Turnoak Interim Management was
founded as a specialist provider of
interim managers in 1999 by Ged
Barnett. He brings a wealth of
knowledge and experience in senior
positions in Information Technology
(IT) and international management
consulting and has the added
experience of having worked as an
interim manager himself. Ged not
only runs the business but also plays
an active day-to-day role. His
experience of IT and systems roles,
from Programmer to IT Director / CIO
and IT consultancy, helps us to
understand the needs of clients and
provide only candidates who fit the
specification thereby saving our
clients valuable time. This is
complemented by our constant
efforts to find and recruit interim
managers with deep experience and
the highest levels of expertise, the
details of which are stored on our
register of candidates database
ready for client assignments.
Turnoak Interim Management was
founded as a specialist provider of
interim managers in 1999 by Ged
Barnett. He brings a wealth of
knowledge and experience in senior
positions in Information Technology
(IT) and international management
consulting and has the added
experience of having worked as an
interim manager himself. Ged not
only runs the business but also plays
an active day-to-day role. His
experience of IT and systems roles,
from Programmer to IT Director / CIO
and IT consultancy, helps us to
understand the needs of clients and
provide only candidates who fit the
specification thereby saving our
clients valuable time. This is
complemented by our constant
efforts to find and recruit interim
managers with deep experience and
the highest levels of expertise, the
details of which are stored on our
register of candidates database ready
for client assignments.
Quiet Market
06 October, 2016
July and August were quiet months as usual. In September we awaited the usual Autumn upturn but it never came. In fact, it still hasn't!
Personal Information
16 November, 2015
In light of the TalkTalk website hacking, we would like to emphasise that no personal information is held on our website.
Intermediaries Report to HMRC
06 August, 2015
To comply with HMRC's new reporting legislation, we recently submitted our intermediaries report for all those on fees with us. The first attempt came up with a formatting error on a (real and perfectly valid) line of an address. The Help team were as baffled as me. I repeated the exercise the next day and it worked! No changes were made.
It is an unnerving experience as there is no way of checking what has been uploaded or even that the correct file has been submitted. Fingers crossed!
The Summer Lull
20 July, 2015
With the summer lull fast approaching - August is our quietest month - it is worth looking at our current vacancies as we are still looking for candidates for a CIO position and a SAP programme director.
Responsive website
24 February, 2015
Our website is in the process of being upgraded to be responsive. Page by page the site will be made to react to mobile, tablet or PC screen sizes. The reason for the gradual change is to avoid giving the search engines digital apoplexy which may downgrade our search success.
Happy Christmas
12 December, 2014
Merry Christmas everyone.
For the new year, please would all people registered for interim work send updated CVs by email - update@turnoak.co.uk. Some of you notify us of availability by sending a message referring us to your LinkedIn page but we do not have the time to visit every link, extract the information and format it. If you want the best chance of coming up on our search then please send an email with your CV attached in Word format.
A Blend for Horsemeat
21 February, 2013
Ged Barnett had an article published today by Executive Grapevine which argues that the horsemeat scandal could have been avoided with better control of the supplier community. Read the article at Expert Insights or a transcript by clicking here.
Caution - Interim isn't for Everyone
25 January, 2013
Having just emailed all registered interims with CVs 2 years old or more, there are a lot of people who have changed email addresses or fail to reply. It becomes obvious that a lot of people "clutch at straws" following redundancy and see interim as a way out. Choosing interim as a last resort rarely works - if your heart is in it then you will succeed as an interim but otherwise stick to permie jobs.
LinkedIn
20 July, 2012
I receive numerous requests to LinkedIn every week. Receiving so many, I have become selective about accepting a request. For those I know, have met or those that have come with a recommendation there is no problem but I ignore those who use LinkedIn as a means of jumping onto our register of interim managers. Please send a CV through the Candidates section of this site.
That Feeling of Dread!
21 June, 2011
I had a feeling of dread recently and it's happened before! A new requirement for an interim manager arrived and in one of our real areas of strength within IT. But the forboding came from the words "our HR people will be handling this".
Sure enough, the requirement came through and we were given one working day to respond, even though the HR person was imminently to go on leave for a week. "I will be reading my emails while I am on holiday" was the (supposedly) reassuring message to go with it. 9 working days later and, after reminder emails, the news eventually arrives that the job has been rolled into a larger piece of work.
That is 8 days when 3 candidates have been left hanging because of poor organisation, a lack of communication or whatever. Why does it always happen when HR get involved?
The Curse of the Commentator
26 October, 2011
In my blog about market conditions in July, I boasted about our good performance despite the recession. I jumped the gun!
Although the successes earlier in the year are carrying us through, new business has become almost non-existent. The market seems to be deathly quiet now. July and August are our (relatively) quiet months with prospects normally picking up around the middle of September. We have not seen that upturn this year - let's hope it is just late.
