Talent Tweet Tuesday

Regular Talent Emporium customer or not, we want to pass on our passion for UK talent and demonstrate our aim of lowering recruitment costs!

If you have a job to fill, we will ReTweet it free of charge just Tweet the job and link @TalentEmporium, but only on a Tuesday!

Talent Emporium provide, Risk Free, Low Cost and Fixed Price Recuitment solutions.

Executive Job Seekers' Biggest Mistakes

With the UK economy showing little sign of emerging from recession in 2009 the job market is still tough going especially for high earning executives as companies are becoming increasingly selective when making executive level hires and the interview process becomes ever more intense and prolonged.
When we recently helped a senior IT professional back into the work place we found that an article posted on Forbes.com proved a real help

Executive Job Seekers’ Biggest Mistakes

The main points highlighted in this article are extremely helpful and should be adopted when conducting your job search whether you are embarking on your first role since leaving university or seasoned campaigner within your industry sector.

For reference keep these points in mind when conducting your job search:

1. Candidates are poorly prepared, ensure thorough interview preparation

2. Ensure your CV is well constructed, develop a strong brand identity and USP

3. Don’t not appear desperate

4. Keep answers to questions concise and to the point

5. Pay attention to information covered in the interview, try not to keep going over “old ground”

6. Don’t apply for roles you are over qualified for

7. Follow up interviews with a thank you email and letter

For more helpful information to help you succeed in your job search then visit

The Talent Emporium Blog

or visit

Talent Emporium Jobs

to view our latest list of vacancies.

Talent Emporium provides transparent, low cost flat fee and fixed price recruitment solutions enabling companies to make multiple hires for the same role from a 4 week recruitment campaign. With our entry level recruitment solution starting at just £500+VAT we are guaranteed to slash you recruitment costs by thousands, the first time you use us.

Tell me about yourself? The most frquently asked interview question

“Tell me about yourself?” The most frequently asked question at interview and often the first to be asked, setting the tone and direction of the interview process.

Another one of those make or break interview questions that employers use to separate the men from the boys. But, once again by taking some time to prepare before your interview, researching the company you have applied for then a great opportunity to separate you from the competition and an bring that offer of your dream job closer.

As this is such an important interview questions I have put together some useful links so you can gain a cross section of views and examples on how this question should be answered:

www.actingforbusiness.com/interview/JobInterviewtips/interviewtips/tellmeaboutyourself.htm

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_answer_

www.professional-cv-writingservices.co.uk/int/job-interview-tell-me-about-yourself.html

http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/career-articles-answering_one_of_the_trickiest_interview_questions-663

www.job-interview-site.com/tell-me-about-yourself-interview-questions-and-answers.html

http://cuberules.com/2009/10/02/interview-question-tell-me-about-yourself/

www.datsi.fi.upm.es/~frosal/docs/25mdq.html

www.careerknowhow.com/interviewtips/tellme.htm

www.employmentblawg.com/2009/the-tell-me-about-yourself-interview-question-answer-it-with-a-memorable-story/

Talent Emporium offers transparent, low cost flat fee recruitment services matching talented individuals with dynamic organisations. To find out how we can help your organisation acquire the talent they need to move forward visit www.talentemporium.com to view our fixed fee recruitment services.

If you are looking for a career move view our job vacancies at

www.talentemporium.com

or if you have any questions relating to your CV or the interview process email your questions to Interview Questions

Flat Fee Recruitment: Transparent, low cost recruitment

We all know that companies are built on their staff and talent acquisition is key to a company’s success, but does it really have to be so expensive? Especially in today’s tough economic times when organisations are looking to cut costs to increase their bottom line do you really want to be presented with a bill from a recruitment consultant (the emphasis on con in many cases!) for more than you were expecting? Talent Emporium’s transparent, low cost, fixed fee recruitment offering guarantees that this is not the case.
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to work out that reducing recruitment and advertising costs when hiring is key for most businesses, irrelevant of size or sector and Talent Emporium is ideally placed to help your company acquire the talent you require to drive your organisation forward often 95% cheaper than using a contingency based recruitment model.

Although there are other flat fee or fixed fee recruitment services out there, we operate differently. Talent Emporium’s three distinct offerings enable clients to pay per 4 week recruitment campaign enabling clients to take ownership of the candidate applications received during that 4 week period. Our transparent, low cost, flat fee recruitment services ensure organisations maximise their ROI by enabling multiple personnel to be hired for similar positions from a 4 week recruitment campaign all for a fixed fee, starting at just £500. Surely this is a no brainer for any company, large or small as the cost of advertising across a network of job boards would far exceed our one off flat fee never mind the time of expense needed to manage the full recruitment process.

