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Hi,
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Well, I hope
everyone enjoyed the long Easter weekend. I particularly loved watching
hundreds of kites in the Savannah, some flying more successfully than others.
Speaking of success,
 I'm
very proud to announce that CRS is now 10 years old. To commemorate this
achievement, I thought I would tell you what it was like in those difficult
early days when I started this business selling a new concept in Trinidad &
Tobago.
I wish to thank
everyone who supported and encouraged me along the way and I especially wish to
congratulate my staff, as without them, I would not be here today.
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CRS - The First 10 Years |
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“Why don’t you stop talking about it and just do it!” These words were like a
slap in my face. Sylvia was right - I had been talking for months about starting
this business and never really progressed to make it happen.
Sure, I had done some market research which demonstrated an almost unanimous
“yes” to the idea. I had a laptop with the latest Windows 95 and Office
software, a printer and some accounting software. I had researched the idea in
England and even went on a three day seminar there on recruitment strategies. So
what else did I need to start?
I needed moral support. Working out of my home was not an option and I couldn’t
imagine being all alone in an office making a go of it. I really wanted my
sister, Karen Jackson, to work with me but she had a good job with a salary that
I couldn’t match. These thoughts were going through my head when the phone rang.
It was Karen saying she had decided to resign her job. Talk about fate!
We cracked open a bottle of wine and toasted to the success of the new company!
It was a Friday in March 1996 and Karen agreed to work with me to fulfil my
dream of match-making I.T. professionals and companies needing their services. I
decided to name the company "Caribbean Resourcing Solutions" as it would operate
throughout the Caribbean to provide the best resources for I.T. jobs and thereby
solve the problems that I.T. employers have in finding suitable talent.
Why did I think I was qualified to establish the first technical recruiting
company in Trinidad & Tobago (and probably the Caribbean)? Well, I was an I.T.
person with a Computer Science degree and over 20 years I.T. experience at the
time.
I had worked as a Consultant for the previous 9 years, the last 2 years as
a free-lancer in Trinidad and the U.K. I knew what kind of quality service I
wanted from an agency to find me my next contract job, and I wanted to offer
this type of service to make a positive difference in people’s lives.
It’s amazing how things move to facilitate you once you’ve made the decision to
do something. That weekend, Karen learnt of a small office for rent in Diego
Martin. I went to see it on the Monday and I was in there a couple of days
later. Karen didn’t join me as my Office Manager until mid-April as she was
working out her notice.
Being an I.T. person, I had contacts to start establishing a Candidate Database,
and I distributed brochures at every possible opportunity to attract more. Then
I sent out a mail-shot to about 150 companies, following up with phone calls.
I’m not a sales or marketing person so this was the hardest thing for me to do.
That’s why I needed Karen there - to keep me going.
Not many people know this, but in the beginning, CRS only offered contract
services, a new concept in the I.T. world in Trinidad at the time. I nearly
starved! I had my first contract job in August with my brother’s company. It was
for a 5 hour job and I made TT$400 after paying the contractor. My brother said
I should frame the cheque!
We also launched the first version of the CRS website www.crsitjobs.com in
August 1996 - the first job site in T&T.
When I realised that companies were asking for permanent staff, I wised up and
catered for that as well. Interestingly, these days most of our revenue is from
contract sales, but I was a little ahead of the times back then.
While I got quite a bit of interest from various companies there were also many
disappointments. What I thought was going to be an easy money-earner turned out
to be a lesson in surviving in a tough business world. I tried to make each
mistake or disappointment a learning experience.
By November, I had several “sure” projects collapse all at the same time and I
was thinking of quitting. That’s where Karen earned her keep. She persuaded me
that I’d been very unlucky so far and I should give it at least 6 more months as
I had already invested so much effort and money into this venture. Our first
Christmas staff lunch was at an Indian restaurant and was funded by 2 vouchers
for free lunch that Karen had acquired.
We also had our good times. When I got my first business enquiry in June 1996, I
celebrated by inviting all the other tenants in the building to share in some
wine and snacks. They couldn’t believe it wasn’t even a sale! Since then, we
always celebrate first/big events with wine (bubbly these days).
We got our first permanent sale in January 1997 and then they started pouring
in! It was like I had been humbled and been taught lessons so now success was
coming my way. By July I was so swamped with work that I hired an HR person,
Peter Gregoire, as a Recruitment Consultant. Pretty soon, we had to move to a
much larger office in the same building and hire more staff. In December 1998,
we moved to brand new and much larger premises in Woodbrook, and that is where
we are still located.
We continued to learn lessons and adjust our business practices to suit.
In 2003, we expanded our services to include technical recruiting (engineers,
drillers, geologists, technicians, etc) in the Oil & Gas sector with its own
website www.crsoilandgasjobs.com.
