Restrictive covenants

Addressing Restrictive Covenants

I’m currently facing a 12-month restrictive covenant in my contract under UK law, and it feels quite limiting. I would appreciate any thoughtful insights on how to handle this situation. Should I challenge it, consider leaving the recruitment sector (which I’m hesitant to do given my 10+ years of experience), or look into opportunities in other countries?

The clause specifies that I cannot solicit or attempt to solicit any Restricted Business from Candidates, Prospective Customers, or Clients, with “Restricted Business” defined as recruitment in the finance sector.

I’m grateful for any advice or perspectives you can share!

Best way to connect with recruiters via LinkedIn

Effective Strategies for Connecting with Recruiters on LinkedIn

I’ve been reaching out to numerous recruiters after applying for jobs in hopes of landing an interview. My approach involves sending a friendly connection request on LinkedIn after submitting my application, and I often find that my requests are accepted.

However, I face a challenge when I follow up with a second message asking for the opportunity to discuss the role and its associated challenges. Unfortunately, about 95% of the time, I receive no response.

I’ve experimented with various tones and message styles, but I’m hitting a wall.

Can anyone share some effective tips to enhance my outreach to recruiters? Your insights would be greatly appreciated!

Should I stay or should I go

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Hey everyone,

I’m a 26-year-old male who just moved in with my partner, and I’m looking to start saving for a house.

I’ve been with my first company since graduating college, where I’ve spent the last 3.5 years. I work in full-desk IT staffing, primarily focusing on the .NET stack. This means I can only take on roles for .NET developers or SQL positions; if I find openings for Java, QA, or other technologies, I have to pass on those and not divert them to other teams.

Last year, I earned $92k W2 with $500k billed through my efforts. That billing figure represents the total fees, without accounting for what my firm retains. My company is one of the larger national firms, with over 10 offices, and my local office has around 30 employees.

So far this year, I’ve billed $382k through permanent placements, contracting, and consulting fees. I’ve picked up 28 new roles and made 10 successful placements.

Currently, I’m on a $70k draw divided over 13 pay periods, allowing me about 4 weeks to collect my earnings. I receive 13% of the fees for roles I fill, and I earn an additional 3% if a teammate closes a deal.

As a team, we’ve billed $913,176 this year. I’ve received $70k gross pay thus far and just collected my first commission checks — $6k for each of the last two pay periods, which I received this past month.

I genuinely enjoy working with my colleagues, although we often go through entry-level staff, which can be challenging at times — we occasionally have people getting overwhelmed at their desks.

I have a few questions:

1. Am I being compensated fairly for my work?
2. Should I consider moving to a different firm where I can work off the draw?
3. Is it worth giving up the passed-over jobs I receive?
4. Would it be better to find a role that allows me to explore all technologies, rather than just .NET?
5. Any other career advice you might have?

Thanks!

Opportunity to craft my job title – Purchasing, Recruiting and Personnel…

Seeking Input on New Job Title: Purchasing, Recruiting, and Personnel

I’m embarking on an exciting opportunity to shape my job title, and I’d love your feedback. To give you some context about me, I’m a 58-year-old male, married, with kids and grandkids, and I’ve just entered the empty-nester phase of life. I hold a doctorate and built a 21-year career in education, primarily as a school administrator, where my primary focus was on hiring diverse personnel—including teachers, principals, and various support staff. Over the years, I interviewed and hired around 1,500 individuals, and this skill has been pivotal in my career. Although I never held a dedicated HR role, I relied on HR professionals to assist during the hiring process.

After leaving the education sector, I made a significant career shift to the manufacturing industry, where I currently serve as the Purchasing Manager at a mid-size light manufacturing company in Arizona. We generate approximately $200 million in annual sales and have factories across several states. I’ve been with the company for ten years and directly report to the president, who manages daily operations. I earn an annual salary of $135K, with a path to $150K over the next couple of years, plus a small bonus.

My boss has a micromanagement style, which can be challenging, yet he has successfully led the company for over 30 years. When our CFO passed away unexpectedly, my boss turned to me—drawing on my hiring experience—to find a suitable replacement. Since then, I’ve taken on a larger hiring role, successfully recruiting about 75 to 100 new employees across various functions. I now also handle most of the employee discipline and counseling, helping to mediate interpersonal issues and addressing employee concerns.

Despite my evolving role, my official title remains “Purchasing Manager,” and I don’t have any direct reports or an assistant. This has created some tension with our small HR department, which primarily focuses on payroll and benefits.

Now, I have the chance to take on a Vice President role and am tasked with writing my job description. While my primary functions—procurement and hiring—won’t change, I’m trying to determine a title that accurately represents my responsibilities without encroaching on HR’s territory. My boss has suggested being cautious about the title we choose, given the sensitivities around office politics.

I’m considering the following title options and would appreciate your input on which might work best for my situation:

1) Vice President of Purchasing and Personnel, Chief of Staff.
2) Vice President of Purchasing, Chief of Staff.
3) Vice President of Purchasing and Personnel.
4) Vice President and Chief of Staff.
5) Chief of Staff.
6) Other suggestions…

I welcome any advice or insights you may have—whether it’s about the title or my career trajectory in general. Thank you for your help!

