apple’s famous&nbsp;clean, elegant, yet intimate tone of voice&nbsp;that promotes its people much like Apple Inc. promotes its products. It even talks to its retail staff worldwide in&nbsp;townhall-style company meetings&nbsp;that echo one of the brand’s most potent marketing weapons, its much-hyped public-facing ‘Apple Event’ keynote presentations.Much like the two companies that make up the brand, every facet of Apple’s employer branding and recruitment marketing work together to create a compelling proposition that continues to attract talent, retain great people, and ultimately grow the brand. The result is a technology icon that’s beloved the world over, and a tech retail experience that could surpass&nbsp;600 physical stores and 80,000 employees worldwide by 2023.<h2>OWNING YOUR EMPLOYER BRANDING AND RECRUITMENT MARKETING</h2><img src="https://dynamite-recruitment.staging.krakatoa.eu-2.volcanic.cloud/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBd1l2TWc9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--430c67ac7f70c1b56c5762fac4d4646252afc8a0/brand_storytelling.jpg">Apple may be in a unique position, but its focus on telling a compelling and personal brand story and can be adopted by many different facets of your own recruitment drive.Not many HR teams or hiring managers are in the fortunate position of being able to work on brand-level recruitment campaigns. However, if you are, making sure they echo the brand story customers know and identify with is key to attracting talent who know and recognise your brand for the services it delivers.Assuming you aren’t able to work at that level, it’s crucial to use recruitment branding in all the channels you&nbsp;do&nbsp;have at your disposal. From writing job specs or official social media posts that sell the in-company experience, to that first candidate phone call, all the way through to interview and offer stages, you really are conveying the company’s values and telling your brand story with each piece of content and every interaction.Admittedly, that’s easier said than done. So here are some specific areas you can focus on as an employer with a personal brand story to uphold:<ul><li>Pacing your recruitment process appropriately:&nbsp;In the current climate a slow recruitment process is likely to lose great candidates to faster-moving competitors. Too fast, however, and you may not do the due diligence you need to get the right fit. There is no one-size-fits-all answer here, but taking time to consider your process and hit a sweet spot is only going to be beneficial for your employer branding and recruitment marketing</li><li>Conveying your values:&nbsp;Much of what makes a candidate compatible with your company is the values they hold and how much they see them reflected in your culture. Don’t be afraid to give examples of what day-to-day life will be like if they join your team; from future opportunities&nbsp;and training you can offer, to team events and charitable initiatives you organise</li><li>Giving quality feedback to everyone:&nbsp;It’s easy to think “job done” once an offer has been accepted and focus on the successful candidate’s start date. Yet the candidates who just missed the cut this time might well come back again in future and end up as your next exciting new hire. In fact, when your interview process reflects your personal brand story, we’d go as far as to say it can make unsuccessful candidates even keener to work for you. Treat them well with detailed, and kind-but-candid feedback, and you may benefit from it down the line</li><li>Choosing an agency that sells your company:&nbsp;Considering working with an agency? Make sure you pick one that will convey what as a great place your company is to build a career. Interview&nbsp;them&nbsp;to gauge the experience they will create for candidates, and the support they provide to people who may be considering a role with your business</li></ul>In a changing recruitment market, attracting candidates really is a two-way process. Of course, as an employer, you will expect potential recruits to sell themselves and talk coherently about what they can offer your business. That said, where talent is so rare it’s also important to articulate all the aspects that place your vacancy at the top of the list.Understanding this, and how to achieve it successfully, is pivotal to any recruitment campaign. One example can be seen in our employer brand consultancy work for Churches Fire, which you can see in the video below.<iframe class="ql-video ql-align-center" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Km6qQiq1w2g" height="315" width="560"></iframe>​<h2>WHAT IF YOU’RE A CANDIDATE?</h2>Think about how you can tell your brand story on your personal website, in job applications, and especially at interview. Turn your experience into a narrative – your own personal brand story, just like we mentioned in our&nbsp;blog post on CV tips. Then pull parts of that tale into every answer you give.<h2>NEED HELP TELLING YOUR BRAND STORY TO PROSPECTIVE TALENT?</h2>At Dynamite Recruitment, we have years of experience finding quality candidates across a range of sectors – from&nbsp;commercial&nbsp;to&nbsp;financial services,&nbsp;prestige retail,&nbsp;accountancy&nbsp;and&nbsp;technical. You can even&nbsp;outsource your entire recruitment function to us, while keeping a seamless candidate experience that respects and enhances your existing recruitment branding. We also offer bespoke training on recruitment techniques to hiring managers within our client businesses so we really are more than just an agency.To learn more about how we can help you tell your brand story and attract the top talent that’s the lifeblood of your business,&nbsp;get in touch today.Looking for your next dream role instead? See our&nbsp;latest vacancies here.

