Wow, what a year it has been when it comes to recruitment; with unemployment being at an all-time low there has been a considerable lack of candidates to fill available roles. Counter-offers have been rife with many candidates being offered more money, better benefits and flexible working to encourage them to stay in their existing roles.

It’s not unusual for companies to stop recruiting all together in the month of December, often company recruitment budgets have run down and let’s face it, nobody wants to be doing the admin which comes with recruitment so close to Christmas.

BUT

Here at JR Personnel we cannot recommend enough to not put your recruitment on hold, here are some reasons below:

Less Competition:

With so many companies not recruiting in December it means there will be more candidates to choose from, in our experience the demand for work actually increases in December, with candidates who are out of work desperate to have the opportunity to earn some money in the run up to the most expensive time of the year. For those in work, it’s very appealing to end current employment at the end of the year, ready for a fresh start in January.

More Free Time:

Maybe the industry you work in quietens down during December, it’s not unusual for typical “office based” industries to slow down in the run up to Christmas, as a hiring manager maybe you have more time to recruit, interview and train new candidates.

More candidate applications:

The year is coming to an end and people start thinking about the future and their next steps, with many industries winding down employees have more time on their hands, more time to see what else is out there, more time to apply to roles and register with agencies. December is the perfect time to take advantage of the quiet and advertise those roles you’d thought about putting off until the new year.

Throughout the past year I have written on many occasions about the lack of staff shortages, not only in the UK, but globally and how this is affecting recruitment, it’s now on individual companies and organisations to up their game and stand out from the crowd to appeal to candidates looking for work. So what will companies be doing in 2023 to ensure candidates are attracted to roles and keep their current staff happy?

#1 invest, invest, and invest!

With available, skilled candidates being hard to find these days companies are focussing on investing in their current employees. So what does this look like? Research shows that since the pandemic employees are feeling more insecure in their skills and abilities but are also more motivated than before to improve upon their skills. Offering regular appraisal meetings with staff to discuss job direction, growth and development is a good way to begin this, companies can then investigate training routes to further skills. With technology advancing at a pace even the most tech-savvy can find hard to keep up with, many employees find they are lacking in basic skills including email and Microsoft Office packages, giving refresher training on IT systems is another simple way to improve productivity and employee confidence

#2 Benefits, benefits and benefits!

Companies are turning to company benefits to make it harder for employees to leave; who wants to leave a position which offers holiday increases year on year and matches your pension contributions? These don’t have to be purely monetary, benefits can be simple office adjustments like allowing a “bring your pet to work day”, allowing employees to take a certain amount of paid time off each year to carry out charity work, or encouraging occasional “mental health days”.

#3 Flexibility, flexibility and flexibility!

Since the pandemic, we are no strangers to hybrid working and flexible working options and this will only continue in a bid to keep employees happy. Gone are the days of the 9-5, with options for working from home, more part time roles available and the opportunity to start earlier and finish later and vice versa are appealing options, particularly for those with dependents at home, long commutes or additional roles.

Never considered temporary work? Here are some reasons why you should!

So often we register candidates who are hesitant to consider temporary work.

“There’s no stability with temporary positions”

“I only want to focus on permanent roles”

“I won’t get the proper training!”

These are just some of the phrases we hear on a regular basis here at JR Personnel when in fact temping can be an excellent way to “try before you buy” or to get a foot in the door of a reputable company.

Over the years we have placed countless candidates in temporary positions, here’s what some of them had to say about their experience temping with us:

-          “Whenever I find myself between jobs I have turned to JR to help me find temporary work, and they have never disappointed – I was usually working within days of contacting them.”

-          “I was offered a temp role with a local company via JR. After a period of time I was made a permanent member of staff and although I felt sad to be leaving JR, who had always supported me and given me good advice, it was wonderful that the company saw the potential in me to make me permanent.”

-          “Temping is a good way to learn new roles, gain experience and learn different software packages, I would recommend it to anyone. You accrue holiday pay so you don’t have to worry about losing money if you wish to take a break. JR Personnel have the friendliest staff you could wish for.”

-          “After a month out of work, JR called to say there was a role they thought I’d be interested in, initially for one month temping – I said yes and started the next day. Six months later, I’m still here and was taken on permanently 3 months after starting. I was so pleased about being made permanent as I’d settled down happily in the job and didn’t want to leave.”

-          “I started temping with JR following redundancy, I was nervous at first as I’d never temped before but everyone at JR soon put me at ease with everything. I secured a temp role in Leicester and loved the role. They made me feel like a permanent member of staff straight away.”

Why not get in touch today if you are thinking of exploring a new industry today and see what we have available, you can call our office on 01509 211 211 or send your CV to [email protected]

So that’s it, the end of a very short era – Liz Truss has resigned from her position as Prime Minister making her officially the UK’s shortest serving Prime Minister. She is by no means the only person in the country to start a new job and resign so quickly; many of us have been there and it is nothing to be ashamed of. So how do you move onwards and upwards?

