Month: April 2019

As a recruiter one of the best things about the job is the variety of people that you speak to and the varied conversations that you have on a daily basis. Additionally, working within an office of people with a real variety of weird and wonderful people (I will let you decide for yourself who fits in to each category) I really do learn something new every day.

Some (non-recruitment) examples include:

You can only breathe out of one nostril at a time

Approximately 1 in 10,000 people have their internal organs on the opposite side of their body (Situs inversus) including Enrique Iglesias and Mollie’s mate Helen.

There are 73 calories in a Ferrero Roche

Cows can smell things from 5 miles away

The number one (both in the UK and the US) on the date that I was born was: “I’d do anything for love” by Meatloaf

Elephants can eat for up to 18 hours a day – relatable

Interesting huh?!

The ability to learn and retain information is a key skill necessary to many employers. Only this morning I spoke to a recruitment partner of ours and their key requirement, above any technical skill, was the ability and the enthusiasm to learn new things. I would argue that as soft skills go it is up there as the most important.

Employers look for employees who are willing to expand their existing knowledge even if traditional education is many years behind them. Whether you are new to a role or have be working within the sector for years there is always something new to learn. Embrace it.

Now I know most of my articles seem to circle back to age. Maybe I’m wildly conscious of the fact I’m growing older and haven’t done all the things I wanted to do when I was younger. Although, I’m not too sure I remember what they were. That’s what age does to you.

I was watching that Louis Tomlinson bucket list video with the old boy from Leeds and thought as lovely as it is that he’s now getting to do all these fun things, I want to do them throughout my entire life. I don’t want to sit on them until I’m 70 odd then jump out a plane. I wanna jump out a plane now. Well, maybe at the weekend. I live on an RAF camp and seeing the Falcons gallivanting around Morrisons in their jumpsuits really makes me jealous.

I’m going to have to come up with some kind of mini bucket list for now, just a couple of things I’d like to do by the time I’m… 35. Lets go with 35. There’s an infinite number of things I could list to do but I’ll stick with three for now.

Go to Vegas and wear a dress that is sequins from top to bottom

North American road trip (I can probably get those two in together, although I think I’d rather not cos hangover plus cheap Vegas flights with the RAF)

See the Northern lights and wear a coat with a proper fluffy hood (probs have to wait a few years for them to get better again)

I’ve actually done a fair few of the things 17-year-old me would have hoped to do. Most of them were visiting certain places and doing cliché shit when I was there…

Lived in Aus a while and made some incredible friends, visited Hawaii – ticked off a heap there too; did the drive to Hana (Waianapanapa black beach is mental and make sure you find the hidden cave to swim in, too), swam with turtles in a random cove the locals directed us to and drove up a 10,000ft volcano to watch the sun set.

The last thing I want to do is get caught up with working so much and focusing on building my home life that I don’t do all the things I wanted to do when I was little.

Alright, some are a bit ridiculous and I won’t ever be an astronaut and to be honest, I don’t care about going to space. Especially if it means sitting next to Elon Musk for hours. No thanks.

I find myself spending more time thinking about saving for trivial things than booking trips and enjoying myself whilst I can.

There are so many more important things than taking the same trip to Malaga every year to save for a house deposit or your ridiculous car payments because you wanted a 19 plate beamer the second you got that payrise.

As a wise woman once said…

“I wanna see the world, drive nice cars, I wanna have groupies” Nicole Shirtswinger zingertowerburger Scherzinger.

Not too fussed on the groupie thing. Also contradicts the car payment issue, but maybe just rent a convertible when you’re on your American road trip.

M x

But also if you’re happy going to the same place every year, saving for a house to sit in, grow old and boring then that’s fine too.

In the last six weeks, I’ve had some pretty unfortunate events happen to me.

One was losing my phone, which admittedly was completely my fault. This has caused some serious inconvenience for me over the last few days. It’s crazy how much we rely on phones these days – even the really small things that you take for granted. Spotify, Maps, and being unable to quickly ‘Let me Google It’.

