The Practitioner: There has to be a better way to recruit

IT’S official. The old fashioned method of placing recruitment adverts in the local rag is dead.

Following the unexpected departure of a trusted member of staff, and having spent a day in mourning, I decided to place an advert in the local and regional newspaper. It only produced one CV and that was from the free listing they gave me on their website. Not one CV came from the actual paper advert itself.

I’m sorry but they can wait every day of their credit terms until they get paid for it.

Word of mouth however has hopefully saved the day. The firm is a member of a local networking group and a couple of members have put me in touch with a couple of prospective candidates.

The sooner we can get the post filled the better. I am loathed to using an agency again, although if the worst comes to the worst I may have to.

There has to be a better way surely?

I’ve even asked at a neighbouring accountancy practice if they have any spare man hours that I could reimburse them for to help plug the gap. Nothing came from it however.

This week we have had a couple of clients ask for valuations to be drawn up with a view to putting their business on the market. In each instance it’s an indication of how well the business is doing rather than an attempt to get out of the business due to it failing. Strangely enough both clients are in the media industry, with a similar customer base.

We also have several clients looking to raise funds for expansion and a possible flotation. Again, these clients are all media/online based.

Having meetings with lots of varied clients in different sectors, I enjoy hearing about new ideas and new ways of doing things. The ones that excite me the most are those online that have little or no interaction with people.

Sometimes I thing I’m in the wrong business. Give me a website selling widgets any day.

The Practitioner’s uncensored thoughts come from within their own practice – having left a regional firm in the heart of England