If you’ve started a new role and it’s turned out to be such a colossal disaster you’ve had to hand your notice in immediately you may be wondering what to do next. Don’t fear, if you’re sat at home twiddling your thumbs – stop! Get straight back to it and apply for your next role.

But what about my CV?

As a recruiter there’s nothing we (and employers) like to see less, than unexplained gaps in your CV. It’s important to list the role, no matter if you only stayed there a month, detailing your role and duties as usual. If you have several months where you are actively seeking work, simply write this on your CV.

I’ve had my confidence knocked, I’m afraid I won’t like the next role too.

It’s normal to have your confidence knocked in this scenario and be worried about starting your next role. But remember, not all roles or companies are the same and you may have a wonderful experience the next time around. Ensure the next role is something you really feel comfortable doing. Remember too, that interviews are not just an opportunity for the hiring managers to assess if you will be right for the company, it’s your opportunity to make sure they are the right fit for you. Make sure you have plenty of questions prepared about the role, the staff and office culture and to see where you will be working if successful.

What do I say in the interview about my last role?

It’s important to be honest about why you have left a role after such a short time but it’s also important to not be TOO honest. For instance, if you had a really bad relationship with your line manager which resulted in you handing your notice in, a new employer will not find it favourable to hear you slagging them off. Try to stay relatively vague and not go into too much of a tirade about the despicableness of your previous employer, “the role wasn’t challenging enough” or “I felt I was misled about what the role actually involved” are reasonable enough reasons to leave a position without being derogatory to your previous employer.

And of course, we are always here to help with any problems you may have relating to moving forwards and can guide you with interview prep and CV help.

Halloween is the second most celebrated holiday after Christmas in the UK and here at JR Personnel we are definitely not going to miss out, that’s why we’ve decided to take a look at some of those CV horror stories that make recruiters and future employers tremble in their boots! Read below to find out if your CV is a Trick or a Treat!

Recruiters and employers will, on average, spend 5-7 seconds looking at a CV – scary thought hey? So how can you make sure your CV stands out from the crowd and make those first impressions count?

-          A personal statement – always try to include a brief introduction to yourself at the top of your CV but make sure to avoid generic terms like “hard-working”, “organised”, “good time keeper” and draw more on specific skills you may have picked up from previous jobs, education or life experiences, include your ambitions and detail the types of roles you’re applying for and why it interests you. Keep it short and sweet!

-          Scary Font – when writing your CV don’t think using a comic/themed font is going to make it stand out from the crowd, it just looks unprofessional. Make sure you opt for something classic and easy to read.

-          Make sure your CV is relevant to the position you’re applying for! This may mean having variations of your CV for different sectors or industries but definitely worth it, employers will be looking to match aspects of your CV to the job you’ve applied for so if a key element of a job is providing excellent customer service, make sure it’s on your CV!

-          Layout and Order! Make sure your CV flows well and ideally that it’s no longer than two A4 pages, use bullet points when describing job roles and duties rather than long paragraphs and list your employment history in order with your most recent position at the top!

-          Bad Grammar is truly terrifying – double check, triple check, quadruple check your spelling and grammar, get somebody else to check it for you, those zig-zag red or blue lines on Microsoft Word mean that something is incorrect!

Hopefully these top tips will make your CV a Halloween treat to read but if you want any further guidance feel free to get in touch with one of our recruiters here at JR Personnel on 01509 211211 or email [email protected]

Happy Halloween!

Over the past year we have commented and written aplenty on how the recruitment market has drastically changed; with unemployment hitting an all-time low of 3.6%, the lowest it has been since 1976, earlier on in the year, it’s no surprise that our jobs as recruiters have become a little harder. The market is currently very candidate driven with fewer available candidates out there, meaning it’s vital companies now must focus on staff retention, and an excellent way to prove to your existing staff members you want them to stay is to invest in their career and give them clear progression routes.

Many employers hear progression and see this as extra work; it means negotiating pay rises, additional in-house teaching, expensive training courses and the dreaded regular appraisal chats. But, investing in your current employees’ progression can only be a good thing, particularly at the moment.

Chatting regularly with employees and holding appraisals on a semi-regular basis not only gives staff the opportunity to air any concerns and discuss progression plans it shows as an employer that you care and you are invested in bettering the business. Employees who are given clear progression routes and the opportunity to talk regularly with senior management are more likely to stay in the company for longer, meaning cutting down on recruitment costs.

Having clear processes in place for progression will help minimise the time and effort it takes for internal moves to take place and having regular staff/employer discussions will make it easier to identify internal successors to fill more senior roles which can often be harder to fill. When having these chats with your employees encourage them to identify a 1, 3 and 5 year plan so you can realistically identify if you are able to fulfil these plans.

