RSI LONDON Group | Russian Specialist Recruitment Consultancy
“Sorry, we put this position on hold”… – this is what many of our clients say since the London lockdown. Like other business and industries, recruitment is facing a lot of challenges right now. However, today I would like to talk about something positive and maybe share a little bit of hope for those who are actively looking for a job during the pandemic.
At about three months ago our client – a huge legal firm, was looking for a part-time legal secretary which is a quite common role that we receive on a regular basis, thus we managed to find an excellent candidate quickly and left a positive impression, well…I hope so since they came back with a new position just before the lockdown announcement.
We started the search and that’s it – we found a perfect candidate who is very interested and holds all the required skills. First stage interview via Zoom went great and also helped us to learn more about the role. When it came to the second interview, I received a call from our client 10 minutes before the initial start saying that unfortunately it is cancelled because of uncertainty related to the COVID-19 outbreak. Luckily, our candidate showed patience, sympathy and enormous understanding! After various changes and different interview negotiations, there was a final video meeting which successfully led to a job offer!
Since this vacancy required an immediate start, the next challenge for all parties was to sort out all the documentation and paperwork taking into account that there is a strict rule of self-isolation.
So, what happened next? Because it is a legal firm with specific compliance, a passport copy via email was not an option. Therefore, our candidate sent all the originals to the main office of the company, while they were preparing a contract. Here, I would like to emphasise that each conversation with either the client or candidate started with phrases such as ‘let me know if you need any additional support’ or ‘we will do our best to make sure everyone is safe’. Everyone was incredibly supportive and understanding!
Eventually, the candidate received all the necessary equipment such as a laptop and important documents via post without any face to face contact. The whole recruitment process took around two weeks but most importantly a great candidate got an excellent job he dreamed about.
As a recruiter, I did not feel right to give our usual advice during the pandemic or rush either of the bodies. What I rediscovered through this experience was that a simple human, kind and sensible approach would sort anything despite the circumstances!
And yes, it is possible to find a job even now, keep your mind positive and let us know if we can be of any help.
Kind regards,
Kate
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Recruitment agency RSI London Group contact details:
If you would like to register your vacancy with us, get in touch via:
admin@redsquareinternational.co.uk
If you are seeking for a new role, check out our Vacancies page
We provide Recruitment services during the pandemic and help you hire remotely!
Employee onboarding is crucial to the success of a company. HR specialists link strategic onboarding with a higher level of employee engagement, decreased adaption time, and decreased turnover. Adaptation can take six months or even longer in some cases. Generally, it’s recommended by HR professionals to have a 3-month onboarding programme. This helps newbies to learn and understand a company’s dynamic, leadership style, get to know their colleagues properly, and to adapt their own work style to the company’s.
Onboarding in smaller organisations can be difficult due to a lack of time and resources. Here are some tips to help those in this situation:
Simple things, such as walking your new team member around the office and showing them where everything is, including coffee cups and showing them, for example, how the coffee machine and microwave works is a great starting point to building a trusting and open professional relationship. Small talk helps to reduce a new employee’s anxiety and helps to make them feel like they’ve joined a friendly company.
2. Be clear about your expectations for the trial period and to offer support.
Point out that you understand that they’re on a learning curve and be flexible to allow for this adaptation phase. If you have KPIs, make a point that they’re not expected to reach them immediately and that their KPIs will be different to those of the employees already working in the company for a long time. Do, however, communicate your expectations for them as a new employee clearly. People naturally want to perform well, however, they may struggle in the beginning to adapt to your way of working.
3. Talk to new employees about their experience with the company at an early stage.
Is everything clear to them? Or, do they may require extra training in some aspect? Is there someone they could shadow for a day or two? There are options which are cost-free and can be very effective.
4. Focus on people, not on paperwork.
We are all humans and we all have feelings. We also have skills and experience which differs from one to another. Some personality traits such as High Neuroticism and Introversion are associated with more ‘worrying’ and a less proactive approach in terms of seeking support. These people can be some of the best workers, but they may just require more support in the early stages of a new role.
5. When you decide to prepare an onboarding programme think about 1) the goal of the business and your current situation; 2) the processes and policies you have that new employees must know; and 3) where and how a new hire can access information independently and learn more about the company or the work.
6. And last, but not least, make sure that the desk, laptop and work email, and any other software has been set up prior to them arriving on their first day of work. You should want to make a good first impression on a new employee, as they will surely be trying to do the same for you.
Negative onboarding experiences can quickly lead to employee disengagement. In contrast, after completing a structured onboarding programme, employees are far more likely to remain with a company for three years or more, according to the recent study.
Do you ever feel like a leaf blowing in the wind? Like you have no control over your career? Searching for a job can feel like this. One search after another leads to nothing, no return calls, or rejections that seem out of hand at best. Does any of this feel familiar to you?
