Sarah Diamond has worked within the recruitment industry for over 10 years now, and has recently branched out on her own to establish Diamond Recruitment.

We’ve invited her to our ‘ask a recruitment specialist’ panel and asked five job seekers to pose the questions they would like to know the answer to.

Question 1

Are there going to be more jobs in 2013?

Yes, most definitely. The outlook at the minute for the UK jobs market is really optimistic. Hays (one of the biggest recruiters in the UK) saw its fees grow in the fourth quarter for the first time in two years. This is really excellent news. Also, the number of people claiming ‘Jobseeker’s Allowance’ dropped by over 20,000 in June this year, leaving the overall numbers at 1.48 million [people claiming unemployment benefits], this is the first time it’s been under 1.5 million in nearly three years.

Question 2

What’s the best medium for applying for a job?

This is a difficult question, and one I could probably talk about for hours, as it all depends on circumstance. Firstly, I think it depends on the position you are applying for, for example if you are applying for a job as a senior financial consultant, I would recommend you definitely sign up with specialist recruitment agency, such as Hillman Saunders, who specialise in financial and insurance placements.

Alternatively, if you’re looking for a job within a creative industry, jobsites usually hold a high amount of competition. For this, I would suggest that you approach the company direct; the personal touch is most definitely the best approach.

Personally, I would recommend a multi-medium approach. As they say, never put all your eggs in to one basket. So touch base online, network on social, give the MD a phone call and drop your CV in personally. You can’t go wrong with this approach.

Question 3

What’s the most common interview mistake?

There are a couple of mistakes that are a massive ‘no no’ for me when it comes to interviews and they are both unbelievably simple. The first is lateness, if you can’t be bothered to turn up on time for an interview then it doesn’t look good for the everyday job, does it. There should be no excuse for turning up late for an interview.

The second is lack of preparation, interviews are nerve-racking, everybody knows this. But there is a difference between being nervous, and completely unprepared. There are hundreds of books, blogs, even talks on YouTube, about the sorts of questions you will be asked. So do your homework and prepare your answers, no interviewer likes to put you on the spot or make you feel uncomfortable, but this is exactly what will happen if you’re unprepared.

Question 4

What is currently the biggest growing industry?

There are a few industries that look set to create thousands of jobs throughout the UK, recycling being one of them. The recycling industry is massive at the minute, and could create around 10,000 jobs by 2020. The outlook for food and drink manufacturing industry is also on the up, with nearly 3,000 additional jobs created this year.

After some very turbulent ups and downs over the past five years, the British Motor industry is going to receive some investment from the UK Government, thus hopefully creating jobs in their thousands.

If you’re looking for a job, look within these industries, you’re sure to find something.

Question 5

What’s the biggest lie within recruitment?

I hate to admit this, but there are more than a couple of lies within the recruitment industry, which is probably why it receives a lot of negative feedback at times. However, there are some amazing agencies and freelance consultants that do follow best practise.

The biggest lie I feel is probably, “I was passed your details by a mutual contact, who has chosen to remain unnamed.” – This often means your details were found, rather unethically, online.

Some recruiters need to be very careful how the find their contacts, or be upfront with the candidate with their methods. This gives the candidate the freedom to choose if they wish for the conversation to continue. LinkedIn is a massive tool for recruiters and often this is viewed as mutual ground between recruiter and candidate, as it’s not so much as an invasion of privacy but a networking tool.

Sarah Diamond is a freelance recruitment consultant at Diamond Recruitment.