Louise's UK Recruiter Blog

SEO is Dead… Long Live Inbound Marketing

We've got a guest blog post today from Lisa Jones....

I have been mulling over this concept for a while, and then came across an article about it which discusses the fact that SEO is dead and we should be considering a move to a more joined-up approach to our online marketing. 

So is SEO dead?  Should we be spending our cash on SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and PPC (Pay Per Click?) to drive traffic to our site?  And if we do have a budget for SEO, do we really “get” what our SEO partner is doing for us?  I have met 2 clients recently who once we had investigated what their SEO budget was being spent on, decided to suspend their contract and review their strategy.

So, are you a recruiter who feels that being on page 1 of Google is critical to your marketing strategy?  Are you sure that your clients and candidates really search Google for recruitment companies?  Perhaps you are in the school of thought that subscribes to the idea that clients looking to buy already know about you and simply want to build their confidence in your approach by researching you online and seeing what you have to say about your approach and your sector experience.  In any event, maybe you should be reviewing your strategy to your online marketing.  Let me introduce the new kid on the block SMO – Social Media Optimisation.

The recent news stories of Marks and Spencer using the term ”Interflora” in its adwords campaigns re-ignited the debate of whether paid-for web traffic is an appropriate (or ethical) approach to online marketing.  Note the image below that Interflora ranks 3rd, after Marks and Spencer and Asda’s paid for ads when searching for Interflora in Google.  Thoughts?

 
I know that a colleague of mine has found out recently that a competitor of hers is using her company name to generate traffic to his own website.  This is not good!

There is no doubt that optimising your site to attract traffic is a must.  Ensuring that your content, your titles and menus have key words etc…. is just the beginning. It’s fair to say that many SEO companies offer an invaluable service, and that PPC campaigns can and do help generate business. But what else could you be doing to drive traffic back to your web?

Social Media has really leveled out the playing field for many recruitment companies during the recession and many case studies point to the use of it to generate web traffic. (Small but powerful example: you make a comment on LinkedIn, someone likes it, reviews your profile and clicks onto your website…)  The term “personalized discovery” is now being used by experts to describe how everyday users use the web to educate themselves before buying.

Ask yourself, what are you doing before buying?  Maybe you even started to think about buying before going to Google, and discovered a product via your Facebook page (maybe your friends commented on it and that drove you to start researching it.)  Maybe you spotted a discussion stream in one of your LinkedIn groups that led you to go to someone’s website to check out their offering…

The concept of inbound marketing -  helping yourself to get found by people already in the buyer’s market – is not a new one, but it is one that social media nests very nicely with.  Many recruitment companies are now using LinkedIn, Facebook, Blogging, Twitter to add value to their brands, engage with their customers and drive traffic back to their website.  You will even find that if you comment on Blogs, you website traffic will increase (subtle!)

In any event, remember that the content on your site IS KING!  News, blogs, Twitter feeds etc… all add to the growing need of consumers for knowledge before they buy.  Your website is probably one of the most valuable assets you have, so invest in it wisely.  Your time creating content may be just as good as an investment as your marketing budget.

Lisa Jones is a Virtual IT Director with Barclay Jones – IT Strategy, a technology consultancy delivering impartial, strategic and practical advice to business leaders. She works with growing recruitment companies advising them on the most effective use of technology, web and social media to improve their business processes and bottom line.

Follow Lisa on Twitter, her blog and connect via LinkedIn.

If you want to write a guest post for the blog  let me know. 

Special offer for Recruiters from TheLadders

Last time we published a special offer TheLadders had they got a great response - which must mean that you want an excuse to give them a go!

So when Jamie sent me what they've got going on now I said I'd happily mention it...

Book your 2011 package with TheLadders.co.uk and have the rest of 2010 free of charge! But hurry up, time’s ticking.

