Assessing Cultural Fit When Building Your Office and Commercial Team This Year

February 29, 2024

Assessing Cultural Fit When Building Your Office and Commercial Team This Year

Whether you’re re-entering the workforce after a short break or ready to take the next step in your career path with an exciting new role, a Office and Commercial recruiter can be a valuable resource.

In today’s skills-short landscape, studies show it can take six months to find a new job.

The more competitive your industry, the longer the search for the right role can take. Working with a dedicated Office and Commercial recruiter doesn’t just improve your chances of finding a great position fast. It also gives you the guidance, expertise, and direction to achieve your career goals.

Recruiters can help you refine your personal brand, ensure you stand out to the right employers, and offer access to opportunities you can’t find yourself. The challenge is in finding the right recruiter to work with. Today, we’re covering the top ways you can ensure you choose the best recruitment partner for your career goals.

1. Alignment with Your Priorities

When an employer starts working with a Office and Commercial recruitment partner, the first thing they do is define the talent they need, their available job openings, and their requirements. Similarly, when looking for a recruiter to assist in your job search, you need a clear understanding of your priorities and specific needs. Think about:

  • The type of role you want: Are you searching for a temporary or permanent position? Do you want a remote role, hybrid flexibility, or a position where you work in-house at a specific location? Are you going to work part-time or full-time?
  • Your ideal company culture: What sort of culture do you want to be a part of? Do you want to prioritise diversity, equity, and inclusion? Do you need an empathetic and flexible workplace that adapts to your needs?
  • Values and requirements: What will most influence your decision of where to work? For instance, 88% of job seekers say a healthy culture is vital to success. Some people focus more on benefits and salary, while others look for growth and development opportunities.

Clearly identifying your priorities will ensure you can find a recruiter who adheres to your specific needs and expectations and shares your values.

2. Specialist Industry Knowledge

While any recruiter might be able to enhance and simplify your job search, you’ll always get better results from a recruiter who understands your industry, field, or sector. Specialist recruiters with a deep knowledge of the Office and Commercial landscape can give you an edge over the competition.

They know what hiring managers are specifically looking for in a candidate, from the required soft and hard skills to the credentials that will make you stand out. They know which challenges you’ll face in your job search, how to overcome them, and which channels they can use to find job opportunities for people with your skills.

Industry-specialized recruiters are better equipped to match you with the right opportunities. They can help you with everything from optimising your CV and cover letter to boosting your impact during interviews.

3. A Proven Track Record

The best Office and Commercial recruiter should be able to demonstrate evidence of their success in placing candidates like you in the right role. When you are looking for a good track record, don’t just pay attention to how many candidates your recruiter placed. Find proof that your recruiter can match the right candidate to the correct role.

Up to 30% of new hires leave a position within 90 days simply because the culture, benefits, or workplace doesn’t match their needs. A great recruiter should help you to find a Office and Commercial job you can thrive in for as long as you choose.

While you can usually read client and candidate reviews on a recruitment companies website, it’s worth diving a little deeper. Consider asking for case studies and success stories from previous clients. Ask questions about how your recruiter defines a “successful” placement.

4. Clear Communication

An excellent Office and Commercial recruiter should always be able to offer an exceptional candidate experience. That starts with a commitment to clear, consistent, and transparent communication. Your ideal recruiter should be able to answer any questions you have about how they select roles to suit your needs and how they measure and report on their results.

They should be clear about their pricing structure, the terms and conditions of their contracts, and the level of support they provide. For instance, does your recruiter direct you to Office and Commercial role opportunities, or do they also function as a guide and a coach?

Find out whether they can help you prepare for interviews, optimise your CV and enhance your professional brand. Find out how easy it will be to get responses to any questions you might have through your preferred contact method. Prioritise recruitment agencies that keep you informed and supported every step of the way.

