225+
5 reviews
MikeMike
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.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! 😊
ChristineChristine
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 PinegarHelen 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 LeighLisa 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.
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Remote Working. Why your team can thrive and how you can make this happen.
Remote Working. Why your team can thrive and how you can make this happen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the current crisis, discover how remote workers can add value in your business & how to make this happen
Change is different, but together we can adapt to new ways of working

In the current crisis, businesses across the land are struggling to keep apace with developments. Here at Astute Recruitment Ltd, we have been working on scenarios to help both clients and candidates at this unique time.

Remote working is a working style that allows professionals to work outside of a traditional office environment. It is based on the concept that work does not need to be done in a specific place to be executed successfully.

We can provide candidates for temporary and permanent work who can work remotely from home. Using Microsoft Teams, Skype and other platforms, our interim candidates can attend virtual meetings and online training sessions to enable them to pick up quickly what needs to be done.

Currently, we are working with several clients to overcome the social distancing guidelines and still enable a business to carry on.

Contact our Interim Specialists Sarah-Louise Wykes & Richard Bowe to learn more about how we can help you find smarter ways to find the staff to work remotely in interim assignments.

 

Why remote workers add value to your business and how to make this happen!

Remote working doesn’t lend itself to every role and business, but a lot of companies and employers are acknowledging that there are clear opportunities for working remotely to improve their flexibility and enable their staff to enjoy greater working autonomy. Less experienced, more junior employees, will benefit from more traditional hands-on supervision, training, and support. Similarly, employees whose work is highly sensitive and confidential should perhaps be required to keep their work in the office. However having partnered with several local Derby and Derbyshire businesses on key talent acquisition projects, we are delighted that large and small firms have embraced ‘on-demand, online training’. These empower their employees to access the training and development they need when they need it.

Remote working is conducive to business efficiencies and there can be significant benefits in offering employees the opportunity to find their ‘second desk’, wherever that might be!

Staff morale

No commute! Cutting out the commute can offer a huge boost to employee productivity. Without office distractions or extended coffee-break chats, staff can become a lot more efficient. It can also provide them with a greater sense of autonomy if they feel less monitored at work, which encourages job satisfaction and loyalty.

Instead of monitoring time spent at work, consider changing to alternative models where your employees’ output can be measured instead. Providing the work is being done, and their deadlines are met, should it really matter where the work is carried out, or what time of day or night it gets done?

Increased talent pool

Remote working completely transforms your talent pool when your people no longer need to live within commuting distance to the office, and can even live on the other side of the world. Recruitment suddenly just got a lot more interesting. The flip side of this benefit, of course, is being mindful of local employment laws, payroll and taxes for the country in which your new employee is based.

Bigger cost savings

Depending on how easily your business lends itself to a remote working model, you could be looking at potentially huge cost savings. If more and more of your desks are empty on a regular basis, you should consider moving to a smaller office space, or even doing away with it altogether.

Beware the loneliness trap!

A common frustration employees tend to experience with remote working is a feeling of isolation, loneliness or lack of team camaraderie. Employers would be well-served to be mindful of this, encouraging team get-togethers and frequent interaction, either in person or via face-to-face technology. Microsoft Office Teams is an excellent way of teams getting together online to share better work practices and engage socially and enjoy some team ‘banter’.

Accept there will be teething problems

As with the introduction of any new policy or business model, you should expect some teething problems. However, once things settle down and your team becomes more familiar with virtual meetings than physical ones, your business, and your staff can start to enjoy the numerous benefits remote working has to offer.

Dos and don’ts

Companies and businesses thinking of implementing remote working should:

  • Ensure the appropriate technological tools are in place. This includes rigid data security measures and confidentiality procedures;
  • Update employment contracts if needed and create a new remote working policy to help set boundaries, manage employee expectations and support all-important team culture;
  • Risk Management: Think about whether remote workers will need to complete short health and safety assessments for their chosen work location. Always remember that employers will continue to have some responsibility for employees’ work environments, even outside the office;
  • Insurances: Ensure an Employer’s Liability insurance policy is updated to cover remote working.

