Finalists for the 2010 NORAs revealed

2010 marks the tenth anniversary of the National Online Recruitment Awards, for which HR Magazine are Media Partner. This year, almost 28,000 nominations were made, for 592 separate recruitment websites. Founder of the NORAs, and Chair of the judging panel, Stephen O’Donnell said, “We are proud to announce the most diverse shortlist of Finalists in the history of the NORAs. The standard this year, particular amongst UK employers, has greatly impressed, and shows a marked advancement in progressive and sophisticated recruitment methods via the Internet. This year we have a special award to mark our 10th anniversary. The “Recruitment Website of the Decade Award will recognise websites which have made the greatest contribution to online recruitment, from a candidate’s perspective.” This is a one-off award to celebrate the site that has consistently been pushing the boundaries for candidate experience over the past 10 years. Nominees will be made up of all finalists and winners of the NORA since 2001. The winner of this award will have demonstrated that they are a true leader in the field over time, and should be the site to watch for the coming decade.

The awards event itself, will be held on Thursday 4th November, in Covent Garden, London. Full details of the NORAs can be seen at www.NORAuk.com.

The Full list of Finalists for the National Online Recruitment Awards 2010 are:

Best Generalist Job Board

Jobsite (www.jobsite.co.uk)

Monster (www.monster.co.uk)

Reed (www.Reed.co.uk)

Totaljobs (www.totaljobs.co.uk)

Fish4Jobs (www.Fish4Jobs.co.uk)

 

Best Specialist (Niche) Job Board

British Medical Jobs (www.britishmedicaljobs.com)

Only Marketing Jobs (www.onlymarketingjobs.com)

Retail Choice (www.retailchoice.com)

Secs in the City (www.secsinthecity.com)

eFinancial Careers (www.eFinancialCareers.co.uk)

Totally Legal (www.totallylegal.com)

Executive on the Web (www.executivesontheweb.com)

Nurses (www.nurses.co.uk)

 

Best Regional Job Board

Graduates Yorkshire (www.graduatesyorkshire.co.uk)

NI Job Finder (www.nijobfinder.co.uk)

Key 103 Jobs (www.Key103jobs.co.uk)

Jobs in Wales (www.jobsinwales.com)

S1Jobs (www.s1jobs.com)

 

Best National Recruitment Agency

Reed (www.reed.co.uk)

Advanced Resource Managers (www.arm.co.uk)

Pulse (www.pulsejobs.com/uk)

Progressive Recruitment (www.progressiverecruitment.com)

Michael Page (www.michaelpage.co.uk)

 

Best Small Recruitment Agency Website

Orchard (www.orchard.co.uk)

Chase Zander (www.chasezander.com)

Maxim Recruitment (www.maximrecruitment.co.uk/)

McCarthy Recruitment (www.mccarthyrecruitment.com/)

Inspiring Interns (www.inspiringinterns.com)

Ambitions Personel (www.ambitions-personnel.com)

Idex Recruitment (www.idexrecruitment.com)

PFJ (www.pfj.co.uk)

 

Best Major Employer Website

Claire’s Accessories (www.clairescareers.co.uk)

Army Jobs (www.armyjobs.mod.uk)

LV (www.jobs.lv.com/)

Yorkshire Building Society (www.ybs.jobs)

T-Mobile (www.t-mobilecareers.co.uk)

 

Best Small Employer Website

Jagex (www.jagex.com/careers/)

Advance Resource Managers (www.arm.jobs/)

GCS Recruitment (http://join.gcsltd.com)

Chase Zander (www.chasezander.com/work-for-us/)

Innocent Drinks (www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/)

 

Best Online Recruitment by a Consumer Publication

The Scotsman (www.scotsman.com/jobs/)

Express and Star (http://jobs.expressandstar.com/)

The Guardian (http://jobs.guardian.co.uk/)

The Telegraph (http://jobs.telegraph.co.uk/)

