If you’re ready to start a new C++ Engineering role this year, you’re not alone.

There’s never been a better time to search for the next step in your career. Not only are there more job opportunities available thanks to improved flexibility from employers, hybrid and remote work opportunities, but the skills-short market means that C++ Developers are in high demand.

Now’s a great time to start looking for a position that matches your needs in regard to company culture, work schedule, and salary.

However, the time to start looking for a new job is while you’re still employed. Searching for a role when you’re currently employed elsewhere can be a tricky process, as the last thing you want to do is burn any bridges with your existing employer.

So here are several ideas on how you can get started the right way.

Step 1: Prioritize Discretion

Discretion is key when you’re searching for a new Software Engineering role while you’re still employed. Although it might be tempting to speak to colleagues about your plans; don’t.

Being discrete about your job search doesn’t just mean keeping quiet at work. It’s important to think about how you’re interacting online too.

Don’t mention your job search on social media or set your LinkedIn status to “seeking work”. It’s best to avoid posting your CV/Resume on job boards too.

Not only can being overly vocal about your job search cause friction with your current employer, but it might tell future employers you’re not respectful of your roles.

Take a professional and discrete approach by talking to a C++ Specialist Recruiter to assess the market for the role you want first before you do anything else.

Step 2: Update Your CV/Resume

If you’re going to be looking for a new Developer job this year, it’s important to ensure you have the right resources in hand. This could mean you take some extra time to update your CV/Resume and cover letter, focusing on adding your most recent achievements into the mix.

Speak to your recruitment company about the resources you should have available, to improve your chances of being considered for a new job. This might include up-to-date character references or copies of presentations you have developed that demonstrate your expertise.

Step 3: Approach Interviews Carefully

If you successfully apply for a new role and receive an offer for an interview, it’s important to be cautious about how you approach this next step. Always schedule interviews outside of office hours, so you don’t need to pretend to take time off for “appointments” at work.

Scheduling your interviews around your existing work hours will also ensure you can stay focused and productive when you’re on the job, to maintain a strong relationship with your existing employer. If you’re going to an interview after you’re finished work, don’t change your outfit too much, as this can be a dead giveaway.

When you connect with your hiring manager for the job you want to apply for, let them know you need to keep the process discrete. Ask them to only contact you on your personal phone and email (don’t use any business contact details). It might also be worth letting them know when you’re likely to be at work, so you can avoid any overlap.

Step 4: Job Hunt on Your Own Time (and Devices)

If you want to maintain a good professional reputation in the Software Engineering space, it’s important to demonstrate commitment to every role you take. Searching for a job when you’re in the office, on company time, shows disrespect, and could scare off future employers.

Avoid the temptation to review new job postings when you’re in the office or respond to messages from potential employers. If something needs to be addressed quickly, set time aside in your lunch hour, and get outside of the office so you can maintain your discretion.

Always make job-related calls away from the office, particularly if you’re scheduling an interview or need to ask questions about a new role and stay off company equipment. Remember your boss can often track which sites you’re using on computers within the office.

Step 5: Continue to Excel in Your Current Job

Even if you’re tired of your current role, or unhappy in your development position, it’s important to act professionally. It’s crucial to continue performing at the same level as usual, as this will not only reduce suspicion but also leave your employer with a favourable memory of you when you leave.

Don’t allow yourself to “check out” because you’re planning on going somewhere else. Preserve your reputation and prove yourself to be a fantastic employee. This will be particularly important if your future employers decide to contact your previous manager at a later date.

Find Your New Role the Right Way

Searching for a new Software Development role while you’re still employed can be a complex process. In any situation, finding the right job can take significant time and effort. However, the process becomes a lot more challenging when you’re trying to balance your existing employment with your career plans.

If you need help discretely searching for a new position, the best thing you can do is have a conversation with an experienced IT recruitment company.

They will give you an assessment of the current job market for the roles you are looking for. They will look at your future goals and give you ideas on the best next steps.

They might even have the ideal role for you; everything starts with a discrete conversation.

If you would like a conversation about your options email us info@zenrecruitment.com or call one of our friendly recruiting team on + 1 332 223 66 32

The modern day community managers role has developed over the last 15 years. Finding its roots in forum moderation, then developing from the original brand influencers in web version 1.0 in 2009, where companies realised that real people with huge online followings and social profiles, had more influence over their target audience than their own brand ever could have online.

With the Crypto and Gaming world being largely community created and community led, this has led to the evolution of the modern day Community Manager.

Community Managers act essentially as the interface between communication or negotiation between an organization and its audience. They serve as the face of the brand or company playing an essential role in digital promotion, communications, PR, events, content creation and community outreach for brands and businesses.

A community manager position can be an incredibly fulfilling and rewarding career for individuals interested in strategic marketing, social media management and communications.

Writing an impressive resume that highlights your talents as a community manager is an important step toward pursuing a career in this field. The quality of your CV can mean the difference between being stuck in a role with no prospects or being offered a great new position.

Your CV is still the first thing clients ask for and will be the decider between getting an interview and being left out of the recruitment process.

The CV has been around for hundreds of years, and over time it has changed and evolved with the world of work.

As Blockchain and Gaming recruiters, we have seen the evolution of the CV, and today we are sharing some invaluable top tips to ensure you get on the radar of the best employers for the next step in your career as a Community Manager.

The Purpose of a CV for Employers

Let’s start by thinking about what function your CV serves for employers.

For a start, we should point out that many employers are pushed for time, and they are looking for shortcuts in their recruitment process – they want it spelt out to them that you are the candidate they are looking for.

So to fit this requirement, your CV should be highly tailored to the employer or hiring manager that is looking after the recruitment process.

Aim to find out where possible exactly who to address your CV and cover letter to – this makes it stand out more than letters simply addressed ‘Dear Sir/Madam’ and tailor your CV and cover letter specifically to the company and the role you are applying for.

All too often, candidates send generic CVs or cover letters – these are usually the candidates who don’t get past the first round of the recruitment process. 

In today’s competition-led job market, your CV needs to do the following:

• Immediately capture the attention of the recruiter or employer
• Illustrate how your skills and abilities clearly relate to the job description
• Show how much of a culture fit you are to the organisation 
• Increase your chance of getting a first interview.
• Your CV should be a succinct summary of why you are the ideal candidate for this role.

