Marco Li

Holiday season is over – hurrah for the job market! 😍 September is traditionally a really busy month for recruitment and so I thought jotting down my top 5 tips for getting cut through in the market would be welcomed! 1) Networking! For senior hires in particular, so much rests on your network or having people to vouch for you and recommend you. Most people have an ‘ick’ when they think about networking but start gently with asking for coffees with previous colleagues you’ve got on well with. I always tell people to imagine the situation the other way around – you’d be more than happy to help someone and have a coffee if they asked you and so it’s the same feeling in reverse. 2) Make sure your LinkedIn profile is optimised as an SEO tool for recruiters to be able to find you in their search. I have several tips on this if anyone wants to reach out for more advise, but as a starter for ten – your most recent job title on LinkedIn will be the one that governs whether you come up in recruiter’s searches. If your current job title is a little weird and wonderful, I’d make it more classic and standard. If you have changed it to saying ‘freelance’ or something open ended if you’re not in a full-time position then revert back to your old job title to ensure that you give yourself the best chance of appearing in a recruiter’s search. 3) Stay on the radar of recruiters. We speak to so many people, that it’s not always easy to remember everyone in detail. Just drop a line every month or so to the people you’ve met/had chats with to remind them you’re still on the market, how your search is going etc. It will help make you one of the first people to be called when new roles come up. 4) Controversial potentially, but also play the game with recruiters! The people who are helpful to us in terms of introducing us to people etc will be the people who stick in our minds the most to try and return the favour. 5) Don’t just rely on making a faceless application to a job. Do still send the application through the correct channel, but also reach out to the hiring manager for the job and send them a more personal message to help you stand out from the crowd. If you’re looking for a new role, or hiring then please do reach out. We have over 1000 5* Google reviews for a reason 🤩

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In big recruitment firms,  “𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩” is broken. Here’s why... Over the last 5 years with one client we had: >5 key consultants work with the client >10+ supporting team members >Delivering across a blend of permanent, contract, and consulting hires Result? That client scaled rapidly, worth 24bn JPY (~$16.3m USD) in recruitment value. No single recruiter could deliver that outcome! >It takes specialization. >It takes collaboration. >It takes solving problems across multiple hiring models. That’s the real value clients pay for. Steven Li follow for more cyber security recruitment content in Japan

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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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For all my Talent Acquisition friends - our HR Search Salary Guide 2025 shows a market that's slowly recovering 🚀 We've seen growth pockets across public sector, FMCG, construction and professional services. Tech hiring remains measured, but AI and automation are transform the TA space🤖 The result? Faster hiring, improved candidate experience and TA teams able to do more. But I truly believe we'll never lose the need for the human touch. Full insights + strategies for TA in 2025 here 🔗 https://lnkd.in/equa7tYp #TalentAcquisition #SalaryGuide #HRTrends #Hiring2025 #HRIreland

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Recruitment is a contact sport. 🏉 The more people you engage with, the more opportunities you create. High activity = results Quantity leads to momentum — and momentum uncovers quality. Quantity x Quality = Real, consistent success. Every top-performing recruiter started off by covering lots of ground. They weren’t just making calls — they were: - Learning their market - Fine-tuning their approach - Sharpening their instincts - Mastering their craft Reps build confidence. Confidence builds performance. And performance builds a career. 🔨

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The UK HR job market in 2025 is more complex than ever. We’re seeing fewer vacancies, sharper competition, and rising expectations on HR teams, all against a backdrop of economic pressures, regulatory change, and inconsistent adoption of AI. In my latest blog, I explore the greatest challenges reshaping HR recruitment today, and what they mean for employers, candidates, and consultants navigating this landscape. Link is in the comments, and leave your thoughts as well. #hrrecruitment

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Ready, Steady… Stop. It happens more often than we care to admit. A client gives the green light to recruit. The job spec is finalised, the role goes live, candidates are shared for consideration, then.. silence. Annual leave takes place, there's radio silence and processes stall. Meanwhile, great candidates are left in limbo—waiting for feedback, unsure if the role is still active, and naturally… exploring other offers. In today’s market, speed matters. So does communication. We understand holidays are essential. But releasing a job and disappearing for two weeks without a clear process or point of contact? That can do real damage: ✅ Top candidates drop out. ✅ Your reputation suffers. ✅ Your employer brand takes a silent hit. ✅ The same role has to be re-briefed—and re-advertised—weeks later. If you're planning time away, a simple fix goes a long way: 🔁 Align with your recruiter on timelines. 📅 Delegate decision-making while you're out. 📢 Communicate with candidates upfront. Candidates don’t expect instant hires—but they do expect clarity. The best people never hang around. Plan your hiring like you’d plan your holidays—thoughtfully and with follow-through. #HiringInIreland #GalwayJobs #RecruitmentTips #ConnachtCareers #IrishJobs #cpl #cpljobs #cplgalway