HOW BRAND STORYTELLING CAN HELP YOUR RECRUITMENT

As we’ve&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/blog/2021/10/what-candidates-want-in-the-post-covid-jobs-market" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">discussed previously on the Dynamite blog</a>, the working world is very different to the way it was pre-pandemic. Businesses are putting out vacancies into a recruitment landscape where workers are currently reluctant to move. It’s creating a candidate’s market; one where the old tried and tested strategies for attracting and retaining talented employees are no longer getting the job done.That’s why we’ve decided to launch our own exclusive upskilling arm, Dynamite Training. It’s a recruitment training service specifically designed to help your hiring managers tackle some of today’s most pressing recruitment challenges; empowering them to spot diamonds in the rough and secure the best talent in a consistently challenging market.<h2>SAFER RECRUITMENT BETS ARE NO LONGER PAYING OUT</h2>“There are a lot of medium to large-size businesses where the ultimate decision-maker in the recruitment process is a line manager, or maybe a store or area manager” says Dynamite founder Matt Fox.“In those instances, the typical way of hiring is the manager goes to a HR department or recruiter to put out a vacancy. They then get CVs back, filter out the ones that aren’t a near-enough exact match, and proceed with the recruitment process over a number of weeks – or sometimes even months. That’s the ideal, and it’s worked for many, many years.“The problem is, those ‘exact-match’ candidates are far fewer and further between now. And the ones that are, they’re already on the fence about moving to a new business in a world where there’s so much economic instability. They’re going to be easily put off by a convoluted, lengthy recruitment process that adds to the uncertainty. Securing the best talent in a tough market means helping them to feel sure about your company, by conveying that your company is sure about&nbsp;them.“Currently, lots of businesses are missing the mark in two important areas of hiring. First, they’re dismissing CVs from candidates who might be suitable if they dug a little deeper. And second, they’re losing out on the ones that&nbsp;do&nbsp;stand out, to competitors who are more in tune with industry recruitment challenges, and are willing move a little faster.”Of course, that all begs the question…<h2>JUST HOW&nbsp;DO&nbsp;YOU ATTRACT HIGH QUALITY TALENTS IN A COMPETITIVE MARKET?</h2><img src="https://dynamite-recruitment.staging.krakatoa.eu-2.volcanic.cloud/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBd2N2TWc9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--236ae1a2846c836ed2334d380b8082d1495d4a5e/attracting_and_retaining_talented_employees.jpg" alt="A suited trainer gives a presentation using a flip chart">“It’s about identifying transferable skills,” says Matt.“It used to be that companies could say ‘we want two years of relevant experience’ and there was a good chance they’d find someone who fit that relatively quickly. Today’s recruitment challenges are such that if you’re very prescriptive about your criteria, the timescales are infinitely longer. In fact, there’s a chance you won’t ever fill that position.“If that role sits vacant for months, you have to calculate ‘what’s the lost revenue?’ If it’s a sales role, you’re missing out on deals with your customers every day the job isn’t filled. If it’s a different kind of role, there will be a knock-on effect somewhere in the business which will impact on efficiency, which ultimately impacts on the bottom line.“It’s actually very rare to fit someone who neatly fits the round hole given by most job specs,” says Matt. “So you also need to calculate what the cost of training them will be over however long that will take. Even factoring training time, you’re often better off hiring and training a less experienced person who has the right transferable skills, than you are waiting for the perfect candidate who never appears.“At Dynamite, we’ve become very good at spotting candidates who have the right transferable skills. People who, with the right training and onboarding could round off their edges and slot right in to that round hole.“And when you find those candidates, it’s about focusing on the reasons they might be able to do the job rather than the all the reasons they won’t. That’s where Dynamite Training can really help.”<h2>THE DYNAMITE TRAINING DIFFERENCE</h2>At Dynamite, we believe that recruitment and training can (and should!) go hand-in-hand. So while we’re well positioned to help you in attracting and retaining talented employees, we’re now also extending that expertise to help the hiring managers who ultimately get the final say on candidate selection.Our Dynamite Training service will help those involved in your company’s recruitment process to:<ul><li>Gain insight&nbsp;into the realities of current recruitment market</li><li>Realign their expectations&nbsp;of candidates in the post-pandemic landscape</li><li>Identify the all-important transferable skills&nbsp;that can make a candidate with less ‘exact-match’ experience surprisingly suitable</li><li>Establish what realistic timelines look like&nbsp;for successful recruitment initiatives and how to structure the hiring process</li><li>Ask powerful interview questions&nbsp;that cut to the core of a candidate’s competencies and suitability</li><li>Sell the company’s vision, values and benefits at interview, in a way that aligns with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/blog/2021/10/what-candidates-want-in-the-post-covid-jobs-market" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">what candidates are now looking for</a>&nbsp;in the wider jobs market</li></ul><h2>WHY ARE TRANSFERABLE SKILLS OFTEN MORE IMPORTANT THAN SPECIFIC JOB SKILLS FOR RECRUITERS AND HIRING MANAGERS?