January 2016 - Astute Financial

Mary Maguire summarises what 2015 has meant for the business and comments on the power of your brand.

To read the full article please click here.

Astute Recruitment has started the year by launching a brand new website alongside a complete re-brand of their business. The website was previewed by friends of the business at the end of last year, during a celebration evening of Astute Recruitment’s success over the past six years at the Derbyshire County Cricket Club.

The new website and brand aim to showcase the bespoke services Astute Recruitment offer, and highlight testimonials from leading businesses including: Weleda, 3AAA, Smith Cooper and Botham Accountancy.

Mary Maguire managing director at Astute Recruitment said: “Sarah Stevenson and I launched Astute at the end of 2009 in the height of the recession after facing redundancy. It was tough initially – as people who had always had a guaranteed salary each month, to go from that to the uncertainty of relying on cash flow to pay ourselves and our staff caused a few sleepless nights! However we are really proud of the fact that six years on we remain 100 per cent owners of our business and have not diluted our ownership.”

“Many long-standing clients were delighted to use us again and we were also able to capture new businesses who have not used us previously,” she continued. “The definition of Astute is the ability to accurately assess situations and I think that’s a great description of what we do every day!”

Last year Astute director, Sarah Stevenson, secured the Entrepreneur of the Year accolade at the Derbyshire Times Business Awards 2015, a prestigious event attended by over 200 professionals from the region. 2015 also saw Astute being shortlisted for a number of awards, including Sarah receiving the SME Business Director of the Year in the Small Business category at the Institute of Directors (IoD) East Midlands Director of the Year Awards 2015.

Simon Gray, the firm’s non-executive director said: “Both Sarah and Mary have worked hard to make Astute stand out from its competitors. They understand the requirements of SMEs. Through the rebrand they are communicating a different message to the market, and their journey is something I’m very proud to be a part of.”

Article originally published in The Global Recruiter

Here at Astute Recruitment we understand that the hardest part of the process can be getting the opportunity to have an interview in a competitive job market. So HOW can you maximise your chances when you have that all important interview opportunity?

Prepare, Prepare, Prepare!

- Get an early night prior to the interview we all perform better when well rested.
- Wear an appropriate outfit (suit or business wear).
- Arrive for interview around 10 minutes early.
- Research the company.

2. Go the extra mile.

- As well as researching the company website, explore other avenues such as social media/ LinkedIn/ company blogs so you can sound informed and up to date.
- Investigate whether there have been any news updates about the company recently.
- Ask around – try and talk to people who know the business (e.g. family or friends).
- Visit the store/ find the product in the shops as relevant. Mention that you have done this in interview.

3. Know your experience.

- Study your CV so you know your experience inside out and can discuss it in relation to the role/job description.
- Be prepared to discuss the journey of your career to date, your aspirations and goals for the future.
- Think about your strengths, weaknesses and your key achievements, so that you can highlight these in interview.

4. Explain ‘why you?’

Your interviewer will want to know both why you want to work for the company (a great opportunity to display your research) and why you are interested in this particular role. Think about this beforehand so that you can relay your thoughts at interview and let them know what appeals to you.
They will also be keen to know why they should employ you!
Let them know you are keen.

5. Ask questions!

- How is the business performing currently?
- What are the biggest challenges they are facing?
- What are the company’s plans for the future?
- What does the interviewer like about working there?
- With regards to this role, what progression opportunities might there be for the future?

I hope this has given some of you added inspiration and confidence to approach an interview!

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Mike

16:04 13 Mar 23

Highly recommended! Josh and Sarah have been fantastic at Astute. They've found and placed me in 2 jobs now between them, both really responsive and excellent at keeping you up to speed with things. Very knowledgable about the roles and happy to talk to companies with any queries you have.

C R.

10:45 27 Jan 23

Great agency one of the best ones I've worked with! Liz has been a great help and support in helping me towards a new direction in my career life. She is very attentive and keeps me in the loop at all times! She makes the extra effort to work with my preferred requirements for work and even if it isn't completely attainable she meets me in the middle and does as much as she can to help! Also Liz is very funny might I add 😂 and I'm happy that I can now put a face to the name after all these years! Thank you again Liz for all your help and support! 😊

Christine

10:32 20 Dec 22

Josh and the Astute team was very swift to help me to find roles that matched my profile. They are really reliable and will help through every step of the recruitment process going out of their way to assist and follow up when needed. Could not find a better recruitment agency!

Helen Pinegar

16:19 18 Dec 22

Fantastic recruitment agency.. Josh was extremely enthusiastic, encouraging and clearly knowledgeable about what was needed from both the employee and the employers point of view. Extremely supportive especially in regards to interview preparation and endeavoured to procure feedback promptly. Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Astute in the future to both candidates and recruiting businesses particularly for the right fit for the role!!!

Lisa Leigh

11:56 30 Nov 22

I have worked as a candidate for Astute and they have been excellent. Super friendly service and professional agents keen to fit the right person to the right job. It has been a pleasure dealing with them and I would happily work for them again in the future. Highly recommend this agency.