Recruiting the right team will get the right results.

Every time.

On a warm June evening, Gareth Southgate led his England team out onto the Wembley turf. To the thousands of England and German fans there in the balmy air plus the millions watching on their TV screens, it promised to be an exciting evening and did not disappoint.

But lets turn the clock back a couple of days, even a few short hours before the game. Football experts, home-spun armchair critics and fans were giving their opinions.

Play X on the left, leave y on the bench. The formation has to be 3 4 3 or 4 4 2 or other.

Gareth gave a brilliant lesson to all in management.

He was on the ground, and he knew his players inside out.

He had trained with them.

Laughed with them. Cried with them on many a day and game before that summer evening facing their German opponents.

He knew what each player was capable of and when to deploy their strengths.

A certain fresh pair of legs in the second half gave just the right blend of creative endeavor, skillful artistry, and sheer energy at just the right moment to make the maximum impact. 2 goals in just a few mesmerising minutes.

That is the lesson for managers in business. To recruit and use the right talent at the right time. To listen to your own instincts and be guided by the facts in front of you. To play to your team’s strengths. Not to allow frustration to sap away energy when things seem to drag. Not to sacrifice the quality and professionalism of the team for a quick easy foul.

Instead, stick to your game plan, ensure that each member of your team knows their role inside out, what to do and when.

Most important of all, as a manager you are the creator of your team’s destiny. To get that togetherness and will to win, not just for each player but for them to want to win for each other.

That’s the true goal of every manager and the way for teams, whether in business or on the pitch, to win.

The remit of a Financial Director (FD) is to direct the financial obligations, and financial reporting of a business AND help drive the company forward with the senior management team.

But that’s the easy bit. What genuine qualities lift an ordinary FD into an extraordinary Director of Finance?

This isn’t about which accountancy qualification you secured. The best, most brilliant FDs we have had the pleasure of recruiting and recruiting for, have had the full range of qualifications from CIMA, ACCA, ACA, CA, CIPFA, and QBE. The ability to pass exams, demonstrates academic rigour, but the modern FD needs much more than just letters after their name.

They need emotional and business intelligence as much as academic prowess. As the world emerges from the maelstrom of Covid into a new normal, MDs are looking for candidates who can own and understand the numbers, but who can also be intuitive to understand the power of having and keeping a resilient finance team intact.

To start with, let’s distinguish the difference between a Financial Director and a Financial Controller. The lines of duty can blur in an SME setting, but a crucial difference is an FD directs, while an FC controls the day-to-day operations of the finance function.

To effectively ‘direct’, you need to be able to command, lead, inspire. If you can’t influence people to perform their duties properly, this is a big problem.

Then we have the engagement /people bit.

You may have a great ‘number 2’ as a financial controller or finance manager, to manage staff day to day but it’s crucial you can also command the respect of the team underneath.

Don’t silo yourself but keep open lines of communication, at all levels.

A modern breakdown of the key attributes to being an exceptional FD: –

D Decisive

I Inspirational

R Reflective

E Emotionally intelligent

C Collaborative

T Tenacious

S Supportive

Let’s look at these in more depth.

Decisive: –

Decision Makers have to be able to make decisions. You’re in the wrong job as an FD, if you struggle to reach a decision, stand by it and take responsibility for the course of action you have taken. Hindsight is a great thing. There will be mistakes made. But the extraordinary FD will own their decisions and be able to deftly calculate a fresh course of direction weighing up the risks and benefits. There’s no hiding place for a great FD. You need to be seen to be a leader in your company, amongst your peers, and by your team. That’s how respect is earned.

Inspirational: –

To inspire is to be innovative. To think “outside of the box” through your knowledge and experiences, and to be creative in your thinking. The key here is application. How you apply your experience to specific, spontaneous work and business situations. As a mindset, the exceptional FD will have the dexterity to apply their interactions to a wide spectrum of situations, encouraging, and motivating their people and peers to achieve the best possible business outcomes.

Resourceful: –

This has become an absolutely crucial attribute. More than ever, the ability to adapt to many different functions or activities, the FD may have to step into other roles e.g. Interim Managing Director/ IT Director/ HR Director. They must be commercially aware and must understand the other areas of the business such as HR, Strategic direction, and IT amongst others.

