How LinkedIn Has Changed Talent Acquisition in the UK

How LinkedIn Has Changed Talent Acquisition in the UK Big congratulations to LinkedIn for racking up no less than 20 million users in the UK, this is  a 100 percent increase from 10 million members in September 2012. UK employers from online fashion retailer Net-A-Porter to builders’ merchant Travis Perkins all use LinkedIn’s Talent Solutions products to identify and recruit great talent. They join more than 22,000 other companies worldwide including 76 of the FTSE 100. Whats different about LinkedIn? Well, for one it gives companies access to ‘passive’ candidates, or those not actively looking for a new job but who make up the vast majority of professionals. This enables employers to pinpoint the perfect candidates and engage with them directly through LinkedIn. This reduces the time and cost involved in recruiting the best talent. As someone who started their career in recruiting before LinkedIn, I know what an impact it has had on the actual day-to-day recruiter job. To further investigate this, we thought wed ask some talent acquisition leaders how the professional network has impacted the way they go about recruiting. Many thanks to everyone who helped us out. How is LinkedIn used by UK companies to identify and recruiting talent? In my current role at the Travis Perkins Group, were using it to drive candidate pipelines and improve efficiencies in the hiring process. Having used LinkedIn both personally and  corporately  over the last nine years, Ive seen how it can  help find the right talent, as well as  the opportunities it can help create, and have delivered over £2m savings using it.  It facilitates a highly positive candidate experience and the ability to reach far and fast, both in terms of market mapping and individual candidate approach.  Toby Barnes, Group Head of Resourcing, Travis Perkins Group “From a recruitment perspective the enhancements in the recruiter tools have been drastic over the last two years, the paid for products have opened up many options for us as business giving us the ever important competitive edge.” â€"  Claudine Edwards, Oliver James Associates “LinkedIn has become a key part of our sourcing matrix, and PageGroups strategic relationship with them gives us the opportunity to reach a wider audience of clients and candidates. We have worked with LinkedIn to ensure Michael Page and Page Personnel consultants across the UK can secure extra placements and revenue from candidates sourced from LinkedIn, through applications to our job slots and from searching using LinkedIn.”  Eamon Collins, Group Marketing Director, PageGroup How has the job of the recruiter changed? “Social media has made a huge contribution to the recruitment industry, empowering brands with the ability to directly connect with potential candidates. At McLaren, we are now able to engage a diverse, yet qualified audience and, through LinkedIn, position ourselves at the heart of relevant social communities.”  Rob Bloom, Group Online Manager, McLaren “Technology has both opened up and levelled the playing field for both candidates and employers. The access to data, insights and the ability to communicate across multiple mediums from anywhere has meant candidates can make informed careers decisions and recruiters can really actively source talent. The ability of recruiters to really understand the businesses/brands they represent and provide authentic and engaging interactions rather than sell the dream is critical to hire top talent.” â€"  Lee Yeap, Head of Resourcing, Sky “The recruiter role has changed phenomenally over the last ten years. When I began in a recruitment agency it was all about face-to-face networking and cold calling reception desks for names and email addresses to build organisational charts. As networking services started to appear online, the industry began to realise their potential for contacting candidates about job vacancies. It didn’t take long for the recruiter’s role to completely change. Candidate inboxes soon flooded with generic emails from recruiters and agencies about job vacancies and the industry lost that personal connection for a while. As some recruiters became dangerously close to spammers, the importance of traditional face-to-face time with candidates is now coming back to the fore. The way we use networking tools and interact with online communities is again evolving to become more personalised, supportive and ultimately valuable for all parties.”  