This was the next step in my dream to
establish a quality recruiting service specialising in sourcing technical
professionals of all kinds, not just I.T. This has naturally expanded to include
the petrochemical and construction sectors as they employ similar skills.
While we don’t market our services regionally, we still get quite a few I.T.
jobs for other Caribbean islands from referrals. Over the years we have placed
Jamaicans in Jamaica, a Bahamian in the Bahamas, and Trinidadians in Barbados,
St. Vincent and Mustique Island. We’ve had enquiries from islands as far apart
as the Dutch Antilles, the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic and Grenada.
We’ve been approached by several North American agencies to supply talent to
their market.
Our success has been a result of the efforts of our staff
(currently Susan, Karen, Amelia, Stacey, Sonja and Keisha) who strive to ensure
that our clients and candidates like the way we do business and deliver results,
and therefore choose CRS to give them the service they need.
So where do we go from here? Let’s just say that CRS has eyes on the world!
Watch this space.
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Letters to the Editor:
I believe that the
newsletters provided by the CRS are essential and much needed in fostering
awareness for the potential of IT/IS, as only IT has the power and capability in
modern society, to facilitate communication and collaboration among all
individuals to aid the development of our country, the region and more
importantly, the world. I would like to commend your work once again. Keep up
the good work ... Paul
Thank you for your kind words,
Paul ... Susan
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We would love to hear what you think of this issue of
CRS News. And of course, if you have any suggestions for upcoming issues that
you would like to share with us, please send those too.
Comments, suggestions, feedback?
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LOOKING FOR A QUICK, CONVENIENT,
INEXPENSIVE YET HIGHLY EFFECTIVE WAY OF TESTING THE SUITABILITY OF
PERSONNEL FOR THEIR JOBS?
Check out this renowned UK psychometric test, now available
online
Online
Psychometric Testing
Caribbean Resourcing Solutions Ltd (CRS)
www.crsitjobs.com
... a leading provider of technical resources for permanent and contract jobs in the Caribbean
and elsewhere in the world. We are based in
Trinidad & Tobago.
We also do technical recruiting for the Energy,
Petrochemical and Construction industries.
www.crsoilandgasjobs.com
© Copyright 2006
Caribbean Resourcing Solutions Ltd.
All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
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In This Issue:
-
Susan's Snippets
-
CRS - The First 10 Years
- Tell Us What You Think
-
Subscriptions
- Join ITPS
- Psychometric Testing
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Who is CRS?
Check our
website for a complete list of I.T. JOBS
New Requirements include:
Customer Management / Brand Development Business Process Analyst
(TRINIDAD):-
To analyze, register evaluate and
propose improvements on a Customer Management and brand development process. To
maintain and update process mapping and related documentation and training
procedures.
Job Ref:SJ157
Financial Systems Consultant
(TRINIDAD):-Experienced professional to
support the company's expanding activities in the financial services sector.
Job Ref:A13
VB Programmer
(TRINIDAD):-
To work with a team of programmers in the development
of new desktop applications from a given design and specification, for Windows
based computers using VB6 and MS Access and/or SQL Server. Maintenance and
updating of existing applications written in VB6
Job Ref:A12
Software Sales & Marketing
Executive (TRINIDAD):-
Sales & Marketing of locally developed business
software applications.
Job Ref:A11
Manager-Data Center Operations (TRINIDAD):-
Senior Technical Resource responsible for the direct management of the Data
Centre and all of the services it provides.
Job Ref:A10
Technology Support Officer (2)
(TRINIDAD):-
Responsible for providing technical assistance to
computer systems users.
Job Ref:A9
Still urgently required:
Technical Analyst
(TRINIDAD):-
To contribute to Project
Objectives through the accurate analysis, design and development and
implementation of technological solutions in keeping with stated project
requirements and defined standards and specifications within stated timeframes.
Job Ref:A4
Solution Sales Professional
(TRINIDAD):-
Responsible for coordinating and
executing all aspects of the sales process in support of the company's Business
Solution opportunities. Provide deep business and industry knowledge to support
both partners and customers as they assess and determine investment in business
solutions. Responsible for supporting partner events and communications to
ensure increased awareness of the company's solutions.
Job Ref:SJ156
Senior Account Manager
(TRINIDAD):-
- Maximize opportunities in assigned Tier 1 and 2 accounts
leveraging SSU and the company's products and services
- Increase Relative Market share in specific markets
- Develop and convert Tier 2 into Tier 1 accounts
- Position the company as the Market Leader in ICT industry
- Develop and maintain favorable business relationships between the company and
its customers
Job Ref:SJ154
Do you have any of the following skills (or know someone who does)?:
Oracle
AS/400
UNIX
I.T Sales
then please register with CRS via
www.crsitjobs.com
to be
among the
first to know of exciting opportunities around the Caribbean for
experienced people with your skills
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...
a leading supplier of technical resources in the Caribbean