At Talent Emporium we differ from our competitors as the internet and social media plays a big part in our 4 week recruitment campaigns. We proactively employ the use of social networking sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to ensure our recruitment campaigns gain maximum online exposure and your vacancy is marketed to both active and passive candidates. Our use of online databases, social media and data mining of the major search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN ensure we explore every avenue to ensure we deliver the talent your organisation requires.

Talent Emporium’s recruitment credits will never expire, allowing companies to purchase credits in bulk and receive even bigger savings on their recruitment spend. As you can see, for a one off fixed fee Talent Emporium provides a more thorough and deep rooted search than many contingency or retained recruitment services, saving our clients both time and money. In fact we are guaranteed to save you thousands of pounds on contingency based recruitment models, who charge a percentage fee of the candidate’s first year salary and benefits, from the first time you use us. There are no hidden costs, just a low cost, fixed fee to take away the administration and financial strain that often puts pressure on firms when recruiting.

For more information on our transparent, low cost, flat fee recruitment solutions visit

www.talentemporium.com

to find out how you can start recruiting for a one off fixed fee.

Mickey Mouse Tie = Mickey Mouse Interview

Interview feedback from earlier in the week has promoted me to publish this post. A talented software developer with great references and an excellent academic background has turned up to an interview with a cartoon tie! What on earth possesses these people to opt for a cartoon character tie when getting ready for an interview?

When has business and interview attire included a tie with a cartoon character plastered all over it? Is the latest fashion accessory to a Savile Row suit a daffy duck or Mickey Mouse tie? I have just checked the website of the Savile Row Bespoke Association and I can’t find any evidence.

Without sounding sexist men are normally main the culprits, committing the worst interview fashion sins, but micro mini skirts are definitely an interview no go for women and especially men! To ensure you don’t make any interview fashion mistakes we have made a list of what not to wear to an interview:

1. Heavy use of make-up on women (or any makeup on a man)

2. Briefcases: A small leather briefcase or portfolio is recommended to carry your notebook and resume. Do not bring a large briefcase or bag with you.

3. The wrong tie: Wear a tie between 2 ¾ and 3 ½ inches wide. They should have a traditional pattern and be made of pure silk. No "trendy" ties or anything made of something besides 100% silk. Your tie should reach, but not exceed, the top of your belt buckle. Do not wear a bow-tie to an interview.

4. Overly bright or large-patterned clothing: it's best to stick with navy, black or grey.

5. Earrings on men: In fact, men should avoid wearing any jewelry unless it is a wedding ring, class ring or metal watch.

6. More than one set of earrings on women

7. Facial piercings, tongue jewellery or visible tattoos

8. Ill-fitting clothes. Few people can wear things straight off the rack. Spending a little extra to have your garments tailored is a worthwhile investment.

9. Long fingernails, especially with bright or specialty polishes. Nails should look clean and be trimmed to a length that doesn't leave an observer wondering how you keep from stabbing yourself.

10. Unnatural hair colours or styles

11. Short-sleeved shirts, even worse when worn with a tie

12. Fishnets, patterned hosiery or bare legs, women should stick with neutral colour hosiery that complements their suit.

13. Men whose socks don't match their shoes, or whose socks are too short and leave a gap of flesh when they are seated. Socks should be dark and coordinate with your suit.

14. Rumpled or stained clothing: If interviewing late in the day, try to change to a fresh suit beforehand.

15. Scuffed or inappropriate footwear, including trainers, stilettos, open-toed shoes and sandals

16. Strong aftershaves, perfumes or colognes: Many people are allergic to certain scents. For a subtle fragrance, use good quality bath soap.

17. Belts and shoes that don't match: Shoes and belts should be made of leather or leather-like materials

18. Telltale signs that you’re wearing a new suit, remove all tags and extra buttons -- and remember to cut off the zigzag thread that keeps pockets and slits closed!

Don't be a wardrobe malfunction waiting to happen. Plan and lay out what you're going to wear several days before the interview, so you'll have time to shop or get garments pressed and cleaned.