</h2>“It’s common for companies to take the attitude of&nbsp;‘We’re offering a competitive salary. We’ve got a good benefits package. We’re regarded a good business to work for. That’s enough,’&nbsp;explains Matt. “But post-Covid, you have lots of companies who can offer that. And they’re all recruiting for the same shrunken-down talent pool. By focusing on transferable skills, you widen that pool, and give yourself a far better chance of landing a suitable hire in a timely fashion.“Take the example of a typical office-based customer service role,” Matt continues. It wouldn’t be uncommon for companies to list things on a job spec like&nbsp;‘two years’ proven office experience’&nbsp;or&nbsp;‘experience handling over 100 calls a day.’&nbsp;But are those things really essential?“For instance, what is it someone with two years’ experience can do that someone with one years’ experience can’t? What about six months? Or what about what someone with&nbsp;no&nbsp;experience might be able to do if they had the right attitude, and you gave them three months of comprehensive training and development?”In the current market you’re simply less to get that experience in a candidate than you were before the pandemic. But that&nbsp;doesn’t&nbsp;mean you won’t have suitable candidates on your CV pile.“Instead, the most obvious alternative we might look at would be somebody who’s come from a retail environment. They’re likely to have experience working to targets and dealing with customers.<img src="https://dynamite-recruitment.staging.krakatoa.eu-2.volcanic.cloud/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBd2d2TWc9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--bb09248494f25256bbdedd778445dd1ad67f456a/recruitment_and_training.jpg" alt="A smiling team of corporate workers training">​“But if they haven’t worked in retail, hospitality could be another good fit. Maybe a bar, or perhaps a pub. They’ve probably developed good people skills and learned to work under pressure. Could they adapt that to a slightly more corporate environment?“Similarly, somebody who’s done a degree and can present only a few weeks’ practical work experience. They’re likely to be quite articulate having written essays and performed presentations their work. They’ve dealt with the pressure of deadlines. What might&nbsp;they&nbsp;do with the right training?“When you’re looking at securing the best talent in a tough market, the trick is not ruling anybody out at first glance of a CV. Instead, ask if there’s anything someone might have done in that role that could be relevant. Have they had to hit targets? Have they had to deal with challenging situations? Does any part of their experience relate? In some cases the answer will absolutely be no. But if you take that extra time to look a little deeper you’re going to find at least one or two candidates who are more promising than you perhaps first thought.“You can then write interview questions tailored to that person’s unique experience to give you the best chance of seeing if you’re right. We find that works much better than having a standard homogenised set of interview questions that you put forward to candidates from vastly different backgrounds. It really helps you get to know the person you’re talking to, which is always key to both attracting and retaining talented employees, whatever industry you happen to be in.<h2>CAN OUR RECRUITMENT TRAINING TEAM HELP YOUR TALENT SEARCH?</h2>To find out how Dynamite Training could lead to an explosion in your talent pool, get in touch with us using our contact form, or by emailing&nbsp;<a href="mailto:contact@dynamiterecruitment.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">contact@dynamiterecruitment.com</a>. Alternatively, call us on 02392 455422 and our founder Matt Fox will be happy to explain how we can help.

INTRODUCING DYNAMITE TRAINING: SECURING THE BEST TALENT IN A TOUGH MARKET

Everyone’s heard of a bucket list. Most even remotely ambitious people have one. Yet precious few employers go big on bucket list rewards and recognition schemes.Those that don’t are missing a trick. In this post-pandemic world, working remotely has become the new norm, and creating a company bucket list program has never been a more viable proposition.Here we explore how bucket list employee recognition can turn your workplace into one of the companies with the best work life balance – and how you can use that to attract new talent, even in this&nbsp;challenging recruitment landscape.<h2>WHY IS WORK-LIFE BALANCE AN ISSUE?</h2>“The thing is never the thing,” says&nbsp;Executive Mindset Coach Monica Federico. “So many times clients come to me to work on progressing in their career, and we end up working together on the things they want for their wider life. It could be their health, or their finances, or very often their work-life balance. For high achievers, it can be tough just finding the time to have fun! It’s all connected.“Employees are people first and foremost,” Monica continues. “They all have their own hopes and dreams. Their own bucket lists. Having come from a HR background myself, it always surprises me how few companies fully grasp how important the personal angle truly is.”So with that in mind, the question becomes…<h2>WHAT CAN COMPANIES DO FOR WORK-LIFE BALANCE?</h2>“Everyone wants the perfect work and life balance,” says Dynamite founder Matt Fox. “And yet in my experience talking to potential candidates, everyone’s idea of that is different.“For instance, some want to be able to travel more and work from anywhere so they can have new experiences. They don’t want to be tied to strict office hours. Others simply want time to study or spend time with their family.“What unites them,” Matt continues, “is that these candidates don’t want to compromise, and that’s why most of them are reluctant to move at the moment. They have comfortable jobs, often with at least some flexibility for remote working, and they’ll only consider leaving for something that offers something even better.”“A bucket list program could be one idea that helps with that,” Matt elaborates. “But it’s not just about saying ‘we’ll help you with your bucket list.’ Rather, it’s about embedding bucket list rewards and recognition into your company culture.”So, if you’re a HR professional or company owner, how&nbsp;do&nbsp;you make work-life balance mean more at your brand than it does at other employers?