Big Enough To Cope, Small Enough To Care

Big enough to cope, small enough to care

Langley James was founded in 1999 to provide something unique: a bespoke IT recruitment service founded on service excellence.

Now, 16 years later we have helped some of the most respected companies in the world recruit someone worth recruiting.

So, what makes us different?

We don’t employ sales people, just highly trained recruitment experts, who combine leading edge IT knowledge with a professionalism and dedication that is second to none.  Whilst many agencies spend 80% of their time chasing new business, our reputation and position in the market means that we can spend 80% of the time focusing on your requirements.

Your absolute satisfaction is what we focus on every step of the way.  In fact, we have developed all our services from your perspective so that you get everything you need in order to make your IT recruitment problems a thing of the past. 

With more and more emphasis on a candidate led market, we look after your brand as if it was our own.  Our expert team will represent you at the highest level to each and every candidate.

How we work

We use a highly effective approach to finding the best talent for each vacancy and with the increasing use of social media, we have the expertise to know how to get the best results.

We also provide you with your own, dedicated client manager; an experienced professional who will be your regular point of contact.  With over 50 years’ experience in house, we ensure a consultative, professional approach.  Your consultant gets to really know your company and your culture meaning that you not only get the best candidate to fulfil the role but also the best fit within your company. 

We are members of the REC and FSB and our memberships also include the CIPD which helps ensure we are on the pulse with the market conditions and can give invaluable market intelligence to our clients.  This can be salary surveys, candidate availability or market demands.

We provide a full recruitment service including identifying and screening candidates and managing the full recruitment process.  Your specified deadlines for vacancy prioritisation, interview times and specified start dates are all integrated into our process.  Our internal database that has been created over the last 16 years, means that you have access to the best people, quickly!

We are also here when you need us, which is why you can call us before most other IT recruitment companies open and after they have usually gone home.  Our offices in both the North and South are here to look after you 8am-8pm, Monday to Friday.

How Was It For You?

In a year where we saw U2 give away their album to everyone on iTunes and we successfully landed on a comet, the IT skills gap and recruitment were major concerns for CIO’s, remaining unchanged from 2013.

With some trepidation, confidence started to grow among employers and we saw cautious investment in headcount at the beginning of the year.  As a result of the recovering job market clients were demanding more in a marketplace where skilled candidates were proving difficult to find.  As confidence grew further we were being asked to fill more and more vacancies created by expansion as opposed to replacing those that had resigned.  We also saw a reduction in contract requirements with companies preferring to recruit permanently to secure the best talent.

In a generally supressed candidate market, there was anticipation to take the plunge to change jobs.  The skilled candidates were staying put with security a high priority and the market became flooded with less skilled, immediately available candidates.  The skills shortage experienced in 2013 became much more previlant last year.  Online advertising simply wasn’t working anymore as the quality of those actively searching for employment dropped further.

This created an increase in the need for headhunting – I wonder how many times one of your team took a call from a headhunter last year?  Highly skilled candidates were being offered superb opportunities and were attracted to companies offering fantastic benefits packages, promotion opportunities and an emphasis on work-life balance.  Companies were having to work harder to ignite interest in the best people to consider making a move. 

Those skilled candidates that were motivated to move were in such high demand that they would receive 3-4 offers in a week and disappear off the market within the matter of a few days.  Companies would have to interview and offer quickly to be in with a chance of getting the best candidate and even then it wasn’t always guaranteed.  With companies keen to retain their IT team, 2014 saw the re-emergence of the counter-offer which saw many candidates decline offers after attempting to resign.

Despite technology, recruiting is still and always will be about the people and during this turbulent year, Langley James helped more client than ever recruit their superstar.  Our database means that we have access to some fantastic candidates who are unique to us and ensures that you Recruit Someone Worth Recruiting.

Hoverboards, Flying Cars and Power Shoelaces – The Predictions For 2015

It’s official!  Christmas is well and truly over.  The hangover has finally subsided and we are all back into the swing of things.

With most of the country taking advantage of a 2 week break, it seems as though a job move was top of the New Year resolution list with a huge influx of people registering with agencies on January 5th.  Is it simply the realisation that the current job isn’t quite right, or are candidates relighting their ambition and taking advantage of what is traditionally the most exciting month of the year for IT recruitment.  After a period of insecurity and reluctance to move jobs, 2015 looks to be the year of change. 

According to the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM), more than a 33% of workers are planning to leave their job in 2015, so even if your team is just 3, expect to be replacing at least 1 of them before the year is out and this doesn’t even take into account the growth expected over the next 12 months by UK companies. 

So why are they looking to leave?

  • 59% are looking for improved opportunities for progression
  • 56% are looking for a higher salary and benefits package
  • 50% are looking for a more interesting role
  • 25% of people are feeling unappreciated

 Expect to have to work a little harder this year to keep hold of your superstars! 

Despite the increase in active candidates, companies will need to work hard to attract the best and 2015 will signal the end of that well-worn interview question “Why should I employ you?” and focus on enticing people into your company.  Candidates want to know what makes you different and what you can offer compared with your competitors and we’re not just talking salary.  Benefits are becoming increasingly important with a particular emphasis on training and accreditations.  

Whilst “skill shortage” has been a buzz phrase in IT recruitment for quite a while now, it doesn’t look as if it will disappear soon and will remain well into 2015.  Not only due to a shortage of trainees being recruited 3-5 years ago but need for companies to retain or improve their competitive advantage will increase the demand on analytical and cyber-security roles.  

With the invasion of Generation C and the need for products and services to be embedded in digital technology and infrastructure, companies are starting to realise the importance of in-house digital expertise.  Looks like the war for exceptional talent will definitely continue.

 This is where Langley James can help.  With experience spanning 3 decades and over 50 years of experience in-house, we take the time to really understand your requirement and can offer consultative advice on attracting the best of the best.  We know our market and really are experts at what we do and it helps that we have a real passion for ensuring you Recruit Someone Worth Recruiting.