Bethany Dennett

Marketing Exec. Freelance content writer/social media manager. This is for things I've written. I also run circlerecords.tumblr.com - a music review site.

[bethanydennett-blog]

There are a lot of recruitment companies out there. Some that specialise in particular industries, from digital to construction to engineering. Some specialise in particular roles; marketing or software development. Others focus on a wider range of sectors and industries. When faced with such a wide range of recruitment agencies, how do you choose who to work with? It can be a tough decision, especially considering that the wrong hire could cost your business significantly more than the hires initial salary, in on-boarding, training and lost productivity.

So how do you choose who to work with? Of course, it’s worth considering the kind of role you’re recruiting for. A high-level, technical or specialist role requires a high-level, technical and specialist recruiter. Here’s why…

Reason one – They should have extensive market and industry experience

It makes sense that, if you work in a technical or specialised industry, you’d want a recruitment company (and the individual recruiter within it) to understand that industry. For specialist recruiters, understanding goes beyond simply knowing the companies operating in the industry. It includes knowledge of the best candidates, the disciplines needed, what the salaries look like and the market trends that will affect your industry. Best of all – they know all of this in real time. By speaking to candidates and businesses within the industry all day, every day, their fingers are really on the pulse.

Specialist recruiters also understand the intricacies of the technologies required by the role and the industry. Alongside this, they’re aware of where the skills shortages lie, meaning they can advise on job specifications and make sure you’re not searching for what can’t be found. With their knowledge of the products and services offered by your industry, they can put roles into context and really sell your business to potential candidates, without sounding like they’re reading from a script.

Reason two – They act as consultants

One of the biggest differentiators between a generalist recruiter and a specialist is their ability to provide consultative advice and guidance. Specialist recruiters can advise on the best way to run your recruitment campaign, and can step in to help ease pain points in the process, which could include slow time to hire and a lack of qualified candidates. Along with their industry experience, these recruiters work with their clients to understand where they can add value, whether this be by vetting the candidates or exploring their own networks to find the candidate. Specialist recruitment consultants are looking at the industry from a wider-perspective, which means they can be reactive and can offer a unique insight into the market.

Knowing their clients on this level means that specialist recruiters are poised to listen and react when needed, becoming trusted advisors and partners to their clients. In turn, this means they’ll be able to offer their clients a tailor made service, completely fit for their business, which takes into account their individual requirements, rather than offering a one-size fits all service (which often doesn’t!) And, because specialist recruiters don’t have a specific affiliation, they are able to offer impartial and honest advice, as well as confidentiality.

Reason three – They have built extensive networks

It’s well known that recruiters’ networks are their bread and butter. And although this is true of both generalist and specialist recruiters, it’s the value of the specialist recruiters’ network that makes the difference. They don’t go for breadth across the entire workforce, they go for depth in their specific verticals. These verticals are also generally thinly divided. Rather than an ‘IT’ recruiter, each recruiter will have a more specific vertical, such as DevOps or Project Management.

This leaves specialist recruiters in a great position because they are immersed in the world of their candidates. They keep regular contact, building relationships that last for careers rather than placements. Specialist recruiters understand the importance of these networks; for finding candidates, receiving referrals and building their reputation. By leveraging these networks they can offer targeted headhunting and referral opportunities, which is a significant bonus of using a specialist recruiter with a niche network.

Recruiters spend a lot of time developing these networks and building their reputation. They attend industry events, national and international client meetings and have regular contact with the top candidates in the market, meaning if they don’t know the candidate already, they’ll be sure to know someone who does.

Conclusion

If you’re still unsure of the type of recruiter to choose – think about these things;

Are you struggling to find candidates to interview?

Have you noticed a skill shortage for the role?

Are you connected with thousands of potential candidates? (And if you are, do you have the time to sift through them?)

Do you know how to overcome the pain-points in your recruitment process?

Is it an urgent or particularly important hire?

Answering these questions should help you decide what kind of recruiter you need. It’s worth remembering that not all specialist recruiters are made equal. Some will have more experience and industry knowledge than others, so be selective with the final agency.

About Caspian One

Caspian One recruits in the Broadcast, Media and Entertainment, and Fintech industries globally. We take a consultative approach to recruitment, employing a team of specialists with a deep understanding of the industry and a technical appreciation roles they’re recruiting for.