5. Broad Networks and Relationship-Building Skills

The best recruiters don’t just save you time searching through job boards for the right Office and Commercial roles. They specialise in giving you access to opportunities you can’t find yourself. Studies show that only around 33% of job openings are filled through posts on job boards.

Many of the best opportunities will never be listed publicly, and the right recruiter can help you access these opportunities. They’ll have pre-existing relationships with industry-leading brands, forums, and groups that give you access to new opportunities.

Recruiters can use their network and their relationships in your industry to point you towards difficult-to-find openings. They can even help to place you in a company’s talent pipeline, so you’re the first to know when a competitive job opportunity emerges in a specific business.

6. A Personalised Approach

Though many Office and Commercial recruiters will use similar methodologies and proven strategies to help place candidates in the right roles, their approach should be customised to your needs. The best recruiters understand every person in the Office and Commercial industry has aspirations, skills, and challenges to overcome.

They’ll take the time to discover what matters most for you when searching for a role, and they’ll adapt their services accordingly.

Some can even offer specialist support for those who need help with specific things, like optimising their professional brand or preparing for interviews.

Find out, in advance, how your recruiter can tailor their services to your requirements to ensure you always get the best results. It may even be worth asking whether they can work with you long-term to help you pursue promotions and growth opportunities in your space.

Choosing the Right Office and Commercial Recruiter

A specialist Office and Commercial recruiter is one of the most valuable resources you have in today’s competitive job market. More than just a solution to help streamline your job search, the right partner will act as a coach, guide, and constant source of support as you work towards your career goals.

Choosing a team or individual with a proven track record, shared values, industry specialization, networking skills, clear communication, and a personalised approach will boost your chances of success. With the steps above, you should be able to identify the best recruiter to help you secure the role you’ve always wanted in the Office and Commercial landscape.

Why Developing Your Personal Brand is a Good Idea This Year

February 26, 2024

In today’s competitive job market, a strong personal brand is more valuable than you’d think. Employers searching for top talent no longer consider only a person’s CV, cover letter, and credentials. They examine your entire personal brand, looking at the characteristics and attributes that set you apart from competing candidates.

While demand for candidates is increasing this year, the market is still extremely competitive, particularly as business leaders navigate difficult economic environments and budget shortages.

Whether you’re re-entering the job market or looking for new opportunities, developing a strong personal brand could boost your chances of success.

In fact, according to LinkedIn, 71% of professionals believe a good personal brand opens the door to new career opportunities.

Here’s why personal branding is important and how to build a brand with the right impact.

The Importance of Personal Branding in 2024

Your personal brand is a culmination of all your skills, values, experiences, and personality traits. It shapes how employers and peers view you in the landscape, what value they assign you as an employee, and even how you view yourself in your career.

A positive personal brand has always been a valuable resource for candidates and employees. The right brand helps you gain credibility as an industry professional, draw attention to your unique values, and capture the attention of employers.

However, the demand for personal branding is set to be even higher this year. Although there are significant skill shortages, finding the right role can be extremely difficult. Some studies suggest candidates can spend up to 6 monthsfinding a new position.

Today, the job market will be characterised by rapid changes as workplaces evolve, leading to demand for new skills and abilities. Competition will increase, particularly for roles with the best benefits and salaries in a difficult economic landscape.

Additionally, business leaders will become more discerning when choosing which candidates to add to their team as hiring budgets diminish. A personal brand will ensure you can access the right roles and demonstrate your value to your employer. It could even be the key to opening the door for promotion opportunities in the future.

