How to recruit higher quality candidates: a key lesson from consumer marketing
By thinking like a marketer, recruiters can create a targeted sourcing strategy that can deliver a higher quality of hire, says Tim Geisert of Kenexa. In 2004, Dove, one of Unilever’s biggest beauty brands, sponsored a global research study that asked 3,200 women for their views on female beauty and well-being. Among the results was […]
Graduate unemployment at 15 year high
Graduate unemployment is now at a 15-year high, with one in five university leavers who entered the job market last year failing to get a job, according to official figures. Data from the Office of National Statics revealed that the number of graduates who are available for work but unable to find any has nearly […]
Youth unemployment hits new high – and set to worsen
As official figures revealed that the number of people out of work had risen to 2.5 million, experts warned that youth and female unemployment was only set to worsen over the months ahead. According to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics, unemployment rose by 49,000 in the three months to November, putting […]
Mums at disadvantage in tough employment market
As unemployment continues to rise, the number of UK employers planning to hire working mums has plummeted over “prejudiced” concerns that family commitments will take precedence over workplace ones. A survey among 1,000 companies undertaken by Regus, which provides outsourced office space, revealed that only just over a quarter intend to hire working mothers over […]
Recruitment levels remain tough as employers exercise caution
Although private sector recruitment slowed only slightly in December, the next few months are likely to be “very tough” employment-wise as employers remain cautious while they wait to see the impact of the coalition government’s austerity measures. According to a study undertaken by management consultancy KPMG on behalf of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, the […]
UK seeks to create jobs and cash in on tourism
British Airways and P&O are among the companies backing a £100 million government fund to promote tourism with the aim of creating 50,000 jobs and bringing in an extra one million overseas visitors to the UK. Cash and payment in kind has also been pledged by the Radisson Edwardian hotel chain, Lastminute.com and ferry operator […]
Immigration cap could be challenged
The coalition government’s decision to cut off Tier One visas to skilled workers from outside of the EU with effectively no notice could be subject to legal challenge, an immigration specialist has warned. The same applies to the setting of an interim limit of 10,832 on the number of certificates of sponsorship that are available […]
Recruitment freeze thaw forecast to hit London
London-based employers are expected to abandon widespread recruitment freezes over the next six months despite widespread uncertainty over the UK economy’s growth prospects. According to the latest ‘London Business Survey’, which was undertaken among 91 businesses by employers lobby group the CBI and management consultancy KPMG, 45% of London companies are planning to start hiring […]
Charity and retail workers ‘not party animals’
While recruitment and marketing staff enjoy a good Christmas party more than any other group of workers, back office personnel in the retail sector are the most likely to make their excuses and not turn up at all. According to a survey among 2,500 UK office staff across eight industries undertaken by serviced office provider […]
Does social recruiting actually deliver?
We’ll be considering the questions most often asked of any recruiter (or ‘recruitment guru’) who espouses the benefits of using social media in recruitment. Does it actually work? Can I actually hire somebody by using Social Media? Where does direct sourcing fit into this mix? Is it really an integrated approach or just another series […]
SMEs the place to be, say interim managers
Many interim managers would prefer to work for small-to-medium-sized businesses even if they have to take a 50% pay cut to do so, according to research. A survey of 1,500 interim managers commissioned by specialist provider Interim Partners found that 31% would prefer their next role to be in a small business compared with only […]
Christmas temp labour shortage
Although growing numbers of employers are looking to take on temps in favour of permanent staff over the next 12 months, high levels of demand for temporary labour are creating shortages in the run-up to Christmas despite rising unemployment levels. According to a survey among 600 employers undertaken by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), […]
Globalisation creates challenges for HR
Globalisation across workforces has seen exponential growth in the last two decades, and after a dip during the most recent recession, is now emerging again within HR, creating challenges as well as opportunities, and tremendous uncertainty. In a new major study by the IBM Institute for Business Value, more than 700 chief HR officers and […]
Ask the expert: Internal job post -applications after closing date?
The experts, Adam Partington and Esther Smith advise on whether late applications can be accepted in an internal job post. The question: Internal job post – applications after closing date? My employer listed a job on the internal recruitment website; for a position which I applied; I know for a fact I am the […]
3/5 workers overestimate their value to employers
Although nearly four out of five UK workers would like to change employer, three fifths overestimate their financial value. According to a survey undertaken by vocational distance learning provider the Home Learning College, while some 78% of staff would like a new job, just over a third are actively looking. Some 27% have chosen not […]
Recruiters beware: 2/3 of jobseekers lie about previous salary
Just over two thirds of potential job candidates inflate the salary that they were paid in their last position in a bid to get more money, making it the most common interview fib. Next on the list come lies about candidates’ qualifications or grades in order to impress potential employers (61%), followed by bending the […]
Morrisons to employ and train 1000 homeless
The Morrisons supermarket chain is to give 10% of the 10,000 new jobs it creates by opening a raft of new stores to homeless and other vulnerable people. The UK’s fourth largest retailer, which is running the initiative in partnership with the Salvation Army and social enterprise Create, aims to train homeless staff in traditional […]
Director who withheld £11k banned from running business
The director of a recruitment firm has been banned from running a similar business for seven years after withholding wages from staff. Christine Lewiss from Trimmingham near Norwich ran two recruitment firms, Rail Recruit UK Ltd and Rail Recruit UK Projects Ltd, which supplied employers with rail workers. The action was taken against her following […]
Job creation plan: time to get real
The coalition government must act quickly to flesh out its National Infrastructure Plan to boost job creation and stimulate economic growth as it currently lacks the necessary specifics to generate business confidence, employers have warned. At business lobby group the CBI’s annual conference yesterday Prime Minister David Cameron outlined his “strategy for growth” for the […]
Immigration cap already too tight
Despite an overall drop in the use of temporary agency workers during September, the social care, logistics and manufacturing sectors are being hard hit by the coalition government’s temporary cap on skilled labour from outside Europe. According to a study undertaken by consultancy de Poel, which helps employers optimise their relationships with recruitment agencies, just […]