The other was a motorbike accident in Thailand, which again was completely my fault. Didn’t break any bones, or cause any significant damage, but did end up with a few nasty grazes. The Asian air got me real good though – resulting in some pretty bad infections, an operation, a stay in the doctors overnight and a hefty hospital bill.

What softened the blow, was the fact I had insurance for both.

After both incidents happened, I was really quite pleased that ‘past Dominic’  had helped ‘future Dominic’ out, by being adult enough to purchase insurance.

We’ve all been caught in two minds pondering over whether or not forking out £15 a month is worth it.

It is worth it.

If I can give you one bit of advice, it’s to take insurance, because a motorbike accident and losing a phone are a lot less shit when you’re insured.

God bless your insurance.

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There are few things I like more in the world than fresh bedsheets on a Friday… one of those being fresh bedsheets on a Thursday because it’s a bank holiday weekend and ya girl’s got tan all over the bed.

A lot of people will be counting down the hours until later today when they can pop that ‘I’m probably going to read your email I’m just happy to have an excuse not to reply’ out of office message on.

It must be so draining. I say that as if I’ve never felt that way about work before, of course I have, but I just quit and moved to the sunny Gold Coast, drank bottled CC and dry on the regs and ate Mexican food like burritos were in a national shortage crisis and I’d just found a boat full.

“Yeah ok Mollie I’ll just quit and move abroad because I don’t like my job great solution cool thanks”. It’s not an option for everyone, but I’d have left either way. It would bring out my migraines, make me dread getting up and I’d clock watch until I could leave again. Who wants that?

And to be fair, I also didn’t work somewhere with benefits that made me want to stay.

I’d work every Saturday (and Sunday if I couldn’t get the cover cause my supervisor was being a guffball), worked all Christmas, I’d never even heard of Easter until a few weeks ago and I’m not sure if I was ever authorised a day of my holiday for one reason or another.

In a world where companies are striving to be better than one another, why would you want to be stuck at the one getting left behind? Sure you’ve been there 10 years and you’re dead cert that it’s going down the shitter and you’ll get a redundancy pay out soon, sure the people you work with make it bearable and sure that 20 days holiday plus actually taking off the bank holidays is better than working them – but why should it end there?

OX Seven are forever reading peoples adverts, looking through companies’ packages (not their mail, unless it’s an ASOS then I’d probably consider it) and seeing where we can improve our offering.

Shouldn’t everywhere be like this? Why wouldn’t you want to be an employer of choice in the area with staff are happy where they are and not scrolling through indeed every night crying into their sweet and salted?

I know some companies may struggle to implement change due to size/budgets/whatever other excuse they’ve got, but c’mon it’s 2019 let’s move people.

As Mother Teresa once said, “you should want to work somewhere that makes you happy to change your bedsheets on a Tuesday night, cause getting out of bed on hump day ain’t no thing”.

If you don’t like your job, change it. Call us, we’ll have something better.

 

 

M x

Getting judged by others can be a terrifying prospect, especially when there’s a lot at stake.  Think back to your time at school or your career, there will have been times where you’ve had to put yourself out there in certain situations such as an interview setting, or giving a presentation for others to assess.  Believe me, you’re not alone in feeling the crippling nerves that make you think your legs are going to give way at any moment.

I remember our class having to do a dance performance as part of our P.E curriculum.  The teacher had us practising for weeks doing the hoedown and other ridiculous routines, but it was okay because he said there would only be a handful of pupils watching us on their lunch break ….. what a load of bollocks that was.  Peering through the stage curtain on performance day there was a sea of smirking teenage faces all waiting for us to wow them with our country and western style moves (or more probably waiting for us to cock up!).  Anyway, I stumbled my way through and managed to escape relatively unscathed, but it wasn’t what I would describe as an enjoyable experience.  When I think back on times like this, although it is tinged with a sense of revulsion, I realise that it has helped build resilience and character when faced with similar situations.

