Every year, for the past ten years, I get swamped with enquiries from recruitment agencies, job boards and employers, asking how to enter a website into the National Online Recruitment Awards.  “Where do I register, how do I apply, how much does it cost?” etc.  Well, let me answer all those questions, and show you how we’ve made it even simpler.

The essential foundation of the NORAs is built upon nominations, and not votes.  We ask candidates to nominate the recruitment websites they like best, in each of our 12 award categories.  This means that webmasters don’t have to register or apply, as all nominations have been made directly through our awards website, www.NORAuk.com. Each year, in addition, we 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, we have now developed a unique “One-Click” nomination process. By registering on our site (http://www.norauk.com/nomination-material), you can then select a suitable “Nominate this site” graphic, and then copy the unique HTML code to insert on your website.  This then displays the chosen graphic where inserted, and enables a candidate 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 we received almost 25,000 nominations, for 657 separate recruitment websites.  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 represents 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 10^th September, and the Winners will be revealed at the NORA’s 10^th Anniversary Event, on the 4^th November.

Stephen O’Donnell, Chair of the NORAs

Today we launch the nominations process for the 10^th annual National Online Recruitment Awards.  This historic anniversary for the definitive online recruitment industry awards confirms not only the longevity of the candidate-nominated awards, but also the prestige and acclaim accorded to the achievement of our Finalists and Winners.  Having a full decade under our belt, in such a young industry, means that we have a history that accurately maps the development of the sector, and how the industry has utilised internet technology to meet the individual needs of job seekers.

Nominations from candidates will remain open until 10^th September.  At that point, our selection panel of industry experts will assess all nominees, and produce a shortlist of Finalists for each of the 12 award categories.  It should be pointed out, that all sites are assessed from a candidate’s perspective, and that no site pays a charge to be considered for the awards.

Finalists will be announced on 28^th September, and our awards ceremony will be held in Central London on the 4^th November.

Stephen O’Donnell, Chairman of the NORAs

We are extremely proud to announce the Finalists for this year’s National Online Recruitment awards.  Now in our ninth year, the NORAs have become established as the standard by which all recruitment websites are measured.  Uniquely, the awards are initially nominated by job seekers themselves, in order that the perspective of those who utilise each site remains paramount.  This year we received almost 25,000 nominations for 654 separate websites.  http://www.norauk.com/finalists/

Our selection panel of industry experts (see below) then carefully assessed each site, from a candidate’s point of view, to arrive at the shortlist of tremendous sites in all 12 categories.  Our categories recognise all manner of recruitment websites, including not only dedicated job boards, but also recruitment firms, publications, advice websites and employers themselves.  We will also present awards for Best Newcomer, and Best Innovation in Online Recruitment.

To ensure absolute integrity, our Finalist will now be judged by a separate panel of Judges, and the Winners will be revealed at our awards event, in London, on Thursday the 5^th of November.

Our Selection Panel of industry experts.

1. Stephen O’Donnell            AlljobsUK.com                  http://www.alljobsUK.com
2. Andy Headworth                Sirona Consulting             http://www.sironaconsulting.com/
3. Alan Whitford                    rceuro.com                        http://www.rceuro.com/
4. Matt Alder                          Barkers                              www.recruitingfuture.com
5. Steve Evans                        Net Natives                       www.NetNatives.co.uk
6. Paul Harrison                     Carve Consulting               http://www.carveconsulting.com/wp/
7. Ben Nunn                           Thirty Three                       http://www.thirtythree.co.uk/
8. Alex Hens                          3D Marcomms                   http://www.3dmarcomms.com/

Due to the overwhelming volume of nominations this year, the job of determining our Finalists is proving more arduous than ever. For the first time, we have a panel of industry experts involved in the process, and want to ensure that we have the very highest calibre of UK recruitment websites in this year’s shortlist. In total we have received almost 25,000 nominations for 654 separates websites.

