Let’s face it, after a well deserved, relaxing break, it’s not nice having to come back to work and set ourselves in that 9 to 5 mindset again. Even if we’ve not travelled all that far, simply stayed at home, decorated the spare bedroom and caught up on all the soaps, dragging ourselves out of bed in the morning on that first day back is, quite simply, hard work.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy my job, but when it comes to the crunch, wouldn’t anyone rather sit on the beach sipping cocktails than sat at a desk guzzling cups of coffee to stay awake? Now, I’ve never been one to wallow in self pity, but sometimes we all get a bout of back to work blues. Which had me thinking, how do I go about beating these?

So, for all those suffering, here’s my step by step plan to beating the back to work blues. Enjoy!

Plan a holiday!

Well this has certainly worked for me!! I spent half an hour of my lunch looking for deals for a week long break in Croatia.

There's nothing like planning another holiday to get over one!

There’s no worse feeling than the feeling you have nothing to look forward to, especially after a wonderful and long holiday.

Set yourself goals

Work related goals, especially in recruitment, help to motivate us. Write a list of things you want to achieve over the coming year then, as and when you achieve them you can cross them off.

Set yourself some new goals!

Setting goals and then realising them helps to promote a great sense of achievement.

Prioritise what needs to be done. Sort out your emails and perhaps write a to-do list. Coming back into the office I’ve found that it feels like there’s a mountain of things in front of me that I need to deal with.

Organise yourself! There's nothing worse than coming back to a desk full of junk!

However, knowing that I don’t have to catch up in one day and that I can prioritise has helped me feel better about tackling all these jobs.

Seek out fresh challenges

Coming back to work you might feel stale in your position. Well, maybe it’s time to grab the bull by the horns! Do something that excites you, inside work and out. Talk to your boss about any training you could do or anything that could boost your skills. If you’re doing things that drive and motivate you, there’ll be little time to think about how bad it is to be back at work rather than sunning yourself or relaxing at home.

Seek out challenges that motivate and inspire you

The bottom line is this: Life is too short to hate going back to work. So, rather than sit moping at your desk, decide what really makes you tick and go out and get it!

What about you? How do you beat the back to work blues?

Red Recruitment to Recruitment is the leading recruitment to recruitment solution in the Midlands. We specialise in the placement of recruitment consultants, from graduate trainee through to director level.

A "lucky" clover or do we make our own luck?

The show was based on an experiment and prior to the experiment happening, Derren ascertained which people thought they were lucky and which thought they were unlucky. Opportunities were then set up and it transpired that people who considered themselves lucky took the opportunities presented to them whereas people who considered themselves unlucky did not.

With this in mind, I asked one of the candidates we’ve placed whether or not he thinks he is lucky. His answer: “If I were to jump out of a window 10 floors up I’d land in a bed of roses”. He believes he’s very fortunate and was just “at the right place at the right time”. But does being at the right place at the right time necessarily mean lucky?

Is luck simply about opening our eyes to and taking opportunities?

Our recruiters at Red Recruitment to Recruitment tend to disagree. One claims people who consider themselves lucky are more likely to view events with a positive slant. Similar to the people who considered themselves lucky in Derren’s experiment, he believes lucky people are those who take opportunities that present themselves, leading to them apparently having more luck as they are seeking good news.  On the contrary, people who consider themselves unlucky view events with a pessimistic slant and so are more likely to count their disappointments than their positive experiences.

So do you make your own luck?

Here at Red Recruitment to Recruitment we believe there are three key areas that help you in your quest for luck. But do these necessarily mean luck exists? Will baring these in mind make you luckier?

Positive thinking

I heard a great quote the other day, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t – you are right.”

Think positively, like this little guy!

Positive thinking plays a major part in our quest for luck. If you expect good things to happen, you will inevitably do more things that make it more likely good things will happen.

If this is the case, are you are affecting things in order to achieve a more favourable outcome? Does this mean there really isn’t any such thing as luck or a lucky person? Or is it the case we need a catalyst to give us a certain confidence to try new things?

Hard work

Generosity

Give and ye shall receive?

Does this mean more opportunities  will be presented to us, thus increasing our chances or luck?

So, the question I ask is this: do you believe in luck or are there some other factors at play?