Need Help Developing Impactful Job Interview Questions

Seeking Guidance on Crafting Effective Job Interview Questions

Hello everyone!

Quick Summary: I’m looking for assistance in formulating impactful interview questions for candidates applying for a new position in our organization.

I’ve recently created a new role within my team—a contracts and procurement administrator—who will report directly to me. This is my first experience developing the position description and participating in the hiring process.

We’re seeking someone with approximately five years of experience for this junior-level role. Currently, I manage all procurement duties in our organization as a department of one, but I’ve successfully advocated for the addition of this new position.

The new hire will handle the daily tasks of issuing purchase orders and change orders, managing supplier relationships, and more, allowing me to concentrate on strategic initiatives. I need to ensure that the candidate can work independently, uphold procurement procedures, identify process inefficiencies, and propose viable solutions. Given our primarily remote work environment, trustworthiness and self-sufficiency are critical traits.

What specific questions can I ask to determine a candidate’s expertise in procurement and contract management? I want to ensure that they can competently handle responsibilities—especially when I am on leave—without getting sidetracked by those who may excel in interview settings yet lack the requisite knowledge.

I’m aware that some potential candidates may be great at interviews but not genuinely skilled at the work, while others may struggle with self-presentation despite having deep expertise. What insightful questions would you recommend to help me identify the ideal candidates for this position? Thank you!

Best lead generation tool for finding Australia-based contacts?

What’s the top lead generation tool for locating contacts in Australia?

I’m in search of an effective tool to help me find contact information for professionals specifically in Australia. I’ve previously used Lusha, ZoomInfo, and RocketReach for contacts in the APAC region and the US, but I’m curious about which platform is most effective for Australian contacts. Any suggestions?

How much of a fee do graduate schemes take

What are the Fees for Graduate Schemes?

Hi everyone,

I’m nearing the end of my graduate scheme in data science, which I started just two months after completing my university studies. The program consists of three months of training, during which I earned an annual salary of £22,000, followed by a nine-month placement with a salary of £25,000. During the training phase, I participated in five three-day in-person courses, received interview coaching, tackled several case studies, and passed my SAS Base exam – all of which were funded by my company.

As my contract concludes, I’ll be entering salary negotiations with the company where I completed my placement, which has opted to retain me. I’m trying to gauge how much they might be paying the graduate scheme provider for my recruitment so that I can negotiate effectively. I suspect that the amount will exceed £26,000, considering that the graduate scheme company covered my training, provided me with a laptop, offered ongoing support, and facilitated my placement.

Any insights or estimates regarding the fees involved would be greatly appreciated, as they’d serve as a valuable starting point for my discussions.

For context, I graduated with a First-Class degree in Mathematics and Data Science, and I have one year of professional experience. I’m proficient in SAS (1 year), Python (7 years), and R (3 years). I hope this information helps! Thank you!

Call expectations and requirements.

Call Expectations and Requirements

I’ve recently transitioned to BD recruitment, and I’m currently expected to make 100 calls a day. From those, I need to secure 10 business conversations with the right contacts and submit 8 speculative CVs. On top of that, I also have to conduct candidate qualifications, manage RTMs, and attend two client meetings each week.

Honestly, making 100 calls daily feels overwhelming, especially with additional tasks like preparing spec CVs and handling admin work. Our schedule is packed with meetings, and there’s an unspoken expectation to stay late — it’s clear that leaving at 6 PM isn’t frowned upon. I’m also consistently job spotting and identifying the right people to reach out to, all to keep my pipeline healthy.

I’m curious about how others are managing their daily responsibilities in this field. Is this typical for the industry?

UK Nurse Recruitment

UK Nurse Recruitment Update

Hello everyone,

I’m excited to share that I’ve launched a recruitment agency focused on staffing nursing homes across the UK.

I initially tested the waters while working full-time and was pleasantly surprised by the outcome—I secured several roles just by reaching out with 100-200 emails.

I’m curious to know if this venture is still profitable. Any advice or insights would be greatly appreciated!

Simplifying the recruitment and making it fair for all parties

Streamlining Recruitment for Fairness and Accessibility

Hello everyone,

I’ve been developing a startup concept for the past few months and would greatly appreciate your insights. My aim is to create a more equitable and inclusive recruitment process for both candidates and employers, starting with the IT sector.

Here’s the concept: The traditional recruitment process usually includes three evaluations—technical skills, soft skills, and cultural fit. My platform would streamline this by taking care of the first two assessments, allowing companies to focus solely on evaluating cultural fit before making hiring decisions. Do you think this approach could be viable? I understand there might be some uncertainties, but if you trust the assessments, would you consider using this system?

Additionally, even if you have faith in the assessments, would your organization still feel inclined to conduct extra technical evaluations?

To enhance the experience for all candidates, the system would limit the shortlist to five candidates who best meet the company’s criteria. Furthermore, companies would be required to provide constructive feedback to rejected candidates to help them grow. Does that resonate?

Thank you for your valuable input!