Tag Archives: recruitment

6 Easy Steps to Optimise your LinkedIn Personal Profile.

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LinkedIn is becoming an ever-growing social media tool for business professionals all around the world – not to mention it being the fastest growing social media platforms in 2012. At Wallace Hind, we understand the importance of it and want to share 6 easy tips to optimise your personal LinkedIn account.

1. Spelling & Grammar – ensure that your profile is typo-free with no grammatical errors. Ideally, you want to spend as much as much time working on your LinkedIn profile as you do on your CV.

2. Elevator Pitch – the summary section on your profile is a must. This section should be used as an area to include all of your strengths, as recruiters will most probably look at this section first. It’s ideal to include some keywords that recruiters are most likely to be searching.

3. Recommendations – ask your network and/or colleagues to write your recommendations. This is an area that will reinforce you as a candidate for job roles. Recruiters will be keeping a close eye on these.

4. Keywords – LinkedIn is very SEO friendly. This means getting as many keywords into the various sections of your personal profile will be of advantage to you. These keywords will help you get found by the right people!

5. Up-to-date – You don’t want to have an old personal profile. It’s perfectly alright to update your LinkedIn profile as often as you wish. The more up-to-date the information is on there, the better.

6. Frequent Updates – There’s no point in buying a car & not using it, the same goes for your LinkedIn profile. It’s a valuable tool to use for networking, job searching, headhunting & many, many more.

To find out more about what we do please visit our website and follow us on Facebook.

Driving Through The Rain.

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Friday 21st September was Wallace Hind’s 16th Annual Golf Day, held at the lovely Thorney Lakes Golf Club in Peterborough.

 

It normally never rains in Thorney for the Golf day, however, it certainly did! In fact, it poured. Waterproofs went on and umbrellas went up. The drops falling out of the sky showed no sign of easing, but we all soldiered on nonetheless, in true British style.

 

The perseverance of our clients and staff made us very proud indeed: socks were dampened but spirits were not. The effort was not without fruition either - we managed to raise over £600 for the Mouth Cancer Foundation.

 

The bad weather did not seem to affect the golf. RR Donnelly did a trophy sweep, taking the title of Team Winners as well as both first and second place for the Individual Winners. Richard Adams flew the flag for Wallace Hind, whilst Julie White of Wyboston Lakes scored one for the ladies, by claiming the award for Longest Drive.

 

The new Yellow Ball competition brought much entertainment. Each team was given a yellow ball to hit round all 18 holes, but only four made it back to the club house. The winning ball came to glory with 36 Stableford Points.

 

As the day’s golfing came to an end, everyone made their way back to the club house to warm up and have a much deserved drink or two. A plate of steaming hot bangers and mash was served as the perfect reward for everyone’s perseverance and stories of the day’s events were soon being regaled.

 

It comes as no surprise however, that we are considering moving next year’s Golf Day to the summer months. Keep your eyes and ears open for the announcement for next year’s date!

 

Check our Facebook Page to see the photos of everyone in action.

Why it pays to know your competitors like the back of your hand

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With the Ryder Cup underway at the end of the month, what can we learn from the bi-annual golf competition?

 

The Ryder Cup is all about pitching the right pair to beat the opposing team. Put that into the context of business, it’s essential to understand the competition. Very few companies have no competitors, whether direct or indirect there’s always someone vying for the same customers.

 

Knowing your own strengths and weaknesses is just as important as knowing that of your competitors and can be the difference between winning business and losing out. Wallace Hind show you exactly what you need to know about your competitors and why.

 

Products & Services

For you to establish yourself as a market leader, you need to respect your competition and know what they are doing. Identify your competitor’s unique selling point(s) and pinpoint where your service is superior or on the other hand, what you need to do better to keep ahead of them.

 

What do you offer that’s better than theirs and why is it? Do you win on the range of products or RRP? Are you too high or low on price? If some of the information isn’t readily available to you, call up their office and pretend to be a customer looking for quotes.

 

The more you know, the better positioned you are to recognise how your company is unique, to spot opportunities for growth and identify areas for development.

 

Online presence

A company’s online presence includes everything from their website to social media accounts. It will inform you of their customers, promotional activity, what keywords they’re dominating the search engines, plus who they’re connected with locally.