Bad Manners
20 September, 2011
Having managed a number of recruitment campaigns, both interim and permanent, over the summer, I continue to be amazed by the reactions of many candidates when they are informed that they have been unsuccessful.
So many genuinely thank us for telling them, usually adding that few do these days. And at all levels! Why are so many agencies failing to tell candidates they have not got the job? We always do as it allows candidates to focus on other opportunities and some feedback can help most individuals with their job search.
Two Fingers to the Two Pager
15 June, 2011
They stick out like sore thumbs: carefully adjusted font size and margins to allow the CV to fit neatly onto two pages. The outplacement guys have been at it again - every CV must be no more and no less than two pages. Why? Does such a small space capture adequately a distinguished work history? I think not, especially for interim work.
Very few people can encapsulate their careers effectively on two pages, even with professional help, and particularly when the individual has a long and successful career behind them. Agreed, ten pages is much too long but there is a middle ground that allows more detail without the resume turning into an epistle. Of course, the argument supporting the use of two pagers is that busy executives absorb that amount and read no further but there is a flaw in this logic.
To see how much information a hirer actually receives, it is worth comparing the two generalised recruitment processes - one drawn out and the other fast moving. For a permanent position, the consultant will review applications, interview a select few and then submit a shortlist to their client. The shortlist will contain the candidates’ CVs augmented with additional information gleaned from the interviews and so the hirer ends up with more than two pages on each candidate. For an interim opening, the consultant searches the register of interim candidates who will normally have been previously vetted in an interview, clears their availability and then submits the shortlist to the client using the CVs held in the interim provider’s database. This will be done in days, not weeks or months, as is the case for permanent recruitment, and there is rarely time suitably to embellish the CV to enhance relevant experience or knowledge. Consequently, the hirer of an interim receives less information on a candidate that has a CV prepared during outplacement than a hirer of a permanent candidate would get for the same person. And yet they need more not less information to make the hiring decision.
So, the different recruitment processes dictate that CVs for interims should be longer than two pages to provide sufficient information for a reasoned decision to be made on a selection. But does the content need to be different too? A permanent recruit has time to grow into a role whereas an interim must be effective from the first day of the assignment. Therefore, the hiring manager needs to be sure that an interim has performed an identical or very similar role or roles in the recent past. This means that for an interim CV, the latest 3-4 years experience needs more detail than previous work so that the direct relevance to the position can be seen and probed at an interview. A permanent candidate still needs to show that they have pertinent skills but, in contrast, the emphasis is more on having the right personal fit to the organisation and to show that they can call upon all of their experience and achievements to succeed in the position in the longer term.
So why do outplacement advisors insist on two page CVs, even for interim work? Why do they advise using the same CV for interim and permanent recruitment? Is it a lack of understanding of the interim market by outplacement firms? Probably, but that is a subject for another blog entry.
Quiet Market
06 October, 2016
July and August were quiet months as usual. In September we awaited the usual Autumn upturn but it never came. In fact, it still hasn't!
Personal Information
16 November, 2015
In light of the recent TalkTalk website hacking, we would like to emphasise that no personal information is held on our website.
Intermediaries Report to HMRC
06 August, 2015
To comply with HMRC's new reporting legislation, we recently submitted our intermediaries report for all those on fees with us. The first attempt came up with a formatting error on a (real and perfectly valid) line of an address. The Help team were as baffled as me. I repeated the exercise the next day and it worked! No changes were made.
It is an unnerving experience as there is no way of checking what has been uploaded or even that the correct file has been submitted. Fingers crossed!
The Summer Lull
20 July, 2015
With the summer lull fast approaching - August is our quietest month - it is worth looking at our current vacancies as we are still looking for candidates for a CIO position and a SAP programme director.
Responsive website
24 February, 2015
Our website is in the process of being upgraded to be responsive. Page by page the site will be made to react to mobile, tablet or PC screen sizes. The reason for the gradual change is to avoid giving the search engines digital apoplexy which may downgrade our search success.
Happy Christmas
12 December, 2014
Merry Christmas everyone.
For the new year, please would all people registered for interim work send updated CVs by email - update@turnoak.co.uk. Some of you notify us of availability by sending a message referring us to your LinkedIn page but we do not have the time to visit every link, extract the information and format it. If you want the best chance of coming up on our search then please send an email with your CV attached in Word format.
A Blend for Horsemeat
21 February, 2013
Ged Barnett had an article published today by Executive Grapevine which argues that the horsemeat scandal could have been avoided with better control of the supplier community. Read the article at Expert Insights or a transcript by clicking here.
Caution - Interim isn't for Everyone
25 January, 2013
Having just emailed all registered interims with CVs 2 years old or more, there are a lot of people who have changed email addresses or fail to reply. It becomes obvious that a lot of people "clutch at straws" following redundancy and see interim as a way out. Choosing interim as a last resort rarely works - if your heart is in it then you will succeed as an interim but otherwise stick to permie jobs.