The Herald (www.heraldscotland.com/services/jobs/)

 

Best Online Recruitment by a Trade Publication

Retail Week (http://www.retail-week.com/careers)

Brand Republic (http://www.brandrepublic.com)

PR Week (http://www.prweekjobs.co.uk/)

Times Educational Supplement (http://www.tes.co.uk/)

Electronics Weekly (http://www.electronicsweekly.com/jobs/)

 

Best Employment Advice Website

My Work Search (www.myworksearch.co.uk)

Monster (http://career-advice.monster.co.uk/)

DWP Employment Index (http://direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/index.htm)

Career Player (http://www.careerplayer.com)

Guardian Careers (www.careers.guardian.co.uk)

 

Best Newcomer in Online Recruitment

CV See Me (www.cvseeme.co.uk)

Ambitions Personnel (www.ambitions-personnel.com)

CK Clinical (www.CKClinical.co.uk)

Food Industry Careers (www.foodindustrycareers.co.uk)

Inspiring Interns (www.inspiringinterns.com)

 

Best Innovation in Online Recruitment

OVIA (http://ovia.me/en)

CV See Me (www.cvseeme.co.uk)

Gatszu (www.gatszu.com)

TGI Friday FriDOiDS Blog (http://fridoids.co.uk/blog/)

Gala Coral Careers (http://galacoralcareers.com/)

 

Recruitment Website of the Decade

Jobsite (www.Jobsite.co.uk)

Reed (www.reed.co.uk)

MOD/ Army Jobs (www.armyjobs.mod.uk)

Totaljobs (www.totaljobs.co.uk)

S1 Jobs (www.s1jobs.com)

Monster (www.monster.co.uk/)

CV Library (www.cv-library.co.uk/)

Jobserve (www.jobserve.com)

Stephen O’Donnell, Director AlljobsUK.com (Chairman of Judging Panel)

Stephen@alljobsUK.com , 0141 5725301, 07801552149, www.linkedin.com/in/stephenodonnelluk

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SPECIAL AWARD ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE NORAS

To commemorate its tenth year, the National Online Recruitment Awards announces a unique special award for the “Recruitment Website of the Decade”.

Each year, since its inception, the National Online Recruitment Awards seeks to identify the very best examples of excellence in the recruitment sector. This is done by asking candidates themselves to nominate their favourite websites in each of the award categories, and to say why. There are 12 award categories, recognising job boards, publications, recruitment agencies and employers. The NORAs also recognises newcomers to the market and innovation in online recruitment. All of these awards are initially nominated by the public, and shortlisted by the NORAs panel of experts, from a candidate’s perspective. Only then will they have compiled the Finalists for each year’s NORAs.

This year the NORAs are making an exception. For the first time, and in celebration of the first 10 years of the NORAs, they will be presenting a very special award. The “Recruitment Website of the Decade” award will not be a nominated category, as all the contenders will be drawn from those sites who have already been nominated by candidates throughout the last ten years, and become Finalists and Winners for the NORAs. As the name suggests, this award will recognise those websites that have made the greatest contribution to online recruitment during the last ten years.

This year is the 10th anniversary of the awards. Stephen O’Donnell originally devised the NORAs in 2000, and held the first awards in 2001. Whilst ten years is a remarkable achievement in this sector, online recruitment has been a leading force in the development of the Internet since 1993, when Robbie Cowling founded JobServe. Since the year 2000, the NORAs has charted the birth and growth of many companies and websites which have become household names in the UK, including S1Jobs, Monster, Jobsite, CV-Library, Totaljobs, Reed, Telegraph Jobs, The Grocer and many, many more.

Stephen O’Donnell, Chairman of the NORAs said, “The NORAs are not your typical industry awards. From the beginning they have been all about the candidates; the jobseekers. We ask for public nominations because we are primarily focussed upon the benefi ts of online recruitment for each and every individual searching for jobs online. Last month we launched the nominations process for the tenth time. In the previous nine years of the NORAs, there have been 587 Finalists (over 220 unique), and 86 awards have been presented to 56 separate websites.”

