Sector Experience

Yesterday I had a useful discussion with a recruiter about a role that she is trying to recruit for on behalf of a client and she was apologetic to me that her client was being so specific about the background required for the role. She could see that undoubtedly I have the competences to do the role but having had her remit for the role and also having seen previous candidates being rejected she knew it would be a futile exercise for her to try to place me. And importantly we did not want me to be sitting here waiting for the telephone call to interview when she/I knew that there could only be one outcome.

That approach was refreshing for me to see. Of course, I was disappointed because this would have been a blue chip top notch employer and they would have had a fantastic employee!!!

But what it got me thinking about was how I could brand myself differently so that recruiters and potential employing businesses could see my background met their needs. I can't hide the fact that I have so many years of experience and in so many different business sectors - indeed, I see that as very much a bonus for me in my sales pitch. I have constantly shown that I can fit into different organisations, different sectors and deliver a superbly professional HR service.

So what I am working on at the moment is a "comparison table" for me to circulate to people that will help them to see behind the sector. For example, I can claim to have retail experience. Some of it comes from the early part of my career, but there is more recent experience on my CV as well - and maybe that doesn't shout from the current information. 

What about international experience? What about matrix reporting organisations? Etc etc.

I guess what I'm doing is trying to give people more evidence to allow them to make more positive decisions about my application to work for their business. In the public sector, they'd describe it as a Personal Statement. But for me this will be more than that and will be a real strong branding exercise for me that will tell My Story and show that experience never goes away.

For all job seekers, it is frustrating when you read an advert and think that you're a perfect fit and then hear nothing more. Maybe this is a way to dot the i's and cross the t's. Go a bit further and the pot of gold will be there. Maybe. It can't do any harm.

We often talk about HR being a transferable role and that it should not be a barrier to getting a job in any organisation. I need to take that a bit further and showcase myself so that readers of my CV and any other documentation, on line or not, offer me interviews and jobs. So its a work in progress but something I feel I need to complete asap.

As always thanks for reading. Please share and like and comment as appropriate. My LinkedIn profile is there for you to view and contact me if there's an HR role you would like to discuss with me.

(c) Iain Williamson 2012

Selfish and Self Obsessed Job Seekers

It is a 24 hour job looking for a job. Hunting down that elusive role takes up all your waking time and as the situation continues maybe even effects your sleeping time as well.

It becomes an all consuming exercise. You wake up. You turn on the pc. You read your emails. You look at job boards. You apply for jobs. You make telephone calls. You rewrite your CV. You read more emails. Etc. Etc. Etc. Etc. Then back to bed for sleep.

Doesn't that sound like a miserable existence? Yes and that is why you have to think about the others around you and recognise that you need to give them time as well. Of course, they are supportive of you and want you to find a role as soon as possible but never forget them and what they do for you.

My wife, Roksolana, supports me in any way she can. It might be as simple as a cup of tea or a bite to eat but it's support. She also tells me to get away from the pc and rest for a bit - that way she gets me refreshed for more of the job search.

She helps me prepare for interviews and helps me to think wider in terms of what I am looking for and doing to achieve it. She acknowledges my skills and competences and reminds me why she married me - you will excuse me if I don't explain everything in this edition of the blog.

It will be our joint reward when I find a role and we will celebrate. AND I WILL THANK HER AGAIN. We'll probably have some fantastic Moldovan wine. She is a superb support to me at all times. 

My message is that although you have to be quite self centric in your job search, don't forget those around you. They need you as much as you need them. Never forget them and always thank them.

Yesterday I was venting my spleen on the lack of candidate feedback in recruitment processes. There were quite a few comments as a result so if you want to read them then please click on the link. More comments always welcome.

In closing, as always here's a link to my LinkedIn profile. Happy to talk about any potential opportunities as soon as possible

(c) Iain Williamson 2012

Tarred with the same brush?