So let’s look at what makes the ideal CV, whether it be for Blockchain, Gaming, or indeed any other industry!

Make Sure it’s Relevant

Many people include skills, knowledge and experience on their CV that, although they might be proud of, it is not relevant to this company or role.

Remember the following tips when thinking about what to include in your CV:

Make sure your CV includes everything the job advert specifies.
Use similar terminology to that found in the job advert to strike a connection with the employer or hiring manager.
If there are any areas that you don’t have the required skills, address this by demonstrating your desire to learn, which you can back up with previous examples of learning a new skill for a previous role.
Keep your CV short, and to the point. The ideal length is two pages, but it can be longer if you have lots of relevant experience. 

The following are what to include in your CV to make sure it ticks all the right boxes.

Sections to Include

Remembering always to keep it relevant and avoid unnecessarily long explanations or details, structure your CV using these sections.

Personal details – make sure these are up to date, with your current address, professional email address and correct phone number.
Your personal statement – this can be a short couple of paragraphs at the top of your CV, which summarises in short why you have the skills and experience which make you an ideal candidate for this role.
Your work experience – include all of your relevant work experience, which demonstrates your ability to thrive in a similar role. Include the name of the organisation, the time you held the position for and your job title.
Achievements – give specific examples of your previous achievement, which will allow you to excel in the role you are applying for. 
Education – only include educational achievements which are relevant to the job.
Finally, let’s look at some tips to remember to create an eye-catching CV. 

CV Writing Top Tips

Even with the right relevant information, your CV will still need to perform in other ways to catch the attention of the hiring manager.

The following are our top tips to get your CV noticed:

Check and double-check that your contact details are up to date – have you changed your mobile number since you created your CV?
Use a professional email address without nicknames or slang in it – if you haven’t got one, create one.
Include a link to your LinkedIn profile – the hiring manager will probably look you up online anyway, you might as well direct them to where they can find your LinkedIn profile.
Don’t include a picture on your CV – it’s an outdated concept and adds no relevance to the recruitment process.
Run your CV through spell check before you print or send it. Also, have someone – a friend or a recruiter - to check for spelling and grammar mistakes.
Choose a font that looks good, but that is clear and easy to read. Make sure the font isn’t too large or too small. Don’t use lots of different sizes or styles of font – simple is best. 
Avoid cliches such as ‘go-getter’, ‘think outside the box’ and ‘multi-tasker’ when describing yourself. If you are struggling writing your CV, a specialist recruiter will be able to help. 
Finally, let’s look at the importance of the cover letter to go with your CV. 

Your Cover Letter

We often get asked whether you should include a cover letter or not – our answer is always yes!

Your cover letter is another opportunity to show you’ve researched the business and made sure that you’re appropriate for the role. Within your cover letter, you can go beyond the skills and education outlined in your CV to show that you are familiar with the company and explain a little more about yourself and why you want to apply for their vacancy. 

Finally

Your CV is your chance to introduce yourself to a recruitment company or hiring manager in a meaningful way. 

If you can show the person looking at your CV that you match the job description as closely as possible, then you’ll get the interview. 

For more information on how we can help you craft your CV, as well as find new roles for you to apply to – get in touch with us today. 

You can call us on 0203 058 2573 or send us an email 

HERE

 to discuss your CV and your next career move.

As we are now living in a world that has been changed by the pandemic, your employee retention strategy must be better than ever.

Committed, talented employees are the lifeblood of any Gaming Studio, so ensure you’re creating the best possible environment to retain them – or run the risk of losing key staff to your competitors or other industries.

On the whole, the games industry Is lagging behind tech compensation for developers, programmers, engineers, and designers, and these organisations may easily lure top-tier talent away from the industry and into alternate fields.

While some studios can afford to offer candidates attractive benefits, a prime office location or exciting projects to work on, these things within themselves are not enough to guarantee employee retention post pandemic.

A pre-pandemic Retention Report by the Work Institue (2019) found that “one in three workers would voluntarily leave their job by 2023”. And this has only increased due to significant shifts in the market due to Covid-19.

The effects of the pandemic are going to be felt not just in the gaming sector but all sectors and organisations for years to come, and so employee retention needs to be a key focus in order to ensure you are keeping your team engaged and satisfied in their roles.

Hiring for replacement team members is not something any Gaming organisation wants to be doing right now, and so an excellent employee retention strategy is essential.

The following 8 strategies will help.

1. Discover Who You’re Overlooking

To ensure you are providing excellent leadership for your entire team and making them feel valued, first, it is essential that you find out if you are overlooking anyone in your team.

Gaming studios will naturally include individuals with all manner of skills, experience and personality types.

But in most studios, there will also be team members who shine brighter than others – extroverts tend to get noticed more than introverts, some team members are more likely to speak up if they have a problem whereas others will try to work through challenges on their own.

As a leader, it is essential that everyone is getting the right amount of support that they need and that you are not overlooking anyone.

Studio Directors and leaders will naturally look to middle managers and other higher-profile employees, but to be a great leader, you must ensure the highest level of employee retention – remember that each and every team member must feel valued and supported.

2. Create Unlimited Opportunities for Growth

According to a recent LinkedIn Workforce Learning Report, 93% of employees would stay longer with their employer if they invested more in developing their careers.

Many Gaming employers will get to the point where they have a great team in place and think that their job is ‘done’.

But continual training and development is a key part of every employee retention strategy, and we find that talented candidates who look for new gaming roles often cite a desire to develop themselves and their career further as a reason for leaving.

No-one wants to be stuck in a role where they feel as though progression is an unlikely possibility.

So invest in robust training and development for your team – it can be anything from personal development training to allowing them time to learn new skills.

3. Demonstrate Excellent Values and Ethics

The most desirable Gaming candidates are looking for employers with impressive values and ethics.

And this has been accelerated by the pandemic. We are all thinking much more about what is really important to us, and working for a company they believe in is high on every top-tier gaming candidates list of priorities.  

Right now, employees are more empowered than ever, with social media and online review culture creating an environment where the need to be honest and transparent is more crucial than ever.