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Recruiters, don’t be blasé about your billings & commission structure when you are interviewing for a Recruitment position. When you’re interviewing with an agency, your numbers matter. So if you don't know them before you meet an Agency or speak to someone like me: find out. Or if you are a temp recruiter that isn't measured on revenue, it could be number of hours billed per week or day, or temps out. But know them. Be armed with that information. Because it helps you. It also helps you build your desk. We know you aren't billing/placing what you were 18 months ago. If you share your billings and are able to explain your commission structure and how much you have earned in comms, (or not earned) every Leader and Manager in the room will do the maths. Because we work it out backwards, starting with the comms you have earned. If you've earned a certain amount of commission, and your structure pays, for example 30% monthly and your salary is $80k, we can work out what you've billed. If the figures don’t add up, it’s obvious and it damages your credibility and honesty. Instead, approach it like this: Be transparent. The market has shifted. No one expects you to be billing what you were two years ago. Owning that reality shows maturity. Know your structure. Understand your commission scheme and be ready to explain how your earnings were calculated. Highlight your value. If your numbers dipped, explain what you did to adapt whether that’s client development, smarter sourcing, or candidate care. Agencies don’t want a fairy tale version of your billings. They want an honest recruiter who understands their desk and can talk about performance with confidence. 🥰 check out my list of recruitment jobs here. https://lnkd.in/gyyscyX

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Mid Year Market Temperature Check 💡 🎤 The current feeling from candidates is definitely one of frustration, over the last 12-18 months in the UK we have seen vacancy's decrease, unemployment increase and businesses under tremendous cost pressures when it comes to hiring. We have seen more restructures, redundancies and offshoring than there is building and hiring, pair that with more days back in the office being mandated, less people are moving roles and those vacancies that are available are extremely competitive to difficult to land the offer. Within Internal Audit, Risk & Controls specifically, Assurance professionals are working on the new Failure to Prevent Fraud legislation, Corporate Governance changes, the IIA Standards as well as their day job (!!) so people are feeling stretched and stressed but without the option to increase the team / use more co-source due to budget constraints only adding to this feeling of frustration. My advice to those candidates that have been in the market for a while, or new to the market is to 'try' to remain positive. The market is definitely tougher for candidates at the moment but this H1 at Michael Page, we have placed a record number of candidates into positions showing people are still getting the jobs they want! I would recommend partnering with an agency you trust, take on their feedback and allow us to manage your searches. We can help give you up to date market intel, CV advice and most importantly help to bypass the '300' direct applicants you're all seeing on the job profiles. Unfortunately for some, this is a market where you might have to sacrifice on your expected salary, job title and days in the office so also be aware of this. As we enter August (a typically very slow month due to annual leave and people enjoying the summer) try to remain positive, sharpen that CV and reach out to a specialist agency as it is our job to navigate this every day. There are unfortunately some that act unprofessionally often promising they're working on roles they haven't been briefed on but trust your gut and act with caution. Darragh O'Donnell Michael Page

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🛑 Your salary in agency recruitment probably won’t go up that much 🛑 Not the most motivational opener. But i'm being honest. Here's why.... The gap between a rookie recruiter and someone with 4 years’ experience (senior) can often be as little as a few thousand pounds. That’s it. The only way that rises more significantly is through billing more. And if the fee % to clients hasn’t changed in 10 years (you could still charge 20% in 2005 even), and UK wage growth has only crawled along — your average fee size hasn’t moved that much either. So while the market’s matured, the economics haven’t. Recruitment targets are generally the same as they've always been whilst cost's (in the main) to hire have risen. And if recruitment businesses are still working generally on a billings to pay ratio of around 33-38% per head then the only way to simply improve your pay is to focus on the size of your average fee. A higher average fee means greater billings Greater billings means greater earnings. It might mean a bigger base. But with a greater base comes greater responsibility. The recruitment entrapment. So whilst your average pint, average holiday, interest rates, cost of food, house prices have all dramatically risen. Your base hasn't. And it won't. But your fee can. If you focus on either senior appointments (UK), exec search or covering an international market. So sorry to say... Stop chasing a higher base and start chasing higher fees. I don't make the rules. It's just the economics don't fit. 07903 344 205 / [email protected]

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