How Can Recruiters Increase Their Interview to Hire Ratio

How Can Recruiters Increase Their Interview to Hire Ratio Wouldnt it be great if you could just hire the best candidate without having spend days and hours interviewing lots of prospective employee? So when should you decide who would be up for the job at application stage or during the interview? A lot of time and money is spent on interviewing and if none of them are suitable then you have to start the process all over again. Luckily our expert panel are at hand to ensure that doesnt happen. Here are their best tips. Leela Srinivasan In diagnosing opportunities to improve your interview to hire ratio, draw inspiration from your Sales and Marketing counterparts. We tend to look at conversion rates between each stage of the funnel to see where the most drop-off is occurring and why; you can do the same with your recruiting funnel. Look at the people being screened out at each stage of the funnel are there any commonalities? Do you need to tighten up requirements earlier in the process? We just published new benchmarks to help small and midsize companies understand what recruiting conversion rates are typical. Leela Srinivasan, Chief Marketing Officer at Lever. Erin Wilson Recruiters can increase their turn rates by learning more about the business, product, and teams they are working with, every day. Hiring is viewed as this static transaction. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Hiring is a dynamic alignment exercise. More like, changing the tires of a car while it’s driving. If recruiters begin understanding how specific roles function as part of an organization given the particular stage and size of a company, they can factor that into their candidate advocacy and improve throughput. Erin Wilson  is Founder and Talent Engineer at Hirepool.io Amy Volas Stop the spam for starters.   I realize we all want to save time and working from templates that aren’t personalized make our lives easier, but is absolutely the wrong way to go about recruiting.   Cut that out and you’ll see a remarkable difference. Amy Volas is  Chieftain of Avenue Talent Partners. Lars Schmidt This is an area where authentic employer branding can really help. Its not about more candidates, its about the right candidates. Dont be afraid to be radically transparent, warts and all. Turning off some candidates who can clearly see they dont align with your culture, values, work style is a good thing. It enhances recruiting efficiency and ensures youll have more pre-qualified candidates in your interview pool resulting in better ratios. Lars Schmidt  is the Founder of Amplify. Chad MacRae Adopt a strong sourcing strategy that heavily involves the hiring manager. If the hiring manager is invested with you, they’ll be invested in the hire. Understand right from the get-go what the hiring manager is looking for. Submit candidates to them within 48 hours, to confirm you’re on track. Make the manager share the post, and get involved in the actual sourcing. Ask them who they know, encourage them to work their network for referral. Get them invested. Chad MacRae is the Founder of Recruiting Social. Stacy Zapar The key to having more candidates make it through the interview funnel is a great kickoff / intake meeting. Knowing exactly what the hiring manager wants and needs is essential. (Even if the hiring manager isnt exactly sure what that is, its our job to get to the bottom of it.) We cant find the right person if were looking in the wrong place or asking the wrong questions. Push back, dig deeper, be a strategic partner, not just a glorified order taker. Oh, and preclose your candidates at every step of the process, not just after the interview when its time to prepare the offer. Have this conversation throughout the entire process to ensure that more of your offers get accepted. ? Stacy  Zapar is the Founder of Tenfold The Talent Agency. John Feldmann Recruiters can increase this ratio by ensuring underqualified candidates are eliminated prior to the interview. This can be done by spending more time optimizing job ads. Often, due to a recruiter’s busy schedule, he or she may feel pressured to post job descriptions ASAP in order to jump-start the recruiting process. However, a well-thought-out job ad (different from an HR-generated legal job description) that clearly outlines what is expected of the candidate, as well as the benefits of working at the company, will eliminate a number of unqualified candidates prior to the interview, thus saving the recruiter time in the long run. John Feldmann  is a writer for Insperity Recruiting Services. Maren Hogan I think we lose a lot of candidates when we lose our ability to engage with them. This is why I stay in touch with candidates throughout the entire process and notify them if they can expect to hear from me again or not. This not only helps weed out the less engaged candidates, but improves your employer brand. Even if you’re the best employer ever, you can mess up your chance at looking good to candidates. This will in turn spoil their perception of your company when your outreach with them during the recruitment process is lacklustre. Maren Hogan is CEO and Founder of Red Branch Media. Craig Fisher Recruiters can increase their interview to hire ratio by removing fear from the equation.   Most recruiters are afraid to ruffle feathers and ask tough questions of their hiring managers.   The reality is hiring managers are usually not good at two things: managing, and hiring.   They are in their current role because they were good at their former role.   They are not usually taught anything helpful about interviewing and hiring.   They need guidance.   They need to be asked tough questions about their projects and teams. Craig Fisher is  Head of Employer Brand, CA Technologies, and Allegis Global Solutions. Will Staney There are several things that recruiters can do to increase their hire ratio. The first, taking a look at their recruiting funnel and make sure that the process is streamlined and efficient. This means, making sure your employer brand is on point, even if it means partnering with HR to help fix what needs to be fixed. It means understanding which sources of hire are the most effective, creating an excellent candidate experience, not waiting two weeks to let a candidate know about an interview or job offer, and creating insights behind what makes the perfect hire. Then, measuring these efforts to continually refine and improve as the business, technology, and hiring market fluctuates. Will  Staney is the  Founder Principal Consultant at Proactive Talent Strategies.