He continued, “This year, we will also be considering each website’s presence on the mobile web, whether via a mobile website or iPhone/ Android application.”

The accolade “Recruitment Website of the Decade” can be achieved by only one website every ten years. This flagship award is sure to be much coveted, by those who aspire to such heights.

The Finalists for this, and all awards, will be announced on Tuesday 28th September, and the awards event itself will be on Thursday the 4th of November.

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Simple 1-Click Nomination For NATIONAL ONLINE RECRUITMENT AWARDS 2010

The National Online Recruitment Awards have now made the nomination process, for the tenth annual NORAs, simpler than ever before. Now even more candidates can easily participate in nominating their favourite websites.

In each of the past ten years, candidates have had to visit the awards website, www.NORAuk.com, and complete an online form, in order to nominate their preferred websites for these uniquely public-driven awards. The essential foundation of the NORAs is built upon nominations from jobseekers, and not votes, which be easily be manipulated online. Candidates are asked to nominate the recruitment websites they like best, in each of the 12 award categories, and give their reasons for doing so. This means that websites themselves do not have to register, or apply, to be considered. Each year, in addition, the NORAs have produced graphics for websites to display, in order to encourage their own visitors to nominate their site, and give reasons why. This has always proven to be very popular, but of course some sites don’t want to divert busy candidates from their job searching activities.

In response to this, the NORAs have now developed a unique “One-Click” nomination process. By registering online (http://www.norauk.com/nomination-material), webmasters can then select a suitable “Nominate this site” graphic, and then copy the unique HTML code to insert on their website. This then displays the chosen graphic where inserted, and enables candidates to nominate the site with a single click. Additionally, candidates are also given the opportunity to give direct, but anonymous, feedback, before continuing their pursuit of that ideal job.

In 2009 almost 25,000 nominations were received, for 657 separate recruitment websites. Stephen O’Donnell, Chair of the Judging Panel, said, “The greater the engagement we can encourage from individual job seekers, the greater depth of feedback we have to work with in selecting the Finalists for the awards. By considering in detail this candidate response, and assessing job sites from a candidate’s perspective, our panel of industry experts can arrive at a rich shortlist of sites, that best represent the very best internet recruitment services in the UK.”

“In less than 2 weeks, we have already had 50 websites register for ‘1-Click NORA Nomination’. More sites,
more nominations, and greater candidate involvement will further reinforce the credibility of the National
Online Recruitment Awards as it enters its second decade.”

Nominations will remain open until Friday 10th September, and the Winners will be revealed at the NORA’s
10th Anniversary Event on the 4th November.

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National Online Recruitment Awards 2010

Nominations have now opened for the National Online Recruitment Awards 2010 (NORAs). This marks the first full decade of the NORAs, which have closely plotted the emergence and growth of the UK online recruitment sector since 2000. Devised to recognise the very best recruitment websites, from a candidate’s perspective, the NORAs are respected as the defi nitive award in the industry, and a tangible achievement for those sites which truly excel in satisfying job seekers.

The 12 awards recognise dedicated job boards, recruitment agencies, employers, and publications which advertise vacancies online, over the past 12 months. The NORA’s also seeks to recognise the best employment advice websites, best newcomer, and the best innovation in online recruitment. This last award will surely be hotly contended, with the emergence of recruitment channels via social media, including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and many others. Mobile applications and websites will also be taken into account.

Nominations are open to anyone to contribute, and will be open until 10th September, via www.NORAuk.com. In 2009, there were over 24,000 nominations for 654 separate websites. The judging panel this year includes Luke McKend, Head of Classifi eds at Google, Matt Alder, former Head of Digital for Penna Barkers, Helen Reynolds, HB RIDA and former Chief Executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, and Dan McGuire MD of Broadbean Technology.