Lucy Birchenough, Recruitment Manager- Technology Finance, THE NET-A-PORTER GROUP Being a Recruiter has changed beyond belief. It used to be about finding reliable agencies, then we started to move to a mix of job boards and agencies, followed by a burning hunger to reduce agency usage we blitzed job boards, then we realised that job boards were expensive and not always successful in every region or skill set  so we used metrics to drill down to match regions/skill sets with the associated successful job boards, next we ignored the ridiculous fixed price job board blanket posting companies and then we realised that LinkedIn could potentially replace most of our job board usage if we were smart about using it…and we never looked back!” â€"  Andrew Groves, Head of Talent Acquisition, Hibu What was your LinkedIn ‘aha’ moment? “When we were able to map out an entire organisational structure with associated profiles and target them all from one place with individually tailored communications.” â€"  Lee Yeap, Head of Resourcing, Sky “Like many brands, entering the social space is a considered decision and initially entered through a trialled period. When we recognised the quality of candidates that we are able to source, enabling the right placements to fill our vacancies at McLaren, it became evident that LinkedIn was a vehicle that could help drive McLaren’s recruitment processes moving forwards, while at the same time lowering the cost per acquisition.” Rob Bloom, Group Online Manager, McLaren “Realising that searching LinkedIn with a Recruiter licence was actually a breeze and not an arduous task!” â€"Andrew Groves, Head of Talent Acquisition, Hibu Whats been the key to LinkedIns success in the UK? “The platform filled a void initially, both as a professional network for members and a global talent tool (sourcing and brand) for recruiters and organisations that has kept evolving to members needs and changing the talent landscape.” â€"  Lee Yeap, Head of Resourcing, Sky “From a recruiter’s perspective, the strength of the technology is the biggest asset, along with a great team of people who help our recruiters get the most out of the LinkedIn features. The specialist recruiter licence is the key tool we use, it allows us to build productive talent pipelines and record a rich database of information on candidates. We also use CheckIn for capturing candidate data at events instantly and automatically from iPads.”  Lucy Birchenough, Recruitment Manager- Technology Finance, THE NET-A-PORTER GROUP “Ultimately, the way that LinkedIn links candidates that are key to our business and notifies the network of roles we currently have. We are able to proactively reach into qualified communities rather than being solely reliant on discovery.”  Rob Bloom, Group Online Manager, McLaren “Creating easy to use recruiter tools that work.” â€"  Andrew Groves, Head of Talent Acquisition, Hibu How do you see recruiting continuing to evolve? “As companies become better at retaining their talented teams, the recruitment industry is not just about targeting this passive talent, but increasing brand awareness and building genuine relationships with the right people long term. For instance, at THE NET-A-PORTER GROUP we focus on building long term relationships with niche communities like Perl developers and encouraging our own experts to engage with these groups. We often host events, where we invite developers to hear about our own projects and share their interests in an informal networking environment.”  Lucy Birchenough, Recruitment Manager- Technology Finance, THE NET-A-PORTER GROUP “More and more in house teams will realise that they don’t need agencies if they know what they are doing. The candidate experience will evolve as the central piece of the recruitment process and the companies that don’t realise this will struggle to recruit top talent.” â€"  Andrew Groves, Head of Talent Acquisition, Hibu We discussed how LinkedIn has changed the way we do business in the UK with James Caan and other British business leaders, have a listen below  or on iTunes. What are your thoughts on LinkedIn and recruiting? Please let us know in the comments below!