The ‘don’ts’:

  • Don’t forget to check national & international employment laws and payroll laws as relevant. (Full compliance with the employment laws in the remote worker’s location is essential);
  • Don’t expose the company to data breaches. Remote workers should be educated about inadvertent disclosure when working in public spaces, and the implications of taking work abroad and unintentionally transferring confidential data across borders;
  • Don’t treat remote workers and onsite workers differently. All staff, whether office-based or remotely working must be treated equally otherwise this could put the company in breach of discrimination laws and leave remote workers feeling isolated;
  • AND FINALLY, Don’t expect remote workers to be constantly logged in. Remote working culture risks blurring the line between work life and home life and could breach employees’ rights under working time laws.

 

Originally published on LinkedIn, March 17th, 2020 by Mary Maguire

You can view Mary’s other LinkedIn Articles HERE.

 

PS: Thank You!

The inspiration for this piece came from Sarah-Louise Wykes, so huge thanks to you and your husband!

In the current crisis, how to utilise remote working in your business? One of my team – Sarah-Louise discussed this idea with me and this article was born.

At Astute we constantly seek to educate and highlight the very latest recruitment trends and issues for our clients and candidates.

In the current climate – tips on how to set-up and keep an engaged workforce working remotely will be high in the minds of employers everywhere seeking to ensure their teams can and are working. I hope this article is useful and provides some inspiration to teams, employers and businesses in what are clearly difficult and unprecedented circumstances.

To survive and thrive, we need to make sure that businesses keep doing business and staff can do their jobs.

At Astute, our teams are fully briefed with candidates able to jump in and help support your team.

 

 

Top 5 Skype Interview Tips for candidates from Astute Recruitment Ltd
Top 5 Skype Interview Tips for candidates from Astute Recruitment Ltd

With more and more workplaces cancelling meetings and face to face interviews, companies are increasingly turning to Skype and other media to play an increasing part in the recruitment process.

Here at Astute, we thought this would be more crucial than ever. An online interview can either be audio or visual but most employers prefer Skype, where a potential candidate can be interviewed ‘remotely’. As with any interview in person, there are do’s and don’ts that every candidate should know.

Below are 5 Skype interview tips to help you nail that job: –

1.Dress the part: You might not meet your potential employer physically in person, face to face, but you will still need to dress professionally. Your interviewer can still see you and of course, you can see them! Make sure you have a chosen outfit ready for you to wear the night before.

2. Don’t be late! Be ready an hour earlier so that you can prepare in advance. As with any interview you need to ensure you have allowed plenty of time to become calm. Make sure all radios, TVs and mobile phones are set to silent at least 15 minutes before your interview begins so there is no distracting background noise.

3. Ensure your network is working! Make sure your computer and network are functioning well. Test your microphone and camera beforehand to prevent glitches. The last thing you want is to just log in to Skype and find that you can see your interviewer but cannot hear them or vice versa!

4. Setup your environment and surroundings to look professional. Create a clean, tidy background that represents your organisational skills. Sounds obvious, but make sure that the view of your area behind you which your ‘interviewer/ interviewers’ can see looks ordered, clean and clear.

5. Focus on the camera. Tricky one this – as the natural tendency is to look someone in the eye, whether on screen or face to face. On camera, on an online interview, this means you having to look straight into the camera as a way of keeping eye contact with your interviewer and NOT looking the person you are talking to directly in the eye on the screen. Our advice? Practice, practice, and practice again. You can ask a friend to be on the other end of the camera as a practice Skype interview exercise, allowing you to practice this in real-time. Even better, get your friend to ask you proper interview questions.

 

Astute Recruitment Ltd

Your CV Profile –

 

Increasingly for candidates, anything that can flag a CV to a potential employer is great.

But what to include? What to specifically cite? How to keep things concise but genuinely show you have made a difference and why you stand out?

 

Below is part of the profile for an experienced Finance Director who Astute Recruitment has worked with for a number of years.

  • Experienced SME Finance Director with a proven track record of success, supporting strategic objectives with financial acumen and operational pragmatism.
  • Facilitated ‘fundraise’ with PE – pre and post-acquisition
  • Pro-active manager and influencer, empowering staff to take ownership
  • Providing coaching, training and mentoring to build cohesive teams and business partnering senior management.
  • Proven experience working alongside MDs and Senior management teams driving businesses forward
  • Focussed on achieving individual targets and company objectives and offering excellent relationship management skills.
  • Experienced in financial and corporate management to ensure the achievement of commercial goals within budget.
  • Extensive SME experience and management of external relationships with banks, insurers, suppliers and investors.

