Career Zoo goes wild!

It’s been a couple of weeks since the third and most successful Career Zoo, the job fair for professionals. It was amazing! Firstly, the standard of the companies who participated rose considerably, check them here. A full range of industries were represented – healthcare, IT, telecoms, pharmaceutical, finance, manufacturing, management consultancy and retail. And there was an excellent choice of education establishments.

A big draw was the skills conversion courses offering new career opportunities for professionals. In just 6-12 months these courses allow individuals to retrain, free of charge, into a growth sector like software development, cloud computing or pharmaceuticals. I think these courses would offer a fantastic opportunity for those who are coming from the toughest industries like construction, architecture and engineering. Interestingly, we just did our own survey on skills conversion in the IT sector, which produced very good news for jobseekers (IT Skills Conversion Survey Results)

With such a stellar line up it was no surprise that the attendees went through the roof. It’s estimated over 10,000 people turned up over the two days. To be honest it felt like all 10,000 were there on the Saturday. There was a queue from the Mansion House all the way down Dawson Street late into the afternoon! I felt bad for the people who had to queue, but for health and safety reasons the staff at the Mansion House needed to manage the numbers. I hope that everyone got some value at the event after patiently waiting. Our stand was completely packed with a wide range of professional s offering their CVs and asking for advice. It fact it took a week just to get through the hundreds of CVs we received and contact the applicants.

The Career Clinic we hosted on behalf of Career Zoo was again a huge success and the walk-in slots were snapped up within the first hour on both days. I personally dealt with five, very talented individuals who welcomed the advice on their CVs, interview preparation and career strategy. However, I was surprised at how some of the attendees prepared for Career Zoo. It’s not very often you get a chance to have a face-to-face conversation with a potential employer before application. It’s a fabulous opportunity for people to make an impression and let all the great employers attending know that they should seriously consider them for a job. Nonetheless, it was only a minority who dressed formally. In fact there was one gentlemen with “Who’s your daddy” emblazoned across a t-shirt. You could argue it’s perfectly fine in the IT sector to dress casually to meet potential employers who might want to interview you, but I personally would have erred on the cautionary side and dressed conservatively.

In addition, it was quite common to meet people who did not bring CVs or who had ran out of copies. It seemed strange to me, that people would be content to queue for 20 minutes to get into the event, but not have carried out prior preparation. There can’t be too many events that gather companies of that calibre into one room wanting to hire people. I received CVs with addresses scribbled out on them, some missing numbers and one even missing a name! You can be sure, that the attendees who did their homework beforehand – researched the companies attending and the jobs available, produced well prepared and tailored CVs, dressed for a proper interview, tried to make an impression on the employers attending – would have been the first to get a call, or might even have secured an interview on the spot.

Overall, I think most people - exhibitors and attendees- got some real value out of the event and I believe there have already been hires. Credit to the organisers who have been able to build a bigger and better event than they had previously. Here’s looking forward to the next Career Zoo!

Stephen is responsible for the marketing and communications for Hays Ireland including the website, PR and social media. He is a member of the Marketing Institute of Ireland and is passionate about the development of marketing through new technologies.

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E: stephen.flanagan@hays.com

P: 01 8972481
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How to miss out on the best IT talent

The last 12 months has seen a shift in the dynamic of the IT skills market in Ireland.It is a job rich environment where talented candidates have a choice of companies and they are getting snapped up very quickly. However, I am observing the same hiring approach by companies as if it were a candidate rich market. This is resulting in disappointed companies, annoyed candidates and frustrated recruiters.

Some of the key challenges companies and candidates face include:
•Arduous recruitment processes that are either too long or have too many stages.
•Companies having unrealistic expectations about skill availability.
•Companies fishing for CVs without actually having approval to hire or being involved in internal or external bid processes.


I have discussed each of these in more detail with my observations and advice, in the hope that this will inform companies and lead to a more fruitful and satisfying process for everyone.


Recruitment that takes too long or too many stages
Whilst I understand it is crucial for a company to choose the right person for the job, it can be very frustrating for both the candidate and the company if the process takes too long or the candidate has to go through many stages. The consequence can include potential employers missing out on their desired candidate as a competitor moves more quickly or the candidate feeling like the company is not engaged as they are taking too long to “turnaround” the vacancy.


I would make the following recommendations to any company that faces the above challenges. Review your current process - are all the steps necessary? If they are, is there a way of condensing down the steps so that they can take place over a one or two day period? The reality is if you’re hiring a Java Developer for example, you may be one of five potential employers. The most successful organisations in hiring IT talent are asking candidates to clear a half day to complete all stages of the interview process and meeting all shortlisted candidates at the same time. This works for the candidate as it doesn’t arouse suspicion with their current employer by taking lots of time off. Also, it’s easier for you to make an informed decision having benchmarked several candidates in one go.


Finally, if the whole recruitment process is out of your control, make sure that you inform your recruiter that the candidate will have to be committed to a lengthy process. Otherwise you’ll find it very frustrating when you call a candidate you are excited about for a second interview and find out they have already accepted another job!


Unrealistic expectations
For the person appointed to carry out the recruitment sourcing, it can be a real challenge to hear the appointing manager ask for a combination of skills that are not compatible or don’t make business sense. A SharePoint Developer may be able to do some Oracle DBA work by the accident of a previous job’s experience, but this does mean there will be anyone else in Ireland with this skill set. Listen to your internal recruitment department and your external recruitment consultants. Investigate what they have done to find a certain skill. If they have taken exhaustive steps and can’t find someone then the likelihood is that the combination doesn’t exist. Ask the recruiter what they can find and make sure the hiring manager knows what options are available.


