Talented Digital Mum's & Dad's - Why you should be recruiting them into your Digital teams...

If you ever read my ramblings you will normally hear moaning about the biggest problem in digital recruitment… Not enough candidates for all the jobs we have available. PPC, SEO, Display, Biddable, Performance, Mobile etc. So many jobs so few candidates…

So with a lack of talent why do some agencies not utilise a group of talented people that can do a job for them and solve their recruitment problems? I’m talking about the growing group of women (and men!) who have brilliant digital experience but have children and are keen to work on a part time basis and, crucially, from home. I know some of these parents and they possesses amazing talent, but they no longer want the agency lifestyle and need something that gives them the chance to earn money, stay in the game keeping their careers moving forward whilst still being there for their kids. If you leave Digital for 5 years you are dead in the water, it is an industry that changes so quickly you need to keep a foot in, stay up to date with the technology and even the gossip! So why are so many businesses excluding this talented bunch of experts from the current job market, leaving them to go stale and un-employable by the time they are ready to jump back in full time?

Agency land is the classic work hard, play hard arena. People often doing 12 hour days and then going out partying until the sun comes up and back at their desks shortly after. Nothing wrong with that if it suits your personal life and keeps you on top of your workload, but I do think ‘some people’ still are more focused on the amount of hours spent at a desk rather than the work you actually get done.

“I used to love the agency life when I was in my twenties, single and fiercely ambitious. Working 12 or 15 hour days and making the most of the social perks as well as spending every day in a fancy city centre office were what I loved about the industry. Now that I’m in my thirties and have three young children, it’s just not that simple. Part of me still wants to work long hours and go out with my colleagues after work but on a practical level it’s just impossible. But I have 15 years’ experience, am great at what I do and am valued by my clients so it’s frustrating that to get the work/life balance I need, my employer is prepared to sacrifice the skills and qualities that I can still offer. In fact, I’m the one who can now cover the office the night after a team night out whilst everyone else is staring bleary eyed into their double espresso!” Megan, PPC Account Director (and mum of 3).

This is not a rant at Agencies, I love the industry, the characters and the perks that go with it. However when one of the key problems facing the industry is sourcing good people to help support the people they already have who are often stressed and struggling from working in under resourced teams then looking at offering more flexible working schemes such as working from home, part time hours or job sharing, should be explored. Especially when it’s the more experienced candidates, who you really want to be a part of your business, that this flexibility would most suit.

Many agencies I have spoken with say they would be open to recruiting someone who wants to work from home or part time but they are just not set up for that and need people in the office. Surely we can easily sort out these issues? Many agencies have people working from home already and with the technology we have at our disposal such as skype, VPN, conference calling etc, why does it matter so much where someone is actually based?

For me it is simple, recruitment has to be about the best candidate. If the best candidate can only work 3 days and it needs to be from home that person should be seriously considered. Often people who work from home get more done. This is not a disenfranchised group I’m talking about, I’m not appealing on their behalf, I simply think some employers are missing a trick by not taking advantage of this growing group of talent in an industry that is desperate for talent.

If you are looking for a new digital job, or looking to hire people for digital roles give me a shout anytime simon@digital-minds.co.uk

The War For Digital Talent

WAR FOR DIGITAL TALENT

Digital is not a normal recruitment sector; it is devoid of reality compared to the general recruitment market. Digital is the football equivalent of Manchester City, operating by a unique set of rules in the employment industry.

As the country constantly sits on the brink of another recession, digital basks in the sun of job security and often incredible salary increases. And this situation is not likely to stop anytime soon. The fact remains that Digital is rapidly expanding as quickly as skilled people can be trained/hired. The war for Digital talent is the most eagerly fought of any recruitment sector.

The rapid rise of Digital has created a job vacuum and the industry has far more jobs available than skilled people to take them, this has generated a candidate driven market in which everyone is hunting for talent.

Taking this into account, it is fascinating that so few employers have created any innovative recruitment strategies other than ‘let’s offer them more money’. In fact it is strange to see so many companies scrambling for talent but investing little into a strategy of how to secure and retain it. 

So here are a few points I believe can help you improve your conversion rate and win the war for talent.