[bethanydennett-blog]

I’m looking for some indie bands, artists and managers to take a short survey-https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/XK7NMQK

[bethanydennett-blog]

Fairly Traded Go Live

Written for the go-live of a family run Fairtrade distributor.

We'd finally like to welcome you all to the 'go-live' of Fairly Traded. Our incense is here, the logo is ready and we're ready to go! It's great to finally be able to share the great Fairtrade products we've found with you. If you've not read our 'About' page, here is the story;

Once upon a time (in 2004) our founder travelled to India and fell in love. The colours, sound (and even smell!) caught his attention. Unfortunately, so did the poverty he saw. After travelling the country from top to tail, he realised not everything was grand palaces. He decided to do what he could to help.

He wanted to make sure he bought from Fairtrade suppliers, as much as he could. Fairtrade means that farmers and workers get a fair wage, decent working conditions and have more control over their futures. Although not the be all and end all of a better world, it really does provide a huge change in the lives of farmers and workers around the world. Farmers and workers who are producing high-quality goods, which don't destroy the environment (they have a policy about this).

Unfortunately we discovered that there was a lack of products out there, especially when it came to incense, candles and beauty products, that was Fairtrade, cruelty-free, handmade and all-natural.

So, we decided to do it ourselves.

Our suppliers are all certified Fairtrade, and we want to be a central place for all those good things listed above. Up first is our incense, handmade at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Podicherry, India. These cones and sticks provide jobs for vulnerable women, as well as being certified Fairtrade and made of all natural ingredients. We will continue to partner with new, great organisations who do great work, and hope that you love the products as much as we do!

From,

The Fairly Traded team

Check us out on Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter, and you may find a discount code for money off your first order!

[bethanydennett-blog]

Florence and the Machine meats Meatloaf

Review written for an indie band based in London.

Imagine a Frank Turner, Meatloaf and Florence and the Machine mash-up over some triumphant trumpets and synths, and you've got '100% DIY' Lux Lisbon. With a male vocalist who you could imagine smashing Bat out of Hell, and a female vocalist who could easily be Florence, they're certainly unusual.

The English 4-peice site Fleetwood Mac, Bruce Springsteen and Bloc Party as their influences, which may say a lot about the variation on the album. Playing a self-promoting gig at Scala in London in April, the 4 piece have no manager, no label and no outside funding. I guess that makes the three sold out dates at London Lexington last year all the more impressive. Self-publicised maybe, but you wouldn't think the foursome had little to help making the EP. It's well produced (they did have help on this - Guy Elderfield at Random in Nottingham, UK) and professional sounding with a nice finish to the whole thing. Going from an upbeat beginning with hints of Dog is Dead, to deeper and more intense vocals towards the end makes this a nice album as a whole, rather than a selection of songs. I love the wide spectrum of influences throughout the album, and I think they've been pulled together well.

Download the LP for free here.

[bethanydennett-blog]

How are you going to find your next job opportunity?

Written for a technical recruitment agency. Blog piece examining the differences in using a job board, LinkedIn or specialist agencies to find a job. Aimed at selling our services and building credibility.

Do you know exactly what job role you want next, and in which company? If you don't, you may be tempted to search a job board (including aggregators such as indeed.co.uk) or use LinkedIn to find your next position. Both of these methods can be successful, however it is a lot harder if you don't know what the market is like for your skills and experience, or you’re looking to move into a position different to what you’ve done before. Both can be useful for certain purposes, so carry on reading to find out if you should be using a job board or LinkedIn to find your next role.

Job Boards

There are two ways of using job boards to find a new opportunity. You can either post your CV on their database, which makes it searchable to all the employers who use the system, or you can search for jobs posted by employers or recruitment agencies.

Using a job board to post a CV could be one of the easiest ways to find a new position, because with one action you’re making your CV available to thousands of recruiters and potential employers on the job boards. Be warned however, means you could be fielding off a high volume of phone calls for roles that may not fit your specific requirements, because you’ve publicly stated you’re looking for a job.