<img src="https://dynamite-recruitment.staging.krakatoa.eu-2.volcanic.cloud/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBd2t2TWc9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--fdbd10e6c28e824eb095b196bb61f0f96c6975a5/bucket_list_program.jpg" alt="the words life and work written on wooden blocks balancing on a toy seesaw"><h2>TARGET SETTING WITH THE PERSONAL TOUCH</h2>“It begins with setting goals,” says Monica. “That’s where all good career coaching sessions start, and it’s where businesses should start too.“I don’t mean business targets, or employees’ personal career goals,” she continues. “I mean setting life goals to help them tick off the things they have on their bucket list.“When you ask people to think about something they really want, and then you start helping them adjust their life balance to move towards it, amazing things happen,” Monica explains. “Imagine if as part of your company’s culture, you asked employees to name a tangible, measurable goal in your team meetings, and then discuss with each other how they might go about making those experiences a reality.“What if some of your people all have the same goal? Like, maybe you discover that three of them all deeply want to visit the Great Wall of China in the next three years. You might find those people get together and start making plans that help them move towards that goal. Then they reinforce and support each other – and all with the support of your company.”“Experiences like that are great for employees,” agrees Matt. “But they’re also brilliant for businesses. Think about how much loyalty you inspire by just helping those team members make those connections. And then even more so if you incorporate a ‘bucket list bonus’ to reward them for progressing in their role.“Anybody would want to work at a company that cares that much,” says Matt. “And any company would want a workforce who are that engaged and invested – not just in the company’s goals, but in their own colleagues’ success. It’s a brilliant way to retain the talent already in your business.”<h2>MAKING WORK-LIFE BALANCE A SELLING POINT</h2><img src="https://dynamite-recruitment.staging.krakatoa.eu-2.volcanic.cloud/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBd292TWc9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--a474b01b191d5e2a251f62048b5a6ad78919bcb6/bucket_list_employee_recognition.jpg" alt="A man carries his son playfully on his back">Better still, a thoroughly thought-through bucket list rewards and recognition scheme isn’t just great for keeping staff, it’s also a brilliant tool for selling your business to candidates who might be on the fence about making a move to a new company.“The companies with the best work-life balance are the ones who don’t just say they care about their people – they show it,” says Matt. “If you can put some budget aside to help your team with a bucket list bonus scheme or a similar employee benefit, you can feature that in your job specs, shout about it in your marketing, and have recruitment companies like Dynamite extol the virtues of your company culture to every candidate we contact.”“It might be a bit of a shift for some companies,” says Monica, “But it should be well worth it. After all, from an employee perspective work-life balance is really just&nbsp;life balance. The more you tell honestly candidates how much you care about theirs in the recruitment process, the more attractive your company will be.”<h2>LOOKING FOR THE IDEAL CANDIDATE OR YOUR PERFECT NEXT ROLE?</h2>Visit our&nbsp;client services page&nbsp;to see what we offer to businesses, or&nbsp;browse our latest vacancies&nbsp;if you’re a candidate looking for your next move.Prefer the personal touch?&nbsp;Get in contact today&nbsp;for a chat about how we can work for you.

WORK-LIFE BALANCE: HELPING YOUR TEAM TACKLE THEIR BUCKET LIST

In our line of work we see a large number of candidates who cycle back through the recruitment process every 12-24 months. In some cases (for instance, with contracting work) this can be by design, and lucrative for all concerned. However, in many instances it is instead the result of candidates accepting a permanent role at an employer who didn’t fully grasp the concept of ongoing&nbsp;talent management&nbsp;and why it's important.Now, we appreciate that having a regular stream of qualified candidates might&nbsp;sound&nbsp;a good thing for a recruitment firm like ourselves. However, as a&nbsp;boutique agency, we’ve built our reputation on matching the right candidates and companies for mutually fruitful,&nbsp;long-term&nbsp;partnerships. It does nobody (us included!) any good in the grand scheme of things when a candidate feels misled on the prospects a company can offer; nor when a business feels the candidate came into the role with the wrong outlook from the get-go.With that in mind, we’ve put together some of our thoughts on the importance of talent management to help you retain those talented new hires. It all starts with understanding the&nbsp;talent management life cycle.<h2>WHAT IS THE TALENT MANAGEMENT LIFE CYCLE?</h2><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20220929173633im_/https://d3jh33bzyw1wep.cloudfront.net/s3/W1siZiIsIjIwMjIvMDUvMjcvMjIvMDQvMTUvY2EyZGNmYjQtMGMxYS00MTU2LTk5ZTYtOTRlNmY3MzI5MDg4L1RoZS1pbXBvcnRhbmNlLW9mLXRhbGVudC1tYW5hZ2VtZW50LmpwZyJdXQ" alt="The talent management life cycle">Image credit:&nbsp;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220929173633/http://ptc-sc.org/wp-content/uploads/Warren_PTC-Presentation_Part1.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">PTC-SD</a>From deciding you need a new hire, through training and development, right the way through to planning for that person’s eventual replacement, there are six stages to the talent management life cycle:1. Recruitment2. Candidate selection and hiring3.&nbsp;Onboarding4.&nbsp;Training and development5.&nbsp;Performance management​6.