1. Don't rely on the power of your brand; often it is not as powerful as you think! Believe it or not your brand does not sell itself as I have been told several times. The key is to ensure the people who are running the interviews can actively sell and promote your business but equally promote the benefits of working for them as an individual: people buy into people and the people who run the best interviews secure more talent than the people who don’t sell and let the company speak for itself.

2. Research! So few companies ask me what does the candidate specifically want? Is it progression, is it training, is it money etc. It’s vital before a candidate attends an interview that you have a grasp of what you need to specifically promote in order to secure that individual if you decide they are right for your business.

3. The recruitment process in digital is often expedited; it has to be because the best candidates go on and off the market so quickly. Nothing frustrates a candidate more than a company not being able to officially offer a job because HR have no sign off. Don’t win the battle for the candidate but lose the war internally to hire them.

4. The most perilous stage of the recruitment process is the time between a candidate accepting a role and starting the role. Often companies think job done and wait for the candidate to start. But this is Digital - the company the candidate is leaving is well aware of the cost associated with replacing them and so often go to work during this time trying various methods to try and get the candidate to stay and renege on the new job. If only one party is talking to the candidate for potentially upwards of a 3 month notice period, this can have a devastating effect. As a recruiter I spend a lot time educating clients on methods of keeping in touch with candidates after they have been offered and including them when possible in social events, creating buy in to the new business.

5. Shameless plug I know… But work with good recruiters! A recruiter’s value is not sourcing candidates; anyone can go onto LinkedIN nowadays and compile a list of Digital ADs for example but a recruiter manages every part of the recruitment process. They flag up concerns, they personally get involved in ensuring a candidate starts and they educate your line managers. The difference between a good recruiter and average one can define the war for talent in Digital.

These are just some of the things I believe are useful to implement in order to maximise your chances of winning the war for talent, for further information on Digital Minds and how we can help you as a candidate or client give me a shout. simon@digital-minds.co.uk

The Ugly Truth Of How To Get A Pay Rise in Digital

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Ugly Truth Of How To Get A Pay Rise In Digital...

You would think that the best way to increase your salary would be to do a good job, be loyal to your employer & be valued by the accounts you manage or work on. In theory that should be the best way to get a pay rise & in some cases that is how it works, but most of the time it does not work that way…

I know two candidates in digital who both work for a well known digital media agency. Both candidates work in the same team, are good at what they do and they both have 2 years Digital experience. Up until last week they had the exact same salary, however one of them was actively looking for a new job and secured 2 offers from competitors. So this candidate hands in their notice. Within a couple of hours the business had booked a table at a restaurant for the candidate to meet the MD of the business (someone he had never even spoken with before) they went on to deliver a comprehensive charm offensive, coupled with offering the incentives of a promotion and a huge £10,000 pay rise! So the candidate decided to stay and accepted the promotion and pay rise. I would probably have done the same thing myself.  At the end of the month these changes take effect and the candidate is very happy.

So what about the other candidate? Well they are not looking for a new job, they have not handed in their notice so they don’t get fast tracked to Account Mgr level and stay as an Exec, obviously they don’t get a £10,000 pay rise either.

This is the reality of the reactive world of Digital when it comes to companies paying their staff. If you stay loyal to a company, you will absolutely be on less money than the people who have made moves or at least threatened to do so. I’m not saying there is an easy solution for employers either, it’s difficult for them, they know the cost of replacing a good candidate is huge & gifting pay rises and promotions to make employees stay is good short term business. Quite frankly as a recruiter these tactics provide me with a wealth of good candidates as well, but is giving promotions and big pay rises once someone has a foot out of the door right? What about he person who possesses the same skill set and experience who did not hand in their notice? Why don’t they get the same up lift in benefits? Well they will but only when they decide to leave…

If you would like to find out more about Digital Minds give me a shout anytime. We specialise in PPC Jobs, SEO jobs, Digital Planning & Buying jobs, Social Media jobs, Affiliate jobs, Mobile jobs & senior level Digital multi channel roles. We also have fantastic referral and reward schemes. Referral a successful candidate and we will gift you up to £2000 & a Kindle Fire for Christmas. Work with us exclusively for a period of time and if we place you in your next job we will reward you with up to £1500 and a kindle Fire as a thank you! Nobody else does this, certainly not to this level so makes sense to speak with us first.

Simon halkyard (simon@digital-minds.co.uk)

Want to get the dream job in Digital? You need an interview coach!