 

Driving business projects to deliver business strategy”.

 

This is someone who one of our Directors has personally known for a while and who has sat on both sides of the client/ candidate fence. Their words and the way they succinctly covered their key attributes was great and we wanted to share this.

 

The candidate identifies specific, key deliverables and specific, defined savings they have made to the business and specific ways they have delivered success in their previous roles. They did this citing in percentage terms, the differences to the profit and balance sheet of their company. Where they had saved time – they cited the exact amount of time. They were clear that they had taken ownership of the improvements cited.

 

Another key part of this is to ensure that all the Job Boards you are registered with and your LinkedIn profile also all reflect accurately the most up to date version of your CV. Often we discover a candidate’s online profile varies to the latest CV they forward to us. Consistency in all things applies – especially in terms of your own candidate CV, personal profile and branding online.

 

For obvious reasons – we cannot state the identity of this eloquent person, as they are still in a permanent role!

Nor can we cite specific deliverables or critical success factors for confidentiality, but if you are reading this and your business needs someone like this – let our Qualified Team know and we will gladly facilitate an introduction!

 

We hope the above provides some inspiration for those struggling to write up / update their own profiles/ CVs.

 

Astute’s Team! 

 

Richard Bowe – Senior Consultant Interim Qualified Accountancy

Tom Norton – Senior Consultant Permanent Qualified

Andy Lilliman – Recruitment Business Development Manager

Sarah-Louise Wykes – Manager, Interim Transactional Finance Staff, Part-Qualified to Qualified Accountants

Charlotte Sproat – Permanent Transactional Finance Staff, Part-Qualified to Qualified Accountants (Derby, South Derbyshire, North Leicestershire, Staffordshire, South Notts)

Debbie Jackson – Permanent Transactional Finance Staff, Part-Qualified to Qualified Accountants (Derby, North Derbyshire, North Nottinghamshire)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Astute Recruitment's Top CV Tips To Make YOUR CV Stand Out
Astute Recruitment’s Top CV Tips To Make YOUR CV Stand Out

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some of the latest top tips and suggestions to help ensure your CV is destined to help steer you to the job of your dreams.

 

 

1/ Highlight your affinity with technology.

Nearly all jobs now require some interface with IT, especially jobs in accountancy, where there are myriad CRMs, ERPs and other systems which need to have their data migrated to Excel to produce the best financial reporting and analysis. One of the Big 4 firms recently stated that nearly 80% of CEO’s regard abilities around AI to be THE number one asset of a business.

 

2/ Showcase your SOFT SKILLS. Nearly 60% of senior leaders state soft skills as being more important than ‘hard skills’.

Examples of soft skills: –

 

  • Ability to adapt i.e. How can you embrace change?
    • Think of examples where you have successfully adapted to change and include these on your CV.

 

  • Your ability to be creative in thought & deed.
    • AI is only as good as the programming it has been given. It cannot ‘think ahead’. People can. The ideas of tomorrow are what the bosses of today need from their teams and employees. Highlight how you are an ‘ideas’ person and how your creativity has: –

“made positive changes in your work/ or for your team/ or in your business to the company’s performance”

 

  • Talking for Success – Ability to communicate;
    • Employers now need employees who can collaborate better, build stronger relationships, motivate more effectively to ultimately drive increased productivity and performance. SO, in your CV you need to showcase your verbal dexterity across negotiation, collaboration, and presentation. Just don’t forget to listen!
    • Don’t forget to include your latest Skills Learned! In your second job, you may have mastered world-class skills in the IT package of the day, but the employee of tomorrow needs their CV to show an affinity with the current and emerging technologies and software. Always showcase new skills learned over the last couple of years or even in the last few months! These new skills may be the very ones that make you stand out from the crowd and secure an interview.!

 

So, now you have an idea of the content for your CV – you now need to hotwire it with the ‘keywords’ that many search firms program their algorithms to pick out. Yep – your CV won’t be picked out by a human being – more likely,  if you are applying to one of the larger, national and international recruitment agencies – your CV will need to stand out in a sea of applicants screened by non-human eyes.

Increasingly, even smaller search and recruitment agencies are turning to algorithms to ‘sift’ through CVs. However, at Astute Recruitment, we offer the human touch and always will, to pick up the nuances of individuals. But this point in general about larger recruitment agencies is key.

