Mid Weight / Senior Web Solutions Developer JOB

Classic ASP (VB), CSS, XHTML, open source / commercial .NET CMS solutions Developer with substantial experience in a commercial digital agency is needed to join a talented team of Developers. As a mid/senior weight developer you will demonstrate good leadership skills, be highly motivated and be able to mentor others along with being able to work as part of a team. 

Experience of producing web-based solutions in a commercial agency environment for 3 years or more is a must.  It is expected that you will show a portfolio of your work (with a focus on elegant solutions not design) and be able to demonstrate areas of the code both in terms of user-interaction and back-end complexity.

Technically, to be considered;

• Minimum 3 years’ experience with Classic ASP (VB), including MSSQL, and object oriented implementation.
• 3+ years of commercial experience with CSS and XHTML/HTML5 – including template coding from designs
• 2+ years’ experience of working with open source or commercial .NET CMS solutions
• Have at least 2 years commercial experience with advanced level Javascript, DOM manipulation, XML HTTP and Object Oriented methods
• Highly experienced in writing complex SQL statements and queries
• Full understanding of standards and accessibility compliance

A bonus would be;

• Able to code for both .Net Frameworks and PHP platforms/languages
• Familiarity with web associated technologies (Flash/ActionScript, Java etc, Apache rewrite etc.

For full job details please see: http://www.e-recruitmentbuddy.com/job/show/459

350 applications, 1 role, 7 days!

Obviously reading the latest official jobless figures today, showing that unemployment is continuing to rise - and is now at its highest level for 17 years - made us think about some of our advertising campaigns & the sheer volume of applications we receive. Youth unemployment has also increased, with more than a million now out of work. The latest jobless figures show that the number of unemployed 16 to 24-year-olds had broken the one-million barrier, rising to 1.016 million, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

We have recently been asked to run a Fixed Fee Recruitment campaign for a Marketing Administrator role within a premier law firm. The advert stated these rare words “The role would be an ideal first job for an ambitious 'A' level or degree level graduate or a placement student with a desire to join a professional and service focused Marketing and Business Development team”

As you can imagine, we were inundated with applications for this role (an average of 50 a day for the 1^st 7 days of advertising) – many of whom were probably already visualising themselves sitting at that very desk fulfilling the role! This always makes our job a lot harder when we have to reject them and they don’t understand/think they are perfect. We were also surprised that at least 50% of candidates applying had a wealth of administration experience (3-5 years +), considering the salary on offer and the way the advert was written, many of these we would have to reject too. The client has been able to literally cherry pick the most suitable candidates and will be interviewing & hiring soon, which is great news for them.

I was also listening to Radio 5 live this morning with Victoria Derbyshire and a couple of the phone-in’s were expressing their pure frustration when applying for jobs (they were experienced candidates and couldn’t understand why employers were not moving forward with them, thinking they would get ‘more candidate for their buck’ rather than a more junior candidate. Victoria agreed saying that it was “short-sighted of employers” and that it was “highly unlikely that a candidate would leave after 6 months” when they get a better offer.

It isn’t short-sighted of an employer/recruiter to not select the more experienced candidate, it is based on a) previous similar experience of hires leaving for a better offer and b) they obviously know the type of candidate they want for that role and when in a position to pick & choose, then they will do!

If you are an employer and want help in dealing with recruitment administration / direct advertising recruitment campaigns then we’d love to hear from you J

The Apprentice – countdown to Sir Alan Sugar’s next business partner!

In the penultimate episode of The Apprentice last night we witnessed some classic scenes & ‘one-liners’. Whilst we may laugh at the screen and insist we’d never make those blunders, I am sure we can all actually learn from the contestants and make sure when going for an interview or applying for a job that we thoroughly research the company/role and get our facts right when questioned, rather than blagging the figures like Jim so embarrassingly did last night:-

- So 60 people spending £7 each - what have you got? £4200 ... mmm, try again £4800. NOOOOO!! Jim (‘macho nacho man’) should have been prepared for this question, its basic business acumen, but as he wasn’t he completely made it up and as a result looked like an idiot. Know your figures inside out before you go into an interview for any role that requires such experience!!

- Columbus didn’t discover the potato and he wasn’t British, he was Italian!! I am surprised this wasn’t picked up in the boardroom, just for a laugh. Get your facts right before making such claims!

- "What does Caracas mean?" "I dunno, but it sounds like 'maracas'. "Maracas are Mexican." Maracas are Spanish. Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, not in Mexico – nice one guys!! Another huge blunder, I appreciate they are really under pressure with these tasks and certainly some of what they achieve is incredible in such a short space of time, but this is their brand name & was a sloppy oversight.

Sir Alan Sugar added to the fun last night throwing in about his degree in first aid (!!??) and that the food served up by Jim’s team resembled something that his Son’s dog would puke up!!

Really looking forward to next week’s episode where their business plans will be ripped apart by Sir Alan’s team and the ultimate winner will be crowned. Mmm, who will it be?

Stop & think before you press send!!

This is just a very brief blog post as I am up to my neck in Job Applications today! Over the last 3 days I have seen some sloppy approaches to applying for jobs and simply wanted to share a few of the errors with you;

- Sending a covering letter for a role that has not been changed since your previous application, therefore displaying a completely different job title & in some cases the company, to which you are applying. This is not acceptable and would usually, unless you truly tick all the boxes, would be immediately rejected. The role in question this week was for a PHP Web Developer, the candidate said he was applying for a ‘Graduate Analyst’ role!!