The biggest frustration for any job seeker is when a job application is made and no response is received. This applies to whether the original application is made via a recruitment agency or direct to the Company. Ask anybody looking for a job and they will be able to recount to you a story or two or three and more of when this has happened to them.

And I am in that boat as well. This edition of the blog is not a rant about recruiters or Companies but a plea for professionals to be aware of their responsibilities to their customers - the person looking for a job.

I totally understand that when there is a vacancy in the current climate there will be considerable interest shown by applicants. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Well you know what I mean.

But in these times of electronic information exchange it doesn't take an awful lot of work to send off an email to a bunch of people who have not been successful this time around and won't be invited for interview. You never know the people you have selected for the first round of interviews might not come up to the specification and there is a "hidden gem" in those other applicants. 

I've been tracking my responses from businesses and recruiters and, to be fair, recruiters generally have been good to excellent in terms of keeping me up to date with my applications. Indeed, some even phone me to give me personal updates - now that is fantastic customer relations. These recruiters know that at some point Iain will be back in work and will remember how he has been treated and maybe there will be an ongoing relationship - yes you will know it as business development activity.

But on the other hand, many companies don't answer at all. Those that have the online recruitment application processes will automatically generate a receipt of an application but you never hear anything else. I have a specific example of applying for a job, hearing nothing else about it and then seeing it advertised again!!! 

What do I do? Apply again? Assume I've been unsuccessful? Forget about it? 

Guess what - this business to which I refer has just been shortlisted for a Recruitment Award.

Ok maybe this did turn into a wee bit more of a vent of my spleen than I initially intended but there you go. My message is that we still have the vast majority of recruiters and businesses performing well in their recruitment/customer processes but a small minority let them down. So it would be wrong to tar these groups as all the same and no good. They are predominantly excellent or, at least, well on their way to excellence.

As always please feel free to comment, and share with others. And, of course, look at my LinkedIn profile and contact me to discuss any HR roles or opportunities for me to get involved with your business.

(c) Iain Williamson 2012

Tales of a Diary in Job Seeking

Thanks again for some kind views and comments about my blog. Yesterday I was talking about how during the day when I was "working" my mood ebbed and flowed in line with the weather of torrential rain and then a sunny vista reflecting how I was feeling about my job search.

A reader congratulated me on the contents and asked me to reflect how I managed my day because that would be of interest to others and maybe help them to manage their job search better. And interestingly when I was talking to a recruiter this morning the same type of discussion came up.

I remember many years ago before the time of the internet, there was not the mass options that there is now to support a job seeker in his/her search. It was a case of wait till Friday for the Glasgow Herald and the Evening Times to be published and see what was going. Other than that it was probably The Guardian (or The Gruniad, as it was fondly known because of its propensity to misspell words). Then there was the excitement waiting for the twice monthly published IPD magazine.

Job Hunting was an altogether more genteel and slow art form in those days compared to now. It wasn't exactly pipe and slippers but you get the gist.

Now it is light years away from that and not a moment can be lost. It's a few years ago when I was introduced to the delights of Chris Evans on radio in London and now I have returned to him. It started when I traveled to Burton-upon-Trent and even now, although I don't actually need to get up for the 0630 start, more often than not I'm listening and starting to think about my day.

It's like a military plan that I work to - using my log book and my outlook calendar. I have a form of reminders to contact people and ask what's what and is there anything on the go.

First thing in the morning is a review of the email alerts that have come in overnight. I  try to stop looking at jobs  from about 1800 - otherwise it would be absolutely constant. And this way my reward can be the football or darts on TV or taking my wife to Tesco or Ikea.

I will then review websites just to check for any latest up to the minute, as it were, jobs.

I have a strategy for calling people based on something I learned along time ago about the way British business works. Namely that meetings will normally start on the hour. So if you call somebody at five minutes before the hour you can bet that the person is just going to a meeting and can't talk to you. "I'll call back later".

But if you call at five minutes after the hour or slightly later you will more likely find them at their desk - waiting for the next hour to come so they can go to that meeting. Now they do have the time to speak to you. Try it and you'll see it works.