 

How can you ‘proof’ your CV and application to overcome these algorithms?

 

1/ Keywords all the way!

Not just any keywords, but the ones that are specific for the targeted jobs that you are applying for. So, if you are an accountant, make sure you include keywords relevant. So for example, if you are looking for a role as a financial accountant – keywords like Balance Sheet, Consolidations, Audit, Group Accounts may well be worth you including in your skillset! Equally, if you are a Management Accountant, keywords including Variance Analysis, Profit & Loss, Cost Centres, Cost of Sales, Gross Margin Reporting, Stakeholder Engagement may be wise to include!

 

2/ Softskills

Again think about the soft skills that your potential boss will be looking for… “Communication” “within budget and “deadlines”. Now for the big tip. Most people include the former – but don’t qualify what they mean. i.e. “OK – you completed X, Y, Z but how much did you bring this in less than budget?” or  “How much faster did you achieve your project than the original deadline? 10% faster? 30% faster?” Define your achievements with definite numbers and percentages. Make your achievements quantifiable. Show how they are continuous and year on year rather than just something achieved several years ago in a role since which you have received several promotions.

 

3/ Check your profile is good on social media. (Hint: This doesn’t mean having a great photo of you at the trendiest wine bar on Instagram (unless you are going for a bar job! 😊)

Instead – LinkedIn is now one of THE main online spaces for any professional employee to showcase their skills. Use the summary field, for short, succinct snippets to showcase your key attributes in work. And to do this – again use our new friends, ‘keywords’. Keep job titles straightforward. In-house recruitment specialists, HR professionals, and recruitment agencies and search firms will conduct ‘keyword’ searches on LinkedIn to identify as narrow a shortlist with the most relevant profiles for their roles. You need to try and make sure your profile is the one that appears in their searches. Avoid glitzy, busy icons, anything too ‘random’ and ‘out there’.

Yes, you want to come across as someone with ideas and creativity of thought, but you need to also come across as someone who can fit into the professional, flexible, 21st century working world.

 

For personal, one on one advice about your CV, or anything to help you take the next step in your career, contact our team for

confidential and tailored advice on 01332 346 100

or by email to Mary Maguire

 

 

 

 

 

The Dark Side of Valentines Day and other key dates in the year

The social media and pressures in general forced upon someone who was actually very fragile, resulted in tragedy for Caroline, her friends, and family.

Her death also served to highlight as a warning for all of us that whilst dates in the year like Valentines Day have typically become a day of ‘lurve’, joy and celebration, there are a whole lot of people for whom these dates float around bringing them dread.

Relationships can and do break up.

Many people, find occasions like the 14th of February hard to deal with as they are single, having relationship difficulties or just ‘in-between’ relationships.

Some will be very happy in their own company too.

Mary writes in her piece that

“Whilst happily married, I’ve known times before I met ‘the one’ where I delighted in my own company, and times I felt genuinely lonely, feeling a bit out of the loop if Valentines Day coincided with one of those periods.

My point? It’s easy to feel that you should comply with the herd. In this case, the schmaltz churned out by any kind of media or peer pressure.

So, whatever your relationship status, celebrate the fact that you, yourself, are great! Allow yourself to feel happy whether you are single, married, or other. Most of all, be mindful that today and every day, there may be work colleagues, friends and family who may be finding it tough and who would appreciate some love of the friendship and empathy kind.

This is such a huge topic and one that employers everywhere and anyone with work colleagues need to be mindful of. Not everyone may be in the ‘happy’ place you are in, but a friendly smile, gentle touch and warm words of encouragement can go a long way in helping someone step away from dark thoughts.

 

To see other posts and articles by Mary, you can view her LinkedIn and Follow Mary on https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-maguire-55307318/ 

You can follow our company LinkedIn page by clicking HERE and just selecting “FOLLOW”

 

 

 

 

'You are not alone' Stress Awareness Day 2019
‘You are not alone’ Stress Awareness Day 2019

Its National Stress Awareness Day 2019.

 

Some stats from the Health and Safety Executive Department figures

 

The UK’s economy lost a total of 12.8million workdays in 2018 solely due to stress

602,000 UK workers suffer from work-related mental issues such as depression and anxiety

44% of work-related sick days were caused by depression and anxiety

 

 

Stress Awareness Day on November 6th was created by the International Stress Management Association (ISMA). For 2019, Resilience is the theme – enabling people to employ key coping mechanisms when coping with the everday pressures of life – at work and at home.

