Newsletter 3: October 2006
In this issue:
| Buyers & Sellers 4 business | Our regular monthly update on Buyer and Seller activity |
| New this month! | • New, improved Buyer functionality • New quick guide for Buyers |
| Buyer zone | Including our improved Seller searching |
| Seller zone | Help to make your profile stand out from the crowd – and win that all-important Contract |
| Be Age Aware | How people4business can help you to comply with new legislation |
| Introducing our partners | Three more partners join forces with people4business |
| Introducing us | Meet two of the people4business team |
Buyers and Sellers 4 business
We’ve seen continued steady growth, this month, in both Buyer and Seller registrations. We’ve already reached over 3,000 individual skills on the site, with over 2,300 Sellers and 261 companies looking for contractors.
Our customer service advisers work hard to match up Buyers and Sellers, no matter what skills you are seeking. This month’s most intriguing Buyer search? A ‘Rush and Shake Render Wrangler’…
New this month!
We’ve been working on making searching for Sellers even easier. There’s now a simpler, four-step process to find a Seller. We’ve produced a Quick guide for Buyers too. Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be adding some new features on the site, so please keep checking in.
Buyer Zone
Finding Sellers: We’ve introduced a simpler four-stage process:
 Describe Assignment – briefly describe the work which you need the Seller to do.
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Search for Sellers – search through our skills categories to find those Sellers with the skills you are seeking. Your final shortlist can have a maximum of 5 Sellers per Assignment. 
Contact Sellers – Your shortlisted Sellers have been sent the Assignment description, but they don’t have your contact details, so you must contact them yourself.
Award Contract –
Remember to get in touch with your shortlisted Sellers, as soon as you can – before another Buyer awards them a Contract Customer service: Our customer service team is happy to help you to find Sellers with highly specialised skills.
Please contact us:
buyer@people4business.com | 0870 389 3244 (UK-based customer service team)
Using the website: Thanks to all of you who have let us know what you like – and don’t like! – about the site. We’ve taken all of your comments on board, in our improvements.
Sign in NowSeller Zone
Selling yourself: When a Buyer is searching for Sellers, the first thing he/she sees is your ‘Brief Description’. If it’s poorly written, unclear or vague, the Buyer won’t look any further. For more guidance on writing a good ‘Brief Description’, check out our article on selling yourself.
Ratings: A reminder that you can get a people4business Rating from previous employers. Simply go to your people4business Homepage and select ‘My Ratings’. We’ll contact all employers who give Retrospective Ratings, to make sure that our Ratings are consistent.
Remember: Buyers can sort Sellers by their Ratings, so it’s well worth five minutes’ work to update your profile!
Your CV: If you haven’t entered your CV details yet, we are happy to do it for you. Just e-mail your CV to us:
sellerregistration@people4business.com Remember, if a Buyer is interested in you, that he/she will want to look at your CV. You are unlikely to get on the final shortlist, if you don’t have one.
Keeping current: We know that we said it last time, but it’s really worth your while to update your availability. If you’re not available for work at the moment, just let us know when you’ll be free, so that Buyers looking for someone at that time will be able to shortlist you.
Finder’s fees: Don’t forget to encourage your friends and colleagues to register with people4business, using your unique identification number. When they gain a Contract through people4business, we’ll give you 20% of our fee as a ‘thankyou’. For more information, take a look at the Finder’s fee page.
Be Age Aware
New legislation came into force on 1 October – the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations – which outlaws any direct or indirect discrimination, based on age.
At people4business, we focus entirely on skills and competencies. So, recruiting your Sellers through people4business is entirely compatible with both the spirit and the letter of these Regulations – as well as other antidiscrimination legislation. If you want more information about the new Regulations, click here.
Introducing… our new Partners
We’re pleased to welcome another three Partners to people4business.
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The CEN is the largest network of independent consultants, trainers and coaches in the UK. It ‘provides a forum to discuss the things which matter to us, and how we can better serve our clients.’ |
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Consultants Exchange makes contracting easier, with tax-efficient managed limited companies and relocation services for overseas contractors. |
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Future Perfect is here to ensure that your written material, on which your image and professional credibility rely, is beyond reproach from the most discerning readers. Click here for a flawless CV |
If you belong to a professional body or trade association which you think could benefit from people4business, do let us know and we will do our best to develop a relationship with that organisation. Contact us: affiliates@people4business.com | 0870 389 3244
Introducing… us
We’d like to introduce Steven Gilbert, our business development manager. He brings a wealth of experience, gained through senior positions in the traditional and on-line recruitment markets. His expertise in finding expert consultants to meet tight project deadlines is now helping Buyers to find the perfect Seller for their Assignments.
Jennifer Chappell, customer services adviser, comes to people4business after performing the same role for IPC Media. Before that, she was at college studying for A levels in medieval history, English literature and psychology.
If you’d like to meet the team, we’ll be at the Consultancy Careers Fair, at the Barbican, in London, on 13 October and the CIPD annual conference and exhibition, in Harrogate, on 24–26 October.
Last updated 14.11.08
