Catering and hospitality is all I know. I grew up running restaurants and have always recruited in this field. I have seen a lot of changes over the last 20 + years. Agencies, like restaurants, have come and gone. itk Recruitment has held its own and exceeded where others have failed.
Here are my top tips for staying ahead in Hospitality recruitment.
1. Building a brand – It is important to have a brand in any business. Recruitment agencies are no different. A Brand is not built overnight, it takes time. A brand is built through reputation and reputation is built through trust, honesty, integrity and delivering results. Focus on these key things before marketing your business and brand.
2. Marketing your brand – Marketing your business starts with a great website. It represents you, your businesses persona and should tell your audience what type of company they are about to deal with. Your website needs to be the hub for all of your marketing. This hub is where all of your other marketing activities return to. It is your sales platform, it is where you close the deal. In the case of the hospitality recruiter, send the CV or pick up the phone to call us. These are your Call to actions triggers.
3. Social media – By now all businesses use social media in some form or another. At itk Recruitment we are no different. However, where we do differ is how we use Social media and what we do with that information. Much like your website the content you put out is key. We know that a large section of our followers on various platforms are, or have been job seekers. Even so, do they want to see feeds full of lovely jobs to apply to? No, who does? That’s what the hub is for. The content you put out must be targeted to your specific audience. It must be informative, creative, unique and fun.
4. The Candidate – Each candidate is different. Like an employee you treat each one according to their personality and skill set. Recruitment is about building relationships and that starts with the first conversation you have with the candidate. Listen to them, find out what motivates them, what makes them tick. Find out what they are really looking for. At itk Recruitment we like to meet all our candidates face to face. Not only do we then build a more personal relationship but we can really see what they are about, how they present themselves, their body language and their confidence levels in a real interview situation. We can then offer advice and coaching if needed. We can present to them our clients and advise on which ones we think they are best suited to. Many of our clients today come from us meeting them years ago and placing them as junior managers.
5. The client – The person who pays your wages! This is something we always try to remember. No matter how many jobs go internally or changing briefs. These are your customers and the customer is king. At itk Recruitment we like to build close relationships with our clients. Recruitment is not rocket science. In the end it comes down to providing a service to your customers. Like any restaurant you visit; if the product and service you receive is first class you will tell your friends and go back. Recruitment is exactly the same.
These 5 points are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to staying ahead in Hospitality recruitment.
If you are a candidate looking to work with a great Catering and Hospitality recruitment agency to help with your next career move then contact us or submit your CV here.
If you are a Hospitality business looking to work in partnership with an industry leading agency then contact us here.