Emotional intelligence: –

The Oxford University definition: the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically.

“emotional intelligence is the key to both personal and professional success”.

People have been hugely affected by changes to their working routines. An FD needs to be more mindful than ever of the psychological and mental well-being of their team and lead their staff through the return to a new normal. An outstanding FD will be able to direct how their team(s) can be professionally steered during the transition from Lockdown to new normal.

They will also have honed great recruitment skills to select the talent they need, interview and challenge potential hires, and most importantly have a succession plan.

Collaborative: –

Collaboration at work means involving two or more people working together for a particular purpose for the benefit of the company. This means having the ethical, professional, and moral compass to know what needs to happen and how to work together, to bring the best results. Being emotionally aware of not just yourself but others at work is key. An exceptional FD will understand how to approach people at all levels and how to temper their language, tone and timbre to make the best possible collaboration work. Remote working and online meetings mean your efforts need to transfer even more clearly and effectively than in person.

Remember: Collaboration can be upwards, as well as cascading to more junior staff.

The FD needs to balance ambition with reality and needs to be the “wise counsel to the board without allowing entrepreneurial flair to become suppressed.”

Tenacious: –

Tenacity is the determination to consistently continue what you are doing. To see things through. From ensuring financial information produced stands up to scrutiny from external auditors, bank and other external, legal parties.

All stakeholders expect honesty and a “nothing to hide” attitude to be consistently delivered. The highest standards (ethics) must be maintained, the FD should be seen as the “Champion” of the organisation’s culture and ensure that good corporate governance is maintained at all times.

The exceptional FD will have this in hand.

Supportive: –

“Your support network is the solid ground from which you can propel yourself upwards” . Anna Barnes.

This is about your own support network as much as being a supportive FD.

The most successful business people will have great emotional and personal backup networks. From family, and friends to external services and people to make their personal lives run as smoothly, healthily, and efficiently as possible.

You can’t be an effective, exceptional FD if your personal life and own wellbeing are in disarray.

If you would like confidential career or employment advice around this or any other topic, please contact Mary Maguire and she will be delighted to help you or navigate you to one of our team.

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

E: [email protected]

W: www.astuterecruitment.com

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

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

Temporary Workers & Covid-19. We answer your FAQs

Coronavirus (COVID-19)

We have put together the most frequently asked questions by temporary workers to help you keep safe, healthy and take the best precautions in the current lockdown.

Q: What protective measures can I take to prevent possible contraction of COVID-19?

Follow the guidelines outlined on the UK Government’s website HERE.

In summary, the advice is to do the following.
· Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

· Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.

· Stay home when you are sick.

· Cover your cough or sneeze by either sneezing into your elbow or with a tissue, then immediately throw the tissue securely away in a covered bin.

· Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.

· Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing. It does not matter if the water is hot or cold. The most important thing is to ensure you wash your hands for at least 20 seconds thoroughly. About the length of time it takes to hum ‘Happy Birthday’ twice.

· If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser with at least 60% alcohol. Always wash hands with soap and water if hands are visibly dirty. For further guidance on handwashing: https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/

· It is also a good idea to avoid close contact with people in a business setting, e.g., shaking hands. You may inform the individual that while you respect business protocol, you think it is a good idea to avoid handshaking while this outbreak is happening.

What should you do if you are currently a temporary worker for Astute Recruitment Ltd, on a temporary assignment and the following happens? Your FAQs answered.

Q: What if I test positive for Coronavirus (COVID-19)?

Do not report to work if you are on an assignment or project. Call your consultant at Astute Recruitment Ltd as soon as you practically can and let us know you have tested positive for COVID-19, and we will give you further guidance.

Your Recruitment Consultant will contact the client straightaway for you.

Q: What if I may have been exposed at my worksite to someone who tested positive for COVID-19?

Please contact the Astute Recruitment office immediately and tell your Recruitment Consultant that you believe you have been exposed at your work to someone who tested positive for COVID-19. You’ll be given further guidance. If your normal recruitment consultant is not available – please contact Mary Maguire on 07717 412 911 who will deal with this immediately for you.

