Here you’ll find few handy downloadable documents that cover a range of topics from developing your CVS to job hunting.

Simply click, open and print:

Are you embracing the change?

As the skills gap widens and the war for talent gains pace, smart businesses need to be looking outside the normal boundaries for ‘suitable’ candidates. This means that transferable skills have now gained importance, but are they really proving beneficial for employees and employers alike?

In such a battle for candidates, you’d think that recruiters would naturally look further afield, seeking candidates with skills that you can apply to any new job, no matter what the industry. Some certainly are; a recent drinks client here at Seven highlighted a range of businesses they required people from, including media and electronic organisations, a far cry from the more traditional businesses you would have expected them to target. But this example is rare and this kind of change appears to be relatively slow. Yes, employees are changing their careers, and the job for life mentality is no longer relevant to them, but employers tend to be slower to take up the idea.

The trend in the past has been for FMCG businesses to recruit FMCG professionals, or retail businesses to recruit retail people; and this ‘sector snobbery’ (as Personnel Today coins it) is still prevalent, highlighting the fact that many still do not consider sourcing candidates from outside of their “competitor boundaries”.
In addition, employers seem to be hesitant to develop these skills in their own employees. One reason for this could be the cost associated with developing transferable skills; equally, some employers feel by developing these skills they are simply equipping their employees with the tools to move on to another business. There is also the argument that on the other hand, employees need developing in order to ensure the business remains competitive, but by investing in the average people in your business, the growth and direction you would demand from strong individuals can be lost. It’s a tough one.

The fact remains though, that because of the war for talent, a lack of candidates means that companies’ hands will eventually be forced. HR Managers and Heads of Recruitment need to start influencing and convincing Line Managers now, that recruiting for and developing transferable skills is the way forward, and candidates outside the industry can be equally valid, before it’s too late.

Is the pretty picture you paint losing you talent… and money?

With Employer Branding increasing in importance and the talent gap widening, more and more companies have focused increasingly on communicating the positives and benefits of joining a company such as theirs to win candidates from competitors. But has this focus meant that facts are being exaggerated, and when the candidates actually start their dream role, are they increasingly finding that they’re being sold short?
Employer Branding; yes, every leading recruiter or HR Director has spoken about it over the last year or so, and yes, we all know it’s essential to getting the candidate you want. But here’s the problem; a great employer brand can snag an amazing candidate but employer branding is also about what keeps them, and if the legend doesn’t live up to reality it can have serious effects on retention, turnover and inevitably, profit.

Concrete benefits such as salary, bonus, pension etc are easy to solve – candidates have a contract and will receive them by law. But intangible ‘hooks’ like company culture, the structure of the role, the support you get or the fact that there’s meant to be excellent internal communications and a really flexible attitude to processes are easy to sell-in but not that easy to deliver. This is where the problems lie. But the solution is straightforward to implement.

At interview stage, instead of YOU selling your company, use other people’s words to do it for you. Get them to meet members of their team for a real chat, get someone from a different department to explain how their roles interact, show them the systems, show them the office. This way, you’ll get top marks for openness and it’ll give them the responsibility to ask the right questions and discover the reality. That way they’ll know what to expect from day 1 and when we ask them for feedback they’ll be saying “the role is everything I thought it would be” and you’ll have their talent for years rather than months.

The rise in Counter Offers

The Recruiter reported an “all time high” in counter-offers, where employees are set to resign, ready for a new role, and their existing employer offers a pay rise in a bid to make them stay.

Let’s take a brief look at those

Once you have resigned, particularly if it’s to join a competitor, your relationship can change. The perceived lack of loyalty may create a reduction in trust and respect from your manager and jeopardise your involvement in future projects. Very often, any pay rise you’ve received as a result of the counter-offer will become inconsequential in relative terms by similar increases for your peer group.

Even worse, approximately 80% of those who have accepted a counter-offer leave or are terminated within six to 12 months. And of that 80%, over half reinitiate their job search within three months.

So what advice can we give you?

• Ensure you are committed to the role you accept. Current market conditions dictate that the recruitment process will move very quickly and now is not the time to test the water.
  
• Understand that many of the issues that made you consider a move will still be there regardless of any pay increase.
• Remember the impact that your resignation will have on your manager, so don’t use it as a negotiation tool.
• Consider the bigger picture and the new opportunity, as well as the commitment made by the new employer to get you on board.
• Don’t burn bridges. Be clear and consistent with communication to all parties.

Whether you decide to accept or decline a counter-offer, ensure that you have all the facts and the decision to stay or go is an informed one.