Category: Your Business

LI: https://uk.linkedin.com/pub/mary-maguire/18/73/553

If an SME is in good financial health without a finance director (FD), entrepreneurs are often sceptical as to whether they need to recruit an FD.

Having the right people is what makes any business grow, and an inspiring finance director (FD) can contribute more than most. Yet entrepreneurs can be sceptical about hiring such a senior position.

It’s not uncommon to hear, ‘… but my business is doing well, and I already have an excellent external accountant. Do I really need an expensive over-blown bean-counter?’

The idea that an FD is just an overpaid number cruncher, can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. If an entrepreneur sets out to recruit a glorified accountant, that’s what they’re likely to get. In fact, an FD should be viewed as an essential part of any growing company’s senior management team. Someone to be an expert in planning and running the business AND someone who can add a lot of commercial and operational value to a business.

The FD should be able to provide management information that a financial controller or accountant can’t – information that will really help an entrepreneur make decisions. For example, how profitable an individual customer relationship is compared with others, so they can focus on the customers that really count.

Management information and advice from an FD will also help a company with its external negotiations. Once an entrepreneur gets his or her hands on solid information about changes in their overheads and the cost of sales, it becomes much easier to agree price rises with customers and ultimately protect profit margins.

FDs can also provide advice about which business opportunities to pursue. For instance, if an acquisition is on the cards, an experienced FD will be able to help assess the right target, negotiate and seal the deal, and then help bring the two businesses together. An FD should be a dynamic leader who helps a company to do profitable deals and put processes in place to make sure you realise that profit.

How to pick a Finance Director?

So what should an entrepreneur be looking for if they decide to recruit a Financial Director?

First, let’s look at what a good FD should already be doing and have on their cv: –

Own the numbers & be able to explain the numbers. Fully understand, and be able to explain to everyone else, how the business makes its money

A great FD will put systems in place to gather and analyse information to ensure that everyone in the business knows how profits and cash are generated, by product, service, customer, contract, geography, etc. With this knowledge, a management team can make informed decisions about which activities to focus on and which to stop.

Actively drive value in the business. Successful FDs are leaders, motivated by the desire to help grow business value as quickly and effectively as possible. They want to be influential in supporting and challenging business planning and decisions. A good FD will actually be keen to add value and if they can’t, that’s a common reason for them to decide to change job.

Cash is king. Understand the importance of cash flow. Securing future cash flow is critical to a company’s valuation. A good FD will handle Forecasting, managing cash flow, and championing ways of optimising a company’s cash generation model. This could involve extending supplier terms to re-working the business model and client’s payment terms. (i.e. should the business move from short-term contracts, with unreliable payments, to a long-term, regular recurring revenue model?)

IMPORTANT: If you are looking for a future exit strategy, an FD or CFO will often be interested in some sort of equity in return for their longer-term commitment right through to sale. This means it will be directly in the FD/ CFO’s interests to do a great job and stay in the role.

Be forward-looking. An FD should help the business plan ahead by providing analysis, insight and challenge to help the management team evaluate the company’s options for the future. They should help the business pitch their budget at the right level – making it challenging but achievable and then make sure this can be reported.

Good with detail as well as the big picture. Great FD’s are adept at contributing to strategy, but also want to get into the detail to ensure the information being used around the business is absolutely correct.

Be intelligent, qualified, experienced, and ambitious. Entrepreneurs should look for someone with a professional qualification and experience working with respected people. Another good sign is when a Finance Director maintains a network of professional contacts who can help them keep abreast of the latest industry developments.

So, while a growing, entrepreneurial business may have coped without a Financial Director up to now, and feel they can carry on without one, they run the risk that limited senior management expertise will actually hold back the growth of the business.

The very thing most important to the business owner.

With the right FD at the helm, growing companies will make better-informed decisions AND have the support to lead the company where the owners want to take it, whether that means a trade sale or towards extra PE investment.

If you are considering hiring an FD, CFO, or FC, and woud like some confidential advice around the best options available, please contact Mary Maguire, who will be pleased to help you.

Mary Maguire

Managing Director
Astute | Accountancy & Finance | HR | Office Support

Suite One, Ground Floor West, Cardinal Square, 10 Nottingham Road, Derby, DE1 3QT

T: 01332 346100
M: 07717 412911

LI: https://uk.linkedin.com/pub/mary-maguire/18/73/553

“Time is an equal opportunity employer. Each human being has exactly the same number of hours and minutes every day. Rich people can’t buy more hours. Scientists can’t invent new minutes. And you can’t save time to spend it on another day. Even so, time is amazingly fair and forgiving. No matter how much time you’ve wasted in the past, you still have an entire tomorrow.”

