Sirona Says

Stepstone's Total Talent Report - Something doesn't ring true here!

Just looking throught the Stepstone Total Talent Report 2008, and there seems to be some very strange stats used that don't seem to make sense - it's Talent Management gone mad!! The answers shown to this question go against everything that the recruitment marketplace is telling companies what they need to do to recruit people!! They pose the question, "Which steps has your organisation undertaken in the past to overcome recruitment difficulties, and which would it consider undertaking in the future?"

The answer responses are in the relevant colours    Have undertaken in past | Would undertake in future

Provide additional training so that positions can be filled by internal candidates 46% | 36%   Down 10%

Improve benefits package  47% | 33% Down 14%

Offer higher starting salaries 54% | 24% Down 30%

People Talent Magnets

  A question I have for companies so worried about talent management, is whether they do really think ahead and consider the impact of recruiting the right leaders for their company?

Many good candidates are attracted by the calibre of the leaders (Managers and alike) in a business - they see them as a quality benchmark, charismatic people, people they would would enjoy working for and people they would follow. In simple terms these leaders are people talent magnets. They have skills, aptitude, charisma, gravitas and above all, great leadership skills. Managers like these are great at attracting like minded individuals to companies, and are usually the reason why really successful teams are built. So bearing this in mind, do companies actively try to recruit these types of people? Do they target future leaders when recruiting? Can they even identify future leaders and the benefits they could bring to the business?

I am not sure that many companies are even looking that far ahead when recruiting, but they should. People talent magnets will help solve some of the future recruiting problems - recruit them and talent will follow them into your company.

Xobni - a great new aid to networking

Some 'Tefal Heads' have really excelled here with a very clever and powerful plugin for Outlook. It is also very aptly named - Xobni - inbox backwards. This is worth checking out - you won't miss another network contact with this in your inbox!!. The video below is self explanitory.

This is why Jobster is Pants!!

Today in my inbox, an email from Jobster really epitomised why I think they are not doing as well as they should - ie they lost a stonking load of money last year!! While the idea of Jobster is a good one and they were there before Facebook with the social networking thing, it is their delivery and functionality that lets them down. So this is what they sent me - an email with 3 jobs that match my profile

My tags (which they presumably match on) are: UK; recruiter; talent acquisition; e-recruitment; consultant

So they sent me three jobs that 'match my profile' - 2 in the USA (!!) and one in the UK (one out of three); and two of them are IT technical roles - an Oracle Functional Consultant and a UI Programmer role.

Whether this is just sending out jobs for the sake of it I don't know, but not even to get the right country is pretty basic isn't it, let alone the basic skill match??

I banged the drum for Jobster hard at the beginning and was happy to sell the concept to clients, but soon after having experienced the inflexible, multiple page menu approach client side, it soon be apparent that it had the potential but not the poke. It was like putting an eco-fuel engine in a Mustang car - a complete mismatch! Receiving emails like this only go to confirm my thoughts!!

Want a smile - check out this fantastic & creative website

This has got absolutely nothing to do with recruitment, but this website is fantastic. Stick with it and just watch it, as there is more and more and more!! Obviously a very clever web designer got bored!! Even though it is in Dutch, don't worry it isn't needed!

Now, how can we apply the same concept to some recruitment sites.......................

Big fat retainers - the new insurance policy?

Everyone has heard the phrase, 'your reputation precedes you', but what if clients engaged you with large retainers for work they hope you won't do? What a nice job to have! Well a lady in the news currently is the top lawyer Fiona Shackleton, who recently defended Sir Paul McCartney against the viper tongued Heather Mills.

Her reputation does go before her and with a successful track record of winning high profile divorce cases (including two royal ones), she has found herself in an enviable position. A number of the worlds super-rich men actually retain Fiona's services (with huge retainers no doubt!) long before their marriage is even in trouble!!! Why, I hear you ask?  Simple really - it is their form of contingency insurance. It is aimed at stopping their wives using the formidable services of Fiona Shackleton, should the worst happen and they divorce!!

So before she is even needed, she has the pleasure of raising large invoices for work that may never happen!!  Is that a display of great business sense from these well-'healed men' or just extreme paranoia?

Are you a Mad Scientist, a Schmoozer or a Big Cheese?

Do you hunt, implement or influence? Your personality type can define your character, what you will achieve and how you perform in the business world. Matthew Baysfield from Tree has defined nine different personality types - can you identify which of these apply to you?