 

FIRSTLY you need to gauge your own mental state – Ease that tornado of thoughts which make you start to feel anxious, take a step back.

 

Every Mind Matters has a five-questions quiz to help you have a clearer view of your mental health and for you to understand how ‘stressed’ you are..

 

Once you understand the state of your mental health you can begin to increase your resilience to your own, personal ‘triggers’.

 

Mental Health charities such as Every Mind Matters and Mind provide more tips but have a go at these initial tips…you will need to practice these as for many these will be outside your comfort zone. It will be worth it though!

 

  • BE MORE STRAIGHTFORWARD and confident when dealing with people. If others are placing unreasonable or unrealistic demands on you, be prepared to say how you feel and to actually say “no”. Practice saying no in front of a mirror. Baby steps. Work your way up.

 

  • USE RELAXATION TECHNIQUES – you know yourself what helps you unwind, whether a nice long soak in the bath, listening to your favourite podcast or playlist. Set aside the time to do this. Don’t put this off. It is important you have ‘me time’ to properly relax.

 

  • ALLOW YOURSELF TO EXPLORE AND DEVELOP NEW HOBBIES AND INTERESTS. Set aside an activity that is totally removed from anything that causes you stress. This is a brilliant way to release you from everyday pressures. You are worth it. Stress can make people feel isolated and alone, but hobbies where you can interact with likeminded souls is a great way to meet new people, forge new friendships in a ‘safe’ environment that you can trust.

 

  • CREATE TIME FOR FRIENDS. Talking to friends about the things you find hard is proven to alleviate stress and can increase confidence and positive wellbeing. The act of talking helps keep your worries in proportion and can help your friends too. It is scientifically proven that laughter and smiling release produce chemical reactions in your body and brain – endorphins – that will help you relax and ultimately feel better.

 

  • SEEK BALANCE IN YOUR LIFE. Very hard for many of us, but if all of your time & energy seems to be sucked into your job or children its definitely time to look at ways of focussing on different areas whether family, hobbies or friends. Lack of diversity in life breeds discontent and often causes the seeds of anxiety and stress to grow.

 

  • KNOW THAT IT IS FINE TO SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP. No man or woman is an island. All of us need to accept that from time to time it is OK to admit you need a bit of help and that may include medical support. Reach out to the NHS – they have several free therapies including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (changing your thought process through ‘re-wiring your brain), Mindfulness (ensuring you are ‘present’ and ‘in the moment’) or Ecotherapy (channelling the soothing power of nature to help with mental health issues.) Your GP will be able to prescribe additional medication. If you feel like you need further care, you can talk to your GP. There are even Apps that you can access from your pocket smartphone. The NHS and Every Mind Matters recommend ones and click here to get these.

 

Above all, remember that although you may not feel like it, you are not alone and help is there for you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

'You are not alone' Stress Awareness Day 2019
‘You are not alone’ Stress Awareness Day 2019

 

As it was Valentines Day on 14th Feb, I thought I’d ask – Are You Married to your Career?

Just like a relationship, do you find your job sapping all your energy? Is it all-consuming with you giving and giving with no gratitude in return? Do you feel that no-one is listening to you? Are you feeling unappreciated?

If that’s the case – maybe its time to find a new partner or certainly end what could be a toxic relationship!

It’s a proven fact that you are more likely on average, to spend considerably more time at work than you are with loved ones, family and partners. So it is vital that, just like a good, healthy relationship with your partner, you deserve and are entitled to have a great life partnership with your employer and career.

Some interesting facts researched by Perkbox who surveyed 2,000 professional UK Employees, discovered some disturbing findings around our relationships with work.

From the survey: –

1/ Separation Anxiety – Over HALF checked emails out of work hours whilst at home.

2/ Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) – 1/3rd did not ‘switch off’ from work mode. Employees aged in their mid-twenties are statistically likely to work 7 hours a week extra at home on top of their normal contracted hours.

3/ Unreliable and breaking commitments – nearly 25% skipped social events with a further fifth of respondents admitting to cancelling annual holidays due to work commitments! A totally shocking 10% cited work as the reason for a total relationship breakdown.