2011 will be an exciting time at TheLadders. Not only are we back on TV in Q1, we will also launch our first heavyweight radio campaign on LBC, to drive the highest calibre of candidates for you. Book your 2011 package this year and TheLadders will give you the rest of 2010 for free, so the sooner you book, the more you‘ll get for free. Email us today for more details, time's ticking. specialoffer@theladders.com

By the way, if you are unsure; TheLadders is a job board for £50,000 plus jobs.

 

BraveNewTalent's Facebook App

The problem with using Facebook to find a job is that you don't necessarily want a potential employer seeing wall posts from your dodgy mates, photos of you at the tarts and vicar fancy dress party and comments from you saying what a witch your current boss is. 
 
So BraveNewTalent have launched a Facebook app that "allows users to unlock the power of their personal networks to help them find a job and build relationships with potential future employers....it builds a candidate’s professional profile, but respects their privacy." 
 
If you have information about your education, work history and current employer on Facebook that's what organisations can see. 
 
On the employer side the app takes the employer’s profile from BraveNewTalent.com (saving a second being created) and makes it accessible to Facebook users.   Where the employer posts news, vacancies, tweets and blogs potential candidates can view them from Facebook. As a user (or potential employee) you can "follow" employers without revealing all that personal information which you want to keep to yourself/your mates. 
 
As well as being able to follow companies you can use your network to see where your friends are working and even better where friends of friends work.  The idea being that this could lead to a wider job seeking market.  There is also an "introduction" option within the app so you can make contact with someone in the company of interest.
 
Other features include the ability to search for jobs and share them with friends.
 
Of course the key to success here is to have a large pool of employers using the system.  At present, BraveNewTalent's clients include Bluechip brands such as L'Oreal, Tesco, McAfee and three of the UKs top twenty Law firms with many other large corporate clients in the pipeline for December.
 
I think it's a great idea to facilitate jobseeking within Facebook, there has been talk of how that's not how users want to use the platform.  However, I think all but the most content employee is likely to want to keep their eyes open for new opportunities at all times. 
 
Check out the app or call 0207 734 0400 for more information. 

Jobseeker Attitudes Towards Employers - show me the loyalty

This blog post is based on content provided to me by TotalJobs.com.

Jobseekers are being encouraged not to get disheartened during their job search despite confidence taking a blow at the hands of the economic uncertainty.

While the economy grew by 0.8 per cent in the third quarter of this year, more than double the rate of some City estimates, large numbers of people are still searching for a job; a trend that was highlighted in the recent Totaljobs.com Jobseeker Confidence Survey Report.

In a poll that questioned 6,366 people, almost half (47.19 per cent) are not currently in employment. Of these, more than three quarters were previously in work but now find themselves unemployed for a variety of reasons.

While there's little doubt that jobs have been shed in both the public and private sectors, there is light at the end of the tunnel. The UK's economy has grown by 2.8 per cent over the past 12 months, which effectively ends the economy's chances of experiencing a double dip recession.

A growing economy means the creation of more jobs, something that those seeking employment are being encouraged to take on board. While competition for positions may have increased, the country's employment market is certainly looking a lot brighter.

In spite of the growing optimism, totaljobs' survey also revealed that almost 65 per cent of jobseekers do not believe that companies are loyal to their staff. Their opinions may have been influenced by redundancies, however, with many companies and organisations forced to shed staff in order to stay afloat.

This has been a bitter pill for many employees to swallow, with many remaining concerned about the threat of redundancy going into their next position. While this may be a genuine worry in the public sector, there's every indication that the private sector will be going from strength to strength; rendering the threat of redundancies very small indeed.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, a significant majority of respondents to the totaljobs poll (83.63 per cent) are of the opinion that employer loyalty to staff had decreased since 2008, the year the credit crunch and subsequent recession took their toll on the economy and the employment market.

Despite this apparent negativity, more than 40 per cent of those questioned had worked for their current or previous employer for three years or more; a figure that suggests a strong loyalty between employers and their employees.