Q: What if I feel sick? What should I do?

Your health and wellbeing are of the utmost importance. Contact our Astute Recruitment Head Office or your Astute Recruitment Consultant if you are sick.

Importantly;

DO NOT REPORT TO WORK
IF AT WORK, GO HOME IMMEDIATELY.
SEEK MEDICAL ADVICE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE (Call 911)

If you are diagnosed with COVID-19, please follow all medical advice and stay home until you have recovered and have been medically cleared to return to work. Your Recruitment Consultant at Astute Recruitment will inform the client about your availability and when you are able to return to work. For the Government’s latest advice and information, click HERE.

Q: What if the client’s worksite where I work closes?

Contact our team at Astute Recruitment straight away to let them know the client has decided to close their office(s) for a ‘period of time’.

Your Recruitment Consultant at Astute Recruitment will work with the client directly to determine if your work can be done remotely and if you can do so. If remote working is not possible, your assignment or project could come to an end. This is likely to be at the client’s discretion. If your temporary assignment should be ended, our team at Astute Recruitment will do our very best to secure another opportunity for you to continue working.

Q: Will I get paid if I am home ‘sick?’

You could be entitled to statutory sick pay. Please contact our office at Astute Recruitment or your consultant direct, who will then communicate with the client directly and provide you with more information.

Q: What if I am asked to travel internationally for my assignment?

Travel is suspended to all countries noted on World Health Organization and UK Government restricted lists, which are based on the very latest government advice and alerts. This is a changing situation and countries with travel notices change often. Astute Recruitment Ltd is monitoring these notices and you are encouraged to check these too.

If you are comfortable travelling, follow the travel guidelines on the Government website. If you are not comfortable travelling, you are not required to go. Contact your Astute Recruitment Office or your consultant, and let them know that you have been requested to travel and you do not feel comfortable doing so. We will work with the client regarding your concern(s).

Q: What if the client asks me to travel domestically for my assignment?

If a business trip requires you to travel well beyond your regular daily commute, requires air-travel, an overnight stay or extended travel, and you are not comfortable doing so, please contact us. Inform your Astute Recruitment office or your consultant at Astute. Inform us that you have been asked to travel and you do not feel comfortable doing so. We will work with the client regarding your concerns.

Q: What if my child’s nursery/ school is closed due to potential Coronavirus exposure or I am unable to leave my home to go to my assignment as I have no-one to look after my child?

Currently here in the UK, the Government has instructed that only children of critical workers may be allowed to go to school/ nursery. If you are not a critical worker, your child or ward will be required to be looked after by you at home. You can see the Government’s full guidance HERE.

Explore if you have alternate childcare options. For instance, a partner, or relative, as part of your household, who could look after your child/ children while you are at work. If no one is available, contact Astute Recruitment or your consultant at Astute Recruitment, and they will work with the client to find out if any of the work can be done remotely. If not, your assignment could be ended. This will often be at the client’s discretion. Again, your consultant and the team at Astute will work with you to find another temporary assignment, based on your availability.

Q: What if I have taken a personal trip or vacation and travelled to or from another country, should I tell Astute or the client myself?

Currently, the instruction from the UK Government is that all non-essential foreign travel is forbidden.

If due to an emergency, you travelled to a country without WHO (World Health Organisation) travel restrictions, and you are not experiencing any illness or symptoms, you are not required to communicate information about your travel.

If you’ve recently visited a country or area under travel restriction from the World Health Organisation or UK Government contact Astute Recruitment or your consultant at Astute for further guidance before returning to work.

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

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

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

With Christmas round the corner and the realisation that another year is over, families will be getting together recounting the year gone by and looking ahead to 2018. Christmas also affords some time to reflect on aspirations – personally and professionally. Many try and quit bad habits. A lot vow to keep attending that expensive gym beyond the first week of January! (Guilty!)

The holidays are a prime time for a lot of people to take stock of their lives and often their careers. How many of us are truly 100% happy in our job? Maybe that promised payrise hasn’t materialised AGAIN.. Or maybe the promise of flexible working has been pushed to one side too many times. Perhaps the realisation that actually promotion opportunities won’t be around the corner as you were told on interview? A lot of us spend more time at work than with our children, husbands and wives. Surely we deserve to be happy? Surely everyone deserves to work in a business where their emotional wellbeing and personal development count and not just profits?

