APSCo Awards for Excellence: Guide to Success
APSCo’s Awards for Excellence 2023 entries are now closed. Not only do our annual awards showcase the work of brilliant recruitment companies throughout the UK but they are recognised across the professional recruitment sector as a badge of high quality and outstanding service.
To make the process as smooth as possible the APSCo team has compiled 12 handy hints and tips to put you on the path to success. You can also read more about the Awards criteria and categories here.
- Read and properly understand the award criteria – judges will use these to assess your entry.
- We use an online portal now, so you can’t go over your word count – however do make sure you know the maximum words allowed, and plan your responses accordingly.
- Avoid flowery language – it uses up your word count and doesn’t usually provide the information the judges need to see.
- Make sure you back up any statements with data or other evidence. For example, rather than saying “staff retention is great”, say “staff retention rates are 79% in the last 12 months”.
- Try not to copy from your website or other marketing collateral – that’s written for a different purpose, and will more than likely not be straight to the point.
- Bullets can work really well for awards entries, because they lend themselves to getting across information, and could stop you from using too much prose.
- Re-read your entry more than once, and don’t be afraid to make changes.
- Always include the supporting documentation asked for – and feel free to include other content that validates the points you’ve made. Signpost additional content in your entry wherever appropriate.
- Make sure you answer the questions asked.
- Remember, if you are shortlisted you will have to answer questions from the judges on your entry, so don’t be tempted to exaggerate.
- Focus on the message you want to get across
- Finally, make sure you get more than one person to do a final read-through – preferably include someone that hasn’t read it before.
Entries are now closed - See the 2023 finalists here