I am hot footing it down to London tomorrow to attend the AlljobsUK.com National Online Recruitment Awards or NORAS as they are known.

An independent panel of judges will use the awards criteria, and their knowledge of the online recruitment sector, to select a winner in each category.

The NORA’s are now established as the definitive public awards within the online recruitment industry and this year alone they received over 63,000 nominations for 497 separate sites in total, across the entire UK online recruitment industry.

Here is a listing of the finalists for tomorrow nights event :-

1. Best Generalist Job Board

Fish4jobs
Totaljobs
Jobsite
CV-Library
Monster

2. Best Specialist (Niche) Jobsite

eFinancial Careers
Jobserve
SecsintheCity
SimplySalesJobs
CW jobs
CareersinRecruitment
CareerStructure
GAAPWeb

3. Best Regional Jobsite

s1jobs
CardiffJobs
Key103Jobs
MyBirminghamJobs
ScotCareers

4. Best National Recruitment Agency Website
Hill McGlynn
Pulse Jobs
Cobalt Recruitment
Advanced Resource Managers
Redline Group

5. Best Small Recruitment Agency Website
McCarthy Recruitment
Heat Recruitment
Hammond Resources
Eden Scott
STR Group

6. Best Employer’s Website (recruitment)
Marks and Spencer
Mitchells & Butlers
GCS Recruitment
Vodafone
Innocent Drinks

7. Best Online Recruitment Section by a Consumer Publication
TheTelegraph
Express and Star
Times Online
The Guardian
The Jobsmine

8. Best Online Recruitment Section by a Trade Publication
The Grocer
Personnel Today
Times Educational Supplement
Brand Republic
Caterer Search

9. Best Employment Advice Website
Monster
how2become
Careers Advice Direct.gov.uk
Learn Direct
Direct.gov.uk Employment Rights

10. Best Newcomer/ Innovation in Online Recruitment
Retail Options
jobg8
workmoose
Linkedin Jobs
careersbox

I will update on my return on who were the winners on the night!

According to Forbes there are a few jobs out there that are recession proof

Forbes. com has released its list of Recession Proof Jobs. The top ten list is:

10. Finance Staff

9. Business Analysis, Research

8. Business Analysis, Software Implementation

7. Administrative Assistant

6. Networking and Systems Administration

5. Accounting Staff

4. Account Executive

3. Nursing

2. Software Design and Development

1. Sales Representatives

Any surprises there? I didn’t think so but interesting to see it in black and white nevertheless.

We have been working at making Talent on View as user friendly as possible and providing you with an all round video solution for your recruitment business so I am delighted to tell you about some new features available from Monday 3rd November. Remember Talent on View is a fixed monthly subscription - improvements cost you nothing - the price will not change - we just want to give you great service!

Here’s a quick description of what’s new and what is available to make your experience of using Talent on View quick, easy and effective

Video upload - we have, upon request, added a feature where you can now upload your own videos to Talent on View rather than just using a webcam alone. This feature enables you to add your own already made corporate videos or use a stand alone digital video camera for your candidate interactions.

Using a corporate video profile as part of your business development is a far more interactive way to engage with your clients and prospects - it humanises a process which can sometimes fail due to the fact all companies use the same methods - letter, brochure, phonecall.

Candidate response video- this allows you to pre record a response to send to your candidates when they have applied to a position you are advertising - you can tell them the process they will be going through and what to expect from the recruiter they have applied to. This improves candidate engagement and gets you noticed - this is crucial in a world where a candidate can apply for multiple jobs at the touch of a button.

Video Playback - you can now watch the video of your candidate in the main page of the application (previously you were unable to playback within the main page) - all you need to do is scroll over the candidate’s business card and a PLAY arrow pops up - click on it and you can view the candidate there. This helps when you are reminding yourself about a candidate but also enables colleagues to view candidates when they are considering them for jobs.

Email footer - we have now added a template for your own personalised email footer to go on the bottom of each video email you send through Talent on View - this covers the legal bit.

