Philip Redding Regional Business Manager

Hire the best people Get the best job

Typical obstacles Too old Too young Not enough experience Too much experience Not the right experience Not the right version numbers

Ageism - The facts It is not illegal Works in favour of 25 - 35 age group, reduces prospects for: older people women returning to work younger workers

Ageism - The facts Legislation by 2006 Voluntary code of practice since 1999 One third of employers are aware Age based recruitment halved UK Labour market getting older Little (if any) variation in absenteeism, loyalty, ability to develop new skills.

Current Skill - Technical Assessment An exercise for the Client Representatives Consider the best technical members of your team Think of their current technical skills Think of the time when they joined you What technical skills did they have then ?

Why don’t we widen the net? My opinion: Fine for Contract Recruitment But Lazy Permanent Recruitment .Too difficult to look beneath the skin? .Too time consuming to build up a relationship? .Too risky to ‘change old ways’?

Why change? Over-targeting particular age or ‘current skill’ groups generally inflates the price (salary) of these groups Recruitment delays and consequential costs rise, by restrictive targeting Change beats the competition ! Older workers generally stay in their jobs longer than younger people

Attributes and Competencies Most companies want “people like us” Matching of values and shared goals are key With the right competencies, technical skills could become “icing on the cake” You can develop someone's skills, but it’s very hard to change their personality

Attractive Applicants Develop first class communication skills Develop relationships with agencies - be human! Detail your personality in your CV Make your CV easy and enjoyable to read - It is your marketing document

Make yourself marketable Detail your strongest attributes, giving examples of how you applied them Show your determination by detailing how you have kept up to date with technology Ensure that your technical experience can be assessed easily, showing ability and length of usage

Example 1 “In this particular role I used my user liaison skills to their fullest, to ensure that the development team obtain a comprehensive understanding of the business need”

Example 2 “I have maintained a strong understanding of up to date internet development languages and tools such as J2EE; ASP; .NET; COLDFUSION; BROADVISION and VIGNETTE. I have studied each of these languages from home and have developed applications, to cement and stretch my ability.”

Example 3

How do you facilitate a match ? To find your perfect match is hard work Abundance of vacancies OR of applicants creates a huge problem Be prepared for a lot of “leg work” You or your company, must become KNOWN

Agency or Direct Route ? The direct route can be a stab in the dark An agency should do a lot of the leg work for you An agency should have a greater pool to fish in Agencies normally have strengths in either certain markets or certain types of client You must identify suitable agencies

Identifying suitable agencies Large agencies are sometimes the only route to large companies Smaller agencies often specialise in specific technical areas Study the internet job boards Locate and question suitable individual agents Select a dozen agents to work with

Building relationships with agents Work hard to build relationships with agents who specialise in people or companies like you Remind agents that they will make money from you. Are you a marketable commodity? Respect peoples time, ask to meet them if there could be mutual benefit Read & discuss job specifications

Summary It’s a people business. Ensure that you get to know people Work hard. The more you put in, the greater the chance of success Take a very professional approach to recruitment Develop relationships with agencies