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Alasdair Murray's Blog (34)

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The harsh reality of redundancy (but how it can also actually make you a better, stronger person)

I still remember the feeling to this day. The gut wrenching feeling that comes with redundancy is unlike anything I had ever felt before.



It was the winter of 1991. I was doing pretty well at my job. Or so I thought. I was an Account Manager for one of the UK’s leading recruitment marketing agencies and looked after…

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Added by Alasdair Murray on April 27, 2010 at 2:00pm — No Comments

Whilst new technology is great, are we paying the price socially? (or how, once it's gone, you can never get that time back)

There's no getting away from it, every day we're becoming more and more obsessed with technology. Whilst it is great and clearly the way to go for the modern day recruiter on the go, I am starting to think too much of it can, at the relatively harmless end (apart from the risk of an iphone becoming your best friend rather than your dog or partner) zombify people, and, at its worst, put you in danger.



At the harmless end of things, take my… Continue

Added by Alasdair Murray on April 20, 2010 at 4:30am — No Comments

Is SEO simply another Y2K? (Or how Shakespeare would have looked a right idiot if he were around today)

A slightly contentious blog this week, but hey, it's all about opinions. This is mine about SEO....



Hands up who remembers the Y2K ‘problem’, or the Millennium bug, as it was sometimes known? I do, as I had several clients who made a lot of money out of placing contractors into the City to ward off the Y2 evil that was set to haunt companies… Continue

Added by Alasdair Murray on March 26, 2010 at 3:30pm — 5 Comments

The best recruiters take a drill to client meetings (or how cultural 'fit' is important too)

Some recruiters remind me of my house hunting days. I’d go to great effort to describe what I was looking for - the area, the price range, what I definitely wasn’t interested in etc. and lo and behold I would be bombarded for weeks afterwards with details of properties that were too big or too small, in a different location or not in my price range. I often think it must feel a bit like that for…
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Added by Alasdair Murray on March 18, 2010 at 11:00am — 7 Comments

A job description isn't a sales tool and never will be.

For reasons best known to themselves, many recruiters bemoan the absence of a decent job description and person spec from a client. I agree it’s frustrating when what you get is a series of seemingly unrelated one liners in terms of a job description and just the basic facts about the skills and experience you need in order to do the role, but, the emphasis should be on you, the recruiter to eke out the information from your client that will sell the job, not… Continue

Added by Alasdair Murray on March 15, 2010 at 3:00pm — 21 Comments

20 tricky interview questions...and how NOT to answer them!

There are few things more daunting than attending a job interview. That's why it's good to prepare by considering some of the questions you might be asked. Just make sure you don't end up giving any of these answers....



Interviewer: What is your greatest accomplishment?

Interviewee: Finishing Phantom Mutant Death Fighter 3 for PC - and in work time too! Have you played it?



Interviewer: Could you sell me this pen?

Interviewee (shouting): Get your pens, only… Continue

Added by Alasdair Murray on January 13, 2010 at 5:00am — 12 Comments

Irritating co-workers. The definitive list.

I originally wrote these observations with the intent of making some kind of HR Top Trumps game out of them. I thought it would make a nice leave-behind gift for recruiters, but as I am no illustrator I stuck to the verbal descriptions.



Let’s face it, From the person who stinks the office out with their lunch, to the colleague who hijacks the office diary to sneakily block book dates for the coming year's vacations, to the very helpful character who leaves guidance notes… Continue

Added by Alasdair Murray on January 10, 2010 at 10:00am — 5 Comments

Want to write better job posts in 2010? Here's how.

I've been meaning to put together my thoughts about writing recruitment advertisements, or job posts as many call them, for some time. After all, I have written thousands of them down the years and, as many know, I have a real bugbear about bad job ads littering the web. So here goes. My gift to you all for Christmas. Why not resolve to put it into practice in the new year?



Think first

Get your understanding of the brief right (I am assuming you take a… Continue

Added by Alasdair Murray on December 19, 2009 at 9:30am — 4 Comments

Is the tide really ebbing away from the newspaper industry?

I'm a curious animal when it comes to newspapers. Having worked in my time for both national and regional titles, I never really got into the habit of buying a daily paper. And, when I later worked at advertising agencies, there were always plenty knocking around if I wanted to have a quick flick through their pages. As such, I am in no way a typical customer to the newspaper industry.



That said, I still enjoy a browse on a Sunday or of an evening. And, it would seem, plenty of… Continue

Added by Alasdair Murray on December 16, 2009 at 8:00am — 2 Comments

Writing recruitment copy - some useful phrases, but beware their meaning! (PART 1)

Ever find yourself stuck for words when writing your job copy? Following on from a script on my comedy writing page (http://alasdairdmurraycopywriter.co.uk/comedy.aspx) here are a few more phrases to help you entice your candidates. But beware, they all come with a hidden meaning. ( Just a bit of fun really, take with a pinch of salt )



you have good team building skills – there will be lots of dragging… Continue

Added by Alasdair Murray on November 23, 2009 at 8:30am — No Comments

When it comes to writing recruitment copy, first impressions really do count

I may bang on about it a lot, but that's because I am on a mission - A mission to try and up the quality of content on the plethora of job boards that are out there in cyberspace. Here's why.....



Job advertising is one of the most effective sourcing mechanisms available to you and your company – not only for candidates, but for prospective clients and future employees. Advertising is often the very first time people get to find out who your company are, what you do… and how good you… Continue

Added by Alasdair Murray on November 22, 2009 at 7:30am — 1 Comment

Online recruitment: Quantity at the expense of quality?

Let's face it, we've never before lived in an age where such a plethora of job opportunities are accessible to us at the mere touch of a button. But is this instantaneous solution really all it's cracked up to be? Is the constant search for new and supposedly better ways to reach the job seeker really an advance, or merely adding to the woes of the already stressed out candidate who, when faced with a huge list of all too often bland and uninspiring job posts, struggles to separate the wheat… Continue

Added by Alasdair Murray on November 22, 2009 at 5:30am — No Comments

Is the term ‘employer brand’ a misnomer?

It’s a phrase that has been around for years, yet different people define it in different ways. Some think it’s just about a slogan or ‘tag line’, others equate successful companies like Virgin or Google with it, But what IS an employer brand? And should it be called that in the first place?



Take a can of Coke or a Mars bar, or a Ferrari if you like. Each are made to a constant formula or recipe. They never vary. They are proper brands (or in the case of the Ferrari each car is a… Continue

Added by Alasdair Murray on November 20, 2009 at 10:19am — No Comments

Ever been bullied in the workplace? How did you deal with it?

All the recent furore about the alleged bullying culture at No. 10, coupled with statistics that say that 14 % of the UK’s workforce are bullied at work and 21% aware of bullying going on at their workplace, reminded me of a few encounters with office bullies and how I dealt with them.



My first encounter with an office bully happened when I was working as part of a sales team and this new guy joined as Director. From day one we didn’t really… Continue

Added by Alasdair Murray on November 30, 1999 at 12:00pm — 3 Comments

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