I am a fairweather blogger.  As soon as my non-web life gets remotely complicated I'm off.

And like that candidate you promised to call with feedback but didn't, my blog has been nagging at my consciousness for weeks.  And the longer it goes on the worse it is.  If it was you, wouldn't you rather have the bad news, chalk it up to experience and move on?  That's how candidates feel too.

We're afraid. Afraid they'll argue with us, get upset or do that disappointed sigh our fathers did whenever we confessed to not studying.  In an old recruiting job I had, I had to call 10 or so candidates A DAY with bad news.  In the 8 months I did that job, I never had a candidate cry on me.  Never.

They already know.  They just want you to confirm it so they can move on.

So do it now.  Better late than never, but better to get it over and done with.  Like jumping back into blogging.

Most job adverts are written like a shopping list.  We'd like x and x technical skills, super people skills and someone who will work hard. Sometimes, they are just a list of responsibilites (in company jargon) and you have to guess whether you have the skills or not.

When writing an advert, you need to first think about the people you're trying to attract.  Imagine where they are, and what they want from their next step.  Then you can write an advert which is attractive to them - advert writing is more like marketing a product than shopping for one.

Once you have the picture of the ideal candidate in mind you can write to a formula:

1. Explain the context (what are you looking for, why, what kind of team)
2. Explain what the candidate will get out of the role (excitment, learning skills, working with cool clients)
3. Explain what your offer is (salary, benefits)
4. Tell them the minimum skills you need.

You don't need to write in a stilted corporate way, if your culture is cool and funky, write something cool and funky. 

Like all skills writing adverts gets better with practice - if you don't have to do it very often, ask the advice of someone who does, or look at Monster etc for some inspiration. 

Like everything in life, offers go much more smoothly if you prepare.    Smart candidates know that it's not just the salary figure that counts, and when they start asking questions, and your every answer is 'I'll have to ask HR' you start to feel stupid.  Here's a (probably not comprehensive) list of things you might be asked about;

*Salary review date and methodology
*Bonus and how it's calculated / when it's given
*Pension type and contribution
*Healthcare type and contribution
*Car allowances
*Gym membership
*Other benefits
*Relocation package (where appropriate)
*Golden hellos/handshakes
*Holiday entitlement and holiday year
*On site facilities
*Hours of work and flexitime methodologies
*Place of work (for those working on multiple sites)
*Training opportunities
*Nursery vouchers


Very smart candidates (and you only hire those right?) will also ask about start dates and what they can do to prepare themselves for the role. 

Can you add to this list?

Google search about corporate recruiters often leads people here.  As I've been too busy corporate recruiting to blog this week, I thought I'd share what it's like on a day to day basis.  Corporate recruiters are usually responsible for a vacancy from start to finish.  We are contacted by hiring managers when a vacancy is a twinkle in their eye - or when an employee has handed in their notice.  Corporate recruiters have to be very good at conflict resolution and expectation management.  The employee who has handed in his notice, will probably leave in 4 weeks.  The recruitment process will probably take 8 weeks minimum and probably closer to 12.  The hiring manager will be looking for a direction for his stress.... if you thought working in a corporate gave you an easy life, you thought wrong.

We help managers with the computer systems which allow them to advertise their requirement, create a job description and person profile, an advert, get it all submitted and then make sure that the advert goes out to the right people.  In the company I work for currently, we have a back office team located 300 miles away who do our processing, but sometimes admin assistants work directly with recruiters.

We make sure suitable CVs come in, help managers evaluate them (though I'd never make a choice for them), and then one of our assistants arranges the interviews, and sends the candidates all the details they need to attend.  Co-ordinating diaries for candidates, hiring managers and recruiters can be a challenge, and one I'm glad I don't have to do!

We meet with hiring managers to arrange an interview format, and decide how much help they need at interview.  Sometimes a hiring manager wants us to ask all the questions, sometimes just take notes.  I love interviewing, although colleagues have said they find it really boring.  It's probably not for you if you don't find people endlessly fascinating.  We help hiring managers make their decision, and then it's back to the system to raise an offer.  Making sure you have sign off for hires in corporates is very important, and can be hard work, so massaging each request through the layers of sign off, and then making sure an offer is created within an SLA is a big part of my job.

Eventually, someone starts and we give them their initial induction before sending them off to work.  There's nothing like walking into a department and knowing everyone there, and seeing them productive and happy. 

