ECOM ARE TEN!!
ECOM ARE TEN!!
You may have seen the yellow banner on our site or elsewhere…ECOM are 10 years old this year!
Here are 10 things about ECOM you should know:
1 Date of Birth 01/01/00
2 We started in a tiny basement bedroom & now we are in a massive (but light & airy) basement office.
3 The Dot com crash happened & was way worse than the recent recession
4 We have made over 6000 placements
5 We have recruited for 85% of the NMA Top 100
6 ECOM recruit for ALL Permanent & Freelance Digital jobs
7 ECOM are no1 on Google for Digital Recruitment
8 ECOM are the 1st Digital Recruiter to launch a fully optimised site for the mobile platform
9 ECOM are the 1st Digital Recruiter to develop an iphone app
10 Over the last 10 years the Digital Market has changed enormously. ECOM has evolved unrecognisably too & we will continue to stay ahead of the game, embracing Digital Technology to improve our service. Coming out of the worst recession for 75 years, we are stronger & better placed than ever to help with all Digital Recruitment needs.
Word of mouth
Posted by Dan de Lord.
Word of mouth drives everything these days. Whether it is a literal spoken word or whether it is something emailed or tweeted to you, other people influence the perceptions we as individuals have and the decisions we make. It is also something Ecom, as a company but particularly as a service partner, relies heavily on to be successful.
Marketing messages are prime candidates for being spread in this way, between relevant and connected network members. So when an award-winning creative director (whom we knew by stellar reputation) approached us (who he knew as being clued up on anything and everything digital) about putting together our own viral campaign for Ecom we couldn't help but jump straight in.
Have a look at the first instalment of our series below. It's a light-hearted look at at what we all do and getting people to talk about that. For us as a company too it's about talking to people about more than just the next job role; we're always keen to get closer to the work our contacts do and also to our contacts who do that work.
So feel free to comment on it, link to it, let us know what you'd do next, but most of all just talk about it with anyone you want!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHgZUAKdzCc
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ECOM Recruitment launch an iPhone App
ECOM's new iPhone app is a unique tool within digital recruitment which
allows candidates to easily find the perfect permanent or freelance role.
Download for free at the app store now
http://itunes.com/apps/ecomdigitalrecruitment
Watch the video to see the app in action
http://vimeo.com/10867610
ECOM FC
There has been a lot of talk of the digital market recently so though I’d interject with something about an even more important market....football.
Every Tuesday night a select handful of “professional”, Ecom footballers leave the office and head west to play an intense game of 5 a–side football in the Disney London League. For the past couple of years, Ecom FC has seen players come and go, rise and fall, and inconsistency in the team has resulted in a couple of mediocre league finishes. There was a definite correlation with a crash in the market and Ecom FC’s league hopes as the unmentionable happened; Ecom FC were relegated!
However, like any good side, Ecom FC regrouped, brought in some fresh transfers, kitted themselves out with a new strip and begun their campaign for promotion! With the season about to kick off, Ecom FC were certainly not the bookies favourites to gain salvation. A mid-table finish was the pundit’s prediction.
The first game of the season was to be against the Red Hot Chiswick Peppers! Nerves were racing and the adrenaline was pumping! What can only be described as a blinding performance, Ecom FC had opened up their account with an 8-1 win with the team veteran, Steve “Pinky” Pink netting a hatrick. So, with spirits high and a great first result, Ecom FC went on to win another, then another and then another. The rest of the teams in the league couldn’t believe what was happening and suddenly the bookies were amending those odds and so they should! Ecom FC went on to win all 9 games, making it an unbeaten season, securing promotion and causing shockwaves that were to be felt in the league above with teams quaking in their boots.
This year had seen the injection of the baby faced assassin Ed and twinkle toes himself, Hiren. The season was fuelled with moments of sheer brilliance from Dan “the cat/wall/unit” De Lord with crucial defensive support from Dave “the mauler” McGowan. Up front saw a rotational partnership between Mr Pink, Chalmers and the recently retired James Bunkin. With 48 goals between them it was no wonder opposition defences were seen teary eyed after the final whistle. However, it wasn’t all on the pitch where differences were being made. Ecom FC has gained their first official supporters club with Sophie and Annabel leading the charge!
