However, as someone who has been involved in recruiting for our own organisation over the past few weeks, I have been quite literally gobsmacked at the poor level of effort, courtesy and basic communication skills displayed by applicants.  We hear lots of stuff about how we need to really engage with Generation Y – but have we gone too far? Do Generation Y now  feel that they have to make no real effort?  And is that one of the reasons that graduate unemployment is currently so high? Are we creating a whole generation of people who think that they can just sit back and wait for the ever so eager employer to find them within their ‘talent communities’?

A few examples:

• The applicant that I interviewed– a good degree, good A level grades and relevant work placement experience. When asked what had appealed to her about the role, she answered: “Dunno really – I just thought I could do it!”
• The applicant who, during a telephone screening interview, asked our Account Manager:  ”How old are you? Yousound really young!”
• The graduate  applicants ( and I’m not talking about just a few) whose covering letters and CVs are so full of spelling mistakes it makes me want to throw my hands up in despair at the current state of our education system. One was actively seeking a “roll in pubic relations.”
• The applicant who e-mailed me to say that he thought his experience would be of interest to me and directed me to site where I could find out more about him. I didn’t bother – because he couldn’t be bothered to sell himself.

Am I just a grumpy old woman?  Is there something I’m missing? Is it too much to expect applicants to make some effort to engage with ME?  What do others think?

Apologies readers for the lack of BlueSky blogging of late – BS HQ has been very busy! Not that we are complaining – it’s good news both for us but for the recruitment sector too. As more recruiters invest in PR it’s a sure sign that conditions are on the up! So as it’s 4.30pm on a Friday and my brain is slowing down so I thought I would use the time productively and ramble a little bit about this…

As we blogged about a few weeks ago we’re recruiting at the moment – due to aforementioned busy-ness we’re keen to take someone on. This is where we are put in our clients’ shoes and have to put all that recruiting knowledge we have gained to the test! I’ve written various pieces on how to write a good CV and the likes over the last couple of years, but I guess I have always assumed that people know the basics. It turns out that many don’t. We have had spelling mistakes, sentences that don’t make sense, photos, applicants from 200 miles away and people with completely irrelevant experience with no mention of a desire to work in PR. It’s a shame because what if that person with mistakes on their CV was perfect for the job? They could be losing out on opportunities because of something so simple. Although saying that they did provide us with a few chuckles too…

This got me thinking – who is to blame for this? The obvious answer is the candidate – sometimes mistakes can be solved by something as simple as proofreading the document . And if you don’t know how to put a CV together then do some research – the internet is home to loads of tips on these subjects. At a time where there is lots of competition for jobs shouldn’t this be crucial? However should schools play more of a part in teaching these skills? Learning about the periodic table and the Battle of Hastings obviously is all part of the education process but isn’t the point of school to prepare you for the workplace? I can’t think of much more relevant than knowing how to write a good CV.

So, my top CV tips are: check for spelling, grammatical and other simple errors, make sure you’ve read the job description thoroughly and that your CV relates to that position – detail your relevant experience and interest in the job. In other words put yourself in the employer’s shoes – what would you want to hear? Make it clear, concise and easy to read and don’t worry about including photos, date of birth or anything else that is not needed.

Saying this, all is not lost! We did also receive a handful of CVs from promising candidates, so hopefully the next BlueSky blogger will be with us soon. Watch this space!

A decade ago, online matching technology was seen as a huge threat to the traditional agency model. Did they all go out of business? No! But what did happen was that once that ubiquitous war for talent reared its head, lazy recruiters thought they could source a CV from a job board’s CV database; send it to a client, place that candidate and claim a fee. That’s not recruitment – that’s taking the proverbial.

In my view, the recession has , quite rightly, hit those ’recruiters’ who thought that it was ok to just press a few buttons and if technology is going to threaten any recruitment model then lets hope it’s that one.  What really makes my blood boil is that some of the real recruiters – the professionals in our sector – get tarred with the same brush.

So embrace all the technology at your disposal and add it to your toolkit. But don’t forget that ‘added value’ that all your clients will be looking for. It’s what they have always wanted – and more importantly it’s what they always will want!

To any innocent eavesdropper it would have sounded like an episode of grumpy old men/woman. You see Alan and I are from the old school of recruiters – before technology, before faxes – hell even before electronic typewriters. But during the last twenty odd years one thing has remained constant – the complaint from candidates about the candidate experience.

So why haven’t we learned? And there really is no excuse, as technology has made it easier than ever before to engage. But still we have the problem of candidates applying for jobs online and, at best, getting some impersonal auto reply. I know that we have a huge pool of candidates at the moment – and okay – many of then may not be suitable. But how difficult is it, on that auto reply, to point them to something that may help – a careers guidance area on your website for example with downloads on networking advice, coping with redundancy, the benefits of temping, upskilling etc etc .  Because when the war for talent comes back – and having worked through three recessions I can tell you it surely will, which recruiters will those candidates remember? A recruiters reputation can succeed or fail on something as simple as this so isn’t it time at last to try and get it right?  Here are my three  favourite anecdotes from my conversation with Alan:

• The candidate who received an e-mail to say your details  look exactly right so we will be putting you forward for the job and will contact you shortly.  The candidate then never heard anything.
• The recruitment firm that sent an auto reply after two weeks.
• The candidate who, having uploaded her CV as requested was then sent a form asking for two referees

There were lots more but it is too depressing! Technology is a great tool but you can’t e-mail a handshake! What are you doing to engage?

Interviews. We all know the basic rules, don’t we? Arrive on time, do your research, firm handshake and so on. Well, apparently not. Whilst browsing the Times online I found this article with some great examples of what you definitely should not do in an interview. Here are a few of my favourites.

Do not:

* wear a white suit
* admit your girlfriend wrote your CV
* tell the interviewer you’ve only just got out of bed and haven’t had any breakfast
* be arrogant (example given in the article: “In the middle of the questions, he came out with, ‘Come on son, dig deep’. ”)
* ask the interviewer out on a date

But these are just a few, which got me thinking there must be a lot more horror stories out there in the big world of recruitment. So please share – what’s the worst interview blunder you’ve experienced?

• Posted by: Sam Woodward