. 70% of survey respondents agreed that bargaining for services is now easier
. Over half said there is less pressure to “Keep up with the Joneses”
. Half of those surveyed are optimistic about the future and the majority of respondents feel that recovery will take place in early 2011

Commenting on the results Emma Henry, Marketing Manager RecruitIreland.com said;

“This survey shows how resilient we are as a nation. It is refreshing to see that people can see some positives”

However, it seems that very few can escape the impact of the recession, 81% of the jobseekers surveyed have seen their jobs impacted in some way and 33% of those surveyed have actually been made redundant.

Other key findings are as follows;

. 35% have had a reduction in salary and over half of those have also seen reduced working hours
. 31% feel that their careers are on hold for the moment, some even feel that their careers have taken a step back. According to one respondent;

“Yes, I was made redundant in my career. I had worked hard to get to where I was and now I have to take a step back about 5 years just so I can get a job!”

. 16% are taking the opportunity to invest in further training
. 14% have actually benefited from the recession through promotion as the result of a job freeze or are benefiting from increased experience through job sharing
. 8% are taking the opportunity to start their own business

“It is particularly heartening to see that our entrepreneurial spirit is still flourishing with over 8% of respondents setting up their own businesses” Commented Emma Henry

“Pressure to keep up with the Joneses, however, has been replaced with the pressure to get or keep a job and there is no downplaying the stress this can cause.

In an effort to help ease this stress a little RecruitIreland.com has been running a campaign offering free jobs advertising to all Irish employers until September. The objective is to provide a one stop shop online for jobseekers.

To date the campaign has been a great success and we now have over 450 employers supporting the campaign and advertising their job vacancies on the site.”

Did you fail to understand how to utilise Twitter?

Are job boards not really performing for you as they used to?

Is your web site combined with the traffic purchased from Google AdWords delivering candidates?

Is the Monster CV database just….

Well if you answered YES to all the above, you might be interested in the Jobs Market The Irish Recruitment Social Network.

Still in BETA, but getting there quickly!

Ireland is a nest for the recruitment sites. Obviously a very small number of the sites work well for the employers in Ireland since the market can only support a certain number. Worky is different, since it is built to be a global recruitment social networking market. Worky is in essence a LikedIN with no registered users. Or Monster with no jobs. Or both in the same time actually.

Where is the full Worky recruitment site article.

Irish Recruiters first conference: “The Future of Recruitment – Part 1: The Road Ahead”

This is the first of a two part series that will look at how technology is revolutionising the recruitment industry in Ireland and all around the world. This is a unique opportunity to bring social network, agency, job board and multi-national recruitment leaders together to talk about their particular companies and industries and give their opinions on the road that lays ahead with the recession we are currently in, the evolution of unified communication, the empowerment of individuals using social media, search engine sourcing through Google, Yahoo and Live, database mining, the expansion of cloud computing and the increasing number of business models entering the market through technical innovation.

The conference will include content on:

• Who exists in LinkedIn and how to use it effectively to recruit. How will it evolve and what is the future roadmap of the platform.
  
• What challenges the largest recruitment agency and job board in Ireland are experiencing in the current climate and their views on technology and the future of recruitment.
• How Microsoft recruits and what are some of the challenges it is currently experiencing in the global and Irish market place. As well as best case examples of sourcing, recruitment branding and the use of the Internet.
  
• How cloud computing is evolving recruitment and what skills, tools and techniques are needed to be a savvy internet recruiter.
• The future trends, techniques and technologies from around the world that are radically changing the way recruitment will be done in the future.
• Examples of Irish companies that are offering innovative recruitment products and services and connecting to job seekers in new ways.
  

On the day we have some excellent presenters contributing to the debate on what is the future of recruitment and offering very specialised views on what changes they are witnessing in their own businesses and verticals. I’m glad to say that some of the most impressive recruitment leaders in Ireland have agreed to take part. I’m hoping from them and the people who attend we will have a hugely educational and very interactive day which will allow all who come go away with a fresh new lens from which to review and improve the way technology is changing the industry.

As well as listening and learning the event will also be an excellent
opportunity for you to take part and voice your opinion by asking
questions at the end of individual presentations or during the panel
discussion.

Presenters:

Declan Fitzgerald, Global Sourcing Manager, Global Central Sourcing Team (GCST), Microsoft

Declan has over 13 years experience in HR and recruitment and is currently a recruitment evangelist and global sourcing manager in Microsoft. He currently  specialises in creating sourcing initiatives to support the companies move to distributive development in India, China, Israel, Denmark, UK and Ireland. He is the author of the Irish CyberSleuth blog and has given sourcing training to teams in Europe, Israel, China, Singapore, Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia and Australia.

Joe Ffrench, Recruitment and HR Senior Manager, Microsoft

Joe has over 15 years experience in human resources and recruitment. He manages the recruitment for Microsoft’s 1200 employees business in Ireland across a range of operations, sales & marketing and research & development disciplines.

Anne Heraty, Founder and CEO of CPL Resources PLC.

Anne is one of Ireland’s brightest recruitment minds and is CEO of CPLs recruitment agency portfolio and HR services business. She is a winner of the Ernest and Young Female Entrepreneur of the year and widely recognised as one of the most successful business women in the country.

Jane Lorigan, CEO of IrishJobs.ie

Jane has been CEO of IrishJobs.ie for over 4 years. She is a key member of the Saongroup which is an Irish company that is one of the fastest growing online recruitment companies in the world. The group has expanded quickly in the last 2 years and now has operations in the UK, USA, Canada, China, India, The Gulf, Caribbean, Central America and South Africa.