Personal Branding Interview Brett Blumenthal - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Personal Branding Interview Brett Blumenthal - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Today, I spoke to Brett Blumenthal, who is the #1 Amazon bestselling author of “GET REAL” and STOP Dieting!, the founder of Sheer Balance, and a contributor to Shine from Yahoo!. In this interview, Brett talks about how she molded her personal brand with her corporate brand, how she decided on her career path, some ways to become a better performer at work, branding in the lifestyle sector and how she found her audience. Brett, what is Sheer Balance and do you feel it has become synonymous with your own brand? In 2007, I started Sheer Balance to be a resource for individuals who found it difficult to find balance in their everyday lives. I think true balance includes physical health (nutrition and fitness), mental health (stress management, relationships and work-life balance) and environmental health (how your personal environment impacts your health). It was built out of my passion for health, wellness and education, and as a result, I have poured every ounce of me into it. My brand has been interwoven into Sheer Balance from day oneand without me, the Sheer Balance brand would not have come to fruition. All of that said, Im an individual with many interests and passions and I think Brett Blumenthal as a brand expands beyond Sheer Balance alone. As a result, Im not sure I would use synonymous as much as sub-brand in describing the relationship of Sheer Balance to my brand. How did you decide on your current career path? When did everything come together for you? Dan, that is a great, yet very difficult question to answer. It was a very windy road getting me to where I am today. It all started when I was a freshman at Cornell: I discovered the mental and physical benefits of eating well and exercising. That led me to become an AFAA certified group fitness instructor. I went on to teach fitness classes for over ten years as a side hobby and job. My full-time career, however, included practicing both architecture and management consulting. I went on to get my MBA and focused in Spa Development and Brand Strategy. My goal was to combine all of my interests into one career. After graduating from Business School, I did brand strategy for lifestyle clients (spas, hotels and resorts) and found that I wasnt tapping into my real passion: wellness. That was how Sheer Balance began. It was, once again, a hobby. And it wasnt until this past March when I was given the opportunity to focus on Sheer Balance full-time. What are the top ways to better your health so you become a better performer at work? I think people tend to forget the basics. I (and Sheer Balance) stand for simplifying things in your life. The more complicated you make things, the worse off you will be. First, it will be more difficult to put things into action and second, the less you will be motivated to do so. Simplification is the most important aspect to healthy living. This especially applies to eatingthe more complicated you make healthy eating, the less likely you will be inclined to do so. That was what prompted me to write the book GET REAL and STOP Dieting! The book uses five extremely simple, fact-based rules to help you understand how to eat healthy. I take all of the fluff, the fads, the heresy, and throw them out the window. All of that junk is what people focus on, when instead, they should be focusing on very simple and basic information. My top three recommendations for becoming a better performer at work are the following: Rest: Get enough sleep7 to 8 hours is ideal. Nourish: People tend to skip meals or snacks at work. This depletes us of energy and negatively impacts our ability to focus. Eat well-balanced meals made with whole foods. Every meal should have some carbs (preferably vegetables or fruit), lean protein and healthy fats (monounsaturated or polyunsaturated Omega-3s). Further, stay hydrated. Water helps to ward off tiredness, dehydration, head-aches, and other unproductive symptoms. Move. Im not saying go to the gymIm just saying move. Most of us sit at our desks all day, moving minimally. Take a walk at lunch. Walk to work if you can. Get up during the day and move around. Moving throughout the day will keep your metabolism boosted, will help you clear your mind and will give you a bit of energy to help you perform better. Can you talk about your experience with branding in the spa, wellness and hospitality industries? The lifestyle sector and branding ARE synonymous. Really. What successful hotel, spa, restaurant or fitness club doesnt have a well-executed brand? It would be nearly impossible to find one. My branding work with the lifestyle sector included a lot of research and analysis to help clients best differentiate themselves through the experiences that we created