Effective Ways to Find a Teaching Job

Effective Ways to Find a Teaching Job If you’ve always loved kids or educating, then it’s likely that you decided early on that you wanted to be a teacher. On the other hand, perhaps you stumbled across your love for teaching and are trying to take the necessary steps to make this a reality by starting a career in this sector. The path to becoming a teacher does consist of many steps such as getting qualified and gaining the necessary work experience. Once you’ve done this, it would be time to go through the sometimes tedious stage of job hunting. Are you ready to discover ways that you can find a teaching job? See suggestions below. Recruitment Fairs Have you ever been to a recruitment fair and noticed how fantastic it can be for networking? For this reason, you should try attending one if you happen to be searching for a teaching job. Seeing as they’re typically created for the purposes of connecting employers and prospective employees, recruitment fairs a great way to meet the right people. To get the most out of a recruitment fair, start with devising a strategy, so you know what you’re going to do as soon as you get there. This plan should include reading the fair guide and researching prospective schools that will be there. Also, remember to dress the part and not ask any questions that you could find online, as it could make you look unprepared and like you lack initiative. Look Online This is likely the most obvious option, but when looking for a teaching job, searching online could get you very far. This is the ideal way to look for a job in this day and age, especially as many employers seldom accept paper resumes like they once did. There are numerous platforms available to help you look for jobs in your sector. For instance, you can find primary recruitment options which you may find appealing. However, you need to know how to stand out amongst the many people applying for teaching jobs. You should start by noting that your entire application needs to be different than the average applicants. The best way to do this is by putting yourself in the employer’s shoes after reading the job scope and imagine what the perfect candidate would be like. Also, don’t forget to proofread, identify keywords and tailor them to your resume, and check your spelling and grammar. Open Days   Teacher open days are an excellent way to land a teaching job. They are events that are held by universities and schools to try and help you get into teaching. You should look for the next open day that’s holding for your preferred subject or in your local area.  When interacting with prospective employers, show them what you’ve learned in training, spend time getting to know the prospective school, make sure the job is right for you and be authentic. Ultimately, it’s a networking opportunity so take skills such as active listening, open body language and being memorable with you. The process of finding employment varies for everyone. While effortless for some, others have a harder time. It’s important that you don’t get discouraged and be persistent in your conquest no matter which category you fall into. Try applying the above tips as it could increase your chances of becoming a teacher someday soon.

Office Etiquette How To Cope With Difficult Relationships

Office Etiquette How To Cope With Difficult Relationships I  hope that you arent dealing with difficult relationships  at work. But if you are, this post will help you navigate your interactions while still being professional and classy.  This guest post is contributed by Patricia Garza, who writes about gadget, technology, design, social media and e-learning related articles.   By the time we graduate college and start our professional lives, we have plenty of experience with difficult people: that one friend in grade school who was needy and controlling all through 4th grade, the girl in high school who always had to outshine you in everything you did, or that lab partner in college who never showed up on time and always use you for your hard work. We would naively tell ourselves that maybe once we entered the professional climate that we wouldnt have to deal with these people any longer. People usually grow up and grow out of their annoying, needy, and lazy habits, right? Well, this isnt always the case. There are always going to be difficult people that you have to work with and butting heads with coworkers is going to happen. With the stress of your outside life and your career, dealing with a difficult work relationship can be extremely challenging. Luckily, solutions are available and reachable. Try these simple ways to cope with difficult relationships at work. Talk with Your Colleague: Okay, I realize that this tip doesnt seem like much of a tip, but it really is useful advice. Even adults have trouble confronting their issues. Whether you are annoyed with a coworker for slacking off on their end of the job or your colleague is particularly negative and inappropriate, it is always best to approach that person about the issue first. In a social environment (especially one like a competitive workplace), it can be easy to take your issues with a person to others in the office. No matter how you put it, this is gossip. While office gossip is bound to happen to some degree, it is definitely not the best way to manage an issue with a colleague. Chances are if you approach your annoying or frustrating coworker about your concerns in a mature and honest way, things can be resolved to some degree. Your boss or supervisor will appreciate that you tried to resolve the issue on your own initiative. It is also important, however, to know when it is time to consult your supervisor or human resources department. Give your coworker a chance to really understand that there is an issue. Strong communication is key to a healthy and productive work environment. Deflect and Redirect: For those coworkers who have to make things more difficult, say critical things about others in the office, or continually slack off on the job, try to find ways to deflect their negatives and redirect them to positives. For the coworker who latches on to you for a complaining session that isnt exactly welcome, never participate and try to redirect the conversation to something more productive. For coworkers who are lazy, try to take initiative with them and get them inspired. Getting involved and taking control of the situation will shine strongly upon your leadership abilities. Do your best to maintain a sense of humor about things. Any situation can become easier if you are willing to laugh about it a little. Moreover, finding some level of entertainment in your obnoxious coworkers complaining could be a positive thing for your daily grind. Remain positive and try to reflect that positivity to your troublesome coworker. No use in letting someone elses negativity get the best of you and your work. Develop a Support Network: There is nothing more difficult than going to work everyday in a negative or hostile environment. Unfortunately, difficult relationships with coworkers can make getting through your day and completing your work an excruciating task. Working in a negative environment doesnt encourage your best work. [Related Post:  4 Simple Ways to Counterbalance Negativity] One    of the best ways to combat negativity at work is to develop a support network at work. Try to surround yourself by positive influences and build a network of friends. If this isnt an option in your workplace, be sure to find a support network outside of the office. This way, you have people who can inspire you to do your best work and ignore the negativity that work may ignite. A support network is a great way to cope with a rough time in the office. While this doesnt exactly solve any issues with specific coworkers, positivity can help you cope with difficult colleagues, which can sometimes be your only option. Readers: How do you handle difficult relationships at work?