Well, the good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way. It really doesn’t. How? We will tell you here:
Identify strengths and weaknesses in job hunting
These questions will help you to identify what you need to focus on. Everyone is different and we all have our own strengths and weaknesses. Think about yours and create your own action plan.
– Are you not getting response from recruiters when you apply for jobs? Does your CV work for you or against you? Have you considered professional CV writing?
– Are you getting invited for interviews, but not getting any job offers? Are you confident in your interview skills? Maybe interview coaching could be handy? But, how do you know?
– Are you dreaming of relocating abroad but have no idea where to start? Would your profile fit the sponsoring visa requirements? How do you improve your chances? Do you want to find out how?
– Are you tired of not knowing what you do? Are you craving change, but keep getting the same types of jobs offered to you? Redirection of a career path can feel like an impossible task, until you plan the transition with the help of a career coach.
If any of these ‘development stoppers’ sound familiar, please write to admin@redsquareinternational.co.uk quoting the reference: COACHING1209.
Just to clarify, we don’t do full coaching, but we will direct you to the right coach for your specific question. Yeah, we have great business partners!
How to get ready for the opportunity:
Every recruitment agency has a particular number of roles available at any given time. They are usually posted on a vacancy page and on third party job boards, such as Reed.co.uk. However, new roles are usually posted across several platforms, which can create a large volume of applications and allowing anyone to apply for any job.
The selection process at a recruitment agency consists of several stages and is based on sets of predetermined, job-specific criteria. An application has to meet the minimum criteria first. Not everyone does and that’s okay. We advise:
– You’re not alone if your application doesn’t get the response you expect. Statistically, a new graduate, for example, has to make a hundred job applications to get one positive response. It’s not just you, it’s a learning curve. Next time you don’t get a response, or you get a response in the negative, you should analyse the job specification closely and then tailor your CV/next application as close to that job specification as possible.
– What about developing an effective approach? Apply for less roles, but smarter. If you feel you have done some of the required tasks before, but they are not on your CV, or written at the very bottom of it – go on, surely bring them all the way up! Make sure to provide true information about your skills and experience.
– When you do get that call/chat/interview – make sure you are at your very best! Prepare for it. Don’t waste the opportunity. Prepare, research, review, get advice, get support, listen to your career coach, to your recruiter, or mentor! Just listen and practice your interview skills!
Know how recruitment works, so you can make it work for you!
London recruiters aim to find the best possible solution for their clients (companies). We filter a lot to find the best matches and aim to match clients’ expectations and interests to our candidates’. We take a close look at your skillset, experience and personality and determine how this fits with what our clients are looking for. We also consider the dynamics – yours as well as all of our clients’. Then we connect you with a company that has an open vacancy in the area of your expertise, in which we think that you’ll thrive.
In saying that, any recruiter who is blown away by a candidate at the interview by their expertise and knowledge, and if they have the appropriate experience in the client’s field, will send their profile to the client with a recommendation to consider for the role. This is what we call a shortlist. However, we typically don’t include any more than five candidates on a shortlist.
At the same time, if you are not doing your best at the interview and don’t show interest in the role discussed, well… you know how that goes. Recruiters will always invest in inspiration, so brush up on your interview skills! Like now! Right now!
Just to summarise: how to get noticed by a recruiter
In order to increase your chances of getting a job, set aside some time to do your research. Read job descriptions and requirements carefully. Think about your own professional experience and times when you had similar duties that are expected in this new position. Add them to your CV. Think about the role titles and if they represent what you did in the industry. Re-write your CV/application summary, so that it matches the role(s) you apply for. Write down why you are applying for a particular role and think about the story your CV tells us, what your strengths are and what your priorities are. Think about what makes you stand out professionally in a large pool of applicants, what makes you stand out at interview, and about how you might present yourself better.
We hope this article helps you to improve your job hunting strategy and gives insights on how to get prepared for your next job!
Read more about the Job Search strategy;
The skills that will help you to get a better job;
About Red Square International and how we work.
It is an exciting time when a company grows! But how do you find people that will enhance what you do and add value to you team(s)? We are all different and finding a great match that will contribute to your business is not exactly rocket science, but it’s also not as straightforward as it may seem!
The dynamic
Every company has a specific dynamic that is not typically vocalised, but more like felt. It can be a mixture of tactics, behaviour, the communication style and so on.
Think of the following:
– What type of internal communication is common in your business?
– What type of leadership is practiced? Is there consistency?
– How does your business celebrate its successes or supports employees? This goes for small, medium or large organisations.
– How do promotions work? Are there opportunities for progression?
All of these questions are important to those that join your business. Candidates want to make sure your business will fit them and align with who they are.
We specialise in Russian speaking recruitment in the UK and Europe. We understand the specifics of the British and Russian mentality, and we know how to build bridges between these two worlds to ensure great matches between candidates and businesses.