The Benefits of Personal Branding Today

With 95% of recruiters now predicting the job market will become more competitive in the years ahead, personal branding has never been more valuable for candidates. A well-crafted personal brand can deliver a host of benefits, including:

  • Improved differentiation: A strong personal brand highlights your unique values and attributes, positioning you as the ideal person for a role. With your personal brand, you can separate yourself from the competition and increase your ability to access new roles.
  • Better online visibility: Working on your personal brand on social media platforms like LinkedIn can make you more visible to potential employers. Around 85% of recruiters and H.R. professionals say an employee’s online reputation influences hiring decisions.
  • Greater trust and credibility: A consistent and authentic personal brand builds credibility for you as an employee. Hiring managers and business leaders are likelier to hire and promote team members with a clear track record of expertise and shared values.
  • New career opportunities: Enhancing your personal brand and demonstrating thought leadership online and offline opens the door to new opportunities. It can help you expand your network and form relationships with people who guide you towards new positions.
  • Adaptability: As industries evolve and job opportunities change, your personal brand can act as a testament to your adaptability, continuous focus on growth, and willingness to learn. This can ensure you can apply for new roles in a difficult market.

How to Start Developing Your Personal Brand

The good news for candidates is that developing a strong personal brand doesn’t have to be as complex as it seems. You can even consider working with specialist recruiters in your industry for guidance, building your online presence, and showcasing the right attributes in CVs, cover letters, and online profiles.

Here are some of the key steps involved in building a personal brand:

1.    Conduct a Self-Assessment

First, you need a clear understanding of your strengths, positive attributes, and abilities as a professional in the industry.

Take a closer look at your skills and accomplishments in previous years.

Think about the key attributes that set you apart from other competing candidates in your industry, such as a focus on adaptability or a willingness to learn. What do you want to be known for in your sector, and what do you need to work on to improve your value to employers?

2.    Define Your Audience

Once you clearly understand your strengths and weaknesses, think about the target audience you’re trying to impress. If you’re hoping to access new promotions within your current role, it’s important to know which values and skills your employer values. If you’re trying to secure a new position, consider what matters most to new employers.

For instance, in 2024, 68% of employers prioritise digital skills, 82% focus on analytical skills, and 57% pay more attention to employee resilience.

Looking at the job descriptions posted by the companies you want to work for or speaking to a recruitment can help you identify which key attributes to highlight in your personal brand.

3.    Optimise Your Online Presence

90% of recruiters conduct online research to learn more about potential candidates. Another 70% say they’ve rejected candidates based on the information they found online. Search for your name and examine what information appears.

Is your LinkedIn profile complete and up to date? Does it accurately highlight your experience, skills, and credentials? If you have other social media profiles, what do they say about who you are as a person and employee? You might even consider developing a portfolio or website where you can tell people more about your skills and achievements.

4.    Invest in Networking

Developing your network is one of the best ways to enhance your personal brand and ensure its visibility to the right people. Join industry-specific groups on LinkedIn and Facebook, visit forums related to your industry, or work with a recruitment agency to strengthen your connections with new groups and potential employers.

Invest in both online and offline networking whenever possible. This means attending industry events and online webinars, joining professional organisations, and even searching for mentors or peers in your niche.

5.    Demonstrate Expertise Consistently

To further draw attention to your personal brand in the workplace, commit some time to creating and distributing thought leadership content. You can create blogs and articles you share through your website or social media pages. You could publish videos on YouTube or even create your podcast.

Whatever content you invest in, ensure you consistently send the same message about your values, abilities, and strengths. Using a consistent style, tone of voice, and messaging across all platforms will enhance your credibility.

6.    Be Ready to Evolve and Adapt

While consistency is important for a personal brand, it’s important to understand that your brand and the needs of employers will change over time.

Stay up to date with industry trends so you can draw more focus on the skills and characteristics that will help you appeal to future employers. Ensure you update your online profiles and social media accounts whenever you accomplish something new, highlighting your commitment to constant growth. This will make you more appealing to today’s dynamic employers.

Building a Strong Personal Brand

Effective personal branding has always been crucial to success in the job market. However, as recruitment processes change and employer priorities evolve, ensuring you’re effectively building and showcasing your personal brand is becoming increasingly crucial.

Follow the steps above to create a brand with impact in 2024, and work with your specialist recruitment agency to position that brand in front of the right employers.

