Archive for the ‘Video Recruitment’ Category

Job Hunters: Why use an Agency?

Job hunters, listen up: It’s tough out there these days.  Between skyrocketing unemployment rates, stiff competition for every available job, laborious online job applications, and the old adage that it isn’t what you know but who you know that will find you employment, today’s job seekers need every friend they can get.

And that’s where recruitment specialists (especially David Alan) come in!  We are the first to hear about many available roles, and can quickly match them to qualified candidates.  We know what the employer is looking for, so you won’t waste time applying for positions you aren’t suited or qualified for.  Best of all, we know you.  And that means we can sell you.

Being faced with a stack of CVs as an employer is daunting.  When a trusted consultant tells them that they have a perfect candidate to fill a vacancy, that candidate will go straight to the top of their stack.

Once your CV has been read, and an interview has been scheduled, a consultant can give you inside information about the hiring manager.  What are they looking for?  What do they want to hear?  These are advantages you can only get by using a consultant.

Some agencies even offer special services.  For example, at David Alan we offer a Talking Heads service, where we videotape our candidates.  This allows employers to get a better feel for potential candidates and select the ones they feel would best fit into their orginisation.  This is of benefit to job hunters as well.  Some CVs might be overlooked, but upon “meeting” a candidate on video, an employer might deicde they would be a perfect fit.

Finally, recruitment consultants are trained and experienced in finding people jobs. As a job hunter, why wouldn’t you want an expert on your side, especially at no cost to you?

Dana G.

Why Hire Young?

It’s no secret that young people are having a tough time finding a job these days.  Employers receive hundreds of applications for every role they advertise, and they are in a position where they can afford to be selective.  Unfortunately for the 1.04 million unemployed people between the ages of 16 and 24 (as of December 2011, according to the UK Office for National Statistics), selective can often mean choosing someone with experience doing the precise role that is being advertised.

Many of these unemployed young people have either never held a job, or have held a part time job throughout school or university.  Whole they may have gained many transferable skills through their studies, life experiences and part time jobs, they are still getting passed over in favour of people with more experience.

But hiring one of these young people could bring with it some unexpected benefits.

Here are 5:

Flexibility: Young people are often more flexible in terms of the hours they can work due to less commitments such as childcare.  They are generally also more willing to relocate as they are not tied to one place by a mortgage or spouse as often.

Transferable Skills: They may not have the job title on their CV, but many of these young people have all the skills necessary to perform these roles.

The Future: With a significant portion of the population reaching retirement age in the next few years, hiring some younger people now will make for a smooth transition.

A New Point of View: Young people bring in a new perspective and can add a lot of valuable insight especially when it comes to trend-oriented markets like technology, social media or music.

The Company Culture:  If someone is being hired for their first or second job, they don’t have a set idea of how things “should” be done, and will likely bend to fit in with your ways of working and company culture.

Dana G.

How I Found David Alan Recruitment

David Alan Consultancy

Like any good job hunter, whenever I see a missed call I immediately hop on Google to see who (or which job opportunity) has rung. Late one afternoon, I found myself Googling David Alan Recruitment’s number.  I’d never heard of them before, but after checking to make sure they were legitimate, I rang them back.

I was greeted by Rosanne, the bubbly, enthusiastic managing director.  She told me about a secretarial role that she thought I’d be great for.  I told her I wasn’t interested as I am attempting to find communications roles.  Most recruiters would have thanked me for ringing back at that point, and put down the phone.

Instead, Rosanne asked what kind of roles I was seeking, and when I told her I was after communications roles, and I’m trying to get my foot in the door in the charity sector, she told me she had a short term position at a charity for the next week.  I was overjoyed!  She suggested we meet for a coffee to discuss.  She was warm, engaging, and really listed to what I wanted.

In the end, not only did she place me in a short-term charity role, she also offered to let me work on her social media for David Alan! Wins all around. David Alan gets an extra hand on deck, and I get valuable communications experience!

Dana G.

Help Start Youth Careers

Video recruitment increases graduate placements even when they have little work experience - help start youth careers

The Government has launched initiatives to help get 350,000 young people into work.

The number of young people out of work during the three months to September 2011 rose by 67,000. The total is the highest since comparable records began 19 years ago.

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Youth unemployment hits one million

Youth unemployment hits one million

Last month, youth unemployment (ie under 25 years) touched 1 million.

In these grim economic times, even a university degree doesn’t guarantee you a job, as many despairing graduates have discovered.

So what can be done to help?

“The government needs to start investing in opportunities for graduates and supporting businesses that are willing to employ young workers.” says Estelle Hart, spokesperson for the National Union of Students (NUS).

Last year the government axed the Future Jobs Fund, which was created to fund invaluable work experience for young people and graduates. Its withdrawal means there is little or no incentive for employers to take on a new generation of employees who are our future.

But there are glimmers of hope.

Growth may be slow in the permanent market but temporary work is steady. We help candidates recognise their strengths and skills, and capture it on video so it enhances their written CV which very often has minimal work experience.