How active is your company at demonstrating your values and ethics? Do you champion diversity and inclusion? Are you financially transparent?

Fail to demonstrate excellent values, and you risk losing your employees to a more ethical company.

4. Give Employees a Purpose

It is not enough to give employees a fair remuneration package – employees are increasingly looking for a greater sense of purpose in their work.

The best way to find out if your employees feel a sense of meaning and purpose in their work is to talk to them.

Ask them what is important to them in their roles, and make any alterations you can to help them feel a greater sense of purpose. This could involve introducing tools to make their jobs easier, and thus, more valued, or working together to improve your products or services to give greater customer satisfaction.

And create a mission statement which helps employees to understand how their work positively impacts the world.

5. Enhance Your Employer Brand

Your employer brand is the thread that links employees to the organisation – all employees want to work for a company which they feel aligned to.

Look closely at what your competitors are doing – if you slip in terms of promoting and maintaining an excellent employer brand, this gives employees the opportunity to look elsewhere and to be tempted to leave to work for a brand with a better reputation and culture.

Your digital footprint is key in creating a strong employer brand which your employees will feel proud to be a part of.

Think about what you post and how often. Top-tier Gaming candidates like to see that their employer is actively engaged in current relevant topics, is invested in the wellbeing of the team and is a transparent and communicative employer.

Get your employees involved in team strengthening events, use your social media to champion your current employees – celebrate birthdays, life events and little wins within the organisation.

And finally, let’s look at how a great recruitment strategy is always essential when it comes to employee retention.

6. Get Your Recruitment Strategy Right

Employee retention all starts with your recruitment process.

When you start your newly acquired Gaming employees off on the right foot with an excellent recruitment and onboarding process, this sets the tone for a mutually beneficial employer-employee relationship.

Studies reveal that the better the onboarding process, the lower the turnover.

A shocking 20% of employee turnover happens within the first 45 days, and this is mostly down to a poor onboarding process.

Onboarding is part of the recruitment process, and yet many employers believe that recruitment stops the moment the candidate accepts the job offer.

Invest in your recruitment and onboarding process, and you will start to see a higher rate of employee retention.

Finally

A certain amount of staff turnover is unavoidable.

But follow the steps in this guide to improve unnecessary employee turnover in your organisation.

By taking a proactive approach, game development companies can deal with retention issues without risking top end profit margins.

It’s never easy to lose a great employee, but when you work with a specialist recruiter, they can help you create the right recruitment and onboarding process to ensure your retention rates remain high, increasing employee engagement and lowering your overall costs of recruitment.

To find out how we can help you find your next Gaming talent, get in touch with us on +44 203 058 2573 / +1 332 223 6632  or email us here

The world of work has changed dramatically in recent years, and the pandemic has heightened awareness for the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

Recently, there has been an increased realisation from employers that they need to be doing more to promote diversity and inclusion.

A recent CIPD survey found that two-fifths of employers said that they believed a prior investment in diversity and inclusion would help them respond effectively in a crisis to both employee and customer needs.

There are numerous benefits for both employers and their teams when equality, diversity and inclusion are championed in your business. 

Today, we look at why this is and how to build a more diverse team. 

Keeping Your Diversity and Inclusion Commitment

It is no secret to employers that a diverse team is a productive team. 

A Harvard Business Review report found that when making decisions, teams with a diverse make-up outperformed individual decision-makers 87% of the time. Plus, diverse teams are proven to have increased innovation and creativity, have higher employee engagement, and they generate increased profits.  

But unfortunately, during the ongoing Covid-19 situation, diversity and inclusion have slipped down the list of priorities for many organisations. 

Before the pandemic, 14% of employers ranked diversity and inclusion as one of their top three priorities, whereas further into the lockdown, only 5% still counted it as of high importance. 

Equality, diversity and inclusion, although it has certainly gained momentum in recent years as an important issue, should not be treated by employers as a ‘trend’ to dip in and out of when it suits them.

It is something that needs to be built into the mission, vision and ethos of your company. 

The Equality Act 2010 states that no individual should be discriminated against in the workplace due to their age, disability, gender, marital status, race, or religion. And yet, in 2020, there is still a lot of work for many organisations to do to ensure that they are operating an entirely equal and inclusive working environment.

So, let’s look at how Blockchain and Gaming employers can ensure they are championing equality, diversity and inclusion in their place of work.

Create a Culture of Equality 

One of the more challenging elements of creating a fair and equal environment in your workplace is changing the climate that may have been in place for many years, sometimes even decades.

Management styles can get passed down through generations in organisations, as one set of managers and leaders replaces another and picks up subtle ways of working, which can become set within the company ethos.

At best, this can include acting and behaving a certain way which only serves a few individuals out of a whole team, hiring the same type of people. At worst, it can mean actively shunning certain groups of people – and remember, this can be done consciously and subconsciously (we will discuss unconscious bias in more detail in the next section).

So to combat inequality, and cultivate a culture of equality, this needs to be addressed at the most basic level by including an equality, diversity and inclusion article in your company mission statement. 

But including an equality objective in your organisation is just the first step. 

Remember to continually review and evaluate your policies and procedures to ensure that equality is present in:

Your recruitment
Career opportunities and promotion decisions
Learning and development 
Disciplinary procedures
Performance management
Next, let’s look at tackling unconscious bias in your workplace. 

Managing Unconscious Bias

Unconscious bias can affect all of us, but it is essential that it is managed effectively in your organisation, from whom you choose to employ, who you choose to promote, which members of the team you ‘prefer’ working with and how members of your team engage with each other.

Of course, we are naturally attracted to people with whom we can find common ground, and this affects the way we interact with others both in the workplace and out of it.

You could look into training programmes for the entire team on how to spot and tackle unconscious bias – this type of bias is so ingrained that we often don’t realise that it is happening.

There are also some ways to spot and stop unconscious bias in your workplace, including:

Being aware of the potential for unconscious bias – talking about it with employees and making them aware of how their interactions can affect others.
Question yourself and the decisions you make regularly – have you chosen a certain individual for a new project because they are the best person for the job, or because you tend to favour them?
Create a support network for employees – let them know that if they feel they have been overlooked or singled out due to a bias, that there will always be support for them and that you will actively work to remedy this.
Finally, let’s look at the easiest place to champion diversity and inclusion in your workplace – your recruitment process. 