Denis Waitley

We hope you didn’t forget to pop your clocks forward an hour too!

But this set us thinking. How do you truly value your time? AND can this influence your levels of life satisfaction and levels of happiness.

The pandemic has carved up our usual lives, routines, working days and so, so much more. The enforced lockdowns reducing our world down to a microcosm within our homes.

Breaking normality.

Challenging our sanity.

Now, with renewed optimism, many cautiously turn their minds to regaining control of their lives, careers, and routines.

But, we cannot turn back the clock.

The last 12 months have left an indelible marker on our innermost thoughts and desires.

From many conversations, candidates from credit control to Finance Director, confirm their views on what really matters in their search for a new job has shifted.

The company car?

The snazzy office?

The potential promotion?

These don’t factor anywhere near as highly post pandemic. Instead, potential employees and job seekers value the currency of time above all else.

Work life balance, and genuine flexibility from a future employer are cited with increasing frequency as the most desirable attributes an employer can offer.

This is not to be confused with laziness or sloth. Infact, research has flagged again and again that increased employer engagement yields greater productivity.

So what can employers and business owners do?

Answer: Reaffirm your people value proposition and brand.

Culture Counts
Being valued matters
Ethical Employers with a strong moral compass

Its as though the isolation of the last 12 months has made many people re-evaluate what is really important, and money, prestige, have fallen away to be replaced by more holistic values – especially time.

As businesses look to return to the office, it becomes even more key to ensure that protecting staff retention rates and top candidate attraction are front and centre of company strategy. This can be done by looking at the most valuable commodity to everyone of us at work and in life – the commodity of time.

Many of us value time differently because we each experience time in different ways. Some people believe they have enough time; others feel as though they’re being chased by the clock.

The question is, where are YOU on the spectrum? Time starved? An abundance of time at your disposal or somewhere in between?

It’s important that you consider this question because your experience of time dictates how you manage your day, your work, your life, even your finances.

We all have the same amount of time each day. So, what’s the difference between time deprivation and having an abundance of time?

The short answer: –

How you think about yourself in relation to time dictates how you value your time. Its also a precursor to happiness and contentment with life.

The Flow of Time

What makes the passage of time so challenging and individual in its passing, is that it’s both concrete and abstract at the same time. We watch the minutes on a clock face tick by on a very real clock. Even so, we measure time according to “zones.” And, depending on your circumstance, time can seem to move either fast or slow.

If you’re late for work, a red light can seem like hours, but if you’re scrolling through zillions of work emails, that same light can feel like it changed in a split second. The phrase “a watched kettle never boils” is so true. Time seems to slow right down when you are waiting for something to happen.

To complicate matters further, research tells us that people experience time differently based on their stage of development. Think of the repeated question every young child asks a parent on a car journey: “Are we nearly there yet?” For that child, a half-hour trip can seem like days. Some scientists state that conceptually, human beings live most of their lives by the time they reach 18 years old. This is because time seems to pass more slowly to a child than to an adult. As we age, the years appear to pass faster and faster. When in actuality – time of course has not sped up at all. Our concept of the passage of time has merely shifted.

Lets look at some interesting points around ‘Time Poor’ vs ‘Time Rich’

Here’s What Time Rich Looks Like: –

For the people who live in scarcity of time, the distinctions are fairly obvious. They always feel as though they’re being chased by time. There’s never enough time to do the things they want to do; they are frustrated and overwhelmed. Often at work, they will be creating extra anxiety over their perceived lack of time to get work tasks completed.

If you score highly as being time rich, there are subtle differences to those who are time-poor.

From an assessment by The Money Meter, their results suggested two groups of individuals in the time-rich category. Let’s talk about these two groups as the Blue and Green Groups.

The Blue Zone: Moderately Time Rich

People who are scoring in the moderate zone of time abundance, state that they experience less anxiety, stress, and fewer negative emotions about time than those who are time-poor because they view time as neutral.

Yes, time is transitory, fleeting, a precious commodity, and it should therefore be managed well. However, this group experiences time as a continuum that marks the passing of events.