LinkedIn
20 July, 2012
I receive numerous requests to LinkedIn every week. Receiving so many, I have become selective about accepting a request. For those I know, have met or those that have come with a recommendation there is no problem but I ignore those who use LinkedIn as a means of jumping onto our register of interim managers. Please send a CV through the Candidates section of this site.
That Feeling of Dread!
21 June, 2011
I had a feeling of dread recently and it's happened before! A new requirement for an interim manager arrived and in one of our real areas of strength within IT. But the forboding came from the words "our HR people will be handling this".
Sure enough, the requirement came through and we were given one working day to respond, even though the HR person was imminently to go on leave for a week. "I will be reading my emails while I am on holiday" was the (supposedly) reassuring message to go with it. 9 working days later and, after reminder emails, the news eventually arrives that the job has been rolled into a larger piece of work.
That is 8 days when 3 candidates have been left hanging because of poor organisation, a lack of communication or whatever. Why does it always happen when HR get involved?
The Curse of the Commentator
26 October, 2011
In my blog about market conditions in July, I boasted about our good performance despite the recession. I jumped the gun!
Although the successes earlier in the year are carrying us through, new business has become almost non-existent. The market seems to be deathly quiet now. July and August are our (relatively) quiet months with prospects normally picking up around the middle of September. We have not seen that upturn this year - let's hope it is just late.
Bad Manners
20 September, 2011
Having managed a number of recruitment campaigns, both interim and permanent, over the summer, I continue to be amazed by the reactions of many candidates when they are informed that they have been unsuccessful.
So many genuinely thank us for telling them, usually adding that few do these days. And at all levels! Why are so many agencies failing to tell candidates they have not got the job? We always do as it allows candidates to focus on other opportunities and some feedback can help most individuals with their job search.
Two Fingers to the Two Pager
15 June, 2011
They stick out like sore thumbs: carefully adjusted font size and margins to allow the CV to fit neatly onto two pages. The outplacement guys have been at it again - every CV must be no more and no less than two pages. Why? Does such a small space capture adequately a distinguished work history? I think not, especially for interim work.
Very few people can encapsulate their careers effectively on two pages, even with professional help, and particularly when the individual has a long and successful career behind them. Agreed, ten pages is much too long but there is a middle ground that allows more detail without the resume turning into an epistle. Of course, the argument supporting the use of two pagers is that busy executives absorb that amount and read no further but there is a flaw in this logic.
To see how much information a hirer actually receives, it is worth comparing the two generalised recruitment processes - one drawn out and the other fast moving. For a permanent position, the consultant will review applications, interview a select few and then submit a shortlist to their client. The shortlist will contain the candidates’ CVs augmented with additional information gleaned from the interviews and so the hirer ends up with more than two pages on each candidate. For an interim opening, the consultant searches the register of interim candidates who will normally have been previously vetted in an interview, clears their availability and then submits the shortlist to the client using the CVs held in the interim provider’s database. This will be done in days, not weeks or months, as is the case for permanent recruitment, and there is rarely time suitably to embellish the CV to enhance relevant experience or knowledge. Consequently, the hirer of an interim receives less information on a candidate that has a CV prepared during outplacement than a hirer of a permanent candidate would get for the same person. And yet they need more not less information to make the hiring decision.
So, the different recruitment processes dictate that CVs for interims should be longer than two pages to provide sufficient information for a reasoned decision to be made on a selection. But does the content need to be different too? A permanent recruit has time to grow into a role whereas an interim must be effective from the first day of the assignment. Therefore, the hiring manager needs to be sure that an interim has performed an identical or very similar role or roles in the recent past. This means that for an interim CV, the latest 3-4 years experience needs more detail than previous work so that the direct relevance to the position can be seen and probed at an interview. A permanent candidate still needs to show that they have pertinent skills but, in contrast, the emphasis is more on having the right personal fit to the organisation and to show that they can call upon all of their experience and achievements to succeed in the position in the longer term.
So why do outplacement advisors insist on two page CVs, even for interim work? Why do they advise using the same CV for interim and permanent recruitment? Is it a lack of understanding of the interim market by outplacement firms? Probably, but that is a subject for another blog entry.
Quiet Market
06 October, 2016
July and August were quiet months as usual. In September we awaited the usual Autumn upturn but it never came. In fact, it still hasn't!
Personal Information
16 November, 2015
In light of the recent TalkTalk website hacking, we would like to emphasise that no personal information is held on our website.
Intermediaries Report to HMRC
06 August, 2015
To comply with HMRC's new reporting legislation, we recently submitted our intermediaries report for all those on fees with us. The first attempt came up with a formatting error on a (real and perfectly valid) line of an address. The Help team were as baffled as me. I repeated the exercise the next day and it worked! No changes were made.
It is an unnerving experience as there is no way of checking what has been uploaded or even that the correct file has been submitted. Fingers crossed!