To all those out there who are looking for their next great recruitment role, I wish them luck. But hey, is it possible that you don’t really need it anyway?

Red Recruitment to Recruitment is the leading recruitment to recruitment solution in the Midlands. We specialise in the placement of recruitment consultants, from graduate trainee through to director level.

"The dog ate my homework" - The world's worst excuse?

Call us cynics but when we reach a certain age surely we should leave the excuse “the dog ate our homework” and other excuses dreamt up exactly where they came from…the past!

Okay, so sometimes missing an interview is unavoidable and most of the time we’re able to gauge the sincerity of the candidate in question. If someone genuinely has a bad case of the flu then the sniffles and wheezes on the phone are usually a clear cut sign that they’re not having us on.

However, sometimes, excuses just aren’t believable. I mean come on, telling a consultant that you can’t attend an interview because your 22 year old girlfriend can’t be left on her own really doesn’t ring true. But is it always the candidate’s fault? Is there anything a recruiter can do to tackle the problem of the porkies? 

Here Red Recruitment to Recruitment takes a look at the reasons why a candidate might toss up an excuse and offer advice on what can be done to deal with this problem.

The Worrier

Excuses are often made because the candidate is nervous or worried about the suitability of the role. They might be worried about the location or be concerned about the long term progression. Maybe they think the position is far too senior for them, or way beneath them.

The worrier - try and alay her fears!

 In this case, speaking to a candidate openly and honestly should allay their fears.

As recruitment consultants it’s not in our interests to force candidates to go to an interview if they aren’t really suitable or if they really wouldn’t enjoy the position. It would just delay the inevitable drop out, “I honestly DID get run over by a mobility scooter!”.  However, it IS in it is in our best interests to make sure we are finding the best person for our client, and that the candidates aren’t missing out. Hey, that’s what makes us money after all!

The Fake Job Hunter

Working in rec to rec, we do occasionally have those days when we hate our jobs. Doesn’t everyone?! The pay is too low, our boss is breathing down our neck, droning on about KPIs and our year to date target and well, we’ve all heard the saying “The grass is greener on the other side”. Some people might apply for roles purely out of spite for their current employer. However, their grievances may be turned around when they have a positive meeting with their current employer or a counter offer.

Fake - probably not in the same way as this lady though!

Maybe they’ve been offered a better package or a fantastic promotion. Rather than tell the truth they spin some story about having to look after their sick goat rather than start the fantastic new role that you worked so hard to secure for them.

The key here is to have built up a strong, trusting relationship with your candidate so that they don’t feel the need to make excuses. Then, once they come clean about their counter offer you can relay them the facts; counter offer’s aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. There’s been an obvious shadow cast over their loyalty to the company and in these hard times with redundancy rife, who wants to keep someone on who doesn’t REALLY want to be there? Moreover, a counter offer may sound great but the problems that made a candidate wish to seek another position will still remain, but maybe with more responsibility burdened on their shoulders. As always, honesty and integrity is the key to sussing out the fake job hunter and making sure their excuses are genuine.

The Great Pretender

The best consultants pride themselves on having built an open and honesty rapport with their candidates and clients alike and expect them to be honest and open in return. If a candidate is constantly making excuses it might be best to think twice about working with them. Our rule of thumb here would be to give a candidate two chances tops. In the game we’re in we really need to protect clients from time wasters.

Chrissie Hynde's band, the Pretenders, get it?

One of our consultant’s had a candidate put on a fake voice when she called them and tell us that the candidate was in hospital. Always one to give other people the benefit of the doubt she gave this candidate four chances to come good. If you hadn’t guessed already, our consultant didn’t manage to place her. We can practically hear you gasping in shock (note the sarcasm).

All said and done, if a candidate is still making excuses, even after you speak to them about any concerns about the role, if they’re not sending that CV you requested or don’t appear to be that committed from the start then is it probably best to cut them loose? How many chances would you give a candidate? Are there any alternative ways to prevent the porkies?

Red Recruitment to Recruitment is the leading recruitment to recruitment solution in the Midlands. We specialise in the placement of recruitment consultants, from graduate trainee through to director level.

 Here at Red Recruitment to Recruitment we like to set ourselves goals both inside and outside work. These can be anything from billing a certain amount during a quarter or a promotion within a certain timescale to completing the Three Peaks Challenge.

