Are you working with a recruitment agency or considering it as an option as part of your next career move? To get the best possible service, it is important to create a great rapport with recruitment staff. They have specialist knowledge in this area and offer great support on each interaction.

Recruitment agency staff can really assist you to get off to a strong start on your next job and advance your career as a contractor. There are a couple of ways that can boost your relationship with staff members which will speed up and benefit the process. 

Tips to Benefit Relationships with Agency Recruiters

  • Develop a positive relationship

Be honest; let them know your needs on hours and location, if you’re flexible and provide any other important details on your ideal job. It’s ok to decline suggestions and offers. Maintain regular contact with them and advice any updates. This will provide agency recruiters with a better understanding of your needs, and they will be able to find you a suitable role, as they will have all the information to hand. As the relationship develops, the recruiters can provide additional feedback to potential employers on your application, based on their records.

  • Know the job market and your expectations

The supply-and-demand for jobs in the market can change. Recruitment agencies possess vast knowledge of the labour market. If you are looking for a new job, thinking of starting work as a contractor or looking to change your role within the sector, it will be useful to know any changes to jobs in your sector – the effect on rates of pay or changes on training requirements. Recruiters are up to date on this information and will be able to suggest recommendations to advance future applications and may be able to negotiate your salary

  • Find a recruitment agency you are happy to work with

While there are many recruitment agencies, it is important that you feel confident when working with your chosen recruiter. Part of their role is to support you in finding a new job, up-skilling or updating your resume. Agency recruiters are available to fully support your career path – when your contract will be renewed, to answer questions on a new organisation or to chat with if you are experiencing a difficult environment in your current job, resourced by them.  

The role of your recruitment agency is to secure you with employment in a short timeframe, build your skills and improve the experience on your resume. This can save you a lot of time and money. Frequent check-ins with your recruiter will really help you on the road to your next assignment. They will update their system as new information is shared and will be in a better position to support you all the way – preparing your for a new job, securing a job and supporting you while you are working in your new role. 

Call us today, on 01 8783335 or email sales@3qrecruitment.ie – to chat with a member of our friendly team, to explore your options and receive valuable advice.

Introduction

With Ireland approaching nearing full employment, finding talent has become increasing difficult. This is something I’ve seen across sectors, including the one I work in. Constant staff turn-over is expensive and can effect service delivery. In sectors such as health-care, insufficient staffing can have potentially dangerous consequences for both the service deliverer and the service user. This bring to the fore the importance of Employee Retention. Here are 3 ways in which you can encourage employee retention at the Interview and On boarding stage.

Advertising your Job:

Most job ads tend to be targeted towards people who are actively searching for jobs however, with the current shortage of talent, engaging passive job candidates has become a necessity. They may not use job boards because they aren’t searching for jobs so diversify where you advertise. Use social media or professional networking sites to publicise your vacancy. Our Digital Marketing Executive, Aaron Nolan suggests tailoring your ads to a passive audience. Set yourself apart from other employers by telling potential job-seekers what makes working for you different.

Retention at Interview:

Review your candidate experience. Look at things like how long it takes for a candidate to know whether they are shortlisted for an interview or how long it takes for candidates to know the outcome of the interview. Once you’ve been though your current process, think about what you’d do differently if you were to treat a potential employee as a customer. During the interview, include questions that focus on the candidate’s work motivation.  Here are examples of questions you could use:

How does your current work contribute towards your future goals? What could your current company change to keep you from moving out?

This will help you ascertain whether the candidate’s wants, needs and goals are likely to be met in your organisation in the immediate or long-term.

Engagement during the ‘Silent Period’:

I recently read an article about The Silent Period. These are times of low communication and can happen either between the interview and final decision-making process or between the acceptance of the job-offer and start date. The HR Bartender suggests including hiring managers in the on boarding process. This could include something as simple as sending the candidate a quick note updating them about what’s happening in the hiring process or a quick phone call to keep them in the loop. Opening a dialogue between the candidate and hiring manager will allow for the manager to build a relationship with the candidate before the employee starts work. Another recommendation is providing information that the candidate will find useful in their first few days at work. For example, HR Coordinator James O ’Flanagan sends out a ‘Meet the Team’ document along with other on boarding documents so candidates know who they’ll be working with.

