Welcome to the ‘Help and Advice’ section of Jobsgopublic’s client blog.

The aim of this series is pretty much what it says on the tin, we want to help and advise you on common issues that are cropping up in recruitment world.

The world of recruitment is ever changing and we are hearing more and more that the responsibility of finding the best possible candidates for vacancies is falling on those who have previously had little experience in it.

We understand how precious your time is and the huge amount of pressure you will be under to make the recruitment process as efficient as possible and that is why we want to help!

We are delighted to announce that Glen Knott, a HR Expert from Birmingham City Council* will be working alongside Jobsgopublic to produce fresh and relevant content! Glen’s biograpfy can be found at the end of this piece.  We will be covering a different ‘help and advice’ topic each month, enabling you to build a library of quick reference sheets to increase your professional knowledge. If you have any suggestions on topics you would like us to write about please email us at blog@jobsgopublic.com and we would love to hear from you!

*Jobsgopublic have been working in partnership with Birmingham City Council for the last 2 years. Birmingham have an award winning HR team who have assisted Jobsgopublic on several major projects, including the 2 projects we have been shortlisted for the PPMA awards (fingers crossed for next Thursday…!!)

The Person Specification

The first edition of our blog is going to cover the “dreaded” but ever so useful Person Specification!

Are you struggling to attract high quality candidates that are suitably qualified for the vacancy at hand?

Is your in-tray full of applications from completely unsuitable candidates with no relevant experience?

The answer could be the Person Specification!

Do you have 5-year-old person specifications that you know needs updating but the thought of doing it makes you want to scream? This blog will not only help show you the benefits of a having a Person Specification it will also offer best practice of how to create or update one.

An effective person specification can make the difference between a successful and unsuccessful recruitment campaign.  It will not only save you bundles of time, by helping to filter out the number of unqualified and inexperienced applicants, it will also help strong candidates tailor their application form or CV so they include the information that you want to see!

In addition, the Person Specification makes sure all candidates are measured systematically against the same criteria and ensures that shortlisting decisions can be justified using objective criteria should they be challenged at a later stage.

A good person specification should serve to outline essential experience, skills and knowledge required to successfully undertake a role.

It should allow candidates to determine for themselves whether they are qualified and would be able to perform effectively.

This differs from a Job Description in that it focuses on the person rather than the main duties involved in the role.

To find out how to create a comprehensive and clear Person Specification please download our fact sheet.

As mentioned before, this is the first edition of what we hope will become a useful series of helpful articles and fact sheets that will help make your recruitment life a lot simpler, effective and stress free.

Stay tuned for the next ‘Help and Advice’ blog, which will cover the accompanying Job Description.

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Glen Knott MSc Chartered FCIPD MBPS PMICS

Senior HR Practitioner

A former PA to the Leader of Birmingham City Council, Glen has worked in Human Resources since 1999. He has generalist HR experience and is a recruitment specialist.

Following successful completion of CIPD, Glen gained promotion to the post of Assistant Recruitment Manager at Birmingham. He was heavily involved in the design and implementation of the council’s Placement and Development service, later renamed ‘In-Source’, which saved Birmingham £3.5m in its first year of operation. In the last few years, Glen has played a lead role in the design and delivery of a career transition (outplacement) service at Birmingham, including the design and delivery of workshops to staff at all levels in the Council.

Glen has extensive recruitment experience from leading on a range of recruitment campaigns for jobs ranging from cook to cleaner, environmental health officer to social worker to Director of Fleet and Waste Management up to and including Chief Executive level. He is an experienced occupational tester, Level A and Level B qualified, and is registered with the British Psychological Society and is a Gold Member of the Institute of Customer Services.

A Chartered Fellow of CIPD, Glen now holds the position of Senior HR Practitioner at Birmingham. In 2007 he was awarded an MSc with Commendation in organisational development (HR) and management learning at the University of Central England in Birmingham and recently completed an NVQ Level 4 in Advice and Guidance.