 

Sign up to their newsletters and add yourself to their email database to be in the loop with everything new. Go onto their website and see how it compares to yours in appearance and brand image. Is there a lot of technical product information on their website? If theirs has been recently updated leaving yours to pale in comparison, you might want to put that as a short-term priority for business.

 

Social media is then the next place to visit. Check out their followers and what their activity is like. Are they popular? Have they built an online community? Does their Twitter double up as a customer service base? Are they on LinkedIn but don’t have a Company page? What are they doing that you should be?

 

Customer Service

Maintaining customer loyalty is difficult in a market with so many options. You can be certain that if one company isn’t serving their customers right, those customers will move their custom elsewhere – possibly even to you.

 

It’s advantageous for you to establish your competitor’s target market and their current customer base. This leaves you in a position to tweak your products or services to appeal to a new market segment but also aim to beat them on the level of service.

 

Are they offering enough payment options? Do they provide a way for customers to leave feedback or reviews? Is their service prompt and efficient? Are you considering linking your product pages with social networks so customers can share content?

 

Future plans

Slightly more tricky than the rest, but to really come up trumps you must continually look at developing the service you offer, staying ahead of the market.

 

Future events, collaborations and news releases provide valuable insight into where they’re heading, the kind of connections they have now and which circles they’re aiming for. Anticipate their next move and be aware of what new products or services they’re developing and their resources.

 

Scrutinising your competitors is crucial to progression in business so look at them first before highlighting opportunities for yourself.

 

Wallace Hind Selection goes above and beyond to tailor the right candidates for their clients, ensuring they stand above others. To benefit from our specialist recruitment services please visit our website to find out more and contact us today.

 

 

8 Signs That You’re In Need Of A Career Change

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According to a recent survey from sofa firm, DFS, the British public spend more than 100 days of their lives moaning about work in the evenings. Factors like financial worries, meeting deadlines and the daily commute to work were top of the list of gripes but considering we spend so much time a year at work, it should be spent doing something that you love.

Here’s how to tell whether you’re one of those who are searching for fulfillment in your career.

You’re never happy

Happiness is a feeling that should extend throughout your working day as well as in your personal life. Low morale at work doesn’t just affect you and those you work with – it affects your relationships, your motivation and ability to work. When someone asks, “How’s your day been?” it shouldn’t always follow with a negative response and Mondays shouldn’t always make you want to bang your head on a wall.

You’ve reached your peak

Any career that you venture into should have plenty of scope for progression, so if you find that you’ve hit a brick wall far too soon then maybe it’s time to explore what’s on the other side. It’s natural to want to push yourself at work and aim for that next promotion but if it hasn’t arrived yet, what’s the point in continuing when there’s nothing else to gain?

You’re not being challenged

When you’re being challenged at work it gives you a buzz and a sense of satisfaction when you meet those targets or come up with a great idea – it gives us momentum and energy. If you’re bored, you won’t enjoy your work and will therefore make silly mistakes which won’t make your employer very happy. Sometimes to keep things fresh you have to keep it moving.

You’re not valued at work

We all want a pat on the back for a job well done and any employer who appreciates their staff will congratulate good work. You want to know that your position at work is a valued one and if your efforts are going unnoticed for too long you’ll eventually start to resent doing it. If the matter can’t be resolved with your supervisor or boss, then maybe it’s time to find an employer who encourages your talent.

You’re losing focus

It’s normal to have the odd bad day when it’s difficult to concentrate because our working lives become so chaotic and drawn out. Most find that a chilled evening with friends after work or a long night’s sleep will refresh them for the next day. If, however, you’re head is always in the clouds – daydreaming of where else you could be and how rubbish your job is – think about turning it around.

Your health is suffering

It’s scientifically proven that stress can increase productivity and some people thrive in stressful environments but this isn’t suited to everyone. Your health should always come first and if you’re taking more trips to the doctors suffering with conditions like insomnia, depression, burn-out or fatigue, you have to weigh up how much you really like your job and whether it’s worth risking your well being.

Your job is too stressful

You’ll find that in some careers it’s much harder to switch off and return to normality than it is for others but in the long-run, losing grip of your work-life balance won’t do you any favours. If the anxiety of all the things you have to do tomorrow stops you from enjoying your personal life and having down-time, evaluate how you can relieve some stress at work and claw back some time for yourself, otherwise move to a career which is more worthwhile.