3 Ways to Use Technology to Simplify Your Life at Work and at Home

3 Ways to Use Technology to Simplify Your Life at Work and at Home As a busy working woman, you probably rely on at least some form of technology to make your life easier. From using your smartphone to keep in touch with your kids and access your banking info to using financial and household-related apps on your tablet, technology can be extremely helpful. There are also some days when the over-abundance of readily available technology and gadgets seems overwhelming. While you might want to add in new tech features to make your life run even smoother, some may seem like overkill. With this in mind, the following three types of tech tools are designed to make your work and/or home lives as easy as possible. A Smart Thermostat If you are trying to save money on your energy bills, a smart thermostat can help you to achieve your goal. The Nest Thermostat  learns your habits  and will adjust automatically to regulate your home’s temperature based on your schedule. To find the most energy-friendly temperature, the Nest Leaf feature will let you know when you select a temp that is especially efficient. If you download the free Nest app, you can adjust the device from your smartphone or iPad â€" even while sitting at your desk at work. A Smartphone with Artificial Intelligence If your thermostat can figure out that you like your bedroom on the chilly side at night, your smartphone should also be able to figure out your patterns and behaviors too. The Qualcomm Artificial Intelligence platform lets your  smartphone perform in a more intelligent way  by sensing and anticipating what you will do on your phone. For example, the AI platform could help battery performance on your phone by determining how much power a typical task will use and adjust accordingly. An AI platform on a smartphone can also help the device understand voice commands better, and it may also anticipate, based on what you have done in the past, which work-related websites you visit the most and pull them up for you. But remember that even with the best battery use management, new apps and processes still put a lot of demand on the battery.   So its wise to keep extra USB chargers around and handy for a quick charge when you need it. Google Home for Home and Office Google Home is one of those devices that  becomes more helpful over time  as you determine more ways that you can utilize its powers. For example, commercials often show the Google Home being used to order pizza, check weather and turn on music â€" which are all certainly decent skills for an electronic device to have. But it can also go way beyond these tasks, both at home and in the office. Through the power of your voice, Google Home can set your alarm, add meetings to your schedule, tell you about your upcoming work projects and their deadlines, add items to your shopping list, order needed products for the home and office, and manage your to-do list. If you are unsure when the big meeting with the boss is coming up, all you have to do is ask “Hey Google, when is that meeting at work with Jo?” and Google Home will tell you. Let’s face it â€" technology isn’t going away. If anything, it will continue to evolve and get more advanced and detailed in its uses. Rather than let it overwhelm you, examine each new trend carefully to see if it will actually keep your world running smoothly, and act accordingly.