- I have seen a number of CVs this week that are in excess of 5 pages, this is complete madness – you are not writing an autobiography – it’s an overview of your career, keep it short & relevant (2 pages are ideal).

- When a job advert asks for 2 years minimum experience, for eg, in a certain sector, don’t apply for the role with NO experience!! If you have a very valid reason which you believe makes you suitable, without meeting their specification, then at the very least explain that in a covering letter/email.

- Also – I am not a mind reader! Please don’t send an email to a recruiter/potential employer with just your CV attached – with no job ref, no covering email, no words at all – mmm, strikes me that you are too lazy to say anything or so confident in your experience that you are assuming we know what you’re applying for!! We don’t L

Please stop and think before you send your application, it’s the 1^st few minutes of an employer reading your details when the decision will be made regarding whether to progress with your application.

That’s it for now but if you need help with writing your CV and/or Covering Letter then please get in touch with a CV Consultant at our sister company e-cv-buddy J

Back to the real world ....

Where the heck have the last 7 months gone? Edith started nursery today

(pic to show she really was quite happy about it!) and my maternity leave is 'officially' over. Running my own business does mean that actually i've been keeping things going and doing some work since she was born, but now I have some serious work to do.

I'm very excited about e-recruitment buddy's plans for 2011 and look forward to sharing them with you as they unfold. In the meantime, our fixed fee recruitment model is consistently sourcing top quality candidates for our clients.

New edition to e-recruitment buddy!!

Delighted to announce the safe arrival of my gorgeous daughter - Edith May - on the 1st July. She isnt much help in the business so far, apart from being a good girl and sleeping a lot during the day, allowing me to still do some work!!

Her big brothers - Louis, Ollie and Archie - are all happy to have a little sister.

10 Questions Every Employer Should Ask a Job Board

According to Whatjobsite there are 10 simple questions to ask a job-board before making a decision to use it;
1: Who uses your site?

This is the most important question you can ask. If you are looking to find a 'Sales Manager ' then you should ensure that the job board covers sales manager jobs and make sure there are a good number of those types of jobs on the site. Ask the job board how many jobs like yours are on the site and how many other direct employers are advertising. All job boards will have lots of recruitment agency jobs but having real employers advertising is often a sign of a quality site.

2: How many people use your site?

The key to successful job board recruitment is getting lots of relevant people looking at your ad. That is, to get applicants for your job you're going to need lots of eye balls looking at your ad. No eyeballs means no new employees for you. So, before you choose to advertise on a job board find out how popular the site is.

Job boards will usually answer this question by quoting internet statistics like Unique users, Visits, or Applications. Whatjobsite cover online statistics in detail in our guide 'An introduction to statistics for recruiters'

3: What kind of response can I expect for my job?

Each job ad is different and the performance of each advert is unpredictable. But your job board should be able to give you a rough idea of how your job will perform. They will have historical records of job applications. So even if they can't tell you exactly how your particular job will perform, they should be able to tell you how similar jobs have done in the past. Find out how many average views or applications you can expect.

4: How much does it cost to post a job and what do I get?

Get the price and be sure about exactly what you are getting. For example, on some job boards job adverts last 1 month (which is the duration whatjobsite would recommend) while on others they last only a week; some job boards allow you to have your logo while others charge extra for this; some job boards allow you to edit your job ad after it has gone live, while others don't. Some job boards will include a CV search as part of the advertising while others won't. Find out exactly what you get in the job posting package.

5: Is there Account Management?

Many job boards allow you to post a job yourself online with a credit card. Often, this is the cheapest way of advertising the job. However, whatjobsite would always recommend paying a little more and opting for an account managed service. If you are new to job board advertising, your account manager's expertise will be invaluable. They will be able to help you with your ad, check that it is okay, optimize the keywords, make a number of suggestions, help you when things go wrong, and give you an idea of the market. It's worth availing of this expertise when you are hiring.

6: What other products does the job board offer?

Posting a classified job advert on a job board is popular among employers, but it is not the only product that job boards offer employers. For example, you may be able to enhance your advertising with banner or button display advertising, targeted emails, home page logo buttons. And, as we said above, many job boards will also allow you to search their CV database for relevant candidates. Find out what other products and services the job board offers that might help you in your online recruitment.

7: What deals are on offer?

It's always worth asking what special offers job boards are running or what deals they will do for you. All job boards are eager for your business and they may be willing to do a deal to get your business. And be sure to check the whatjobsite Recruiter Discount for exclusive offers.

8: Who are your competitors?

You are asking the job board this question so that you will get the names of other job boards to talk to. Many times sales people will say that they really don't have any direct competitors. Obviously, that is seldom true. There are over a thousand job boards in the UK alone, so everybody has a competitor. When you get the names of some competitors, talk to them too. Doing so will give you a better idea of what job site is the best for your job ad.

9: Who is behind your job board?

In recent years many recruitment agencies have set up job boards. We at whatjobsite don't see anything wrong with this if it's made clear that the job board is owned and operated by a recruitment agency. Unfortunately, the relationship between the job board and the recruitment agency can be unclear or, in some cases, deceptive. Is the job board really a job board or is it, rather, simply trying to attract employers and candidates that can be used in the recruitment agency businesses. If there is any hesitation or evasion from the job board in this matter, stay well away.

10: Testimonials

As with any service you are buying, ask for testimonials. Do a search and see if there are reviews of the site. That said, if you have found the site on whatjobsite then you can feel secure that we have done a lot of the due diligence for you. Every job board that we profile in our search results has been checked and verified. It's one less thing for you to worry about. Make sure the testimonials are up-to-date and relevant to your recruitment requirement.

Original Article: WhatJobsite