The Summer Lull
20 July, 2015
With the summer lull fast approaching - August is our quietest month - it is worth looking at our current vacancies as we are still looking for candidates for a CIO position and a SAP programme director.
Responsive website
24 February, 2015
Our website is in the process of being upgraded to be responsive. Page by page the site will be made to react to mobile, tablet or PC screen sizes. The reason for the gradual change is to avoid giving the search engines digital apoplexy which may downgrade our search success.
Happy Christmas
12 December, 2014
Merry Christmas everyone.
For the new year, please would all people registered for interim work send updated CVs by email - update@turnoak.co.uk. Some of you notify us of availability by sending a message referring us to your LinkedIn page but we do not have the time to visit every link, extract the information and format it. If you want the best chance of coming up on our search then please send an email with your CV attached in Word format.
A Blend for Horsemeat
21 February, 2013
Ged Barnett had an article published today by Executive Grapevine which argues that the horsemeat scandal could have been avoided with better control of the supplier community. Read the article at Expert Insights or a transcript by clicking here.
Caution - Interim isn't for Everyone
25 January, 2013
Having just emailed all registered interims with CVs 2 years old or more, there are a lot of people who have changed email addresses or fail to reply. It becomes obvious that a lot of people "clutch at straws" following redundancy and see interim as a way out. Choosing interim as a last resort rarely works - if your heart is in it then you will succeed as an interim but otherwise stick to permie jobs.
LinkedIn
20 July, 2012
I receive numerous requests to LinkedIn every week. Receiving so many, I have become selective about accepting a request. For those I know, have met or those that have come with a recommendation there is no problem but I ignore those who use LinkedIn as a means of jumping onto our register of interim managers. Please send a CV through the Candidates section of this site.
That Feeling of Dread!
21 June, 2011
I had a feeling of dread recently and it's happened before! A new requirement for an interim manager arrived and in one of our real areas of strength within IT. But the forboding came from the words "our HR people will be handling this".
Sure enough, the requirement came through and we were given one working day to respond, even though the HR person was imminently to go on leave for a week. "I will be reading my emails while I am on holiday" was the (supposedly) reassuring message to go with it. 9 working days later and, after reminder emails, the news eventually arrives that the job has been rolled into a larger piece of work.
That is 8 days when 3 candidates have been left hanging because of poor organisation, a lack of communication or whatever. Why does it always happen when HR get involved?
The Curse of the Commentator
26 October, 2011
In my blog about market conditions in July, I boasted about our good performance despite the recession. I jumped the gun!
Although the successes earlier in the year are carrying us through, new business has become almost non-existent. The market seems to be deathly quiet now. July and August are our (relatively) quiet months with prospects normally picking up around the middle of September. We have not seen that upturn this year - let's hope it is just late.
Bad Manners
20 September, 2011
Having managed a number of recruitment campaigns, both interim and permanent, over the summer, I continue to be amazed by the reactions of many candidates when they are informed that they have been unsuccessful.
So many genuinely thank us for telling them, usually adding that few do these days. And at all levels! Why are so many agencies failing to tell candidates they have not got the job? We always do as it allows candidates to focus on other opportunities and some feedback can help most individuals with their job search.
Two Fingers to the Two Pager
15 June, 2011
They stick out like sore thumbs: carefully adjusted font size and margins to allow the CV to fit neatly onto two pages. The outplacement guys have been at it again - every CV must be no more and no less than two pages. Why? Does such a small space capture adequately a distinguished work history? I think not, especially for interim work.
Very few people can encapsulate their careers effectively on two pages, even with professional help, and particularly when the individual has a long and successful career behind them. Agreed, ten pages is much too long but there is a middle ground that allows more detail without the resume turning into an epistle. Of course, the argument supporting the use of two pagers is that busy executives absorb that amount and read no further but there is a flaw in this logic.
To see how much information a hirer actually receives, it is worth comparing the two generalised recruitment processes - one drawn out and the other fast moving. For a permanent position, the consultant will review applications, interview a select few and then submit a shortlist to their client. The shortlist will contain the candidates’ CVs augmented with additional information gleaned from the interviews and so the hirer ends up with more than two pages on each candidate. For an interim opening, the consultant searches the register of interim candidates who will normally have been previously vetted in an interview, clears their availability and then submits the shortlist to the client using the CVs held in the interim provider’s database. This will be done in days, not weeks or months, as is the case for permanent recruitment, and there is rarely time suitably to embellish the CV to enhance relevant experience or knowledge. Consequently, the hirer of an interim receives less information on a candidate that has a CV prepared during outplacement than a hirer of a permanent candidate would get for the same person. And yet they need more not less information to make the hiring decision.
