Im a Recruitment Advisor AMA.

[Recruit2020]

Just that.
If I can help, I will. Its a difficult time right now so if I can offer any advice then fire away.
Note: I work in the public sector with over 2000 employees.

Hi, I'm on ML and my job might be on the line. I have send loads of CV out but I barely get a response. How can I make my CV more attractive for a recruiter? Thank you.

I also need to make my CV more attractive.
I only have CSE, most jobs need GCSEs. I’m 52 and apart from working for 11 months until June I hadn’t worked since 1999.

Spent nearly 18 years as a trailing spouse while DH worked in Latin America.

Hi,

Suspect that there isn't an easy answer to this but here goes: I am in a senior specialist role, in smallish field. After years of promises about promotion, it's clear that this won't happen- I am one rung from the most senior grade, and the only person who holds that grade is my boss. I can't blame them, everywhere is clamping down on promotions. I've looked elsewhere but one of two things happened (a) any roles go to internal candidates; (b) more commonly, the pay band is 20-40% below my current pay.

I'm trapped aren't I?

You are my new best friend!

@PrincessTilly - if there is a job description work your CV to fit the essentials and desirables in the order they are listed. Recruiters will often sit with online applications or paper copies of CVs / alongside the advert and JD, this is the easiest way to score highly in shortlisting. They want to see you have read it and if you have good attention to detail.
Pick out the key parts of your previous roles that fit what they want or your life experiences. You may have vast amounts of XYZ but if its not mentioned keep it short and sweet.

Also try and think outside the box a little. Everyone claims 1. I am a team player 2. I am able to work well with others and on my own initiative 3. Im bubbly.
Even if you are try alternatives. You enjoy working in a team because of XYZ however you thrive with being set your own tasks and having responsibility.
You are approachable and build good working relationships with colleagues customers even those who you only remotely engage with.

Be yourself. Be honest. Nobody (really) dreamed of answering a telephone as such so dont pretend it is. Its ok to want stability and to work for a company who offers XYZ and feel you could be an asset as you are dedicated and committed.

Believe it or not we do like mums! They work hard, can multitask and want stability for their families and we want employees who want to work and are committed and are likely to stay with us - frankly those with bills to pay and mouths to feed are loyal (which is great spiel for an interview)

@AdoraBell Be honest. We like honesty. But we also like it if people can show their own commitment to self development i.e studying in that time or even start a course now to improve your opportunities. There are often free online courses depending what you want to do that can be done in a certain amount of hours. We also like volunteering!
Your CSE grades are still relevant.
You will have met lots of people over the years and shows you can be flexible and adaptable to any environment and now it is your time to make roots and this is why you want to work for XYZ - you are also available to undertake any training required. You just need that opportunity from an employer. Dont always wait for roles to be advertised. Email companies. They can give you information on when recruitment may be open OR often they do keep CVs on file and may come back to these rather than advertising, as recruiting is hardwork and time consuming and we spend a lot of time filtering out applicants who dont even want to work in a role but unfortunately shows the job centre they applied.... this annoys us greatly!

What is a recruitment advisor?

I’m a senior manager and we use internal recruitment to deal with external recruiters and negotiate with candidates.

Do you specialise in any industry

@glassbrightly - Hard one. If boss isnt likely to be leaving anytime soon potentially yes.... I think this depends how much you enjoy your role and how long you have worked there as to whether you want to jump ship (strongly advise against given the currently climate) depending on working relationships is there the potential for a pay rise (if in a graded post?) In exchange for some additional responsibility / project. If not I think id be reassessing at a better time but looking at future CPD. Things can change instantly even when you think they wont. No harm in seeing whats out there and applying / asking for feedback on applications / interviews.

If things are secure at the moment and it is simply just wanting to progress in your career I think the whole of 2020 is professionally a write off. But a good time to reasses

@BooFuckingHoo2 from devising the advert, negotiating the advertised salary, sift and shortlist, interview, all relevant checks, contractual details and negotiating, on boarding and providing advice to internal staff members who want to move around departments, secondments and attachments.

@nancybotwinbloom Worked in recruitment for one of the Emergency Services & Shipping and Transport. Briefly in a Temp Agency.

Thank you this is interesting.

In my experience I’ve always written the bulk of the advert (aside from the company standard part) and decided the salary. The hiring manager also conducts the first interview and feeds back (sometimes the recruiter will sit in on the interview). Does that differ in your experience?

I realise that you're internal rather than external, but why do (some) recruitment advisers struggle to match candidates appropriately.

DH is a software engineer specialising in Python (let's say). He was recently looking for a new job, and specified that it needed to be in Python, and based in or around Oxford. He would get recruitment consultants ring up and suggest a job in London for a C++ specialist. His speciality wouldn't have been of interest to the company, and the location wasn't of interest to him - so why would a recruitment consultant suggest it?

