Ola Younis is a data scientist who recently moved from work in the conveyancing sector to working for ACCA, the global body for professional accountants.

In this interview, Ola reflects explicitly on the learning points that make for success in negotiating the application and selection processes in order to win a much-desired professional role.

Her sophisticated insights take us far beyond the standard types of advice for candidates. In particular, Ola explains how to:

• develop an understanding and appreciation of the employer's needs and preferences - and how that can help a candidate to communicate effectively
• work in partnership with an agency - and how the agency can add value

- and, intriguingly, how to think of oneself during the process "as a cube".

Credits and affiliations

Dr Ola Younis is Qualification Content Lead at ACCA.

The interviewer is Anthony Haynes, Communications Director at FJ Wilson Talent Services. Anthony also edited the episode.

The music is by Harry Chalmers.

Finally, what we do

FJ Wilson Talent Services provides recruitment and talent development services and also coaching for individuals.

We specialise in professional roles at mid or senior level, Our core market comprises organisations for professionals - typically membership organisations, awarding bodies, regulators, learning providers, and charities.

To find out more about our services and to contact us, visit our website fjwilson.com.

Anthony Haynes writes: This episode focuses on two concepts - outsourced employment and employers of record - that have become increasingly important in the landscapes of employment and recruitment.

To guide us through the terrain, we access the expertise of Janet De-Havilland, Founder and CEO of Pendragon CEO.

Janet first maps out the key concepts (and distinguishing them from umbrella employment) and then explains ways of working with

• employers
• talent agencies

In the process, she identifies the major challenges and pitfalls involved and outlines changes in policy.

Credits

Music: Harry Chalmers
Audio editing: Bart Hallmark

Finally, what we do

FJ Wilson Talent Services provides recruitment and talent development services and also coaching for individuals.

We specialise in professional roles at mid or senior level, Our core market comprises organisations for professionals - typically membership bodies, learning providers, and awarding bodies.

To find out more about our services and to contact us, visit our website fjwilson.com.

Anthony Haynes writes: Matthew Redford, the General Osteopathic Council's CEO and Registrar, tells the story of how the General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) went about improving its talent acquisition from the perspective of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

Focusing on the appointment of non-executives, Matthew recounts how the GOsC moved from making appointments that were predominantly white and male to markedly more diverse outcomes.

Some of the steps were small, some fairly obvious - and some of them were altogether bolder...

Credits

Music: Harry Chalmers
Editing: Simon Haynes

Finally, what we do

FJ Wilson Talent Services provides recruitment and talent development services and also coaching for individuals.

We specialise in professional roles at mid or senior level, Our core market comprises organisations for professionals - typically membership bodies, learning providers, and awarding bodies.

To find out more about our services and to contact us, visit our website fjwilson.com.

Anthony Haynes writes: On this podcast, we've tended to focus on talent acquisition and career development, especially in relation to our core market - which comprises professional organisation (membership bodies, awarding bodies, and learning providers). But we've been intending for some time now to pivot occasionally to feature the work of our clients more broadly.

In this, the first episode of this type, we had the good fortune to interview Dr Valerie Vaughan-Dick (CEO, RIBA). We discuss:

• RIBA's role
• current priorities for RIBA
• acting as a voice of the profession
• the changing needs for skills and human capital
• Valerie's careerl, including her involvement with the built environment and urban regeneration

Link

Royal Institute of British Architects: https://www.architecture.com/


Further listening

We hope you found listening to this episode rewarding. If so, you might also be interested in:

• Establishing a culture of coaching, with Vanessa Harwood-Whitcher
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion, with Olivia Hill (AAT)
• How to improve recruitment practices, with Afrah Qassim (Savera UK)

Finally, what we do

FJ Wilson Talent Services provides recruitment and talent development services and also coaching for individuals.

We specialise in professional roles at mid or senior level, Our core market comprises organisations for professionals - typically membership organisations, awarding bodies, regulators, learning providers, and charities.

To find out more about our services and to contact us, visit our website fjwilson.com.