4/ Draining our confidence, sapping energy & affecting our health & wellbeing – over 40% of professionals reported extra hours of work negatively affecting stress levels, energy levels and day to day mood. Negative effects on family life, decreased motivation and health all scored highly in nearly a 3rd of people.

So, what is to be done?

If you were talking to your friends/ family – the advice would be to look for another relationship and certainly if talking and communicating your unhappiness led to no improvements – you would quite rightly be looking for a new partner.

If you want a divorce from a toxic career relationship contact me or my team at Astute Recruitment Ltd – We are wonderful relationship councillors!

 

Article by Mary Maguire, MD Astute Recruitment Ltd

Originally Published on LinkedIn, February 13, 2019

Life is a series of little successes. Make sure you celebrate yours.
Life is a series of little successes. Make sure you celebrate yours.

 

“Life is a series of little successes. Make sure you celebrate yours”.

 

A quote from the latest life coach/ business guru? Nope. My husband said this to my 10 year old son.

 

We all have the power to inspire and encourage others in work, rest and play.

 

Who are you going to inspire today?

 

Written by Mary Maguire, MD

How to turn last year's regrets into this year's successes
How to turn last year’s regrets into this year’s successes!

How to turn last year’s regrets into THIS YEAR’s SUCCESSES!

 

As Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote,

Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering ‘it will be happier’

 

HOW can you turn the regrets of yesteryear into a brilliant New Year?

First, it is about understanding what makes you truly happy.

Is it Power? Promotion? Money? A new Payrise? A new job?

Is it Love, Luck and Laughter?

Each and every one of us has a special gift, an innate ability to listen to our own unique inner voice.

If only we would listen.

 

I want you to try something.

Take a moment

Go on!

 

1/   Physically go somewhere quiet and take 3 or 4 deep, slow breaths.

2/   In complete stillness, quietly whisper to yourself what makes you truly happy?

3/   Close your eyes and visualise the moment when you were last truly happy.

 

If you do this properly – you will have at least the semblance of a smile on your face!

 

It may be the warm memory of your child’s first smile,

The face of your lover laughing

The ecstasy and thrill of a new job

Maybe it is the simple pleasure of driving your new car for the first time

 

For me, it was just a few days ago on Christmas Night. I’d been with my family for Christmas in Kent. That night, I turned to my husband and said “You know what? This has been the best Christmas for years.” He agreed.

What had made it so special?

All of us had been happy and content

All of us had been together sharing warmth, love and laughter

No rows

No shouting

The kids hadn’t started World War 3 (and neither had Donald Trump – yet!)

I’d managed to cook a Christmas meal that wasn’t burnt (I didn’t even forget to cook the sprouts)

No work or thoughts of work had the chance to creep into my head.

I’d had a break from the day to day

I’d had the time to just enjoy being in the moment with others I care about.

To be present and at peace

Together, with others, I’d had the chance to create lasting, happy memories to look back on.

All of us have the power within ourselves to feel great emotion, unbearable sadness, joy, happiness, love and reflection.

However, how many of us take the time to stand still.

To just ‘be in the moment’

 

As 2018 fades away and we are in the first throes of a New Year, take the time to think about what you have regretted in the last 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days.

 

What didn’t you do?

How could you have done better?

How could you have made every day, minute, every second count?

If you are stuck in a rut – how can you make small changes to make a big difference?

Could you do a new course? Gain a new qualification? Apply for that promotion? Interview for a new job?

Could you suggest new ideas to your boss that will make you stand out?

 

I’ll leave you with some wise words from William Shakespeare….

 

“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny,

But in OURSELVES”

 

 

I met a great candidate the other day.

I like to understand why people looking for work reach out to me specifically.

So, I asked him.

He said that when he was using me to hire an accountant last year, I was so passionate about one particular candidate and confident in that person’s ability that I staked my professional reputation on the line to give that person a chance of an interview. I came across as genuinely understanding that particular accountant’s skills, experience and strengths. I also came across as genuinely caring about that person.

 

Now that’s the sort of person I want to represent me” he said. “Someone who can passionately, professionally and rationally present me as a professional person and not ‘just another CV’.

Someone who genuinely ‘gets me’ as a candidate and who truly has my interests at heart and not just hitting their monthly sales target.”

 

What better way to sum up a recruiter’s role in the 21st Century?