Championing Diversity in Your Recruitment Process

If you are committed to increasing equality, diversity and inclusion in your organisation, your recruitment process is where you can start to make positive changes.

Recruitment can be a complex and emotionally-charged event. 

Many employers and hiring managers have very stringent ideas of whom they believe they are looking for, for a particular role. And of course, this affects the potential for a diverse workforce. 

Whether conscious or not, it is a fact that hiring managers like to hire people who remind them of themselves. 

But this makes for a very un-diverse workforce. 

What can be done to reduce bias in your recruitment process?

You can introduce blind skills challenges, make use of AI in your recruitment process or use new and different channels to advertise your roles. You can also work with a dedicated and specialist recruiter who knows your veritcal and sector inside out.

Working with a recruiter will allow you to reduce the amount of bias in your recruitment process, not only as they will work as a mediator between the company and the candidates, which allows for a completely unbiased selection process. But they can also challenge your ideas of the kind of candidate you are looking for and can locate candidates that you would never have been able to access when working alone.

To find out more about how to champion equality, diversity and inclusion in your organisation by working with a recruiter, you can contact us on 0203 058 2573 or email us here.

Remember – creating a diverse workforce leads to higher engagement, greater productivity and is better professionally and personally for every member of your team. 

In our post-Covid world, having a strong talent pipeline is more crucial than ever. 

And the skills shortage that was present in almost every industry pre-Covid is still threatening organisational growth.

When you’re recruiting, it’s not about the number of people you can attract to your organisation; it’s about the quality of these candidates.

Even with the perceived increase of candidates in the post-Covid job market, there are still skills shortages across most industries. In the U.K., the Prime Minister addressed how the pandemic has highlighted skills shortages in many sectors, emphasising an urgent need for a focus on improving skills to protect the economy. 

Depending on the role you are trying to fill, recruitment can be a lengthy and involved process.

One of the most effective ways to ensure you can quickly fill the critical gaps in your team is to have people ready to step into your organisation at the earliest available opportunity; in other words your talent pipeline. 

This blog explains the whys and hows of building a robust talent pipeline In any industry..

The Benefits of a Building a Strong Talent Pipeline 

Despite the pandemic, skills gaps are widening across all sectors; in fact, the pandemic has brought to light just how crucial the skills gaps are in many industries. 

A 2020 LinkedIn Workplace Learning report found that globally, 51% of companies plan to implement an upskilling programme, with 47% focusing on re-skilling, highlighting the need for increased talent in a post-Covid world.

In developing a strong talent pipeline, the aim is to avoid the scenario where you have critical skills gaps and no-one lined up to fill them. 

Many organisations think of recruiting only when they actively have a vacant position. A talent pipeline is a way of thinking about your team, and recruitment, in a more holistic way. You will always have an active, engaged audience and the idea of working for your company is something that is always on their radar.

Let’s look at some of the main positives of building your talent pipeline now.

1. Identify More Candidates 

When a vacancy arises in your team, wouldn’t it be ideal to already have someone in mind to take over the role?

This is where a talent pipeline comes in; it reduces the fear of having a critical vacancy open as you have a range of potential candidates set up to open a dialogue with.

Your talent pipeline will speak to the 70% of candidates who aren’t actively looking for a job, the ‘passive candidates’ market. Organisations without talent pipelines are missing out on this significant portion of the workforce. 

You can start to bring candidates into your talent pipeline at different stages in their careers, starting with graduates up to exec level.

When you have a talent pipeline you can rely on, you have a range of candidates ready to be invited for an interview rather than starting the recruitment process from scratch. 

The good news is here at Zen Recruitment we provide this as part of our package of services. If you want to find out more call us on; 0203 058 2573

2. Reduce the Time to Hire 

I’m sure you’ll agree that in our post-Covid world, the thought of having critical vacancies in your team is an unpleasant one. 

This year, teams have been stretched to breaking point, with many taking on extra roles, having to adapt to working from home and generally being busier than ever before. 

To keep your entire team working cohesively, you need to know that any critical vacancies will be quickly filled, instead of being left unfilled, damaging team output and reducing morale.

3. Increase Your Offer Acceptance Rates 

One of the most frustrating things that can happen in the recruitment process is when you think you’ve found the ideal candidates, but then they turn down your job offer. 

The more people you have in your talent pipeline, the more they will get to know your organisation, and this relationship is what pushes great candidates over the line to say yes to your job offer.

As you can see, there are many benefits to creating a talent pipeline to make your recruiting process much easier.

Next, let’s look at how to build and develop your talent pipeline. 

How to Build Your Talent Pipeline

Creating a talent pipeline means proactively forming long-lasting relationships with candidates who would be the right ‘fit’ with your organisation – both in their skill set and their culture and values. 

So, how do you do this?

1. Defining What Your Organisation Needs

The following are questions to ask when thinking about what you want from your talent pipeline -

• Who are your key employees and in what roles?
• What skills are most critical to your organisation?
• Where do you want to take your business in the next 3-5 years?
• What type of people will you need in your business for it to grow?

Drawing on your experiences with Covid can help here too. When your business was in ‘critical survival mode’ like many were during the height of the pandemic, did this highlight any areas where you were missing in vital skills?

2. Attracting the ‘Right’ Talent

Attracting the right candidates to your organisation is the critical part of building your talent pipeline.

Building a talent pipeline focuses on attracting both passive and active candidates, rather than a recruitment process which focuses solely on filling a current vacancy. 

Having an excellent employer brandwill be essential in attracting the type of talent you want. Any prospective talent that comes into contact with you will be forming an opinion as to whether they would like to join your company, whether they’re an active or a passive candidate.

The following are the most direct ways to build your talent pipeline -

• Networking events – getting your name out in your industry is crucial in building a following.
• Working with a recruitment specialist in your sector and vertical. 
• Your social media channels – are you regularly posting engaging content for your candidates?
• Existing contacts and referrals – do you have a robust referral scheme in place? How often do you review and reconnect with former colleagues or managers?
• Graduate campaigns – getting to know the new generation of talent coming through the ranks is an excellent way to build your talent pipeline.