1. The High-flyer. You're at your best on the move, juggling several tasks and deftly changing plans when you need to. Freedom and flexibility suit you more than structure.
2. The Implementer.There is nothing you can't deliver if you put your mind to it. And what you deliver will be measured, thought through, checked, double checked and on budget.
3. The Influencer. You are conscientious, consistent and controlled in all you do, although you can be so busy anticipating problems and finding solutions that you forget to seek out opportunities.
4. The Hunter. You are really great at spotting new opportunities.You are not afraid of hard work and you thrive on pressure and uncertainty, unafraid to search out new opportunities.
5. The Schmoozer. You are just a born extrovert oozing with charisma, with social skills that others can only dream of! Your optimism and desire to achieve will take you far.
6. The Grafter. You are practical, methodical and unflappable in a crisis and always in control.You have great staying power, but you feel very uncomfortable stepping outside your comfort zone.
7. The Enthusiast.You work to live rather than live to work.You were born to sell, as your high levels of natural enthusiasm means people will tend to believe everything you tell them.
8. The Mad Scientist. How do you sleep with you brain working overtime with ideas? You have a preoccupation with making things work or perform better, to the detriment of actual work.
9. The Big Cheese. You are a born leader. Your goals and ambitions are highly defined and nothing will stop you reaching them - but only in a fair and ethical way.

MI6: Please apply for this job to be a Spy - just don't tell anyone!

MI6, the UK's secret intelligence service is embarking on a less than secret recruitment campaign. They are obviously having recruitment problems like every other company at the moment, as they today placed an advert in the Sunday Times for staff! I am guessing 'war for talent' is a more apt phrase for MI6 than it is for most other recruiting companies!!

Obviously I am not ridiculing the job MI6 do, as it is essential for national (and international) security, but we are not just talking about normal jobs we are also talking about spies - aka Operational Officers. So maybe they have guessed, that there are many wannabe UK spies out there!! So what skills do you need to apply then?

• Excellent at relationship building. The ability to read, understand and influence others.
• Political curiosity. A proven interest in world affairs.
• Sound judgment. Highly intelligent with excellent decision making ability.
• Resilience. Need to be determined, adaptable and resourceful.
• Integrity. Must be totally trustworthy and exercise total discretion.
• Commitment. Must be committed to helping protect the UK.

Right, if you think you can hack it as a spy (sorry, Operational Officer), start with this test to see how you score.

Done well? great off you go and apply then, but remember that 'MI6 stress that those who apply should not tell anyone about their application'!!

Google's Barbie Doll recruitment approach.

I read an article today by Matt Asay, which makes me wonder if Google are turning to blatant sexual stereotyping to aid their recruiting? Surely not I hear you cry, Google exploiting certain market sectors to get what they want?
Matt mentions that one of his friends was in San Jose for a corporate event. While waiting at the Marriott, he ran into a "swarm of beautiful young girls" that were "uniform in their good looks" and "Vogue like" beauties, coming out of the nearby Fairmont Hotel.

Bet you can't guess who they worked for? Google of course! And even better when asked what they did at Google the response was, "We're recruiters! Do you know Python?"  So no shallowness there then!! I wonder what the response would have been if he replied yes? Would they have sat him down and given him one of the impossible (and I mean impossible) Google tests (for engineers of course!)?

Using the "attractive young female" recruitment ploy in a male orientated market is nothing new, but with their position and status in the industry, do they really need to lower their standards and 'low-ball' their competition by using real life Barbie dolls to help them recruit staff? Maybe they should try the using the Stepford Wives next?

The 10 interests/hobbies you just DON'T want to put on your CV!!

As it is a Friday and it is always good to have a laugh on Fridays I thought I would share some mad, wacky and strange ' interest's, that I have come across on CV's this week. These are all definitely classified as "don't put these interests on your CV" :

1. Chinese Folk Dancing
2. Dog Surfing (???)
3. Painting toy soldiers from the Crimea War
4. Abnormal psychology of sharks
5. Ladybirds (??)
6. Medieval Re-enactment Society
7. Vampires
8. Collecting Tea Pots
9. Body Piercings
10. Collecting Fighting Boomerangs

I would like to point out that a) these are all from real CV's; b) I have no problem with any of them as interests/hobbies (the vampire one did worry me a little though!), but just don't ever put them on your CV and finally c) don't be surprised if they give people the wrong impression of you!!!!

So all you recruiters, who read many CV's each day  - what is the wierdest ones you have come across??