@BooFuckingHoo2 it varies some roles are advertised frequently so they dont need to be re done unless pay scales have changed. I think it depends on the field you work in and the team dynamic. Some hiring managers want to be hands on and know a person will fit the team, some dont and just want the right person for the job who meets the JD (no pressure) we are flexible. Generally we will do a pre sift if we get hundreds of applications (recently over the 1k mark for an admin role) to assist in streamlining the process. We quite often are there from start to finish to support the department and physically welcome the applicant on day one

Internal and external
Likely because they have targets and are on commission and are absolutely annoying as hell @bathorshower Often their job relies on securing your husband a job and they will try and get him to commute to outerspace to meet a target.
He could just approach some companies himself if he hasnt already? Cut out the middle man / finders fee etc.

@bathorshower - Bath everytime FYI.

Why are you such time wasters, insisting on spending 30 minutes taking all our details down then never contacting us again

@CoronaIsWatching because we dont want employees with chips on their shoulders?

I don’t think being frustrated at recruiters not replying to you after expressing an interest constitutes to having a chip on your shoulder

Excellent idea for a thread and I’m sure it and you will help a lot of people op so thank you for taking the time and being generous with your expertise.

That said, I fear I am a lost cause.

In summary

Negatives

Housebound (agoraphobia so no I can’t attend staff meetings or meet clients)

Huge gap in cv which is due to mental illness and can’t be explained otherwise as dd is almost 20 and not needed me at home for some time and I HATE lying anyway

Energy levels fluctuate.

Lack of tech currently and I feel so out of the loop on this that I wouldn’t know where to start! A relative has very kindly said they will find purchasing of necessary tech but I feel paralysed by too much choice and no longer being well informed - I used to be great on this stuff!

You said be honest and quite honestly while I can run along with others work wise I’m best if I’m set a task/targets and then left to crack on. I’m fine with multi-tasking in terms of customer interludes etc but other colleagues constantly asking me daft questions drives me nuts after a point.

Positives

I REALLY want to work I miss it hugely for all kinds of reasons

I have a varied work history that covers most sectors, primarily admin support but includes those areas where there’s a need for understanding of the industry language - law, medical, construction/engineering, retail, advertising, manufacturing...

I am a VERY quick learner if the focus is narrowed for me. I’ve had to learn very quickly on the job without formal training and quickly update my skills. Even when I’ve been out of things a good while I’ve found when I’m back on a computer again I very quickly pick up the changes and adapt - I’m talking hours rather than days, minutes on some things. If anything I’m one of those that’s able to figure out more efficient processes for a job and how to implement them.

Excellent telephone manner due to lots of experience here, very clearly spoken.

I’ve gained 2 degrees one in nursing, and 1 in English plus numerous other admin and business qualifications I’ve picked up along the way.

Excellent arithmetic, not great at maths but give me a budget or set of accounts to play with and I’m a happy bunny! I was rubbish at maths at school but discovered almost by accident through jobs I “fell into” that I actually really enjoy figure work and have an aptitude for spreadsheets, love a good spreadsheet.

I would love to be able to work from/at home relatively independently effectively totally remotely but even with the recent changes in employer approach I am still struggling to find something that genuinely works that way.

I’ve posted on here several times on the matter but as yet been unsuccessful in finding my niche.

I’m open to pretty much any area and not expecting great pay necessarily (long as it's enough to live on) but within my limitations which is where the problem lies.

Holy grail I fear.

Currently on disability benefits and not being pressured in any way but I get annoyed at myself and frustrated.

Thanks so much. I love my job and I like my boss. I also agree that nothing is happening for 2020. Limited chance of a pay rise.

I think one of my conversations with my boss may be that I take on less. I have taken on so much over the years on promise of promotion, that I work a solid 12-4 hours a day and have to outsource so much of my home life (at significant cost), whilst always being under a deadline. I know I am benching with more senior folk but I can't see the point if it will lead to nothing - and I am tired !

@BooFuckingHoo2 coming onto a thread where someone is just offering advice to those potentially facing uncertainty work wise and stating I / We are time wasters is a strong indication of attitude.

@Graphista any good employer would always be supportive of mental health and it is great you want to work. Based on your post I think you sound like an ideal candidate for what would be a help desk type role. We are currently trialling having a % of our service desk team working remotely. They take initial calls and transfer through to the required department / person and provide basic advice along with collecting some data (as you like numbers). No need to meet people just a good telephone manner and the ability to transfer calls. I think Covid has highlighted the WFH possibilities and feel once things settle there may be a lot more scope for this next year. These roles are very common in the emergency services and are mostly advertised on their own websites. Everything you need would provided. They are also disability confident employers (have a google) therefore you should qualify for an interview. As you suffer with fatigue (depending on your own circumstances) there is often flexibility around hours including part time flexi and often employees do 1 or 2 long shifts and have 5 days off but in that time manage 24 hours.

You will find something, you are clearly committed to personal development. Take care especially at this challenging time

Interested to know how on earth recruiters/ talent people sift through 100s of applications. Currently looking for jobs via LinkedIn and some of them have over 500 applicants. I’m trying to find the talent person directly to approach them but it’s a nightmare!
Any advice welcomed! There must be a lot of very experienced good people out there looking for work at the moment if you look at LinkedIn.
Also how bad is the market? All the recruiters seem to be saying they had hoped it would have picked up by now and it doesn’t seem to be...

@Recruit2020 thank you very much. That's very helpful information