Recruiters = Estate Agents

An observation - In times of recession, recruiters seem to have a inverse relationship to Estate Agents but end up being the same..

In good times, Estate Agents treat everyone with a certain amount of contempt, to buyers they are god and to sellers they suck up and this changes when then markets crash and their commissions are gone.  The Recruiter on the other hand treats his/her clients with contempt in times of recession as they seem to act as the gatekeeper to that fabled job.  

Are they all scum?

At Last

Sorry for the radio silence. I may have a job offer.  What do I feel? Elated, pleased and a sense of acheivement and also.. a little bitter.  The pressures of society. Its expectations.  Someone seen as useless is thrown out of the hive.

First morning after I lost my job, I cried. A grown man cry. When you realise you have nowhere to go. The bitterly cold winter months when I was home alone, I could have cried. Trying to keep warm and busy. It was the loneliest time in my life. Was it the bottom? Perhaps.

Whats the lesson - sounds glib BUT one must have more to life than just work and its trappings. 

More to come.

You are fired!

This in today's Guardian made me laugh - what ever next?

Employers are increasingly using drug testing to get rid of staff without having to make redundancy payouts, as a way of cutting costs during the recession, a charity has said.

Interviews

They say the first 10 seconds seal it.

Shave the beard.  Check for grey hairs. Choose a plain white shirt, navy suit, sober tie, neutral cufflinks. Polish shoes.

Spend 2 days preparing for an interview.  Reading, researching, re-reading CV. Try to neutralise ones fears, hopes and expectations. Decision made in 10 seconds.

Interview

Yayy.. not one but two. But I have been here before and bitterly disappointed. Still I have to prepare for it and give it my best.

Sometimes some employers only want to see an external to tick all the boxes, only to give the job to a mate's mate.  But you see they have followed the process.

Is all fair in love, war and the workplace?

Naming and Shaming

• Which little Indian Chubster from 752 Solutions does not bother returning your emails or phone calls?
• Which Aussie/Kiwi (head dipped in an Oil slick) at Joslin Rowe hides advertised jobs from you and then tells you to look on the Internet?

More to come.  Why don't you add yours on here?

The recruitment Game - Ploy No 2

They call out of the blue.. tell you they have seen your CV on a website, they have a great role but of course they can't tell you the client's name BUT they do need to know if you are interviewing.  Well yes.. I am.  Then they ask who with.. I was already a little wary and they would insist, so I would tell the bank's name.. and they would say "ahhh" .. intimating it may be that very bank. 

Then they want to know names of the people you saw.. this is a common trick to try and find out what live roles exist out there. 

Yes, one barrow boy Oik was so thick that he called back the next day to try and find out the spelling of my interviewer.  I hung up.