Finally, integrate what you’ve learnt about the candidate with other HR processes such as Career Planning, Comps and Benefits, etc. Understanding that candidates are individuals with different wants, needs and aspirations and communicating how your organisation’s culture, processes and benefits align with what they’re looking for, is key.

Finding good candidates can be hard work. Especially when there is a high demand but a lack of qualified people. However, there are some straight forward ways to find skilled candidates, one of them is to implement an employee referral program.

Here’s why they’re so important for a company:

Cost

Having an employee referral scheme usually means you have to compensate the employee who referred the new hire to your company. That is a cost but what’s the alternative? Paying for slots on jobs boards and spending hours writing job ads, screening applications and managing candidates? That’s much more expensive.

Better candidate quality

Your employees know that the performance of their referred candidate reflects on them. They don’t want to get in management’s bad books by recommending their unreliable friend with a bad work ethic. For this reason employee referrals produce a better quality of candidate.

Improved retention

Sometimes a new hire doesn’t fit in with the company. Maybe it’s the culture or the team members but with a new hire that was employed through an employee referral program you can be sure that they have a friend to guide them and a friend they can share their problems with. This is going to improve retention especially in the first several months when retention is most difficult.

Encourages Word of Mouth in Employees

If you incentivise your employees to recommend the company to their qualified friends and family, they are much more likely to spread positive word of mouth in their community. If you want a great reputation, employing a referral scheme is a great way to do it.

Overall there are a ton of benefits to integrating an employee referral plan into your recruitment strategy. This has been a series of blogs for companies looking to increase their ability to attract the best candidates to their business. To read our other blogs on this topic click here to read about how to recruit on social media.

And click here to learn the benefits of using a recruitment agency that’s a specialist at finding the best candidates in your industry.

Advantages of Hiring Through a Niche Recruitment Agency

Most firms see recruitment agencies to be an extra pair of eyes in the market place. These eyes are focused on attracting skilled candidates. As a recruitment consultant, ultimately your value proposition is the candidates you can find and present to your client. 

But there is a lot more value in utilising a recruitment agency as a part of your recruitment strategy. Here are 5 advantages companies benefit from when they work with a specialist recruitment agency: 

Knowledge of the market

The recruiters and their team will be well informed about the market in that sector. They know where to find talent and how to network with them. Recruitment consultants in a sector are also knowledgeable of salaries, career development and hiring issues in an industry. Considering the competitiveness between companies, it is hard to compete to attract the best talent. Niche recruitment agencies are specialised at attracting the best talent in the jobs market in an industry.

Extended reach

There exists two types of candidates: the passive and the selective candidate. The passive sometimes don’t respond to job advertisements. They don’t see themselves as a jobseeker and are too busy to really search for a new job. Recruiters spend time building relationships with skilled personnel in the sector. Over time the recruiter becomes well networked in the industry. Passive candidates are reachable through recruiters in a niche recruitment agency. Even if they aren’t currently seeking for a job, there’s a strong chance that some recruiter will know who they are and how to reach them.

Recruitment Agencies Give You Candidates, Not Applicants 

It is exhausting finding good candidate because most applications usually do not become a viable candidates. The recruitment agency will save the client time by managing applications and only presenting the best candidates. 

Help with Employer Brand

“Self praise is no recommendation.” Marketing your employer brand is difficult but agencies can promote the benefits & career development potential in your company to candidates. 

Filling a Vacancy Quickly

One of the main reasons that companies hire agencies is to fill a vacancy in a short time frame. Recruitment agencies have experience and effective strategies to find qualified professionals quickly. Recruitment companies have a full team dedicated to attracting talent, screening applicants and processing candidates through the interview process and ultimately to hiring with the client. 

