Category: Our News

On Sunday 3rd August, Sarah- Louise Wykes will be competing in a Pink Collar boxing match in Nottingham in order to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

Sarah-Lou has endured 8 weeks of solid training in order to contend against others at Nottingham County Football Club. The whole team at Astute will be attending the event to support Sarah on her latest fitness challenge.

You can also help Pink Collar raise money for this great cause by donating directly to their fundraising page

http://www.justgiving.com/CharityBoxChallenge/?utm_source=Sharethis&utm_medium=fundraisingpage&utm_content=CharityBoxChallenge&utm_campaign=pfp-email.

JustGiving sends your donation straight to Cancer Research UK and automatically reclaims Gift Aid if you are a UK taxpayer, so your donation is worth even more.

Thank you for your support and good luck Sarah!

Astute Recruitment are inviting clients and their finance teams to their pub quiz event on 31st October, we are holding this at The Spot in Derby where we will be raising money for the charity of the winning teams choice! We will also be hosting a raffle and auctioning off other items that have been donated to us from various companies at the end of the night to try and make more money for the chosen charity ~ however much money we raise, Astute will match it.

This is a good opportunity for us to meet and catch up with our clients, meet new people and raise money for a deserved charity!

If you would like to come along, please contact the consultant you normally deal with.

See you on Halloween! 🙂

Here at Astute Recruitment we are all delighted that Sarah Stevenson one of our directors has been selected as a finalist for the Business
Insider’s prestigious 42 under 42 awards this Summer….! It’s a recognised competition to identify the key entrepreneurs who have been able to set up successful businesses in the current climate and an opportunity for them to be recognised amongst leading business figures in the Midlands Region so we are all very proud of Sarah..

Final 42 under 42 batch revealed

The final set of rising business stars in the Midlands have been named in this year’s Insider 42 under 42 list.

What most of these entrepreneurs and business leaders have in common is they’ve set up their companies in the heart of the recession and have relished the challenge the downturn has set.

According to one of this year’s contenders, the reason they have thrived while others have fallen is down to people and relationships.

“We learned in troubled times – probably the worst that most of our working people had experienced in their lifetimes – high trust relationships
are paramount to the success of our business,” the 42er said.

“We also learned never to take anything or anyone for granted as nothing is guaranteed.”

Another added: “I’ve embraced the downturn. I started the business after the 2008 crunch very aware that if I can make it work in the rough times, I will make it fly in the good times.”

We are thrilled that Sarah Stevenson, aged 39, has been named on the 42s list. She is a director for Astute Recruitment, which was set up in November 2009 and operates from offices in the Cathedral Quarter in Derby.

Sarah founded the company at the height of the recession after being made redundant from another local recruitment business. “It’s all down to
pure hard work,” she said.

Also making the cut is 32-year-old Lewis and Hickey director Nick Riley, who is the youngest member of the board at the Nottingham-based architecture practice.

The business is currently undertaking a strategic review, which Riley is leading on. He has spent half his life in architecture: he left school at 16
and qualified while working a full-time job. The final 42 will be invited to a special gala dinner in June where they will get the opportunity to meet other finalists and 42ers from previous years, to become members of the region’s most exclusive networking clubs.

For the full list of the final set of 42ers see the May issue of Midlands Business Insider, which is out now.

The following Link will take you to the article…. http://www.insidermedia.com/insider/midlands/69337-final-42-under-42-batch-revealed

Astute Recruitment have been proud to help the Derby Evening Telegraph in promoting the Local Business Accelerator Awards in Derby and have featured in the paper several times. This is a local award in which 3 companies are selected to receive mentoring by some of the best MD’s in Derbyshire and 3 months free advertising with the Derby Evening Telegraph.  One company is then selected to go through to the national final, where the winner with be mentored by Dragons Den Deborah Meaden !

Astute were selected as one of the 10 finalists and we were asked to pitch to a board of about 8 people in a Dragon Den Style. Please see below for the write up about us featured in the DET on Wednesday 11th Jan

“Probably the most assured and confident performances in the board room came from Sarah Stevenson & Mary Maguire co – directors at Astute Recruitment. Our team of experts when deliberating who should benefit from the Local Business Accelerators, were of the opinion that the Astute Directors had the drive, intelligence and experience to achieve there goals without the added boost of the scheme.

The Astute presentation centred on how the company only sends a candidate if it is certain they are right for the job.

Sarah said “98% of our customers have used us more the once because we don’t waste there time with candidates that are not suitable ”

The  honest approach is paying of because in just 2 years, the business has grown the employ 7  people and is looking to take on more consultants. ”

While obviously were are dissapointed at not making the top 3 this time, what positive feedback we received from the board of judges.  We are looking forward to an exciting time during 2012, where we are hoping to build on 2 fantastic years we have had since forming Astute Recruitment.

Thank you to the Derby Evening Telegraph and everyone involved in the Business Accelerator Awards.

 

 

Astute was yet again in the Derby Evening Telegraph on Saturday 29th October along with a lovely picture of the team outside our church. The DET are running a competition for new businesses , where the top 3 will receive 3 months worth of advertising and mentoring from some of the regions most dynamic entrepreneurs. All the regions winners then go forward to the national awards where the winner will receive  1 years mentoring from Deborah Meaden one of the famous dragons.  Astute were one of the first entrants, and the DET wanted to use us with our previous success at the Chambers Business Awards to raise awareness of the competition.

Sarah Commented ” We all have our fingers crossed that we will make the top 3 regionally, to have the free advertising would be a real boost to enable Astute to raise awareness of the brand and what we do, and to be able to have local sucessfull MD’s to offer advice and guidence on how we could expand and drive the business forward would be a real asset.  ”

 

 

Astute have been selected as one of the three finalists for the Most Promising New Business category at the Derbyshire Chamber Business awards. The results will be announced on Friday 30th September at the awards ceremony at the Round House in Derby
Sarah Stevenson Director at Astute commented – We are thrilled to have made the final 3 from such a massive number of entries. It means so much to be recognized like this and proves all the hard work over the last 18 months has been worth it. Everyone at astute would like to thank all our clients and candidates , that have not only supported us over the few months since Astute was formed, but have also supported and been loyal to the team here for the many years before, without your support we would not be here !
Good luck to the other 2 finalists Oviso and Evolution Training