Playing the dating game in HR recruitment

Ruth Blair discusses the HR recruitment marketplace in the wake of summer. With the amount of HR roles becoming available still sluggish, how can you ensure you're top of your game? What should you be doing to ensure your relationship blossoms with potential employers?

HR recruitment - out for summer?
The summers been and gone already it seems. Its a time when the HR recruitment market usually feels the heat - even outside of a recession. Many jobseekers and recruiters prefer to depart these shores for sunnier climes (or perhaps just a change of scenery given the recent weather) and theres usually a marked decrease in the number of roles, and candidates, available. This summers been no exception. At Bullet, weve definitely noticed the lethargy of the HR recruitment marketplace this month.

During these summer months, we at Bullet have had a steady flow of new HR vacancies becoming available. The main difference we have noticed is a slight drop in the number of candidates applying for each position we advertise. This could be largely due to the summer exodus; searching for a new role just hasnt been a priority for many jobseekers who prefer to take a break instead.

Slow progress for HR jobseekers
The roles we are working on at Bullet are fairly well spread across the HR arena covering all HR specialisations; theres no real bias towards any HR specialism. Despite the even spread of roles, as well as volume in terms of numbers available, there is definitely a lack of 'interesting' roles (those that offer a true sense of autonomy and strategic involvement) at the senior end of the market.

The general feedback from most of our candidates is that the HR recruitment market is  sluggish - fewer roles are being made available and the time it takes for employers to complete the offer process is still slow. This could be due to the time of year - hiring managers have also been heading off on holiday.

In-house recruitment processes
Many businesses remain very specific in their requirements for their HR roles - particularly on sector background. For example, an HR role in the financial services sector will require a degree of experience in financial services; in-house recruiters are unwilling to consider other backgrounds/sector experience.

There have been some success stories, particularly in the HR contract and interim marketplace. There has been an increase in the number of contract HR roles available, and well-networked HR interims are often able to move almost seamlessly from one contract to another. Many of the fixed-term contracts available are for a specific reason, such as maternity leave cover.

Increasingly, we find that major hiring decisions are based just as much on cultural fit and attitude as well as anything else. Employers are assessing whether you will fit into their company culture as well as focusing on traditional competencies like problem solving and organisational skills. So, in order to strike the perfect balance and cover all bases from a recruitment perspective, whats the winning formula?

Positivity - key to jobseeker success
When we look at the candidates who've had the most success in the marketplace - even in the darkest hour of 2009 - the common theme for all of those jobseekers is positivity. In tough times, organisations are looking to those employees bringing a fresh energy and enthusiasm to see them through.

Positivity is hard to keep fresh when you're tackling a tough job search, but its really important that you work hard to do so - negativity will pour out of you just as easily in interview. Its not as simple as just pretending to be positive; credibility is always key and this has to come from a place of honesty.

Some advice to maintain positivity during the recruitment process is to just try smiling more. Next time you're preparing for an interview, think about something that makes you happy, or a time that you were at your happiest and take yourself back to that moment. Youll soon find the smile becomes a real one, and then you can take it from there.

The importance of relationships in your job search
Your network can hold the key to your career success, both in terms of being recruited and developing your career. The growing popularity of LinkedIn makes it relatively easy to keep up-to-date with your network and leverage off your own business relationships. The key to successful jobhunting is relationships.

Looking for a job can often feel a bit like dating. Will they call? Will they want to see me again? The waiting game can become even more exaggerated in the summer time due to the general lethargy of the HR recruitment marketplace, yet there's little we as recruitment consultants can do to speed it up. Remembering that it isnt personal will always go in your favour.

Be careful not to appear too desperate in interviews. Be cool and allow your experience to speak for itself. Like with dating - desperation can often be a turn off to potential employers. Its important for you to distinguish between desperation and keenness; this is something entirely different. Dont be afraid to follow up with people after an interview and tell your potential employer that you're interested. They may be wondering how you feel about them, too.

Keep cool guys, be positive and we hope that September will bring a new surge in activity for all of us.