Your finances never add up

We all work to pay the bills so if after x amount of years in a career and you’re struggling at the end of the month, make the switch to a role with more financial prospects. There’s always room for bargaining when it comes to pay so if you can’t remember the last time you were called into the office for a performance meeting, it’s unlikely to happen any time soon.

Wallace Hind specialise in recruitment across all sectors including, healthcare, construction, business and professional. If you feel that you’re ready for a new challenge and a fresh start, please visit our website to find out more about our services and how you can contact us.

20 Years Young: Wallace Hind Celebrate their 20th Anniversary!

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Wallace Hind began life on April 6th 1992 when the 3 founding partners, Mike Horsley, John Gowen & Gerry Bell decided to set up their own business with the support of a business angel called Alan Hind.

As you can see in the pictures they’re holding, back then they had a little more hair!

Starting off in rented office space at a converted manor house in the village of Moulton they quickly established themselves as the `go to` company for sales recruitment in Northampton.

Having added current partners Tracey FitzGerald & Rod Plowe to the team they moved to new rented offices on Moulton Park in 1994 but rapid growth in turnover and the addition of three more consultants and an administrator forced them to look around for new premises less than 2 years later.

In 1996 they found an ideal base which would allow for future growth which was the Old Vicarage in Duston. They decided to buy the property rather than rent and extensively renovated the inside of the 18th century listed building.

Recruiting more consultants they added marketing to sales as a specialism and continued to flourish hitting £1million turnover for the first time in 1999.

In 2006 the company decided to change the way it worked moving to a retained business model and recruiting outside of sales and marketing. This change added to a new management structure allowed the company to achieve £1.5 million turnover in 2008.

This turnover has been maintained since despite the credit crunch and the company is now set to achieve its long term target of £2 million turnover in the next 2 years.

As it stands Wallace Hind now employs 18 consultants including the 3 original partners (who all still actively recruit) and in its 20 years has produced turnover in excess of £20 million, placing over 4000 candidates at all levels from junior executive to the board room in sales, marketing & non sales roles.

They are able to offer a UK wide & international full recruitment service to FTSE 100 companies and SME`s alike. (In the last 12 months they have successfully worked in France, Germany, Holland, The Middle East & South Africa)

Their strap line is “where experience matters” and in addition to the three founding partners seven of their consultants have become full partners or associate partners.

In total they have in excess of 200 years of accumulated recruitment expertise; hence they really live by their motto ‘where experience matters…’

Check out our Facebook timeline where you can trace back through the company history and see all key milestones and events; or just wish us a happy birthday! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wallace-Hind-Selection-LLP/172866596152517

Who are your Heroes?

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Before an appointment last week I had something of a lightbulb moment…

…We often ask people, or you may get asked, ‘what motivates you?’ in an interview. I thought about how I personally would answer that question and what it was really asking me…?

Sure, the same old response popped into my head; money, nice car, holiday in the Algarve, golf membership…

Later on I found myself thinking about it over my coffee, in the car, and then mowing the lawn. If I understand better what motivates me then surely I will get the best out of myself; and that can only be a good thing. Furthermore, I wanted an answer that would differentiate me from the standard response, should I ever find myself on the other side of the interviewing table.

Now I am not going to pretend money doesn’t motivate me; as it naturally enables me to have a lifestyle I want and provide for people I love. But there is more to life than that, more about me as a person and who I want to be…

So…I started to think of who my heroes where…Who do I admire? Who do I try and emulate and aspire to be like? What have they achieved that inspires and motivates me to believe I can do the same? What attributes do I value in myself and others?

I thought of eleven and then arranged them in a football team in formation…(No I don’t have too much time on my hands!)

In Goal

Geoff Boycott – For making the most of his talent and for sheer determination & bloody mindedness.

Back Four  

Jean de Valette – Grand Master of the Hospitaller during the 1565 siege of Malta when 550 knights held out against 30,000 Ottoman Turks. For saving Europe from Muslim domination.

Margaret Thatcher – For saving Britain from a sad and slow decline.

Winston Churchill – For saving Britain & the world from Nazi domination.

Stuart Pearce – For taking and scoring that penalty.

Midfield

Hans Joachim Marseille – The best fighter pilot in the world ever.

Sir Richard Francis Burton – You need to read about him on Wikipedia to see why he was a great man!

