UK Recruitment Market

UK Recruitment Market

Hello everyone! I’d love to get your insights on the current state of the recruitment market in the UK. I’ve been in the recruitment industry for almost five years, and I’ve been self-employed for just over a year. My first year was quite positive, but strangely, my second year has been slow and low. I’m curious if the market is still facing challenges. I’ve come across recent news articles discussing a potential recession, and I’ve spoken with several contacts who are also struggling to secure new roles, whether for junior positions or senior executives. I would appreciate any feedback or thoughts you may have.

Thank you! 🙂

Recruitment help

Recruitment Assistance

Is it appropriate to follow up with an email after a first interview to thank the panel for their time and provide additional details on some of your responses?

Keeping a healthy hiring pipeline

Maintaining a Strong Hiring Pipeline

As a small, remote-first digital marketing agency, we frequently hire for various Paid Growth and Performance Marketing positions, and our requirements are constantly evolving. We don’t use recruiting agencies and primarily find candidates through LinkedIn postings and sourcing. We’d love to hear from the community—what are some effective strategies you use to keep a robust talent pipeline ready for when opportunities arise?

Chrome extensions I use in recruitment

Chrome Extensions I Use for Recruitment

Here are the Chrome extensions I rely on for recruitment, along with their purposes and whether they are free (F), paid (P), or both (B). Note that I use the Brave browser instead of Chrome.

• Extensity: A convenient extension for easily managing and toggling all your other Chrome extensions. (F)

• AdGuard AdBlocker: A straightforward tool for blocking unwanted ads. (F)

• I Don’t Care About Cookies: Blocks cookie notifications and consent pop-ups. (F)

• AI Grammar Checker & Paraphraser – LanguageTool: I prefer this over Grammarly for accurate spelling and grammar checks. (B)

• Complexity and Perplexity: An add-on to my Perplexity tool. (P)

• Instant Data Scraper: Quickly scrapes directories and lists from websites. (F)

• Loxo: My ATS Chrome extension that allows easy integration of LinkedIn profiles into my ATS. (P)

• One Tab: Perfect for those of us with ADHD who hoard tabs. It closes all tabs but keeps them organized and can share them as a webpage. (F)

• New Tab by Startme: Automatically opens my StartMe page whenever I open a new tab. (F)

• Reddit Enhancement Suite: Enhances the Reddit experience significantly. (F)

• SalesQL: Scrapes LinkedIn profiles and retrieves contact information. (P)

• ChatterWorks: Finds contact details on LinkedIn profiles. (P)

• Clodura: Identifies emails associated with LinkedIn profiles. (P)

• Jobin.cloud: This extension excels at scraping LinkedIn data and is great for automations, sequences, and campaigns. (P)

• Select to ChatGPT: Quickly transfers selected text into the ChatGPT prompt box. (B)

• TypingMind in SidePanel: I prefer TypingMind over Claude/ChatGPT/Gemini for a streamlined search experience within the side panel. (P)

• Merlin AI: A versatile browser extension that utilizes large language models for various tasks, including research, rewriting, and summarizing web content and YouTube videos. (B)

How to deal with “walk-ins”?

How should we handle “walk-in” inquiries?

I’m reaching out to see if anyone has any advice on managing walk-ins at our office.

In the past, before everything shifted online, it was common for candidates to come in person to register, and this was a normal aspect of our operations. Fast forward a few decades, and we still encounter a significant number of individuals who view our agency primarily as a career guidance resource rather than an outsourced service for our clients.

Currently, we receive about a dozen visitors each day seeking consultations. It’s becoming so frequent that I’m considering removing our branding from the building altogether. We have a sign posted that informs visitors that we do not accommodate walk-ins and directs them to our website for job listings or to upload their CVs.

While we want to treat everyone with respect and kindness, we need a more efficient way to manage these unannounced visits. Many times, the individuals stopping by are looking for “any job,” which we unfortunately cannot provide.

I would appreciate any suggestions!

ATS/CRM

Seeking ATS/CRM Recommendations

I recently launched my own firm and am in the process of exploring ATS/CRM systems. Coming from a large organization, I’m now a one-person team focused on Business Development and Recruitment. I’m not particularly fond of Loxo and am considering either RecruiterFlow or Crelate.

Does anyone have any suggestions or insights? The pricing seems quite similar across options. Thanks!

Aptitude & Personality Tests? UK Recruitment

Aptitude and Personality Assessments in UK Recruitment:

What are the most frequently used aptitude and personality tests in the UK? Do these assessments genuinely enhance the recruitment process?

What’s a Tool You Can’t Work Without?

What’s Your Indispensable Tool?
We all have that one essential tool that we rely on—be it for boosting productivity, fueling creativity, or simply maintaining our sanity during hectic times. For me, that tool is [insert your favorite tool/platform]. It has truly transformed the way I work, saving me hours and simplifying my life.

What about you? What’s the one tool you can’t imagine working without, and what makes it so special? Extra points if it’s an underrated treasure! Let’s compile a list of our must-have tools.

Why would anyone accept a role that seems like a step down?

Why would someone consider a role that feels like a step down?

I’m currently a staff engineer at a mid-sized company with over 600 employees and more than 8 years of experience. Recently, I was approached for a principal engineer position at an AI startup that piqued my interest. After our initial screening call, however, they offered me the opportunity to continue the process, but only for a senior engineer role.

I understand that the job market can be tough right now, but I have a stable position and likely earn a higher salary as a staff engineer than what they could offer me as a senior. Honestly, I find it a bit disrespectful to receive an offer like this—it feels as if they don’t value my experience or career trajectory. After all, they reached out to me, so if they think I’m not a suitable candidate, they could just let me know.

So, I have a couple of questions: To recruiters, why would you make such an offer? And to fellow engineers, what would motivate you to accept a position that seems like a demotion? Personally, I feel fortunate not to have been laid off, so I’m not in a rush to make a change.

Seeking Advice on Focus Areas for Recruitment in TradeOps, Quantitative, and Software Roles

Seeking Guidance on Recruitment Focus Areas for TradeOps, Quantitative, and Software Roles

Hello everyone,

I’m an external recruiter with a tech background, particularly in trading support, and I’m reaching out for some insights regarding my recruitment strategy. Here’s a snapshot of my situation:

Experience:
– 2 years in external recruitment
– Established a network of trading support engineers, successfully placing them in buy-side trading firms (the sole focus of my company)

I specialize in TradeOps roles and have been advised to steer clear of infrastructure (including DevOps, networking, and cloud), as well as Windows and desktop roles.

The Challenge:
I’m currently contemplating the next niche to target in my recruitment efforts. I’m considering:

• Quantitative Roles: (research, development, trading)
• Software Engineering: (data, AI, algorithms, FPGA)

Is there significant overlap between quantitative and software roles that I should keep in mind?

Other Roles Under Consideration:
– Trading-related positions: trading analysts, traders (in volatility, macro, equity, FX, credit), business analysts, exchange connectivity, middle office, and back office functions.
– Given the growth in the crypto sector, should I explore recruiting for crypto-related positions?

My Objectives:
I’m currently billing around £200K annually and aim to double that in the coming year.
– Commission structure: 17.5% – 22.5%, depending on quarterly performance (goal: £50K per quarter).

Concerns:
Is the market for quantitative and software roles becoming oversaturated?

Any insights or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!