 

At Everpool Recruitment, we’re committed to helping candidates like you stand out in a competitive job market. Get in touch with our team today to assist. Don’t settle for a standard application—let your personal brand speak for you. Your dream job awaits! Call us at 0151 556 2090 or email us here info@everpoolrecruitment.com.

6 Ways to Spot the Right Legal Recruiter for Your Career

February 16, 2024

6 Ways to Spot the Right Legal Recruiter for Your Career

Whether you’re re-entering the workforce after a short break or ready to take the next step in your career path with an exciting new role, a Legal recruiter can be a valuable resource.

In today’s skills-short landscape, studies show it can take six months to find a new job.

The more competitive your industry, the longer the search for the right role can take. Working with a dedicated Legal recruiter doesn’t just improve your chances of finding a great position fast. It also gives you the guidance, expertise, and direction to achieve your career goals.

Recruiters can help you refine your personal brand, ensure you stand out to the right employers, and offer access to opportunities you can’t find yourself. The challenge is in finding the right recruiter to work with. Today, we’re covering the top ways you can ensure you choose the best recruitment partner for your career goals.

1. Alignment with Your Priorities

When an employer starts working with a Legal recruitment partner, the first thing they do is define the talent they need, their available job openings, and their requirements. Similarly, when looking for a recruiter to assist in your job search, you need a clear understanding of your priorities and specific needs. Think about:

  • The type of role you want: Are you searching for a temporary or permanent position? Do you want a remote role, hybrid flexibility, or a position where you work in-house at a specific location? Are you going to work part-time or full-time?
  • Your ideal company culture: What sort of culture do you want to be a part of? Do you want to prioritise diversity, equity, and inclusion? Do you need an empathetic and flexible workplace that adapts to your needs?
  • Values and requirements: What will most influence your decision of where to work? For instance, 88% of job seekers say a healthy culture is vital to success. Some people focus more on benefits and salary, while others look for growth and development opportunities.

Clearly identifying your priorities will ensure you can find a recruiter who adheres to your specific needs and expectations and shares your values.

2. Specialist Industry Knowledge

While any recruiter might be able to enhance and simplify your job search, you’ll always get better results from a recruiter who understands your industry, field, or sector. Specialist recruiters with a deep knowledge of the Legal landscape can give you an edge over the competition.

They know what hiring managers are specifically looking for in a candidate, from the required soft and hard skills to the credentials that will make you stand out. They know which challenges you’ll face in your job search, how to overcome them, and which channels they can use to find job opportunities for people with your skills.

Industry-specialized recruiters are better equipped to match you with the right opportunities. They can help you with everything from optimising your CV and cover letter to boosting your impact during interviews.

3. A Proven Track Record

The best Legal recruiter should be able to demonstrate evidence of their success in placing candidates like you in the right role. When you are looking for a good track record, don’t just pay attention to how many candidates your recruiter placed. Find proof that your recruiter can match the right candidate to the correct role.

Up to 30% of new hires leave a position within 90 days simply because the culture, benefits, or workplace doesn’t match their needs. A great recruiter should help you to find a Legal job you can thrive in for as long as you choose.

While you can usually read client and candidate reviews on a recruitment website, it’s worth diving a little deeper. Consider asking for case studies and success stories from previous clients. Ask questions about how your recruiter defines a “successful” placement.

4. Clear Communication

An excellent Legal recruiter should always be able to offer an exceptional candidate experience. That starts with a commitment to clear, consistent, and transparent communication. Your ideal recruiter should be able to answer any questions you have about how they select roles to suit your needs and how they measure and report on their results.

They should be clear about their pricing structure, the terms and conditions of their contracts, and the level of support they provide. For instance, does your recruiter direct you to Legal role opportunities, or do they also function as a guide and a coach?

Find out whether they can help you prepare for interviews, optimise your CV, and enhance your professional brand. Find out how easy it will be to get responses to any questions you might have through your preferred contact method. Prioritise recruitment agencies that keep you informed and supported every step of the way.