for them. As you know, branding is about creating an experience. An experience that elicits an emotional response. I worked with hotel and resort clients, spa clients and restaurant clients to help them set the stage and effectively execute on the performance. How did you go about finding your audience? It was very organic. As a start-up, I did not have a lot of money to advertise. As a result, I spent a lot of time cultivating content partnerships with Divine Caroline, Intent and on an informal basis, Shine from Yahoo! This strategy has been tremendously successfulpropelling my traffic up to 150,000 in some months. The internet is especially challenging, yet powerful, because it is extremely competitive, but you have an amazingly broad reach. When I first set out with Sheer Balance, I assumed I would attract mostly American women, in their 30s, who were well-educated. I was right. And I was wrong. I did attract those people, but I also attracted men and women across the globe at all different ages, and at many socio-economic levels. It is fascinating how many people you can reach with a click of a button! Moving forward, however, I want to have a more direct and stronger impact with people. Since people learn differently (some learn best through reading, others through listening, others through watching and others through doing) Im looking to take my brand and Sheer Balance into other media outlets. I wrote my book, GET REAL and STOP Dieting! as a way to speak to a new audience. I launched my radio show GET REAL with Brett Blumenthal through a collaboration of DivaToolbox and Talkshoe to gain an audience who prefers to listen. Im going to start putting educational workshops/seminars together for those who learn by doing. And, Im hoping, in 20 to do more video and hopefully, link up with some opportunities in TV to get further exposure. Brett Blumenthal is the #1 Amazon bestselling author of “GET REAL” and STOP Dieting! Shes the founder of Sheer Balance, which started when she realized that many of her friends and colleagues constantly struggled with finding balance in their every day hectic lives. Brett has been in the wellness industry for over 15 years. Brett became certified as a group fitness instructor through AFAA (Aerobics and Fitness Association of America), and went on to teach for Cornell University, Gold’s Gym and Bally’s Total Fitness in New York. She taught all types of fitness classes and especially enjoyed helping her students understand fundamentals of nutrition, fitness and overall wellness. Brett writes for several online media companies, and has been featured on popular sites including: Yahoo!, Shine from Yahoo!, Divine Caroline, Intent and Gather. In 2008, Shine from Yahoo! named Brett “Woman of the Year” for her influential blogging and in 2009, Divine Caroline awarded Sheer Balance with their “Love this Site!” award within the Body and Soul Category.

INTERVIEW WARNING Dont Say (or Do!) Anything Stupid! - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

INTERVIEW WARNING Dont Say (or Do!) Anything Stupid! - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Who among us has never said or done something so ill-advised (read: STUPID!) that we wish we could immediately take it back? A very human occurrence, unfortunately. And in most circumstances the backlash from our words or actions is usually limited to brief embarrassment and chagrin. Not so when it comes to a job interview, though. Putting your mouth in gear before completely engaging your brain during a job interview, or taking (or failing to take) certain actions canâ€"and quite often doesâ€"result in being summarily dismissed from further consideration. Let me give you some recent, real examples of what I’m talking about here. The ‘Insensitive’ Candidate Today, most people are highly sensitive to both implicit and explicit “categorization” based upon nothing more than, at worst, latent prejudices, or at best, just extremely poor judgment in word choices. Detractors usually refer to this as “political correctness,” of course. Realists understand that it’s simply a matter of all of us wanting and deserving respect as human beings. Here is a case in point. During the warm-up phase of a job interview, which took place just before Christmas, a candidate (a man) was engaging in small talk with the hiring manager (a woman). The hiring manager commented that she had more presents for one of her children than for another. She said that she therefore had to get additional presents to even out the number of presents between the two children. Here is how the candidate responded to that comment: “You just feel that way because you’re a woman. Women are always more sensitive to that sort of thing than men.” An “innocent” response? Perhaps. An extremely ill-advised response because it at least implied a sexist attitude on the part of the candidate? Absolutely. The result? The