However, companies will have their own reasons for using recruitment agencies. For many it’s the temporary staffing service. For some it may be a short-term need and for others they may offer a major route to market to access the strong talent that they would otherwise miss out on. 

We look at a few different ways employers can attract the best talent to their company in this Blog series. To read our other blogs on this topic click here: How Companies Should Recruit Talent on Social Media

Why using your employees to find great candidates is something you should be doing – Employee Referrals

How Companies Should Recruit Talent on Social Media

Social Media is not only used for branding. The Company’s Social Media can be considered to be an advert of the company. It can make people attracted to find a job at that company or be put off. Here we have some tips to attract talented candidates

Create Social Media Accounts for Recruiting Needs

It can be really beneficial to have an account for recruitment purposes. Social Media such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are very valuable for your employer brand. 

Encourage Employees to Share Posts on Social Media

The company’s social media accounts are more visible if people like, share and comment on posts. Go further than ask your employees to engage with the company’s content online, ask them to post on their personal professional profiles on LinkedIn.. They can share the values of the company, post about charitable activities or fun events in the office. All of this increases the reach the company has on social media. 

Find Talent on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the first social media platform everyone thinks of when they’re thinking about recruiting on social media. More than 90% of companies use LinkedIn for recruiting. One of LinkedIn’s great features is its powerful search tool for finding skilled, local talent. Overall, LinkedIn is a fantastic social media marketing tool for recruiters and companies should dive in to find out how much potential there is for sourcing great candidates.

Use Social Media Marketing Tools

Start using a social media scheduler such as Hootsuite which lets you you schedule posts, analyse performance metrics and work with several social media platforms at the same time. This is the best way to efficiently market your employer brand and engaging with your followers.

 The social media of the company should stay aligned with the main core values and focus in the kind of qualified people are looking for. To learn more about attracting the best candidates to your company, read more from our blog series by clicking here: Advantages of Hiring Through a Niche Recruitment Agency

Employer Branding – Get People Who Get You

Employer brand is a company’s reputation as an employer, its value or what it offers to potential employees. Positive employer branding will help attract and retain employees. It’s taking longer than ever to fill positions and employer branding can provide huge advantages – companies with positive brands get twice as many applications as companies with negative brands. So now more than ever it’s important to build a positive employer brand. If you have a strong employer brand, great candidates that connect with your employer brand will queue up to work for you making the search for quality candidates so much easier.

Build on Your Company’s Reputation

It’s obvious to most that companies who have a bad reputation will find it more difficult to fill positions in comparison to the companies with an excellent reputation. It’s also been proven that if the reputation of your company is not impressive you will be forced to pay above market salaries in order to attract people to applying for your open positions. Building a good reputation is easy – Treat your employees with the same respect you would treat your clients – doing so with monthly social events and employee awards/recognition and always update your social media to make your future employees aware of the benefits of working with your company when they start with your company. Another benefit from updating your social media platforms with such content is that potential employees will always research your company before clicking onto the application which some people forget – employers always do their background checks before deciding whether or not to hire but most potential candidates will also do the same before hitting the apply now button.

Employer Branding on Social Media

With today’s social media phenomenon being generic is death to branding – the second someone detects a canned message, whether it’s in a tweet, an emailed job alert, a Facebook post or a job ad, they can turn to a number of different channels for something better so always be organic with your social media posts and never be try and represent something that the company doesn’t do. The only way to get out of this is to know your audience and the people you want to attract and speak directly to their interests.

Be Different!

Employer branding is all about what sets you apart from every other company out there. This can be shown through many different channels, CSR is a huge part of every company in today’s working environment and it’s important to choose your CSR activities to match the interest of the company and its employees which will encourage your employees to further broadcast the these activities which could potentially attract that star candidate you have been searching for. Choosing such activities that are of an interest to the people working in your company will also encourage your employees to interact and get involved.