Here at Red we set ourselves goals!

We’re definitely no strangers to setting our sites high. Take our consultant Dean Abeal for example. He ran the London Marathon a few years ago. His goal? To achieve something difficult. To embark on a physical test in which he was able to push himself.

Another of our consultant’s, Stewart Wilson, ran the Great Birmingham run a couple of weeks ago, raising a total of £313.75 for Breakthrough Breast Cancer…..so far!

A self confessed “lazy sod” who prefers sitting in the pub than exercising or helping others, Stewart trained hard for a number of weeks for the half marathon, increasing the distance he ran each day and running at least twice a week.

He completed the half marathon in 2 hours and 7 minutes and came a respectable 6834^th place (out of 15,000 people!). Stewart is still collecting sponsorship so if you would like to sponsor him please visit:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/StewWilsonGreatBhamRun

Stewart runs the Birmingham Great Run for Breakthrough Breast Cancer

It was tough for our consultants and obviously both training and running the marathon and half marathon required both a lot of willpower and motivation, two characteristics we are very familiar with, being recruiters and sales people. Let’s face it, if we’re not motivated we’re not performing well in our job. This had us thinking, isn’t running a marathon a lot like running and performing on a sales desk? Here are the reasons why….

Competition

Money might seem like the ultimate motivator when it comes to any kind of sales job, you make the sale, you earn the commission, but they are many others. Something that kept our consultant motivated during his marathon and similarly, something which keeps those of us in sales positions motivated is competition; the desire to beat or perform better than another person.

Friendly competition? Fancy an arm wrestle?

There’s nothing wrong with a bit of friendly competition and a competitive nature keeps you going when you’re putting all your efforts in to make it to the top biller slot! It can help to drive you forward when you’re achieving and can build you up when you’re falling behind. Competition is a kind of motivation that comes from others and will really help you in your role.

Pride

Pride plays a big part in the running of a sales desk and in other extra curricular goals we set. Dean, who ran the marathon, explains that he started telling a lot of people that he was going to do it, that he was going to achieve something and that was something else which spurred him on to train hard and finish.

In the same way, pride can spur on people who work in sales roles. Saying you are going to do something and then proving that you can do it is a great confidence boost and you’ll be extremely proud of yourself once you achieve what you’ve set your mind to.

Consistency and endurance

Both our consultants built up their endurance by training every week and making sure their training was consistent. There’s no point hammering the gym and doing a five mile run each night if you’re only going to keep it up for a couple of weeks only to then favour sitting on your backside watching television. You need to keep an even pace if you’re going to last the duration and the same applies in sales. Another thing to consider is consistency.

The Recruitment Consultant's mantra

If you try to do too much by pushing yourself too hard to begin with you’re going to burn yourself out. It’s no good starting a marathon too quickly and not having pace to finish and likewise, when working in sales, the key is to do the right things and continue to do so, whether these are setting yourself a goal to make a certain number of new business calls a week or earn a respectable amount of money for yourself or the company you work for!

So, what do you think? Is running YOUR sales desk like running a marathon or is it much harder?  Over to you!

Red Recruitment to Recruitment is the leading recruitment to recruitment solution in the Midlands. We specialise in the placement of recruitment consultants, from graduate trainee through to director level.

"Oh, woe is me"...A typical PLOM!

Here at Red Recruitment to Recruitment we have our own bible, namely the ‘”World Class” Code of Ethics and Professional Practice’ and in it, one of the rules we live by is striving for a No PLOM Zone!

It’s no easy task. We’re pretty sure everyone has those days where envy and bitterness take over, negative emotions run high and you just want to crawl under your desk, curl up into a ball and sob “why me?”. 

We all ask "Why me?" from time to time

Thankfully, at Red Recruitment to Recruitment we can categorically state that we’re never ones to fall foul of the PLOM syndrome. We’d be lying if we said that’s purely down to the fact that we’re fabulous recruiters (although we are, of course!!). Whenever we’re feeling a bit plommy (yes, we’ve made up a new adjective!), we simply follow our five step plan. Here we explain how you too can prevent plomism (Yes, we’ve made that word up as well)!

Go and speak to someone positive!

Is there someone in your office that is always smiling and upbeat?