Of course, I also review my connections on LinkedIn and see who they have connected with. That way I have found more potential suitable connections for me. It's not a competition to have the most connections but to find ways of getting work for Iain Williamson.

My way of relaxing during the day is to take time for breakfast beautifully prepared for me by my wife who is extremely supportive of me at this testing time for both of us. And then there's lunch as well.

She constantly supports me at all times, encouraging me to keep on top of my job hunt and don't stop trying.

My reward for my hard work during the day is to have a nice glass of wine with my wife and relax.

Towards the end of every day when it comes to the time to write the blog, I find it useful to review what has happened during the day. What more could I do? What will I do differently tomorrow? Who hasn't returned my calls? Who do I need to speak to tomorrow? What else do I need to do?

And by writing the blog I hope I'm sharing with you all the frustrations of a job seeker and that eventually things will be resolved. I am constantly sure that tomorrow my job, for me and my family, is round the corner.

As always, thanks for reading this week. Share the blog with others and review my LinkedIn profile. Have a great weekend with your family like I will.

(C) Iain Williamson 2012

How the day and job seeking turns

Its been one of those interesting and frustrating days in job search terms and very much like the weather today. Simply at one extreme it has been cold, drizzly and wet and at the other it has been warm sunshine.

I know what you're thinking he's finally gone round the bend, cart him off to the madhouse this instant. Call the doctor.

No. No. Don't rush. let me explain.

This morning I was sitting at the pc and reflecting over the lack of impetus in my job search and thinking how slow things had been. The rain was pelting down on the conservatory roof, the sky was black and my tea had gone cold. 

It felt like that was it for the day. Nothing to look forward to. I'd reviewed my email alerts and nothing doing. I'd scoured websites for what seemed like the millionth time. And worse was to come.

I've recently had to have Windows reinstalled on my PC and now although obviously it was working fine it had meant that Skype was not functioning. I could hear and see the person I was Skyping but he could not hear me.  I had to resort to the old typewriter approach and eventually we actually talked by phone with Skype pictures on!!! Comedy.

And then things brightened up. My wife brought breakfast and for those of you who know me, particularly from  The Webb Group, it was a running joke how much food my wife gives me to eat. It is so much that we have had to have the floor of the house reinforced - no that's a joke!!!

Anyway and then I started to see light on the job front. A flurry of roles appeared that were interesting , a few phone calls arrived and Hey Presto, the sun was shining.

Oh, and I also got Skype fixed as well. Recruiters - Happy to use this to talk to you or any contacts.

And the moral of today? Yes it's undoubtedly difficult in job seeking and it sometimes feels like all is fruitless, but then all change. You can't get down and let it affect you. 

I'm sitting here today with things bubbling along and wanting a job and, importantly, knowing that things can only get better. It reminded me of somebody's comments yesterday which essentially said it was good that I kept my morale high despite my situation. Thanks to that comment I feel again, despite a bad start to the day, that things will sort themselves out. I guess my wish is sooner rather than later.

As always, thanks for reading and continue to comment and share my LinkedIn profile with your connections.

(C) Iain Williamson 2012

Etiquette on applications - to talk or not to talk?

One of the most difficult things to manage when you're not in a job and on the daily trudge to work and back home at the end of the day is missing the daily interaction with people. Don't get me wrong, I'd be quite happy to talk to my wife all day.

Sitting in front of a screen on the PC waiting for the emails to update and for LinkedIn to update or trawling through website after website is very boring and quite lonely. Especially when all I want to do is talk to somebody.

To break that monotony what I have taken to doing much more religiously than previously is to contact the recruiter prior to sending in my application. I don't know if it will make any difference to the application process but it feels a much more comfortable way to apply. 

For me, it is all about making the connection with somebody and even if we both acknowledge that there is not a match for a particular role then at least they will know more about me other than what is on my CV or my LinkedIn profile. Perhaps that will lead to a more positive result next time around. It all helps I'm sure.