3. Reviewing Your Application Process

A poor recruitment process is enough to put even the most interested candidates off. 

Making your recruitment as seamless, engaging and professional as possible will leave even candidates who are not successful in applying for your roles, want to do so again in future. 

Make sure your recruitment process is mobile-friendly; 58% of active job seekers use their smart device to search for jobs. But with many sites still not being mobile-friendly, mobile seekers complete 53% fewer applications and take 80% longer to complete each application than applicants using desktops. 

A mobile-friendly application process increases the number of applicants to each role by 11.6%.  

Write easy to read job descriptions with clear information; stay away from jargon. 

Make sure you have the recruitment process planned out step by step so that applicants can be informed of the exact date by when they will be progressed to the next stage or not.

Important: Always stay in touch with candidates via email or phone throughout the entire recruitment process.

Start Building Your Talent Pipeline

With a network of engaged potential candidates ready to join your business, you’ll ensure that you always have potential on-hand to fill essential roles.

So, now you have the premise of building your talent pipeline, it’s time to get started.

Remember that you don’t have to go it alone – working with a Dedicated Specialist Recruiter is a great way to work on building your talent pipeline.

For more information on how we can help you build your talent pipeline, get in touch with us on 0203 058 2573 or email us here.

If you haven’t been giving much thought to your employer branding recently, then now is the time to start.

All businesses have an employer brand, whether they actively work on it or not.

Your employer brand is the way the world sees you; from your products and services, your mission, your vision, your ethos and your team – yes, there is a lot to consider!

The question is – how should your employer brand be positioning your company in our post-pandemic world?

Every sector has changed, and it is more crucial than ever that your employer brand is positioning you above your competitors. 

In today’s blog, we look at the crucial elements of employer branding in our post-pandemic world. 

What is Employer Branding?

Your employer brand is your talent attraction magnet – it is the beacon to the potential pool of candidates to be drawn on that want to work for your company. 

It is also the way your customers view your business – the reason people interact with your organisation and the way the wider world views your company.

But for the purpose of today’s article, we’re going to be focusing on employer brand in terms of talent attraction.

And specifically, employer branding in our post-pandemic world. 

What worked pre-pandemic will not necessarily work now; the best talent is looking for certain things from your post-pandemic employer brand, so let’s look at what they are.

A Considerate Brand 

The pandemic has brought down barriers in ways that we could never have expected. 

Now more than ever what people are looking for from the organisations they interact with, and specifically the organisations they want to work for, is that they have a personal, considerate approach to being an employer. 

People are now looking for reassurance and support wherever they turn – from their friends, their family, and especially their employer.

Transparency is key here too. If you have had to make redundancies in certain areas, but senior management have received bonuses, how will this look to candidates who are researching your brand?

It can be tricky getting the balance here right, but everyone is aware of how tough things have been during the pandemic. Being honest and transparent about the decisions your business has made is key – candidates are increasingly turning away from brands that are seen to be dishonest about their practices. 

A Focus on Health and Wellbeing 

A big focus for candidates that you must consider in your post-pandemic employer brand is how much of a focus you now have on health and wellbeing. 

Wellbeing and particularly mental health have been gaining traction in the employment world for some time, but the pandemic has skyrocketed their importance. 

Your post-pandemic employer brand needs to ensure candidates that you are treating the health and wellbeing of your workforce with the utmost importance.

This includes-

• Prioritising clarity and caution – the virus hasn’t gone away yet, and brands who maintain an excellent focus on physically protecting their employees with excellent Covid-19 procedures will be viewed by candidates favourably.
• Offer flexible working (where possible) – allowing employees to work from home, and being flexible on the matter is what the best candidates will be looking for. 
• Offering real help to support employee health and wellbeing – do you encourage physical health in your employees by providing fresh fruit in the workplace (where it is safely possible) or cycle to work schemes and gym memberships? Do you champion mental wellbeing and strive to be a compassionate employer – if so, will candidates know this from looking at your website or social media?

Showing that you are dedicated to health and wellbeing is not about bragging about it on social media – it’s about demonstrating your values in a way that’s easy for candidates to find and communicates your wellbeing offering in an honest and transparent way. 

A Communicative Brand

Communication was the one thing that kept us together during the pandemic, and the way you continue to communicate with candidates during the ongoing crisis and afterwards will be a significant part of your employer brand going forwards.

Your social media channels are the first port of call for candidates to contact you, and your followers (which will include potential future candidates) are still the number one place to maintain your employer brand.

But some organisations stepped away from posting anything on social media during the pandemic. Some thought it insensitive; others simply didn’t know what to post during the highly changeable time.

But posting online to maintain your employer brand doesn’t always have to be about self-promotion.

There are many different types of content you can share on your social channels to alert candidates to what type of employer you are, and what your company is focusing on in our post-pandemic world.

This can include:

• Topical news and relevant industry updates
• Helpful articles which could be of interest to your sector employees and candidates including think pieces either from your own company or from a thought-leader
• Updates about your company – have you launched new products or services? Have you celebrated a milestone recently? Moved office? People love to see ‘human’ updates from real people about real people (your team).
• And of course – your latest job vacancies.

Giving Candidates a Sense of Purpose

Finally, a sense of purpose is another major factor that great candidates are now looking for in their post-pandemic employers. 

Meaningful work is increasingly what millennials are looking for – and this section of workers now makes up the largest part of the worldwide workforce.

The Deloitte 2020 talent survey states that employers should provide meaningful work or they will struggle to attract and retain their workforce.

What is it about your company that makes your employees feel as though they are making a positive difference to the world? 

Finally

If you are looking for new talent for your organisation and are struggling to find the ‘right’ candidates – we can help.

Get in touch with us on 0203 058 2573 or email us here and we will help you find the talent that you have been looking for.

You’ve been offered a new role – congratulations! 

There are a few things to do now, firstly, to celebrate and inform your current employers of your resignation.

The second is to think about how you’re going to make a success of your new role.

You know you have the right skills, abilities and experience that your new employer is looking for, so you can relax on that front.

But still, starting a new job can be daunting. You want to prove to your manager and your new colleagues that you’ve got what it takes.

