News & Views From Our Cheltenham Recruitment Agency

To say that the coronavirus has impacted our everyday lives, would perhaps be the greatest understatement of all time. With the economy in a state of flux, and demand for talent across every sector rising and falling seemingly on a daily basis, it is a strange and frustrating time for job seekers. So, how has the pandemic shaped changed the way in which people are searching for jobs?

A HUGE welcome to Dan Hulme who has joined the Hooray team! He comes on board as a Recruitment Consultant specialising in the Social/Healthcare spaces and is super excited about getting in touch with our fantastic existing clients and candidates. Plus he will be proactively supporting local businesses recruit the best talent in the market and helping candidates find their next new roles. Do drop him a line to say hello on 01242 300228 or dan@hoorayworks.co.uk

We are VERY excited about welcoming Tom to Team Hooray on Monday! He will be our Talent Resourcing Executive and will be not only managing our fantastic existing candidate network but actively engaging with the best talent in the market 🌟

Please welcome Hooray’s newest recruit!

Our operations director Ian’s gorgeous dog Louis is doing his bit to help him work from home as we have now taken the decision to work remotely to do our bit to limit the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak and keep ourselves and our families safe.

We are lucky enough to be an industry that can easily do so, so please be advised we are still contactable on the office number and via email for any queries or recruitment help.

Give us (or Louis) a call if you need any help with immediate staffing, permanent staffing or you just need some recruitment related advice!

You have been thinking about it for a while and you have decided it is time to move on from your current role. You have just been made redundant.

You are looking to return to work following a break. You are looking for your first professional role. Here at Hooray we know how you feel and we would like to let you know all the ways we can help you in your new job search.

1. You are looking at all the roles online and you are not sure what role will suit you.
Hooray can help- we can speak with you about what you are looking for and boil it all down for you and what might suit your skills and experience, it is certainly worth speaking with us to see if your skills and experience would be applicable in a new role or a career change and how to go about it.

2. You are looking at your CV and you would like some advice.
Hooray can help- our experienced consultants can support to get your CV right and can offer professional advice on how you can stand out from the crowd, just give us a call and ask to register with us.

Hooray is proud to announce we are a sponsor of a category at the SoGlos Gloucestershire Lifestyle Awards 2020 which happens at the prestigious Cheltenham Ladies’ College on Thursday 28 May 2020.

An exciting extension of the SoGlos brand, the SoGlos Gloucestershire Lifestyle Awards were launched in 2018 as our flagship event – and have quickly cemented their position as the definitive awards of their kind.

SGGLA recognises and celebrates the very best lifestyle businesses and individuals in and around our county, with all winners chosen by public vote, culminating in an exciting awards evening taking place in a different iconic Gloucestershire venue each year.

We are very well prepped this year and we have already made a start on the Hamper Scamper boxes for CCP Charity.

We have another box (at least!) to fill for this amazing charity that exists to transform the lives of children, young people, families and vulnerable adults by preventing homelessness, strengthening families and promoting independence.

Over the years, the charity has grown to become one of Gloucestershire’s foremost voluntary sector social care providers, and some 30 years after it was founded the original hostel is still managed by CCP as part of our Accommodation-based service, offering integrated accommodation and training to young people who are working to achieve sustainable independent living. The charity has also expanded in terms of the range of services offered and the geographical reach, currently working across five counties in the South West.

You have decided that you need to look for a new job role but see that the role is with a recruitment agency and you are not sure how to approach it and what an agency can do for you, or perhaps have had a less than good experience with an agency in the past. Here at Hooray we pride ourselves with being a bit different and doing what we can to support the candidate – this article should clarify our role in the recruitment process and how you can make it work for you.

Hooray works on behalf of a client who has asked us to search for candidates as working with an agency who engage with candidates regularly means that we are more likely to find a candidate quickly and we provide a service which is a big time saver for the client as perhaps they may not have time to get involved in the time-consuming and difficult part of recruitment.

What to expect when you apply for a role advertised…

When you apply for a role through us, we will respond to every application, even if it is a polite email thanking you for applying. Here at Hooray we do review each application and this is done by the recruitment consultant who is dealing with the client and knows them best. If you receive this email, please do not be disheartened as we can receive a high number of applications and we match to the client specifications, and we choose candidates to move forward purely on merit and the client brief. We encourage you to continue to apply for roles if you feel they match your skills and experience and of course you will always know where you stand with us.

When you are looking for a new role, there are a lot of boxes you can tick to ensure you are suitable for a role and ensure your best chance of success.

Please read our Top Do’s and Don’ts to support you in securing your dream job!

DO be aware of the impression you make, for example, if you don’t show up to interviews or stop contact after being in touch with someone, they may not consider you for future roles as you would be considered unreliable, which is not a good situation to be in when your dream job comes up with a particular company or recruitment agency.

DON’T apply for anything and everything, even if you are open to a lot of things – if a particular company or recruiter notices this, it might make you look as if you are applying a bit randomly for jobs and not reading the description well enough. The best option is to be realistic on what job you would and can actually do and what boxes need to be ticked for you in your next role then apply carefully for appropriate roles.

DO be ready to move job – when recruiters contact you they are potentially offering you an exciting opportunity of a new role, if you are only just putting your feelers out it is not the right time to be applying as recruiters will expect you to know what you want and be prepared to attend interviews and commit to further stages.

1. The candidates are not qualified enough

You are receiving plenty of applications, however the candidates you have received do not have the relevant experience. This is a common problem among employers and has some key causes and therefore solutions;

• Check your advert- is it deterring those who do not have this skill? Your advert should be attracting the right candidates and deterring those without the relevant skills and experience.
• Does it clearly state what is essential and what is desirable? If candidates feel that certain skills are not essential, those without that experience may apply.
• Is your salary competitive enough?

A recruitment agency such as Hooray will be able to write an advert which attracts the right candidates and deters the wrong ones and has knowledge of the sector and can let you know if your salary bracket is competitive enough to attract the right candidate for the role.

2. Not enough candidates have applied

You have barely received a response to your advert, but plenty of candidates are looking at your advert and you cannot understand why they are not applying.