This is the first of these conferences that I have attended. It is also the first time I have been to the ExCel centre, and the first time I have used the Elizabeth Line (it was very impressive!) It was a sunny and warm day which showed off the riverside location to its best potential. Across the river was the dome of the 02; above the river, the IFS Cable Car to North Greenwich. So, it was worth attending, even had there not been a recruitment expo on! Also running was a conference for the cleaning industry and a week-long expo on food, hospitality and pubs. Unfortunately, there was no legitimate reason to be at the latter!

Reflections

That aside, a few things really stood out for me about Higher-ED at the Recruitment Agency Expo:

Firstly, the size and scope of the recruitment industry, the sheer number of people involved and the range of services and programmes available to companies. There were all sorts of tools, AI and otherwise, available to support our industry colleagues and ourselves. We already use some of them, and there are many more available. It shows confidence in the future of recruitment as an industry that so many new solutions are on the market.

Linked to that, secondly it reinforced to me that recruitment is a people industry. You can have all the tools and AI in the world, but nothing replaces trust and respect between the recruiter, candidate and client. As one of the presenters remarked, placing a successful candidate changes their life. I think it also really helps the Client too. Our helping to place a new starter who grows into and shines in the role – a definite win/win/win.

Thirdly, thanks to a masterclass by the inspirational Brad Shackleton, Brad gave 30 minutes of group coaching (quite a task given the size of the group) on how to frame and sell yourself to build a winning business. These principles don’t only apply to recruitment. He focused on the “5Ps” “to win new business: Passion, Proposition, Process, Productivity, Profit-ability. I was standing at the back so took limited notes. He does masterclasses so do look him up if you are interested.

I was very pleased that in his challenge to explain to the stranger on your left, in 15 seconds, to explain (1) who you are, (2) what you do, and (3) what makes you different, I found it simple to do! We’re (1) Higher-ED, (2) part of Transform-ED a group of people who work in academia who (3) use their skills to provide recruitment services based on industry experience. We can also provide coaching, mock interviews and feedback. I was pleased that the stranger next to me operated a similar model in the completely different environment of mining. (I think mining is a step too far for me – we’ll stick with HE for now and protect his market share)