&nbsp;And finally succession planningWhile our business is set up to help you with stages one and two, the importance of talent management starts to show as early as stage three. There, the employee begins to get a feel for if the company’s outwardly-portrayed image at interview directly translates to its day-to-day operations.From there, stages four and&nbsp;especially&nbsp;five lay bare the importance of&nbsp;ongoing&nbsp;talent management. Getting these right is the key to maximising the tenure of your most talented hires, and retaining the people who can take your business to the next level.<h2>CONSIDERATIONS FOR YOUR TALENT MANAGEMENT STRATEGY</h2>Why is ongoing talent management important? Because it helps you retain top talented employees for as long as possible.But what can you do to make sure this happens? Here, we outline five key questions we think you should ask yourself in forming your talent management strategy – and, crucially,&nbsp;why&nbsp;you should ask them.<h3>1. Where is the potential ceiling for your roles - and can you adapt team structure to raise it?</h3>One major mistake often made by companies (particularly small ones) is to hire someone, onboard them, then simply leave them to it – without considering what happens once they start to master the role.Employees need things to strive for in order to feel a sense of progress. But if the next logical role above them – often a middle management one – requires significantly different skills that they don’t have any way of acquiring, it creates a ceiling that limits how far they can climb in the company. Inevitably, that leads to them leaving to climb the career ladder somewhere else.Instead of allowing that to happen, you could consider creating a senior version of their current role and moving them upwards into it. That could allow your employee to mentor those beneath them in the hierarchy, while supporting their line manager by learning the ropes of their job. This not only helps with retaining your talent, but also aids in the succession planning part of the talent management life cycle, too.<h3>2.&nbsp;Can your hires add extra skills beyond their role's core responsibilities?</h3>The suggestion above outlined one way an employee could gain new skills by moving upwards – but they can also expand their skills&nbsp;without&nbsp;a promotion. For example, if you have two junior-to-mid-level team members with different responsibilities, why not swap their responsibilities at least one day a month? This would allow them to move&nbsp;sideways&nbsp;within the same team, expanding their skill set and making them a more attractive candidate for an&nbsp;upwards&nbsp;promotion at some point down the line.The message here is that whether upwards or sideways, movement of&nbsp;some kind&nbsp;is essential. Making a point of giving that option will convey to your team the importance of talent management for your business.<h3>3. How personal is your talent management process?</h3>Do you truly know your employees’ needs? It might sound startlingly simple, but most companies make assumptions about what their people want, without ever really asking them at one-to-ones. Instead they use those catch-ups to communicate how the employee is doing and what the company wants to see&nbsp;from&nbsp;them. If you’re taking the time to consider ongoing talent management and why it's important, start by encouraging your managers to ask your people what they want from their careers as a whole, rather than just their current role. Don’t be afraid to suggest moves into other departments, either. Sometimes employees may be fearful of mentioning the idea of this to their direct report, but your managers need to take the view that keeping top talent in the wider business is more important than focusing on employee development within their own smaller team.<h3>4.&nbsp;Does your performance review approach need to be more flexible?</h3><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20220929173633im_/https://d3jh33bzyw1wep.cloudfront.net/s3/W1siZiIsIjIwMjIvMDUvMjcvMjIvMTMvMzQvYjJhNDJhNjUtZTcyNy00YTE0LWIxNTctNzIyNDYxYzgxOGRhL0R5bmFtaXRlIEJsb2cgLSBUaGUgSW1wb3J0YW5jZSBvZiBPbmdvaW5nIFRhbGVudCBNYW5hZ2VtZW50LmpwZyJdXQ">In many businesses, performance reviews take place at the same time, right across the business. But what if that window falls at a time where one or more of your team are knee-deep in work that inspires and energises them? Would you really want to add to their stress while simultaneously detracting from their fulfilment? Conversely, what if one team member is fine with business as usual in their day to day while they train for a career change in their spare time? Wouldn’t forcing a performance review centred on their current role just be wasted time and energy for all concerned? Those are just two examples that show the importance of talent management being flexible and adaptable. So, ask what your employees want, then devise a performance review approach that keeps that in mind.<h3>5. Do your people feel rewarded and valued?</h3>Another thing you should ask as part of your personal approach is whether your team feel rewarded for their hard work – and, indeed, exactly what ‘rewarded,’ means to them. Money is always an obvious go-to – which could certainly lead some employers to avoid this conversation outright. But for many employees you might be surprised to find they just want more recognition in the form of more opportunities to do different kinds of work they know they’ll enjoy. The more you allow an employee to make their job their own, the more valued and trusted they’ll feel, and the more the importance of ongoing talent management will be felt by all concerned.<h2>CAN WE HELP YOU FIND YOUR NEXT NEW HIRE OR LONG-TERM ROLE?</h2>At Dynamite Recruitment, we specialise in matching clients and candidates who want the same things and share the same values. So whether you’re a hiring manager or HR professional looking to fill a vacancy, or a candidate seeking your next move, we can help.Visit our&nbsp;client services&nbsp;or&nbsp;job search&nbsp;pages to see what we can offer, or&nbsp;get in touch&nbsp;to discuss what you’re looking for.Looking for further tips on recruiting top talent? Read about our new service,&nbsp;Dynamite Training, and call our founder Matt Fox on 02392 455422 to learn how it could help you.

