Recruitment HELP!

[dchaddah]

In need of help please.....!

Im going for a 2nd interview tomo at a recruitment company for the role of a Junior Consultant and have been asked to do presentation on:

"How would I approach setting up a new Desk?"

IS there anyone here who is in recruiment and can point me in the right direction. (Ive managed to get past all the other candidates and want to make sure I dont mess it up when I meet the MD tomo!)

Thanks

 

[Silvertank]

I'm not specifically into recruitment but I'm sure these standard business processes could be tailored to meet your requirements.

By the way, remember you've got this far in the process, so they must be pretty keen There probably are no right or wrong answers.

If I was tasked to set up a new desk (or new anything) I would first of all do an audit of the enviroment. This means looking at what happens internally, then externally. You can split the external environment into two; the Near Environment can be influenced by you as a consultant and the organisations/people within the Near Enviroment can also influence your business. The far Environment can influence you indirectly, but you have no direct control over it.

Internal Environment: Check internally that there are the resources availabe for this new venture. Analyse management issues and gain the help and trust of an advocate inside the organisation, whether that be another consultant or a manager of some description.

Near Enviroment: What are your competitors up to? More research along these lines. How do the companies you want to target curretly get their staff, how best can you tap into this market.

Far Environment: This is the stuff you can't influence - and can be summarised by a STEEP analysis.
1. Social Factors: Demographic changes, patterns of work, household structure, patterns of consumption, gender roles
2. Technological Factors: lowering barriers of time and place, creates new industries, nature of internal services has been transformed.
3. Economic Factors: growth rate, interest rate, inflation, energy prices, exchange rates, unemployment.
4. Environmental Factors: legislation, information, employees, shareholders, pressure groups, customers
5. Political Factors: legislations, trading relationships, government as customer, level and nature of public services, governments in commercial sectors, regulation, permissions, taxes.

Once youve done all of this, you could talk about doing a SWOT analysis.

Strength, weakness, Opportunity and Threat. Some good stuff can be found here: http://www.bplans.com/ma/article.cfm/148?sf=near%20environment&match=best

Try and use some graphs and stuff to back up your presentation. Do you know if there will be a computer available for yu to use? if so could you prepare a few PP slides. Aything to give you an edge over the other candidates.

I hope this helps or provides you with a starter - good luck

Tank

ps I hope I'm trying to teach you to suck eggs. But I apologise if I am.

 

[dchaddah]

Im working on a PP presentation at the moment. Will post once Ive got something together. Any pointers would be good.
Oh and the other task I have to do is.... a 2 Page typed essay on something Im passionate about! (what have I let myself in for!!!)

 

[saorbust]

Two schools of thought on this - some do the pre-planned presentation and deliver it. I've always gone for the 2nd one, planned the presentation, but only turned up with notes and a marker pen.

Then effectively chalked 'n' talked. Requires a lot of confidence and a good understanding of your topic / situation - only do this if you really feel comfortable - it looks impressive if done well, but can also bomb if poorly done.

Expect to get grilled, expect to have some very difficult questions thrown at you. Do not say 'I don't know' - its a killer. Say something like 'I'll make a note of that and get back to you'. Expect to come out feeling exhausted.

On your two pager - write about www.mbclub.co.uk - its a no brainer.

 

[Silvertank]

Expect to get grilled, expect to have some very difficult questions thrown at you. Do not say 'I don't know' - its a killer. Say something like 'I'll make a note of that and get back to you'. Expect to come out feeling exhausted.

On your two pager - write about www.mbclub.co.uk - its a no brainer.

I agree. If you really don't know then don't waffle. As Saorbust said there's nothing wrong with saying I'll get back to you. But also try and say how you'll get back to them, for example, you need to research that area more thoroughly, or you know someone in tha field and will check with them etc. The standard 'I'll go away and find out' is getting a tad worn out these days . Don't be afraid to admit you don't know the answer - we can't know everything! But if you don't know make suggestions how you'd find out.

Also, top tip in the presentation, if you make any recommendations - talk about the advantages and disadvantages of your ideas. Also, don't be afraid to ask them questions - like 'Where do they consider the srategic direction of the company' - make sure you have an answer too though, because it might come straight back.

Whe they are talking the spot light is off you - so go armed with some questions!