So.....congratulations Ecom FC for a great season and promotion! As this goes to press Ecom FC have started a new season in the Premiership and are still unbeaten with a crucial first win. Can they make it two unbeaten seasons in a row? The bookies seem to think so! The pressure is on...
Sometimes there are breaks in the league where Ecom FC have a week off, so if any of our clients or a group of candidates fancy a game, please get in touch.
What's in a name?
Posted by Dan de Lord.
I like to tell people where I'm sending their portfolio; it removes any awkward moments later when they realise too late that agency A is where that ex works, where they didn't quite manage to pick that development framework up on the job or where that HR director is with the pathological distrust of all developers. So it still amazes me that, on a daily basis, I come across so many people who don't know where they've had their details sent.
This may be due to a recruitment agency saying they have a range of clients who could be interested or simply refusing to say who the company is (apart from that they're excellent) until interview stage. On several occasions we've even heard from people who have interviews confirmed, but still aren't aware of the company in question and are waiting for details on email the same day as the meeting.
I'm sure that the company may be excellent, but I also think it's very bad practice for recruiters to adopt. It creates unnecessary confusion and undermines the efforts of those doing good work by creating situations where resumes are scattered gunned around and often duplicated with a client. A match in terms of skill set does not always mean a complete match as any client will tell you.
To look at it another way, would you ever agree to going on a date not knowing the name of who you were meeting, where you were going or anything at all about the other person for example? Your career in particular should be too important to play with blind date with though, particularly when there are more than enough opportunities in a growing and evolving market now.
Openness and dialogue are key foundations of this digital age so, if you weren't to get this from a recruitment agency, I wouldn't just cross your fingers and hope that whatever's behind the screen is going to be a good match.
The choice though is yours.
The Christmas Crunch
The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics
tell a familiar story – unemployment is at its highest level for 12 years,
up by 232,000 for the three months to April. Job vacancies, which peaked a
year-and-a-half ago at 700,000, were down to 444,000 in May 2009.1
The smell of negativity, self pity and lack of hope lingers in the air but this Christmas seems to endure a sparkle of change. Forgive me for being sheltered but when was the last time you heard the latest job cut update on the news? Early 2009 oozed day after day updates of the economic downfall being what we eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but what about now?
For those of you abiding by the stereotype that Christmas is a quiet time for recruitment and plan to sit back and wallow it then what can I say, your loss! This Christmas is a great time for those wanting contract work in the digital arena at great daily rates and proactively showing interest in companies before the January job boom. A large amount of clients are taking on extra help over Christmas which is a blooming period compared to the dark times of 2008.
Advice to Graduates launching their career in digital? Start off with a smaller employer, as opposed to trying to get a place on a graduate scheme with a large corporate; it is a very competitive time. Often this attains faster results and can offer a broader overall experience.
On the whole be proactive and use December wisely. January will be as busy as the January sales. It is the busiest month of the year for recruitment and this 2010 has a smell of promise and optimism for the digital job market. So guarantee you are fully equipped, so that you can take advantage of whatever job opportunities crop up.
Don’t forget to party too! Parties are perfect venues for getting on your networking hat because networking is all about making connections with people, sharing interests and finding common grounds, you never know where this may lead you and your career!
One final important tip to all: Get in touch! We speak to specialist digital candidates all day/every day which means we have immediate access to the crème of the digital crop that is available now when you need them along with the top agencies and digital clients in London. It’s all about the right people in the right place. And the right place for the right people.
Merry Christmas to you all. Minus the crunch.
By Katrina Maratheftis
1-Dave
Cohen (The Guardian Website 2009)
Are Recruitment Consultancies in trouble?
Following on from Annabel's
previous post about a candidate finding work for himself using Twitter it leads
nicely to the question: In these days of Social Networking, why do we need
Recruitment Consultancies?
Recruitment agencies pride
themselves on being able to offer their clients access to databases jam packed
with talented individuals looking for work. Whilst for candidates there is the
opportunity to gain access to companies offering work.
