Category Archives: Recruitment Agencies

Letter from HSE requesting a stop on Locum Doctor Recruitment

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A&E Locum recruitment stopped

A&E Locum recruitment stopped

Hospitals across the country have received a letter from the HSE stipulating that they must stop recruiting locums to fill vacancies in emergency medicine, according to the Irish Medical News (IMN)

However, a senior consultant in emergency medicine has questioned the HSE’s contention that the recent recruitment drive in India and Pakistan has “solved” the need for locum cover in emergency departments (EDs). It is understood that the memo, sent by Ms Laverne McGuinness, the HSE’s National Director of Performance and Financial Management, on October 25, has caused particular issues at University Hospital Limerick where there has been an ongoing shortage of middle grade doctors to staff its ED. Dr Fergal Hickey, former president of the Irish Association of Emergency Medicine (IAEM) and a consultant in emergency medicine at Sligo General Hospital, told IMN that due to the recruitment drive for doctors from India and Pakistan, the HSE believes “there is now no need for locum cover”.

According to Dr Hickey, vacancies in EDs are mainly at registrar grade, however, he said that the HSE “seems to believe that very junior, very inexperienced doctors from India and Pakistan recruitment schemes” are adequate to fill these vacancies or that doctors can be arbitrarily transferred from other services. The HSE responded saying that “significant savings” can be made by filling posts that are currently filled by locums with doctors recruited through the drive in India and Pakistan. However, Dr Hickey contended that there is “a clear lack of understanding at senior management level in the HSE about where the vacancies in emergency medicine are and the calibre of doctors required to fill these vacancies”. “Our main vacancies are at middle grade whereas the available doctors from this particular recruitment drive are at a more junior level, so the problem will continue,” he said. Dr Hickey said that HSE management “think that they have solved the recruitment crisis, which clearly they haven’t”.

Dr Hickey said that neither the HSE nor the Department of Health understands the mismatch between existing vacancies and the doctors who have been recruited from India and Pakistan, who do not have “the experience or expertise” necessary. The HSE told IMN that doctors recruited in India and Pakistan are highly qualified and experienced and “are particularly well suited to working in the Irish health system” as they train in the same system used in Ireland. According to Dr Hickey, this is a “naive” perception. “A middle grade doctor working in the ED might have three or four years experience in the Irish healthcare system, and a year or more in an ED,” he explained. “And they’re seeking naively to replace those with people who have just literally arrived in the country.”

Jackie Brown Medical launches new website!

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Alert!We have just celebrated our 4th Birthday @ Jackie Brown Medical and have given the Business a Birthday present of a fresh and fabulous new website which it deserved!

We now have movement, interraction and life on our site.

We have a Social Media aspect

We have used our job seekers and Clients comments and input in to the content and design.

We have kept the same high standard of Compliance and made it very user friendly.

As the business grows, we learn more and have more to give to you, our readers.

We have features such as our Advice Centre which gives solid advice around interviews, CV layout and Medical Sales which remains one of our Specialist sectors across Medical Recruitment.

We are very excited about it and will watch over the coming months it’s performance with Google and it’s bots!

In 2008 and 2009 we were short listed for ‘Best Online Service’ @ the National Recruitment Federation Awards and we are now aiming for the overall winner.

We couldn’t have done it without you, our readers, so please do keep your comments and feedback coming as it is very important to us to remain on top of our game.

 

Reason for Leaving

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CV writing

CV writing

One of the most common questions Employers ask when they see a job seekers Curriculum Vitae (CV) is their reason for leaving their current or last job.

We advise regularly on CV writing to our job seekers and this is an area we cannot emphasise enough.

It is essential on your CV as a job seeker to clearly state your reason for leaving each job.

This can be done in one line at the end of each job and makes it alot easier for an employer to gauge if a job seeker is a ‘hopper’ – someone who leaves jobs after a short time regularly, or a ‘stayer’ – someone who shows commitment and longevity in the work place.

Employers prefer the latter.

It may simply be the case you have had contract positions, or a baby or many of the good reasons to only be in a job a short time, but if you do not state your reasons for leaving on your CV, you are left wide open to the wrong interpretation which may be the difference between an Employer dismissing your CV or not.