 

[BonzoDog]

Some good stuff there.
I particularly like the idea with teh question. Put a question to them at the start. It is a winner attention getter and they are kept on the edges of their chairs waiting to see if you do it again.
In these circumstances I try to think about what problem they rae tyring to solve and all teh questions they want answered, even the difficult ones that you may not want to anser. Write this all down (at least that's what i do) and then it is stuck in your mind.
Ideally only try to get over two or three key points but certainly no more than five - they start to forget you and what you said.
Key is that you control the meeting. If you have the confidence to use a flip and marker it is far more engaing and personal than most other methods. They get the real you.

 

[Satch]

Advice from Silertank is spot on.

A few things to dwell on though. From the other end of the telescope (i.e I get a lot of calls from Recruitment Consultants and have randon CV's mailed to me) think the key skill is to understand the market and the needs of the client, especially so if trying to place people in a specialist field.

Why does anybody think:

I need a newly qualified Kiwi accountant fresh off the plane on a thinly disguised three year holiday when I am after someone with live experience of North American property investment funds?

am just so happy to get a routine follow up call every three months from somebody who terminates the call the very second they find I do not, at that precise moment, have an open job to fill?

they can even hope to place people with my business when they have never met me, the people I work with and do not understand what our key value drivers and required skill sets are?

Well that, or something very like it, happens all the time and not just to me.

The answer is that many Recruitment Businesses are volume and target driven, have a revolving door policy for their own staff who take a scattergun approach and hope for the best. High staff turnover means never deal with the same Consultant for more than a year or so and they can never get to understand your needs. In a market for low or easily transferable skills not a problem but otherwise utterly hopeless.

Do not want to rain on your chosen career but I have to tell you that as a result in the opinion of many a lot of "Big" Recruitment Consultant firms are on a par with or below Estate Agents in terms of what they can deliver.

At the other end of the spectrum are Consultants who understand their clients and take time and trouble, not being harried into meeting their monthly volume targets.

So first thing to work out is what your desk is going to be doing: providing endless flow of half wits to gut/play baseball with Turkeys for Bernard Matthews or meet the needs of a specialist market where candidates with the right skills are not easily found.

Understand what it is your prospective employer wants to hear from you. For your sake, I do hope it is not one of those who try to sell people the same way as supermarkets do tins of baked beans but if it is pitch accordingly and with lots of positive noises. But never try to BS.

Good luck

 

[dchaddah]

Satch,

The company Im going to is not a high street based and and not quantity driven (Made sure of that) They are recruiting for the mid-senior finance level. Average salary is £35k+.

The MD is a really nice woman and on speaking to her on the telephone I actually told her that if her company was quantity driven than Im not really interested. As Im looking for somewhere building relationships is also a key factor. She seemed to like the approach so let see what happens tomo!

 

[imadoofus]

The MD is a really nice woman and on speaking to her on the telephone I actually told her that if her company was quantity driven than Im not really interested. As Im looking for somewhere building relationships is also a key factor. She seemed to like the approach so let see what happens tomo!

I think it's fair that you go in with your eyes open. A business exists for two reasons:
1. To turn a profit
2. To generate cash.

To say that it's not quantity driven is either untrue, or it's a sign that the business won't be there in a year. I do believe that there is a place for low-volume high-commission recruitment consultants, but I would suggest that it's more likely to be in the £60k+ arena than £35k+, which is where Reed Finance, Hays, Michael Page et al all compete.

I've worked with many consultants over the years, both as a candidate and a recruiter. They are all after volume, same as me.

Having said which, I believe strongly in relationships. Those consultants I have found to be trustworthy, attentive and competent have been in my Rolodex for many years. You gets what you pays for, and if you can ally yourself with a firm that displays all those values, then you'll be OK.

My only advice can be don't bullsh!t. Be very wary of straying outside your own expertise. For example, in the "Setting up a desk" scenario; if you're not currently a recruitment professional (forgive me if you are), then use Silvertank's approach, but try not to be too recruitment-specific unless you know exactly what you're talking about. They do, and if you try to wing it, they'll spot that. Know your limitations, and don't be too afraid to admit them. You're interviewing for a Junior Consultant role. They don't expect you to actually be able to set up a new desk; they just want to know that you've got some sense, and that you're prepared to put the effort in (which you'll have to in preparing the presentation). You've got this far, and recruitment is as much about personality as anything else. Show them the real you.

PJ

 

[Satch]

Satch,

The company Im going to is not a high street based and and not quantity driven (Made sure of that) They are recruiting for the mid-senior finance level. Average salary is £35k+.