No business can be successful without an effective, happy workforce – to have your team be invested in your business you must be invested in them first.

It is with deepest sadness that we recognise the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. A reassuring constant in our lives for the past 70 years, a Queen who devoted herself tirelessly to serving our Nation, the Commonwealth and its people, never tiring, never relenting, always displaying an enormous sense of duty.

Our thoughts are with the Royal Family at this deeply sad time as we come together with the rest of the Nation to remember and mourn our beloved Queen.

Rest in Peace and thank you.

Hiring a new member of staff can sometimes fill the hiring manager with dread, especially if you’re a smaller firm with no HR department to do all the leg work for you.

Here are some tips to help your business bring new employees in as stress free as possible.

Provide a Starter Pack 

Companies often choose to provide new employees with a starter pack, this can include key information about the company, its’ history, ethos and direction but also information on departments and staff members, important phone numbers and emails and schedules of colleagues they will be working with so they can plan ahead as much as possible.

Often, starter packs are provided on the first day but why not get ahead and send this out in the post or by email instead, not only will this give the staff member a chance to actually read it through but it’ll help secure their position and start date with them; making them feel like they are already a part of the company therefore reducing the risk of accepting alternative offers.

Structure, structure, structure

So often we hear from candidates who are looking to leave their current role they’ve only been in for a matter of months because of lack of structure. Make sure you have the contract sent out to the candidate as soon as possible, again this will give them the chance to peruse the contract before their start date but also give them security knowing you’re a company who does things by the book and has proper arrangements in place.

Providing candidates with a copy of your company SOP’s (Standard Operating Procedures) before their start date will also give them a head start in the company. If you don’t have a formal SOP you could provide them with procedures specifically for duties within their role.

Don’t wait until they’ve started to provide them with a desk, phone, computer and email – get these in place before their first day so there can be no delay to them starting work.

Touch Base

It can be very daunting starting a new role in a company full of people you don’t know. Make sure you connect with the new employee on a regular basis in the first few weeks – give them opportunity to ask questions, bring up any areas of concern or offer further guidance and training.

Speaking of training, if the position has the opportunity to progress you could discuss with the candidate in the first week the potential to take on further skills and training offered by the company. Again, this will prove to the candidate you are serious about their career starting in the company and want to invest in their future.

Hopefully these tips will help you have a smooth hiring process and fill your new employee with confidence and help them to settle in. 

The Recruitment Industry is changing…again – what does it mean for you?

The past two years following the Covid19 Pandemic and Brexit, the UK recruitment industry has been completely turned on its’ head. We have suffered major staff shortages for various reasons resulting in the industry being very candidate led.

But, it seems things are actually changing and whilst this can mean good news for businesses, it can mean the job market is about to get more competitive.

July saw numbers of people being hired in permanent roles was at the slowest rate for 17 months, employers are being more tentative with making permanent placements and refusing to give in to demands of candidates choosing instead to invest in training for existing members of staff.

To help yourself get ahead why not take a look at our previous blogs detailing how to make your CV stand out, improving your covering letter and how to interview well and should you need further advice, what better people to ask than recruiters.

So often we register candidates who are hesitant to consider temporary work.

“There’s no stability with temporary positions”

“I only want to focus on permanent roles”

“I won’t get the proper training!”

These are just some of the phrases we hear on a regular basis here at JR Personnel when in fact temping can be an excellent way to “try before you buy” or to get a foot in the door of a reputable company.

Here's what some of our temporary workers had to say about their temping experience! 

-          “Whenever I find myself between jobs I have turned to JR to help me find temporary work, and they have never disappointed – I was usually working within days of contacting them.”

-          “I was offered a temp role with a local company via JR. After a period of time I was made a permanent member of staff and although I felt sad to be leaving JR, who had always supported me and given me good advice, it was wonderful that the company saw the potential in me to make me permanent.”

-          “Temping is a good way to learn new roles, gain experience and learn different software packages, I would recommend it to anyone. You accrue holiday pay so you don’t have to worry about losing money if you wish to take a break. JR Personnel have the friendliest staff you could wish for.”

-          “After a month out of work, JR called to say there was a role they thought I’d be interested in, initially for one month temping – I said yes and started the next day. Six months later, I’m still here and was taken on permanently 3 months after starting. I was so pleased about being made permanent as I’d settled down happily in the job and didn’t want to leave.”

-          “I started temping with JR following redundancy, I was nervous at first as I’d never temped before but everyone at JR soon put me at ease with everything. I secured a temp role in Leicester and loved the role. They made me feel like a permanent member of staff straight away.”

If you're available immediately and looking for a position which can start right away, why not send your CV in to us today: [email protected]