Having an interview coach sounds very American, not really something we would entertain in the UK. However in my opinion as a Digital recruiter it’s fast becoming one of the smartest moves you can make when looking for a new Digital job. Interviews are not natural situations; if you’re in the first few years of your career you also probably have little experience of them. More and more we are seeing candidates who are strong interviewers winning jobs over candidates that are more technically gifted, people who get nervous or struggle to articulate are losing out, but it does not need to be that way!
Good recruiters can add significant value by coaching you through the interview process. At Digital Minds we often role-play interview situations with candidates that are looking for an edge over other candidates. At first for some it’s a bit embarrassing to do this, but that soon disappears and the value is undeniable. A lot of people who think they are good at interviewing are actually not! So If not via a recruiter who offers coaching then at least run through interview situations with a partner or friend and get them to give you honest and constructive feedback. You will be surprised what you might find out. It’s much better to find out your faults in a practice situation than during an actual interview.
If like me you are in your thirties with kids you may not go out anymore on a Saturday night! If so you may have seen Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday night on the BBC. They have a new judge, prima ballerina Darcey Bussell. She has an annoying habit of saying ‘Yah’ at the end of EVERY sentence, god it annoys me! I’m sure someone on the show will mention it to her. I know that sounds insignificant, but you would be surprised what little habits we all have in interview situations that can be annoying or simply just don’t show you in the right light. I often get candidates who when discussing achievements talk about ‘we’ as in the team they work in, rather than ‘I’ as in what they have achieved individually. Again a minor point, however I have seen people lose out on a second interview because of something that simple. So the up shot is this. A good recruiter will coach you, if not then get a friend or family member to do it. Give it a go, don’t worry about looking stupid, you will learn from it, improve your interview technique and ultimately perform better in interviews. Don’t lose out on the dream job because you are not prepared!
If you would like to know more about me and Digital Minds please contact me anytime simon@digital-minds.co.uk I’m always happy to help regardless of if you are looking for a new job. We only work in Digital and specialise in: PPC Jobs, SEO Jobs, Digital Planning & Buying Jobs (Brand & DR), Social Media Jobs, Mobile Jobs, New Business Jobs, Affiliate Jobs & most other Digital disciplines. We also have fantastic reward schemes (see link below) if you work with us exclusively or referral a friend we have rewards for you paying £500 to £2000!
http://digitalmindsrecruitment.wordpress.com/digital-minds-reward-referral/
You can also follow me on LinkedIN and on Twitter @Recruiter_simon

#SHICKLEGATE A DIGITAL RECRUITERS VIEW

The resignation letter of Kieran Allen spread across Media Land like a forest fire yesterday. I was shocked by how quickly it started trending on Twitter & by the sheer appetite people had for it.

It really was a classic example of the power of Social Media. Here we have a man who had spent a dozen years building a successful career in media having his career crippled & permanently tarnished within the space of a few hours. The scary part is that nobody knew if the allegations made were true or not, it’s even more scary that it is now irrelevant if they are true or not as the damage has been done. It was trial by social media with a swift verdict. Working as a Digital Recruiter I found myself feeling sorry for both Kieran & Greg, their careers will always be defined by THAT resignation letter.

Digital media is a booming industry, people often work long hours & working to tight deadlines, it also has some big personalities. In this environment I expect many people in the industry have let off steam by engaging in office ‘banter’ that if written down in black and white would make them wince. As a recruiter I have had many senior people in the industry tell me jokes, stories, gossip that were delivered without any malice but are not for repeating. I expect many people last night have reviewed some of the things they have said previously that today would be horrified if they were circulated around the media industry. So are we now going to have completely sanitised office environments and updated directives, I doubt it. I’m absolutely not supporting any of the accusations that were made in the email, but equally many who have commented on #Shicklegate have probably also made some comments before that could be viewed as equally incendiary.

One of the key reasons people call me looking for a new digital job is because they do not like their manager or director. Another key reason is many people in the media industry are working crazy hours, don’t feel supported & just cannot sustain the workload they have been given. It amazes me how many digital agencies don’t invest enough in supporting their current staff and work harder on keeping people happy. If your people are working regularly until late & don’t feel appreciated when they do and also don’t get help when they ask for it, I can guarantee you they will be calling someone like me. Then that agency has to replace them with someone who may not be as good, who costs more to hire, train, develop and bed into the job and who carry a recruitment fee for a cherry on top!

