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Where is the young talent?

Where Is The Young Talent?

The BBC have reported what I believe most of us suspected and that is that manufacturing is growing at a fast rate. Activity in the manufacturing sector has actually grown at its fastest pace for three years according to the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI).

This is great news for all of us who operate in the sector, but it’s also not without its problems. There is still an important question to be asked: will there be enough skills to allow the growth to continue? Trade skills, specifically electrical and controls engineering are at a real premium, with companies fighting over experienced talent. With many people leaving the sector through retirement or progression into other, more lucrative areas, maintenance engineering has struggled to attract the right amount of talent. Data suggests there is a current shortage of 69,000 engineers and technicians entering the sector. I’d argue that there are not many better learning opportunities for a young engineer than working in the manufacturing sector – the degree can come later, should you so wish.

Apprenticeships are on the rise – but is enough being done to ensure we have the talent? With so many different degrees available costing thousands of pounds and with little vocational experience gained at the end of the four years, isn’t it now up to the government to convince more companies and young people with the relevant abilities to consider starting their careers with manufacturing apprenticeships?

Employers and recruiters have a responsibility. We need to ensure the proposition is attractive and is sold to the right people. If all we do is continually search and move the experienced candidates in the industry around, we will not create the environment needed for young people to succeed. We must actively work together to provide young people the opportunity to learn.

There are no quick fixes. However, we as stakeholders in the industry can make a difference if we stop chasing the short-term wins.

Delve work with candidates and clients to create realistic expectations and improve succession planning with our clients. To find out more, feel free to contact a member of our team.

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Spam recruitment – are employers to blame?

Spam Recruitment - Are Employers To Blame?

As a recruitment business owner, you might think this is a dangerous topic to bring up. However, as a recruitment “puritan”, it’s a subject close to my heart and one that needs to be addressed.

Recruitment has changed immeasurably over the last 12 years. The whole scope of finding candidates, especially in the engineering and technical worlds, has taken a 180° turn. Whereas originally recruiters had to be skilled in assessing applicants who respond to adverts, they must now be far more proactive in finding the candidates (networking) to fill client opportunities. The interview part has since become more limited with telephone screening becoming increasingly common. Quite simply the time spent and skills deployed are now focused on finding, rather than assessing and shortlisting the right candidates.

Why has this happened? Is this a good thing?

Without doubt a lack of technical talent has impacted on this. My theory is that during and immediately post-recession, clients who were recruiting needed quick results to justify the investment in new talent. This led to a poaching culture, and along with the emergence of LinkedIn and portal-led recruitment, recruiters were now focused on finding experience rather than the “right person”. This can lead to unrealistic goals which aren’t met and ultimately slow and poor hiring decisions.

If companies were to focus on hiring the right person with the skills to do the job (and there are some great examples out there), time to hire and quality of recruitment would improve as a result. Poor recruiters would be found out. Recruiters should have the skills and confidence to consult with a client, but the reality is that most just focus on making placements as it’s easier not to challenge a client on their brief than to challenge them. Unfortunately, this costs recruiters and clients time and money in the long run.

At Delve we use unique client qualification and candidate assessment models to give our clients the confidence of getting recruitment right without compromising on speed. We don’t just follow wish lists and hope to find the golden ticket – we work in partnership with our clients to ensure objectives are met on both sides of the table.

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Candidate onboarding – where to start?

Candidate Onboarding - Where To Start?

It’s reported that one in three people experience poor onboarding when they are joining a new business. One in three. Wow. As someone who is hiring, just think about all the pain that goes with finding that person. All of the time, money, and blood, sweat and tears. Then they start, and due to bad onboarding you have already given them reasons to think that this isn’t right for them.

As a recruiter, I hear great onboarding stories and hear horrendous onboarding stories. I hear vanilla ones as well, the ones that people forget the moment they leave the room. So, how can we combat this and put our best foot forward, I hear you say? Well, say no more…

It all starts with the interview. This will sound crazy, and you may think this is so obvious that it’s pointless to even write it. But here goes… Don’t lie. If you lie to get someone through the door, you are setting yourself up for failure. Simple. Now, understand this: I’m not saying be critical of your business to the point that they think it’s the worst place they have ever seen and would never step foot in the door again. But do tell them about the opportunity to address challenges within their role. “Yes, our business isn’t perfect and we are aware of some of the challenges. We see this role solving some of those challenges by implementing X, Y and Z”. No lies. Just honest, transparent opportunity. 