Clearly these young people have loads of energy and commitment and keen to have a chance in a first job. What they lack in experience they make up in enthusiasm.

David Alan’s candidate video clips allow employers to view 10 candidates in 20 minutes.

To find out how we can save you time when taking on temporary staff to enhance your business in the short term, please contact us at David Alan Consultants.

Rosanne Shochot
David Alan Consultants
Recruitment specialists placing staff who last

How may we help you today?

IMAGE CREDIT: RENEE SILVERMAN'S PHOTOSTREAM ON FLICKR

Recruitment trade press talks about video recruitment

Recruitment trade press talks about video recruitment

There was a piece in last weeks Recruiter Magazine online which caught my eye. Well, it would, as it was about the use of video in the recruitment process, a viewpoint put out by Andrew Wilkinson, CEO at TMP Worldwide and we specialise in video recruiting as part of our talent placement toolkit.

If you’ve not seen my blog until now, please do take a moment to scroll through and you’ll see that at David Alan, we’ve been using our video interviewing service for a long while now which was as well received from day one as it is today. What’s more, we know we are saving clients up to 50% of the entire recruitment process: the HR Directors’ time and the company’s money.

In the feature, Andrew Wilkinson is reported to have told Recruiter, “Video allows you to bring to life the brand in a way that other types of creative channels don’t.”

And what I receive firsthand on a regular basis via client feedback, is that our video clips, produced for the client at our cost, presented with the traditional CV, totally showcases our candidates.

I am so thrilled to be working in this amazing sector hunting for new talent and presenting the right talent to my clients.

Video has significantly changed the way this industry now works.

Bring it on I say.

You call it the Recruitment Business – We call it a Talent Solutions Business

You call it the Recruitment Business – We call it a Talent Solutions Business

I believe the role we have in our work with HR Directors is in the provision of business solutions and we do this through the people-element of the business.

As communications and commerce rely even more on digital medias, I pose the question in following question in this month’s blog:

How can Mobile & Video can help secure the pick of the crop of top talent for you?

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The Talent Hunter Rules, OK?

The Talent Hunter Rules, OK?

At David Alan, we take great care in our talent hunting – our due diligence, fast results, the right result first time, our reputation and unique video interview technique is what we are well known for.

Here are what we call ‘The Rules’ – if you’re responsible for the recruitment process in your organisation and you’re not getting this approach, give us a call on 020 8458 7351. We can not only save you 50% of the time you spend on the process but we can save you money too.

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Intuition & Hiring People? Does this figure?

Intuition & Hiring People? Does this figure?

You know when you get an inkling about a person or situation? This inkling in a feeling worth paying attention to as it is our intuition working on our behalf. It’s our unique inner guidance system that never shuts off yet which can be tuned up.

Whilst we can assess candidates CVs for their skills and past track record, and with the David Alan video interviewing technique we can show you the candidate on camera answering your specific pre interview questions, it is also important to pay attention to your intuition in the recruitment process as it can give you ‘clues without hard evidence’ and is worth paying attention to.

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Why should you choose David Alan Consultants for your recruitment process?

Why should you choose David Alan Consultants for your recruitment process?

We specialise in placing staff that last and last – why? Because of the care we take from the outset to ensure we match the right talent to the right roles. We’re very particular in this area because we don’t want to waste time or money and our motivation is to provide the best selection process of the best candidates possible.

We believe the way to recruit these days is to enhance the quality of the process making it easier for you to choose the very best candidates for your unique roles.. At David Alan we are specialists in talent matching and we do it in a specific way.

We thoroughly interview each short-listed candidate, short-listed in the first instance by us, matching skills with experience and we are diligent to match candidates to your organizations’ culture. After all, our goal is to spoil you for choice when making the decision.

Our video interview technique literally brings CVs to life so that when you see the traditional CV with a specially filmed clip of the candidates we believe would be fantastic for your role, answering the questions you provided us, that you really want to hear answered, you can make a faster informed decision on who to interview.

Two weeks ago we filmed our new promotional movie for the website. We hope this gives a clear message of how we make incredible talent VISIBLE. Please do take a moment to view via http://www.david-alan.com/

It is our pleasure to share this endorsement we recently received with you:

The David Alan Consultants video interview service saves time and money when recruiting. It makes perfect sense to be able to see/hear shortlisted candidates before interview. This is the interview way of the future.

Bev James, MD of the Entrepreneurs’ Business Academy – Passionate about your success and The Coaching Academy – Inspiring Coaching, Inspiring Success

Here is a link to our Testimonials page.

What’s the next step for you?

We would love to schedule a 15 minute appointment with you, at your offices so that you can view our revolutionary recruitment process first-hand in a short presentation.

If you would like to sharpen your recruitment process, save up to 75% of your time and money AND have the pick of the crop of talent shortlisted for you, please give us a call to book your appointment.

How may we help you?

Rosanne@david-alan.com – assuring you of my personal attention at all times

David Alan Consultants, on the hunt for exceptional talent on your behalf