The announcement of this year’s Finalists will therefore be made at 12:00 noon on Wednesday 30th September.

We now have only 48 hours left to nominate your favourite recruitment websites for this year’s National Online Recruitment Awards.  In a year full of incident for the recruitment industry, we have still received a huge volume of nominations so far.   Dramatic developments throughout the year to the unemployment figures,  have clearly been the focal point of most people in the industry; over 210,000 jobs have been lost on the past 3 months alone. 

Further to that, the economic situation has accelerated the disappearance of recruitment advertising in newspapers.  However despite almost all jobs now being advertised online, via job boards, online newspapers, recruitment agencies and employers themselves, the volume of advertised vacancies is only half the level of 12 months ago.

Also, in the midst of all this turmoil, we have seen rapid developments in how candidates are able to find job ads, and how vacancies are being advertised, using the fast growing new media routes such as Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin.  What is clear, is that everyone involved in recruitment, including job seekers, employers, and recruitment agencies, has had to dramatically change their established methods in a very short time.

Given all of this, the nominations for the 2009 NORAs should be very interesting indeed.  Every site nominated will be considered as a potential Finalist for the relevant award.  Shortlisted Finalists will be announced on 28th September, and our Awards Event will take place in London on Thursday 5th November.

If you haven’t done so already – Nominate Now!

As you will know, the National Online Recruitment Awards are entirely about the candidate experience of searching for a job on the Internet.  That’s why, from the first NORAs in 2001, we always begin the process by inviting nominations from job seekers for the websites in each category.  We genuinely want to know which recruitment websites are impressing you, and why.  Over the past nine years, we have seen plenty of progress and innovation, where employers, recruitment agencies, online publications and job boards have sought to deliver an online service that delights and inspires, rather than disappoints and frustrates.  Thankfully there are far fewer sites that frustrate, and the standard that candidates have come to expect is far greater as a result.

At the NORAs, we like to think that by representing the views and preferences of candidates, we have helped to encourage that …improvement, by holding up the very best sites as examples of excellence in the online recruitment sector.

This year, for the first time, we have a Consulting Panel, which has the task of reducing the thousands of nominations to the shortlist of Finalists, which are announced on the 28^th September.  Paramount in every case is “how well does this website serve job seekers?” Our Consulting Panel is comprised of independent industry experts, who have an in-depth knowledge of online recruitment.

Our Consulting Panel

Stephen O’Donnell             Chairperson

Andy Headworth                 Sirona Consulting

Alan Whitford                     RCEuro

Matt Alder                          Penna Barkers

Steve Evans                        Net Natives

Paul Harrison                     Carve Consulting

Alex Hens                          3D Marcomms

Ben Nunn                            Thirty Three

To ensure scrupulous fairness, this panel is quite separate from our Judging Panel, who will then score the Finalists, from the same candidate perspective, to decide this year’s winners.  The Winners will be announced at our awards event on Thursday 5^th November.

Stephen O’Donnell, Chair of The NORAs.

Nominations have now opened for the National Online Recruitment Awards 2009 (NORAs). The awards are now in their ninth year, and have closely plotted the emergence and growth of the UK online recruitment sector throughout that time. Devised to recognise the very best recruitment websites, from a candidate’s perspective, the NORAs are respected as the definitive award in the industry, and a tangible achievement for those sites which truly excel in delighting job seekers.

There are 12 awards this year, recognising dedicated job boards, recruitment agencies, employers, and publications which advertise vacancies online. We also 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. 

Nominations are open to anyone to contribute, and will be open until 19th September. In 2008, over 64,000 nominations for almost 500 separate websites were received Given the dramatic changes to the employment outlook in the UK, it will be very interesting to see which sites are serving candidates best.

The awards ceremony will be Thursday 5th November 2009 at Orchid in London.

Contact:
Stephen O’Donnell, Director AlljobsUK.com
Chairman of Judging Panel
Stephen@alljobsUK.com