With over 1,000 job boards in the UK, it is crucial that you pick the right one for your company and position. We are proud of our recommended job boards, we have gone to a lot of trouble to work out which are the best and then track and measure to ensure the best results. Before we engage with any new boards, we ask some pretty rigorous questions – we thought you may find them useful…

1. What areas of specialisation do the cover (job titles, job sectors, geographic areas, etc)
2. What’s their strongest area (job title/geographic area)
3. What is the most search term
4. How do they attract candidates (what online and offline advertising do they do)
5. How many candidates do they have registered on their site
6. How many are registered for email alerts?
7. What is the most popular job alert sign up?
8. How many of these registered candidates are actively looking for work ?
9. How do they know which of the candidates are active
10. How many candidates are they adding each day?
11. How many of these are eligible to work in the UK?
12. What’s their application to job ration (how does that differ for each job title)
13. How much does each advert cost?
14. What is the cost for multiple ads?
15. Do you need to be into a contract, how long does it last and what is the break clause?
16. What are the upsell options (e.g featured job, email shots, etc) and what are each costs for them ?
17. Who is their major competitors?
18. What new services will they think of offering in the future?
19. Do they offer a free trial?
20. How does their software work (i.e how do you get job posts to the top of listings; i.e. is it keywords or date posted, etc)?
21. What is ratio of consultancy to direct advertisers?
22. Are they audited e.g. ABCe, Noras. If not, by whom?
23. Do candidates need to register with them to apply? If so, what is the process (this could slow down rate of applications)
24. How many searchable CVs do they have as opposed to registrations?
25. Can the CV database be included in a free trial?

Yes I know it is a lot, but that’s what we do. Or you could get in touch or speak to me or on of my campaign team at Net Natives. We know the answers to all of these questions for each job board, afterall it is our job to know this….

Being prepared for your first interview is crucial. Here’s some useful hints and tips to ensure you are in the best possible position to impress.

• Presentation – always wear a suit, even if you know that the company dress code is more casual, if it really isn’t necessary we will advise you beforehand.
• Bring a copy of your CV and any interview notes. More information is here, creating the perfect CV.
• Be prepared – have a look at our list of potential competency based questions the client is likely to ask, but think of further questions you think are relevant and practice with a friend.
• Be enthusiastic – an employer will want to see that you are keen about the role and the company.
• If you don’t know the answer to a question – take a moment to think it through and if you really don’t know then be honest and say why you don’t know.
• Be positive – focus on your strengths and what you know rather than what you don’t know.
• If you like the role, show your interest – at the end of the interview express an interest and ask what the next step would be.
• You should prepare some questions you want to ask at the interview in order for you find out everything you want to about the role and the company. You will have opportunities to ask questions throughout the interview. And almost certainly the interviewer will ask at the end what questions you have.

Here are some example questions to get you started:

• How has this role come available?
• How will my success be monitored in the role?
• What training and development will be offered in the role?
• What is the structure of the team I will be joining?
• Who does the role report to?
• Who are the major competitors and what do they do right/wrong?

Check out our Graduate Careers Advice Page for more information on finding the best job for you.

LinkedIn has a user base of over 8.5 million experienced professionals, and is used by many companies as a database for candidates. For this reason LinkedIn is an excellent place to promote yourself online.

Here are 10 tips to help you enhance your job search using LinkedIn:

Complete your profile thoroughly. You should:

• Include your picture as it allows for a deeper sense of connection to you and should be   part of your brand on all social networking sites.
• List your education, past employers, professional affiliations, awards, and keywords related to your jobs and activities.
• Get references; contact past and present bosses, colleagues, subordinates and clients for recommendations.
• Create a descriptive headline (under your name). The generic title. Make sure your headline is something your target audience is looking for.
• Put a link to your LinkedIn profile on your CV.  For tips on creating the perfect CV click here.

Build your network. Build your network to increase the likelihood that your profile will come up at the top of the list when hiring managers/recruiters are looking for candidates.

Prepare for interviews using LinkedIn. Expand your research by reading about the people who will be interviewing you. Knowing that you  have an acquaintance in common or share an interest is a great way to establish rapport.

Join LinkedIn groups. Join as many groups as possible, but concentrate first on those whose members are people who could hire you (hiring managers) or can help you find a job (recruiters/executive search consultants). You may also want to join job search support groups and industry groups.

Participate in discussions. Share your insights and answers to questions on discussion boards thus demonstrating your knowledge and desire to contribute. Post questions or discussion topics yourself. This will help you make valuable connections while building your personal brand. Always be sure to include your email address in your posts.