The findings may suggest a degree of cynicism among those who have lost their positions, which is understandable given the challenges that many have faced when trying to secure a new job. However, the facts indicate that this cynicism may be unfounded and that loyalty is alive and well in the British jobs market; which bodes well for jobseekers up and down the country.

Recruiters need to be aware of these feelings and encourage their client’s to talk about the ways in they demonstrate loyalty to their staff.  As the market improves and jobseekers can start to be more choosy about where they interview they will select those companies about whom they feel the best. 

This of course relates to actual recruitment firms too.  I know of one company who took on staff just as the recession was hitting only to have to make redundancies week’s later.  Being seeing to make bad hiring and firing decisions may have a negative effect as the industry recovers!

 

Online Recruitment Conference: The Year Ahead – 27th January 2011

Enhance media have recently announced the date of their “Online Recruitment Conference: The Year Ahead”.  This is now in its ninth year and is the largest online recruitment conference in Europe and initial expectations are that this year’s event will be even bigger.

The headline speaker is the Head of Recruitment for the Olympics 2012; providing “unique insights into Britain’s largest ever recruitment operation”.  You can view information on all the speakers on the site, although the agenda hasn’t yet been published. 

The venue, as in previous years, is prestigious Royal Geographical Society in Central London. Tickets cost £398 + VAT per person.
 
Hope to see you there.
 

Pick of the Blogs - The SironaSays Blog

I've been a bit remiss with these - but to make up for it here is a goodie. The SironaSays Blog is written by Andy Headworth.  Andy is the owner of Sirona Consulting and helps to advise companies about recruitment strategy, social media, etc.  Andy is also someone with strong opinions.  Lots of them!
 
The blog has a bit of everything; in-depth advice on using social media tools, funny cartoons, rants, case studies, the list goes on.  Some of my favourites posts are

- Are blogs finally getting the respect they deserve?
- How to get started with Facebook Pages for your social recruiting strategy
- Increasing recruitment agency costs are your own fault!

If you've not read this blog before - you absolutely must. 
 
I'll be picking another superb blog soon. 
 
 

Dropbox - Dan's freebie of the year

We've got a guest blog post today from Dan Atkinson....

Once in a while something comes along that makes so much sense and you wonder why it's taken so long.  To add to my list of personal favourites (suitcases on wheels, those little folding  bag clips from Lakeland) I'm now adding Dropbox.

Dropbox is an incredibly simple idea executed beautifully.  It's a free Web based service that creates a virtual 'drive' on your computers in which you can store your documents.  And I'm loving it why?

- Because it will also replicate the same files on all the other machines I've installed  the Dropbox software on (and that goes for Mac, PC and Linux). No more saving stuff on USB sticks and running the risk of losing them. It's all there on my home and office machines.  It's also securely stored online too so anywhere I've got internet access I can access my work safely and securely.
- Because I can also access files I hold in Dropbox on my iPhone - no  matter when a Client calls I can always retrieve  information for them.
- Because  you can get up to 8gb of workable space free of charge, which is more than enough for most people if all your saving is Word and Excel documents (although you can upload and share photos etc too).
- And finally, because I can share designated  files with other users.  My attitude as a researcher is that I'm a co-consultant with whomsoever is fronting the work; I'm loving that that I can give my customers 24-7 access to work in progress to review and collaborate on.

You get the first 2GB of storage for free.  For every person you sign up you get an extra 250mb up to the maximum free allocation of 8GB. There's also premium services that can give you up to 100GB of space.   I'm going to shamelessly plug my free space allocation and ask you to sign up here. 

Dan Atkinson is a Director of research firm Accite Ltd.  He is also a bit of a technology junkie (first going online in 1995 and being one of the first 250,000 people worldwide to join LinkedIn). 

If you want to write a guest post for me just drop me a note.
 
 
 

Job Board Future Survey

Back at the end of the summer The Job Board Doctor started a survey into the future of job boards.  He gathered data from job seekers, HR professionals, recruiters, and job board employees. It was something we mention in the newsletter at the time. 

