Monthly Archives: September 2013

In my last column, I suggested that as the market appears to have started to pick up somewhat, now might be an opportune time to dust off and submit your CV. In my course of work, I’m often asked to opine on a person’s resume, and before I do I always respond with the maxim ‘ask 10 recruiters what should be in a perfect CV and you’ll likely get 15 responses back’. In reality, there’s no perfect CV in the same way, thankfully, as there’s no such perfect candidate. However, there are some golden rules, which, if they aren’t followed, make it [...]

As I sit here enjoying the tremendous weather—yes, before you ask, I’m away again, this time in Boston but it could just as well be London given the fact it’s 90 degrees and very sunny—the UK has had Andy Murray winning Wimbledon, Justin Rose winning the US Open, England taking a great lead in the Ashes series, the Lions winning in Australia, Chris Froome heading the Tour de France, and we still have the British Open Golf to come with a host of strong domestic contenders.  How could things possibly improve on this, I hear you ask? Well, let me tell you—a [...]

Perhaps it’s because I’m sitting at a desk and not out where I ideally should be, namely grouse shooting on the Glorious Twelfth—damn this uptick in the jobs market—but I feel something of a rant coming on. In my line of work there are a multitude of frustrations, from there being too many links in the recruitment chain, fears of disintermediation by interested parties and lack of focus on the hiring process, to a reluctance to take a broader view on candidates or be bold with hiring initiatives. The best ‘hires’ take place when all four parties involved—the hiring manager, the HR [...]

  While critically analysing the pros and cons of Cheryl Cole’s latest tattoo (do Google it if you haven’t noticed it already), my thoughts turned to the obvious question of permanence. Short of quite drastic cosmetic surgery, our Cheryl will be stuck with her florid roses forever. In the world of employment, however, few things are permanent—whether they want to or not, whether expected or not, anyone can be let go from their role with, literally, a moment’s notice. Conversely, and increasingly nowadays, the shoe is also on the other foot in that candidates are choosing to take control of their own [...]