When posting a CV however, you have no control over where it ends up or what roles you’re being considered for. Some candidates find themselves overloaded with interest and others have little interest in their CV. This could be due to around 25% of Job Boards saying they have more than 500,000 CVs in their database, according to the Job Board Doctors annual Job Board Survey from 2016.*

If you’re using job boards to search for roles, you can sign up for alerts when roles that may be of interest are released. You can also save jobs to keep track of ones you’ve applied for which can be helpful to help you stay organised. Job boards allow you to use filters to whittle down your searches, meaning you receive only results that are relevant. It is worth remembering, however, that searching for jobs can be time-consuming.

Pros

Only one action needed to make your CV available to employers and agencies

Stay organised with job alerts and saved job applications

Almost instant influx of calls

Cons

Potentially a high volume of irrelevant calls

Little to no control over who views your CV

Little to no control over what roles you’re being considered for

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the biggest professional social network in the world, with 433 million members. If you’re using LinkedIn to find your next job, you would have significantly more control over your profile and have insight into who has been viewing it. You can also often see who the employer for a role that has been posted is, which means you have the opportunity to do your own research into the company. Like job boards, you can also sign up for job alerts which can be useful to track the latest job openings.

Whilst using LinkedIn, you would also be able to see how many applications have been made for the role. LinkedIn is also a useful way of having a CV-type biography of yourself written in a less formal way and in your own words, which means you have the opportunity to show more personality as well as associations you belong to, recommendations from colleagues, and your interests by the groups you are a member of.

Known for being a great tool to use to grow and develop professional networks, it’s worth considering that you would be able to see who you know that works for the employer, including how you’re connected to them. Asking for introductions can be a good way to grow your network and you could be put in touch with someone who becomes invaluable in your career. Researching potential employers and carrying out background investigation is really easy on LinkedIn, with most businesses having their own company pages describing who they are and what they do. Company pages are also a source of marketing material and content from the business, which can give you an insight into the way they work and their company culture. Growing your network can be a really beneficial way of finding a new role, so it’s worth remembering that LinkedIn is one of the best tools for this, if used correctly.

LinkedIn can, however, be one of the most time consuming ways to look for a new job. There’s a lot more searching and networking involved, even things such as crafting an introductory InMail to a new connection can take a lot of time to get right.

Pros

More visibility over who looks at your profile

Best way to build and nurture your network

More insight into the company and its employees

More proactive than job boards, and you don’t need to advertise that you’re looking for new opportunities

Cons

Potentially time-consuming

What about an agency?

Specialist recruitment agencies are in the unique position of knowing your industry inside and out. They know the market trends, skills in demand and the best way to position yourself and your career to get the best results from a job search. Introductions are made easily, and they can assist you through the whole recruitment process and make sure you only see opportunities well suited to you and your career. The other major benefit of using a specialist recruitment agency is that they can filter out roles not suitable and hand pick those that may be of interest and exciting for you.

As well as this, they also have a strong insight into employers and can whittle them down based on your preferences. Specialist recruitment agencies are also full of advice to help you when job hunting, interviewing and accepting the role, which comes from their in depth knowledge of the employers and the way they work. This also allows them to better assess the suitability of candidates, as they understand the technicalities of the roles and exactly where the position fits into the company. If you build relationships with a niche agency, they’ll also be able to help you when you come to making the next career move as they’ll already know you, your skills and your preferences.

How are you planning on finding your next opportunity? Have you found one method more effective than the others? Let us know in the comments.

* http://www.jobboarddoctor.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/2016-Job-Board-Survey-Final-Report.pdf

[bethanydennett-blog]

Accounting as a contractor

Writing for a technical recruitment firm to help contractors with their accounting, and to position the company as trusted advisors

When done right, you can generally see more money in your back pocket as a contractor than a permanent employee. The process involved in managing your business accounts as a contractor can be confusing, but it is vital that you understand the ins and outs to make sure that you fall on the right side of the law, as well as take home the right amount of your hard earned cash. Read on if you're a first time contractor, looking to streamline your contracting business or need a refresher on the accounting processes involved in contracting.

What’s the first step?

The first step is to decide whether you want to work through an umbrella company or set up your own limited company (self-employed contractor). An umbrella company would make managing your finances a lot easier, but a limited company would ultimately cost you less to run and would enable you to have full control over your finances.

Whilst working under an umbrella company, you wouldn’t have any of the duties involved in running your own limited company, including requirements to file tax returns or your accounts to Companies House, or working out corporate tax liabilities. Working through an umbrella company can take a lot of the administration involved in contracting away, but you would also see a less of your pay. If planning to set-up and run your own limited company, you should obtain the services of an accountant who is well versed in contractors’ limited companies as this can make this process a lot easier, but it’s worth working out the cost implications of this route compared to working through an umbrella company.

