The Interim Channel

 

1. Don’t try and fit a square peg in a round hole.

Our clients often have specific requirements and will make the most of the fact that there are candidates available to meet them. NHS clients like NHS experienced interims. Blue-chip clients like those from a similar culture. Central Government departments like interims with extensive OJEU knowledge. They don’t need to look outside the box. Only apply for positions where you can offer specific and relevant product, category or industry knowledge. If you have spent the last 10 years purchasing IT hardware for a telecoms company, you are unlikely to be short listed for a role procuring social services for a local authority.

 

2. Be flexible

Interims are like houses – only worth as much as someone will pay for them. Strategic level interims have been able to achieve fairly substantial rates in the last few years but the shift in the market has meant that this level of recruitment is dramatically reduced. Hands-on and operational interims may only have to reduce their rate by £50-100 per day but those who have enjoyed rates of sometimes four figures are going to have to readjust their expectations.

 

3. Network

It is often who you know and not what you know. Network with other interims. Recommendation and word of mouth goes a long way.  Establish stronger relationships with your recruitment consultants. Work closely with 2 or 3 consultancies, no more. Make sure you have met them, provided them with references, and communicate honestly with them. It is a harsh fact but recruitment consultants only get paid if they find their candidate’s jobs. It is as simple as that! When there are more candidates on the market, consultants have to be selective about who they spend time marketing and who they recommend to their clients. With so much choice out there they cannot afford to risk their reputation by supplying candidates that they cannot guarantee will do a good job. If you are registered with every consultant under the sun you are unlikely to be on anyone’s priority list. If we know you, trust you, and rate you, we will do everything possible to get you a job.

 

 

4. Consider your transferable skills

Some areas of industry are unlikely to be interim recruiters this year. If you have worked within automotive or construction for a considerable amount of time you need to think about what other industries could utilise your experience, or if you have worked with particular categories, what other organisations that would be relevant to.

 

5. Strengthen your job applications.

A good CV can make or break your application. Make sure it tells recruiters not just what you have done, but how you did it and what you have achieved. Give detail. A one liner for a 6 month assignment is not detail. Tell people why you’re good! Attach references to back up your CV. Write a supporting statement of why you are relevant for the role and give specific examples of where you have experience in that area. Make your application stand out!

 

 

No one has a crystal ball but everything points to the fact that this year is not going to be as busy for all of our interims. There will always be exceptions to this rule and some organisations will flourish in 2009 and utilise interims to the max. But, I maintain, as I always have, that good, effective interims, who are flexible, reliable and a reasonable rate, will always get assignments and will get through 2009 relatively unscathed.

 

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Filed under: Interim Management by natasha.rydlewski on Wednesday, February 25th, 2009