7 Best Tips to Ace Your Job Interview

7 Best Tips to Ace Your Job Interview Did you receive the call for a job interview from one of the prestigious company of the town? Great, Congratulations! You’ve been long waiting for this day and it’s finally there. You must be excited, right? But wait! This isn’t all. You must be anxious as well as worried that whether you’ll be able to pass the interview phase or not.No worries! Each and every person is required to polish up his/her interviewing skills before heading for the interview. You must know about the interview etiquettes and the common answers to some questions. So, instead of wandering around, keep calm and sit down.evalLet’s have a look at some of the tips which will inevitably help you ace the job interview:1. Practice some answers beforehandFirstly, you need to have a list of the common questions that are asked in an interview. Moreover, you should practice answering the questions. Knowing some answers beforehand will reduce your stress level to great extent.You can prepare a list of concrete e xamples of your skills that define you well. If you have a significant success story, consider speaking it out as it is a great way to show your candidacy.2. Research about the companyAn employer expects that you already know much about the company that’s why you’ve applied for the job. Therefore, you need to conduct an effective research on the company, the job you’ve applied for, company’s policies, and all the relevant information about it.Research is needed to formulate a strategy which will help you stand out from the other candidates. You have to carefully relate to the researched information during the interview.3. Dress in the proper attireHave you ever witnessed a person wearing a shiny orange suit with a red tie during an interview? This isn’t appropriate at all! Don’t try to dress up that way. Your appearance should be professional that fits the culture of the organization. You can opt for subtle colors such as black, white, grey and blue. These colors give an analytical and organized insight about you.Wear a dress that makes you feel confident about yourself. Apart from the styling, your attire should be immaculate. Avoid wearing excessive accessories which tend to distract the interviewer.4. The first impression is the last impressionevalWhen is the first time, the interviewer gets a glance of the candidate? The time, the candidate enters the interview room. That’s the moment when you have to create the best first impression.Moreover, you need to be polite and give warm greetings to each and every person you meet from the time you enter the company till leaving. If you’re rude to any of the member, there’s a possibility that you’re derailed from the interview phase.5. Keep a check on your body languageYou’re the perfect fit for the job because you are well-dressed; know A to Z about the company and everything’s perfect! But, did you keep a check on your body language? It’s necessary.Solid posture, smile, eye contact and g ood listening are the best signs of body language. On the other hand, touching your hair, fidgeting in the chair, feeling uneasy and playing with the pen are the common ruinous signs during an interview.6. Reach the company on timeevalAs you need to develop a good impression, you should reach the company on time. If you fear that you’ll be late for the interview, you should reach two to five minutes early on the location. Reaching late for the interview is not an excusable scenario.7. Make yourself calmOnce you reach the waiting area, make yourself relax as much as it’s possible. It is extremely important to stay calm and relax. If you’ve prepared for the interview beforehand then, be confident about yourself. Relaxing will help you focus on the questions asked by the interviewer. Listen to the question first then speak up the answer. There’s no need to hurry.You won’t be experiencing a peaceful mind right now. All your sleep would’ve vanished away. But, make sure that y ou get proper adequate sleep because sleep deprivation might cost you dark circles, dizziness and health problems. Prepare your attire and everything in the night to avoid chaos in the morning. Have a healthy breakfast and head towards your dream destination. Best of Luck for the interview!