If you find yourself pondering any of the above the team here at Astute would be delighted to offer some impartial and completely confidential support and advice. Often it is not just about changing job but actually communication and letting your supervisor/ Finance Director/ Managing Director know you are unhappy? The examples above are genuine cited from many an accountant, credit controller, administrator and more as frustrations.

Sometimes no matter what you do or say – the situation doesn’t change and you are left in a position where you are feeling frustrated and unappreciated. If that’s the case, its great to reach out and speak to a third party who will be able to give you some impartial and constructive advice- Particularly if you have been in one job for a long time.

So – this Christmas – enjoy a glass (or two) of wine, embrace the warmth of loved ones, but also take a moment to think about your own goals and aspirations for the forthcoming 12 months. Then come January – reach out and do something positive to make 2018 a truly memorable year for you and your families.

hffk

The latest Employment Trends for Accountants

As recently published by the REC, some interesting information emerged about the current job market and in particular for the Accountancy sector, candidates looking for their next job and for employers looking to recruit.

The key takeaways were: –

Permanent placements rise at weakest pace for five months…
Growth in temporary billings levelled off slightly
Lack of qualified Candidates fuels wage rises

Summary:
The recently publishesd IHS Markit/REC Report on Jobs, provides the most exhaustive snapshot of the UK’s labour market, using real data from Recruitment businesses nationally. Snippets from the report follow below: –

“Permanent placements growth weakens to five-month low…

Permanent staff placements rose at the softest pace since April at the end of the third quarter. That said, the rate of growth remained marked overall. Temp billings meanwhile rose sharply, despite also seeing pace of expansion moderate from the previous month.

…as availability of candidates continues to fall sharply

A key factor weighing on growth in staff appointments was a further steep decline in candidate availability. For permanent candidates, the latest fall was the sharpest for four months, while the availability of temporary workers also fell at a historically marked pace.

Further steep increase in demand for staff.

The number of job vacancies across the UK continued to rise sharply during September, with growth of staff demand edging down only slightly from August’s recent peak.

Pay pressures remain sharp.
Strong demand for staff and a further drop in candidate availability placed further upward pressure on pay during September. Permanent starting salaries rose at the second-steepest rate in 22 months (after August), while temp pay growth softened only slightly from August’s 16-month record.

Regional variation
On a regional basis, growth of permanent placements was the most marked in the Midlands and the South of England. London meanwhile signalled a renewed drop in permanent placements (albeit marginal).
The quickest rate of temp billings growth was seen in Scotland, closely followed by the North of England. The weakest upturn was registered in London.

Sector variation

Latest data signalled that demand growth remained considerably stronger in the private sector than the public sector.
The sharpest overall increase in demand for staff was recorded for permanent workers in the private sector, while the weakest rise in staff vacancies was seen for permanent public sector workers.

Accounting/Financial was the most sought-after category for permanent staff in September, followed by IT & Computing. The slowest (albeit still marked) increase in vacancies was reported for Construction.

Blue Collar achieved first place in the rankings for temporary/contract staff demand during September, while Nursing/Medical/Care scored second place. All remaining categories also saw steep increases in demand.

Kevin Green, REC Chief Executive, says:
“Recruiters are finding it even harder to find people to fill vacancies. Candidate availability has been falling for the past four years and the record high UK employment rate plus a slowdown in the number of EU nationals coming to work here is exacerbating the situation, potentially leaving roles unfilled.
“Across the UK permanent placements are slowing, but London is faring worse with placements declining for the first time in eleven months and the financial sector in particular struggling to recruit for roles such as audit, payroll and risk.

“Low-skill roles are also hard to fill in areas like food processing, warehouses and catering – sectors that employ a higher proportion of people from the EU than others across the economy. We urge the government to ensure any new immigration system includes provisions for low-skilled and temporary workers so that warehouses, supermarkets and restaurants can access the people they desperately need.”

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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.

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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.