People in the Blue Group appreciate flexibility and having control over their own time. They are deliberate and intentional in creating time for family and relaxation, and they pride themselves on how well they “manage” their daily timetable & work schedules.

Precisely because they appreciate, rather than fear, the fleeting sense of time, the people in the Blue Group are often more energised and focused. They tend to experience a greater sense of accomplishment at the end of each working day.

Whilst keen on making time for family and loved ones, they are more focused on time from a task orientation perspective than they are from a relational one. Time with family, for example, may only happen when their ‘work’ is completed.

No room for sentiment – thats just what has to happen for them.

Responsibility and control are key elements for how people in the Blue Zone value time. For people in this group. their realisation is that “Time is fleeting. I should manage it well!”

In short, they firmly believe they have control over their time.

They take pride in themselves in their ability to prioritise work/ jobs, and they enjoy a sense of accomplishment at the end of each day.

Then we have the Green Group representing those who are highly time rich.

People who score as ‘highly time rich’, seem to believe that they have enough time to accomplish whatever they want, whenever they want. They view time as precious and go beyond “managing it” to using it astutely.

Wise use of time means that they live from a sense of joy, appreciation, and freedom. They are present in the moment and therefore better able to respond to changing timetables or altered meeting times in more spontaneous ways.

Because of this high level of flexibility, the Green crowd lives a more balanced life. Family activities are not tasks to check off a list. Family is first—not an interruption.

For people in this category, there is always time to do the “important things” in life.

Perhaps the biggest differentiator between these two groups is that the green group has a deep desire to make every moment count. They value time in terms of relationships over task orientation. Making memories is important; they don’t want to be known as workaholics or taskmasters.

Major Theme: Time is precious. I should use every moment wisely.

Research has been inconclusive to tell if this highly time-rich perspective on time occurs with age and the passing of time or after a life-threatening loss or illness.

Either way, it’s a perspective worth considering in a world held hostage by the increasing demands of work, social media, mobile phones, and the expectation of being available at a moment’s notice.

As a call to action, examine your perspective on time.

Every one of us, every single moment of every single day, experiences huge pulls on our time. Our daily demands are great. It can be hard to set firm boundaries between work, family, and very importantly yourself.

Time for you!

What this research and many other investigations flag, is that those who value time and appreciate its transience, are the ones most likely to achieve a happier, more satisfying work/ life balance.

Now that’s something we could all do with!

Mary Maguire

Managing Director
Astute | Accountancy & Finance | HR | Office Support

Suite One, Ground Floor West, Cardinal Square, 10 Nottingham Road, Derby, DE1 3QT

T: 01332 346100
M: 07717 412911

LI: https://uk.linkedin.com/pub/mary-maguire/18/73/553

A Roadmap out of lockdown!

A one-way strategy of positive milestones from the Government was announced by the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson this afternoon.

The basic points are set out below. It is important to remember that these will be conditional on the continued success of the vaccine rollout and maintaining declining figures of hospitalisations and infections.

Nonetheless, some very welcome news!

Summary of key points: –

Boris Johnson sets out his four-step plan to release England from lockdown
Step one, on 8 March, will see schools reopening and two people allowed to meet outdoors for a chat
From 29 March, outdoor gatherings of either six people or two households will be allowed
Outdoor sports, including football, golf, and tennis, will be allowed to resume from 29 March as well
Step two would see shops, hairdressers and gyms reopen from 12 April in England
Also from 12 April, outdoor hospitality will resume, as well as zoos and theme parks
Step three would start on 17 May with most social contact rules lifted, as well as limited mixing indoors
The prime minister hopes that step four, from 21 June, would see the end of all legal limits on social contact
The UK PM will also hold a televised press conference at 19:00 GMT
Scotland, Wales, and NI will set out their own approaches
Covid vaccines have a significant impact on the risk of serious illness Public Health analysis shows
In the fourth week after the first dose, hospitalisations were reduced by 85% and 94% for the Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs

Let’s hope that the 8^th March Budget will also provide some fiscal good news and continued support for businesses, employers, and staff.

An article by

Mary Maguire

Managing Director
Astute | Accountancy & Finance | HR | Office Support

Suite One, Ground Floor West, Cardinal Square, 10 Nottingham Road, Derby, DE1 3QT

T: 01332 346100
M: 07717 412911

LI: https://uk.linkedin.com/pub/mary-maguire/18/73/553

LI: www.linkedin.com/company/astute-recruitment

Macmillan Cancer Support recently published research showing that an estimated 7 million people across the country have turned to exercise including jogging or running during the pandemic crisis to boost their mental health.