Remember you can send one video to a big group of contacts at one time - really useful for communicating with candidates, clients and internal colleagues.

Talent on View offers you the recruiter to transform your offering to your clients - it can really make you stand out in a crowd - in this marketplace offering a service over and above your competitors is the difference between winning and losing.

I went to the Recruiters Networking event on Thursday evening at The Circle Club in Manchester. The event is organised by UK Recruiter and Broadbean Technology and sponsored by CV Library and Innovantage. Freelance World very kindly sponsored the welcome drinks. It was a great opportunity to spread the word about Talent on View and I have to say I was met with an amazing response from people.

I had a good chat with Dan Macquire of Broadbean - Dan is a livewire but I would say that this was even more evident on Thursday after the acquisition of his company by Associated Northcliffe Digital (AND) part of the Daily Mail and General Trust plc.

Dan is genuinely excited by the global opportunities this sort of acquisition can open up and I have read a few other blog posts around and about and it seems to me most people say well done and then add something like ……I wouldnt have done it, he has sold out and will lose his identity, the corporate environment won’t suit him - well I just want to say good on him - he had a really simple idea and has made the most of the opportunity around him.

John McCain and Sarah Palin’s campaign website has got a new twist - they are sticking the knife into Barack Obama by suggesting the “average Joe” is going to have his hard earned cash taken away from him (in the form of raised taxes) to share amongst the poorest in the land making Joe the plumber work harder but for less money - the McCain/Palin media wagon have thought up a competition to ask the American public to make a video to share the story with the American public.

They want someone to make a 27 second video telling everyone why they are “Joe the Plumber” and their video could end up on the air as a TV ad.

John McCain and Sarah Palin (well the clever media savvy people behind them) have recognised how powerful video can be and how easy technology has made it for people to become video producers in their own home.

Video is getting there - there are 13 hours of footage uploaded onto YouTube every minute of the day - early adopters in business are seeing the benefits and are hoping their competitors don’t catch on!

ERE interviews prominent figures in the industry at RecruitFest about how they are using technology and social media. Learn how they’ve developed good business leads, and how you can expand relationships that may not have happened otherwise.

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Lisa

Many recruiters are still confused as to what Web 2.0 really is and how they can incorporate it into their recruitment process. Once recruiters understand the new Web 2.0 world they can start using these tools to gain a competitive advantage in an ever increasingly small pool of opportunity.

Some jargon to plough through

Blog: A web-based journal created by single or multiple writers. Blogs allow for interactive feedback and comments from readers.

Wiki: A website created by a group of collaborative users. Wikis are constantly updated and edited by select users, keeping it fresh and up-to date with the latest information.

Instant Messaging (IM): Real-time communication between two or more people.

Podcast: An audio file distributed over the internet. Podcasts can be downloaded onto portable media devices, for playback anywhere, anytime.

RSS (Real Simple Syndication): Allows subscribers to receive automatic updates whenever new website content is available.

Search Engine: Retrieves information based upon specified keywords, i.e. Google, Yahoo, and Ask.com.

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation): The process of increasing website traffic produced from search engines.

Social Network Services (i.e. Facebook, Next2Friends, MySpace, Ning): Web based services that allow users to create online communities based upon shared interests and activities. They provide different methods for interaction including messaging, email, blogs, video, and discussion groups.

Why are Web 2.0 Tools Important for Recruiters?
Many of the new social media tools can be leveraged by recruiters in order to aid in their recruitment efforts and gain a competitive advantage. For recruiters, Web 2.0 means an evolution in the way that information is transferred across the internet, a new virtual world where candidates are now more than ever, in control.

Understanding Web 2.0 can aid recruiters in providing these job seekers with the ultimate candidate experience and offer opportunities to engage them in completely new ways.