Save "innovative" or revealing garb for the club (or your couch) and strive for crisp, clean and professional. Remember, you want the interviewer to be listening to what you're saying, not critiquing what you're wearing.


Talent Emporium is a transparent, low cost, flat fee recruitment solution providing helpful resources to help job seekers into the work place as well as providing companies with a opportunity to hire multiple candidates from a 4-week, low cost, fixed fee recruitment cycle.

Talent Emporium’s unique transparent, low cost, flat fee recruitment solution enables companies to hire multiple candidates across Admin & Secretarial, Banking & Finance, Construction & Engineering, Energy & Utilities, HR & Recruitment, IT & Communications, Logistics & Transport, Media, Oil & Gas, Production & Operations, Public Sector, Sales & Marketing, and Warehouse & Distribution.

To find out about how we can provide your company with a transparent, low cost flat fee recruitment solution visit

www.talentemporium.com

Gold: Low Cost, Flat fee Recruitment Solution-Passive Candidate Marketing

Talent Emporium’s low cost flat fee recruitment solutions provide companies with a low cost, fixed fee alternative to using a standard contingency based recruitment model. We employ the traditional advertising mediums used by many of the recruitment agencies as well applying web 2.0 techniques and social networking activities to ensure your job posting gains maximum online exposure in order to reach your target audience. With our Bronze, Silver and Gold low cost, flat fee recruitment solutions costing £500, £750 and £1250 (excluding VAT) respectively Talent Emporium is guaranteed to save your thousands of pounds what ever the role or industry.

Talent Emporium’s low cost, flat fee recruitment offerings not only offer a superior service to recruitment agencies charging a % of the candidate’s first years salary we are also more cost effective than direct advertising! Due to our extensive network of online job boards we can advertise your role cheaper!

Gold: Low Cost, Flat fee Recruitment Solution

• One payment of £1250 + VAT
• Includes all the aspects of our Bronze and Silver offerings
• Proactive database searches of all the online job boards we utilise
• Proactive database search of our own extensive database which has been built and added to over the last 10 years
• Passive candidate searches on Social Networking sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Xing and many more
• Passive candidate searches using data mining techniques carried out on major search engines such as Google and Yahoo

Multiple Purchase Savings (There are no expiry dates on our credits!)

We are also able to offer our clients further discounts for multiple credit purchases:

Purchase 10 credits and receive 10 Gold Credits for the price of 10 Silver Credits a saving of £5,000

Purchase 20 credits and receive 20 Gold Credits for the price of 20 Bronze credits a huge saving of £15,000

To start utilising our low cost, flat fee Gold recruitment solution email Gold Offering

View our enetry level Bronze offering at £500 +VAT Bronze Offering and Silver offering at £750 + VAT Silver Offering

Silver: Low Cost, Flat Fee Recruitment-Full Recruitment Solution for £750

Talent Emporium’s low cost flat fee recruitment solutions provide companies with a low cost, fixed fee alternative to using a standard contingency based recruitment model. We employ the traditional advertising mediums used by many of the recruitment agencies as well applying web 2.0 techniques and social networking activities to ensure your job posting gains maximum online exposure in order to reach your target audience. With our Bronze, Silver and Gold low cost, flat fee recruitment solutions costing £500, £750 and £1250 (excluding VAT) respectively Talent Emporium is guaranteed to save your thousands of pounds what ever the role or industry.

Talent Emporium’s low cost, flat fee recruitment offerings not only offer a superior service to recruitment agencies charging a % of the candidate’s first years salary we are also more cost effective than direct advertising! Due to our extensive network of online job boards we can advertise your role cheaper!


Silver: Low Cost, Flat Fee Recruitment Solution

• One payment of £750 + VAT
• Every aspect of our Bronze fixe fee recruitment solution
• We manage the full recruitment life cycle
• Full candidate screening providing a shortlist of the most relevant candidates for you to interview
• Arrange all interviews and manage candidates expectations throughout the recruitment process
• Manage the “offer” stage of the process
• Contact all candidates with appropriate feedback from the process via email

Multiple Purchase Savings (There are no expiry dates on our credits!)

