What kind of person does your brand attract?

For candidates the start of a new year is a great time to commence the search for a new role as budgets have been signed-off and both newly created positions and back-fill roles are available as a result of those that left posts at the end of 2005… so it should be quick and easy to fill your vacancy, right? Beware, the UK IT market is the most developed and aggressive employment market in the world and at the moment competition for candidates is stiff.

A lot of people are leaving the big IT consultancies and systems integrators in search of life style changes; they want better quality of life, less travel and something a bit different – so they are looking for end user positions in IT. This means there are a lot of candidates competing for the same jobs and the quality of candidates is good. So what type of candidate will get the most interviews? Answer – the one with the best brands on their CV. With candidates leaving some of the household names in IT consulting (Atos, Accenture, EDS, CSC etc.) in search of end user roles, their value in the market is high, because employers know these are companies where employees receive good training and work on some of the newest and most cutting edge projects in client facing and sometimes difficult situations. These people aren’t just found in consulting though. They will work for other high-profile or boutique organisations but will carry credibility due to the brands on their CV – whether that is the University they studied at or the Company, or division of a company they work for.

The last 3 years have seen an emergence of smaller boutiques and start-ups set up by ex-corporate senior management looking to carve their own niche and build their own brand. So no matter who you are, if you want the best, you need to look at your brand, what it stands for and ask yourself is it better than the rest in your field. Are candidates aware of your credibility in the market place, and if not why not?

Candidates are choosier in today’s market than they were a few years ago. During the downturn, people took permanent jobs to keep some sort of stability on their CV, to keep their skills up to date and most of all to keep an income. In an economic up turn they are now looking for the best jobs that will keep them happy and motivated, and if you want the best people you must sell your businesses to them, but most of all sell the credibility of your company or your division.

Don’t be complacent and think that because you work for a household name or a FTSE 100 company people will be crying out to work for you. Your external PR is important – so let people know why you are better than the rest. Recruitment agencies are in effect your external PR to the employment market – so align yourself with an agent or agency, who will best reflect the values of your business and attract the kind of candidate that you want.

As a hiring manager you are an ambassador for your company. Some organisations get it right with all of their managers and every candidate that is offered accepts, because the message being sent out to prospective employees is the same.. it’s positive.

If you want to know what your value is in the market as a permanent candidate or how likely you are to find the “right” candidate as an employer, call me for an informal and discreet chat. We are the biggest recruiters of permanent business analyst, project and programme management staff in London and we can tell you how talk the talk, and walk the walk... (and we won’t invoice you for that bit!!)

Article by: Tristan Amin
Business IT – Permanent staffing
Tel: 0207 187 6170
Email: tristan.amin@hudson.com