The results are now out and here are some of the key findings:

- LinkedIn and Twitter are the primary social media channels for recruiting
- Most job seekers use 3 or more job boards in their search
- Planning recruitment spending is static for job boards and going up for social media and referral programs
- Job boards continue to see the recession as the number one problem for their business
- Job seekers are most influenced when choosing a job board by ease of use and profession or industry focus
- Most job boards are planning to add new social media features in the coming year
- Less than 7% of HR or recruiting professionals have purchased .jobs domains for their organization
- Most job seekers are using job boards to locate jobs, then apply for them (either on the company site or job board)
- The biggest challenge for HR and recruiting professionals in meeting hiring goals is a lack of qualified applicants
- There are some warning signs for job boards in the results. For instance, less than 20% of job seekers have found a job via a niche job site.  Also, usage of general and niche job boards by HR and recruiting professionals falls behind social media, company career site, and referrals with regard to frequency of use.

You can get a copy of the complete results (a nicely put together 18 page document) via Job Board Doctor's website

RecruitRank Awards roundup

Last week's Jobsite had their annual RecruitRank Awards bash.  The awards recognise the country’s top performing recruitment agencies based on candidate feedback.

The categories and winners were:
- Low volume Jobsite user: Best Candidate Communication - Kensington Consulting
- High volume Jobsite user: Best Candidate Communication - networx
- Low volume Jobsite user: Best Understanding of Candidate Needs - Core Talent Recruitment Ltd
- High volume Jobsite user: Best Understanding of Candidate Needs - Wynnwith Group Ltd
- Low volume Jobsite user: Best Industry Knowledge - MECS Communications Ltd
- High volume Jobsite user: Best Industry Knowledge - Morson International (Aerospace)
- Low volume Jobsite user: Best Recruiter - Kensington Consulting
- High volume Jobsite user: Best Recruiter - networx
- Low volume Jobsite user: Most Improved - Blue Octopus Recruitment Limited
- High volume Jobsite user: Most Improved - Solutions Driven Ltd
- Best Recruiter Overall - Kensington Consulting

There are also photos on Flickr and in a slideshow.

I like the idea of these awards.  However, obviously/naturally they are rather biased towards Jobsite clients so aren't reflective of the entire recruitment industry.  Don't get me wrong - I'm not dissing them - I still think that these winners should be very proud of the achievement (and that Jobsite do a great job organising them).  It's just a shame that, as these are the only industry awards based purely on feedback from jobseekers, someone else out there (a more independent resource) couldn't perhaps take over these awards and make them more industry encompassing.  

The UK Recruiter - Recruitment Blog of the Year 2010

This is our fourth year of running the "Best UK Recruitment Blog" awards.... and this year we are doing it a bit differently.

In previous year's it's been a challenge to find a massive number of UK blogs which are related to recruitment so we've allowed any which are "recruitment focussed" to be included.  However, this year we are looking for our blog winner(s) to be actual practicing recruiters.

Right now we are in the nomination stage.  The criteria for nomination is:

i) the blogger has to be an active recruiter (ie, placed someone within the last 6 weeks)
ii) the blogger has to have posted something on their blog in the past 3 weeks
iii) The blog has been around for at least six months

In-house as well as agency bloggers are welcome!

As I say you can nominate now.  Nominations will close on 30th November.

Then it's the judging.  The judging panel will consist of me, Andy Headworth and Peter Gold (Peter and Andy have been highly ranked in our blog awards over the past three years). 

We'll be publishing details of the winning blogs towards the end of 2010.

So, nominate now!

 

Free Webinars for HR recruitment professionals

Just got some information about a series of webinars organised by Retail Choice.  Due entirely to my busy schedule I'm posting this around the time the first one takes place (sorry to anyone wanting to hear Jonathan Exten-Wright talk about " How to protect yourself and your business from new employment laws").
 