There is no 'right' option on this step, it really depends on what your goals are in contracting. Have you started contracting to make as much money as possible? Or have you made the transition because you want a better work-life balance? Thinking about your motivations will help you decide which route to take here.

What do I need to know about taxes?

One of the main reasons contractors take home more pay is the difference in taxation for permanent employees and self-employed contractors. If you're working under an umbrella company, they would deal with National Insurance contributions and other taxes for you. In this case, you would be taxed in the same way as a permanent employee as technically you would be an employee of the umbrella company.

If working through your own limited company however, you should be aware of the various taxes that apply, as well as the deadlines and processes involved in filing. The taxes can be split into ones paid through your limited company, and ones paid personally.

Firstly paid through your company, corporation tax. This is the tax companies pay on their profits each year, and is usually due 9 months and 1 day after the end of your companies’ financial year. You should register for corporation tax when setting up your limited company or within 3 months after starting your business. You can do this online via HMRC. Also make sure you keep track of what you owe throughout the year by preparing a company tax return, which should be provided to HMRC within 12 months of the end of your companies’ financial year. This can be also be completed through HMRC’s website.

As the director of a limited company, you would also need to pay tax on dividends. It's pretty common for contractors to pay themselves small 'salaries' and take home the rest of their money as dividends. This essentially means you'd be paying yourself as a director with dividends, but as an employee with a salary. This route can be more tax effective but we recommend you speak to a specialist accountant who can guide you further on this. Dividends have a £5,000 limit, after which they are taxed at a rate tied to your personal tax-free allowance. VAT registered limited companies would need to charge VAT on their invoices and account to HMRC, normally every three months, for these charges. You would also be able to claim back VAT on purchases where applicable, something which clearly shows the savings available for contractors.

Personal taxes include income tax and employees National Insurance contributions. Any salary you pay yourself as a director is subject to the normal income tax rules. This means that after your personal tax-free allowance (normally £11,000 for 16/17) your salary will be taxed at 20% until it is between £32,001 and £150,000 where it will be taxed at 40%. Any salary above £150,000 is then taxed at 45%. National Insurance contributions are also taken from the salary you've paid yourself - 12% on anything above £112 a week and 2% on anything above £827 a week.

Another benefit for self-employed contractors is the tax they can save on by using a pension. When a portion of income is invested into a pension, it does not have income tax applied and becomes an investment. It is worth considering that the basic State Pension is available to self-employed contractors who have made National Insurance contributions. To get the full State Pension you will need to have shown you have paid National Insurance (either by voluntary contributions, credits for those who are unemployed or through working) for 30 years. If eligible you may be able to go back and pay voluntary contributions for any years you are missing, due to unemployment or other mitigating factors.

Can I claim expenses?

Expenses are another way a contractor may be able to benefit over a traditional permanent employee. Expenses are available for those working under an umbrella company or their own limited company but should always be supported by a VAT receipt. There is a slight difference in the definition of an expense between limited companies and umbrella companies. Limited companies need to show that expenses have been ‘incurred wholly and exclusively for business use’ and an umbrella employee must show that the expense was ‘incurred wholly and exclusively and necessarily in performing their duties.’

Travel expenses, accommodation and materials necessarily purchased for the carrying out of duties can all be claimed as expenses by both an umbrella employee and a self-employed contractor. Self-employed contractors are entitled to many other benefits including; business mobile phones, computer costs or training costs. They are tax deductible, meaning you would not pay tax on costs incurred. The key thing to remember is the costs must be incurred for business use, or are needed to perform as per the contract.

It is important to remember that you must be able to show the receipt for an expense if requested as HMRC would consider false claims as tax avoidance. It’s recommended that you keep 6 years of receipts, as this is how far back HMRC can investigate should they do so.

What is IR35?

An important piece of legislation to consider when attempting to account as a contractor is IR35. This was introduced to prevent contractors acting as 'disguised employees.'