Search for jobs daily. LinkedIn’s job board functions like other job boards with the exception that many of the opportunities listed are exclusive to LinkedIn. In addition, many of the opportunities list the recruiters or employers who posted them, offering another level of personal connection for networking.

Identify target companies. You can identify companies by industry and geography to expand your list of target companies. You can filter your LinkedIn list by exploring the company’s web site and job postings. Then, by going back to LinkedIn, you can identify hiring managers and HR managers for additional information and potentially informational interviews.

Update your profile regularly. Every time you update your whole network will be notified and you’ll get exposure.

Include the link to your LinkedIn profile in your signature on every email. That way people can see all your credentials with one click.

LinkedIn can be a valuable job hunting tool if used properly.Why not read our “how to create the perfect CV” post and our “prepare for your first” interview post.

We have recently had some interesting discussions with our job board suppliers about what sort of business are we. Are we are recruitment company or an ad agency?

We are in the business of filling roles NOT selling ads. 9 times out of 10, this can be done with normal, “lineage” job board advertising (our bread and butter), but sometimes clients need that little bit more.

If clients want to gain maximum exposure for a specific position or for the company brand, then you need to think of more than just the advert.

We have run many various creative campaigns, some with a social media element, so with client paid branding, some with all of them. Here I want to focus on the job boards and how to get the most out of them for certain campaigns.

As Campaign Manager, I work closely with the job boards and have recently dome some research on different options and ways of advertising on the job boards to make your role and company stand out from the crowd.  I’ve listed some of the options below:

• Featured Adverts – On average featured adverts get 4 times the amount of applications to usual adverts.

• Banner advertising – There are a number of different types of banner adverts you can look at.  These vary from a ‘skills word’ banner, to a ‘home page’ banner or a ‘location’ banner.  Each targets specific job hunters searching for work in either specific towns, regions or keywords. Use your banner to target specific locations or keywords and it will appear every time a candidate’s search matches the location(s) or words you‘ve sponsored.

• Corporate Buttons – These give you maximum exposure by putting your logo on the home page of the job board.  When a candidate clicks on the button they can either be taken straight to the listing on the site, to your website or the Net Natives website.

• HTML Email – HTML Emails enable your company to promote its vacancies to relevant candidates in a dedicated, fully-branded HTML email.  This is a great way of getting your advert seen by candidates who are not necessarily actively searching.  On average, Total Jobs find that only 30% of their candidates apply to positions by searching for positions.  50% apply when they receive an email about the job and the other 20% come from a variety of sourcing including banner adverts and corporate buttons.

Each have their own relevance, but should be looked at as part of a variety of options open for each campaign.

There’s a lot to take in, so if you can have questions – or if there are any job boards out there with more ideas. Please get in touch.

You know there is no need to use a recruitment company to find your candidates, because effective online recruitment will find your next hire. But this is just one part of the process,  you still need to act like a recruiter when organising your interviews…

When you interview a candidate who has come from a recruitment company, they will have been spoon fed all the information they could possibly need to know about your company.  Their CV’s are even edited to tailor them to your position.

With low cost, online recruitment you get to see the ‘raw candidate’, without a recruiter’s influence.  It is vital you provide your candidates with the information they need so they are able prepare themselves for the interview.  Follow these simple tips to help you get the best out of your candidates:

Prior to the Interview:

1. Email confirmation with the following information:

• Address – where is the interview taking place?
• Who will be interviewing them?  Let them know how many people will be interviewing them.  Will it be their potential line manager or someone else?
• Attach the job spec so they can prepare for the interview.  They may not have a copy of the advert so remember to send them a copy!  Or if you have a full job description, send this to the candidates!
• Send them a link to your website so they can research information about the company.
• Tell them what will be expected of them

2. Call them the day before the interview to confirm

What do YOU need to prepare?

• How will you sell the role? What are the key points that will make that interviewee convert to a hire
• Frequently asked questions – Think about what you want to find out from the candidate.  What will make them successful? If you are hiring for a sales position, take a look at our blog post for questions you may want to ask
• Create an interview pack for each interviewee –include a ‘general duties’ list, information about the company and anything else relevant for the particular role. Make sure you use this opportunity to sell your company.

If you have any other questions on how to prep your candidates please see our FAQs or  get in touch with us directly.

When doing more recruitment yourself you should try to do a tiered structure to the process, with a short 10 minute telephone interview to make sure you are happy with the next stage. Make sure you make notes and use these notes in your face to face interview.

Firstly sell the company/sell the role and make sure you are using this opportunity to get the candidate excited about your company and the role.

Here are Key questions to ask in the screening phone interview:

1. If there is any doubt, make sure they have a UK work VISA or what is their VISA status

2. If the candidate lives a long way away, ask about the
commute or how they plan to relocate.

3. If they need a driving license, ask if they have one.

4.Why did they want to apply for this role?