Thankfully, there are a few strategies you can implement from day one.

So here are 7 strategies for creating success in your new role.

1. Knowing Where to Focus Your Efforts

Securing your new role is just the first step in this exciting new part of your career.

Although your recruitment company  will have helped you find a role which perfectly matches your skills, abilities and aspirations, it is not up to you to find out what is expected of you in your new role.

Think about:

• Find out what your manager’s priorities are – and then find out how this relates to you. This might be covered in the onboarding process, but it will help to have defined short, medium and long-term goals to work towards.
• What do you need to do every day in your day-to-day duties?
• What is your manager’s style, and how are you going to develop a relationship with them?
• What are your KPIs, and how will you be evaluated in your new role?

The more you can find out about where you fit into the businesses ultimate goals, the faster you will settle in and can start achieving.

2. Demonstrating the Right Skills and Attitude

You will have been hired for your specialist experience, and it is time to put yiour skills to good use in your new role.

Think about is there anything you learned in your previous role that you could bring to your new organisation?

You must also demonstrate that you can work well with your new colleagues – and this might mean navigating a few different working styles and figuring out how your new team works and how they communicate. 

The key things to remember here are:

• Practice your communication skills and be patient with others – it takes time to form strong working relationships.
• Be flexible – you might have a fixed opinion from your previous roles about how to undertake specific tasks, but now is the time to observe others and fit in with how your new team operates.
• Be pro-active in problems solving – don’t be afraid to take on new challenges in your new role; it shows you are resilient and hard working.

3. Forming Good Habits

It is essential that you maintain professionalism in everything you do, and avoid getting into workplace gossip, even though it might seem like a good way to form initial bonds.

Focus on your results in the early stages of your role; don’t be afraid to ask your manager to clarify that you’re on the right path, but refrain from asking continually about things you aren’t sure of. Save up your questions and ask once a day. If you aren’t sure of what to do at any point, be proactive and find something to do – ask your new colleagues if they need help. 

4. Active Listening 

Active listening is different from the type of listening that most people demonstrate – that is, listening with the intent of responding, and not listening deeply to what it is the other person is saying.

You can learn a lot more when you focus intently on the things your new colleagues and manager say to you. You can absorb so much about the company, the people, your role and the industry when you actively listen.

So, never make assumptions – and actively listen to your peers; you might be surprised at how much you learn. 

5. Always Learning

We can all be guilty of believing that we have nothing left to learn about a particular subject, especially if it’s a issue that you are very familiar with.

But the start of a new role should be a reminder than there is always more to learn.

Once you have your new role parameters and goals clearly in your mind, you can then look towards your ongoing development.

Speak to your manager about L&D and ask if there are any courses you can take or any in-house training extra to your onboarding that you can partake in.

Remember – every day is a school day!

6. Deciding What to ‘Let Go’ Of

Part of growing in your new role is in realising what you can let go of.

Success is not always about refining your skills and developing new ones; it can also be an opportunity to let go of old habits and mindsets that could be holding you back.

Learn when to say ‘no’; notice when you are more likely to procrastinate or become distracted, and finally, say goodbye to the fear of failure.

Starting a new role is a powerful thing, and it can be the opportunity to be the ‘you’ you have always wanted to be.

7. 30, 60 and 90 Day Plans 

And lastly, success will not happen on its own – it must be planned for.

The onboarding process in your new role should set the objectives of your position; however, the detail and specificity of onboarding programmes can vary between organisations. 

So it is advised that you set yourself some 30, 60 and 90-day goals – even if they are just personal goals that you want to achieve in your new Role. 

Achieving personal targets related to your new Role is a great way to boost your confidence and draw success towards you. 

30, 60 and 90 day plans have been proven time and again to be a really effective way of helping people achieve their goals. 

Finally

Are you just about to embark on the next exciting step in your career? Or perhaps you’re looking for your next opportunity and aren’t sure where to start your new job search.

If so, we can help.

We are Talent Partners to the Blockchain and Gaming industry, and help candidates just like you find great new career opportunities. From CV help, and interview prep to careers advice and organising interviews for you.

Get in contact with us on 0203 058 2573 or send us an email to find out how we can help you secure your next role. 

As an expert in your field, it’s essential that you hire individuals into your team who will thrive, which in turn allows your business to grow. 

The ‘right’ hire can make all the difference, just as hiring someone who isn’t exactly what you’re looking for can be harmful to your team and ultimately your success.

The Recruitment and Employee Confederation (REC) estimate that the cost of making the wrong hire at management level (with an approximate salary of £42,000) can be as high as £132,000 – yes, you have read that right.

No business wants to spend any more time, resources or revenue than is necessary on their recruitment process.

In an ideal world, you could make the best hire the first time around – every time. Unfortunately, in real life, it’s not as simple as that. 

But as an expert in your field, there are ways that you can mitigate hiring problems and challenges in your organisation. High on the list is only hiring individuals with certain high-performing skills.

Today, we share the 7 top qualities to look out for in your recruitment process – hire employees with these attributes to attract the success you want for your business. 

1. A Great Communicator

Communication is the number one attribute all great employees have; possessing great skills is one thing though not being able to communicate effectively with your team stops everything in its tracks.

In any organisation, no matter how small, the way employees interact with each other is the key to a successful team, and this has only been increased in our new physically distanced world.

Since the rise in remote working, possessing excellent communication skills has never been more critical. Sending an unclear email or miscommunicating a message over messenger bots or on the phone can cause all manner of problems for the entire team.

The most successful teams are full of great communicators – so look for this attribute as something which is just as essential as skills in your recruitment process. 

2. Autonomy

In a busy organisation, you need a team who can work independently outside of the initial onboarding period. 

Your employees need to be able to manage time effectively, balance their workload and ensure that deadlines are met. 

Additionally, autonomy is a contributing factor to high engagement, productivity and work satisfaction – so when you employ and encourage autonomy in your team, both you and your employees will benefit.

To find out if candidates have high levels of autonomy during the recruitment process, ask them how they feel working independently and if they have experience of working on their own - particularly from home - and look out for how confidently they talk about being self-driven. 

3. Leadership Skills

Another key trait to look out for is their leadership potential. 