As a corporate recruiter I've handled as few as 20 jobs at one time and as many as 80.  Keeping 80 jobs, hiring managers, candidates, interview times, offer processes and starters straight, when your day is taken up with interviews, advising hiring managers and talking to candidates.  I live by my spreadsheet.  Recruiters tend to hate admin and reporting - we're much more 'fly by the seat of our pants' kind of people, but without the spreadsheet I wouldn't know which way was up!

Any questions?  Leave a comment!

Interviewing internal candidates can be difficult.  You already know the candidate, their capabilities, their personalities right?  Wrong.

Candidates had a life before they came to your company, and even if they are in your team, there may be experiences they have had which could be used which you don't know about.  They have a life outside of work, which may include training, volunteer work or family experiences which could be useful, but which you don't know about.  They have ambitions, desires, wants and needs which you may not know about but which affect the way they work now, and the way they may work in a new role.

Internal candidates should be interviewed in exactly the same way as external ones.  Take them through the standard question set, giving them the opportunity to tell you everything an external candidate would.  Put aside any perceptions you have, listening to the answers as if you don't know them.  Sometimes, the round peg in the square hole flourishes once a round hole is found.  If you have the opportunity to provide the round hole, and get a candidate who already knows your company, it's language and the way it works, why wouldn't you?

The end of the interview can be an awkward moment... you've decided that the candidate really isn't right and want them out of the door.  They sense this, and are desperate to redeem themselves so keep talking. 

Practice your poker face.  For reasons we have discussed before, the candidates should have no inkling that you don't think they are suitable.  Carry on being your normal, pleasant, helpful self right till the leave the car park.  If they have been asked to bring paperwork or id, take it, check it, put it to one side as if it is as precious to you as that of the perfect candidate. 

Make sure you have answered all their questions.  Even if you have no intention of employing them, make sure they go away with all the answers.  You don't need to answer at length: with a candidate you want, your answer to 'Do you have a training plan' will be an indepth sales pitch, to one you don't, yes we have a comprehensive training catalogue and everyone goes on at least 2 courses a year is fine.

Tell them what the next steps are.  We are interviewing this week and next, and expect to make a decision on Friday.  This stops them calling every day for a week asking for a decision, and gives them a clue that they are not your only choice!

Offer your card.  Remember, they may not be a great candidate, but their friends or relatives might be perfect for your next role.  Give them the opportunity to send a thank you note, or call to follow up.  And if they do - answer the phone!  We are nice to all the candidates because that is the face of our company remember?!

Don't forget to thank them for their time, and tell them it was nice to meet them.  With feeling.  Even if you hate interviewing, you just spent an hour not doing your report for your boss, got one step closer to finding the next member of your team, met one of your company's fans.  It was nice right?  And even if it wasn't.. think about them.  They got up early, put on a suit, prepared for your interview.  That deserves some thanks. 

1. Referrals. 

Make sure everyone in your company, your peers in other companies, your friends, your relations and even your hairdresser know you are recruiting and what you're looking for.  You never know where the next recruit will come from.

2. Your website

Every website should have a jobs board - even if it's just a blog where you list the titles and job descriptions.  And while you're there.. why not tell the candidates what a great place to work this is?

3. Reed.co.uk

They've just started charging, but there are number of free listing spots in a year.  From personal experience  - worth doing.

4. http://www.ctp.org.uk/ctp/employers

Places people coming out of the armed forces.  Free to advertise and a source of well trained, effective team members at all levels.

5. Newspapers

Not in the jobs section - but articles about your latest product or initiative.  Make sure the journalist adds a line about currently looking for.... and your follow up information.

Sorry I've been gone so long.  There are now no boxes in my house and a whole new office! 

While I was gone I was having a discussion with a friend about application forms.  Some companies require application forms, and some done.  Local government is more likely to, small family firms less likely.  However, big corporates and moving down to medium sized corporates are increasingly using application forms.

In the company I work for, application forms are required for internal candidates, but not for external.  My hiring managers hate them.  But this application form, they say, in a wingeing tone, it doesn't say what they do outside work, it doesn't have any personality, I can't tell when they went to school or if they're married. 

No, Mr Hiring Manager, it doesn't.  But it does ensure you only have the information which is allowable to you by law.  It ensures you have the same information for all the candidates and can compare them.  And it has this little box where they sign to say they have told you the truth.  And that's why we have application forms.