Resources

Recruitment has a reputation problem. Most people have a story where they felt like a number, a CV was sent without permission, or a conversation suddenly turned pushy the moment money was involved. If that’s been your experience, you’re right to be cautious. But here’s the honest truth about how we’ve built Hawthorne-Finch Talent Solutions: I’d rather lose a fee...

You hand in your notice. You’ve rehearsed the conversation. You’ve been respectful. You’ve done it properly. And then your employer comes back with: “We’ll match it.” Same salary. Sometimes a title tweak. Maybe a promise of flexibility. So why does it still feel… off? This is one of the most common moments candidates describe to me, and it’s rarely because...

Counteroffers are one of those moments where leadership gets tested. Handled well, they can save a key person and reset trust. Handled badly, they can create a bigger problem than the resignation itself: pay resentment, a wobble in team confidence, and a culture where people learn they only get valued when they threaten to leave. This guide is a practical,...

In recruitment, both sides can feel like they’re the one with the power, right up until they don’t. The recruiter’s value is making sure neither side overplays their hand. It sounds simple. It rarely is. I’ve been doing this long enough to watch the same dynamic play out repeatedly, across legal sector hiring, accountancy recruitment, and just about every salary...

Why Your Job Ad Isn’t Converting (and the 6 Lines to Fix First) If your job advert is getting views but not the right applications, it’s rarely because “there aren’t any candidates”. Most of the time, the advert is missing clarity in the first few lines. Good candidates skim. They decide in seconds whether a role is worth their time....

Hybrid Working:  What Candidates Mean vs What Firms Hear Hybrid working should be simple. In reality, it’s one of the biggest sources of frustration I see on both sides of the market, because “hybrid” isn’t a standard term. In this guide, I break down what candidates usually mean when they ask for hybrid working, what firms often hear, and how...

Offer drop-outs are one of the most frustrating parts of hiring. You do the hard work, you find someone good, everyone agrees they’re the right fit and then it wobbles at the last moment. The good news: most drop-outs aren’t random. They’re usually the result of avoidable gaps in process, communication, or expectations. Here’s a practical guide UK firms can...

Are These Killing Your Ability to Hire? Most hiring issues are not “a candidate problem”. They are process problems. If you are struggling to land the people you actually want, here are three common culprits I see in professional hiring markets (legal and accountancy included). Use these as credible internal conversation starters, not as hard promises externally. 1) Speed wins...

Why tailoring your CV matters (and why good candidates get ignored) If you’re applying for roles and not getting traction, there’s a good chance it’s not your experience. It’s how your experience is being presented. We recently advertised for a Recruitment Consultant role and received 109 applications. A few people told us in messages or cover notes that they had...

Personal Branding – Forget the Noise (David Did It!) Starting the year off with a topic that’s a bit left-field for me: personal branding. Yes, it’s a little “me, me, me” (what do you expect from someone who named his blog and business after himself? 😂). But stick with me, because this one’s for anyone navigating legal, accountancy, or recruitment...

I get asked a lot by clients about their offer, how does it stand out against the market. A lot of the time people are still trying to pitch a standard benefit such as Pension (and I mean standard pension not enhanced pension) as a lucrative benefit. Thankfully we have seen less fruit baskets and team pizza days in the...

Why Professional Recruitment Isn’t About CV Volume Last week, I encountered a situation that perfectly illustrates the fundamental difference between professional recruitment services and the “spray and pray” approach that’s damaging our industry. The Client Experience That Changed Everything A Yorkshire-based accountancy practice approached H-FTS about filling a senior accounts role. Following our proven recruitment process, I: Their response? “Thanks...

Another tale from the UK recruitment trenches where professional courtesy in legal hiring seems to have gone on extended leave… Well, well, well. Gather ’round for another episode of “David Did It!” – where I spill the tea on legal and accountancy recruitment realities that would make your nan clutch her pearls. So picture this: one of our legal and...

Let me spill the (recruitment) tea. This week I had a brilliant chat with a client at a leading law firm in London, the kind of firm where you’d assume they scrutinise every comma on a CV with a magnifying glass. But what they said completely confirmed what I’ve been seeing across the market: CVs? They’re not dead. But they’re...

Let’s set the scene: You’re a hiring manager or Partner, you’ve got a role to fill, and you’ve dug out the job spec from five years ago that someone once used and thought, “That’ll do.” Maybe you’ve even Googled a few others to cut and paste something together (no judgement, we’ve all been there). But here’s the kicker – that...

Welcome to another episode of “David Did It!”—your go-to blog for tips, tricks, and laughs from the world of UK Legal and Accountancy Practice Recruitment. Today, we’re diving into a topic that every recruiter has faced but few discuss: Agency Wars. When multiple recruitment agencies compete for the same roles, it’s a recipe for stress, confusion, and—let’s face it—drama. But...

Ah, feedback—the mysterious, elusive ingredient to a successful recruitment process. It’s like the basil in a pasta sauce: you can technically make it without it, but it’s just not going to be that good. Yet so often, hiring managers deliver those dreaded three words to their recruitment partners and candidates alike: “Sorry, no feedback.” Now, as much as we love...

Welcome back to the David Did It! series, where we expose the recruitment bloopers no one dares to discuss. And this week, we’re turning up the spooky factor just in time for Halloween with a ghost story everyone knows too well: ghosting in recruitment. Candidates, clients, and yes, even recruiters themselves—ghosting can haunt anyone in the hiring process. But why...

Collaboration in recruitment is crucial for success. As a UK-based agency specialising in Legal, HR, and L&D Recruitment, we’ve experienced first hand the transformative power of working together. ...