In our ever-changing world, you must know that your team can step up when needed. Additionally, when you recruit top talent with leadership potential, this is a long-sighted growth strategy which can save you time and money in the future.

Leadership qualities involve a variety of soft skills including communication, confidence, delegation and being able to give and receive feedback.

4. A Positive Mindset 

A positive mindset is essential in organisations, and unfortunately, it’s not something that can be taught easily.

Some individuals approach challenges with a ‘can-do’ attitude, are always able to look at the positive in a situation and can consistently bolster others - and these are the type of people you need in your organisation.

Individuals with a negative mindset will find it harder to thrive and move forward, as they find it challenging to see past obstacles. Unfortunately, their negativity can quickly spread and bring other members of the team down too.

Additionally, positive individuals have an ability to adapt to change with ease – which is going to be essential in organisations moving forward. 

5. A Team Player

As with a positive mindset, being a team player is a crucial trait for Blockchain and Gaming employees to have in our post-Covid world. 

Be on the lookout for employees who have plenty of experience of working as part of diverse teams, as working with lots of different people and personalities is a great way to develop the skills needed to be an excellent team player. 

Team players contribute by listening to their colleagues, offering a different perspective, they help to strengthen bonds and trust within the team, and they are essential when things get tough.

6. Emotional Intelligence

Emotionally intelligent individuals possess the interpersonal skills needed to help your organisation to thrive, and they do this in a few ways.

Building on the great soft skills we have already mentioned in this article, emotional intelligence allows employees to exhibit the following:

• Self-awareness – the ability to prioritise, manage time and resilience to stress and anxiety during busy times.
• Self-regulatory behaviours – they are always in control of their emotions, and they are good at resolving conflict.
• Empathy – they can understand different members of the team, which allows them to work well with everyone.
• They can take feedback constructively – they don’t let it affect them personally, and they learn and grow from the experience. 

An ideal team is full of people with high emotional intelligence, and it is such a necessary trait it ranked sixth in the World Economic Forum’s list of the top 10 skills that employees will need to thrive in workplaces of the future. 

7. Agility 

And finally, since the enormous changes that have happened to our world due to the pandemic, flexibility is essential.

Never before has the skill of being able to work outside of our comfort zones been necessary. It is now essential for all employers to be sure that their team are able to pivot to the ever-changing needs of a post-pandemic world. 

Some people are great and adapting to change, whereas others find it more challenging, and some are unwilling to try.

How have employees coped with the recent changes to our world? Have they been happy to embrace new ways of working and living? Agility comes with a growth mindset, one where employees are always looking to develop and to grow, and this is the only way continued future success is possible. 

Finally

If you are looking to employ new talent into your organisation, these are the skills that you should be on the lookout for.

If you need help finding great talent for your business, we can help. 

For more information on how we can help you recruit the high-performing individuals you need, get in touch with us on 0203 058 2573 or email us here.

Naturally, we all go through periods of having exciting projects on at work which make us fall in love with our roles again; and times when finding motivation is harder.

But if the thought of the end of the weekend and another week in work fills you with dread, this could be a sign that something is seriously wrong.

Either you’ve outgrown your current role, your workplace has become toxic, or you realise that your passions lie elsewhere in a different position or with a new company with different values. There are some signs to look out for which indicate that it’s time to look for a new job.

Deciding on a career move can be a daunting thing, and that’s why many people try to ignore the warning signs that they should move on.

Today, we share the six undeniable signs it’s time to look for a new job (and how to find one). 

1. You Have Stopped Enjoying Going to Work 

There can be many reasons people are reluctant to leave the house in the morning, from a commute that is regularly filled with traffic to a lengthy train journey.

But generally, travelling to work should not be a time where you dread the minutes counting down until your morning start time.

Have you found yourself stopping off for a coffee to delay getting into the office; have you started taking the longer route to work; does the thought of work in the morning keep you from sleeping at night?

Of course, many more of us are working from home now, and so the physical act of going to work might soon become a thing of the past in many roles.

But this feeling of dread can become present in morning Zoom meetings, when you’re on a conference call or any time work-related messages pop-up on your screen. 

A sense of dread when you think about your job is not normal – if this is happening to you, it’s time to make a change.

2. You Feel Disconnected From Your Role

High employee engagement is a characteristic of all excellent employers. 

Great employers will ensure that you have the right amount of work to do; that you’re not overworked or frequently find yourself with few tasks and unsure what you should be doing.

You should feel a passion and drive for your role, and a connection to your team and your employer which makes you want to give your best to the job – it was probably there when you applied for this position.

But over time, inadequate management can lead to employees feeling disconnected and then eventually stop caring. It is hard to find enthusiasm for your role when you have become disconnected. Will you ever trust that your employer truly cares about you even if things change in the short-term?

3. You are Taking Extra Sick Days

Taking extra sick days, or taking holidays simply to get away from your job is a sign that something is wrong. 

It is estimated that 12.7% of all sick days are taken due to mental health problems, which can often be attributed to your current role in the first place.

If your mental health is being affected due to your job, first speak to your manager. They have a duty of care to you to ensure that your position is not causing you harm. Sadly, if the problems are out of your manager’s control, and they continue, it might be time to look for an employer who has an excellent wellbeing reputation.

4.  You Don’t Get on With Your Boss (or Your Colleagues)

Having a great relationship with your boss and your colleagues is never a given in any role – it’s always a nice added bonus when you find a role you love, and you get on with your team.

But negative relationships with the people you work with every day can quickly become draining, and they can turn a once dream job into a nightmare situation.

There should always be avenues you can explore before it gets as serious as leaving for a different company, but sometimes that’s what it takes.

Toxic workplaces are sadly more common than you might think, and although your job might look great on paper, if your boss regularly puts you down, and the atmosphere in the workplace is continually negative and is holding you back from success in your job role and your whole career, it’s time to find a company where you not only feel fulfilled but also happy. 

5. You’re Being Underpaid

48% of employees feel that they are underpaid for the work they do – does this sound familiar?

When you start a job, the expectations might have been clear, but what commonly happens in workplaces is that over time, and as you become more experienced within the organisation, you are tasked with more and more duties. 

