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
______________
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!
People change jobs typically about ten times in a lifetime. There are multiple psychological, economic, external or family-related reasons for that. For the businesses, retention of employees is an important factor for the success. In order to extend the length of employment we need to understand the motivations that drive people to move on and look for a new job.
Another area of interest – is to explore whether at the stage of hiring new members you make the right decisions. And those are only can be evaluated if the job analysis has been done properly in order to define the person specification, requirements, responsibilities and form the job description that will truly represent the role. If you need help with recruitment, contact us. However, in this article we will look at the reasons why people change jobs and how to approach it if you are the manager.
So, why do people move on?
1. At a certain point in a job, an individual may start feeling that the values and culture of the organisation is not necessarily suitable anymore. It does not match with who they are. It links to an individual’s perception of career as well – whether a job is just a way to earn money, or it’s expected to be an extension of personality and life.
How to approach: it’s important to help an individual to express their concerns. Help to identify their main values together and help them see where in organisation they can do something that makes sense to them. Something that does not compromise on the main role. It can be a charitable event they could help to organise around Christmas time, for instance.
Tools: values cards and coaching.
2. After some time in the role, people experience that they have outgrown this job and thrive for more challenge. At the core of this reason – motivation to master the skills and see the improvement.
How to approach: and again, through open and transparent conversation explore the concerns. As a manager allow the employee to speak up. If that’s the case, think about the opportunities within the current organisation where the skills and knowledge of the employee can be applicable. Remember, that the level of the project should be a bit above the current project that the person is involved in at the moment. Also, talk about what the employee has learnt throughout current employment – what he/she gained in terms of new skills, experience, knowledge and competencies.
Another useful approach is to help to identify the blank areas, developmental areas where the employee what to extend the expertise towards. 360 degrees feedback tool can be appropriate to use. From that stage, help them to create a professional development plan and match it with available opportunities within the company.
Tools: coaching and 360 degrees feedback, PDP.
3. Stress-related health issues may be another reason for an employee to consider leaving the organisation. A huge number of corporate workers experience symptoms of burnout after prolonged exposure to stress and take sick leave when feel overwhelmed and exhausted. Some support from the organisation may be required.
How to approach: firstly, identify the issue is happening. These questions might help:
How is your team doing?
What’s going on in the lives of the team members? Any other factors outside of the office influence their well-being?
Any lateness, lack of concentration, overreaction, anxiety or any sort of difference in behaviour?
Notice it and talk to a person. Secondly, offer your help that is within your capacity – an extra day of leave, flexible working, consultation with an organisational psychologist and so on. Allow the employee that goes through tough time to understand that expectations are temporarily lower and you are there to support. Make sure to follow up and check on them.
Tool: The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) to identify the well-being level of employees in the organisation.
We covered today only three factors that may influence an employee’s decision to leave the job and gave you some ideas how you may approach it and make them stay.
We hope you have found this article helpful and we wish you all the best in keeping your team thriving. However, if there is a need to hire someone new, write us to admin@redsquareinternational.co.uk and we will be happy to assist.
Written for the Red Square Int. by in-house Organisational Psychologist Svetlana Elfimova
Are you a business owner, busy manager or entrepreneur and feel like you’ve been overloaded with administrative tasks that distract you from strategic thinking and decision-making? We know what helps indeed – to hire a great Personal Assistant who will manage your meeting arrangements, expense reports, travel bookings, help with basic accounting and drafting documents. Whatever it is – they will handle it in a timely manner, with a detail-focused approach and always offer the best solution.
Ideally, right? It takes a bit of time to find a great one for you. Here is what you want to know before you start searching for an assistant:
1. Know your own needs – which skills and attributes are essential for you. Business trainers recommend to write down in two columns what you do on a daily basis, and specify in left column the tasks only you can handle, in the right one – what you can delegate to others. These will be an assistant’s responsibilities.
2. Person specification. Working with someone 1-1 might sometimes be challenging if your personalities do not match. Think of the colleagues, business partners and support staff with whom it was effective and comfortable to work. Specify what soft skills and qualities are of utmost importance for you.
3. Selection. Think of a few tasks that you can use to select the best candidates from many – the projects that will help you understand their strengths and whether it’s a true fit. Prepare for the interview and think about salary you are ready to offer. Any perks?
What our clients are usually looking for in a great PA – ability of turning chaos into order, finding solutions prior to the client’s end of speech, getting things done even before the deadline, being precise and knowing the art of listening and following directions when required. Our clients choose those who can handle responsibilities, tough conversations and long working hours, who knows how to arrange a private jet in the middle of the night and find an exclusive suit for the event next day in New York.
If you wonder where to advertise for a Personal or Executive Assistant job, approach Red Square International – we have the best database of Russian speaking PA professionals and we know how to source, headhunt and select upon your unique criteria. We send the first shortlist within 24 hours (Mon-Fri).
Check our testimonials, and get in touch via admin@redsquareinternational.co.uk or call us on + 44 0 207 969 1812.
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.
Nowadays, people change jobs more often, even as often as every second year, according to our internal statistics. There is an increase in horizontal mobility, meaning one changes roles not to a higher one, but to the same type of position, usually to something more convenient in terms of location or flexible hours, a better package, more responsibility, or just to a different team within the same organisation.
What does help people to change to better jobs? Their skillset and motivation!
Often defining “a good job” begins with you understanding your needs and values. For every single one of us “a good job” is a completely different thing. It’s linked to a person’s perception of their career, as well as personality, social and family commitments, education level and goals. Take time to think about what is “a good job” for you? Write it down and have a look at what is out there that meets your criteria. Evaluate the requirements to understand where you are now and what will help you to reach your destination. In this article we will speak about the skills that will help you to get a job you truly want.