THE IMPORTANCE OF ONGOING TALENT MANAGEMENT

It’s currently more challenging than ever to recruit top talent – but that doesn’t mean that talent isn’t out there. It just means you need to think a little harder about how you approach every aspect of your hiring process!In this post, we share&nbsp;five simple but successful recruitment tips&nbsp;that can help transform your approach to landing new hires.<h2>FIVE TOP RECRUITMENT TIPS FOR 2022&nbsp;(AND BEYOND!)</h2><h3>1. Look for transferable skills -&nbsp;not&nbsp;the perfect match to narrowly-defined criteria</h3>As we mentioned in our blog post introducing&nbsp;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220929170556/https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/blog/2022/04/introducing-dynamite-training-securing-the-best-talent-in-a-tough-market" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">Dynamite Training</a>, any company currently trying to recruit staff like they would have pre-pandemic is in for a rude awakening.Before the first lockdown, businesses tended to be ultra-specific about what they wanted to see on a candidate’s CV. If the details didn’t match the spec, that person wasn’t getting an interview.These days it’s not so black and white. ‘Exact-match’ candidates are far fewer and farther between, so the first of our&nbsp;five Simple recruitment tips&nbsp;is to open your mind and look a little deeper through each CV you see.It might be that the candidate doesn’t have two years’ experience. Would six months do if you offer them comprehensive training? It could also be that they don’t have call handling experience, but they&nbsp;do&nbsp;have extensive experience in retail or hospitality sectors, where those customer service skills can transfer across.It’s an intensely challenging market at the moment, so you’re far better off looking for a diamond in the rough over waiting for that one rare, polished gem to make themselves known.<h3>2. (Re)structure your teams to offer an attractive career path</h3>In our piece on the importance of ongoing talent management, we mentioned the problem created by the ‘glass ceiling effect.’ In other words, once your new hire masters their new role, will there be a role above them they can progress into? If the answer is no, and they ask the right questions at interview, they’re quickly going to figure out that you haven’t thought things through when it comes to career progression.The second of our&nbsp;five simple but successful recruitment tips&nbsp;is to look at how you can structure your team if it’s a brand new one, or&nbsp;restructure&nbsp;your existing setup to make the vacant role more attractive for the longer term.<img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20220929170556im_/https://d3jh33bzyw1wep.cloudfront.net/s3/W1siZiIsIjIwMjIvMDcvMjYvMTYvNDkvMTMvNGRkNzI0ZTQtMDNmNy00YTQ5LWExYzgtYWUwNzg5N2Y3YTIyL0ZpdmUtc2ltcGxlLWJ1dC1zdWNjZXNzZnVsLXJlY3J1aXRtZW50LXRpcHMuanBnIl1d">If you can communicate to applicants at interview that there’s the potential to become a more senior version of their current role – together with better pay and further training prospects – that could be very attractive. Likewise, if you can point to examples of other team members who have progressed into more senior roles within that team or the wider company, it will make your open vacancy all the more attractive.Better still, this isn’t just something you should talk about at interview – you should shout about it in job descriptions and even on your company’s website. Make a big deal about the culture of progression you have within your organisation and people are much more likely to see it as a place they can progress their own careers.Which, neatly enough, brings us to…<h3>3. Use social media to pull back the curtain on your company culture</h3>Social media is one of the very best ways to shout about what’s going on in your workplace.It works so well because social posts cut through the typical barriers imposed by corporate communications – in several important ways.For starters, at the business level, brand marketing is often handled by a very select set of people within a business. It’s something HR teams and hiring managers rarely get a say in, which can create a disconnect between the public face of the company and the actual experience of working there. However, they’re much more likely to be given access to the company’s recruitment Twitter feed, for instance – where they can then take pictures, videos and more that show the real day-to-day within the company’s walls.And that’s often a powerful approach because from a candidate’s perspective, it comes across as authentic rather than curated. Social media is essentially an organic medium, and usually works best when it’s capturing a true-to-life, behind-the-scenes experience, as opposed to something sanitised by seven levels of corporate signoffs. That’s why using social media intelligently and creatively is one of our&nbsp;top five recruitment tips&nbsp;for any hiring company.<h3>4. Simpify your application process</h3>In a working world with fewer candidates looking to make a move, you need to do everything you can to make your application process as simple and straightforward as possible.That might mean thinking on your feet and doing away with parts of your process that ask applicants to do a lot of work up front.<img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20220929170556im_/https://d3jh33bzyw1wep.cloudfront.net/s3/W1siZiIsIjIwMjIvMDcvMjYvMTYvNDkvMTUvMDhkMDZhMzgtMWQ3OC00YjVjLWJhMDQtOTVhNGY2YjBjYjE5L0ZpdmUtdG9wLXJlY3J1aXRtZW50LXRpcHMtZm9yLTIwMjIuanBnIl1d">For instance, it might be that asking for a 1,000-word sample article, lengthy personal statement or several-slide annotated Powerpoint presentation has worked well for your hiring process in the past. But in the current climate, candidates are likely to be put off by that – and will opt to apply for the next most similar job spec that doesn’t have those criteria.The fourth of our&nbsp;five top recruitment tips for 2022&nbsp;(and, in all likelihood, the next few years) is therefore to minimise how much effort you ask candidates to put in up-front. The role, salary and company may all be very attractive, and in normal circumstances might warrant an attitude of “let’s see who impresses us most.” But this is a candidate’s market, and the businesses who adjust to that will be in the best position to fill open roles promptly.<h3>5. Rethink onboarding</h3>It’s tempting to think that a new hire with the right skills and experience can just be dropped into a role and expected to soar. But even if they’re a near enough ‘exact match’ for the job spec, your company’s culture, structure and working processes will be foreign to them. And, if you follow our advice from the first of our&nbsp;five top recruitment tips, they probably won’t be an exact match at all.That just makes it even more important that you thoroughly think through your business’s onboarding process.First impressions matter. In fact, one study says that&nbsp;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220929170556/https://lifexchangesolutions.com/new-employees-quit/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">between 28-33% of new hires quit in their first three months</a>&nbsp;– with a lack of proper onboarding certain to be a contributing factor. The last of our&nbsp;five simple but successful recruitment tips&nbsp;is to invest in the right onboarding technology (e-learning courses, for example), and plan a rough structure for your new hires’ first days on the job that can be roughly replicated no matter which department they join.