Matt Le Tissier – Genius with a football and a one club man!

Steve McQueen – The coolest man ever to walk the planet.

Strikers

Harold Larwood – The best fast bowler ever and for refusing to apologise for bodyline.

Brian Clough – The best football manager ever & a fantastic striker.

So I admire determination, persistence, winning against the odds, talent, genius, loyalty, mavericks, anti-authority figures & never giving up for a start…

If I were to ask you who your Heroes are, what would you say?

Who do you admire? Who do you try and emulate and aspire to be like? What inspires and motivates you? It doesn’t have to be a whole person, it can be something they have achieved or accomplished.

It doesn’t have to be eleven people either, it can be as many or as few as you like!

Move over Usain Bolt, Wallace Hind are here…

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On Wednesday 21st March, staff at Wallace Hind Selection LLP arranged and competed in a Mini Olympics Event to raise money for Sport Relief.

Wallace Hind usually buy their staff lunch on a Wednesday, however, this week there were some hungry tums as the staff took part in a mini Olympics and the money was instead donated to Sports Relief.

Events included Wrong Handed Putting, Skittles, Fishing, Skipping and Keepie Uppie; raising £100 for the worthy cause. There was a tie in the golf challenge which was very competitive as there are many golfers in the office! A game of twister was used to decide the winner!

Sport Relief is a great charity that brings the entire nation together to get active, raise cash and change lives. The money raised is spent by Comic Relief to help people living incredibly tough lives, both at home in the UK and across the world’s poorest countries. It goes a long way too. From transforming the lives of people in the UK’s most disadvantaged communities, or those living with poor mental or physical health, to protecting street children and providing life-saving healthcare abroad. Check out the official website to find out more http://www.sportrelief.com/about-us#tab2

Wallace Hind would also like to take the opportunity and are delighted to welcome Philip Monkman to our team – Philip Monkman is an experienced recruiter of 11 years and has worked for some of the UK’s most recognised contingency recruitment organisations. With a background in finding the very best senior talent for some of the UK and Europe’s Leading brands, he was keen to find a business that genuinely differentiates its service levels from the rest of the market place. With experience of managing both single and multiple recruitment campaigns he was blown away by the in-depth professionalism, market information, transparent communication and genuine consultation that the Wallace Hind process encourages throughout a project.

Photo: Winners from Left to Right on photo Paul Gallagher John Gowen and  Matt Hogg… John Gowen being the overall winner!

£126 million scheme to tackle youth unemployment…

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The Government’s Youth Contract Scheme has dominated the news lately, creating a considerable amount of backlash in response to Nick Clegg’s invite for employers to join. 

 

The £126 million scheme is set to tackle youth unemployment and forms part of the coalition government’s Youth Contract Scheme which was revealed in November 2011; addressing growing youth unemployment.

The scheme is targeting ‘Neets’ (teens who are not in education, employment or training), offering businesses and charities the opportunity to apply for funding for up to £2,200 to take them on as employees. The scheme is to include 160,000 job subsidies and an extra 20,000 apprenticeships, with at least 55,000 ‘neets’ – those who have no GCSEs at grades C or above – expected to benefit.

The initiative comes in the wake of the rise in unemployment figures for the last quarter in 2011 and Mr. Clegg’s backed plans to increase University fees across the UK, potentially having a serious affect on the graduate jobs market.

The numbers of 16 to 24-year-olds out of work soared by 22,000 to hit 1.04 million in December 2011.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has said: “Sitting at home with nothing to do when you’re so young can knock the stuffing out of you for years.”

“This problem isn’t new, but in the current economic climate we urgently need to step up efforts to ensure some of our most troubled teenagers have the skills, confidence and opportunities to succeed.”

Tracey FitzGerald, Partner – Wallace Hind Selection says…

“As part of their growth plans Wallace Hind have identified the need to enhance their administration team. In keeping with our commitment to helping the country tackle youth unemployment we have entered into a contract with Intec Apprenticeship Recruitment scheme to take on a young person to work as a trainee Administrative Assistant.

We believe we can offer a young person a structured and interesting entrance into the working world and our comprehensive training and development plan should ensure they are set up very well for the rest of their working career.”

How do you feel about the Youth Contract scheme – do you think it is a good idea and will it work? Would you consider attending University if the fees were not as expensive?