Go and speak to someone upbeat, like this guy!

One way to prevent plomism is to make friends with those people in your office that are naturally more positive. Think of that song by REM – ‘Shiny Happy People’; when you’re feeling down about that deal that fell through or not hitting your quarterly target speak to those happy, positive people; they’ll automatically cheer you up. Those people with perfect bounce-back ability who give off positive vibes. They’re guaranteed to put a smile on your face!

Learn from your mistakes

If things go wrong it’s easy to see all the negatives. If you feel a bit plommy, when you’re not hitting all your KPIs and this role your working on is SO hard to fill, rather than focus on the bad things, try and work out if there’s something you can learn from this experience instead.  Here at Red we like to use three words: win, learn and change. Out of every negative situation try and pull positives; what was a win or what did you do well? What did you learn? What could you change in the future? This will help you decide what went wrong and focus on what you can do better next time. A sure-fire way to stop you feeling plommy!

Perspective

It might help to put things into perspective. If something has happened during your working day that makes you want to throw a massive strop and jack the whole thing in, stop and think, “Is it really worth getting this worked up about?”. We’re not saying you shouldn’t care, far from it in fact, since passion is a great quality to have as a recruiter. But really, there are certainly a lot more important things in life than winning “Employee of the Month”.

Remember some things are out of your control

Let go of things out of your control

No matter how hard you work there are some things that are out of your control. You can control how many new business calls you make to decision makers and how many interviews you set up but no matter how much effort you put in, you can’t control what happens as soon as your candidate walks into their interview. To that extent, a way to keep plomism at bay is to remember that you’ve done your best but unfortunately, in some instances, there is nothing you can do to change things.

And finally….

When nothing else seems to do the trick, when nothing can pick you up and turn your frown upside down, perhaps the only thing you can do is simply build a bridge…AND GET OVER IT!

Red Recruitment to Recruitment is the leading recruitment to recruitment solution in the Midlands. We specialise in the placement of recruitment consultants, from graduate trainee through to director level.

The National Minimum Wage is a minimum amount of money that workers in the UK should be paid per hour. It applies to all people over compulsory school age; therefore, anyone over the age of 16 is entitled to be paid as per the minimum age laws. 

Introduced in 1999, the UK’s National Minimum Wage was established quite late when compared to other countries such as  the United States. They re-established their act in 1938 after declaring a similar act surrounding a minimum wage for workers unconstitutional in 1935.

Back in 1999, the optimal rate to be paid to those over the age of 22 was £3.60. Today, it is £5.93 but will increase by 2.5% to £6.08 for those over the age of 21 as of the 1^st of October. That’s almost a 69% rise since it was first introduced.

All this talk of the minimum wage here at Red Recruitment to Recruitment got us thinking about our own wages in the past. One of our older consultant’s first wage was less than £100 per week. His salary at Kemps Publishing was roughly £5000 per annum for his first full time position. Today the minimum salary for people over the age of 21 would be approximately £12,000.

When the same consultant was 15 he worked for £6 each Saturday at the local Butchers. That’s less than a £1 per hour, however, being a school boy, pay wasn’t worked out at an hourly rate but per day and unfortunately it was that or nothing. Obviously he took the £6. Much the same as today, at 15 there is no minimum wage so wages are really down to the employer’s discretion.

Our youngest member of Network House worked as a football referee at the age of sixteen, for £22 per hour, working 90 minutes at a time. Not bad at all!

Our Director here at Red Recruitment began his working life at YTS working for £28 per week, £1456 per year, at the age of 17. We can’t help but think he was being taken for granted! Or maybe he just wasn’t working hard enough!

The increased rates for workers over the age of 16 are set out below:

• For workers aged over 21 the rate will increase to £6.08 per hour
• For workers between 18 and 20 years old the rate will increase to £4.98 per hour
• For workers aged between 16 and 17 (those above school leavers age) the rate will increase to £3.68 per hour.
• For  apprentices under 19 or 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship will increase to £2.60

While some people claim that the minimum wage won’t do anything to help low paid workers cope with the exuberant rate of inflation and that a raise in minimum wage may reduces jobs, others argue for the raise, claiming that many adults rely on the minimum wage as a living wage.