Make Your Employer Brand About Satisfying Employees Needs

Many employees need more than just work and wages— they need something to work toward. For one, when employees understand the mission of a business and its reason for being, they are more likely to feel that same pride and work in the same direction to achieve the goals the business owner has set. Having a strong brand is like turning the company logo into a flag the whole the company can rally around. Think about how you can brand your company to show what you do to care about your Employees’ needs.

Overall, there are many things to consider and many ways you can improve your employer brand. Standing out, taking part in and communicating your CSR, using social media and thinking about what your potential employees would want in a company are essential for improving your employer brand.

For more information on building your employer brand, you can go read this great article by clicking here.

A few ways we like to communicate our employer brand? We care about people and one way we show this include displaying testimonials on our website and on social media. You can click here to see our candidate and client testimonials on our website. As a company that cares about people, we also try to make a big difference in our community. We show our CSR activities here.

Social Media has grown massively over the last number of years and is now one of the most effective ways to advertise open roles, especially when it’s an urgent role. Candidates would much rather spend time applying for a job ad that they have seen on Social Media rather than scrolling through endless pages of job ads. Obviously LinkedIn is the most obvious platform for advertising open positions but the likes of Facebook, Twitter and even Instagram are ever growing. In this blog we will discuss the main points in how to make sure that your job ad gets found on Social Media.

Networking

Networking is key for success when advertising on social media; it is all good posting the job on the platforms but the work should not stop there. Sending an email to your colleagues asking them to share/like a job ad that you have just posted can be extremely beneficial, they may have someone in their network that you don’t who is looking for exactly what you’re advertising or they may even know somebody who they can recommend. Networking on LinkedIn is the obvious choice and it is great for this, but you can get value from all of the social media platforms. Think about which social media your target audience is likely to be using.

Hashtags

Hashtags are one of the main ways to get your job out there and seen. People tend to search for hashtags while searching for their dream jobs, hashtags like #JobFairy, #JobVacancy or #Recruiting can be some of the main ones you will see in job ads but it’s also important to hashtag the location and also the position within the actual posting for people in that area to see the advertisement.

Make the Ad Attractive

Always make your job advertisement as attractive as possible. We all know that we are more inclined to click on a post if it has a funny meme or a picture people can relate to attached to the post. This can be a time consuming thing but its been proven that social media posts will perform better if they attract an audience by using the likes of pictures, videos and memes.

Job Description is KEY

Anyone can post a job ad in the old fashioned layout with nothing but the basic requirements and duties. Make your job description attractive. Obviously you should always cover the basics such as your requirements, salary and location but make sure you include a brief background on the company and what the benefits of a candidate choosing your company will be whether that be staff events or career progression it could be the deciding factor for someone clicking that apply button. You should include details in your job description in your social media post. These details could be the reason your audience clicks on the link to see your job ad.

Using social media for hiring purposes is something you should do and something you should do right. Some of the main ways you can utilise your professional social media profiles for recruitment purposes involve networking correctly, writing a good job description and reference it in your social media caption, make the ad attractive for readers and increase visibility with appropriate hashtags!

To read more on our tips for employers, we have a recent article on the top hiring mistakes and how to avoid them.

As a Recruiter I know the importance of the Right Hire to my clients and when thinking of that I wanted to present some of the key issues facing anyone looking to hire new talent into their team or company. Finding the right person to join your team can be one of the most crucial tasks in leading an organisation and possibly one of the most difficult. This is why knowing the top hiring mistakes is important to any company and even more importantly knowing how to avoid them.

Describing your “ideal” candidate:

We are all guilty of adding a list of attributes to a job description in order to find the “ideal” candidate who just simply doesn’t exist which means it can be nearly impossible to find and attract a person who has all those skills. When recruiting, your goal should be to define what the job really is and the experience it requires in order for the candidate to succeed and use this as a scale on determining what candidates are a good fit for the role rather than searching endlessly for perfection.