So, the different recruitment processes dictate that CVs for interims should be longer than two pages to provide sufficient information for a reasoned decision to be made on a selection. But does the content need to be different too? A permanent recruit has time to grow into a role whereas an interim must be effective from the first day of the assignment. Therefore, the hiring manager needs to be sure that an interim has performed an identical or very similar role or roles in the recent past. This means that for an interim CV, the latest 3-4 years experience needs more detail than previous work so that the direct relevance to the position can be seen and probed at an interview. A permanent candidate still needs to show that they have pertinent skills but, in contrast, the emphasis is more on having the right personal fit to the organisation and to show that they can call upon all of their experience and achievements to succeed in the position in the longer term.
So why do outplacement advisors insist on two page CVs, even for interim work? Why do they advise using the same CV for interim and permanent recruitment? Is it a lack of understanding of the interim market by outplacement firms? Probably, but that is a subject for another blog entry.
Quiet Market
06 October, 2016
July and August were quiet months as usual. In September we awaited the usual Autumn upturn but it never came. In fact, it still hasn't!
Personal Information
16 November, 2015
In light of the recent TalkTalk website hacking, we would like to emphasise that no personal information is held on our website.
Intermediaries Report to HMRC
06 August, 2015
To comply with HMRC's new reporting legislation, we recently submitted our intermediaries report for all those on fees with us. The first attempt came up with a formatting error on a (real and perfectly valid) line of an address. The Help team were as baffled as me. I repeated the exercise the next day and it worked! No changes were made.
It is an unnerving experience as there is no way of checking what has been uploaded or even that the correct file has been submitted. Fingers crossed!
The Summer Lull
20 July, 2015
With the summer lull fast approaching - August is our quietest month - it is worth looking at our current vacancies as we are still looking for candidates for a CIO position and a SAP programme director.
Responsive website
24 February, 2015
Our website is in the process of being upgraded to be responsive. Page by page the site will be made to react to mobile, tablet or PC screen sizes. The reason for the gradual change is to avoid giving the search engines digital apoplexy which may downgrade our search success.
Happy Christmas
12 December, 2014
Merry Christmas everyone.
For the new year, please would all people registered for interim work send updated CVs by email - update@turnoak.co.uk. Some of you notify us of availability by sending a message referring us to your LinkedIn page but we do not have the time to visit every link, extract the information and format it. If you want the best chance of coming up on our search then please send an email with your CV attached in Word format.
A Blend for Horsemeat
21 February, 2013
Ged Barnett had an article published today by Executive Grapevine which argues that the horsemeat scandal could have been avoided with better control of the supplier community. Read the article at Expert Insights or a transcript by clicking here.
Caution - Interim isn't for Everyone
25 January, 2013
Having just emailed all registered interims with CVs 2 years old or more, there are a lot of people who have changed email addresses or fail to reply. It becomes obvious that a lot of people "clutch at straws" following redundancy and see interim as a way out. Choosing interim as a last resort rarely works - if your heart is in it then you will succeed as an interim but otherwise stick to permie jobs.
LinkedIn
20 July, 2012
I receive numerous requests to LinkedIn every week. Receiving so many, I have become selective about accepting a request. For those I know, have met or those that have come with a recommendation there is no problem but I ignore those who use LinkedIn as a means of jumping onto our register of interim managers. Please send a CV through the Candidates section of this site.
That Feeling of Dread!
21 June, 2011
I had a feeling of dread recently and it's happened before! A new requirement for an interim manager arrived and in one of our real areas of strength within IT. But the forboding came from the words "our HR people will be handling this".
Sure enough, the requirement came through and we were given one working day to respond, even though the HR person was imminently to go on leave for a week. "I will be reading my emails while I am on holiday" was the (supposedly) reassuring message to go with it. 9 working days later and, after reminder emails, the news eventually arrives that the job has been rolled into a larger piece of work.
That is 8 days when 3 candidates have been left hanging because of poor organisation, a lack of communication or whatever. Why does it always happen when HR get involved?
The Curse of the Commentator
26 October, 2011
In my blog about market conditions in July, I boasted about our good performance despite the recession. I jumped the gun!
Although the successes earlier in the year are carrying us through, new business has become almost non-existent. The market seems to be deathly quiet now. July and August are our (relatively) quiet months with prospects normally picking up around the middle of September. We have not seen that upturn this year - let's hope it is just late.
Bad Manners
20 September, 2011
Having managed a number of recruitment campaigns, both interim and permanent, over the summer, I continue to be amazed by the reactions of many candidates when they are informed that they have been unsuccessful.
So many genuinely thank us for telling them, usually adding that few do these days. And at all levels! Why are so many agencies failing to tell candidates they have not got the job? We always do as it allows candidates to focus on other opportunities and some feedback can help most individuals with their job search.
Two Fingers to the Two Pager
15 June, 2011
They stick out like sore thumbs: carefully adjusted font size and margins to allow the CV to fit neatly onto two pages. The outplacement guys have been at it again - every CV must be no more and no less than two pages. Why? Does such a small space capture adequately a distinguished work history? I think not, especially for interim work.