FIVE TOP RECRUITMENT TIPS

So you’ve bagged a brilliant opportunity to interview at a company and you couldn’t be more excited. But how should you conduct yourself on the day?Here, we’ll share some of our job interview tips to help you land your next dream role.<h2>WHAT ARE FIVE GOOD INTERVIEW TIPS?</h2><h3>1. Make a great first impression</h3>One of the most obvious tips for interviews is to make a great first impression. But how exactly do you go about doing that?Some simple pointers can include:<ul><li>Present yourself professionally:&nbsp;It might be that the company’s culture is quite relaxed and you don’t feel wearing a full suit and tie would be appropriate. However, think about how you would dress if you go the job and needed to show a client around the office. A smart pair of chino trousers or skirt, tucked-in shirt, suit jacket and smart shoes should be the very least to aim for.</li><li>Give a firm handshake:&nbsp;It may sound obvious but there’s nothing more off-putting to a potential hiring manager than an interviewee who gives a limp, unenthusiastic handshake!</li><li>Make a suitable level of eye contact – and remember to smile:&nbsp;Job interviews are serious stuff, but your body language and eye contact levels can go a long way to showing an attractively relaxed kind of inner confidence. That’s why one of the simplest job interview tips we can offer is to hold your interviewer’s gaze for a few seconds, nod, smile, and talk with your hands to show energy and enthusiasm. Doing so in a way that feels natural and conversational can all help to make a fantastic first impression.</li></ul><h3>2. Know your&nbsp;own&nbsp;experience inside-out</h3>Many posts on the best interview tips will tell you to know the job spec inside out. And it’s true, you should certainly take time to familiarise yourself with the role and company. But focusing on how much you know about your potential employer will only go so far towards impressing at interview. You’re there to sell yourself, and the real substance behind your answers will lie in how well you’re able to do that.The first step to acing your interview skills is therefore to spend some time going through your own CV and cross referencing it with the job spec to pull out examples of work you’ve done that might relate to the new role. If you’ve followed the CV guidance in our post&nbsp;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220929175034/https://www.dynamiterecruitment.com/blog/2021/08/top-tips-to-get-your-cv-noticed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(214, 69, 65); background-color: transparent;">Top Tips To Get Your CV Noticed</a>&nbsp;this should be relatively simple to do, since you’ll have a concise career story that can help you think back across your career and organise your workplace examples.<h3>3. Respond in this format: point &gt; example &gt; comment</h3><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20220929175034im_/https://d3jh33bzyw1wep.cloudfront.net/s3/W1siZiIsIjIwMjIvMDkvMTYvMTQvNDAvMTIvNThjMDhjZDEtNzJhMy00ZTQ5LTkwYjQtZTM4OTJhMmQ2YjBlL2pvYi1pbnRlcnZpZXctdGlwcy5qcGciXV0">Remember being encouraged to answer essay questions in GCSE English using the format&nbsp;point &gt; quotation &gt; comment? A similar approach is remarkably effective when it comes to job interviews.For instance, you might be asked a question like&nbsp;“Tell me how you would measure success of a project.”&nbsp;A very on-the-nose answer to this might be that you would measure against the department’s typical key performance indicators (KPIs). This may not be wrong&nbsp;per se, but it’s an uninspired answer that misses an enormous opportunity to convey your creativity and initiative.Compare that to this approach:Point:&nbsp;“I’ve actually measured success in a number of different ways across different projects.”Example:&nbsp;“For instance, on one project that involved [project details] I began by using the department’s typical KPIs. However, I realised they could only show us so much in terms of quantitative data, and that to truly understand our successes and failures we would also need to pair those with deeper qualitative data. I therefore led the inception of a company-wide anonymous survey, which included making a business case for new survey tools to my line manager and presenting the idea to the board. The tools were not only invaluable in the success of the project, but they have since been rolled out across the company and employees at all levels are now trained in their use to gather additional user comments on their own projects.”Context:&nbsp;“Obviously I realise the role I am applying for may present different challenges, but what that does show I feel is a willingness to challenge the status quo for a much more comprehensive result, and the ability to navigate corporate politics in order to make effective changes that can benefit an entire business beyond the scope of a single project.”When you compare the two approaches, it’s not hard to see why we’ve included this in our list of top tips to nail that job interview!<h3>4. Answering the tricky questions</h3>There are some particularly tricky questions that are almost guaranteed to come up at interview. We couldn’t write a post on job interview tips without suggestions on how to handle these:<ul><li>“Why do you want to leave your current role / Why do you want this job?”