As a Medical Recruitment Agency, this also helps us to analyse our job seekers better.

So remember, when submitting your CV to a Recruitment Agency or directly to a Company, always state your reason for leaving after each job.

Recruiting more NCHD’s will reduce overtime bill

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Recruiting NCHD's to reduce overtime bill

Recruiting NCHD's to reduce overtime bill

The HSE will end up with more NCHDs in certain specialties than the number of existing vacancies after it allocates trainee doctors currently being recruited from India and Pakistan, Irish Medical Times exclusively reports.

 

Correspondence seen by IMT reveals that this is as a result of a deliberate plan taken at corporate level and with backing from senior management.

“As part of the allocation of Indian/Pakistani doctors from the centralised recruitment process, an additional number of doctors are being allocated to certain specialties in excess of current vacancies,” states the letter dated July 8.

According to the correspondence, the corporate motivation is to reduce overtime pay or eliminate agency cover, enhance compliance with the European Working Time Directive (EWTD) and improve the quality of services and working lives of doctors.

Some of the country’s largest rural and regional hospitals are set to spend up to 10 times more than the 2005 figure on agency workers to fill staff gaps this year. Despite HSE plans to reduce spending on agency workers, costs continued to rise steadily in the first three months of 2011.

As of July 4, HSE-centralised NCHD recruitment had received 1,791 applications over five rounds from February 28 to June 30, with NCHD vacancies at July 11, the date of the changeover, at 150.

The plan to hire an excess amount of NCHDs has been agreed by the National Directors with the Regional Directors of Operations (RDOs), IMT understands. Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) ceilings will not be an issue in circumstances where there is evidence that significant savings in agency/overtime can be achieved.

In line with the correspondence, sent to some local managers and clinical directors and copied to RDOs, the amount of doctors allocated would be determined by the numbers of new employees arriving from India and Pakistan. At the end of May, the Executive said more than 240 doctors from India and Pakistan had applied for visas and legislation to introduce a new classification of NCHDs has now been passed.

Local hospital management were requested, in the correspondence, to review their overtime/agency expenditure and EWTD compliance by specialty and to advise by last Friday (July 15) if this allocation could be utilised to reduce or eliminate overtime and agency costs or to enhance EWTD compliance.

The HSE expressed appreciation that this additional allocation could potentially involve changes to rosters or changes in cross-specialty cover, which in turn could generate negotiation with staff representatives.

Our National Recruitment Federation

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National Recruitment Federation Logo

National Recruitment Federation Logo

It has come to our attention in recent times that not enough Candidates (Job seekers) or Clients (Companies recruiting) are aware of the National Recruitment Federation (NRF) in Ireland

The NRF is our only governing body for Recruitment in Ireland.

They are there purely to assist in all matters concerning Recruitment.

Many of our Recruitment Agencies are aware or indeed members of the NRF, but they are also there to support and guide Candidates and Clients recruiting.

If you are a Candidate looking for a new job or a Company hiring, make sure your Recruitment Agency of choice is a member of the NRF as this will automatically give you reassurance they are of a high standard

Check on their website for the above Logo.

They provide support and guidance to everyone in Ireland or abroad wishing to come to Ireland who are seeking a job or Companies wishing to recruit.

They are also the only Recruitment body who reward the Recruitment Industry with an Awards ceremony – ensuring standards are being maintained and encouraging them to be examined and improved annually.

They now run a course for Recruitment Consultants which is a breath of fresh air as there has never been a Recruitment course or qualification before in Ireland

 

They guide the Recruitment Agencies with a Code of Conduct.

The Employment Agency Act, 1971 provides that any person carrying on the business of an employment agency must obtain a licence to do so from the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

Persons seeking employment through an employment agency should ensure that they deal only with licensed agencies

No fee may be charged by an agency to a job seeker solely for agreeing to seek employment for them.

All NRF Members are required to be licensed as a condition of membership.

All too often we have heard of Candidates being bullied (pressured in to jobs)or CV’s being submitted directly to Companies without the expressed informed consent of the Candidate prior to this.