However, there is still plenty of time to sign up to hear Any Headworth (of Sirona Consulting) talk about "How you can get the best out of Generation Y" during his webinar on the 24th November @ 3pm.  The Webinar will be looking at Generation Y in the workplace. Who are they? What are the typical traits of Gen Y'ers and what are the implications for employers when looking to recruit and retain Gen Y'ers.
 
The final webinar in the series is covering "how to work better with marketing to build powerful employer brands".  The date's not confirmed yet but it will be in early December.  The speakers (so far) are Tsz Wu from Pink Squid and Suresh from Yo! Sushi
 
You can find out more (and sign up) on the Retail Choice website 

National Online Recruitment Awards - summary

Last Thursday was our networking event incorporating the National Online Recruitment Awards (NORAs).
 
It was a great event with a huge turnout and lots of very happy winners.
 
I won't do a blow by blow account but there are a few things I'd like to mention
 
a) You can see who the winners were on Stephen's blog.  You should also check out his Malawi Appeal.
 
b) Our photos were taken by Sara Headworth and you can view the networking and award winners on her flickr stream.  You can even buy some of them if you'd like a proper copy!
 
c) You can't run an event like this without loads of hard work.  Mostly I did that.... nope, only joking.  It's a real team effort and Stephen and the guys at 1job did a superb job of the awards.  Their work started nearly 12 months ago and even as I left the event I could see Mark taking down signage, Wai handing out goody bags, Jon "working" the room and James on the decks (I'm assuming that's still the correct terminology for DJing).  Stephen was resting his leg!  I also want to mention my little helper Fliss - who happily does door duty anytime I ask (she is probably available for private hire too!).
 
d) After running recruitment networking events for the past 10 years I'm never surprised at how much recruiters like to socialise.  However, next year I shall be investing in a water cannon to shut everyone up when the awards are being handed out.
 
e) Dan McGuire gave a (very flattering to me!) thank you and goodbye speech as he prepares to leave Broadbean for pastures new.  I met Dan at one of our events a very long time ago and he has been a constant supporter. 
 
f) I'm now starting work on 2011's schedule of events.... so watch this space.

HR Forum - Savoy Place Review

Our roving reporter, @LisaScales, recently attended the HR Forum at the Institute of Engineering & Technology on Savoy Place.  Here is her review:

What looked like initially to be quite a sober day with a true conference style format turned into an enlightening day for me watching senior Human Resources professionals from large organisations sticking their hands in the air and saying "yes we want to learn" "yes we have issues and how do we solve them"

The day started off with the opening speaker Richard Donkin, author, public speaker and all round font of knowledge (extending past the world of work and into the work of finance,fishing and sailing!)

Richard has written 2 books, the History of Work and the Future of Work and is, I believe, one of the few Baby Boomers who really "gets" the seesmic shift the younger generation is having on the world of work and how we approach work

Richard gave some astounding statistics (he wrote a column for the FT so he likes his stats) and one of which I found particularly interesting was that by 2020 there will be 600,000 fewer young people between the ages of 15-24 in UK labour market - only this week it was reported that graduate unemployment has risen to its highest level for 17 years. Hard to believe Richard's statistics rang true but with all the factors he talked about including the declining population etc it had many of the audience shifting uncomfortably in their seats!

The HR forum is not only a day to listen to great speakers and learn it is also a chance for industry suppliers to meet decision makers face to face and whilst there were speaking sessions throughout the day alot of the time is taken up with delegates meeing suppliers on a one to one basis - I could really see the benefits that this could have for a supplier to have maybe up to a 10 new business meetings in one day (try that if you have to circumnavigate the M25 or deal with tube strikes)

Jacqueline Davies, Global Head of Talent, Performance & Resourcing - Barclays Global Retail Bank had the pre lunch slot and I think you could safely say she wet everyones appetite for finding and keeping "fabulous talent" in their organisations. Jaqueline took a year off to write her book The Truth about Talent (all profits from this book go to charity) and is 8 weeks into her new role. Jacqueline is a dynamic and inspirational character with a no nonsense approach and is exactly what Barclays need to find the best talent to support their ambitions as a bank.

