Teachers, nurses and the chance to work with spies

Public sector recruitment hit the headlines this week, with concerns on the one hand that changes to teacher training might lead to a shortage of teachers by the end of next year, and positive news on the other that the NHS is embracing social media as part of its recruitment strategy.

The former could be good news for supply teacher agencies, but in the long-term, higher education institutions that train teachers and schools need to collaborate more closely on workforce planning – the current set-up (driven by central government) clearly isn’t working. 

The overall drive at the NHS to use more social media, meanwhile, is good news. Dean Royles, chief executive of its staffing arm NHS Employers, is driving more ‘permissive’ use of sites such as Twitter and Facebook at the traditionally cautious organisation. On the recruitment side, it’s hoped it will widen access to a greater candidate pool, and improve communication with potential recruits.  Social recruiting is already saving money and improving candidate diversity in the private sector, so it will be interesting to see if the NHS can replicate these results.  

Recruiters keen to attract jobseekers’ attention should pay heed to evidence that emerged this week around how people access media while they watch TV. Research from the telecoms regulator Ofcom found that more than half of respondents used a mobile device while watching TV. With evenings proving a popular time for surfing for job opportunities (job boards tend to report a rise in views at around 10pm), this makes it more crucial than ever to engage potential candidates with your mobile offering – simply posting links to job ads will be glossed over. 

Finally, for MI5, creating a sense of mystery in its recruitment advertising seems to be the key to attracting new recruits. In advertising a £60,000 a year head of health and safety post, the famously secretive employer has said: “We can’t show you the buildings. We can’t talk about the people you’ll work with. We can’t tell you much about the job. We can’t give you the exact locations. We can’t mention the kind of technology involved. Is it still a risk worth taking?” The only explicit requirement it asks for is chartered membership of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health.

For candidates who fancy an element of surprise in their next role, this could be just the thing. But we suspect it will be more about checking the kettle’s working in the office kitchen than ‘shaken, not stirred’, so let’s hope the successful recruit isn’t too disappointed.

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