5. Broad Networks and Relationship-Building Skills

The best recruiters don’t just save you time searching through job boards for the right Legal roles. They specialise in giving you access to opportunities you can’t find yourself. Studies show that only around 33% of job openings are filled through posts on job boards.

Many of the best opportunities will never be listed publicly, and the right recruiter can help you access these opportunities. They’ll have pre-existing relationships with industry-leading brands, forums, and groups that give you access to new opportunities.

Recruiters can use their network and their relationships in your industry to point you towards difficult-to-find openings. They can even help to place you in a company’s talent pipeline, so you’re the first to know when a competitive job opportunity emerges in a specific business.

6. A Personalised Approach

Though many Legal recruiters will use similar methodologies and proven strategies to help place candidates in the right roles, their approach should be customised to your needs. The best recruiters understand every person in the Legal industry has aspirations, skills, and challenges to overcome.

They’ll take the time to discover what matters most for you when searching for a role, and they’ll adapt their services accordingly.

Some can even offer specialist support for those who need help with specific things, like optimising their professional brand or preparing for interviews.

Find out, in advance, how your recruiter can tailor their services to your requirements to ensure you always get the best results. It may even be worth asking whether they can work with you long-term to help you pursue promotions and growth opportunities in your space.

Choosing the Right Legal Recruiter

A specialist Legal recruiter is one of the most valuable resources you have in today’s competitive job market. More than just a solution to help streamline your job search, the right partner will act as a coach, guide, and constant source of support as you work towards your career goals.

Choosing a team or individual with a proven track record, shared values, industry specialization, networking skills, clear communication, and a personalised approach will boost your chances of success. With the steps above, you should be able to identify the best recruiter to help you secure the role you’ve always wanted in the Legal landscape.

 

At Everpool Recruitment, we have been helping firms acquire talent, and Legal job seekers find their ideal roles for numerous years. We have placed four thousand candidates; if you want to find out how we can help, call us at 0151 556 2090 or email us here info@everpoolrecruitment.com

5 Ways To Ensure Diversity and Inclusion In Your IT Hiring Process

February 15, 2024

The importance of a diverse and inclusive workforce has never been greater. Studies demonstrate that diversity in the IT workplace promotes better business outcomes. Diverse companies are 35% more likely to outperform their competitors financially and 17% more likely to be innovation leaders.

What’s more, 80% of candidates say they prioritise evidence of inclusion when choosing a new employer. Unfortunately, unconscious bias remains a consistent problem in the recruitment landscape, influencing hiring decisions.

With this in mind, business leaders need a strategy to champion diversity and inclusion with existing employees and when sourcing new candidates.

Here are several ways hiring teams and managers can optimise recruitment for diversity and inclusion.

1.   Create a Diverse Hiring Team

The first step in developing a more diverse and inclusive recruitment strategy is to diversify the people responsible for evaluating your IT candidates.

Unconscious bias affects all of us, but how it influences our decisions varies depending on our backgrounds and experiences.

Making the recruitment process a collaborative effort, driven by a team of people with different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, reduces the risk of one set of biases influencing every recruitment choice.

When several individuals are involved in the hiring process, including team leaders and professionals from different departments, people can work together to ensure the focus is on finding the IT candidate with the right skills. There’s less risk of issues like “affinity bias” getting in the way. Plus, we’re more likely to see the biases in others than in ourselves, leading to a higher level of accountability among your group.

A good way to get an edge is to work with a IT recruitment company already trained in diverse recruiting to guide your process.

2.   Develop Inclusive Job Descriptions

Inclusive job descriptions are essential to capturing the attention of a diverse range of candidates. Yet research from the CIPD, a respected body in the U.K., shows less than a fifth of employers make efforts to remove bias from job adverts and descriptions. In a competitive talent landscape, it’s common for business leaders to use eye-catching and flowery language to engage potential employees.