Clear and assertive communication is the key to success.
First of all, try to determine your own communication style (quizzes and descriptions available online can help with this). That will help you to understand how you come across to your colleagues and increase your awareness. You’ll find out whether or not it may benefit you to adjust your communication style.
Assertive communicators take ownership, express themselves openly, but they also consider the needs of others. The aim of assertive communication is to find a win-win situation of any interaction and maintaining the balance of rights and respect.
Handy tips:
When you apply for a role online, you will see what skills the employer expects you to have. By defining where you want to head with your career, you will understand what skills you need to gain. After doing that, form a plan and ask yourself the following questions: “how will I obtain the skills I need?” And “when will I obtain them by?”
Have a look at free online courses. There are platforms that provide hundreds of valuable training courses, which are reviewed and are able to be taken at a self-set pace. You define what you want and then find a solution to get it. Some platforms to get you started are:
Once again, everyone is different. Some people motivate themselves easily and take ownership of their lives; other people may take a different route and postpone or procrastinate about what has to be done at work now (read soon in our blog on how to improve your concentration).
Planning will help you to figure out what works best for you. It is important not to rely on another person’s way of working, but to define your own.
Ability to prioritise is essential. What is your “morning frog”? By this I mean out of the list of things that you have to do today, what is the most important task for you to complete today? (Or the most unpleasant task!) Aim to do this task first thing in the morning (congratulations, you’ve managed to “eat” your “morning frog” – the most unpleasant thing that day) and from that point on your day will feel much easier. This approach will also help you to reduce any psychological tension.
Remove the things that disturb you: social media, checking your emails fifteen times an hour, phone notifications. Set a timer for 30 minutes to allow yourself to focus on completing a task and to be free from distraction.
Buy a diary that you will enjoy using, find your lucky pen, use stickers, pin things on a board, draw up schematics. Anything that will help you to develop the skill of time management. You will soon be on you way to becoming motivated and prepared for a upcoming job opportunities!
When you are ready,
Any job role that you see online has specific requirements and some of them are non-negotiable. Prior to applying, take time to read those requirements through properly, as well as the overall job description. If the company publishes the vacancy itself (i.e. not through an agency), you can track this down and run a search about the company. This will help you to prepare for questions if you do happen to speak to a recruiter about it. It will also give you an understanding if this is the type of job that you’re truly looking for.
Before you apply:
Read the job description thoroughly. Some companies add a tricky line or question in the advertisement to see who reads it. For example, recently I saw a few jobs in LinkedIn which ended with the phrase: please apply by sending your CV to this email. Those who don’t read, only click ‘LinkedIn Apply’ and lose their chances to be considered.
Make sure your application meets the criteria. Let’s say it’s written that you have to have three years of experience in the field, but you have none – don’t waste your time. Or, if it says you must have a specific qualification, it might not work out for you if you don’t.
Prepare your CV and upload it in Word format. A lot of companies use ATS (Applicants Tracking System), a computer run search by keywords. Basically, the ATS won’t be able to read your PDF file accurately. Name your experience section ‘Work Experience’. And do not use your photograph, as chances are high your CV won’t be considered.
Send a follow-up email. If you apply through an agency, you may want to drop them an email. Make sure it’s a friendly one. Do this to check if your application has been received, or you may want to inquire about a phone/face-to-face registration.
For the employer, it’s important to see relevant experience and your understanding of what the job entails. Even though we all know that many skills nowadays are definitely transferable, it’s still more cost-effective for a company to hire someone with experience in the field. Companies write job specifications to make it clear who they are looking for. Due to high volumes of applications, it is sometimes impossible to respond to every single applicant. Irrelevant CVs simply won’t be considered.
In some cases, it is a good idea to get in touch with a hiring manager or a recruiter, but not to write about how great you are and what you have accomplished. Ask relevant questions. For example, if you have a different degree from what’s listed in the advert, ask them if this will affect your chances of going through to the first stage. Write a short list of your relevant experience and ask how it might fit with the role. Think about the value you can add to the business and ask if you can send your CV to them for their evaluation directly.
Making human contact with a recruiter, especially if you show understanding of a job role you enquire about, may help you with that role and help you in the future to be considered for similar positions.
We all know that people are the main asset in any organisation. It takes time to build a great team that will share the same values, will be diverse, but yet balanced and supportive. The team that will aim to deliver to the highest standard and contribute to the success of your business. Red Square International is your professional partner in the selection process who provides the recruitment solution and does the search, advertising, sifting, evaluation and collection of references for you.
We all know, it takes time and energy to replace someone that was a kind of irreplaceable professional! We know you are looking for someone who will click with the team, adapt to the company environment, will quickly learn the specifics and enhance your business.
We’ve been in the business for over ten years specialising in Russian speaking professionals across sectors. We’ve sharpened the instruments of fair and valid selection and got access to thousands of profiles of settled in the UK and Europe Russian-speaking specialists. In some cases, we provide a shortlist within a working day (depending on the role)!
We assign a dedicated Account Manager to your project who will be happy to construct and adapt the process for your needs.
We only charge when you hire the best candidate you could only dream about!
We assist with a wide variety of searches, including C-level and General Management, Financial and Accounting Specialists, Legal Professionals, Business Developers and Sales Executives, Office Support and Administration, IT, Tech and Web Personnel.
SUBMIT YOUR VACANCY HERE AND GET A PHONE CALL TO DISCUSS!
Subscribe to e-mail notifications about new vacancies!