Employers benefit from contractors working with them as they do not have to pay National Insurance or their employer National Insurance contributions on the contractors pay, and the contractor is not entitled to employee benefits such as paid holiday and sick pay. To overcome the surge in employers circumventing the rules like this, HMRC (as Inland Revenue) introduced IR35. This sought to remove the practice by 3 'tests of employment'. These are; control (what level of control does the client have over the contractors work?), substitution (would the worker be able to send a substitute?) and mutuality of obligation (is the employer obliged to offer work, is the worker obliged to accept it?) If you are a genuine small business contractor, IR35 will not apply and you shouldn’t have to worry about getting caught out. However, if you are caught by IR35 you could owe up to 6 years of taxes, so it's worth making sure you're the right side of the legislation.

What insurance policies do I need?

Finally, you may be required by law to obtain certain types of business insurance cover. If you have any employees you will need to obtain employers liability insurance. This protects you from claims made against you by employees, and as such is not required by law if you do not have employees. Some clients require to see this insurance however and may not let you onsite until it is received, so it is worth having for this purpose.

If you travel to other business premises or receive business visitors to your trading address you must obtain public liability insurance. This will protect you against claims made against you from a member of the public or a client regarding product or premises damage. This can also protect you if you damage any property when onsite with a client, which means it's important to obtain even if you do not have clients to your trading premises.

The final insurance many of our clients require is professional indemnity insurance. This is designed to protect you against any claims made by a client regarding the work you've completed for them. Again, it is not required by law but it is sensible to purchase this. Ultimately, any claim not covered by insurance could be enough to send a small business under, so it is well worth making sure you have strong cover in place should anything happen. These insurances can be obtained from insurers such as Hiscox orQdos Contractor.

Sources:

https://www.gov.uk/self-employed-national-insurance-rates

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rates-and-allowances-national-insurance-contributions

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rates-and-allowances-income-tax

[bethanydennett-blog]

OTT and Video technologies and the Broadcast job market

Written for a technical recruitment agency who recruit in the Broadcast and Media technology industries. 

We truly are living in the on-demand age. Gone are the days of kicking yourself for missing the first five minutes of your favourite show, now you can pick to watch it whenever suits you best. Over-the-top (OTT) and Streaming technologies have changed the way we consume, create and interact with content.

For most of us, this change comes in the form of being able to watch whatever content you want using the various methods available (and the ones that suit you best); including satellite, terrestrial and streaming. What effect is this having on the Broadcast Technology market, and how does it change the kind of job roles you'll be applying for?

With 12 million subscribers, Sky are the UK's biggest satellite TV provider. Perhaps one of the reasons for this is their dedication to embracing these new technologies. For example, they launched their streaming service NOW TV in 2012, and in 2013 they launched Sky Go Extra, a service allowing you to download and watch TV whenever you'd like. Utilising these new technologies and being aware of the different needs of their customers has enabled Sky to continue to charge for monthly subscriptions to their standard satellite TV services, as well as making services available for those of us who prefer to stream or download content.

With many companies increasing their focus on OTT technology areas in order to compete in the changing market place, there has been an increase in demand for technically sound candidates. These candidates are likely to be skilled in areas such as Streaming and Video as well as having more traditional Broadcast and IT skills. With those leaving more traditional Broadcast roles generally being replaced by these technical candidates, the IT and Broadcast industries are in closer competition for candidates than ever before. Traditional broadcasters have started to adapt and increase the number of avenues you can use to consume content, focussing on increasing their offerings for the 6 out of 10 people in the UK using second screens to watch TV.*

One of the best parts of our jobs is talking to candidates. During our conversations, we've heard about the routes taken to learn these technologies. Most of our candidates have learnt these skills on the job, with few learning at university, as a relatively new technology can take time to filter into course objectives. We all know how fast-paced the technology industry is, and moving with these trends can be difficult to keep up with, however we always recommend that our candidates stay up to date with the latest developments. It shows hiring managers that you are flexible and open to new ideas, as well as your motivation to keep ahead of the game.

We, of course, have to do the same. Our IT infrastructure arm was developed in 2014, in 2015 we started working with Sysadmins and DevOps, and this year we hired a recruitment consultant to specialise in the streaming and OTT market area. Yes, it's a learning curve to keep up with these new technologies, but we find that investing in the training of our consultants early in their careers means they're used to the changing market, and keen to keep up with it.

We'd love to hear how the changing industry has affected you and your career, let us know in the comments!

*http://www.marketresearchworld.net/content/view/5346/76/