Stephen O’Donnell, Chairman of the Judging Panel says “Given the innovative responses to dramatic changes in the employment landscape in the UK, it will be fascinating to see which sites are serving candidates best. In the past year we can really see that the online recruitment industry is embracing many new media channels to deliver a promise of smarter, effective and effi cient candidate experience. Never before has this industry been quite so focussed on the needs of each individual candidate.”

Stephen O’Donnell, Director AlljobsUK.com (Chairman of Judging Panel)

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ONLINE RECRUITMENT VOLUMES INDICATE STEADY RECOVERY

Throw open the shutters, open the windows, and take the sandbags from the doors. The storm of recession has past, and we can all get back to normal. Perhaps not quite.According to the Office of National Statistics, the UK economy experienced growth of 0.1% in the last quarter, and unemployment unexpectedly fell by 7,000 in December. Now that the snow has cleared away, there’s nothing to stop us. These figures may be great for confidence, but there is much to overcome still in the recruitment market. Unemployment may have dropped slightly, but so too has the employment rate (down to 72.4% from a peak of 75% in early 2008). A study, produced in January by the CIPD, reveals that 1.31 million people were made redundant during the recession, and that two-thirds of those, who subsequently found work were paid an average of 28% less in their new job.

There are no prizes for guessing how this will affect the confidence of jobseekers, employers and the professional recruitment sector.This has been reflected in the volume of vacancies advertised online.The AlljobsUK.com Online Recruitment Index has monitored the number of job adverts on the UK’s major job boards for the last 10 years.If we take January 2008 to be the beginning of the employment crisis, then our Index was standing at 1,703.31. 2 years later, it’s 59% lower, at 821.51. In that time, the much predicted demise of print advertising as a primary advertising channel came to pass as. Whilst trade magazines and some newspapers still carry job adverts, it’s only with an accompanying job board.

In bald terms, the Alljobs Online Recruitment Index shows that the number of job adverts across the ten monitored sites has plummeted from 805,695 to a low of 258,992.Currently recovering slightly to 368,722, the details of each site are very illuminating. Firstly, we should know that many sites count their volume of vacancies differently, as they hold a job advert online for anything from a week to over a month. We collect weekly figures on how many vacancy adverts there are on each site at that time. The two charts, shown here, separate out Reed.co.uk and Totaljobs.com, as their volumes far exceed those of the other websites. Reed.co.uk is often taken to be an accurate indicator of job availability, as it is largely unimpeded by cost considerations. Free advertising means that, within limits, all agencies can advertise every single vacancy they have. Despite their huge volumes, Reed is currently displaying only 31% of its maximum number of job adverts over the last 2 years. Similarly, and at the other end of the scale, JustEngineers.net have lost over 90% of their volume during the same period. Engineering and manufacturing sectors have clearly taken a big hit. Furthermore, whilst Monster have mostly outperformed their immediate rivals, Jobsite, Totaljobs and CVLibrary, they are now dipping and have lost 65% of their peak volume. Not only are there fewer vacancies, but a lesser proportion are being advertised in bulk on the biggest job boards.

As recruiters have been forced to re-evaluate all expenditure, online advertising with the major job boards has suffered enormously. The old model of “advertise and wait” simply doesn’t work on its own anymore, and recruiters are having to be far more active and creative, in order to identify and attract candidates. Social media websites, in the form of Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter are being exploited, and all networks are being leveraged by recruiters determined to satisfy clients.

We have now seen an encouraging bounce-back from the extended winter dip. The Alljobs Index is up 244.48 since New Year, and many other market indicators are positive. If the statistics are anything to go by, where we have now had steady figures for the past 12 months, the threat of a “double-dip” appears to be increasingly unlikely.

Stephen O’Donnell FIPD

Stephen O’Donnell has been a professional Recruiter since 1987. Founding AlljobsUK.com and the National Online Recruitment Awards in 2000, he is also Head of Sales & Marketing for 1Job.co.uk.

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