The Talent Division

TD Insights

Recruitment insights, career advice, and industry news from our team.

Employers

How to Retain Your Best People (It Isn't Always About Money)

Most employers worry about attracting great people.  Far fewer spend enough time thinking about how to keep them. The truth is, replacing a valued employee is expensive. Recruitment costs, lost productivity, onboarding and the impact on the wider team all add up far quicker than many businesses realise. The good news? People don't always leave for more money. More often than not, they leave because something else has been missing for a while.

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Employers

Why Time to Hire Could Be Costing Your Business More Than You Think

How long does it take your business to hire? Two weeks? Six weeks? Three months? For many businesses, recruitment is something that gets squeezed between meetings, projects and the day job. Before you know it, weeks have passed, interviews are still being arranged, and your ideal candidate has accepted another opportunity. The reality is that the longer a vacancy remains open, the more it costs your business. And I'm not just talking about recruitment fees.

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Employers

Why Recruitment Shouldn't Be About Perfect CVs

It's easy to become fixated on finding the "perfect CV." The perfectly formatted document. The flawless career history. The candidate who appears to tick every single box. But after nearly 30 years in recruitment, I've learnt that great hiring isn't about finding perfect CVs. It's about finding the right people.

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Candidates

You Don't Have to Tick Every Box to Apply for a Job

One conversation I've had countless times over the years starts with the same sentence. "I'd love that job... but I don't think I'm qualified enough." Sometimes the candidate doesn't have one of the qualifications listed. Sometimes they've never worked in that particular industry. Sometimes they're simply lacking confidence. My answer is often the same. Apply anyway.

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Candidates

How to Prepare for an Interview (Without Sounding Rehearsed)

Interviews can be nerve-racking. I've interviewed thousands of people over the years, and one thing I've learnt is this: The candidates who perform best aren't always the most experienced. They're usually the ones who arrive feeling prepared, confident and ready to have a genuine conversation.

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Employers

7 Interview Mistakes That Could Cost You Great Candidates

Most hiring managers spend a lot of time preparing interview questions. Far fewer spend time thinking about the experience they're creating for the candidate. After nearly 30 years in recruitment, I've seen fantastic businesses miss out on exceptional people, not because the salary wasn't competitive or the role wasn't attractive, but because the interview process let them down.

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Employers

How to Write a Job Advert That Attracts Great Candidates

If I had a pound for every job advert I've read over the years that starts with "We are seeking an enthusiastic, highly motivated individual...", I'd probably have retired by now. The truth is that most job adverts don't fail because they're badly written. They fail because they only describe the role. They forget to sell the opportunity. When someone is considering a career move, they're asking themselves one simple question: "Why should I choose this company over every other one?" If your advert doesn't answer that question, you're making it much harder to attract the right people.

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