Good. But that mid-senior finance market is the very one I was talking about!

 

[GazCaff]

In need of help please.....!

Im going for a 2nd interview tomo at a recruitment company for the role of a Junior Consultant and have been asked to do presentation on:

"How would I approach setting up a new Desk?"

IS there anyone here who is in recruiment and can point me in the right direction. (Ive managed to get past all the other candidates and want to make sure I dont mess it up when I meet the MD tomo!)

Thanks

I'm glad I wasn't the first person to respond, my answer to the question posed would be to turn up with a couple of screwdrivers and some wood glue!

Seriously, while recruitment is way outside my own field of expertise, I'd have to say that all the advice everyone else has given looks good!

Good luck with your application!

 

[Silvertank]

Good luck - let us know how it went.

 

[dchaddah]

will do...

Just finished the essay Had to write about something I was passionate about

Afte a few hours of banging my head against a brick wall, ended up with a 2 page essay on e-commerce and the internet! Dont ask why but figured if they ask why im passionate I can always say im overwhelmed by the fact that I can research buy and save money with delivery to my door!

Its probably not the best idea but brain is dead. Wish I had been given more than 12hrs notice!

 

[Ian B Walker]

Just a bit from me. When siteing a desk never have it facing a door that people will walk though, have it at an angle so as not to intimidate whoever walks in.

 

[Martin clk]

As I've recruited many Junior Consultants, please allow me to tell you what I'd look for you to say.

Make volume calls to businesses to source their vacancies, the more you dial blah blah blah.
Source vacancies from candidates - if a candidate is leaving their current position ask who their line manager is and can you get a reference from them. Call the manager direct to get a personal verbal reference whilst a written reference is on its way to HR, this looks like you take your position very seriously, whilst on the phone ask what vacancies they have. Never ask "IF" they have vacancies, always ask "What" vacancies they have. Most line managers never get the chance to do ref's as HR depts are anal about it.

Back to the subject in hand -
Candidates are a great source for vacancies, ask candidates if they know of anyone else thats just started a new job, call that company.
Local Job papers are a great source but every agency under the sun will be doing the same thing and most of the advertisers will be getting pretty upset at the amount of calls.

I personally think that there is no substitute for a consultant who comes in and hammers the phones to get vacancies. Dont be fooled by the professional image of recruitment. Its a sales role, all about figures and believe me. If you dont meet your targets in the first 3 months you'll be out the door. I've hired and fires so many Trainees it really scares me. Be prepared for hard work and lots of pressure. If you handle it and successful then be prepared to buy a new wallet and look forward to a quality standard of living. I made 5k commission in my 5th month and never looked back.

Tell them you're motivated by money and all the nice things that you like. Dont be scared to say this, if you're hungry and they see it, they'll know what to expect.

The whole presentation thing is bullsh1t, I guess they want to see how you handle the pressure. I'd go in, be confident, remember that they already like you, and start talking about numbers. The more dials, the more vacancies, the higher the chance of making placements.

One thing to remember is what I said above about the number of Trainee/Junior consultants. I'd imagine that they will be the same, so they will be looking for "the one". Have a bit of spark about you.

Go and watch GlenGarry Glen Ross, remember your A.B.C;s "A- Always, B-Be, C-Closing"

I hope this hasnt been patronising and has been of some use. PM me if you need to ask anything else.

 

[dchaddah]

martin

Thanks, Im well aware its a sales role, and having experience of working for myself Im aware of pressure. Im actually looking forward to finding a job where I can get my teeth in but get the rewards for doing so.

Any advise appreciated it only helps you learn!

 

[Spinal]

I just wanted to sneak in a quick thanks to everyone; I've been reading this quite avidly as I too am searching for a job (at a lower level, I'm, just a small peon /graduate )

I have already added some of your lines to my list of things to remember!

Michele

 

[dchaddah]

Update

Had the interview today and I think it went ok met the MD and CEO

Find out tomorrow if I have got the job or not!

A big thank you to everyone, took most of it on board and think I managed to make the positive points come across.

 

[Martin clk]

Great News !!

Was just about to post and see how you got on, hopefully as well as you expect.

Keep us all posted

 

[dchaddah]

Recruitment HELP! UPDATE

Just an update to say Ive been offered the role! :bannana:

Just want to thank everyone who advised. All advice was greatly appreciated! I think an early start in the pub is required


Thanks once again!