To Be Confirmed of LinkedIn

LinkedIn has agreed to fly over from the UK and take part and will be forwarding me the name of their representative soon.

Agenda

1.45 – 2.00  Registration

2.00 – 2.30  Intro - “Recruitment Darwinism. Where are we now” by Declan Fitzgerald

2.30 – 3.15  LinkedIn – “Some facts! Tips, Products and the Road Ahead” by TBC

3.15 – 4.00  CPL – “Challenges that exist and the future” by A.Hegarty

4.00 – 4.30  Break – Tea, Biscuits & Networking

4.30 – 5.15  Microsoft – “Challenges and innovation in a flat world“! By Joe Ffrench

5.15 – 6.00  Irish Jobs – “Challenges that exist and the future” by Jane Lorigan

6.00 – 6.15  Short Break

6.15 – 7.00  “Cloud Recruitment and what is an internet recruiter” by D.Fitzgerald

7.00 – 7.30  Q&A Live Mic Session

7.30 -         Finger Food & Networking

This is an invite only event for members of the Irish Recruiters LinkedIn Group. Tickets will be  reserved to 175 members and it will be a first come first served policy. In the event that the conference is cancelled a refund will be offered. No video or audio recordings can be used at the conference. If you have any questions you would like to have asked at the live mic session please send them to declanfi [at] microsoft.com. To kick off the discussion I will be asking some of the best to the panel. If interested in attending please book early to facilitate the organisation of logistics on the day. Thank you!

Of course, having surmounted that huge hurdle, the last thing you want to do is blow it. To that end, here are 10 job-interview gaffes to avoid.

1. Complaining about the parking or directions.
Don't think it doesn't happen! As cordial and happy-go-lucky as your interviewers may seem, they don't want to hear a job-seeker complain that the place was hard to find or that the parking is inconvenient. The best (that is, the worst) example of this I ever experienced as an HR person came from the candidate who said, "Seven handicapped parking spaces next to the front door? What, are you having a wheelchair convention or something?" That was a short interview.

2. Bad-mouthing your previous job, manager, or company.
If you've been laid off or suffered some other unpleasant experience at your last job, it's easy to launch into a litany of everything the old employer did wrong. Don't do it! The interviewer is bound to wonder "Will this person be bashing me behind my back on some future interview, too?" Zip it.

3. Digging into details off the bat.
The typical selection process allows plenty of time for you to learn everything you need to know about the company's dental plan, its tuition-reimbursement policy, and the size of your cubicle. Don't ask about any of these items on a first interview, when you should be focusing the conversation on the role and the organization.

4. Groveling.
Employers want to hire people who can do the jobs and who are enthusiastic about the work. What's not so appealing is the candidate whose every word and gesture conveys the message, "Hire me, I beg you!" Joblessness is no fun, but you don't help your chances of getting the nod by presenting yourself as a candidate whose most notable attribute is desperation.

5. Answering a question before you understand it.
The absolute worst answer to any interview question is the response that shows you weren't really listening. When an interviewer asks a question that requires thought, like, "Tell me about a time when you had to convince a team of people to change gears," you don't want to blurt out, "Oh, I've done that a million times!" Any "tell me about a time when" question is a question that the interviewer has chosen to elicit a specific problem/solution story from you. Take the time to think through the question and compose a thoughtful answer. A few minutes of silence in the room won't kill anybody.

6. Spacing out.
Any interviewer worth her salt will be able tell when you've zoned out. If you're wondering whether the 5:40 train will get you home in time to watch the playoff game, the interviewer will spot it in your eyes. If you're really out of it, he may throw you a curve ball like, "So, who would you say was the most effective member of Teddy Roosevelt's cabinet, and why?" Stay in the room, with your eyes either meeting the interviewer's or looking thoughtfully at the ceiling. Or your shoes.

7. Slouching.
We'll throw in tipping the chair back off its front legs, resting your head on your hand, and lacing your fingers together behind your head.

8. Cursing.
Interviewers love to put job candidates at ease. When you reach the state of ease that lets an "f-bomb" escape your lips, you've gone too far.

9. "Opening the kimono."
It's tempting to share with a sympathetic interviewer the news that this job search has been really hard, that you're not getting callbacks, and that you've already sent out 150
resumes. Don't do it. Smart job candidates put out a vibe that says, "I'm glad to be here with you and this job might be fun, but I'm a capable person who's aware of his value on the job market."

10. Doing anything disgusting.
The long list of personal gross factors includes picking one's teeth or nose, spitting, and other unmentionables that are best left to the imagination. Any of these is a sure-fire interview-killer (and can we really blame the employer for that?). One candidate asked me for a cup of water, took a sip, swished it around in his mouth, and spat into a potted plant. Niiiiiice!

Liz Ryan is a 25-year HR veteran, former Fortune 500 VP and an internationally recognized expert on careers and the new millennium workplace.
Contact Liz at liz@asklizryan.com or join the Ask Liz Ryan online community at www.asklizryan/group.
The opinions expressed in this column are solely the author's.

Before you get into that panic mode this morning, just remember what the weather was like this weekend? It was sunny and hot! Did you stay home? If you did, it was probably to watch the match!

Well job hunters are the same. Sunny weekend after a rainy week results in a huuuuge dip in the job applications. Job boards simply have far les visitors!