Success is a balancing act!

The reason for my blog today is because I have been enjoying an excellent discussion on Linked In with some forward thinking individuals who really support the idea of flexible working conditions.

I was and am very aware that, in recruitment,  the best clients and best candidates in the world, mean nothing without the best, most highly qualified and credible consultants looking after them.

When I set up Nicholas Howard, I knew from the word go that for me to attract leading talent into my business, I needed to create an environment which encourages, harness and nurtures...... growth, development, enjoyment and fulfilment in the workplace.

To this end, we have tried at least, to roll out ways of working that make it easy for our team to be everything they want to be at work, and also to be everything they have to be at home.

As a father of three wonderful children myself, I was constantly frustrated in my corporate life, seeing potential in people quashed and disheartened by unsympathetic business leaders who seemed fixed on hours worked when judging productivity.

For me success is built not on the hours that you work, but the work you put into your hours, and I am lucky that the  Nicholas Howard team consistently prove this theory for me.

We work hard, and there are days when we all have to roll up our sleeves and dig in, but more often, by offering flexibility in hours, home based working, and remote systems set up, and encouraging a culture of working when you can, only when you have to, we are able to manage these hectic days, and still keep the quality of life that is so important to all of us.

That said, all of our grand ideas would result in nothing without the effort and patience from the team. We all do everything we can at different times to support and accommodate each other, and every one of the team deserves to be recognised.

We will continue to push hard to create the best working environment possible for all members of the team and drive towards my ultimate goal of not living with a work life balance, but enabling a success life balance.

Please take a message...

Just a very brief blog to share something which I thought was funny this week.

I was attending an appointment (non work related I should say) this week, and was able to hear a receptionist answering calls into the building.

I have to admit I was over hearing her side of the calls and was impressed with her helpful nature and professional tone, but I then heard her asking the caller to repeat themselves several times.  She obviously decided asking for a third repetition was too much, and I heard her sigh, call through to the person for whom the call was intended and announce the following (names changed!) -

"Hi John, it's Jane on reception, I am not sure what it is about, but I have James from the Office of National City Sticks for you....what are City Sticks?..(pause).....oh!....ok, I'll put him through now..."

It made me laugh while I waited...hope it makes you smile as well, have a great weekend.

The customer is always right......right?

I have been on a business trip to Manchester this week, and another great trip it was meeting excellent candidates.

I had a very pleasant stay in a hotel that I have not used before, but unfortunately, my breakfast booking had not filtered through onto their system.  I therefore had to have several conversations with several different individuals before anyone was able to believe that my booking confirmation (with the words 'Bed and Full Breakfast included' clearly written on it) did actually include breakfast!

Finally over breakfast, I got to thinking: what happened to the customer always being right?  I certainly didn't feel right this morning, even though I was.  Then it struck me, the customer isn't always right.

In recruitment this is more the case than any other industry I know.  How often do we pull our hair out because clients won't agree to see candidates we know are great?  How often will great candidates not entertain brilliant opportunities for reasons which we know aren't the issues they perceive them to be.

Of course, it’s our job to convince, cajole and manage these objections, and we should be able to provide all the information needed for our clients and candidates to make informed decisions.

It isn't always that black and white though is it.  The thing we fell in love with about a candidate can't be captured on a CV or in a consultant overview; the potential of a role or organisation can't be accurately mapped out on a spec or organisational chart.

The connection which makes a good piece of recruitment into a great hire, or great career move, is typically based on the human element, which you only get from meeting.

Our job isn't to sell CV's or job specs, and our job isn't to simply agree with clients or candidates.  They aren't always right, that isn't their fault, they don't know what we know, and haven't (yet) felt what we have felt.  Our job is to have a relationship of trust with both our clients and candidates which means when we say, please, just meet this candidate, or please, just have coffee with this client...they say yes.

One of my favourite and widely used lines in recruitment is: "Look, meet this individual, if, after that, you don't know where I am coming from, never use me again, but I promise, once you have spent some time together, you'll understand why I am pushing you, and be glad I haven't let you make this decision and live to regret it"

It's a bold phrase and opens you up to be criticised, but only if you are wrong.   So, do your job properly, make sure your candidate or role is as good as you are saying, and if it is, then be confident and be bold.....the customer isn't always right, but, in this situation, you must never be wrong!

Remember.

Today is Armistice Day, and as I prepared to write my latest blog, I could think of nothing but this.

It isn't a moment to consider furthering our own careers or hiring, but a time to remember those who lost so much to give us this chance.

Remember them, whoever they are for you, thank them every time you have a chance to take, and respect them enough to give it 100% when taking that chance.

Prepare....to be yourself

At the end of last week, I was helping a candidate prepare for interview.  The candidate had done everything I would expect, read and re-read the spec, deep research into the company, and a few things beyond, market research, review of competitors and even some linked in research on the company executives.

At this point it would have been easy to sit back and think, this candidate is a winner, she is as prepared as is possible for this interview.  Then I remembered the most important thing in recruitment, ask the obvious questions.

"How about yourself?"  I said, "what preparation have you done to talk about yourself?"  This is where we hit the crux of the issue that faces so many candidates, even the great ones.

Time spent researching the role the company and the potential of a career with them is invaluable and vital, but don't forget, you'll maybe face 3 or 4 questions about the company and role, and spend 15 - 20 minutes talking about the business you are meeting.  What will the rest of the time be spent focusing on?   You guessed it...you.

I am no chess player, but know there is a saying in chess that goes "You can't do all your thinking in the game"  and that goes for interviews.  Although you know yourself intimately, why take a chances that your memory will let you down?, or that nerves will stop you articulating yourself properly?

I urge any candidates that are preparing for an interview to spend as much time as they can, talking out loud about themselves, get used to the sound of your own voice, and the words that best fit when describing yourself.

Showing off is uncomfortable for most people, and in a one-on-one interview situation it is very easy to become self conscious.  So prepare - know what you are going to say in certain situations.  If you don't use any of these phrases or word tracks, nothing lost, but if you need a 'personal sound byte' and it is there when you need it, you'll never be more grateful.  The mind is a powerful thing, and the more times you say phrases and sentences the better your sub-conscious will get at the delivery.

Under prepared candidates get tongue tied and stumble, tongue tied candidates look nervous, nervous candidates look like they lack confidence and communication skills.  These are vital in nearly all roles.

We all get nervous, because we care, but if we care enough to be nervous, we should care enough to to time to prepare and sure that we are confident, articulate and thorough when talking about ourselves.

Take time, talk to yourself about yourself, and see what it brings, you won't be disappointed.