</li></ul>These may sound like two different questions but in truth they’re two sides of the same coin and the answer is the same either way. Essentially, what your current role lacks, is something you believe the new role will offer.The reason this can be tricky to answer is that it’s seen as poor form to criticise your current employer. However, not making some effort to address the elephant in the room can lead to an answer that feels inauthentic.Those with good will walk the line between these two extremes. First, explain the many great aspects your current role offers and how much you’ve been able to achieve there. Then follow it up by talking through the career development avenues that are important to you and explain how they aren’t available to you in your current role. Finally, detail why, based on the job spec and your research, you believe the role at the prospective employer might offer that. You can then use that to segway into asking questions of your own around this.Taking this approach is respectful to your old employer, while candidly answering the question without avoiding it. It also shows you have done your research into the new company, while proactively turning the tables in the interview to make you the one asking questions – which shows poise, confidence and ambition, without things feeling out of context. In fact, these are some of best interview tips since they show you’re also looking for a role that’s the right fit for you.<ul><li>“What do you see as your biggest weakness?”</li></ul>This question is designed to test your ability to show self-awareness but can prove a bit of a trap if you don’t know how to answer it properly. Thankfully, that’s what our job interview tips are here for!Of course, the cliché here is to say you’re “a perfectionist.” Whatever you do, avoid this answer! It’s overdone and seen as the ‘get-out’ that won’t win you any points for original thinking.One approach we’ve seen work particularly well is telling the interviewer what a weakness of yours&nbsp;used to be, followed by how you identified it, the approach you took to working on it, and the end result.For instance, it could be that your boss identified your project time management as a weakness at an appraisal. So you found a course that you enrolled onto, then you set about putting those learnings into practice, including had regular catch-ups with your boss to measure how effective the results were and what needed fine-tuning.You can then finish by saying&nbsp;“This probably still isn’t something that comes incredibly naturally to me, but it’s something that I’ve worked diligently and purposefully on. I now I see it more as a growing strength than an outright weakness, which is something I’m quite proud of.”The purpose of this answer is not to come across as infallible, but to show how you maturely handled a potentially career-damaging negative and turned it into a positive through dedication and a responsible attitude.<img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20220929175034im_/https://d3jh33bzyw1wep.cloudfront.net/s3/W1siZiIsIjIwMjIvMDkvMTYvMTQvNDMvMzkvMTk4NDU0NzYtY2UxMi00MWM4LWFkODItMmVlOWEwZDc2ZmNmL3F1ZXN0aW9ucy10by1hc2staGlyaW5nLW1hbmFnZXIuanBnIl1d"><ul><li>What sort of salary are you looking for?</li></ul>The salary question can be a stumbling block because it catches you between two stalls. On one hand you want to convey that you’re more passionate about the role itself than the salary package. On the other hand, lowballing yourself can convey at best poor self-worth and a lack of ambition, and at worst can show that you’re completely out of touch with current trends in your industry or field.One of the best we can offer here is to do your research and answer by telling them what you feel a sensible salary bracket looks like for your skill set and experience.In some instances, the company may do this for you by giving a salary range. In which case, you can tell them&nbsp;“I noticed the given salary range for this role way between X and Y, and I’ve previously earned Z. I feel that fact, coupled with my years of experience, suggests I should realistically be looking at starting in the lower/mid/upper (delete as appropriate) part of this range.”For roles where a salary&nbsp;isn’t&nbsp;given, you can modify the above somewhat. Tell them that your research indicates what a sensible range would look like, and where your level of experience would fit into that. You can follow that up by conveying how excited you are about the role, and how you’d be open to negotiating depending on their own expectations for the role.<h3>5. Be prepared to do all this on Zoom, Skype or on the phone!</h3>We’re often asked for virtual interview tips by candidates, but honestly, one of the best things you can do is treat a video or phone interview in almost exactly the same way you would were it an in-person meet and greet (well, minus the handshake!).For telephone interviews, that means preparing in exactly the same way: knowing your experience, being willing to tell stories about it, and relating&nbsp;as much of it as possible to what you feel the employer is looking for.Our Skype and Zoom interview tips go even further, extending to making sure you’re well-presented and make the best visual first impression possible – both in how you dress, and the way you convey confidence through your body language in front of a camera.Of course, video interviews can occasionally throw up unusual circumstances that you’d never get at an in-person interview. One of our personal favourites saw a pet walk into the room during the middle of the interview. The interviewer asked what kind it was, so the candidate offered to pick it up and show them! It created a short, simple insight into the candidate’s life that cast them as relaxed and personable, but it was the way they handled the situation by reading the room and asking permission that really led the interviewer to feeling endeared. They got the job, and they’ve been very happy in it since!

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