Now that everyone has a
presence on at least one, if not all of the famous Online Networks; Facebook,
Linkedin & Twitter...now that we are all connected to everyone in the world
it seems through the power of linking & following...now that clients can
easily find candidate profiles on the internet & people looking for work
can search to find companies who are on the look out for employees….
If it isn’t a question of
facilitating access to loads of talent because our clients already have direct
access? If it isn’t a matter of simply being able to offer introductions to a
list of successful businesses because individuals can make contact themselves?
Where does that leave Recruitment Consultants? What is it that they offer?
Clients
CV Filter
We submit the most suitable
candidates for the role.
Shortlist Individuals
who are actively looking for work, not just connected on a social network but
actually in the market for a job right now.
Submit Candidates that have already been interviewed with their skills & experience assessed
Personalities that are a
good fit for the client’s particular culture & environment
ID & visa status that has been checked
Freelancers that are
reference checked who have often worked for other clients of ours means we
have a good grasp of their strengths & weaknesses
Payroll service for all
Freelancers saving time, money & hassle for you the client
Quick turnaround; we
are speaking to specialist digital candidates all day/every day which means we have
immediate access to the best Digital talent that is available now when you need
them!!!
Candidates
Job Filter
Clients that we have already met so
we can help you decide where you are best suited
By working with us,
candidates are offered a selection of roles with several companies from one
point of contact.
Consultancy & advice, saying this is not right for you can be as important as shouting this is the
perfect role!
Freelancers get paid by
us quicker, it’s then down to us to collect the
money from the client.
YOU get paid even if the
client doesn’t pay us! In these days of controversial prepack administration, we
have had several instances where our clients have put themselves into
administration owing us money for freelancers that we have already paid. We take the risk!
Quick turnaround, by
keeping in touch with the leading names in Digital all day every day, it means
that we can get your job search up & running immediately. Whether you’ve
been let down at the last minute by a cancelled freelance booking or if you’ve
been unfortunate enough to be made redundant, one call to us & we can brief
you on a multitude of roles all in one go…no need to send multiple
applications, or spend hours searching job boards, or firing out countless messages to your Linkedin connections or Twitter followers in the hope that one
of them just might have a job for you right now when you need one!
Recruitment is about people not online connections. Building up a
massive network on Linkedin is not an end in itself, although you could easily
think that there are recruiters out there whose focus is building up
connections for the sake of it rather than focusing on bringing together talent & business.
Yes we can & should use digital channels to facilitate
the recruitment process but it’s about how we use it that counts…it’s the
combination of technology & the human touch that works best.
Recruiting is about relationships.
It’s about people.
Mobile Internet is NOW
Yet more evidence that the Mobile Internet is coming of age right NOW. This article backs it up with hardcore stats & research from a leading Investment Banking Analyst. Def worth a read:
http://community.brandrepublic.com/blogs/mobsessed/mary-meeker-talks-up-mobile
It's certainly the way we see it at ECOM & it validates further our decision to launch our new Mobile site. Screen grabs below if you haven't seen it yet:
Top 100 confirms the rise of Social Media
Last week saw the release of the coveted NMA Top 100 – the
Away from the ECOM office, how significant is the Top 100 to those working in the digital space though? It’s clear that from an agency point of view, the rankings represent a vindication of their hard work – many of them rightly draw attention to their success, and clearly the positive publicity is an added bonus. But are our candidates as fussed by a company’s ranking? Do people scan the top 100 when considering whether to apply to an agency? The problem with ranking agencies purely on the basis of their billings is that it is a very reductive way of doing things – particularly in a market that prides itself on innovation and creativity. This isn’t to say that the companies near the top aren’t producing great work but it’s easy for the smaller boutique-y companies to get lost in a deluge of numbers!
Regardless of your personal take on the NMA Top 100, it’s sure to provoke discussion within the industry. Since ECOM cater for agencies of all shapes and sizes, we’ll undoubtedly still be thumbing through it for several months to come. Roll on 2010’s top 100…
Specialists in finding the best places to work for both freelance and permanent digital people.
Our bulging contacts book means we have access to the best digital talent to help you grow your business.
