Entrepreneur and chairman of recruitment process outsourcer HB Retinue, James Caan, has told a London audience earlier this week that attracting top talent in the current climate is just as hard as it has been for the last 30 years. See the video below for his comments:

Although better known for work on what he called “that whacky TV programme”, Caan’s initial business success came in recruitment, having previously founded executive search firm Humana International and outsourcer Alexander Mann Solutions.

He suggested that employee referral schemes and internal referrals are “without a doubt the most compelling method of attraction”, adding “the way you promote and communicate every single method is critical, but very fewer organisations do all of them well”.

See his comments in the video below:

As recruiter.co.uk reported on 4 November in video story ‘Don’t’ jilt the jagged CV’ [http://www.recruiter.co.uk/don’t-jilt-the-jagged-cv/1011609.article], looking beyond a conventional career and academic background is a key question in modern recruiting.

Caan emphasised this succinctly in his phrase: “It’s your attitude, not your aptitude, that determines your altitude.”