Regardless of your viewpoint, the minimum wage will be raised, in effect from the 1^st of October 2011.

Red Recruitment to Recruitment is the leading recruitment to recruitment solution in the Midlands. We specialise in the placement of recruitment consultants, from graduate trainee through to director level.

Friends with Benefits - not unlike real life?

Like many cheesy Hollywood Rom-Coms, ‘Friends with Benefits’ takes a seemingly average plot and embellishes it – girl headhunts boy, boy meets girl, girl sleeps with boy in order to make a placement – seems about as likely to us as shy recruiters! Yet it’s not just movie characters who will go to extreme lengths to secure deals. Maybe ‘Friends with Benefits’ is more true to life than we initially thought.

Take Recruiter X  for example. So desperate was he to place his £150k candidate that he decided  it might be beneficial to take this top notch lawyer out for dinner at a swanky restaurant in Chelsea. We’ve all heard the saying, “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”. No doubt this saying was at the forefront of Mr Lawyer’s mind as he was being wined and dined by the recruiter. So much so in fact, that when Recruiter X arrived at work on the Monday, he received an email thanking him very much for his wonderful company and asking him if he’d like to do it again sometime! Unfazed, recruiter X thought it might be prudent to clarify Mr Lawyer’s intentions. It turned out Mr Lawyer was of the homosexual persuasion and had taking a liking to the friendly (and heterosexual) recruiter who quite graciously declined his offer. Notwithstanding, Mr Lawyer wowed the client, loved the company and accepted the position; a £35,000 deal in the bag. Well done Recruiter X!

The world class recruiter wined and dined the client

In the film, Jamie and Dylan fall out and, fatefully for the head-hunter, he goes directly to another company for an interview, missing her out of the process. This goes to show how important it is for recruiters to maintain relationships with a high level of professionalism which includes being honest, truthful and offering helpful advice.  At times this means going above and beyond the call of duty, something which we don’t shy away from here at Network House. However, we do draw the line at sleeping with candidates. Unlike the characters in Friends with Benefits, we restrict ourselves to providing a good, value added service whereby we aim to please. As such, one of our recruiters went the extra mile by taking one of his placements to work on their first day.

We try and go the extra mile

Advice we offer would be to communicate with your candidates, keep them updated, whether there is news from the client or not, give thorough feedback at all stages of the process and provide good market knowledge to help them prepare for interviews.

Above all else, it’s important to remain ethical; and just so we’re clear, sleeping with your candidates is never a good idea.

Red Recruitment to Recruitment is the leading rec to rec solution in the Midlands. We specialise in the placement of recruitment consultants, from graduate trainee through to director level.

When asked who or what inspires him the most, Matt explains, “I am inspired by people, those who strive to be the best at what they do and at the top of their game. I like to surround myself as much as possible with people who excel in their chosen fields. As such, the pursuit of excellence by people is something which definitely inspires me”.

Outside of work, Matt is inspired by his three year old son, Samuel and explains that the birth of Sam is by far his most significant accomplishment. However, on a business level, Matt explains that his most satisfying moments are based around the achievements of others. He says, “It is hugely satisfying to see others succeed, from a trainee receiving their first big commission payment to a big biller breaking company records”

Similarly, always one to motivate and inspire people himself, Matt has a number of positive words of wisdom and leadership quotes which are often to be heard around the office. One of his favourites is “Keep attacking”, something which can be heard almost on a daily basis.

Never one to shy away from change, be it an office move around (something which is a regular occurrence here at Network House!) or new databases or systems, it’s not surprising that one of Matt’s favourite phrases is “embrace and manage change”. They’re words that the Consultant’s at Network House agree will stick with them during their career.

Moreover, Matt also has advice to offer Recruitment Consultant’s who are striving to be the best. He explains that the best thing a recruitment consultant can do is prepare, “If you prepare, prepare, prepare then you’ll be the best in your game”. He explains consultants should never give up and that recruitment is something which is fundamentally about a positive attitude. Those with the right attitude will, quite simply, achieve and excel at what they do. Those who believe that the grass is greener and that everything happens to them can equally fail. He states, “You are in control of your own destiny and therefore if you want to succeed you will”, something we believe to be sound advice.