Jaqueline was keen to emphasise that her presentation wasnt a "catch all" approach and every organisation needs their own strategy before they embark on any talent hunt but she is happy to throw the rule book out to get the right result - one point struck a chord in that she says there isnt a war for talent but more a capability crunch - she means that there are plenty of  people out of work and looking for work but their skills dont match the skills that organisations are looking for so there is a mismatch in the market. Jacqueline went on to say that the education system doesn't support the capability mismatch and that organisations will have to be more involved at grass roots level to support this.

The afternoon was taken up with more one to one meetings and more speakers. Fat Face talked about their employer branding and engagement journey starting with turning their employer brand and aligning it with their core values - the "Fattitudes" - that engage with current and future employees. Graham White from Westminster City Council also spoke about challenges being faced in the public sector and how you keep morale high, head count low whilst incurring ever reducing budgets.

I spoke to a couple of the delegates from the day to get their feedback and the general consensus was that it was a great line up of speakers aswell as a really good way to connect with their peer group and share ideas.

All in all a great day watching industry professionals coming together, collaborating and sharing ideas with a real want to improve things for their workforces. 

My social networking policy

Recently I saw that Katharine Robinson (aka The Sourceress) had written a blog post setting out how she uses networking websites (so that no-one is offended if she doesn't friend, connect to or follow them).

I loved the idea and thought I'd share mine (which as it happens is different from Katharine's).

LinkedIn:

This is me on LinkedIn

I am more than happy to connect with anyone.  Absolutely anyone. I know that goes against many people's principals of only connecting to people that they've met in person or at least had conversations with over the ‘phone/email, etc.  However, I enjoy facilitating introductions and helping others to connect, and a large network certainly helps. So feel free to just send me an invite.   

Also, more than happy to forward on introductions.  However, here you need to explain why you want to connect with the other person. I'm not in the business of forwarding introductions willy-nilly!

Twitter:

Like Katharine, I regard Twitter as a communication free for all. If you follow me I will check out your profile (sometimes this takes a bit longer than it should!) and will follow back if you meet some of these criteria:

- You work within the recruitment space
- You are based in the UK or you tweet about things that have some relevance to the UK market
- You work in some other industry than recruitment but talk about relevant subjects (eg, social media)
- You are someone I know!
- You live within about 10 miles of me
However, even if you meet all the above criteria but all you do is tweet links to jobs, talk about sport or other "boring" hobbies, or retweet celebs then I'm unlikely to follow you.

This is me @louisetriance

Facebook:

I love Katharine's "thought experiment" for accepting friends on facebook...."Would I hug this person if I saw them in the street? If the answer is yes, you’ll probably get friended".  That's pretty much my policy too.  However, most of what I put on facebook is personal stuff so unless we are already friends I doubt you'd actually be interested in connecting with me!

Graduate Recruitment Fair

Just thought I'd give this a little mention as it seems rather relevant with recent reports of graduate unemployement being at a 17 year high.

TotalJobs Group (well the Graduate Jobs part of the group) are running an online graduate recruitment fair from the 8th to 12th November. 

It is essentially an online ‘virtual’ meeting place where recruiters (exhibitors) showcase their "corporate credentials" and graduate job opportunities.

As well as possible employment the graduate jobseekers can benefit from plenty of career advice.

Got to be good for grads - and a nice site too!

RecruitRank Awards 2010 Finalists Announced

The RecruitRank Awards have been around since November 2005. Last week they  announced the finalists for the RecruitRank Awards 2010. "Recognising best practice and quality customer service in recruitment agencies for the last 5 years, the RecruitRank Awards are the only awards in the industry where finalists and winners are chosen by feedback from candidates and not a panel of industry judges."

You can view the finalists on the RecruitRank website

The awards are being held on 9th November at Grace in London. I was hoping to get along to the awards but am sadly otherwise engaged.  So, if anyone wants my ticket (in return for doing a write up for me) please let me know.