This is where the NRF come in to play – anyone who has fallen victim to this may make a complaint with the NRF who will then investigate on the Candidates behalf.

Client Companies again, any pressure, efforts to charge without prior agreement etc can be taken to the NRF who will guide and investigate

If you are hiring or looking for a job, know your rights and become familiar with our NRF -

www.nrf.ie

It only exists for our benefit to ensure the highest standards within Recruitment in Ireland are being met

Do you really want to put your career and future in to the hands on anyone less then the best?

Assertive Job Seekers get pay off!

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Be assertive in your job applications

Be assertive in your job applications

For any job seekers out there, we have some recent evidence of persistence paying off!

Assertive job seekers are getting their pay off.

Job seekers are a vulnerable group as it is a worrying time for anyone, either you have recently lost a job or are not happy in your current job.

In today’s ‘Redundancy’ market, you are less likely to be choosy or assertive.

Do not drop your standards or self worth -

If you feel you match the criteria for a job and have all the Employer is looking for – stand your ground.

Twice this week we have seen evidence of amounts of job applications reflecting the lack of care and attention to individual CV’s or applications.

We had 2 rejections on behalf of our Candidates from Employers who did not think the Candidate – job seeker matched their criteria

When pushed and all relevant experience highlighted, both Employers reversed their decisions and agreed to invite the Candidate for interview.

One was offered the job today!

In this market, where numbers of applications are increasing and pressure is on Employers and Recruiters alike to get through the sheer volume of applications, mistakes can happen and people can be ‘missed out’

Do not always take rejection lightly – if you believe you have read and meet the job essential criteria – question why your CV has been rejected - you may be lucky and  get a second glance.

Persistence pays off – if you believe you are the right Candidate – you have every right to question why you have not progressed to interview stage.

In today’s market – with increased pressure, imminent budget and Redundancies  – there is no excuse for a drop in standards and carelessness due to high volume of job applications.

Be sure to stand your ground and at the very least find out why your application has not been successful – those who accept it with no question will not find out why or get a possible second glance – what have you got to lose?

Less is more!

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Less is more at interview

Less is more at interview

Never a truer statement was made than -

Less is More ……….

Anybody out there who is currently on the jobs market and attending interviews – a word of warning -

Easy on the perfume and aftershave!

There have been a number of comments made by Companies running interviews about the over powering scent left in the room after a number of excitable and nervous interviewees have vacated!

We all know it is important to sound, look and smell fresh and professional, but it is also too easy to over do the smells and this can be very off putting.

We also know many interviewees who would be nervous, smokers or perspiring who try to compensate – be careful, while you definitely want to leave a lasting impression – you do not want to leave a lasting scent!

Remember – Less is More!

The Honest Recruiter?

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The Honest Recruiter

The Honest Recruiter

The Honest Recruiter?

No matter how the market is performing in Recruitment, there is never any excuse for dishonesty.

Unfortunately, we have had alot of comments made to us from our job seekers about the level of dishonesty in the Recruitment market in recent times.

Most common complaints -

  • Advertising jobs that do not exist
  • Making promises to find a job seeker a job
  • Telling Client Companies you can fill their job in X amount of time
  • Telling job seekers you will send their CV to a Company and then not
  • Not informing job seekers you have sent their CV to a Company – this is illegal practice
  • Promising job seekers you will get back to them with feedback on their CV submission and then not
  • Promising job seekers you will keep in touch and then not

This is all misleading and unprofessional Recruitment Practice and does not abide with the NRF guidelines for Best Recruitment Practice.

This gives the Recruitment Industry in Ireland a bad name

Recruitment is a very responsible and worthwhile job.

As a Recruiter, you take job seekers future and career in your hand – this should be handled professionally and carefully.

In recent times, the decline in the Recruitment market has led to some dismal practice and short cuts and this needs to be stopped.

Our job seekers trust us that we will do our very best for them, this sort of practice leads to a lack of confidence and trust in us.

For further infomation on Best Practice in the Recruitment Industry in Ireland, go to -

www.nrf.ie

This is for Clients and Job Seekers and every Recruiter in the country should know it, practice it and live by it every day of their working life as a Recruiter.

Honest and Integrity as a Recruiter brings Awards