Right. You operate with transparency and honesty and the candidate accepts your challenge. This is where your induction starts. As a recruiter, I will tell you first-hand that time kills deals. Resigning from a job can be the most daunting thing many people will do. So please, please, please try to be there for your new employee. Give them a call and ask them how they are doing. Ask if they would like to pop in and meet the team? Tell them you’re having a couple of drinks on Friday and it would be great if they could come along. Do anything that would suit you and your company, but keep in contact. The chances are that after a resignation, your chosen candidate will be asking themselves if they have done the right thing – show them that they have.

Next, get your tech and merch ordered ASAP. Laptop, phone, keyboard, pens, papers, phone list, brochures, merchandise, employee profiles, chocolates, mug, business card holder – you name it, get it ordered. There’s nothing worse than turning up on day one and nothing being ready. Then, send diary requests to the people you want your new employee to meet on day one. Plan it in, and make sure you talk to people face-to-face to check that they know what you need from them and that they understand the plan.

Once everything is set, sit back, grab a brew and phone your future employee to check they are okay (again), and then confirm the start time with them. It’s also worth pointing out dress code and what people typically wear. It may sound silly, but people worry about these things.

Day 1, 10.00am, they arrive (always ask them to arrive later than you). Their desk is set, laptop waiting, phone plugged in, and there’s merchandise everywhere. Show them to their desk. Introduce them to people. Walk them around and make them known to everyone who is available. The more the merrier. Remember your first day in a job? You will forget 99% of the names but the face is at least familiar. Show them where the tea and coffee is, how to work the annoying vending machine and the best sandwich shop in town. Make them feel like you actually want them there.

Execute your well-planned induction covering the history of the business, future growth plans, and in what way their role and team is crucial to your success. 

The small details count. If you’re a line manager, give them your mobile number, take them for regular one-to-ones and set an appraisal date three months from now. Engage your new super hire. Create the environment where they will motivate themselves.

The detail behind the actual onboarding is a different blog all together, but hopefully this highlights that you have the power to make that candidate journey brilliant from the second they sit in that first interview, or even beforehand.

If you’re keen to ensure your onboarding runs like clockwork then I’d be delighted to hear from you[email protected].

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Create a strong linkedIn profile

Create A Strong LinkedIn Profile

Recently, a couple of ex-colleagues, and now indeed friends, were made redundant. It’s not the first time this has happened to someone I know and I’m certain it wont be the last. I found myself having the same conversation with them: “how do we make ourselves visible to recruiters?”, they would ask. 

Seems simple enough, right? But, when I actually sat back and thought about it there was a realisation that even I needed to think about how to actually approach this. Flipping it on its head I thought to myself, “what type of profile attracts my attention?”.   

With that being said, I have tried to create a whistle stop “Beyond the Paper” guide to getting your LinkedIn page the attention you want. 

1 – Profile picture, name and location. These are the basics of your profile but they help to add a human element to the candidate. Nothing fancy is needed, just a simple picture of you!

2 – A brief overview of yourself. This bit doesn’t have to be exhaustive, but it does give you an opportunity to explain what you do and some of your skills. This should help you appear in the right talent searches and help recruiters target your specific experience. 

3- Update your career history. Make it current with up-to-date job titles, timelines and even responsibilities. The more information you provide, the better. Remember, key words really help. If you have been working in semiconductors, then state it. If you have been working in machine build, then state it. Niche industry candidates may want to think a touch broader in their descriptions, for example, equipment for manufacturing pillows should perhaps be original equipment manufacturer or machine builder.

4 – Education. Internal and external education can be of huge value to future employers. Again, to remain visible it could make the difference between receiving a message or not.

5 – Recommendations. As consumers we constantly look at product reviews from other consumers. It may sound really obvious, but potential employers will do the same thing on your LinkedIn profile. Ask your team, ex-colleagues and friends to write you professional references. Every little helps. 

6 – Create visibility. If you want to be noticed by recruiters who are looking for the skills you have, then you can change your status on LinkedIn to “open to opportunities”. This is based on complex algorithms and ultimately stops anyone working for your current employer from seeing that you are open. However, it lets those outside of your business know that you could be open to a discussion. 