Speaking to these folks is like my work for the day. Indeed, I spoke to one person on three separate occasions today. It is this interaction which helps to relieve the monotony of the job seeking process and let's me see that these roles actually exist. 

I had some great feedback from my post of yesterday and my visit to the Job Centre. Thanks to everybody for that. Today's was visit was rather more briefer and the person that I worked with confirmed what I already knew - it's been quiet in the  recruitment market over the past two weeks!!! Oh well, there's always two weeks time to look forward to when I am due back. Unless I have a job...........

I've also been getting a lot more offers of support from my LinkedIn connections and from new people who have become connections via their exposure to this blog. Many thanks and gratitude for that but still work to do folks. So as always please share as far and wide as possible this blog and my LinkedIn profile.

(C) Iain Williamson 2012

Job Centre Report

An interesting day today, kicked off with a visit to the Job Centre for a review of my ongoing unemployment. It's not the most inspiring place to visit and not one I'd recommend for anybody but for 2.67 million people (or thereabouts) it has become part of their life.

I was kept waiting for about half an hour while the team sorted things because somebody had gone sick and eventually I was dealt with by a member of staff who had not dealt with Job Seekers status updates for a while so was not exactly au fait with that part of the IT system. She was only trying her best.

My overriding feeling sitting there was how many members of staff there were and yet I wasn't seeing them doing a lot. I hope that's not unfair but a fair bit of walking up and down, and from one desk to another was done. And there was me waiting for my appointment which happened 30 minutes after the due time!!!

To be fair to the team, a member of staff did explain why there was a delay. So a thumbs up for that piece of customer focussed thought.

The ritual signing on is normally on a two week basis but because I had been away on holiday, and therefore not available for work if it had arisen, I had to finish one claim and then restart another on my return. What a palaver!!! It doubles the work for everybody!!! 

Guess what? I have to go back tomorrow to sign on. Can anybody tell me why today could not have been sufficient? What is going to change in the 24 intervening hours?

Anyway, it reinforced my resolve to find a role soon. So back to the internet job boards, back to the agencies, back to my connections and back to LinkedIn. 

And fingers crossed something will come across that will rid me of that purgatory that is JobCentre Plus.

Please circulate my LinkedIn details to your connections and to anybody else who needs a seasoned HR professional. As always, happy to talk to anybody.

Thanks for all your support.

Snails Pace.

There's only one way to describe today. Slow. Or was it in reverse? 

Last week I was talking positively about the end of the Easter holidays and the anticipation that the job market would seriously pick up. It's true to say that recruiters are back at their desks but my anticipated upturn has not come to fruition yet. I'm hoping it's just a case that they are getting re-acclimatised and that things will pick up from tomorrow.

It's so easy to get downhearted about a situation like this but I'm being stoic. It's something I've talked about before but it is important to stay upbeat. I'm sure that people can tell when you are down beat and that transmits across the phone when you are talking to them - so you lose the enthusiasm and, by default, some of your personality that will be selling you to a recruiter. 

Yes, I will tell a recruiter I'm fed up. It's understandable bearing in mind that I'm looking for work but the recruiter doesn't want to hear that forever on the call. So I talk about the blog, my Linked In activity, my job search overall, etc, etc. and overwhelm them with my enthusiasm for a job role.

Yet there are still a few things on the go and the right role will come along soon. And I'll keep beavering away with My Job.

It was also interesting to hear today from several of my connections that this daily update is becoming a "must read" for them and importantly keeps me in their mind. So again we see the power of LinkedIn.

As always, please look at my LinkedIn profile and pass it to anybody who is searching for a consummate HR leader. Thanks.

(c) Iain Williamson 2012

Typical Friday and help for telephone interview needed

It's raining and it's been a frustrating day for my job search. I guess it's the back end of the Easter holidays and so many people are still away from the office that means that progress is slow.