5. Why are they looking to leave their current job?

6. What is their current salary/package?

7. What salary/package are they looking for?

8. Do they have any other offers or interviews?

9. What is their notice period?

10.What is their interview availability?

11.  Do they have any relevant references?

If you carry out the pre-screening interview properly you should find the face-to-face interview process will run far smoother and you will have a better idea of each candidate before you even meet them. If you need anyn other advice on pre-screening questions or the interview process as a whole please get in touch.

If you follow these simple points you may never have to use a recruitment agency again, wouldn’t that be nice:

1. Be certain you need to recruit!

Make sure you have the role clearly defined and that there is a potential career path for the person you hire
Make sure you have budget you need to recruit!

2. Sell your company!

The best candidates will have more than one interview, make sure you know how best to sell your company. From the advert through to the interview.

3. Prepare yourself

Make sure that you know what the role is in relation to the company, what are the questions you should be asking against that job type.

This will help you prepare when reviewing CVs.

Make sure that you know when everyone is available for interviews and decision making (you don’t want someone off on a holiday at the critical time).

4. Act fast!

The best candidates don’t hang around, if you see someone you like, invite them in for an interview.

5. Pre-screen

Take about 10 minutes to have a telephone interview with the shortlist candidates to make sure you are comfortable with their ability and you sell the company.

See our pre screen question post to make sure you are getting the most out of this process

6. Build your own referral network

Make sure you get the most out of your own network
Have a read of our referral networking blog post for more ideas

7. Use social networks

Have a read of our Facebook advertising blog post for more ideas

8. Build your own talent pool

You should have a database of talent this you know to keep in touch with for your future recruitment needs. Some may be perfect for freelance.

If you need any other help or advice on your recruitment process please get in touch.

With nearly half a million job vacancies posted online at any one time it is important to make sure that your role is the one that’s not only found, but is going to motivate an application.   Here are some points to consider when writing your job posting……

•           SELL, SELL, SELL…This is an ADVERT not a job description. This is the first most people will have heard of you and it’s your chance to sell your company and your wonderful position. It is important for people to know  who they work for AND what they are going to be doing, so this is your opportunity to tell candidates about YOUR unique selling points and make you stand out.  Are you a successful, growing business, have you won awards, what’s the company “vibe” like? Everything is relevant. company vibes, size etc.

•           Make sure that the first 2 lines are short, snappy mentioning the title and the company, to encourage the reader to carry on.  Sorry to say, but your advert won’t be the only one your candidate will read. If your advert is too long the candidates will lose interest before they reach the apply button. Make sure you get the right information in front of them from the start. As for the rest of the advert, keep that short and to the point, as well, where relevant, use bullet points.

•           Be as precise as you can be with the location, add the postcode. If you advertise a job as with a location of “Sussex” a candidates will have to search on “Sussex” to find the job, searching on a specific location within Sussex i.e. Brighton, will not show your job. Some companies ask us to put “nationwide” in their job ads because they have lots of jobs across lots of locations.  However, very few job seekers will be willing to look for your perfect job anywhere in the UK, this needs to be kept in mind and thought about.

•           It is important that you add the salary details to the advert with benefits. Salary is one of the absolute key aspects of searching, if you don’t have your salary up there, chances are you won’t be found. But highlight EVERY benefit of working with you, from bonus, through to parking space. Everything is relevant.

•           But, regardless of what YOU may call the job, make sure the title and the job advert content relates to what your perfect candidate will be searching for. For example, just because you are going to call your next hire, “the VP of Client Relations”, hardly any excellent candidates will search for that term. Tailor the title to what will get the best response.

•           KEY WORDS are called key for a reason… this is what will render your advert higher up the search listing against the search criteria of your candidate. Make sure that the body of the advert is key word optimized against the search criteria of the advert as well as the title. But, BE WARNED, too much key word optimization will mean that it will be considered SPAM…

•           Sector and skills are equally important. Many people choose to work in a particular industry sector and set their search criteria against that sector. Always consider this when creating the job advert. Likewise, In many professions qualifications are very important and would be what your perfect applicant would search on. In accounting, for example, it’s ACA, ACCA, CIMA. In IT, the specific tools and languages are of paramount importance. If your job requires specific qualifications, add them.

•           Personalise the advert, Make sure that the language used in directed to the type of candidate you wish to attract. Make it salesy for a sales person, but a technical person will want a clinical description with facts whilst it would be more suitable when addressing a creative person an advert full of adjectives and enticements will appeal.

If you have any questions about what makes a successful recruitment advert, just ask for Michaela at Net Natives, I’d be happy to help.