One in seven people in the UK (14%) said exercise had helped them handle stress better since the first lockdown.

Exercise proved more popular than meditation or yoga (12%). Roughly 33% said physical activity including running, helped them feel calmer and more positive, while one in five said it helped them to feel mentally stronger.

Macmillan is hoping this will all mean a record interest for the 2021 London Marathon. 2020’s event was first postponed to October and then cut back to just an elite event, following a year that has left charities devastated following reduced fundraising.

You are never too young, or old to start either. Nor are you too fit or unfit. From a gentle jog initially, gradually building up to a slow, then faster run, this is one exercise with no limits on who can join in or at what level.

Everyone can do it.

Whatever the weather!

Taking a regular stroll to the local park, it’s surprising how many new faces you can spot, having a run or jog.

According to City AM, Sports Direct sold 218% more pairs of running trainers online during the lockdown than in the same period 12 months before, and Britons bought 243% more running clothing than normal!

One of the best, instant results from a run is the immediate lift of your mood. This isn’t an accident.

The science bit.

When you exercise, endorphins, tiny chemicals, react giddily with chemical receptors in our bodies and go mad inside our bodies. That’s what causes you to feel lifted in body and soul. Those jigging, rushing chemicals. A whole new 21st-century twist to the phrase ‘gettin’ jiggy with it’ 🤣🤣

Whether you’re experiencing a simple case of the Monday blues while working from home, or more persistent symptoms of depression, that’s why exercise can really help to boost your mood and reframe your mental health to a new, much more positive place.

Getting regular exercise is important for good physical and mental health. Exercise can help stimulate parts of your brain that aren’t as responsive when you’re feeling depressed. It also promotes the release of feel-good brain chemicals. Exercise can also help to distract you from your worries and improve your confidence.

Commenting in the Guardian, Saurav Dutt, a 38-year-old author in London, ramped up his running in 2021 after taking it up for the first time during the initial lockdown.

“I used to try to avoid running as much as possible just because of the effort,” he said. “But the endorphin release after a big run is really significant, it really lifts your mood. And you’re also thinking about reinforcing your own general health, because underlying conditions are a big problem with Covid.”

In the absence of normal running groups, a number of virtual running challenges have been set up online during the pandemic. Its why we set up our #miles4meals initiative too so that people wfh can still get some valuable exercise AND help a worthwhile cause!

These virtual running groups are especially popular with people working from home. It’s not good for us to be sat down at a desk all day, the tension it puts on your lower back and your hips, it is really important to get out and move the body. Here at Astute, we are thrilled with the response so far from candidates, clients and businesses offering their time and miles to help us.

Its been interesting to highlight to businesses and employers that the benefits of virtual group exercise projects can really help the levels of employee engagement, staff wellbeing AND productivity levels in their teams. Some bracing physical activity is scientifically proven to aid and improve worker’s efficiency and increase the amount of work they can do in their job.

You can easily join into a virtual group by using the NHS/ Public Health England’s Couch to 5k app which was downloaded 858,000 times between March and June last year, a 92% increase compared with 2019. Check out more information on this useful link https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/get-running-with-couch-to-5k/

Like many across the country, our busy working days now revolve around a “commute a few steps downstairs or upstairs” and Zoom meetings. With long, long hours sat tapping away on laptops interspersed with calls.

Gone is the commute to the office. For many, our step counts and levels of movement have suffered.

Before Covid struck, most of us would travel, often walking to meetings, even taking a lunchtime stroll to grab some lunch. Now, that 20-minute stroll can easily become a daily ‘two-step toddle’ to the fridge and back.

This is why all of us at Astute wanted to do an organised event to raise awareness of the physical and mental health benefits of exercise AND support our local communities whilst helping a brilliant local charity, all at the same time.

Hence, our #miles4meals charity initiative was born! 😊

To make a donation, check out our fundraising page on Derby City Mission’s website HERE

Alternatively, if you or your team would like to join us to help Derby City Mission put together more food parcels for those in need, please email me – [email protected] and my team and I will warmly welcome you and send you more information.