And your remuneration rarely increases with the amount of extra work you are now expected to do.

It might be a simple case of your manager not realising how much extra outside of your role you are taking on – but this again is poor management on their part. 

Suppose you are increasingly given extra tasks or are performing managerial duties and your employer tells you that you are not going to be paid any extra for it. In that case, this is a sign that your employer is taking advantage of you. 

Not all employers behave like this – now should be the time to find one who doesn’t. 

6. You Feel Undervalued 

Aside from being paid a fair wage for the work you do, it is also important that you feel emotionally valued and supported by your manager and your colleagues.

Signs that you are being undervalued by your current employer include:

• Your work is overlooked,
• Your performance and pay reviews are continually pushed back,
• You’re not trusted to have autonomy in your role,
• Those around you are promoted, and you get left behind. 

Being undervalued can be a sign that your current employer is not going to support you in your career and that things are unlikely to change unless the entire company has a management shake-up – but you don’t have to wait for this to happen.

Next Steps 

Many people stay in roles that are making them severely unhappy and impacting on their mental health because they believe there is no other option for them.

The truth is there are always other options; you just might not know where to find them – and that’s where we come in. 

Speak to a dedicated recruitment company – they will be able to offer advice and options, they can put you in touch with new potential employers and organise interviews for you – what are you waiting for? Please call us on 0203 058 2573 or send us an email here  to discuss how we may be able to help.

When it’s time to interview the shortlist of candidates for your vacancy, you need all the help you can get to ensure you eventually make the ‘right’ hire. 

Interviewing is a skill, and just because you are in a managerial position, that doesn’t mean that interviewing comes naturally to you.

Likewise, just because you’ve been interviewing for years, this doesn’t mean that your technique doesn’t need honing.

Today, we share 6 clever tips for interviewers to help you make the best possible hire from your shortlist of applicants.

1. Review Your Company Mission and Vision

Companies with the strongest culture attract the best candidates; it’s a fact. 

Reviewing your company vision and mission might be a case of refreshing your memory of the values and attributes that your business aspires to, but it could also be a case of rewriting them entirely.

Since the pandemic and the shake-up to businesses that this caused, many companies are finding that their mission and vision has changed – is this true in your business?

For example, in some organisations, communication between employees in the form of weekly in-person meetings might have once been an essential part of their business strategy. But since the role of remote working, this is no longer the case.

Does your company recognise and appreciate the need for flexibility to allow for remote working, which is more vital than ever? 

The first thing to do before the interview process starts is to review your company vision and mission statement for our post-pandemic world.  

2. Get Familiar with the Job description

In an ideal world, you will have written the job description yourself and inherently understand what you need from your new hire, but this is not always the case. 

In larger companies, there can be several people involved in the recruitment process, so it is essential that everyone involved is aware of what you are looking for in your new role and that this is communicated to candidates at every stage. 

Especially now in our ever-changing world, the position that you are hiring for might be an entirely new role for the company – do you know the exact skills and attributes that you are looking for?

3. Work to a Method

Interviewing candidates can be an emotionally-charged experience for both the employee and the employer. 

Many interviewers by-pass red flags in the interview and go with their ‘gut feeling’ – but this is not the best way to hire the right talent for your business.

For every interview to have the best outcome, you must work to a method and stick to it. This means:

• Choose your questions carefully and don’t deviate. You can ask extra questions that might crop up in your mind at the end of the planned questions – this gives all candidates a fair interview. 
• Practice your note-taking – taking accurate notes is an essential quality for all interviewers to have. 
• Use a scale to rate candidate answers – you can give a score out of 10, or use ‘excellent’ to ‘poor’ at the end of each answer to remind you when you are looking back over your notes.

4. Be Compassionate

Interviews can be daunting, and this is something that interviewers and hiring managers can become desensitised to, especially if they have a lot of experience conducting interviews.

Showing compassion and consideration instead of the stony managerial tone some interviewers adopt will benefit both the employee and yourself.

Candidates perform much better in interviews when they feel at ease, and so making sure they feel relaxed is a great way of seeing the real candidate and allowing their best self to shine through.

So, don’t be continually testing the candidate or focusing on negativity and flaws to try and ‘catch them out’.  Keep it positive, even if you plan on asking the dreaded ‘what’s your greatest weakness?’ question (we will look at interview questions in the next section). 

Take your time, and allow the candidate to take theirs – allow enough time for a good conversation, don’t aim to get them in and out in 20 minutes. 

And finally – smile!

5. Get Your Questions Right 

There are certain interview question stereotypes, which it is best to avoid if you want better interview outcomes.

There are standard questions that many interviewers ask, such as ‘what will you bring to the role’, ‘tell us what you know about our company’ and of course, ‘what is your greatest weakness’.

But for an outstanding interview, there are some questions to introduce, which can give impressive results.

Try asking the candidate to explain a passion of theirs to you – it can be work-related or not. As this will allow them to demonstrate their communication skills and their passion – it brings them out of their shell and shows you how effective they are at communicating ideas to a layperson. 

Another great question right now is to ask how they coped with the Covid-19 crisis, either at home or at work. We all had to make changes to our lives and routines – did they take it in their stride or did they find it hard to adjust quickly to new ways of living and working?

Additionally, aim to curate an interview environment which feels like a conversation rather than an interrogation – this will put candidates at ease and makes the interview experience more pleasant and productive for everyone involved. 

6. Candidate Aftercare 

Ensure that you treat each candidate, even unsuccessful ones, as you would treat a customer, even after the interview process is over.

This is a great way of looking after your talent pipeline – candidates who are suitable but unsuccessful on this occasion will be inclined to apply again if they come out of the experience with a positive view of your company. 

Respond to candidates in a timely manner – this goes for successful and unsuccessful candidates both during and after the interview process.

Encourage unsuccessful candidates to apply again, and you can even keep in touch on LinkedIn, where you can share news and information and updates about your business.

As for the successful candidate – congratulations on your new hire; now it’s time to get them onboarded successfully. 

Finally

If you are looking to employ new talent into your organisation and you need help attracting the right talent – we can help.

For more information on how we can help you recruit the high-performing individuals you need, get in touch with us on 0203 058 2573 or email us here.