Darren Rosenfeld

Does track record matter in the USA? There are a lot of differences between the UK and US recruitment markets, how you win business is one of them. For me going over there and speaking to my candidates and their experiences, one of the standout differences was how transactional their client expectations are in the US. In the UK, relationships and reputation often come first. In the US, you have to DELIVER to SELL. I recently spoke with Mark Whitby on The Resilient Recruiter Podcast about how recruiters can successfully adapt to the US market — especially if you're scaling internationally or planning to make your first hire across the pond. 🎧 Listen to the full conversation here: https://lnkd.in/eMvwqY2W #hiring #staffing #recruitment #USAmarket #delivery

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The latest Hays Salary Guide reveals a concerning trend in the UK. Only 29% of UK employers actively encourage staff to use AI tools, and just 37% offer any form of AI training.   This puts the UK at a clear disadvantage. In the US, nearly 60% of organisations are already encouraging AI adoption among their workforce, highlighting a growing gap in readiness and ambition.   As The Times reports, British businesses are falling behind their global peers with many remaining hesitant on investing in AI infrastructure and skills, due to cost and uncertainty. But without urgent action, employers risk losing out on productivity gains, innovation, and top talent to more forward-thinking competitors.   I’m proud to see our Salary Guide data featured in The Times, helping to spotlight both the scale of the challenge and the opportunity. Link to the article in the comments.

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You’re not busy. You’re hiding. I see so many recruiters working B-grade jobs that should not have even made their way to the CRM. Roles with no interview slots, no decision maker contact, no real spec. You are saying "I am building a pipeline" What you are doing is avoiding BD. The best recruiters don't worry about how many jobs they have, they focus on how good those jobs are. They control process and walk away from tyre kickers. Time to be honest with yourself. #j9online #sales #recruitment #coaching #training

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5 ways to ditch your best recruiter 🫡 Thinking of pushing out your top biller? Here’s a handy guide ⬇️⬇️   🫵 Micromanage them to death Hover over every call, second-guess their judgment, re-write emails, and remind them how you did it back in the good old days. Works like a charm.   🎯 Set KPIs for KPI’s sake Who cares if they’re bringing in the most revenue? Make sure they still make 50 calls a day!   🔨 Give them broken tools Outdated CRM? No access to LinkedIn? No automation? Perfect   🙅 Offer zero support Want a healthy pipeline? Don’t bother with marketing. No client intros. No admin. Let them juggle everything   👊 Create constant turf wars Pit them against others in the team, create an environment where your recruiters won’t share candidates/clients/info – nothing like a bit of healthy competition Are you a manager reading this and feeling personally attacked? I’m sorry to say you may be creating a toxic environment 😭 Are you a recruiter reading this thinking, is this post about me? Message me ASAP 🥲 Recruiters don’t leave recruitment They leave environments that make it impossible to succeed #recruitment #agencylife #recruitertips #rec2rec #recruters  

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What are some of the challenges UK agency recruiters face when moving into US market? 1. Broad approach and not a true specialist. Must be ultra niche, focus on growth areas and build pools of specialist talent. Get your GTM right. 2. Avoiding IR: Most US companies have an established internal rec team so need to partner with IR rather than going around them - agencies can help fill the 2-10% of roles prospects may be struggling with 3. Undervaluing your service: Based on above the perceived value is higher leading to Perm fees of around 25% and contract margin over 35%. Often increased appetite for retainers and projects. 4. Treating the US like it is one location: America is actually 50 states and compares more to Europe in size. Have an area of focus. 5. Underestimating the importance of compliance: US can be a legal minefield so clients want to be sure you are 100% compliant - prove it. There are so many more so what have you experienced?

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Too many CVs – is more really better? I’ve spoken with many hiring managers in my career who see too many CV’s in the recruitment process, in recent months I’ve spoken with clients who’d each reviewed hundreds of CVs for single vacancy. The outcome? Less than 1% converted to interview. An extreme example perhaps but not uncommon. For many hiring managers, for many reasons there’s still an expectation to review dozens of CVs rather than a refined shortlist of only the most suitable candidates, pre-screened and interested in the role. Does that really represent value? Or is it just shifting the workload back onto you and your team? A recruitment partner should deliver value at every stage of a process, especially the shortlist. Every CV you see should be the result of careful market research, sourcing, detailed recruiter interviews, and meaningful conversations matching the expectations of everyone involved. What’s valuable to you? Ask yourself: 🔝 How are you measuring the value of your recruitment partner? 🤬 Do you want to see the most suitable CVs, or are you content to sift through long lists? ✅ What ratio of CV to interview and interview to offer do you expect, or does it matter so long as you achieve a successful outcome? 🎉 Are you confident your partner is balancing speed with diligence, ensuring only the right, engaged talent reaches you? True value isn’t only about focusing on pace, quickly delivering a shortlist and then sending you more CVs to cover all bases. It’s about showing a commitment to delivering the highest quality process, with care, attention and precision that helps you have the right outcome in the timescale that you need. 