Very few people can encapsulate their careers effectively on two pages, even with professional help, and particularly when the individual has a long and successful career behind them. Agreed, ten pages is much too long but there is a middle ground that allows more detail without the resume turning into an epistle. Of course, the argument supporting the use of two pagers is that busy executives absorb that amount and read no further but there is a flaw in this logic.
To see how much information a hirer actually receives, it is worth comparing the two generalised recruitment processes - one drawn out and the other fast moving. For a permanent position, the consultant will review applications, interview a select few and then submit a shortlist to their client. The shortlist will contain the candidates’ CVs augmented with additional information gleaned from the interviews and so the hirer ends up with more than two pages on each candidate. For an interim opening, the consultant searches the register of interim candidates who will normally have been previously vetted in an interview, clears their availability and then submits the shortlist to the client using the CVs held in the interim provider’s database. This will be done in days, not weeks or months, as is the case for permanent recruitment, and there is rarely time suitably to embellish the CV to enhance relevant experience or knowledge. Consequently, the hirer of an interim receives less information on a candidate that has a CV prepared during outplacement than a hirer of a permanent candidate would get for the same person. And yet they need more not less information to make the hiring decision.
So, the different recruitment processes dictate that CVs for interims should be longer than two pages to provide sufficient information for a reasoned decision to be made on a selection. But does the content need to be different too? A permanent recruit has time to grow into a role whereas an interim must be effective from the first day of the assignment. Therefore, the hiring manager needs to be sure that an interim has performed an identical or very similar role or roles in the recent past. This means that for an interim CV, the latest 3-4 years experience needs more detail than previous work so that the direct relevance to the position can be seen and probed at an interview. A permanent candidate still needs to show that they have pertinent skills but, in contrast, the emphasis is more on having the right personal fit to the organisation and to show that they can call upon all of their experience and achievements to succeed in the position in the longer term.
So why do outplacement advisors insist on two page CVs, even for interim work? Why do they advise using the same CV for interim and permanent recruitment? Is it a lack of understanding of the interim market by outplacement firms? Probably, but that is a subject for another blog entry.
Quiet Market
06 October, 2016
July and August were quiet months as usual. In September we awaited the usual Autumn upturn but it never came. In fact, it still hasn't!
Personal Information
16 November, 2015
In light of the recent TalkTalk website hacking, we would like to emphasise that no personal information is held on our website.
Intermediaries Report to HMRC
06 August, 2015
To comply with HMRC's new reporting legislation, we recently submitted our intermediaries report for all those on fees with us. The first attempt came up with a formatting error on a (real and perfectly valid) line of an address. The Help team were as baffled as me. I repeated the exercise the next day and it worked! No changes were made.
It is an unnerving experience as there is no way of checking what has been uploaded or even that the correct file has been submitted. Fingers crossed!
The Summer Lull
20 July, 2015
With the summer lull fast approaching - August is our quietest month - it is worth looking at our current vacancies as we are still looking for candidates for a CIO position and a SAP programme director.
Responsive website
24 February, 2015
Our website is in the process of being upgraded to be responsive. Page by page the site will be made to react to mobile, tablet or PC screen sizes. The reason for the gradual change is to avoid giving the search engines digital apoplexy which may downgrade our search success.
Happy Christmas
12 December, 2014
Merry Christmas everyone.
For the new year, please would all people registered for interim work send updated CVs by email - update@turnoak.co.uk. Some of you notify us of availability by sending a message referring us to your LinkedIn page but we do not have the time to visit every link, extract the information and format it. If you want the best chance of coming up on our search then please send an email with your CV attached in Word format.
A Blend for Horsemeat
21 February, 2013
Ged Barnett had an article published today by Executive Grapevine which argues that the horsemeat scandal could have been avoided with better control of the supplier community. Read the article at Expert Insights or a transcript by clicking here.
Caution - Interim isn't for Everyone
25 January, 2013
Having just emailed all registered interims with CVs 2 years old or more, there are a lot of people who have changed email addresses or fail to reply. It becomes obvious that a lot of people "clutch at straws" following redundancy and see interim as a way out. Choosing interim as a last resort rarely works - if your heart is in it then you will succeed as an interim but otherwise stick to permie jobs.
LinkedIn
20 July, 2012
I receive numerous requests to LinkedIn every week. Receiving so many, I have become selective about accepting a request. For those I know, have met or those that have come with a recommendation there is no problem but I ignore those who use LinkedIn as a means of jumping onto our register of interim managers. Please send a CV through the Candidates section of this site.
That Feeling of Dread!
21 June, 2011
I had a feeling of dread recently and it's happened before! A new requirement for an interim manager arrived and in one of our real areas of strength within IT. But the forboding came from the words "our HR people will be handling this".