candidate was eliminated from further consideration because he was deemed to be too “insensitive.” Now, I know what some of you (particularly some of you men) who are reading this post are probably thinking: This woman (the hiring manager) is the one with the “sensitivity” problem! She was being too sensitive, too “touchy.” Maybe, but probably not. Historically, women have experiencedâ€"and continue to experienceâ€"inequalities, and oftentimes, gross inequalities, in the workplace. In my opinion, the fact that women have become much more sensitized and resistant to being categorized solely on the basis of gender should not be surprising, it should be expected! The Flippant Candidate There is certainly nothing wrong with a candidate employing humor to make a good first impression during a job interview. As a matter of fact, the use of humor by a candidate during an interview can be very effective. But, in order for it to be effective, the candidate must ensure that his or her statements are perceived as being humorous by the hiring manager. Plus, it must be introduced at the appropriate times, in the proper tone and in the proper context. Otherwise, an attempt at humor can easily come across asâ€"and be perceived asâ€"mere flippancy. The result usually will not be laughable. Another case in point: As the job interview was winding down, the candidate was asked this rather common end-of-interview question: “Where do you see yourself in, say, five years?” Unbelievably, here was the candidate’s deadpan, one-word answer: “Retired.” Ironically, if the candidate had followed this inane statement with a laugh, or even a comment such as, “just kidding,” he might have been able to salvage his candidacy. But he didn’t, and as a result, his comment was perceived by the hiring manager as flippant and his attitude as being haughty and lacking the necessary degree of seriousness the hiring manager sought in a successful candidate. The ‘Prima Donna’ Candidate Few people can easily tolerate someone with a “prima donna” or a “playing hard-to-get” personality. That goes at least DOUBLE when it comes to a job candidate. I mean, after all, if you were hiring someone, would you seriously consider a person with such a personality? Let me assure you, hiring managers definitely do not and will not! Here is the final case in point. This fortunate candidate actually had an offer on the table for the position she sought. No immediate response or reaction to the offer. And after five days . . . still no response or reaction to the offer! What’s up? the company inquired of the candidate. Did you in fact receive the offer? Well, yes, the candidate responded, she did indeed receive the offer. Her explanation for the unusual delay in responding? “I am still mulling it over,” she said. Not surprisingly, the hiring manager, who was somewhat desperate to fill the position, said she was “dumbfounded” and not just a little “flabbergasted” by the candidate’s action, or more precisely, her inaction. If the candidate felt she needed more time to fully consider the offer, she should have at least have requested that time shortly after receiving the offer, the hiring manager said. Certainly, a reasonable expectation. The result of the candidate’s waffling? The offer was summarily rescinded and the job candidate was immediately back to square one in the job hunt. All quite unnecessary and all quite avoidable, if the candidate had just acted more professionally. Unfortunately, the three examples featured in this post of how candidates are sometimes their own worst enemies during a job interview are hardly isolated incidents. Most hiring professionals can tell similar (an even more outrageous!) stories of how otherwise intelligent, highly qualified men and women sometimes seem to go out of their way to undermine their own career success. Cowboys in the Arizona Desert Sort of reminds me of the story of two cowboys leisurely riding their horses through the Arizona desert. Suddenly, one of the cowboys leaps from his horse and lands in a giant cactus. The other cowboy stops, takes off his hat, scratches his head and asks, “Now, why in the world did you do that?!” Struggling to free himself from the cactus upon which he was impaled, the cowboy responded, “I don’t honestly know. It just seemed like a good idea at the time.” Ooooo. . . K. ________________ Check out Career Stalled? How to Get YOUR Career Back in HIGH Gear and Land the Job You Deserveâ€"Your DREAM Job!, Skip’s latest book in the “Headhunter” Hiring Secrets Series of Career Development/Management Publications. Available NOW in paperback and Kindle editions on Amazon.com, at special introductory prices! (Kindle edition FREE with Amazon Kindle Unlimited membership.) Going on a job interview soon? Know someone who is? Download Skips FREEHow to ACE the Job Interview! publication by clicking HERE. Learn how to interview the way Superstars do!