Anthony Haynes writes: Welcome to a new season (our 7th)! In this episode, I had the pleasure of interviewing Olivia Hill, People Director of Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT).

We discussed the initiatives that AAT have embedded concerning diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). In particular, we focused on:

• the role of data - its collection and reporting - in providing the foundation stones for DEI strategy
• measuring progress and formulating and reviewing targets
• taking action: ensuring that practical measures are taken to have an impact on the organisation and the wider world

In the process we explore such key themes as access to the profession, membership engagement, performance management, and the role of third parties.

Finally, what we do

FJ Wilson Talent Services provides recruitment and talent development services and also coaching for individuals.

We specialise in professional roles at mid or senior level, Our core market comprises organisations for professionals - typically membership organisations, awarding bodies, regulators, learning providers, and charities.

To find out more about our services and to contact us, visit our website fjwilson.com.

Anthony Haynes writes: Our experience of working with organisations for professionals (membership organisations, learning providers, and awarding bodies) shows that there is a long-term and still growing trend of wishing to recruit people who can help the employer develop a sharper commercial edge.

In this episode, Fiona Wilson (MD of FJ Wilson Talent Services) provides detailed guidance on where the challenges lie and how they can be avoided or overcome. She focuses on the issues of

• candidate attraction
• selection processes
• induction

This is the first episode in our Talent Report series in which Fiona provides insights gleaned from developments in the talent industry and the market place.

Further listening

We hope you found this episode rewarding. If so, other episodes likely to be of interest include

• How to improve recruitment practices: Afrah Qassim of Savera UK
• Establishing a culture of coaching, with Vanessa Harwood-Whitcher
• Good practice in onboarding and induction, with Dawn Pike

Credits

• Editing: Simon Haynes
• music: Harry Chalmers

Finally, what we do

FJ Wilson Talent Services provides recruitment and talent development services and also coaching for individuals.

We specialise in professional roles at mid or senior level, Our core market comprises organisations for professionals - typically membership organisations, awarding bodies, regulators, learning providers, and charities.

To find out more about our services and to contact us, visit our website fjwilson.com.

Anthony Haynes writes: Once a recruitment agency has been engaged and briefed on a role, the question arises of how to conduct the search for potential candidates.

This entails two entwined considerations, namely how to conduct the search efficiently and how to ensure that the search aligns with DEI factors.

Here Sherah Beckley interviews FJWTS Managing Director, Fiona Wilson, on both aspects of the question.

Their conversation includes a discussion of such factors as search tools and search protocols. The emphasis throughout is on going beyond the obvious to develop flexible, creative, and proactive strategies,

Further listening

We hope you found this episode rewarding. If so, other episodes likely to be of interest include

• How talent acquisition works: the researcher role
• Writing job advertisements: a DEI perspective

Finally, what we do

FJ Wilson Talent Services provides recruitment and talent development services and also coaching for individuals.

We specialise in professional roles at mid or senior level, Our core market comprises organisations for professionals - typically membership bodies, learning providers, and awarding bodies.

To find out more about our services and to contact us, visit our website fjwilson.com.

Anthony Haynes writes: 'Being passionate' has become a cliché of management speech - but in the case of Vanessa Harwood-Whitcher (CEO, Institute of Occupational Safety and Health), the culture of coaching is genuinely a passion.

Our conversation explores, in the context of IOSH's culture, the relation of coaching to a range of concepts - notably

• empowerment
• learning culture
• learning from each other - informally as well as formally

In the process, we consider the significance of inclusion, psychological safety, reverse mentoring, feedback, and reflective learning.

Links

IoSH website: iosh.com


Further listening

We hope you found this episode a rewarding listen. If so, you might particularly enjoy the following:

• Coaching: an inside view

Credits

Thanks to Harry Chalmers for the music and Bart Hallmark for audio editing.

Finally, what we do

FJ Wilson Talent Services provides recruitment and talent development services and also coaching for individuals.

We specialise in professional roles at mid or senior level, Our core market comprises organisations for professionals - typically membership bodies, learning providers, and awarding bodies.

To find out more about our services and to contact us, visit our website fjwilson.com.