Five Devastating LinkedIn Profile Errors - CareerAlley

Five Devastating LinkedIn Profile Errors - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. LinkedIn has become the go to site for recruiters and company HR professionals when looking for new talent. As a result, its veryimportant to havean effective LinkedIn bio and its critical that you build your professional network inorder to have the best chance of landing a job. LinkedIn is also used by current and potential business partners who want to know more about you. Your LinkedIn profile is incredibly important to your career. Your LinkedIn profile is the primary thing other people will see about your professional profile. It is the online worlds equivalent of a first impression, so it should be utilized well. Even the simplest errors on a profile page can have dire effects. Heres a list of common errors to watch out for: Suggested Reading:How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile And 18 Mistakes to Avoid Forgetting to proofread One of the most basic and powerful things that you can do to create a great profile is to make sure that it doesnt contain any errors in spelling, grammar, or punctuation. The reason for this is that it can show that you are sloppy and careless. Worse, some people might even interpret these errors as incompetence. Have friends or family read your profile to find errors that you may have missed. Picking unflattering pictures If you want to post a picture, then follow the same rules that you would in picking a picture for a resume. The photograph should be an attractive, professional, head-and-shoulders shot of you in business attireclear, with a plain background. The idea behind a LinkedIn profile picture is to show your contacts that you can look the part of a professional. Obviously no selfies in the mirror or pictures that may be too casual (such as a picture of you sipping a drink by the pool). Not being specific Your LinkedIn profile should include enough specific information to allow a recruiter to determine if you are a potential candidate for a job. Make sure that you provide enough details in your LinkedIn profile (skills, education, work experience). Do not simply indicate general information such as went to graduate school or attended a seminar. Indicate the names, dates, and places that will give potential employers, clients, or customers an idea of what you are about. Not being truthful Dont think that you can get away with lying or even exaggerating on a LinkedIn profile. Employers have an amazing array of tools, including LinkedIn itself, to check the truth of your claims. And they will. Avoid the awkwardness and almost certainly career-damaging effects of being caught in a lie by sticking to actual facts in your profile. Writing your life story Dont fall into the trap of thinking that you need to put everything youve ever done on your LinkedIn profile. Stick to details that are most recent and pertinent to the industry that you want to work in. If your profile is too busy, people tend to simply ignore it. Just like a resume, your LinkedIn profile should be clear and easy to read. Theres definitely a right way and a wrong way to create a LinkedIn profile. The wrong way will probably get you passed up, overlooked, and ignored, at bestbut the right way will pay off in a solid network of powerful resources that will serve you well throughout your career. Career Tip of the Day:Resumes versus LinkedIn Profiles We are always eager to hear from our readers. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions regarding CareerAlley content. Good luck in your search,Joey Google+ Visit Joeys profile on Pinterest (function() { var oScript = document.createElement('script'); oScript.type = 'text/javascript'; oScript.async = true; oScript.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://' : 'http://') + 'publisher.monster.com/Services/WidgetHandler.ashx?WidgetID=EAAQ3yct3bicM6Zk0mJhYgZI1zMynJFKi9.KSbAnyfNFtcU- var oParent = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; oParent.parentNode.insertBefore(oScript, oParent); })();

Writing a High School Student Resume

Writing a High School Student ResumeWriting a high school student resume is not as difficult as it may seem. If you are looking for some advice on how to write a high school student resume that will be hard for the higher ups to overlook, keep reading because I am going to share some great tips with you.The first tip I want to share with you is that if you want to get a job you will need to have a great resume. The reason for this is that resumes are a very important tool in getting you through the door. People see resumes on different levels of importance and they will make the decision about whether or not you will be hired based on your resume.The second tip I want to share with you is that you need to create a high school student resume that is going to stand out above the rest. Your resume needs to be something that people want to see right now. Your resume should be something that catches their attention and they are ready to call you or give you an interview.The third tip I wa nt to share with you is that writing a resume is a very involved process. You can write a resume yourself, but it is going to take you quite a while. If you hire a service to do the work for you then you can get it done quickly. You will not want to have to spend too much time on the actual process.The fourth tip I want to share with you is that you need to keep your previous experience in mind when you are writing your resume. You do not want to list something that you have already worked at. This will look very unprofessional and you will never get a job.The fifth tip I want to share with you is that you need to list your previous jobs in chronological order. The people that are interviewing you will not be able to locate your past jobs by name, but you should list them in order of the dates.The sixth tip I want to share with you is that you need to focus on one industry. High school students that enter the workforce after high school generally specialize in a single area of the i ndustry. If you are in business you need to emphasize that, otherwise you are wasting everyone's time.Writing a high school student resume is not as difficult as it may seem. As long as you follow the tips above and create a resume that stands out above the rest you will be successful. Use the tips below to create a high school student resume that will go over well with employers.