Article by Mary Maguire

Managing Director
Astute | Accountancy & Finance | HR | Office Support

Suite One, Ground Floor West, Cardinal Square, 10 Nottingham Road, Derby, DE1 3QT

T: 01332 346100

LI: https://uk.linkedin.com/pub/mary-maguire/18/73/553

LI: https://uk.linkedin.com/pub/mary-maguire/18/73/553

Why good interview feedback really matters

Our team been working exclusively with a long-standing client to recruit an Assistant Management Accountant. Ideally someone with bright enquiring mind, keen to learn with an accounting and finance degree. Some experience in a finance role would be ideal. After shortlisting down from 18 candidates to the best five, the CVs went across and our client interviewed all five this week.

The good news is that three have been selected to undertake some online testing and have a second interview in a few days.

The bad news is that two candidates are not being progressed.

The client and Astute were able to discuss detailed, constructive feedback for each candidate including some tips for the future.

We fed back to one of the candidates not being progressed and wanted to share what the feedback was including some constructive tips for them in answering unplanned questions and focussing their answers.

“…while its bad news I’ve not got a second interview – it’s great to get positive rounded feedback after the first interview. I can use this experience and feedback to help me prepare and perform better in future interviews, and hopefully get a second interview next time! Thanks for letting me know and taking the time to ring me.”

He has been impressed with the process at Astute Recruitment Ltd, and thanked us for taking the time to call him and pass on the feedback.

If someone has taken the time to attend an interview – they deserve at the very least to get some constructive post- interview feedback. That feedback may just help them secure a second interview and a job offer next time.

“It’s not just learning how to prepare for an interview that counts.

It’s also learning how to perform in an interview. That takes time, practice, and crucially, feedback!”

This is why our team at Astute Recruitment encourages a collaborative relationship with our clients throughout the recruitment process. Good interview feedback from the finance manager/ line manager/ HR professional recruiting, really helps our team inform our candidates on how they can improve their performance on an interview.

From how to answer a question to coping with nerves, unless a person has interview practice and good feedback from the recruitment consultant and/ or client, it is very hard for them to learn how they can come across better in the actual interview itself.

For another useful post on more interview tips and advice, you can see another of our blogs on our website, using the following link: https://www.astuterecruitment.com/6-interview-questions-and-answers-to-help-you-nail-the-perfect-job-in-the-pandemic/

If you would like any more advice or help around interviews, arranging interviews remotely – let us know.

An article by Mary Maguire

MD Astute Recruitment Ltd

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/pub/mary-maguire/18/73/553

6 ‘astute’ Interview questions and answers to help you get a job in a pandemic

With interview requests and new jobs taken by our team at Astute Recruitment, it’s great to share some pointers for candidates about to enter the job market to give them an edge on interview.

Imagine, you’ve been selected for a job interview! Well done! It’s always great news, but especially so in such challenging times. But preparing for a job interview might be trickier than usual, too.

It would be a little weird if you and your interviewer didn’t acknowledge the global pandemic going on.

You’ll probably be doing your interview remotely, online, at least the first interview, and it’s also likely that you’ll be starting work remotely.

The people and business you’re interviewing with won’t be operating as normal, plus you’ll have to navigate different ways to work together.

Apart from the obvious, (ensuring you’re wearing smart clothes, and your Zoom background looks tidy & professional), preparing for an interview means being ready to answer some different questions. So, what can you expect to be asked?

1. How are you feeling?

It’s normal to start off an interview with an icebreaker, but in the pandemic, small talk can take on a deeper meaning.

For an interviewer, it’s a way to gauge the tone of the interview. Some candidates’ replies might reveal they are struggling, whereas others will take the question much more lightly. In either case, there is no shame in acknowledging how the Covid-19 crisis is affecting you. The worst thing would be if a candidate came across as too disconnected from the situation, which could be a hint as to empathy skills or lack of.

The pandemic is impacting people emotionally, and for an employer to ask this question, shows they care. If you are asked this question, you should show you understand the situation and are adapting to it. You shouldn’t just use the same answers that you had prepared pre-pandemic, as if you were still in a typical office setting.

2. How are you handling your work-life balance?

If you can keep a healthy work-life balance, it shows a potential employer that you’re able to manage your time independently, and be organised.

Working from home is set to continue for a lot of us for the foreseeable, meaning employers are looking for these qualities,

Companies and hiring managers need to know that even if you don’t have a team around you sitting in an office, you ARE going to be able to work by yourself, can be trusted to wfh independently and autonomously.