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🌤️ UK Job Market Update, April 2025 Happy Tuesday, everyone! The latest KPMG and REC UK Report on Jobs for April has landed and I wanted to share a few thoughts for those keeping an eye on the market. This report draws on data from recruitment firms, many of them large, global players, some of whom have recently posted tough financial results. So while it's a valuable snapshot, it's not the full picture. Worth keeping in mind. In short: it’s still quiet out there. But, call me hopelessly optimistic (my colleagues definitely would! 😉) I think we might just be starting to turn a corner. Yes, the report shows another increase in permanent candidate availability, largely due to ongoing restructures and redundancies. But I suspect some of this is also driven by people passively exploring the market, concerned about job security or simply seeking better pay. Permanent placements did decline again in April, but the drop was the smallest since September 2024. That’s something. 👍 What the report doesn’t capture is the number of people landing roles through their networks, direct applications, or internal talent teams. My LinkedIn feed seems full of 1st and 2nd connections announcing new roles which is always great to see! 👍 👍 At Sanderson, we’ve seen a noticeable uptick just in the past couple of weeks, with several clients reaching out for multiple day rate contract roles across tech, digital, and business change. That momentum is encouraging. 👍👍👍 Meanwhile, the Bank of England is taking action cutting interest rates again last week, with more reductions forecast in 2025 and 2026. On the global stage, trade tensions between the US and China have eased (for now), and new trade deals with the US and India could bring positive ripple effects for the UK economy. Even the tone around Ukraine and Russia seems to be shifting, cautiously optimistic there too. Now, I’m no economist or political analyst, and I’m sure others will have more informed takes. But honestly, what’s the point in being negative? A little positivity can go a long way, and I think we could all use a little more of it right now. We’re not out of the woods yet, but I’m hopeful that May and early summer will bring more early signs of recovery. Yes, we’ll likely see the usual summer slowdown, but with any luck, we’ll finish 2025 in a stronger position and head into 2026 with real momentum. Just my thoughts and would be good to hear yours, but please be constructive. There’s light at the end of the tunnel. I’m sure of it. #treatpeopleasyouwanttobetreated #lightattheendofthetunnel #ukeconomy #jobmarket

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Sponsoring a WHV Recruiter - Is it really that much of a risk? 🤔 Some agencies still hesitate to sponsor recruiters on a Working Holiday Visa but most agencies see it as a low-risk way to secure great talent. - Try before you buy - Work with them first, sponsor later if they prove their value. - Low upfront risk - No immediate financial commitment, only invest when confident. - Access to top talent - Many skilled UK recruiters start on a WHV. - Smooth transition - If they fit, sponsorship is simple, and they’re already settled Many of today's recruitment leaders started on a working holiday visa so it's no surprise the cycle continues! With local senior billers in high demand, waiting for the perfect candidate could mean missing out on great talent already here and ready to go!

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I’m currently supporting an organisation on a contingent basis, and their internal team mentioned that another agency is sending 10-15 CVs a week across just 3 roles. For transparency - DanOps has sent 7 CVs total across those same roles. At first glance, it looked like the other agency was “working harder”… but when you break it down, this is where being a true market specialist pays off. Principal Cloud Engineer - DanOps → 2 CVs → 100% 1st stage, 1 straight to final (no 2nd needed), 1 offer, 1 placement - Other agency → Sent 28 CVs (they had the role 5 weeks earlier), only 3 first stages, 1 second, 0 finals Head of SRE - DanOps → 2 CVs within 12 hours of receiving the brief → 100% requested for interview - Other agency → 16 CVs over 6 weeks, just 2 first stage requests Senior SRE - DanOps → 3 CVs → 100% 1st stage success - Other agency → 42 CVs in 5 weeks, 15 interviews booked… all dropped after failing to back up their CVs in interview On the surface, it looked like they were “smashing it” with volume. But volume isn’t value, it’s just noise. Worse still, they even sent CVs without speaking to the candidate about the role… which should honestly be outlawed in recruitment. When you live and breathe your market, quality isn’t a target - it's a standard. ✅ Quality of introduction ✅ Time saved on irrelevant interviews ✅ ££ saved in wasted process and feedback cycles That's why DanOps doesn’t do busy work. Don’t be fooled by fake busy.