Overlooking Internal Candidates:

Overlooking internal candidates is often a case with many employers while struggling to find the right candidate for a role with their company. Employers will spend many hours trailing through applications and trying to source the perfect candidates via the many platforms available and sometimes forget to look inside the front door rather than beyond it. Have you got someone who is already in your company who is looking to expand their career and is more than capable of taking on a new challenge? It’s a common mistake made by employers to overlook current employees because they may be in a different department and forget it’s easier to train someone who already has extensive knowledge about the company and is interested in progressing their career.

Maximise your interview:

Employers can be quick to judge a candidate for not preparing for an interview but what if it’s the other way around? Without a clear and concise plan for the interview questions will be predictable which will lead to vague and underwhelming answers. Interviews should always include multiple team members because sometimes extra eyes and ears may pick up subtleties that one person alone,who is focusing on the technicality of the interview may miss out on.

Experience over ability:

Often employers will choose to interview someone who has more experience rather than go with that “I got a really good feeling about that person” and believing that the more experience a candidate has the safer the hire, is often wrong. Just because someone has done something for years doesn’t mean that person may have more ability than someone with less experience. Remember, everyone has to start somewhere.

Not completing reference checks:

Failure to complete a reference check for your candidate can be a game changer a month into the job. Everyone has been at the stage where getting the role filled is urgent and overlooking the most crucial part of the application process, reference checking, can be put to the side because you would rather get the candidate started rather than wait for a previous employer to return your call but in reality it’s much better to wait for that call back than having to start the process from the beginning a couple of months later.

Remember when recruiting it’s important to take the time to find the right candidate for your company and sometimes, rushing into a hire just to fill the urgent role may become problematic down the line. The mistakes listed above with hiring can be costly. Here at Three Q we have a rigorous process to ensure the best candidates are offered to interview by clients which mitigates these problems from occurring. Three Q recruiters go on regular site visits to see our clients to find out exactly what our clients’ needs are. We are experienced in screening candidates and we always do reference checks. If you would like to work with Three Q as a recruitment partner, you can learn more about our service here or call us at 01 878 3335

For more reading on hiring mistakes to avoid here’s a great article from Forbes: Hiring Mistakes to Avoid at All Costs

The role of  a hotel duty manager is a job title that you may often see on job listings but what does it mean?  Here at Three Q we have a wealth of knowledge when it comes matching hotel duty manager with their perfect employer. So if you’re curious as to what the role requires and what a hotel duty manager does on a day-to-day basis, read on.

The role of a hotel duty manager is to make sure the hotel runs smoothly when the General manager is unavailable. It is a busy role with plenty of responsibility. A candidate for this position must be ready to deal with any situation that may arise and deal with it in a calm professional manner. A Duty Manger must be willing to work in a fast paced environment and command the team under them efficiently.

In the hotel business it isn’t always possible for a General Manager to be present, therefore a Duty Manager acts on behalf of them, making managerial decisions when they are needed.  The Duty manager will look after the running of the business while on duty ensuring business runs as smoothly as possible.

Responsibilities of a Duty Manager

the role of a hotel duty manager three q recruitment agency dublin

Within the role of Duty Manager comes a lot of responsibility from over seeing the day to day business and managing your team.  Of course, the main responsibility is to make sure all the guests are satisfied with the hotel’s service. The Duty Manager is responsible for any issues that may occur while on duty, and it is their job to resolve the issue in a professional manner.

The Hours of a Hotel Duty Manger

The hours of a Duty Manager can vary depending on size of hotel and location You will have to work when the General Manager isn’t present.  A duty manager can work around thirty to forty hours per week .

Salary of a Duty Manager

the role of a hotel duty manager three q recruitment agency dublin

A duty Manager’s salary will depend on a variety of things such as, education and training, experience and the location of the hotel.

Having knowledge on how a hotel works is essential. In Ireland it is recommended to require a bachelor’s degree in a hospitality course. There are many courses that are helpful to have when applying for work in the hospitality industry.  A general business can also be sufficient.  Although have formal training can be beneficial, you can still become a hotel duty manager by gaining experience and applying to work in entry level positions in the hotel. It is possible to start from the bottom and working yourself up the ladder in the hospitality industry.