Surely in a business such as recruitment it is easy to make mistakes from time to time and Matt admits he has made blunders in the past. However, he explains he has no regrets and offers the following advice: “do not make the same mistake twice, procrastinate when making decisions or try and do everything yourself”.

Finally Matt explains that he is always looking to improve his business knowledge and develop his business, attending seminars and for inspiration and motivation and he has put in place some exciting plans in place to expand the business, doubling it in size over a three year period. Matt and the rest of Network house are looking forward to a bright and prosperous future in recruitment.

Matt Ellis, is a Director of Network Group Holdings and is the MD of Red Recruitment to Recruitment, Executive Network Sales Ltd, The HSE Recruitment Network Ltd and The FM Network.

Now you might think us recruiters have turned cold hearted and unsympathetic, but with more and more candidates trying to tug on our heartstrings in order to get out of interviews we believe we’ve had to harden ourselves to the emotional burden that are some candidates excuses. As one of our recruiters explains, “I had a candidate in for interview with a client of mine. Twenty minutes after he was supposed to have been there I get a call from the client telling me he was a no show. I called him and he explained, in a voice dripping with sadness and pain, ‘my wife told me she wanted a divorce first thing this morning’”. Oh sure, “Morning darling, fancy a cuppa and a divorce?”. We don’t think so!

Then there’s the one where the candidate couldn’t start a role because she walked in on her husband sleeping with a lady from work. That’s definitely one we haven’t heard before. Is it just us or does that seem like a scene from Eastenders?

As Recruitment Consultant’s we’ve heard it all, from deceased relatives (poor Granny passed away 4 times in one year!) to pretending to be someone else. A colleague explains, “I had a candidate skip an interview. When I called he answered his mobile and put on an Irish accent, pretending to be someone else although it was quite obvious he was faking it”. Ingenious? Perhaps. The same candidate was renowned for coming up with excuses as to why he couldn’t attend interviews. Our favorite was the time he explained he couldn’t attend his interview as he’d been in hospital for the past three weeks. Later he changed his story saying he had been working for a competitor. In hospital AND working? We think not. When questioned further about the mention of the 3 weeks in hospital he began to stutter, “ah, erm….the thing is…I…”. Now come on, credit us with some common sense puh-lease!

Call us skeptics but these excuses don’t seem to ring true. On the other hand we’ve got to give them points for creativity; it takes a certain amount of creative flair to come up with poo on the carpet, deadly mobility scooters and Irish accents. However, after much discussion on the matter we’ve decided comedy value aside, we’d rather the candidate simply tell us “I’ve found something else” or “I woke up late”. At least this way we could try to change their mind. Or at least buy them a decent alarm clock.

Red Recruitment to Recruitment is the leading rec to rec solution in the Midlands. We specialise in the placement of recruitment consultants, from graduate trainee through to director level.

Three days later and you’re holding your breath as it’s your second shot at getting miss £10k in front of your client. She’s been prepped, coached and you’re 99.9% certain that this time she’ll go to the interview and what’s more, she’ll wow them. You’ve called her the evening before and yes she’s definitely going, a wig has been purchased, her suit has been dry cleaned and she’s just printed off the directions. She’s all set and you let out a sigh of relief. This time you’re certain she won’t cancel.

At 10am the phone rings. It’s Miss £10k. Her house has been broken into and someone has defecated on her carpet. “She CANNOT be serious” you moan to your colleagues, “who uses burglars pooing on a carpet as an excuse?”. Apparently there’s no way she can make the interview now. Carpet cleaners have to be purchased, forensics need to be brought in and there’s one thief out there who evidently doesn’t use toilet roll.  You lose all hope and call your client to grovel and promise you’ll get some equally amazing candidates in front of them as soon as possible.

Believe it or not, this actually happened to one of our consultants here at Network House. We didn’t believe it ourselves at first but it seems that this is one of many weird and wonderful excuses we’ve heard as Recruitment Consultants for candidates not turning up to an interview, or not turning up on their first day of work altogether.

As such, we’ve spoken to a number of different recruiters, colleagues and friends, to find out what they think have been the best and worst excuses they’ve heard. So, does it get any worse than poo on the carpet? Watch this space….

Red Recruitment to Recruitment is the leading rec to rec solution in the Midlands. We specialise in the placement of recruitment consultants, from graduate trainee through to director level.