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This jobs market is tough for candidates. Here are some of the top tips and tricks I am seeing from candidates who have been successful. ✅ Optimizing their LinkedIn with key skills and avoiding overly specific job titles from their previous companies - this helps you get found. ✅ Tailoring their CV per role. Have a master copy of your CV, but edit the summary, career highlights and key skills to match the job spec – but don’t lie! ✅ Following up. In 2025, I post a job ad and I get 1000+ applicants, vs in 2019 I would get 7-10; follow- up with your recruiter, point of contact or person you met. ✅ Continuous learning; AI is here and those who are ahead of the curve are winning. ✅ Tracking applications. If you apply role, put this into your tracker along with POC ✅ Interview coaching, prep and practice - unfortunately this is a skill and quite often the best candidate on paper does not always get the job. ✅ Leveraging their network through ex-colleagues, friends, recruiters, new connections Mistakes I am seeing: 🚫 Applying for the same position / company through multiple channels. It looks sloppy and like you are applying for anything and everything. 🚫 AI generated cover letters, CV’s, email out reaches, applications – when you look at applications and CV’s all day like I do, these ones stand out a mile. 🚫 Ego – I hate to say this, but this is something candidates who were made redundant from large organisations with big titles struggle with. If I have missed anything that you think will help some candidates struggling out there please comment below. 👇

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An update on UK hiring trends. We're seeing some significant changes in the UK job market. The latest figures tell an interesting story, job postings across the UK are sitting 13% below pre-pandemic levels, with a 23% drop compared to last year. But despite these numbers, our unemployment rate is holding steady at 4.3%, and we're actually seeing wage growth for new hires at 6.7%, which is higher than many other countries. The impact isn't uniform across all sectors. While tech and professional services have seen the biggest changes, we're also noticing significant shifts in hospitality and retail. It's creating a really unique situation in our job market. I'm sharing this because whether you're hiring or job hunting, understanding these trends is crucial for making informed decisions. What changes are you seeing in your industry? #UKJobs #Recruitment #EmploymentTrends #Economy

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"We use a PSL" 🥱 Many companies rely on a Preferred Supplier List (PSL) for hiring, this can seriously hurt your chances of securing top talent in niche areas! Here’s why: 🔍 Niche roles require specialist knowledge. Generalist recruiters on your PSL may not have access to the right network—or even fully understand the role. 💡 Speed matters. The best candidates in specialised markets don’t stay on the market long. By the time your PSL catches up, top talent is gone. 📉 You limit innovation. New, agile, and highly-specialised agencies aren’t on your PSL—but they often have the most relevant connections. 🤝 True partnerships > compliance. Hiring managers need flexibility to engage with recruiters who truly get the market, not just the ones on an approved list. Bottom line: If you're hiring for niche or hard-to-fill roles, it might be time to rethink the PSL-first approach. The cost of missing the right hire can far outweigh the comfort of sticking to the list. #Hiring #Recruitment #TalentAcquisition #NicheRoles #PSL #HiringStrategy #FutureOfWork

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The numbers tell the story. Ampa - Legal & Professional Services - 18 months: 📊 314 direct hires delivered 📉 Agency spend: 94% reduction (down to 6%) ⚡ Time-to-hire: 37% faster (8.5 weeks → 5.4 weeks) ⭐ Hiring Manager satisfaction: 4.7/5 📈 Candidate NPS: 74 But here's the metric that matters most: 100% of internal TA capacity freed up for strategic initiatives. When you optimise process, implement the right tech stack, and deliver consistent quality at scale, the ROI speaks for itself. Assessment centres for bulk hiring. Skills testing integration. One-way video interviews. New ATS implementation. Every efficiency gain compounds. Great work to all on our AMPA partnership - David Kirkham, Lauren Bass, Megan Fane, Michael van Niekerk #legal #legalrecruitment #talentstrategy

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