Fellows Poll: We Asked, You Answered
It has been quite a while since our last poll roundup so we thought we’d treat you to a look back at some of the highlights of 2015/16.
Please note the following pie charts are included for mostly snazzy artistic purposes. In order to gain an idea on how the votes were split, the segments correspond to the answers in a clockwise fashion.
As IP recruiters we’re obviously very keen to get an insight into what catches our potentials candidates’ eye when reading a job advertisement. Salary was a clear winner with 30.8% of the vote, with a detailed job description being preferred over career progression and location.
In a world of hearsay and misconstrued notions of what a recruiter represents, we wanted to see what you value most from our service. No prizes in guessing that a good and honest reputation topped the poll with 35.3%. Although it is interesting to note that 29.4% of you weren’t fussed about the recruiters themselves, and would work with anyone who advertised a job that was of interest.
At Fellows and Associates it is no secret that we love a conference. According to our poll 33.3% of you feel the same way, viewing the events as entertainment masquerading as business. Of course there are also those who see it as an opportunity to grow business, with 22.2% of you viewing it as useful for building new contacts and 22.2% agreeing it help generate new revenue streams.
It seems that there’s many a Great Gatsby amongst you, with 38.5% voting for the Roaring Twenties.
For those of you looking to keep up to date with all things IP it seems that industry conferences and client meetings are not the place to go, with no-one voting for either on our poll. Discussions with colleagues and CPD events come out on top with 44.4% each.
We always like to reward those who put us in touch with a potential candidate who ultimately ends up in a new position (we currently offer a £200 Amazon Gift Card). Interestingly the vast majority of you, 58.3% in fact, said that it didn’t make a difference.
The land of the Hobbits, the Shire, topped this poll with 40.7%, with Hogwarts a not so close second with 22.2%. Arendelle brings up the rear with a meagre 7.4%.
We sometimes find that candidates can be hesitant to move even though we feel it could be beneficial for their career for them to do so. We were curious to see what would be the most common excuse amongst the visitors to our website. 30.8% were worried that nothing would change – a valid reason but often a myth regarding firms in the IP industry. We often speak to candidates with this concern and are able to alleviate some, if not all, of their fears.
Over the last few years we have published an annual salary survey that we are proud to say is one of the most accurate and resourceful on the market, given the fact the data comes directly from professionals working in the sector and not simply derived from the benchmarks used by each firm. We are pleased to say that 50% of you found the survey to be very useful.
The time it takes to pass the Certificate in IP can vary, depending on when you join a firm and the support structure of where you are training. 43.5% said it took longer than two years, compared to 21.7% who took a year to 18 months.
We do, from time to time, headhunt for our clients. In these instances it’s always good to know what the key motivator is that can persuade a potential candidate to consider a move. According to our poll, it’s seems a promise of a better work life balance would get 43.8% to take our call, compared to only 12.5% if we offered up a detailed job description.
Social media plays an important role in our branding and we invest heavily in our presence, in particular on Twitter and LinkedIn. With this in mind we thought it would be interesting to see if social media can affect the decision making process when considering a candidate for a position. Turns out it’s not that a big an influence, with 36.4% saying they don’t find it necessary.
We tend to advertise across a number of outlets when we have a new position, including the CIPA Journal, LinkedIn, and of course our own website. On line job boards are still the ‘go to’ source for 36.8% of our voters, compared to 26.3% who would contact a recruiter directly, and 15.8% who read industry print journals and visit a firm’s website directly.
Money is a big motivator when it comes to relocation and tops our poll with 35.7%. 21.4% would consider a move if there was financial help from the potential employer, and the other options were split equally with 14.3% of the vote.
Please keep an eye out for our latest poll and contribute when you’re passing by the website. If you have any comments, an idea for a new poll or would like the full results of any of the polls in 2015/16 then please get in touch with us at [email protected].