We had a great opportunity for a local young person (now filled) to step into a genuine long term career in a modern industry that is likely to have some legs of longevity. You can imagine my surprise when I found that tracking down some prospective candidates for our phone systems operation was akin to “platting fog”.
To offer some background, I should stress that our phone systems company was established 19 years ago, so we are not some risky and underfunded start-up. The business trades without loans or overdrafts and has zero indebtedness. Even the cars are purchased for cash with not a lease or HP agreement in sight. Indeed we boast the best of all the points that the cautious individual should seek for a secure future.
Better still the role was in sales of phone systems and this is the highest paid job within Abbey Telecom. I’m not saying that selling is easy but it’s easier here purely because our Managing Director is so marketing driven. I have the luxury of being lavished with inbound enquiries. The icing on my cake is that I’ve just taken delivery of my second BMW convertible since joining.
Phone Systems BDM - Daniel Pickin
I’m not asserting that a new starter would be jumping straight into a cabriolet but other benefits are numerous. As an example, we will be heading for an Amsterdam shortly for one of our annual Christmas parties. I’ve been here for an 8 year period and I’m a new-boy!
We started with 3 interviews and 2 of the interviewees were late for their appointment. None of them had researched our history despite this being the age of the internet. So we moved to prequalifying applicants by phone. One of them opened up with “hiya mate”.
The position is eventually satisfied but when I next meet a careers advisor I will have a few pointers to rant about!
November 29, 2011 at 8:41 am
For a moment there, I thought you were talking about taking on a ‘modern apprentice’ (or whatever name the Government of the moment chooses to use) and had visions of a spotty urchin in overalls doing cold calling!
There’s nothing wrong with aprenticeships, far from it. I believe it’s a great foundation – particularly in engineering (be that mechanical, civil or electronic) but it seems that not a week goes by without some Gov’t sponsored lackey phoning & trying to persuade me to take someone on. “It won’t cost you a penny!” They cry…
Oh yes? What about increased insurance? The not inconsiderable amount of time taken to train someone on-the-job? The demands on my dwindling stocks of office coffee? The expectation that you’ll either take them on or effectively release a trained candidate ripe for the opposition?
No, I’m afraid if I wanted a Sorcerer’s Apprentice I’d be looking for someone switched on enough to come to me directly.
But do you know what? The only applications I get across my desk are clearly when one of the ‘into-work’ Gov’t sponsored courses is doing an ‘IT push’ and I get half a dozon near-identical CVs across my desk.
And on the rare occasion I get a single unsolicited CV, it’s clear that no research has been done on what the Company now does. There’s always a slew of spelling & grammatical errors so sorry guys, if you can’t get that right on a CV ffs, then why the bejasus should I think of putting you in front of a client?
…and that’s why I largely outsource stuff to other freelancers when needed. I know they want the work, I know what their quality/price point is like and I don’t have to manage their officetime nicotine or facebook addictions!
(that’s my morning rant out of the way! I found you via your following @southportsmallb incidentally)
November 29, 2011 at 9:30 am
We have had applicants writing their covering letter on a piece of torn out reporters notepad. I can’t wait to meet a careers advisor!