In this episode of the Recruitment Reality Podcast, I am joined by Joe Atkinson, Founder at PURPL, a peer-to-peer learning platform built by talent acquisition for talent acquisition professionals. They specialize in upskilling recruiters with practical, time-efficient & industry relevant training.

The episode delves into Joe's journey from his passion for startups to identifying a gap in professional training for recruiters. PURPL emerges as a solution, offering a platform for recruiters to upskill by learning from top professionals in the tech world. Joe shares insights on the challenges in talent acquisition, the lack of data literacy, and stakeholder management. The discussion also covers how PURPL sources its creators, their motivations, and the unique approach to content authenticity and learnability.

In facing economic downturns with massive tech layoffs, PURPL began assisting displaced professionals by offering free trainings to enhance their employability for their next role. Looking ahead, Joe outlines plans to engage a broader segment of the recruitment industry, emphasizing the importance of fundamental skills. The episode concludes with valuable advice for aspiring entrepreneurs and recruiters.

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RESOURCES:

► Willo: Video Interview Screening Software
► Andrew Wood, COO & Co-founder at Willo
► PURPL: Peer-to-Peer Learning Platform for Talent Acquisition
► Joe Atkinson, Founder at PURPL

In this episode of the Recruitment Reality Podcast, I am joined by Robert Garner, Director at Abstraction Labs, a recruitment website design & development firm. We discuss his transition from a career in recruitment to becoming a software developer and eventually starting his own web design business.

Robert shares his diverse experiences, from selling recruitment advertising and working in media recruitment to launching a job board and moving into talent acquisition and software development, focusing on recruitment CRM systems. He delves into the challenges he faced early on trying to launch his own software platform, the pivotal role of self-teaching and online learning resources in his career shift, and gives advice for effective cold calling.

Robert also provides insights into the current state of the recruitment market, the importance of business development, and utilizing AI and automation. Additionally, he offers valuable advice for recruitment agencies on improving their websites, emphasizing the use of 3 easy things you can do today to assess your website:

1. Perform the Google Lighthouse performance test
2. Ensure Mobile Responsiveness of your pages
3. Incorporate high quality Images and Videos

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RESOURCES MENTIONED:
► Willo: Video Interview Screening Software
► Andrew Wood, COO & Co-founder at Willo
► Abstraction Labs: Recruitment Website Design & Development
► Robert Garner, Managing Director at Abstraction Labs
► The Challenger Sale, a book about taking control of the customer conversation
► The Jelly Effect, a book about how to make your communication stick

In this episode of the Recruitment Reality Podcast, I am joined by Ahva Sadeghi, CEO/Co-founder at Symba, an innovative onboarding and talent management platform. She highlights how Symba has grown from its initial conception of remote internships to focusing on new hire readiness in order to allow individuals to be productive from day one.

She shares insights into the challenges faced during the initial years of launching her startup and how customer feedback played a crucial role in expanding the product's capabilities. Ahva emphasizes the importance of forming a strong team, providing a great onboarding experience, the impacts of a company's culture on its growth, and the need to constantly learn and adapt.

Avha’s first piece of advice for listeners was that when receiving feedback, you should only implement wisdom that resonates with you from people you respect. She also shared advice that one of her mentors gave her, which was that you should make sure that everyone that comes into contact with your company is better off because of it.

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RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• Willo: Video Interview Screening Software https://www.willo.video
• Andrew Wood, COO & Co-founder at Willo https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-douglas-wood
• Symba: The Go-To Platform for New Hire Readiness https://symba.io
• Ahva Sadeghi, CEO & Co-founder at Symba https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahvasadeghi

In this episode of the Recruitment Reality Podcast, I am joined by Dace Straupmane, a Talent Acquisition Manager at SmartLynx, an aviation lending company (think of them as the B2B ‘Uber of aviation’). We discussed SmartLynx’s unique business model and recruitment strategies, specifically how they have had success attracting global talent by valuing candidate’s potential over experience. This has allowed them to invest in junior talents and attract talent from other industries (such as banking).

Filling technical roles is a challenge, but SmartLynx has leveraged technology like Willo into their hiring workflow to streamline identification of driven candidates from around the world. Valuing diversity and inclusion in the workplace, Dace mentioned how she has seen her colleagues break role stereotypes. They have so many ladies working as engineers and serving in leading roles of their technical departments.

Woody shared his view that the employee of the future is one that knows how to do their job with the help of AI. Dace also has a positive view of AI for both candidates & recruiters, citing it as a huge time saver with efficiency that reduces stress in the workplace. She wraps up by urging recruiters to leverage modern technologies and candidates to take the time to prepare and communicate throughout the whole interview process.

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RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• Willo: Video Interview Screening Software https://www.willo.video
• Dace Straupmane, Talent Acquisition Manager at SmartLynx https://www.linkedin.com/in/dacestraupmane
• Andrew Wood, COO & Co-founder at Willo https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-douglas-wood
• SmartLynx: aviation lending company https://www.smartlynx.aero

In this episode of the Recruitment Reality Podcast, I am joined by Yasmin Castle, a Talent Acquisition Specialist at Ideagen, a global software company based in Nottingham built for regulated and high-compliance industries. We discussed Ideagen’s hiring methods, early career programs, and the challenges of global recruitment with the varying market trends in the UK and India.