Infographic What Do Graduates Really Think

Infographic What Do Graduates Really Think Totaljobs have very kindly put together this infographic from a survey they did on a large database of graduate jobseekers. Across the board, the majority of graduates wouldn’t have gone to university if their financial backing hadnt been there and the current fee had been increased, which raises some interesting points about the future of universities in this country. This is interesting, since the infographic was made before the fee rise to £9000. 0

How To Exploit the New LinkedIn for Best SEO - Executive Career Brandâ„¢

How To Exploit the New for Best SEO Take Advantage of the New User Interface To Draw More People To Your Profile Take Advantage of the New User Interface To Draw More People To Your Profile Have you taken a close look at whats happened to the very top section of your profile, with the latest User Interface? If youre actively searching for executive jobs, you need to pay attention, and adapt, to the subtle changes in how your profile content is displayed. Some things aren’t where they used to be. With a few adjustments, you can boost profile views and up your chances of being found by executive recruiters and employers looking for candidates like you. Hows the New Different From the Old One? Heres what youll see in that first profile block â€" without clicking “See more” â€" if you have added this information: Your photo Your professional headline Your current or most recent employer Your most recent education experience Your location Your number of connections The first two sentences of your Summary section What is SEO and Why Should I Care? Lets talk a little about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and job search. When recruiters and hiring decision makers source candidates, they search using relevant keywords and phrases, such as “Information Technology Executive, Enterprise Business Systems”. When your profile and other web pages associated with you contain enough of these keywords, those pages are more likely to rise to the top of search results. More keywords = better searchability or SEO The right keywords typically represent your key areas of expertise or skills, aligned with the areas of expertise the employer is looking for. As youre researching each of your target companies, youll identify the most important keywords to use in your profile and other online communications. But don’t just focus on SEO.  Remember that human beings are reading your profile, too. The content needs to appeal to them and search engines, and it needs to differentiate the value you offer the employers you’re targeting, over your job-seeking competitors. The differentiating piece is all about personal branding â€" linking your hard skills with soft skills, and giving an indication of your personality. More in my post, How Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Impacts Executive Job Search. How Can I Take Advantage of the New ? Now, lets look at each of the components in the first block of your profile, and discuss how to best leverage each one to boost your profiles visibility and findability: Profile Photo Discussions persist over whether including your photo can cause people to discriminate against you. My c-level executive clients â€" typically over 50 years of age â€" are understandably worried that they’ll suffer from age discrimination. You may have other valid reasons not to include a photo â€" concerns about your appearance, racial discrimination â€" but I encourage you to include one. The benefits far outweigh the pitfalls. People connect easier and believe content more when it’s accompanied by the author’s photo. They’re more likely to reach out to someone when they can “see” the person. Your photo helps to personalize and humanize your brand-driven content. NOT having a photo can sabotage your profiles SEO. Research indicates that profiles with pictures are much more likely to be viewed than those without. More in my post, Personal Branding and Your Profile Photo. Professional Headline If you haven’t changed the default headline automatically populated for that spot, based on the information you’ve completed for your most recent job, here’s what your headline looks like: CEO â€" [Current Company] Improving your headline doesn’t mean loading it with anemic phrases like “results-oriented”, “hands-on” and “forward-thinking”. Instead, create something like this: CEO, COO, President â€" Global Manufacturing Turnaround Management â€" Lean | JIT | Demand Flow Technology Get the idea? You can pack quite an SEO punch with the 120 characters and spaces allowed in the headline. Use as many of the characters as you can, while keeping the headline comprehensible. More in my post, 3 BIG Mistakes That Screw Up Your Professional Headline. Your Current or Most Recent Employer Your Most Recent Education Experience These two pieces are obvious. They’ll be picked up from the most recently dated information you added in the Experience and Education sections. Your Location This one is pretty obvious, too, but if you’re planning to relocate, you may want to use your new location here. Research shows that employers and hiring managers are more attracted to candidates within their own geographic area. Just be sure that your resume and other job search materials are consistent. You can state your situation when you speak with people. Your Number of Connections Once you reach the 500+ connections mark, your profile ranks higher in search results, making you more visible and findable. The only way to increase this number â€" to push it up  to at least 500 â€" is by being invited to connect with other members, or inviting others to connect with you. More in my posts: How Many Connections Are Good For Executive Job Search? How to Customize Invitations to Connect Summary Section A total of 2,000 characters and spaces are allowed for this section, but the first two sentences â€" about 225 characters and spaces â€" are visible without clicking “See more”. The Summary now sits higher on the page than it used to, so keywords, especially