Recruitment Coordinator - Assessments & Selection Review

My job title is Recruitment Coordinator - Assessment & Selection. The daily task include working with external agencies who provide our psychometric tests and assessment to carry out maintenance work and build new solutions. I also have to do a lot of external research to ensure we are bring external insights into the organisation to make sure we are up to date with what changes are happening externally. I also have a lot of internal stakeholders to manage which involves understanding their expectations, talking about what is possible and working together to come to a solution. I am responsible for managing my budget to make sure that we can deliver what we say we can, holding the agency and stakeholder to account to make sure that we are delivering on time and what is expected. 90% of my role is project based as psychometric always need developing and new tools need producing to ensure we are assessing the right behaviours based on the job profile. There are some every day tasks that come with this role too such as, project status calls with agencies and day to day deliver of the consultancy plans.

Whilst being in this role i have completed my CIPD level 3 qualification to help me have a more generalist view on HR. I have been to external networking events to understand what others are doing and share what we are doing in return. Internally, I have had one to one sessions with the Assessment & Selection Manager to learn from her experiences. I also have a personal development plan that encourages CPD so that I can continue to grow and develop in the role. I have learnt lots by being in this role such as the important role psychometric tests play in the wider recruitment process, what the internal and external views on psychometric are and how to manage both internal and external stakeholders.

The apprenticeship programme was enjoyable but for me it was the teams that I have worked in that have made it extremely valuable. The workload across the 2 years has been varied and given me a good view of HR as a whole. The company have been support of apprenticeships and have been open to developing me, which led to me completing my CIPD. The company culture is nice and relaxed there isn't any micro management in the teams I have been part of. In terms of the work, my expectations have been met and exceeded but the qualification didn't really link into what I was doing in the workplace which is why I made the decision not to complete my LV 4 in Business Administration and start my CIPD instead. Overall the apprenticeship have been enjoyable and set me up well for the future.

I think Boots do value their employees but not always in the sense of salary expectations. My manager is very supportive and always shows her appreciation but I have found that this varies depending on the manager. Internal recognition is good we do thank you cards, red carpet parking, scratch cards and best of the best nominations and awards. External recognition is good in recruitment as we get to attend awards ceremonies. There is lots of opportunity to be involved in projects across HR and the wider business and I have always felt valued.

The induction to the programme was thorough and well planned. The training throughout my time on the programme has been more job specific rather than generic. I only really studied for about 10 months as it was only a level 3 qualification so was pretty self explanatory but my assessor was supportive. She would schedule discussions and observations on a regular basis to push me through the qualification. We also attending an experiential which was focused on personal development which was well ran.

My assessor was really supportive and was always on hand if I needed to ask any questions. She was really clear with her expectations so we had a good working relationship. She scheduled time in for discussions and observations so that we could collect a variety of evidence. I enjoyed completing the qualification because I always felt supported and able to ask questions.

My managers have always been supportive and have helped me with both workload and qualifications. Throughout the programme I didn't have a mentor but there were options to have one. The wider HR team were always supportive especially when I was completing my CIPD. The team have been supportive from both a personal and professional point of view.

My salary during the programme was good and met my expectations but since completion there hasn't really been much of an improvement. I live a fair way from my place of work so my travel costs are quite high and my salary doesn't support this. I am currently going through salary review and I have just been notified of the outcome but this still isn't inline with my expectations so I now need to review.

We have team social events which is always nice to relax after work. There are also a number of sports that we can get involved. Boots are big on CSR so there is always events you can get involved in to support charities such as Benny Day and Children in Need. We have a gym on site and gym classes available. When i wasn't working I went out with friends for dinner and supported charity days.

Yes

Boots is a great company that provides individuals with lots of exciting opportunities. It is good to experience working life in such a large organisation. You get to meet lots of great people and learn from their experiences as well as build a relationship in both a personal and professional manner.

The application process can be quite long and daunting but it is as much about us finding out about you as it is you finding out about Boots. Be yourself and think about what makes you different to all the other candidates that are applying. What you can bring that nobody else can? For the interviews, do you research, think about recent examples and have a questions to ask the interviewer. Assessment days, try to relax, take time to think before you respond, remember that while you are on site someone is continually assessing you so remain professional at all times. The on-boarding process can be a little clunky but use the recruitment helpline for support if you need it. Make sure your CV is up to date and shows all of your experience and talk about what you want to get out of the programme. I would have like to have had someone reassure my before going to the assessment day.