We are also able to offer our clients further discounts for multiple credit purchases:

Purchase 10 credits and receive 10 Gold Credits for the price of 10 Silver Credits a saving of £5,000

Purchase 20 credits and receive 20 Gold Credits for the price of 20 Bronze credits a huge saving of £15,000

To start utilising our low cost, flat fee Silver recruitment solution email Silver Offering

Need a more indpeth search? Take a look at our Gold full recruitment solution-Passive candidate marketing for £1250 Gold Offering

Recruit on a tight budget? Take a look at our Bronze low cost flat fee recruitment solution, more cost effective than advertising directly Bronze Offering

Bronze: Low Cost Flat Fee Recruitment Solution-Hire Multiple Candidates from a 4 Week Campaign

Talent Emporium’s low cost flat fee recruitment solutions provide companies with a low cost, fixed fee alternative to using a standard contingency based recruitment model. We employ the traditional advertising mediums used by many of the recruitment agencies as well applying web 2.0 techniques and social networking activities to ensure your job posting gains maximum online exposure in order to reach your target audience. With our Bronze, Silver and Gold low cost, flat fee recruitment solutions costing £500, £750 and £1250 (excluding VAT) respectively Talent Emporium is guaranteed to save your thousands of pounds what ever the role or industry.

Talent Emporium’s low cost, flat fee recruitment offerings not only offer a superior service to recruitment agencies charging a % of the candidate’s first years salary we are also more cost effective than direct advertising! Due to our extensive network of online job boards we can advertise your role cheaper!


Bronze: Low Cost Flat Fee Recruitment Solution

• One Payment of £500 + VAT
• Vacancies are advertised across extensive network of UK job boards including market leaders such as Monster and Jobsite for a 4 week period
• Optimised advert creation so that your vacancy is searchable by as many potential employees as possible (utilising keywords, commonly used search terms, Google Adwords & SEO techniques)
• Vacancies gain online exposure using Web 2.0 and social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook & LinkedIn
• All candidate applications are forwarded for you to review
• Hire multiple candidates from the 4 week campaign

Multiple Purchase Savings (There are no expiry dates on our credits!)

We are also able to offer our clients further discounts for multiple credit purchases:

Purchase 10 credits and receive 10 Gold Credits for the price of 10 Silver Credits a saving of £5,000

Purchase 20 credits and receive 20 Gold Credits for the price of 20 Bronze credits a huge saving of £15,000

To start utilising our low cost, flat fee Bronze recruitment solution email Bronze Offering

If our Bronze offering is not right for your needs why not view our

Silver full recruitment solution for £750 Silver Offering

Gold full recruitment solution-Passive candidate marketing for £1250 Gold Offering

Employment Background Checks

Following on from recent articles relating to bogus and fake employment references, CVs and qualifications we have decided to write about the importance of carrying out Employment Background Checks. Employment Background Checks are an effective tool to ensure the correct employment decision has been made, it delves deeper then the candidate’s qualifications and gives you piece of mind by ensuring staff and colleagues are safe both physically and financially.

In order to successfully complete an Employment Background Check, two main areas must be approached: criminal record check (Criminal Record Bureau) and credit record check. Criminal record screening should highlight any previous criminal activity such as arrests, lawsuits our any other problems related to judicial system. While credit record checks or consumer report is especially helpful if the role the applicant has applied for is finance related.

Criminal record checks (Criminal Record Bureau) consist of three types:

1. Enhanced Disclosure Certificate if the role involves regular contacts with underage, adults under risk or elderly people. Position examples: nurse, medical dr., teacher, care assistant, etc.
2. Standard Disclosure Certificate for top management positions involved in public or private financial sector. Position examples: company director, credit controller, cashier, accountant, etc.
3. For any other positions or in case of foreign issues apply for Basic Disclosure Certificate.Position examples: openings outside UK, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, all other positions not specified above

Consumer reports require the approval of the employment candidate. The information obtained during this stage of employment background check forms the major part of the applicant’s credit history.

Employment background screening particularly the consumer report can also be done online. However, some information is limited to criminal activity in relation to credit matters. The steps are similar in doing free online criminal background check, except that this time, it requires legal notification.

From an employees’ perspective, employment background check guarantees safe working environment for people. For employers, background searches save them from any potential harm done to their properties, finances and work force.

Anybody from the Human Resource department can do the employment background screening. Two steps serve as a good guide. The first is to gather the basic information such as the complete name, birthday information, telephone number and the address as well as information relating to previous employment are good sources of information for background searches.

The second step is to confirm the applicant’s identity. Using the information gathered, contact the number or the address to verify the person. If this is not possible, Google is reliable source to confirm the information. If the steps are not possible, public records search can do the employment background check.