towards the top of this section, will be more important to search engines. Aside from SEO impact, those first two sentences of your Summary section are highly visible to human eyeballs. Think about how you can draw people in with that initial content, while still paying attention to SEO. Entice them to click “See more”, so they’ll read your entire Summary. And a strong Summary section will entice them to read every section of your profile, down to the bottom. For instance, here’s the visible lead-in to my Summary: Do you need help understanding, preparing for and navigating the new world of executive job search? Cant figure out why your job search is taking so long? Having trouble writing a value-driven profile, executive resume, You can see that it’s a call-to-action, but contains several of my most relevant keywords and phrases. Executive Job Search and Personal Branding Help Need help with personal branding, your profile, resume and biography, and getting your executive job search on track . . . to land  a great-fit new gig? Take a look at the services I offer, how my process works and what differentiates my value-offer . . . then get in touch with me and well get the ball rolling. 00 0

Police Call Handler Assessment How To Pass And What To Look For

Police Call Handler Assessment How To Pass And What To Look For The selection process for becoming a police call handler is extremely tough. Call handling for the police is not something that just anyone can do. It takes a special type of person, and for this reason, candidates must undergo a rigorous assessment process. In this blog, we’ll explain to you all about the role of a police call handler, and how to get a job working as one.What is a Police call handler?When most people think of the police, they imagine men in blue uniforms, patrolling the streets or areas such as train stations. However, there is much more to police work than working on the front line. There are many more opportunities open to potential candidates considering a career in the police force, including: administrative roles, finance, human resources, call handling positions, data analysts and even librarians. The role of a call handler is pretty tough. You must be the type of person who relishes a challenge, and is willing to work hard and adapt to the requirements of t he role.So, what does a call handler do? In a nutshell, a police call handler is responsible for dealing with emergency and high priority calls for police assistance. It is estimated that around 80,000 emergency calls are made within the UK every single day. The role of a call handler is a wide and varied position, comprising early, late and night shifts. It is a twenty-four hour a day, seven days a week role, throughout the year.Call Handlers are required to handle large volumes of telephone calls, obtain and record accurate information, assess the situation and level of police response required and initiate the appropriate police action as rapidly as possible.Often they may be required to handle several emergency situations simultaneously, all of it taking place within the confines of an intensely pressured environment. Every time you respond to a telephone call, it’s impossible to predict what type of call you will be responding to.A police call handler is the lynchpin in commu nication between the police force and the general public. It is a highly demanding, highly stressful position yet can also be extremely rewarding. You will deal with calls from the tedious to the deadly serious on a daily basis. It is certainly not your standard nine to five job, nor is it for the fainthearted. From people being mugged to someone complaining about their neighbour’s dog, no two days will ever be the same.To put the significance of the role within context, the Metropolitan Police Force alone covers an area of 620 square miles and a population of 7.2 million. On a typical day, call handlers working for the Metropolitan Police can be expected to handle around 6,000 emergency calls alone. The number of non-emergency calls can also reach 15,000 every day. That is every day of the year!That’s not the end of the story of course. The level of emergency calls increases dramatically during summer and can reach peaks of around 10,000 calls every day. Equally, Thames Valley Police receives 6,500 emergency (999) calls and 21,000 non-emergency calls (101) every week. If we haven’t completely deterred you, then read on!One thing you can be sure of with this position, however, is the ability to give something back to your local community. As a call handler you have the opportunity to make a significant contribution towards improving the safety of the local community. You will be helping to make the world a safer place for your family, friends, neighbours and your local community in this vital role.Perhaps you know colleagues or friends who have been burgled or mugged? Perhaps you have even been the victim of a burglary or violence yourself. If you called the emergency services you would no doubt have been put through to a 999 call handler. Do you remember how they responded to your distress? Were they helpful, patient and reassuring? That could be you! If you are seeking a worthwhile role that contributes positively to your local community and society as a whole, then this certainly fits the bill.  