If becoming a Duty Manager interests you or if you are currently a Duty Manager looking for a new position, keep an eye on our listings that we are constantly updating with new job opportunities in the industry. If you are an employer and are wishing to advertise your job in our listings, please email sales@3reqruitment.ie or phone +353 1878 3335.

Ever wondered what the life of a sous chef in a five star hotel is like? Here at Three Q we have 19 years of experience in helping sous chef’s and culinary staff to find their dream job. Here at Three Q we’re a hands on recruitment team who work to match our clients with the perfect Sous Chef for the job.  How hands on are we? We go out on site on help to train our temps and perms so that they have a great start to their new job. Our consultants are ex hospitality professionals, we undertake training in healthcare and hospitality training and we have served at events. We know what it’s like to be a Sous Chef in a busy Dublin 5 star hotel. so if you’d like to know more, so if you want to know what the life of a sous chef in a five star hotel is like, read on to find out more.

Job Description

A sous chef is an important job within the kitchen’s system. The Sous Chef is ranked just below head chef in order of command, so successful candidates will be directing themselves towards the position of head chef.  Sous Chefs have a huge list of tasks which they must undertake as part of their role, you will report directly to the head chef and delegate tasks to other members of the kitchen staff.

What does a Sous Chef do?

The successful candidate to a Sous Chef positions will be responsible for both planning and directing the preparation of food in the kitchen. Supervising staff and is also part of the role and supervisory tasks can make up the bulk of a Sous Chefs work. Any problems spotted within the kitchen must be reported to the head chef immediately or be solved by the Sous Chef themselves. It is also part of the Sous Chef’s role to improve performance of their team and make sure that their work is up to a five star kitchen’s standards.

As a Sous Chef, you will be responsible for Being in charge of the kitchen when the head chef is not around, keeping the kitchen environment safe and hygienic, assisting the head chef when it comes to writing menus and creating new recipes and sometimes being in charge of the purchasing and storage of food.

In some hotels and restaurants, the head chef may not be around that often which means that the Sous Chef will be the head of the kitchen in their absence. This places a lot of responsibility on your shoulders of the candidate, so you must be able to handle stress and pressure well.

Although creating meals for customers is part of the job description, a lot of your time will be spent on administrative duties. A sous chef should have an eye for detail and be a meticulous planner.

Working as a Sous Chef means that ‘normal’ hours such as a nine to five office job is mostly out of the question. A Sous Chef should be expecting to work shifts which means weekends, evenings and holidays. You will also be asked to work overtime during particularly busy spells. If you would prefer to work office hours, it would be best to look for a job in contract catering.

Sous Chef Career Path

The rise to sous chef does not happen in a straight line and there are a number of steps you must take to progress up the career ladder. Some people actually begin as a kitchen porter and discover a love for food before beginning at the bottom rung of the chef ladder. A large proportion of sous chefs get to where they are by training on the job and availing of opportunities for placements in high quality kitchens. However, a candidate  can get to there faster if they have some formal qualifications. A degree in Culinary Arts is a good qualification, a prospective candidate may also look for a FETAC certificate in Professional Cookery to help them get ahead of the competition.

If you want to become a senior sous chef, you will need at least 3 years professional experience in a good quality hotel or restaurant. Another requirement for most employers is HAACP training and experience.

This is just a brief outline of the life of a sous chef in a five star hotel. There are a lot of administrative duties that a Sous Chef must undertake, so if you don’t like delegating tasks or paperwork, this is not the right role for you. If you wish to become a head chef, you must first become a sous chef as it is an excellent way to determine if you are ready to run your own kitchen.  

If becoming a Sous Chef interests you, or if you are currently a Sous Chef looking for a new position, keep an eye on our listings that we update every day with new job opportunities in the industry. We currently have job vacancies for Sous Chefs in Five Star Hotels in Dublin. If you are an employer and are wishing to advertise your job in our listings, please email sales@3reqruitment.ie or phone +1 +353 1878 3335.