Apply Web 2.0 Tools to Your Recruitment Strategy

Recruitment Blogs: Recruitment blogs are a great way to interact with candidates and provide them with a sense of a company’s culture and work. Different companies can use recruitment blogs to fit their specific needs; whether to promote their brand or provide candidates with in-depth look into the jobs they may be applying for. Some firms have blogs for different departments where forum’s can take place for potential candidates - the big banks are very good at this sort of thing for their graduates. Regardless, recruitment blogs add an element of humanity to the hiring process and allow recruiters to find candidates that are qualified and that fit within their company’s culture.

Podcasts/Vodcasts: Another great tool that recruiters can utilize to engage candidates. By incorporating podcasts into your Career Center, candidates can easily and quickly gain a vast amount of information about your company, culture, and work. Whether it’s an audio or video clip of an interview, company facilities, people, or daily work tasks, offering information in this way allows candidates to experience your company, brand, and culture in a very real way.

RSS: RSS allows users to keep up with their favorite website, receiving updates in a constant, automated, and organized manner. In this same way, you can apply RSS feed to you Careers website. By subscribing to your feed, candidates can easily receive constant updates on new positions that fit their qualifications. RSS Job Agents allow recruiters to stay constantly connected to candidates and ultimately reduce time-to fill costs and other expenses.

SEO: In today’s Web 2.0 world, jobseekers look to the internet to search for jobs. Because of the increase in the use of search engines, recruiters can use best practices to improve search engine rankings, increase traffic to their site, build their company’s brand, and expand their pool of talent. Include words such as Jobs, Careers, Career Opportunities, etc. on your page. Consider utilizing Meta description, title, and incorporating career opportunities on your webpage in order to improve search engine rankings.

Search Engines: Many search engines offer “suggestions” that allow you to see what terms jobseekers are searching for the most. Use this information to research terms associated with your brand and to identify new opportunities in job searches.

Social Networking Services: Use these networks as a sourcing tool to reach passive candidates and for hard to fill positions. These networks also allow recruiters to build a large and more diverse talent pool. In order to be effective, however, recruiters need to devote enough time to maintain their social networks.

Linked In is the largest professional networking site. It offers a great way to find candidates for niche and hard-to fill positions. Can search for candidates, research their past experience and education, and even view recommendations. You can also do research on companies which is useful for business development
Facebook: If you’re searching for recent graduates and young professionals, chances are you’ll find them on Facebook. Although recruiters won’t find all the information as clearly structured as it is on LinkedIn, it still offers an opportunity to search and reach out to university aged candidates - the real Gen Y’ers. Done well, a company Facebook page can also serve to promote your brand to a graduate you may be looking for.
Ning: The largest number of social networks on the internet, featuring pages that are completely customisable and on a programmable platform. Sites like Ning offer recruiters the opportunity to create or become part of a large online community. Recruiters can not only search for passive candidates via these communities but should also join them to network and share best practices with fellow HR professionals. Recruiting Blogs is a very popular social network powered by Ning

Technology and online social presence is definately the way the forward thinking recruiters of today will march ahead of their lesser open minded competitors and in the current climate recruiters need all the help they can get - apart from Linked In social networking does tend to be free - this is the Web 2.0 world

I attended a recruitment event last night at Saffery Champness a nationwide accountancy firm with local presence where dedicated managers looking after specialist sectors - one being recruitment. Saffery Champness have recognised the need to reach out to their clients and show them support in tough times - actually they have done exactly what recruiters should be doing!

They put on a seminar about how to manage a recruitment business in lean times and how to add value (this is where I came in and did my bit on Talent on View!) - I think its interesting in times like this people do get hooked on the doom and gloom whereas the fittest get fitter and the weak talk themselves into despair - following the evening I did some research and came across Bill Radin’s hints and tips for the ground level recruiter to manage their desk/business in lean times. Its all basic stuff but the old adage cant see the trees for the wood comes into play here and if you follow Bill’s tips you are on the road to seeing this downturn through to get back to boom times.

1.     Poor-quality candidates won’t cut it. In a candidate-driven market, people with average or marginal skills are often acceptable to employers. No more. You’ll need to be much more selective, and associate yourself with a higher level of talent, since companies won’t tolerate mediocre performance.