I have met with numerous internal recruiters and HR Managers over the last 3 months whose hiring managers don’t understand why they can’t find a specific skill set considering we have an unemployment rate of 14.3%. The reality is that very few of these are IT professionals. In fact, many of the unemployed are looking to retrain in IT, but it takes time to convert these skills.


Companies not having approval to hire
As a candidate there is nothing more despairing than going through a recruitment process, only to be told at the end that the hiring manager doesn’t have approval to hire. Of course this can happen due to a globally mandated recruitment freeze. However, if the request for new recruits is purely speculative, it will be beneficial for all parties if the recruiting personnel and candidate are made aware.


It’s becoming increasingly common for multinational companies to compete internally against other countries when bidding for business. Subsequently, it is normal for those companies to put out exploratory resource requests, especially for contractors. This is understandable as the workforce is required to deliver the project if the bid is successful. Nonetheless, you will get more value out of your recruitment agency relationship if you are open about your ambitions.


Believe it or not, any good recruitment consultant will have a multitude of vacancies and clients to service. A full understanding of your needs will allow them to deliver the best candidates that will stay the course. Then should your unfortunately lose the contract bid, those talented candidates will continue their interest and faith in your company.


The company, the candidate and the recruiter are all after the same outcome – a job that can transform someone’s life and a person that can transform a company. In the IT industry you’ll continually miss out on the best candidates if there isn’t a trust between all parties and open and honest dialogue. Considering the amount of energy and effort the hiring manager has to put into the process, it would be a real shame for it all to be for nothing.


James is Regional IT Director with Hays Recruitment, based in Dublin, Ireland. He is responsible for 2 business units - Corporate Accounts and IT. Corporate Accounts is responsible for delivering managed recruitment solutions to blue chip customers. These solutions include managed PSL, Master Vendor, Neutral Vendor and full Outsource Solutions. 

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E: james.milligan@hays.com

P: 01 6787649
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Feedback during the recruitment process

As an IT recruitment expert for over 4 years, it surprises me how little feedback the majority of candidates get from companies they have applied to. When you bear in mind that it is a candidates market in IT and will be so for the  foreseeable future, I’ve drawn up a few pointers on the benefits of providing feedback.

Create Brand Ambassadors

Candidates who interview with you can be ambassadors for the company just as well as your employees – they have spent the time learning about the organisation and meeting your hiring managers, so give them a positive experience. Even if they are unsuccessful, they will talk about a fair recruitment process and the constructive feedback that they received. This happens in all markets but particularly in Ireland where we have smaller cities and word of mouth can be very powerful. The last thing you want is an unsuccessful applicant putting off a potential ideal candidate.

Facilitate Future Hiring

Think about the candidates you interview – where do you source them? Employee referrals, careers fairs or through recruitment partners? If a candidate goes through a rigorous interview process and receives poor communication throughout or vague reasoning for the final decision, news of their negative experience will quickly spread through the recruitment channel you have just used. They could feedback to existing employees who referred them; speak to college peers who will also be graduates from courses and universities that you are trying to target; or even your recruitment partners who are trying to source the very best candidates for your job. A positive experience by the candidate could help maintain a pipeline for the future.

Acknowledge the Harsh Economy

Many candidates who are in full time employment are cautious about exploring the market in turbulent times. It takes a lot of effort for a person in a job to look for a job and there is potentially an acute nervousness that their current employers might hear they are looking on the market. Constructive and specific feedback to an unsuccessful candidate reassures them that they were under genuine consideration and engaged in a confidential and professional process.

Jobseekers who are currently unemployed and active on the market are focusing all their energy on their job search, which can be a frustrating and time-consuming process for most. At worst, a lack of feedback can be psychologically damaging for that candidate. Appreciation for the time they have taken to prepare for and attend the interview can be conveyed through useful interview feedback that is no cost to you as an employer but can be invaluable to the individual as they progress with their search.

Tips for Hiring Managers

At Hays we believe the right job can change a candidate’s life. But equally the right candidate can change a company. Considering you are already putting so much time and energy into the recruitment process here are a few tips that can take you from getting good candidates, to getting great candidates and prevent the likelihood of the scenarios we presented above.

1 – Spend time drafting and perfecting your job description, listen to feedback from your HR team and your recruitment partners, they know how to market the role in order to attract candidates at the right level and skill set. Most candidates will want to review a written document before progressing their application (see paranoia reference above) so allow your job description to clearly communicate your requirements.

2 – Agree timeframes at the outset of the process. Discuss deadlines for short-listing CVs, first and subsequent interviews. The more structured your process – the more candidates are willing to be flexible and to engage as they can see that there is a definite timeframe and commitment to hire. Recruitment is taking you away from your core job – make sure you are doing it as efficiently and effectively as possible.

3 – Be specific with feedback at each stage – it allows candidates to take on board the reasons why they have been unsuccessful, provides useful feedback to your recruiters and also helps you to focus on the core requirements for the role. Ask yourself – can they do the job? If not, why not - are they lacking in specific competencies for the role?

4 - Narrow your focus at each stage of the process. Work with your recruiters to ensure that only the best candidates are being progressed – your recruitment process should be a funnel – not a trawler net!

Based in Limerick, Clara is a Business Manager with Hays IT, specialising in recruitment for development roles. Her clients are based across the Munster and Connaught regions and range from small indigenous technology firms to MNCs in the gaming, pharmaceutical, telecommunications and manufacturing industries.

Jobs she recruits for include Software Design Engineers, Developers (Java, C, .Net), and Multimedia and Web Developers from graduate level through to leadership roles.

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E: clara.gough@hays.com

P: 061 435 750

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