However, some of this language can unintentionally show bias. For instance, certain terms like “decisive” and “ambitious” are seen as stereotypically masculine, while others like “compassionate” can be seen as feminine.

There are even terms in IT job descriptions that can show a preference for a candidate of a specific age, such as “young go-getter” or “industry veteran”.

Carefully assess your job descriptions to find words associated with identity-based stereotypes using online language decoders or working with your recruitment or search partner.

Focus on highlighting the skills, competencies, and qualifications required for a role rather than highlighting desired traits.

Additionally, ensure your IT job descriptions highlight your company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion by drawing attention to your versatile culture.

3.   Implement Blind CV Screening

As we have already mentioned, unconscious bias is a persistent issue that’s difficult to overcome in any recruitment process. According to Harvard Business Review, up to 97% of hiring managers still say they rely on intuition or gut instinct when evaluating a candidate.

Unfortunately, in the IT industry, reliance on intuition can allow unconscious bias and preferences to get in the way of intelligent hiring decisions. Blind CV screening can address this problem by removing the unimportant information affecting hiring choices.

Use A.I. technology, or ask your IT recruitment to remove personally identifiable information from applications such as names, addresses and photos. This will allow hiring managers to focus their attention on examining the skills and competencies of each applicant rather than homing in on irrelevant factors.

4.   Use Structured Interviews

In recent years, unstructured and informal interviews have become increasingly common in IT. Yet studies show that structured interviews are more effective at helping hiring managers predict their candidates’ potential job performance.

With structured interviews, hiring teams ask candidates a predefined set of questions, chosen based on the recruitment goals of the organisation. Responses are then scored using consistent criteria to help determine the best fit for the role.

For instance, a question could test whether a candidate is aware of the risks involved in a particular process, and then scores could be given for each risk identified. A structured process is an excellent way to ensure every candidate is evaluated fairly. They make it easier for panels to compare candidates using relevant criteria directly.

5.   Offer Diversity Training

Studies indicate around 13 common hiring biases, yet many business leaders aren’t aware of what they are. As a result, creating an inclusive and diverse IT hiring strategy starts with awareness.

Training your hiring managers and team members on diversity, equity, and inclusion topics can help them identify and mitigate their biases. Educate your team members on the importance of diversity and make it easy for them to understand where biases come from.

For instance, you could provide insights into the origins of confirmation bias, where people often look for evidence to support their assumptions and ignore contradictory information. While it’s important to ensure business leaders and hiring managers access this training, it’s also worth ensuring the same training is available to every team member.

This will help to create a more diverse and inclusive company culture where everyone sees the value of eliminating bias and discrimination.

Bonus Tip: Set Diversity Goals and Metrics

Finally, one additional way to ensure diversity and inclusion throughout your IT business is to set specific goals. Examine your existing workforce, and ask yourself where to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion.

You may decide it’s important to increase the number of women in your management team or ensure you offer employment opportunities to younger and older candidates. A hiring dashboard can give you a better insight into your level of diversity and inclusion and ensure you can measure your progress towards each goal you set.

Identify key metrics to monitor, such as retention rates per group, employee engagement levels, and the number of staff members hired from different backgrounds. Clear goals and metrics will help keep your IT business accountable when implementing D.E.I. strategies.

Transform Your Hiring Process with Diversity and Inclusion

Today’s IT teams rely on high levels of diversity and inclusion for business success. A more diverse team leads to greater productivity and improves financial performance. At the same time, inclusion paves the way for better employee engagement and retention.

Implementing the abovementioned strategies will ensure you’re widening your talent pool and sourcing professionals from different backgrounds in a skills-short hiring landscape. A IT recruitment agency can also help give you an edge by introducing new and effective ways to eliminate bias from your hiring methods.

 

At Everpool Recruitment, we have been helping firms master diverse and inclusive hiring in the industry. If you want to find out how we can help, call us at 0151 556 2090 or email us at info@everpoolrecruitment.com