One of Ideagen’s early career programs, ‘Think Big,’ incentivizes high schoolers with opportunities to enter the workforce directly without a college degree. Yasmin highlights some challenges with assessing a significant number of candidates while still providing them with meaningful feedback and how Willo has helped them streamline these processes.

We explored the effectiveness and impact of artificial intelligence adoption in recruitment and the workplace. We also delved into the importance of feedback and company culture in shaping a company’s employer branding. Yasmin ended the interview by sharing some key advice for recruitment professionals and job applicants.

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RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• Willo: Video Interview Screening Software https://www.willo.video
• Yasmin Castle, Talent Acquisition Specialist at Ideagen https://www.linkedin.com/in/yasmin-castle-6858751a9
• Andrew Wood, COO & Co-founder at Willo https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-douglas-wood
• Ideagen: Software Company for Regulated High Compliance Industries https://ideagen.com
• iCIMS: Applicant Tracking System https://www.icims.com
• Oktopost: B2B Social Media Management Solutions https://www.oktopost.com

In this episode of the Recruitment Reality Podcast, I am joined by Rosa Hilmi, the co-founder and managing director of Stellar Select, a niche recruitment consultancy specializing in the lending sector. Rosa shares her insights and experiences in the industry, highlighting the importance of having a strong USP and niche focus in a tough market.

Rosa emphasizes the need for recruiters to prioritize the candidate experience and truly listen to their needs and preferences. She discusses the value of providing honest feedback to candidates, even if it's not the news they were hoping for, as it builds trust and fosters long-term relationships. We also discuss the impact of automation and technology on improving the candidate journey and ensuring a seamless recruitment process.

Overall, Rosa's advice to recruiters is to stay positive, adapt to market changes, and focus on building strong relationships with candidates. By prioritizing the candidate experience and maintaining a niche focus, recruiters can thrive in a challenging market and secure long-term success.

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RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• Willo: Video Interview Screening Software https://www.willo.video
• Rosa Hilmi, Managing Director at Stellar Select https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosa-hilmi-72749414
• Andrew Wood, COO & Co-founder at Willo https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-douglas-wood
• Stellar Select: Specialists in Mortgage and Financial Services Recruitment https://www.stellarselect.co.uk
• HereFish: Recruitment Automation Software https://herefish.com

In this week's episode of the Recruitment Reality Podcast, I had the pleasure of speaking with Sean Allen, a prominent figure in the talent acquisition community. Sean, who is currently the head of talent acquisition at The Very Group shared his extensive experience in tech recruitment and his role in fostering a vibrant talent community. Sean's journey in recruitment spans over 15 years, starting in agency work and transitioning to in-house roles across various companies. He's also a co-founder and community manager of The Talent Community, a platform for recruiters from all sectors to share knowledge and elevate the industry.

During our conversation, Sean discussed the challenges he faced when stepping into his first head of role at The Very Group particularly learning about new industries beyond tech. He emphasized the importance of employer branding, especially in tech and customer care, and how authenticity in telling a company's story can attract the right talent.

We delved into the impact of AI on recruitment, both from the perspective of improving internal processes and the potential concerns around candidates using AI to enhance their applications. Sean believes that AI should be seen as a tool to aid recruiters, not replace them, and that candidates using AI are simply demonstrating their resourcefulness.

Sean also shared insights on the evolution of the interview process, advocating for automation to streamline the candidate experience and allow recruiters to focus on more strategic, value-added activities.

To wrap up, Sean offered advice for both recruiters and candidates. For recruiters, especially those starting in a new company, he suggested looking for opportunities to automate and integrate processes to save time and improve the candidate experience. For candidates, he encouraged using AI as a smart tool for research but also advised going the extra mile to stand out.

Overall, my discussion with Sean Allen provided valuable insights into the dynamic world of talent acquisition and the role of technology in shaping its future.

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RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• Video Interview Screening Software https://www.willo.video
• Sean Allen, Head of Talent Acquisition at The Very Group https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean1allen
• Andrew Wood, COO & Co-founder at Willo https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-douglas-wood
• The Talent Community https://www.thetalentcommunity.net
• The Very Group https://www.theverygroup.com

In this episode of The Recruitment Reality Podcast, I had the pleasure of talking with Harvey Bass from Stascom about how he has maintained his business over 30 years.

In this episode, we focus on how 'old school' methods are exactly what you need to keep your business alive.

Harvey talks about:

The importance of using the phone
How to remain persistent and polite
Why he has his team in the office
How Stascom has survived multiple recessions

You'd be a fool not to listen if you want to hear some advice from an expert in our industry.

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RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Companies

• Stascom - Leaders in Executive Recruitment Since 1987
• Willo.video - Video Interview Screening Software

People

• Harvey Bass, CEO & President at Stascom
• Andrew Wood, COO & Co-founder at Willo