The main thing is that I am still positive about my job search. There's no future in getting down about things because that helps nobody. I'm still sure that my next role is just around the corner. I know that I missed an interview opportunity while I was away on my pre-planned holiday but that's just a reminder that in any job search you have to be instantly available and flexible to attend interview. That situation couldn't be helped - actually I was attending the opera in Moldova - Tosca - when the recruiter tried to contact me to get me to go for interview on Good Friday. 

In yesterdays blog, I told you about Moldavian wine. I forgot to tell you how fantastic the ballet and opera is. The ballet performers are trained by The Bolshoi in Moscow and exceptionally talented. And all at a stupendous price equivalent to approximately £4.80 at today's rates. I know you won't believe that but it is true.

Everybody will have a story like that to tell during their job search I am sure but for me it was good to get away from the stress of the job seeking activity. Now I'm refreshed and ready to go and get the job done soon. I'm looking again at refreshing my CV on the job boards and considering its contents.

Today I had a telephone interview for an interim role and hope to find out if I'm through to the next stage by the end of next week. It was a difficult experience because I haven't done many of them. 

My view was that I should prepare for that encounter as if it was a full interview. I prepared my "potential answers" and my questions. In addition, I got my information about the business and the role and tried to envisage myself working for them.

Does anybody have any tips on how to manage or prepare for this type of interview? I know it is becoming more prevalent because I spoke to one of my connections on Linked in who has had a couple of them now.

What is important to do? When it's a face to face encounter at least you can see and feel reactions from the interviewer at the time. On a telephone you get none of those aids.

Can anybody point me in the right direction for that? 

I'm going to have a restful weekend of golf, grass cutting and hopefully a successful result arises in the Cup Semi Final. I won't tempt fate like the last time!!!!

To all My Readers, have a great weekend and don't forget to pass my LinkedIn details to any of your connections who my be looking to recruit a Senior HR professional. I'm happy to talk to all and sundry. Thank you.

(c) Iain Williamson 2012

Easter or Not Easter

When is Easter not Easter? No it's not a trick question. 

While you were enjoying the additional days off here that come either side of Easter, I was on holiday in Moldova with my wife and Easter didn't happen. What? I hear you say. Well Moldova is a former Russian Republic so has predominantly a Russian Orthodox religious background - and the Russian Easter is this coming weekend. 

So either I have had no Easter or have I had two?

The other things I learned were that when England supporters go there for World Cup qualifying later this year, they will be surprised at how friendly the people are and the choice of food is good. I can recommend hotels and accommodation for anybody that wants to know. Remember though that I support Scotland!!! Honestly if anybody is going, we'd be happy to give them some advice.

But, and this is very very important. Moldova is a fantastic producer of wine. The climate is very supportive of that industry and is their greatest export activity. You'll find it difficult to get some in the UK though. Maybe me and Roksolana  should set up as an importer. If President Putin loves it, then I am sure you would. Honestly it was very very good.

Nonetheless, It was great to get away from the daily toll of job search for a short while. Admittedly I still did some work on it but not the daily grind like when at home. Now that I'm back, I'm refreshed and back at the coal face. Phone calls, emails, job searches and applications were all part of today. 

There are still a few people not available because of holidays but my search goes on. I've updated my Linked in profile and asked for connections to share it. So for my part I'm doing a lot. But I need to double and redouble my efforts if I'm to be successful. A few things are still on the go, but nothing is finished till the work is done.

Please feel free to contact me for any discussion on any role. Always happy to talk.

Twitter and Easter wishes

Been a busy day today with the phone red hot with quite a few leads coming to the fore. I hope that this is the start of the flood of opportunities coming my way and I start to see the fruits of my labour. Fingers crossed folks for this start of Easter week. 

My blog of yesterday when I was talking about LinkedIn and its part in job search. There is no doubt in my end that it's a tool that job seekers cannot omit. Just make sure that you get your footprint as farflung as possible. 