The Police Call Handler Assessment ProcessAn Assessment Centre is a frequently used recruitment technique which will assess your suitability for a police call handler’s role through a variety of different exercises.Assessment Centres are frequently used by public sector employers and often in graduate recruitment or for roles that require a high level of team work and interaction with others. The call handler’s role falls into all three of these categories.For those of you who have not attended an assessment centre before, the following information will enable you to understand what will be expected of you on the day. If you have attended Assessment Centres for previous vacancies during your career, please do not disregard this vital section or become complacent.Testing at the Assessment CentrePolice recruitment tests carried out at Assessment Centres are often referred to as PIRT â€" Police Initial Recruitment Tests â€" or sometimes as PIR. Assessment Centres incorporate a number of tests and will vary depending on each police force.Each Assessment Centre should, however, include the following:Informal time to give you the opportunity to introduce yourself to other candidates being tested on the day. You may have the opportunity to meet with other members of the police force but this may not be the case. Public sector and police force assessments vary significantly from those run by private companies and are often much more formal.Briefing sessions â€" You should be given an introduction to inform you what the day is about, together with the opportunity to ask any relevant questions.A series of tests which we have provided more information on below. These tests are intended to assess you against a variety of competencies, all of which are relevant for the position. Candidates will normally be divided into groups and rotated around the various tests.Assessments for the role will vary with each police force but will usually take up to half a day and comprise a number of different tests. These may include group exercises, role play, numeracy and literacy tests through to the interview itself.We have detailed the most common tests and the skills they assess below:Literacy Tests â€" to test basic grammar and word interpretation etc.Numeracy Tests â€" this will include some mental arithmeticTyping Tests â€" which will assess both speed and accuracySoftware tests â€" to assess your ability with Windows based applications.Geography Tests â€" to assess your knowledge of the local area that you will be dealing with.Recorded Calls â€" which will test your ability to quickly extract information ranging from addresses, names of callers, etc. These will assess your listening ability coupled with your attention to detail and typing speeds.Group Exercises â€" assessing how you respond to working within a team.Role Play â€" there may be more than one assessment of role play. This will probably take the f orm of a caller reporting a crime such as a witnessing of a burglary or mugging. Here you will be required to note the critical information, such as, the number of offenders, their description, what car they were driving and the time of the offence. The role play aspect is particularly important as you will also need to demonstrate your ability to gain control of a distressed caller.Below we’ve listed some top tips for passing some of these assessments! For more tips, make sure you check out our fantastic guide!Literacy and Numeracy TestsYou can prepare for numeracy and literacy tests fairly easily through improving your ability to recognise word patterns and number patterns.You may wish to try some of the following prior to the Assessment Centre day:Attempt a few word or number puzzles such as Sudoku. It is ideal for those wanting to improve their ability to rapidly identify patterns in numbers.If you ever needed a reason to spend a lazy weekend morning with the cryptic crossword then here is your opportunity. Similarly, games like Trivial Pursuit andHangman will also help you in improving your mental ability.Mental arithmetic is often difficult for those of us who habitually use calculators. One easy way of making a start on improving your mental agility with numbers is to add up the cost of the items in your trolley the next time you visit your local supermarket.Go back to basics. When it comes to Maths, the numerical tests carried out for the police call handler’s role will be no higher than basic GCSE standard but if you haven’t studied for a while consider revising some of those basics. You may find that practicing mental Maths and carrying out a selection of exercises in a literacy workbook will help you to clear out those mental cobwebs.Check your spelling and your grammar to ensure it’s up to scratch. You’ll find numerous websites that will provide you with details of words that are often spelt wrongly. Misplaced apostrophes are another issu e; learn to differentiate between the correct use of ‘it’s’ and ‘its’ if you can’t already.As you read newspapers and magazines in the week prior to the Assessment Centre, try and avoid simply scanning through and picking out the parts you wantto read. Consider the meaning of words as you read through the articles. Literacy tests are again fairly basic but the more prepared you are, the less anxious youwill be on the Assessment Day.Role PlayRole play exercises are daunting experiences, particularly when carried out under close observation. They may be used in group exercise situations but more often than not are also carried out with an observer present who will assess your response to the scenario.The role play exercises will often depict a real life situation. While you will be given comprehensive information on the role you will play, you will not have much time to prepare and it may often be a case of walking through a door into a room and being presented with your â €˜character’.Call handler testsCall handlers have to deal with a wide range of callers, some of whom may be frightened, angry and distressed. If your application is successful, you’ll be askedto attend one of our assessment day tests where they will assess your ability to handle these types of calls and obtain the information our police officers need.The test that forms part of the assessment day is broken up into two parts, as follows:Test 1: Audio typingFor this test you will listen to a recorded 999 call and type up as much of the information you hear as possible. To pass the live test you will need to achieve an average typing speed of around 30 words per minute. You don’t need to type wordfor word but you must cover all the relevant and important information and everything you type must make sense â€" this includes correct use of spelling and grammar.Test 2: Call handling role playThe next test on your assessment day is a role-play to determine how well you deal with a li ve-call situation. You