Talent Emporium is a low cost, flat fee recruitment solution that offers to provide high calibre candidates across a variety industry sectors and roles. We are more effective then direct advertising and provide all the services of a recruitment agency at a fraction of the cost. Find out how you can start hiring multiple candidates for a one off flat fee, with offerings starting at £500, we guarantee to save you £1000’s on your recruitment budget. To find out more contact info@talentemporium.com

Talent Emporium website coming soon!

The Talent Emporium website http://www.talentemporium.com/ will be with us early September, but in the mean time I wanted to provide a sneak preview of the initial design.

Talent Emporium provides low cost, flat fee recruitment that provides greater results than direct advertising while our expertise utilising online recruitment and social media enables our flat fee recruitment solution to offer the full range of services of a traditional recruitment agency at a fraction of the cost.

Talent Emporium’s flat fee recruitment solution offers companies the opportunity to hire multiple candidates from a 4 week recruitment campaign for a one off fixed fee. Our Bronze, Silver and Gold flat fee recruitment offerings ensure each vacancy will gain maximum online exposure across our network of 700+ job boards and each requirement is individually tailored to ensure optimised searchability by the major search engines such as Google, MSN and Yahoo by incorporating keyword technology, Google Adwords and SEO techniques. We promise to further enhance each job advertisement online through the use of our social media and networks such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Talent Emporium’s flat fee recruitment offerings provide companies with a low cost, efficient recruitment solution. We provide flat fee recruitment across the UK what ever the position our industry sector. We provide flat fee recruitment solutions for Admin & Secretarial, Banking & Finance, Construction & Engineering, Energy & Utilities, HR & Recruitment, IT & Communications, Logistics & Transport, Media, Oil & Gas, Production & Operations, Public Sector, Sales & Marketing, and Warehouse & Distribution.

To find out how Talent Emporium can reduce your annual recruitment spend by £1000s email us info@talentemporium.com

Social Networking-Employment screening, You’re hired! You’re fired!

Talent Emporium’s low cost, flat fee recruitment offering is heavily influenced by the use of web 2.0 and social networking sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Our previous blog postings have highlighted the importance of social media and social networking for positive brand promotion to help finding employment and improving your future career prospects.

However, whether you tweet a few lines or scribble on the Facebook wall, your social media use could decide your job prospects and even whether you have a job to return to after your latest social media posting. Research from the US has shown employers are ramping up their use of social media and social networking sites to carry out candidate research before putting pen to paper and sending out an offer of employment.

45% of employers surveyed by CareerBuilder said that they use social networking sites to research job seekers and candidates attending interview, a massive increase from 22% when surveyed last year. About 11% of the companies surveyed highlighted they are planning to implement a candidate screening process using social networking mediums.

Also, the last 12 months have seen the emergence of social networking sites playing a pivotal role in the dismissal of staff from both small and high profile companies including:

A 16 year old girl from Essex for describing her job as boring on Facebook http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/essex/7914415.stm

A Swiss woman has lost her job after her employers spotted she was using the Facebook website when she had claimed to be too ill to use a computer
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8018329.stm

And a Waitrose employee has been sacked for insulting the supermarket chain on Facebook
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/3357689/Waitrose-worker-fired-for-Facebook-slur.html

Therefore when embarking on creating your own unique brand on the multitude of social networking mediums available keep the following in mind:

1. Everything is public. Act as though it is going to be on the front page tomorrows news papers

2. Welcome pages are easily searchable and can be viewed without being a signed up member. The information is highly public and hard to erase from search engines memory

3. Don’t do it during work time unless you have permission to do so. Better yet, don’t use it at work unless you think it will get you a raise.

4. Don’t post anything that you wouldn’t feel comfortable posting or discussing in the lunchroom at work

5. Remove comments posted by others that can get you into trouble

6. Raise your privacy settings.

7. Do not ever admit to anything even remotely resembling a crime.

8. Don’t disclose personal information that you are not comfortable having out there.

9. Be considerate of others when you are posting things.

10. Don’t discuss confidential stuff online

11. Be careful if you mix your personal and business online

Social media and networking is an essential part of our success in being able to provide a low cost, flat fee recruitment solution ensuring we are successful in bringing together progressive employers and talented individuals. If you have any questions on how your company can employ successful social media practices to attract talented individuals or if you are a job seeker looking to empower you job search using social media either leave us a post on our blog our email info@talentemporium.com with any questions.