Sure enough, the requirement came through and we were given one working day to respond, even though the HR person was imminently to go on leave for a week. "I will be reading my emails while I am on holiday" was the (supposedly) reassuring message to go with it. 9 working days later and, after reminder emails, the news eventually arrives that the job has been rolled into a larger piece of work.
That is 8 days when 3 candidates have been left hanging because of poor organisation, a lack of communication or whatever. Why does it always happen when HR get involved?
The Curse of the Commentator
26 October, 2011
In my blog about market conditions in July, I boasted about our good performance despite the recession. I jumped the gun!
Although the successes earlier in the year are carrying us through, new business has become almost non-existent. The market seems to be deathly quiet now. July and August are our (relatively) quiet months with prospects normally picking up around the middle of September. We have not seen that upturn this year - let's hope it is just late.
Bad Manners
20 September, 2011
Having managed a number of recruitment campaigns, both interim and permanent, over the summer, I continue to be amazed by the reactions of many candidates when they are informed that they have been unsuccessful.
So many genuinely thank us for telling them, usually adding that few do these days. And at all levels! Why are so many agencies failing to tell candidates they have not got the job? We always do as it allows candidates to focus on other opportunities and some feedback can help most individuals with their job search.
Two Fingers to the Two Pager
15 June, 2011
They stick out like sore thumbs: carefully adjusted font size and margins to allow the CV to fit neatly onto two pages. The outplacement guys have been at it again - every CV must be no more and no less than two pages. Why? Does such a small space capture adequately a distinguished work history? I think not, especially for interim work.
Very few people can encapsulate their careers effectively on two pages, even with professional help, and particularly when the individual has a long and successful career behind them. Agreed, ten pages is much too long but there is a middle ground that allows more detail without the resume turning into an epistle. Of course, the argument supporting the use of two pagers is that busy executives absorb that amount and read no further but there is a flaw in this logic.
To see how much information a hirer actually receives, it is worth comparing the two generalised recruitment processes - one drawn out and the other fast moving. For a permanent position, the consultant will review applications, interview a select few and then submit a shortlist to their client. The shortlist will contain the candidates’ CVs augmented with additional information gleaned from the interviews and so the hirer ends up with more than two pages on each candidate. For an interim opening, the consultant searches the register of interim candidates who will normally have been previously vetted in an interview, clears their availability and then submits the shortlist to the client using the CVs held in the interim provider’s database. This will be done in days, not weeks or months, as is the case for permanent recruitment, and there is rarely time suitably to embellish the CV to enhance relevant experience or knowledge. Consequently, the hirer of an interim receives less information on a candidate that has a CV prepared during outplacement than a hirer of a permanent candidate would get for the same person. And yet they need more not less information to make the hiring decision.
So, the different recruitment processes dictate that CVs for interims should be longer than two pages to provide sufficient information for a reasoned decision to be made on a selection. But does the content need to be different too? A permanent recruit has time to grow into a role whereas an interim must be effective from the first day of the assignment. Therefore, the hiring manager needs to be sure that an interim has performed an identical or very similar role or roles in the recent past. This means that for an interim CV, the latest 3-4 years experience needs more detail than previous work so that the direct relevance to the position can be seen and probed at an interview. A permanent candidate still needs to show that they have pertinent skills but, in contrast, the emphasis is more on having the right personal fit to the organisation and to show that they can call upon all of their experience and achievements to succeed in the position in the longer term.
So why do outplacement advisors insist on two page CVs, even for interim work? Why do they advise using the same CV for interim and permanent recruitment? Is it a lack of understanding of the interim market by outplacement firms? Probably, but that is a subject for another blog entry.
Quiet Market
06 October, 2016
July and August were quiet months as usual. In September we awaited the usual Autumn upturn but it never came. In fact, it still hasn't!
Personal Information
16 November, 2015
In light of the recent TalkTalk website hacking, we would like to emphasise that no personal information is held on our website.
Intermediaries Report to HMRC
06 August, 2015
To comply with HMRC's new reporting legislation, we recently submitted our intermediaries report for all those on fees with us. The first attempt came up with a formatting error on a (real and perfectly valid) line of an address. The Help team were as baffled as me. I repeated the exercise the next day and it worked! No changes were made.
It is an unnerving experience as there is no way of checking what has been uploaded or even that the correct file has been submitted. Fingers crossed!
The Summer Lull
20 July, 2015
With the summer lull fast approaching - August is our quietest month - it is worth looking at our current vacancies as we are still looking for candidates for a CIO position and a SAP programme director.
Responsive website
24 February, 2015
Our website is in the process of being upgraded to be responsive. Page by page the site will be made to react to mobile, tablet or PC screen sizes. The reason for the gradual change is to avoid giving the search engines digital apoplexy which may downgrade our search success.
Happy Christmas
12 December, 2014
Merry Christmas everyone.
For the new year, please would all people registered for interim work send updated CVs by email - update@turnoak.co.uk. Some of you notify us of availability by sending a message referring us to your LinkedIn page but we do not have the time to visit every link, extract the information and format it. If you want the best chance of coming up on our search then please send an email with your CV attached in Word format.