And there you have it, a quick guide to getting your LinkedIn profile noticed by more people. If you want more information or help in setting the profile up then feel free to contact me directly on [email protected] and I would be glad to help and advise. 

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How To Prepare For An Interview

How To Prepare For An Interview

How many of you have gone into an interview feeling unprepared? We all do it, even recruiters go to interviews (as paradoxical as it seems). It is that familiar feeling, when you’re stood outside the office of your new potential employer and suddenly the harsh reality hits that Googling a list of common interview questions perhaps hasn’t prepared you as well as you’d hoped. With each job interview, you are meeting new people, selling yourself and your skills, and finding out what it is you know and don’t know. It is understandable why these scenarios can feel rather daunting. That said, there are ways to make a job interview feel much less stressful – a little bit of the right kind of preparation can go a long way! We’d like to share with you Delve’s top tips to make sure you ace your preparation and have a successful interview.

So, how do you prepare for an interview? Here are some key things we believe will help you to feel as prepared as possible for your interview.

1.     It’s all about trying to anticipate the questions they’re going to ask you. This sounds like I’m stating the obvious here but we’ll go into this in more detail in a second.

2.     Work with your recruitment consultant to understand some of the softer points about the opportunity, not just the physical facts such as more about the company and role, but more about the people you’re meeting and the culture.

3.     Give examples, but make sure they’re as relevant as possible.

So to achieve point one, you need to understand as much about the business and the role as possible. For example, find out exactly what the business does, what their products or services are, the size of the company, the industry or industries they work in, their customers and so on. For the role, you need to know what you’ll actually be doing on a day-to-day basis such as the software you might use, the people you’re speaking to, product line you’ll work on, where in the process you will work on a project. For example, if you’re going for a Project role, you should find out where you pick up the project and where you would pass it on and each individual step in between, the project value, whether you’ll use Microsoft Project, who you will deal with, etc. Once you’ve gathered this information, it’s up to you to simply think about your best example for each stage where you’ve had experience in that particular area. I would recommend doing this in a mind-map format.

Of course, you won’t have examples for each and every point (and if you do, you should get the job!) For the areas you are missing, make the effort and do the research to find out as much about these areas as possible. Say if you don’t have experience working in a specific industry, research as much as you can about that industry. Being honest and saying “I haven’t got experience in that area but having done some research into it I can say…” can really help as it shows your willingness and ability to learn.

For point two, this is straightforward: make sure you challenge the the recruitment consultant representing you to have the information you need on exactly who you’re meeting, what they’re like as people, what they’re looking for and the culture of the business.

And for point three, this may seem simplistic but it’s actually a key opportunity to illustrate what experience you have. Think of the interview discussion as your second CV! It’s also an excellent opportunity to break the ice.

For more hints and tips on what to think about before an interview, feel free to contact a member of our team and we’ll be happy to help.

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Questions to ask your recruiter

Questions To Ask Your Recruiter

When you’ve dealt with a recruitment consultant, you’re likely to have been asked many different questions about yourself and your background. Has it ever dawned on you to think about what questions to ask your recruiter and how this can benefit your job seeking journey?

We commonly overlook the importance of preparing questions for the recruiter. How is it that the correct questioning can help you in landing your perfect role? Remember, your recruiter has an existing relationship with your potential future employer and therefore will be able to share information on the role and company that will aid your preparation. Make sure to use your recruiter to gain as much inside knowledge as possible!

Preparation is the key. In previous blogs we’ve spoken about not only understanding the hard facts such as what the business does and what is the role (usually in the form of a job specification), but also being able to understand the ‘softer’ points such as the paradigm and culture of the business, who you’re meeting and what are they like.

Here a few quick and easy examples of questions you can ask your recruiter:

  • Make sure you’re clear on who the meeting is with, what their role in the business is, and ask for a bit of background on them. Depending on how well the recruiter knows the client, you could also ask where they’ve come from and about their values.
  • If you are looking to progress, what are the opportunities for progression?
  • What is the size and structure of the team, and how has this grown in recent years? (This helps to give an indication of future opportunity).
  • It is also essential to understand some of the challenges the company are facing. It doesn’t help you to only know the positives: every company has its own problems and to understand them will help with your preparation and set a clear expectation going forward if you are successful.

