An increasing number of companies are now carrying out group interviews to reduce recruitment costs.  As an added benefit, this process also allows hiring managers to measure the performance of potential candidates simultaneously and to make behavioural and leadership assessments which they can rank.  Although this type of interview practise is carried out more frequently at junior levels,  I am starting to hear that this selection style …

It is often said that “The devil is in the detail”. When it comes to job search the smallest nuances can make a difference and all sorts of minor details are frequently overlooked. One of the first points of contact a job seeker has with a hiring manager or recruiter is via email. It is now particularly…

Employer brand Much time is spent encouraging and coaching candidates to create and present a Personal Brand to make the right impression on potential employers. But many organisations are not as in touch as they should be with their employer brands. By that I mean how they are perceived not just by current employees, but by prospective…

In today’s high-tech, 24/7, global communication, we are seeing a pace of communication that is super charged. This is something  we would have thought should lead to rapid, informed and correct decision-making. Everyone happy… right? My observation is that the reverse could indeed be true. I would even go as far as to say that in many cases we are creating a pattern and…

One of the areas of greatest disconnect between corporate culture and the wider world, is the issue of parenting.  This is going to present significant challenges to many organisations in terms of H.R. policy  in the upcoming years, especially for those that don’t confront those issues. The successful running of organisations is largely dependent on a…

Business and pleasure have always been uncomfortable bedfellows. It is widely considered than an informal off site or out of hours coffee, lunch, dinner or drink can oil commercial wheels and resolve tricky office situations much more smoothly than dealing with them in the office. Networking and after work socialising both internal or external are considered to be…

Increasingly organisations are wanting to replace first contact telephone screenings with Skype interviews. Are you ready?

I’ve just had two astonishing conversations with two young people. This wasn’t related to wild nights out or any inappropriate behaviour, but their employment conditions.  Both are working on zero-hours contracts. For the uninitiated zero-hours contracts are apparently a particularly British phenomenon. A  bit like Christmas pudding and red double-decker buses, just infinitely less wholesome They are understood to be an employment…

The holiday season is upon us and for many it is a time of acute stress and busy-ness. Honouring our professional commitments and personal obligations becomes almost a full-time job at this time of the year trying to relax. Many look forward to taking a vacation to get away from it all.  But sometimes the process…

The festive period is now upon us. After several years consigned to the doldrums by diminished, recession ravaged budgets, I have it on good authority that this year, with the green shoots of recovery and buoyant economies the good old office Christmas party is back in full force. With a cautiously optimistic outlook about the future,  many organisations are going back to hosting their annual office Christmas…