A Blend for Horsemeat
21 February, 2013
Ged Barnett had an article published today by Executive Grapevine which argues that the horsemeat scandal could have been avoided with better control of the supplier community. Read the article at Expert Insights or a transcript by clicking here.
Caution - Interim isn't for Everyone
25 January, 2013
Having just emailed all registered interims with CVs 2 years old or more, there are a lot of people who have changed email addresses or fail to reply. It becomes obvious that a lot of people "clutch at straws" following redundancy and see interim as a way out. Choosing interim as a last resort rarely works - if your heart is in it then you will succeed as an interim but otherwise stick to permie jobs.
LinkedIn
20 July, 2012
I receive numerous requests to LinkedIn every week. Receiving so many, I have become selective about accepting a request. For those I know, have met or those that have come with a recommendation there is no problem but I ignore those who use LinkedIn as a means of jumping onto our register of interim managers. Please send a CV through the Candidates section of this site.
That Feeling of Dread!
21 June, 2011
I had a feeling of dread recently and it's happened before! A new requirement for an interim manager arrived and in one of our real areas of strength within IT. But the forboding came from the words "our HR people will be handling this".
Sure enough, the requirement came through and we were given one working day to respond, even though the HR person was imminently to go on leave for a week. "I will be reading my emails while I am on holiday" was the (supposedly) reassuring message to go with it. 9 working days later and, after reminder emails, the news eventually arrives that the job has been rolled into a larger piece of work.
That is 8 days when 3 candidates have been left hanging because of poor organisation, a lack of communication or whatever. Why does it always happen when HR get involved?
The Curse of the Commentator
26 October, 2011
In my blog about market conditions in July, I boasted about our good performance despite the recession. I jumped the gun!
Although the successes earlier in the year are carrying us through, new business has become almost non-existent. The market seems to be deathly quiet now. July and August are our (relatively) quiet months with prospects normally picking up around the middle of September. We have not seen that upturn this year - let's hope it is just late.
Bad Manners
20 September, 2011
Having managed a number of recruitment campaigns, both interim and permanent, over the summer, I continue to be amazed by the reactions of many candidates when they are informed that they have been unsuccessful.
So many genuinely thank us for telling them, usually adding that few do these days. And at all levels! Why are so many agencies failing to tell candidates they have not got the job? We always do as it allows candidates to focus on other opportunities and some feedback can help most individuals with their job search.
Two Fingers to the Two Pager
15 June, 2011
They stick out like sore thumbs: carefully adjusted font size and margins to allow the CV to fit neatly onto two pages. The outplacement guys have been at it again - every CV must be no more and no less than two pages. Why? Does such a small space capture adequately a distinguished work history? I think not, especially for interim work.
Very few people can encapsulate their careers effectively on two pages, even with professional help, and particularly when the individual has a long and successful career behind them. Agreed, ten pages is much too long but there is a middle ground that allows more detail without the resume turning into an epistle. Of course, the argument supporting the use of two pagers is that busy executives absorb that amount and read no further but there is a flaw in this logic.
To see how much information a hirer actually receives, it is worth comparing the two generalised recruitment processes - one drawn out and the other fast moving. For a permanent position, the consultant will review applications, interview a select few and then submit a shortlist to their client. The shortlist will contain the candidates’ CVs augmented with additional information gleaned from the interviews and so the hirer ends up with more than two pages on each candidate. For an interim opening, the consultant searches the register of interim candidates who will normally have been previously vetted in an interview, clears their availability and then submits the shortlist to the client using the CVs held in the interim provider’s database. This will be done in days, not weeks or months, as is the case for permanent recruitment, and there is rarely time suitably to embellish the CV to enhance relevant experience or knowledge. Consequently, the hirer of an interim receives less information on a candidate that has a CV prepared during outplacement than a hirer of a permanent candidate would get for the same person. And yet they need more not less information to make the hiring decision.
So, the different recruitment processes dictate that CVs for interims should be longer than two pages to provide sufficient information for a reasoned decision to be made on a selection. But does the content need to be different too? A permanent recruit has time to grow into a role whereas an interim must be effective from the first day of the assignment. Therefore, the hiring manager needs to be sure that an interim has performed an identical or very similar role or roles in the recent past. This means that for an interim CV, the latest 3-4 years experience needs more detail than previous work so that the direct relevance to the position can be seen and probed at an interview. A permanent candidate still needs to show that they have pertinent skills but, in contrast, the emphasis is more on having the right personal fit to the organisation and to show that they can call upon all of their experience and achievements to succeed in the position in the longer term.
So why do outplacement advisors insist on two page CVs, even for interim work? Why do they advise using the same CV for interim and permanent recruitment? Is it a lack of understanding of the interim market by outplacement firms? Probably, but that is a subject for another blog entry.