These are just some of the things you need to think about. To discuss this in more detail feel free to get in touch with a member of our team.

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International recruitment

International Recruitment

I am often asked by my candidates and clients why I am based in the UK but support the European and American market. It always brings a smile to my face and being honest, there are a couple of reasons why we have this offering.

Beyond the Paper

It’s our mantra. It drives us to do what we do every single day. We constantly ask one another, “have you got the detail?” Or in other words, do we understand what we can’t see on a job profile or CV? This process doesn’t change for roles that are based in the UK, Europe, USA or even on the moon! We have a strict way of operating that enhances our success rates for candidates and clients alike. Taking this process to other countries and utilising technology platforms means that we can be successful wherever we recruit.

Process

Our clients love to work with us and after doing so, they love our process and best practice. It helps them to organise diary availability and have assurances that once we have taken a brief, we have a deadline for delivery. In essence, once you have spoken with us, you can remove the role from your radar for the coming days. Similar to our work in the UK, these processes don’t change wherever you are based.

Opportunity

We found that lots of our UK clients were asking us for European support on their requirements. The growth and next step seemed logical and like something we could do to offer a wider selection of services to our growing customer portfolio.

Network

Sourcing top talent is just as tough wherever you go within the engineering and technical community. In this quest to find great people, we were searching globally for talent, thus building up a unique and desirable network of contacts. It made sense for us to engage with like-minded people and organisations worldwide, with the goal being to support their needs.

Overall, we have found that blending our uniquely designed and proven recruitment processes with our well-defined and established network allows us to have a global offering without compromise.

To learn more, contact Gareth directly at [email protected]

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Is your recruitment partner working for your business?

Is Your Recruitment Partner Working For Your Business?

Sometimes, relationships can break down and one party starts to provide more than the other. This is true in all aspects of life but in business it can be particularly damaging to your bottom line. When you are trying to scale your business and move forward, hiring the right people is often the most critical aspect, but it can often be time-consuming and
effort- and resource-intensive to secure the right person. Ask yourself the questions below in order to work out whether your recruitment partner is the right person to meet your business needs.

1 – Are they attentive? Ultimately this is a partnership and you don’t want to create a master – slave relationship. However, the recruitment company you engage with are providing a service, and they should therefore be prompt, clear and open about what they will do by when. If you feel like you are getting five-star service, that really is a great starting point.

2 – Do they actively listen? This is really important. Sales is a tough gig and I often hear examples of recruiters wanting to sell to customers rather than listen. The key to success with your recruitment partner is for them to listen and understand your problems and then challenge you to create solutions.

3 – Are they timely? Look, a thorough recruitment process takes time. A no-stone-unturned approach is not a quick fix. However, your chosen recruitment partner should outline timescales for delivery or at least provide a review on how they are progressing. This gives you peace of mind that the process is working towards a deadline but also allows for any issues to be captured and dealt with in a timely manner.

4 – Do you like dealing with them? This is purely down to individual preference but you have to like who you work with. If you are finding it a slog and see the recruiter you are working with as a necessary evil, then it should be time to consider your options.

5 – Do they deliver? Ultimately it all boils down to delivery. Do they solve your problems by delivering great people who fit the brief on time and in a professional way? And if not, do they add value by telling you what to do to solve your problems? In a candidate-short market, it may not be down to the recruiter you are using, but the proposition you are asking them to take to the market. If this is the case, you need to know so that this can be addressed.

There are numerous things to consider when choosing your recruitment partner or reflecting on the one you are working with at the moment. My advice would be start with the above and if you are still in a position of questioning the results, then perhaps it’s time to consider a new option. For an open discussion call Gareth Foden on +44 1606 212 020.

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Candidates! Maximise your relationship with your recruiter

Candidates! Maximise Your Relationship With Your Recruiter

​There are often grumbles around the candidate experience when dealing with a recruiter – and rightly so in many instances. To address this, I have created a quick guide on how to make the most out of your relationship with your recruiter.

1 – Make the relationship two-way. Right from the opening call, you should receive as much information as you give, but don’t fire questions such as “what’s the salary?” before the recruiter has even introduced themselves. Be sure to sell yourself and don’t be afraid to ask detailed questions, as this will allow you to both understand the role yourself and to check that your recruiter does too and is familiar with the employer they are working with.