I had some interesting feedback from it. A couple of my connections have recently been successfully appointed as a result of LinkedIn - indeed, one of them was from The Webb Group acting on a link to an advert that I had given him. So folks, it works. Yippee.

A recruiter also recounted to me the story of how he sourced an appointment via one of his connections whose wife had recently been made redundant. He was able to place her. Fantastic news again. 

I forgave him for placing her because it wasn't a role that I would have wanted anyway!!! (G - sorry couldn't not mention it and rib you a wee bit.)

Then it got me thinking about Twitter. I have never used it but as you will all know with LinkedIn updates you also see from time to time Twitter updates. So the question I have is whether Twitter is a contender for recruitment opportunities. One of my connections tells me that once you get past the inane bits that are vacancies advertised by recruiters.

Can anybody tell me if these are just repeats of vacancies or are they exclusives? I need to know before I get into this aspect of social media. In job search terms, every avenue must be explored. PLEASE FEEDBACK YOUR EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE.

I'm taking a few days away from Blog writing so want to wish you all Happy Easter and for all job seekers everywhere good luck with the job hunting. I hope you'll miss me - where we're going has snow on the ground and will be there for a while yet and is very very cold. (PS Not Scotland.)

If you want photos of where I've gone/been, then comment here.

(C) Iain Williamson 2012

Is LinkedIn useful or just a distraction?

I remember the days of a long time ago when I was fresh out of University and looking for employment. In those dim and distant times, it was about scouring the local and national newspapers and professional magazines to find a role - and sending a handwritten letter and a handwritten Curriculum Vitae. These were the days before the arrival of the internet and email and even then we complained about the cost of stamps.

Now it is rare that anybody would send a letter or a handwritten CV. We're now in the era of instant job adverts and instant applications. The internet has made it very easy to apply for roles from your office while at home on a twenty four hour basis. There are myriads of job boards and recruitment agencies all have an online presence.

So now a job seeker has absolutely no reason for not finding roles. The task is to find those that fit and hope that you are the best candidate at the end of whatever the recruitment process might be.

I have noticed that LinkedIn, the social network for business, is becoming much more of a recruitment board as well as a method of connecting with like minded folks who want to be a connection. And with this element of growth, what is happening is that many businesses will do a search on LinkedIn and they might actually know about you before you even apply.

The important message here is that an online presence is just as critical as your Curriculum Vitae. The two will work in tandem to get you where you want to be. So keep your profile up to date, correct and accurate. If you can then get recommendations from people who you have worked with. These are important because they show the effect you have had in that business. Make sure that you have also added achievements for your role - it is exactly the same as in your CV - achievements shout loudly on a CV rather than just a list of your responsibilities.

So for a job seeker, as a minimum you need a current CV and an online presence. There are other business networks but LinkedIn is the most prevalent and with 150 million members worldwide (as of February 2012) in a job search it cannot be omitted.

Nowadays, I can get my CV to many recruiters instantly and they can see my competences and achievements in seconds and start to think about where could I see Iain working. A powerful tool, I think you will agree. If you want to see my profile then click here now and you will be taken to it. Please feel free to share it with your connections as well. I'm not shy - as long as you do it for legal reasons!!!

But it can be a distraction when you are job searching. It is important to get a wide representation because you never know where the next role will come from but not all roles are advertised there and it can become a competition to see how many people you are connected to. Having a large number of people as connections is not a sure fire way to getting a job - but it helps. 

Don't forget to keep ears and eyes open for the other outlets of roles, always remembering that not all roles are advertised.

Incidentally, today my connection list passed the 500 mark. I'm not particularly in a mood to celebrate that event but I'm sure it will help at some point.

Anyway today I've been on the phone again because the online presence will never replace the fantastic effect of interaction with a real person. Messages from today are a repeat of what I've been saying over past few weeks - get Easter and financial year end out of the way and we will possibly see more roles come on line.

And I will keep my work on LinkedIn going as well as the light relief of my new life as a "journalist" with this blog.

(c) Iain Williamson 2012