The Glasshammer in a recent post has written about how executive search companies and headhunters serve to exclude women. I read it with interest and the report it was based on  “And then there are none: on the exclusion of women in processes of executive search,” which appeared in Gender in Management: An International Journal in…

I am constantly being told about how recruitment and executive search organisations dismally fail to achieve any level of efficiency. They are frequently blamed as the reason many job seekers fail to get positions. I’m not talking about outright “gangmaster” type of crooked practises, but more about low levels of competence and professional ineptness which has been signalled as…

DIY recruitment is short sighted and lazy Two people apparently join LinkedIn every second  of every day. This platform and others like it have changed forever the way organisations identify and recruit talent. Some aspects are improvements. Others are not. These platforms should potentially reduce the need for external recruiters and change the way they are managed by corporations.  Historically the…

Much is written about professional profiles by many “experts” that frightens the life out of the average job seeker, or even passive candidate who simply want to have a strong online presence. The list of dos and don’ts is never-ending, with the net result that many are totally confused. I’m actually confused. There are many so-called pearls of wisdom written about…

I’m not a personal fan of body art, partly because I’m afraid of needles and even fainted when I had my ears pierced.  My son has a number of mystical messages tattooed on various parts of his body. The only advice he listened to was that none of them should visible when dressed professionally.  What can look cool on a toned, youthful, wild –…

One of the consistent comments and causes of distress and frustration for all job seekers, is falling into the candidate  CV black hole of no communication. This might be with executive search and recruitment consultants or corporate hiring managers. Automated responses generated by an impersonal CRM system come a close second for most, but in some cases despite their impersonality…

As we recover from the brink of a global collapse during the pandemic, businesses are observing nervously on the side-lines and moving into hiring mode. There are millions of open vacancies and  positions are reportedly undersubscribed and many employers have little choice of top talent. Yet reports of organisations trying to bring in excellent talent at budget, low…

Times they are certainly changing  and as an increasing number of our populations in developed economies are completing further education, only to become unemployed,  the cries from, and about, ” over/under-qualified ” candidates come  loudly from both sides of the hiring process. It’s hard to know what are our most marketable skill is. This can cover: too many/few  years…

Last year at exactly this time, while I was working I must confess, being a sucker for a good ceremony, I was maintaining a watchful half eye on the biggest pageant the world has seen for a very long time – THE Royal Wedding. Keeping me company was an old friend and business associate –…

Helicopter parents are crashing into the workplace. Dorothy encountered her first personal experience this week and shares why she thinks it’s not a positive trend.