Cooking up success: A recipe for recruitment

Cindy Etsell

As a recruitment professional, I have searched for a job many times; it is the reality of living in our rapidly changing environment.

I still remember my first experience of losing my job. I was transferred to the UK for an amazing opportunity to launch a product line in Europe, but what I soon found out a few months after arriving was not what was expected and I later found myself looking for a new role in a country where my network and experience was limited.

I was lucky the company offered me a fantastic outplacement company to use and I grabbed hold of the opportunity to do so with both hands. It seriously helped me when it came to looking for that next role, which I secured a week after leaving. What worked for me?

Network
• Meet as many people as you can in the area you would like to work – social media makes it so much easier but make it your mission to go with a plan.
• Identify where to go to find like-minded professionals – meet-ups are a great tool, you can easily set up your own and invite people to join, attend and share.

Skills assessment
• Work through your skills and identify the ones you love and be sure to write down why you enjoy them. If you are struggling, then ask friends, family, colleagues, your boss and others you did business with during your time with specific companies.

Achievements
• Prepare your stories – they are so important and help you to think on your feet. Think about the different situations you had throughout your career professionally and personally and think about what challenges you faced, how you dealt with them and what happened as a result.

CV
• Spend the time laying out the foundation. Imagine if you went to a restaurant and your meal was served with food hanging off the plate, sloppily presented – would you want to eat it?
• The same applies to your CV – it is your marketing material, so make it unique, but keep it to two pages. Does your personality shine? What makes you stand out and what will make me want to read your CV?

Interviewing
• Prepare – this is where the stories of your achievements you created earlier will help.
• When asked questions, use your stories to bring the information alive – the interviewer is not only looking to make sure you can do the job, but that you fit within the team and company culture.

After changing roles, Stopgap found me a contract in local government. When that finished, I worked for Stopgap covering a maternity leave as a consultant leading their technology, government and publishing team, which was an eye opener. Recruiters are pulled in many directions: from the candidate who needs your help, to the customer who gave you the brief and wants the prefect candidate, and your boss who need wants you to fill the brief for the client as soon as possible so that they get paid.

The hardest choice is how to prioritise and where to focus. It is impossible to call or meet everyone who sends in their CV – there is just not enough time in the day. So you end up finding ways to speed up the process: the CV that is different, stands out, and is packed with the key ingredients required for a quick read, goes to the top of the pile. Our team went the extra mile: when we got a job specification, we looked at transferable skills and if a person had those skills and a great attitude, we would sell that to the client and usually they would listen and give that person a try. Most of the time it worked. Identifying recruiters who will help you is essential for building relationships and keeping in touch.

I go back to how important having a network is for your future. It goes both ways – when you get that next role, say thank you and help others if they come to you for advice and guidance, and do listen, as whatever you put out there comes back to you one way or another.

After other roles in technology and three more redundancies, I decided to help others. I now work as a career enhancement consultant and what fascinates me is that the same rule applies. It comes back to the idea that we spend more time planning our vacations than our careers, and when it breaks, we expect instant solutions. Unfortunately in most cases it can take anywhere from three to six months to find a new role. My advice is to get back to the basics that I mentioned earlier. Keep your CV current, continue to write down your successes and always keep in touch and in tune with what is happening in your area and your network.

Cindy Etsell is a Career Enhancement Consultant. To find out more, please visit www.cookingupsuccess.co.uk