Zara Dodds

⚖️ The TA Capacity Planning Guide. Created from interviews with 72 Heads of People & Talent, capturing 600+ data points. A strategic resource for TA and People leaders in tech who need to: - Understand recruiter productivity - Understand capacity calculation - Benchmark against peers - Prioritise where to invest (or defend) capacity What’s inside: - Benchmarks by Company Size Live reqs hires/rec/month sourcing mix tech / AI maturity - Tooling Trends + Automation ROI What's adopted, what’s working, and where time is actually saved - Top Bottlenecks The constraints holding most teams back - Strategic Plays for 2025 AI-native workflows, skills-first hiring, dynamic planning models 🎯 Want the full report ? Comment "CAP REPORT" and I'll share access

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Why is CRM often the last thing brands fix, and the first thing that makes them money? 🤔 Brands obsess over new customer acquisition - paid ads, influencers, flashy site launches. Meanwhile, CRM sits in the backlog. But in practice, CRM often gives the best returns. Take Harrods as an example: 💎 2.5 million registered loyalty members. 💎 Top 0.1% of customers generate ~20% of total sales. 💎 85% of spend comes through their “Rewards” programme. 💎 Loyalty programme members spend ~6% more than non-members. Fixing CRM isn’t sexy - It’s often complex. But when done properly (single view of the customer, meaningful loyalty tiers, personalised experiences), it becomes your first lever to unlock real revenue and stability. Is your CRM still on your to-fix list? Definitely worth getting ahead of your competitors! #CRM #Retention #Loyalty

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So many of you keep asking me about the product market in London right now, so I thought I’d put together a quick snapshot. The reality is, the market has slowed down a bit. Right now there are around 23,000 product management roles across Europe, with London being a big hub. That’s about 12% fewer than last year, so hiring isn’t moving as fast as it was. (Plus there is so much competition!) That said, there’s still a lot happening. Most roles being advertised are in SaaS, fintech, and AI driven products, with teams focusing on growth, customer retention, and scaling up. Even though the overall volume of jobs has dipped, companies are getting more strategic about who they hire, looking for PM's who can hit the ground running, own their product area, and make a measurable impact. Looking ahead, I’m cautiously optimistic. Lots of companies are stabilising their hiring plans, and there are strong opportunities for PMs in sectors like fintech, SaaS and AI. If you stay proactive, upskill where needed, and stay connected, you’ll be well placed to land a great role over the next 6 months. It’s not the boom of a couple of years ago, but there’s plenty to be excited about if you’re in the right space. Keep learning, keep networking, and the opportunities will come. Sources: Recruited Tech European PM Job Market Insights 2025 Intelligent People: What London Companies Look For in Product Managers Mind the Product UK Hiring Managers Reveal Product Management Realities Consortia: Product Management Hiring 2025 #ProductManagement #LondonJobs #HiringTrends #CareerGrowth #PMJobs #SaaS #Fintech #AI #Networking

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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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One month back at OpusRS – here’s what I’m seeing in the JavaScript contract market. It’s been great to get stuck back in, and I’ve already noticed some clear trends across the UK JavaScript contract space. 🏢 Hybrid working is shifting. Fully remote roles are becoming less common, with more contracts now asking for 2–3 days a week in the office. Collaboration and team presence are making a comeback. 💬 Contractors who know how to add value and communicate clearly with clients are being consistently extended. It’s not just about technical ability—commercial awareness and soft skills are making a real difference. 📉 Rates have taken a hit compared to a few years ago, but demand is still strong for those who can hit the ground running. ⚙️ Next.js is gaining serious traction. While React remains dominant with 39.5% of developers using it, Next.js is quickly rising with 17.9% adoption—thanks to its performance benefits and built-in features like server-side rendering and static site generation If you're a contractor looking for your next move, or a business needing top JavaScript talent, I’d love to connect. #JavaScript #NextJS #ReactJS #Contracting #TechRecruitment #OpusRS

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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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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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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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