This doesn’t have to mean that you’re calendar-blocking each hour of your day. But this question is a prime opportunity to highlight how you can, and have been able to work productively.

In an online interview, it’s an opportunity to also build a bond as you can reflect back a question to your interviewer, e.g.”I’ve found it’s key for me to factor in a 20 minute slot to excerise /walk the dog/ play with kids. I find this improves my feelings of wellbeing and makes me more focused and productive working for the rest of the day. What works for you?”.

3. Have you learnt any new skills since March last year?

This isn’t a trick question. Recruiters

wouldn’t be put off if a candidate said they had struggled with motivation or finding time to learn at the beginning of lockdown.

Instead, they’d welcome and expect some honesty about what they’ve learnt about themselves during the pandemic.

You don’t have to pretend you’ve been on some kind of productivity marathon if you haven’t. Of course employers will want to know if you’ve added any professional skills to your CV, but talking about hobbies you’ve picked up or personal lessons you’ve learnt helps to give interviewers a glimpse of your personality and a real glimpse of you.

For instance, what you learnt about yourself could be how you discovered a new skill or the ability to step back from something. It doesn’t need to be professional, it can be something more personal.

But, how do you answer if you can’t think of anything you’ve learnt in the past few months?

Something as simple as trying out a new recipe counts. Most of us have discovered some new culinary skills 🤣.

4. What’s your ‘work-from-home set-up like?’

Potential employers have every right to ask about a candidate’s home working environment. Especially making sure that potential employees have a computer with internet access, that they have access to a telephone or a landline, and asking about the reliability of their wifi signal

Employers need to know that you have the equipment you need to do the job you are being interviewed for. However, they are aware that few of us have the perfect WFH set-up. Don’t be afraid to mention any challenges you’ve faced working from home, and how you’ve found solutions to work around them.

This is a good question for employers to ask candidates to see how creative they can be, and how they’re dealing with and have adapted to the current situation.

5. “We’re all on Microsoft Teams/ Slack/ Google Hangouts. Have you used it before?”

Of course, if your interview is on a platform you haven’t used before, you’ll want to test it out beforehand to make sure you know how to use it.

It’s also worth getting to know the main digital communication tools that are popular with businesses. Google Hangouts, Microsoft Teams, Slack and Zoom are all free to download and experiment with.

Some great advice to all candidates, is to be organised and prepared with the tech that they could be using if they are offered a job.

Lots of companies used digital communication tools before the pandemic. They’re just using them even more now. If candidates are unfamiliar with them they should definitely look them up & try them out before interviewing for a new job.

For employees who have started looking for a job after several years, this is a really useful tip.

6. Do you have any questions for us?

Pre-pandemic and lockdown, candidates would go into the office, meet a couple of members of the team. They’d get all of the contextual information before being offered the job and deciding whether to accept it.

Now, with largely online interviews, applicants don’t have all of the sensory, physical experiences through Candidates who have managed to get an interview aren’t getting the complete view of companies they’re applying for.

To counteract this, ask a lot of questions during your interview to get a clear idea of how the company works, the office culture and how you’ll work with different teams and individuals.

For starters, ask questions about training, daily tasks and communication methods. It’s equally important to ask about potential colleagues and hierarchy. This may mean clarifying who you would report to or who you can ask for help when you need it. Alternatively, it might mean taking a more informal approach to interviewing altogether.

A great suggestion for candidates is to ask, “If possible, could I have a virtual lunch with the team that I could be working with, just so I can get to know them—maybe not so much in a professional sense, but in a more casual, informal way?“

You could ask to have one-on-one meetings with potential future team members as part of the interview process. This shows you take the future culture of your potential colleagues seriously.

Companies should be understanding about these requests.

It’s really key that candidates meet more people, especially now. Particularly so if companies add a few more steps to the recruitment process. This can give applicants the confidence to be happy if they go on to secure a job offer.

Remember, it’s not just the candidate who has to adapt to the recruiter, but the recruiter who has to understand it’s a different situation for applicants too!

If you have questions around this topic or would like more information about this or something else, feel free to contact our MD, Mary Maguire, by email on [email protected]

An article by Mary Maguire, Managing Director
Astute Recruitment Ltd

Suite One, Ground Floor West, Cardinal Square, 10 Nottingham Road, Derby, DE1 3QT

T: 01332 346100