2.     The 80/20 rule turns upside down. In a strong employment market, companies hire in duplicates. In other words, they’ll look to fill multiple positions that require the same set of skills. So 80 percent of your placements can come from 20 percent of your clients. But in a weak economy, companies trim the fat, which means that your next 10 placements may very well come from 8 different clients, or even 8 different skill sets.

3.     Waste not, want not. Now’s the time to improve your presentation skills, learn new ways to handle objections and concerns, and close like there’s no tomorrow. With fewer opportunities to make placements, you won’t have the luxury to do sloppy work or let placements slip through your fingers.

4.     Follow the money. Beating a dead horse is fine if you need the exercise. But if there’s no pulse in your niche market or no demand for the skills that would normally define your desk specialty, be receptive to new opportunities even if they take you into new or unfamiliar territory.

During the 1991-92 recession, Bill made the switch from filling mid-level engineering positions to filling sales and marketing jobs. In 2002, he switched his desk again, from sales to general management and director-level roles. Why? Because that’s where the market took him.

Bill does not suggest that you should jump ship in the hopes of finding a pot of gold. But when times are tough, it makes sense to keep an open mind and add value wherever value is needed.

Bill makes a point at the end about adding value and this is where technology can help - in tough times let a tool like Talent on View do the talking and stand yourselves out from the crowd, show your clients you are commiting to giving them a better service, show them you are saving them time (time is money we all know that) and they will reward you with loyalty and commitment for when the good times roll back in.

We have been working with Corinth Hunt for a number of months now and due to the good feedback they have received from clients they have put together a case study for us to show our prospective clients.

Corinth Hunt, established 2008, provides a select group of clients with a proactive service when sourcing candidates across information technology, human resources and financial services markets.

Technology Matters
We all take for granted how technology plays an important part in our lives, but if we think about how we utilise new technologies for our companies it’s fair to say that we fall somewhat sort. Bar investing in a candidate management database, a website and a solid IT infrastructure we don’t really push the boat out in the recruitment sector.
As a new business we were keen to explore the market for a product or service that would help us gain a very unique selling point against our competitors. We originally looked at creating an internal blogosphere which would promote the culture of the company and also gave serious consideration to broadcasting podcasts each week with our ten top jobs. However, these fell by the wayside as the time and energy spent on producing material would outweigh the return on investment. Having spent much of the year concentrating on winning business we heard about Talent on View and after speaking with them there was enough interest on our behalf to arrange a meeting.

Collaboration
Corinth Hunt felt that the TalentOnView product would allow us to make a positive impact on the market place. Not only does it save clients having to waste time on needless interviews it also allows one candidate to be seen by multiple decision makers. The single biggest issue we faced as a business was time lost on interviewing candidates, writing up notes and getting our candidates into a long drawn out interview process. After sitting down with the guys from Talent On View it was pretty clear that if we could set the agenda then TalentOnView would give us the ability to speed up the interview process but more importantly increase our brand awareness with potential clients.

Efficiencies
Each Corinth Hunt consultant carries out a 15 minute video interview of candidates during the selection process. While we still get the odd refusal for the most part candidates will make the effort. It also helps that this same video clip can be sent to numerous clients which gives our candidates at a distinct advantage against other applications, something which we stress to anyone on our books. To date, our clients have also been impressed with TalentOnView as they can make an informed decision on whether a candidate is suitable for the position and organisation by watching the video interview.

The Future
Whilst still in our first year of business we are looking at additional ways in which TalentOnView can assist in growing our client base. Having received positive feedback from clients and candidates alike we are now using the product as a marketing tool when pitching for new business. The reactions are great, most HR managers are tired of reading the same one dimensional ‘tell us about your company’ email so when they see a video clip of one our consultants introducing Corinth Hunt it definitely creates a strong impression.

We would like to thank Dan, the CEO of Corinth Hunt for this case study - Dan and his team have made a positive impact into really competitive marketplaces this year and long may it continue.