 If someone has decided they want to leave I would certainly recommend a digital agency perform an exit interview that is not completed by the line manager or director but by an HR professional who is not emotionally involved. Someone who can explore the reasons why someone is moving so they can improve their processes, certainly when this is done consistently patterns appear that allow improvements to be made. Obviously there are also two sides to every story & when someone is moving their motivations for doing so should not be accepted as the whole truth, many will be honest, but some will have an axe to grind. But I would think by having an exit interview a lot of bad feelings could be defused to some extent & the companies could move forward with useful information about how to keep their staff in future.

Ultimately social media has shown that unsubstantiated accusations are just as powerful as substantiated ones & that within a matter of hours careers can be brought to their knees with the press of an ‘enter button’ on a keyboard. The fallout of this will be interesting to witness, especially how people change in terms of what they say and what people feel is appropriate to say in jest for example. No matter what happens I personally think it is worrying & unacceptable that a career that took many years to achieve can be harmed in such a way by unsubstantiated allegations. I also feel for Kieran because regardless of if his accusations are correct or not, he must have felt extremely stressed and under immense pressure.

If you are interested in finding out more about Digital Minds please feel free to contact me anytime, simon@digital-minds.co.uk you may well not be looking for a new role but just have questions about the industry, i.e. are you paid in line with counter parts in other agencies or client side roles. I’m always happy to help. If you are looking for a new role we specialise in PPC jobs, SEO jobs, Digital Planning & buying jobs, Social Media Jobs, Affiliate jobs, Business Development jobs, Mobile Jobs & many other digital roles. We also have a couple of outstanding reward schemes that can be reviewed via this link.

http://digitalmindsrecruitment.wordpress.com/digital-minds-reward-referral/

Simon Halkyard

New year new Digital jobs 2012!

Today is my first day back in the office. Already the avalanche of new Digital Jobs has landed. Digital stops for nothing not even christmas and at the moment the jobs are coming thick and fast. PPC / SEO / Digital Planning & Buying & Social Media jobs lead the way, but if you work in any area of digital and want a new job then 2012 should provide numerous opportunities.
At Digital Minds we work differently (check out our website) www.digital-minds.co.uk and it is not all about putting people in jobs. We welcome speaking with anyone who wants help and advice. We can give you useful information on you salary and if it fits with what others in similar jobs are being paid. We can help prepare you for a salary review - no pressure to move jobs just good advice that will help you and then  down the line if you are looking for a new Digital role hopefully you will remember us!
Here are a few examples of the roles we currently have on offer:-

PPC £25 to £55k
SEO £25k to £45k
Social Media £20k to £40k

We also have a great reward scheme / referral scheme (see website for info) which pays £500 to £2000 for successful recommendations in 2012. If you know someone looking it pays to give me a shout!

So 2012 looks like being a busy one in Digital Recruitment. Remember pick the recruiters you work with wisely, most work on commission, a lot will send your CV's to companies without your permission. Plenty of good ones out there that will add great value to your search if you take the time to find them.

Simon Halkyard
Director
Digital Minds

New cash rewards from Digital Minds!

DIGITAL MINDS REWARDS FOR CHRISTMAS 2011...

We are always thinking up ways of rewarding our candidates & the people who refer people to us & help us raise our profile via social media. If you have any questions about our reward scheme or would like to find out more about Digital Minds contact simon@digital-minds.co.uk in the meantime get involved with the promotions below. someone will win an iPad2 and our reward scheme pays out ££££ each month!

1.    Refer a Digital candidate to Digital Minds and receive up to £1500* if they are successful in gaining role via us.

2.    If you register with us exclusively & ‘like’ our Facebook page, If we place you in your next role you will receive a cash reward of up to £1500*

3.    Share one of my job tweets with your Twitter network before Dec 16^th & be entered into our iPad2 raffle for Christmas! (one entry per person)

4.    Share one of my job updates with your LinkedIn connections before Dec 16^th & be entered into our iPad2 raffle for Christmas! (one entry per person)

5.    ‘Like’ our Facebook page before Dec 16^th & be entered into our iPad2 raffle for Christmas! (one entry per person)

*Reward scheme pays a minimum of £300 & a maximum of £1500 all dependent on the candidate’s salary.