Being in the UK job market for over a decade, we have a huge database of strong and available candidates. We know how to source, negotiate, attract and select the best candidates for your role(s).
Job design
When the time comes to grow your team, what do you name a new role? And what will this new role work? This process is called ‘job design’ and going through it properly will help you to best define a role’s duties, responsibilities, as well as any systems and procedures that may apply to a new role. From this stage it becomes far easier to write a person specification and to identify what criteria a candidate should meet in terms of their qualifications, experience and skills.
A selection process might be lengthy and demanding. It is important to have an understanding of who you are looking for. It will help us to sift out the candidates that won’t suit the role. When you hire a recruiter, we usually ask a bunch of questions that are related to the role in order to help you to better define the requirements for a potential candidate. We are also more than happy to assist you with writing a job specification if you’d like.
Advertisement and selection
We advertise on your behalf on job boards and on our website. We evaluate CVs based on the specific criteria you’ve requested, meet candidates face-to-face or via Zoom, run a semi-structured interviews, and then we create a shortlist for you of the best matching candidates. Basically, what we do for you is we look through hundreds of applications, scrutinise a long list, and then choose the most suitable based on your job criteria, the candidate’s experience and skills, and their interview with us.
Saving you time
We save you hours and hours of work by looking through hundreds of applications, evaluating and interviewing a long list of candidates, and scheduling and rescheduling meetings if we don’t get a result right away.
What brings results is choosing a recruitment professional like us to do the job we specialise in with our access to a unique database of strong candidates.
What maximises your chance of attracting quality candidates is by choosing us with our rigorous selection system and fast turnaround.
On top of all of that we also collect professional references on your request and check those candidates’ eligibility to work in the UK.
Contact us on + 44 0 207 969 1812 or via email when you know it’s time to grow your business.
Red Square International is your professional partner in the candidate selection process.
In the era of constant digital interruption, use of smartphones and social media, not being able to focus for a prolonged period of time. Our brain gets hundreds of stimulations from outside worlds, let alone our own cognitive processes. However, this may affect the way you work and influence where you are heading with your career. Ability to concentrate allows to finalise projects on time and not only see a bigger picture of it, but be attentive to the details and find better solutions at work. Ability to concentrate and be attentive increases awareness and, in some cases, lowers stress level.
Let’s look into what affects your ability to focus at work.
Generally speaking, an open space office is more difficult to concentrate in because of the constant interaction with others and level of noise (phone calls, colleagues’ conversations, printers, etc.). Sometimes, the nature of a job does not allow long attention spans. For instance, when the role itself entails dealing with incoming calls from customers on a daily basis.
Speaking of environment, it’s important to emphasise the need for good dynamics in the office. A friendly environment and transparent culture help to support healthy professional interactions. People in such companies feel confident to approach their managers, colleagues or even their CEO. When it comes to solving an issue or asking a question, they will go ahead and do so, instead of postponing due to knowing it’s difficult to receive support and listened to.
Some aspects that we cover in the article might be less tangible because we look deep into organisational psychology.
– Analyse your work and choose an appropriate time for each task.
– Set up your desk in a way that you know where everything is.
– Take regular breaks and make sure to go outside at least once per day.
– Find someone in the company you can approach easily and ask for support when required. Maybe there is someone who could potentially become your mentor?
Providing employees with good quality equipment to perform well at work is essential for the success of any modern business.
Such little details, as not having a second language keyboard, may dramatically decrease an employee’s productivity. If the internet is slow or unstable, it delays working. When an admin has to work on an old computer, it takes a longer time to write or edit documents. Not having a second monitor when employees work daily with large volumes of information may influence performance.
– Report IT problems on time. Have IT contact numbers and emails nearby.
– Communicate with your manager if something does not work right or if you require extra support, such a newer computer. Do it in advance so that it can be added to the budget.
Constant usage of smartphones dramatically influences our ability to concentrate for long periods. Constant interruptions became the norm. However, there are a few easy steps to take if you decide you want to improve your concentration:
– Read at least one page a day regularly (of a paper book or magazine).
– Work with a timer. Choose a task and focus on it for 15 minutes without interruption. See if you can go for the full 15. Increase it to 20, 30, etc. when it becomes easy to focus.
– Write down the steps of what you have to do in order to complete a task. Big tasks or projects may feel intimidating and we tend to procrastinate because we’re unsure of just how best to approach them. Cutting these down into small pieces makes them doable step by step.
– Learn to meditate. Do it just five minutes every day and see the difference.
– Exercise. As little as 20 mins per day makes a major difference.
There is a constant flow of information and interaction with others in our daily lives, however, it’s up to you to choose how to work and how to achieve your career goals amidst all of it. Being able to concentrate on tasks will help you to learn quicker and better and you will progress faster. Being able to concentrate helps you to complete what is important and, eventually, create your own career around the skills that you will manage to obtain in focused, concentrated work.
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