When seeking a job the entire application life cycle can feel like one big judging competition.  Your CV gets assessed, you get judged on a telephone interview, you get judged in a face to face interview, and any other hoops the employer or recruiter asks you to jump through.  What’s important throughout is that you try and remain positive, and even if you are not right for the position that you take learnings away that can help you in the future.

To achieve success in your working life you have to put yourself out there more and more, exposing yourself (not physically) to key decision makers that can have a real impact on your career.  My advice would be to do your due diligence on the company and the vacancy you are applying for.  Find out about their culture, how they operate and how the role fits into the business.  This won’t stop the judgment or eradicate criticism entirely, but it will certainly put you in a more advantageous position.

With the final season of Game of Thrones (GoT) fast approaching, I have been racking my brains to see if I can tenuously link it to recruitment. Let’s see if I can!

So, GoT is very similar to recruitment (solid start) …

Everyone this side of the wall have their sights set on their dream job, which is of course to sit on the Iron Throne and rule the seven kingdoms.

In the past, some people have fallen into the position (excuse the pun – poor Tommen). Some people like Ned Stark have been overlooked as there was only one person in the decision making process, and there are even some people that are qualified and don’t even know it like Gendry.

Cersei is currently in the sought after position, and normally a handover would be useful for any successful candidate, however in this case we’re all hoping this won’t be possible; so you’d need to source someone who can come in and hit the ground running.

If I was recruiting for the position I’d love Daenerys or Jon Snow CV’s finding its way to my desk, delivered by raven, but In the real world this rarely happens.

Therefore it’s important to source the right candidates and to not overlook people based on a CV only. For example, Tyrion’s CV may read “found guilty of killing my nephew; killed my father whilst he was on the toilet and I love getting drunk”. Personally I probably wouldn’t call this candidate, but if I did, I’d find an articulate man with all the qualifications to be fantastic at the job.

So in a nutshell, GoT is nothing like recruitment but it starts on Monday and I’m ridiculously excited about it.

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How often do things live up to expectations? I speak for myself when I say rarely.

That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, you learn from it and all that. Some of us can’t wear a messy bun and not look like Miss Trunchbull, but you never know until you try. Marriage isn’t getting home to freshly baked treats and a roast every Sunday, but again, gotta put a ring on it to find that out.

I can’t think of a day that Dom hasn’t loudly proclaimed “they’ve got the job” when he’s skimmed over a CV for a second and got over excited. Chances are, they haven’t got the job and they probably won’t even pick up the phone when he calls, but hey.

No point getting all sad about it, because in recruitment that’s a daily struggle. Why would you possibly answer the phone or return a message after uploading your CV on to a database in the hope someone approaches you about a well good job? Silly thought, right?

Not everything is going to live up to your expectations. Mainly because that is all they are, your own expectations. How can things always meet something which is probably pretty unrealistic? Even more – how could they surpass that?

I’m a girl of simple pleasures. Like yesterday, I had bought four two litre bottles of water from Asda for about a quid. Eight litres was cheaper to buy than a 75cl. Stupid. Absolutely ridiculous. I’ve bought more plastic to ruin the environment with and it cost me less money?

Not only did I get bare water for my buck, I opened it and it exploded everywhere. It was so full that the pressure of opening it caused it to just go everywhere and all I could do was take a picture and say “that’s mental, innit”. Annoying but pretty great.

When do you ever get anything so full? Nothing worse than buying a pack of flaming hot monster munch and having about 4 feet in there.

Either way, it’s common for things to not end up how you expected. Whether it’s in your personal life, work or a delicious snack you were so looking forward to, it happens to the best of us. There’s no point letting it get you down.

Nice one Elmhurst Spring, you really outdid yourselves. Look at that meniscus.

The Proclaimers were prepared to walk 500 miles for something or other. Probably some romantic engagement or gesture. Either way that’s one hell of a journey. I currently commute approximately 45 minutes to get to work. For me, this isn’t an issue as the drive is a nice scenic cruise through the Cotswolds – which certainly beats the A34 in rush hour. The only problems I ever seem to face are following tractors at 20mph or trying to avoid pheasants with a death wish. They truly are the most stupid creatures known to humankind.