2 – Once you have built a relationship with your recruiter, be open and honest. If an opportunity isn’t in the right location, doesn’t pay enough or simply isn’t the right opportunity for you, then just tell them so. You may be questioned on your thinking, but in my view, this should be to understand what isn’t working rather than push you into doing something you don’t want to do. In the long run, maintaining open and honest communication is of benefit to both parties.

3 – Where possible, speak with your recruiter on the phone. Clearly you may meet them in person initially to get a feel for one another, but after that, I would always advise you to speak with recruiters on the phone. Your recruiter should be free to talk after working hours, so maintaining good communication this way should be pretty painless for you. It builds rapport between you, and helps to keep you current in the recruiter’s mind.

4 – Keep the recruiter posted on developments at your end. If interviews or meetings occur via other channels, just let your recruiter know. They may have other opportunities for you so can apply urgency where needed. Don’t feel pressured to tell them any details of the companies you are interviewing for, but to simply advise them that you have a first stage interview next week on Friday is a great help.

5 -If you have bad news for your recruiter, hit it head on. It probably won’t be the first time this week that they’ve had bad news, so don’t go radio silent – if you do, they will expect the worst anyway. If you’ve been offered a job elsewhere, don’t want the job they’ve helped you secure or don’t like the role that they have placed you in, revert to step three and call them. Again, any decent recruiter will completely understand your decision-making process, and they shouldn’t apply unnecessary pressure to accept or stay in the proposed role.

So there you have it. Just to summarise:

Step 1 – Make sure it is a two-way relationship.

Step 2 – Be open and honest.

Step 3 – Call them where possible (your recruiter should be free after hours).

Step 4 – Be transparent when things change at your end.

Step 5 – Hit bad news head on.

Like everything in life, there is the good, the bad and the ugly and nowhere is this truer than in recruitment. If you have a recruiter you trust, the above five steps should help you develop a strong relationship. If your recruiter makes any of the above steps difficult to follow, then get in touch with the team at Delve. We will gladly talk through our working methods and our “Beyond the Paper” approach.

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Soft skills when interviewing

Soft Skills When Interviewing

Recently, I supported a global business in their search for a Business Development Director. It was great. I helped them define the brief, met every single candidate face-to-face, provided feedback and helped them define a shortlist. I was then involved with the final face-to-face meetings as a HR presence. I realised quite quickly that whilst the people conducting the interviews were seasoned experts in their field, they were missing some of the ‘recruitment basics’ I would want to be crystal clear on.

After the first interview, the advice I gave them was pretty straightforward, and I felt like it really helped to shape the rest of the interviews:

Firstly, set your stall out and explain to the interviewee what is actually happening. Rather than diving straight into the questions, introduce the people in the room, and let the interviewee know their roles and why they are present. Try to make the candidate feel at ease in the room before jumping in to ask ‘explain to us the complexities of the technology you are involved with?’.

The next tip I gave them was to focus on understanding the motivations of the candidates. Yes, you can ask all the technical questions under the sun, and the market and product match might be fantastic, but for a long-term hire, motivations and aspirations are key, so don’t let them leave the room without finding out what these are. Find out what makes the candidate tick, what really gets them out of bed in the morning and importantly what their short-term and long-term career goals are. Secondly, ask yourself whether these goals link in with your business objectives and whether you can then use this as leverage to sell your company to the candidates.

Next, box off the candidate’s reason for leaving their current job. I explained that this seems really simple but doing so maintains good practice. Yes, your recruiter will ask this when they interview candidates, but make sure you are happy with the reasoning. Ask yourself does it make sense, do you understand it, and above all else, is it consistent with the reasons I received?

My final pointer was to leave a great impression to all the candidates who took the time to meet with them. Explain the next steps in the process, ask them to contact the recruiter with any follow up questions they may think of and thank them for their time. Again, it seems really simple but it’s powerful to leave candidates feeling like they have had a great experience with your company.

So there you have it: whilst your focus may rightly be on typical questions surrounding experience and expertise, to create a fully rounded interview process, you need to start with a great introduction, conclude with a clear next steps for all candidates and focus on understanding motivations and aspirations during the interview. With these tips in mind you should make candidates feel at ease and as a result feel more comfortable giving honest answers to your questions.