will field calls from assessment centre staff and be marked on how well you manage the call. This will include:Calming the caller if they are distressedQuestioning the caller about the incident to obtain and record important informationEnsuring you obtain and note the caller’s name, address and phone numberThese assessments are only designed to test if you have the potential to be a call handler. This is a highly skilled role and, if you’re successful, you’ll be given all the training you need to begin this challenging and rewarding career.Four Tips For Handling Police Call Handler Role PlayTo reduce anxiety about role play the following tips may help:Focus on the scenario â€" What would you do if you were a Store Manager trying to calm down a distressed parent, for example? How would you deal with the parent by taking rapid steps to find the lost child?Be prepared to be ‘dropped in at the deep end’ â€" You may quite literally walk into a room and ha ve the role thrust upon you with only a few minutes to prepare.Be yourself â€" Respond as you would in any stressful situation. You will be constantly dealing with distressed members of the public in your new role so try and imagine you have actually been appointed to the job of a police call handler during your role play, particularly during the telephone tests.Try and relax â€" Role play can give you more of an opportunity to demonstrate your suitability for the position than other types of assessment such as competency interviews and psychometric tests. Make the most of it. Remember that every other candidate will be equally as nervous as you. Preparation is the key, the more you have prepared and the more confident you feel, the more you will be able to be yourself.The InterviewDuring the call handler assessment interview you will get asked a series of questions that will assess your suitability for the post. It is important to note that you MUST provide EVIDENCE of where you me et the assessable competencies that form part of the job description. This can be achieved by responding to the interview questions using the STAR method.Now let’s take a look at a sample interview question and response. You’ll find much more of these in our fantastic guide! Sample Question Q. Tell us why you want to become a police call handler?Sample response “I have worked in my current role now for a number of years. I have an excellent employer and enjoy working for them but unfortunately no longer find my job challenging. I understand that the role of a police call handler is both demanding and rewarding and I believe I have the qualities to thrive in such an environment. I love working under pressure, working as part of a team that is diverse in nature and helping people in difficult situations. The public expectations of the police are very high and I believe I have the right qualities to help the police deliver the right service to the community by becoming a highly c ompetent call handlerI have studied the qualities and competencies required for the role and believe that I have the skills to match them and deliver what they require.”Top tips:Don’t be negative about your current or previous employer.Be positive, enthusiastic and upbeat in your response.Make reference to the qualities and competencies if possible. This entry was posted in Police, Career Advice. Bookmark the permalink. Jordan Cooke Police Recruitment Scotland: Police Exam Study GuideGCSE French Revision Resources â€" Free Downloads

How to Make a Resume For Free

How to Make a Resume For FreeIf you want to learn how to make a resume for free, then this article is right for you. There are hundreds of websites that will help you make a resume for free. You can find all of these on the internet. However, not all of them will be good at helping you.For example, some sites may have some freebies, but they will also have outdated information and outdated files. This is the most common problem that people face when trying to make a resume for free. You will need to pay to get updated information, or updated files. If you are not careful, you will end up getting the information that you need, but you may also be wasting your time as well.So, if you do want to make a resume for free, be aware of these things and avoid these sites. You want to make sure that the site that you go to is one that is updated on a regular basis. Another thing that you want to be aware of is the quality of the information.Some sites will tell you about their freebies, but yo u will have to pay for all of the updates. It will cost you for even the basics. For example, you will have to pay for the graphics that are needed in your resume. It is just a waste of time for you to be wasting money for something that you can get for free.This does not mean that you have to skip making a resume for free. Instead, you just want to look for a place that you can easily download the files. You want to be able to download a resume from a computer, and you want to be able to download it fast.You do not want to be stuck waiting on the resume for days or weeks, which will only make you frustrated. You will be better off making a resume for free, but it does not mean that you have to settle for the first one that you find. You want to take the time to make sure that the file that you are going to use is right for you. You want to use a resume that will help you with your future employment opportunities. You want to make sure that you know everything that you need to know about your future career.You should not have to make a resume for free, but you do have to be patient. If you wait too long, you will end up spending more time than you need to. You should spend some time learning about the type of resume that you need to make, as well as the type of file that you need to make.Once you are able to figure out what you want to do, you can contact a professional resume editor. They will help you with all of the information that you need to have included in your resume. Then, you will know that you will have everything that you need to be successful when it comes to your future career.