 

How far someone is willing to travel for work is very much a personal choice and certainly one that shouldn’t be taken lightly when you’re looking for a new role. There are certain considerations that come into play. Do you have your own car or will you need to rely on public transportation? If you have kids do you want to be within a few miles to be able to go to school events like the effing nativity play, or pick them up from the childminders early because they’ve chundered everywhere?

 

Commuting is an important factor for both employee and employer alike. For candidates applying for a position, it’s always worth travelling the route at peak times so you can get a feel for what your journey will look like. You’ll be able to answer questions such as ‘is this bearable?’, ‘can I see myself doing this commute long term?’ and ‘is it just not worth it because of that pissing double roundabout that sends my anxiety levels through the roof?’

 

For our clients, it’s an equally important consideration before hiring someone. They need to assess if the distance an employee is traveling on a daily basis will turn into an issue later on down the line. Ideally, they want to be able to retain their staff long term and not lose someone 6 months after their start date because they just cannot stand the A34 (sorry I’ve mentioned that road twice now but it really is a shit one).

 

So ensure you do your due diligence when it comes to commuting. Look at key elements such a travel time, fuel cost and accessibility. As mentioned previously the distance/time you’re willing to travel is very much a personal decision and you may make more concessions in that area depending on how much you want a particular job, but even then it is worth considerable thought.

I would love to be one of those people that is impulsive, but 25 years of living on Earth has taught me that I am just not. I bloody love a plan and sticking to said plan. Tell me a time to be somewhere and I’m that annoying person who turns up 15 minutes early.

Unfortunately, there are times in life that you cannot stick to your plan. Sadly, we will all have times in life where we need to deviate from our plan. As scary as it may seem at the time its not a bad thing. For example, if you had told me 4 years ago when I left university that I would go in to recruitment I would have said no chance. But for all my sins I love recruitment and am not scared to say so, despite the reputation that it still (sadly) has.

So, what do you do when life deals you an unexpected card?

Well you do what you can to deal with it. The outcome is very much dependent on the situation, but trust in yourself and make the best decision that suits you. People are going to judge decisions that you make. So, stop placing too much emphasis on their opinions.

We had a conversation in the office just the other day about the importance of gut instinct. Trust yourself and make the best decision for you and those closest to you.

We all have in some ways a fear of the unknown, but the extent to which you let that impact you varies massively. If you take anything away from this slightly rambling excuse for an article let it be to not let fear overcome you. Make the best decision for you and trust your own judgement when making decisions.

You do you.

 

 

 

To most people yesterday was just another Thursday, but to me it was the first Thursday of the month, which means one thing – Curry Club!

This tradition started almost 15 years ago, when 3 workmates (I was not one of these and I’m not allowed to forget it) had a couple of beers after work on a Thursday night and ended up in a curry house.

A month later, the same group (with me in Dom’s place, sorry Dom!) went for a curry and the tradition started that day – well, officially a month earlier but hey, who cares right?!

We really do take Curry Club seriously and actually run it like a good business…

Firstly we located a head office by trying all the local curry houses; settling on the one that served the best food and that paid for the shirts we’d designed, true story!

Like all good business, recruitment is a vital part of Curry Club. We carefully vet all potential new members, collect references, conduct trial days, ensure all potential new members understand our values so they can make an informed decision, then make offers to successful candidates.

Just like in business, roles are appointed to each member, from “risk assessment” (trying a different curry each month and reporting back to the class), to the treasurer, who collects everyone’s £35 at the beginning of the night, “pays the man”, banks whatever is leftover (yes, we have a bank account) at the end of the night and then uses the kitty money to fund our Christmas outing at the end of the year.

In summary, take pride in your recruitment process as both a business and a candidate; make sure the fit is right for both parties and surround yourself with great people that share your values. If you do all of these things correctly, you too could be looking back in 15 years time, saying to yourself, “I bloody love Curry Club”.

Danny B