Entries with tag recruitment .

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Blair McPherson
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23 Apr 2024 - 11:04

null No experience require but excitement guaranteed

When you’re young, just about to leave school or university isn’t  this exactly what you’re looking for in a first job? This particular recruitment advert was accompanied by a picture of an individual standing at the back of a large military transport aircraft in mid flight with its huge rear doors open exposing the vast expanse of sky. On closer examination a safety line was fastened... See more
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Blair McPherson
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13 Jun 2023 - 13:11

null When the wrong people are promoted/appointed the right people leave. 

An aeroplane in mid flight, the passenger door is open and an attendant is standing by as two businessmen one after the other parachute out. The passengers stare in amazement. Then the attendant also jumps out. The cockpit door opens and the pilot and copilot come down the aisle both wearing parachutes. All eyes are fixed on them as with out saying a word or looking to the left or right they... See more
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Blair McPherson
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25 Mar 2023 - 11:37

null Red Flags

I arrived in plenty of time for the interview despite the two hour motorway journey. It’s the one and only time I was interviewed at a football ground. The interview with the executive recruiters took place in one of the executive boxes overlooking the pitch. The first early warning sign was despite the emphases on Equality,Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in the accompanying material for the post... See more
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Blair McPherson
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21 Feb 2023 - 15:49

null And anything else the boss asks you to do 

The list of requirements was so extreme that some commentators thought it was a spoof.   Must be “highly talented”, “ooze leadership” and be “a great orator”.   “High energy and sacrifice are required to excel in this position. We cannot carry anyone. We need a commitment to stay until the job is done.”    “ Excessively long hours are the norm and the role may... See more
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Blair McPherson
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06 Feb 2023 - 14:14

null “ won’t get fooled again” should be the recruiters motto

According to some recent research at Columbia Business School  https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/newsroom/newsn/1879/mens-honest-overconfidence-may-lead-to-male-domination-in-the-csuite  men typically over over estimate their achievements and abilities by 30%. They are not consciously exaggerating but genuinely believe they are considerably more talented than they are. All to often... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
23 Jan 2023 - 15:51

null Making Local Government Cool 

“One of the things I think I can bring to the Presidency is make  Government and public service cool again” Barrack Obama. I wish I had said this when asked at interview what I could bring to the post and organisation. If Local Authorities are to effectively tackle their recruitment and retention challenge then chief executives need to make their organisations cool again.  When I... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
17 Jan 2023 - 14:55

null Always have the right people on the bus.

 It makes a great deal of sense to get recruitment right, to have those on board who are going to be an asset for the journey. Yet the majority of people on the bus got on when the destination was different and before the new driver took over. Some of them are disgruntled passengers.  The restructuring interviews were a revelation most of the candidates had no recent job interview... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
04 Jan 2023 - 12:42

null Are you ready?

How do you know when you are ready to step up to the next level? Is it simply enough to think you can ? You feel ready but can you convince an interview panel? I can do most of the things they want I’ll apply and let them decide or are you someone who decides not to apply because you can’t demonstrate you have everything they require?  Sometimes the advert states but more often... See more
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Blair McPherson
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17 Nov 2022 - 13:44

null Des Res

I am interested in how cabinet members describe their Local Authority and what better place to look than their recruitment adverts for senior posts.  I thought it might fun to characterise the description of place in estate agent speak and add a dash of brutal honesty. After describing the type of person they are looking for the next step is to say what sort of organisation the successful... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
14 Nov 2023 - 14:53

null Grow your own 

Recruitment and retention for management and executive posts has become a big issue of late. In response organisations are reviewing their approach to Succession planning. The traditional focus on certain senior posts with a view to grooming a successor or system of talent spotting  and fast tracking is being replaced by an organisational drive to increase leadership skills at all levels.... See more
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Blair McPherson
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14 Aug 2022 - 15:06

null Head Hunters tips 

Your application form gets you the interview your interview gets you the job.    The difference between a CV and an application form is that the application form is written specifically for the post applied for so you are required to organise the section headed supporting information so that it directly relates to each requirement listed in the person specification. You stand a much... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
26 Jul 2022 - 11:19

null Seek out the reluctant candidate 

Seek out the reluctant candidate who needs to be cajoled into accepting the position because they are not driven by naked ambition, they are not over confident, they will not see dissent as personal disloyalty or feel so insecure in the post as to shut down debate. If their reluctance is not based on doubts about their ability but an accurate assessment of the difficult nature of the... See more
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Blair McPherson
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25 Jul 2022 - 08:34

null My Story

 A good story gets you an interview, expanding convincingly on that story gets you the post.  I didn’t always want to be a manager let alone a senior manager. In fact when I started out I thought there were only two types of manager , good managers rended ineffective by out of touch senior managers and bad managers tolerated by out of touch senior managers. Over the years, as my... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
25 Jul 2022 - 16:15

null  Diversity - The Phoney Version -looks different but isn’t 

The image is of someone frantically bailing out a leaky boat whilst water continues to pore in through the holes in its hull. There is a lot of effort but it doesn’t  make much difference. This is what it is like trying to make the organisation more diverse by putting a lot of effort into recruitment whilst ignoring Inclusion.    The reason why diversity is championed as good for ... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
11 Jul 2022 - 10:07

null Learn  how to lose 

It’s Wimbledon so the sports pages have an interview with John McEnroe. He who was as famous for his on court tantrums as his skills with a racket. He was a serial winner who said he had to learn how to lose. It reminded me of interviews for senior management posts.    There were four of us in for the Directors post. We were being chaperoned by the executive recruiter the night before... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
30 Jun 2022 - 14:56

null Interviews from Hell 

“It’s 5 p.m. on a Friday. You have been called to an interview for your dream job. In a stunning office thirteen floors above the city below, you are all alone with the man interviewing you. Everyone else has gone home for the weekend.The interview gets more and more disturbing. You’re feeling scared.Your only way out is to answer a seemingly impossible question.” The Interview... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
07 Jun 2022 - 07:04

null It’s Shangri-la and you are the legend at its centre 

“ Where everyone of us has the chance to make a mark and shape the future. Where senior managers are a catalyst for this change. Energising the people who can make it happen. At the centre of everything you will inspire passion. You instil courage. You bring the heart of a leader. “ It’s an advert for the organisation’s top post. It’s an advert that tells you what... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
26 Feb 2022 - 15:52

null Why do organisations appoint the wrong people? 

There are many reasons why the wrong people get promoted but its not a new thing. Disgruntled employees used to say ,”It’s not what you know but who you know “ to get on in this organisation. Academics identified a tendency for organisations to promote individuals to their level of incompetence,  meaning people were promoted as a reward for their performance in their previous post... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
09 Feb 2022 - 16:15

null  Lack of career obstacles for the incompetent and over confident.

The best way to smash  the glass ceiling, the most effective way of getting  a diverse senior management team and how to ensure managers have good people skills.    Organisations that want to promote Equality, Diversity and Inclusion should stop appointing incompetent managers.    I believe most HR professionals would describe their role as removing obstacles to... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
02 Apr 2022 - 07:45

null “Brain surgery…. It’s not exactly rocket science is it?”

A recent study ( published in the festive edition of BMJ) to decide who is the brainiest, neurosurgeons or aerospace engineers has found that neither are necessarily brighter than the rest of us. It’s not that brain surgeons and rocket scientists are better at everything but they are better at certain things which make them very good at what they do. It occurs to me that the same... See more
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Showing 1 to 20 of 54 entries.