Whether you’re a candidate who is looking for a new role or a client looking to fill a vacancy let us help you keep up to date with what’s going on in the recruitment industry.

It’s crazy, unprecedented times to be working in the recruitment industry at the moment; all across the country recruiters are united in having a record number of vacancies to fill and not enough candidates to fill them.

The governing body for Recruiters across the UK, the REC, confirmed that 88% of recruiters are most concerned about the lack of candidates for the rest of 2021 and over 50% of recruiters have 30% more vacancies than before the pandemic to fill, more shockingly is that 97% of recruiters surveyed said it was taking significantly longer to fill these vacancies, with each vacancy generally taking over a month to fill.

So What Can Be Done If You’re A Client?

Making your role stand out from the rest is key in the current climate; offering perks, where possible, such as a higher starting salary, the opportunity for flexible working and simplifying the recruitment process down to video/single interviews will all help to attract suitable candidates.

As an agency we have streamlined our registration process in various ways throughout the Covid19 pandemic to ensure we are drawing in candidates whilst maintaining our high standards of getting to know each candidate individually. This means when you recruit through us, you know we are only sending candidates we truly believe would be a good match for your vacancy and company.

So What Can Be Done If You’re A Candidate? 

Now is the time to be searching for your dream role as there are so many opportunities out there at the moment, send your CV in to us and get the ball rolling, we want to hear from you! 

Welcome to our October blog – as I’m writing this I have realised for the first time that it is in fact, way over half way through the month already. This seems a recurring theme at the moment, time slipping by without notice– most of us have barely finished processing the chaos of 2020, let alone being prepared for 2022 in a couple of months.

This notion of speeding up is also reflected in recruitment; the industry is moving so quickly at the moment that since the last week in August there has been a 36% increase in active job advert postings, reaching a record high in the first week of October of a whopping 2.29 million active postings in the UK.

If you are currently trying to recruit for a position within your business it may feel that you are struggling for suitable candidates as a reflection of the number of vacancies, the market is moving so quickly that there truly is no time to waste with finding that perfect candidate. This is where a recruitment agency can add real value; here at JR Personnel we have candidates registered with us already, before you have even started looking.

With time speeding by so rapidly I will be making a conscious effort to try and slow down and appreciate the beginning of the “holiday season” (apologies for the Americanism), as we approach Halloween, bonfire night and Christmas which is looming ever closer and try to make the most of this special time of year. If you're looking to slow down too do get in touch with us on 01509 211 211 or by emailing [email protected] to discuss any vacancies you may need help filling and we would be happy to help.

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.

So far in September we have had an amazing EIGHT temporary to permanent success stories! Eight candidates who took the opportunity to try temping now have secured a permanent role within a company they love and enjoy working within. 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.”

Interviews, love them or hate them we’ve got you covered!

OK, so not many people love attending interviews but you don’t have to hate them either. If the thought of attending an interview fills you with dread, makes your palms sweaty and brings on hives have a read below of some of our interview hints and tips to help you breeze through the hiring process.

1. 1.Don’t set yourself up for failure – preparation is key!

This is possibly one of the most important tips we can offer, the more prepared you are for an interview the more likely you are to succeed. This means researching the company, size, turnover, ethos and most importantly – what it is they do! Here at JR Personnel we manage the whole interview process for you including a comprehensive email before you attend confirming the location of the company, what they do, a link to their website, who it is you’ll be meeting and their job title, full job specification and the type of interview to expect (panel, competency etc.). The more you know about a company shows you are enthusiastic and interested in becoming a part of their team.

1. 2.Dress the part

Think carefully about what to wear to your interview and dress appropriately. What’s the industry you will be interviewing for? Is it a very corporate company or family run business? If in doubt, we would always recommend smart business attire.

1. 3.Know where you’re going

It’s so important that you know where you’re going on the day of your interview. If you don’t know the area or the exact location have a trial run there a couple of days beforehand and make sure you allow yourself enough time to arrive. Setting off early for an interview is always advised, that way if you get stuck in traffic or the train is delayed, you’ve still got plenty of time. Plus arriving early means you have opportunity to go through company background and potential questions again beforehand!

1. 4.Don’t forget to interview them

Remember, interviews are as much for the client to find out about you as it is for you to find out about them. Having questions prepared not only means you come away feeling more informed about the company and the role but it always impresses clients when you have a couple of questions up your sleeve for the end of the interview. Here are some good examples below:

-          Is this a new post or an existing one?

-          How would you describe the ideal candidate for this role?

-          What opportunities are there for training and progression in this role?

-          How long have you worked for the company?

1. 5.Body Language

Have you ever thought about what your body language says about you? When you’re being interviewed you want to project your enthusiasm and interest, good posture and eye contact is the perfect way of doing this. If you’re slouching in your chair, fiddling with your hair or looking around the room it can be interpreted as uninterested and rude. It’s normal if you’re feeling a little nervous to over gesticulate, bite your nails or keep touching your hair or face; try to make a concerted effort to keep your hands in your lap.

1. 6.Your experience matters

It’s important to not only come across as well informed about the company you’re interviewing for but also about yourself and what is on your CV. Always draw on real-life experiences to emphasize skills you have, particularly if you’ve mentioned them on your CV, for instance when have you shown excellent team work and how did you go about it? How have you gone above and beyond expectations in previous roles?

We hope these hints and tips help you with the interview process but remember, our consultants are always on hand to offer further advice should you need it.

Do you have a friend or a work colleague who is feeling undervalued in their current role, or maybe you know someone who wants to try a new career path or is out of work and wanting a fresh start, why not recommend them to come and register with us here at JR Personnel – we always love to hear from existing candidates friends, colleagues and family and will be happy to help them with finding their new dream role!

They can register their CV on our website or send it to [email protected] or alternatively they can call the office on 01509 211211 to speak to a member of staff.

Clients, do you loathe having to recruit? Let JR Personnel help!

Perhaps you’ve just had a key member of staff hand their notice in, your workload has increased dramatically, you’re now swamped and need an extra pair of hands or any number of other scenarios have cropped up which means you need to focus on recruitment.

When it comes to recruitment time is of the essence, this can be especially nightmarish when you are trying to complete your own workload and find the right candidate at the same time. This is where a recruitment agency can really add value and take away the stresses of the recruitment process.

Our experience has taught us that clients find the following scenarios a struggle when trying to recruit a new candidate:

-          Too many applications and you end up wasting time sifting through irrelevant CV’s

-          Struggling to get any applications through for the role

-          Finding the time to arrange interviews

JR Personnel can help you with all of the above.

We ensure that we meet every single candidate we register with us and we will not send you a CV unless we are confident that they are right for the role, we will also give you a brief breakdown of the candidate including how they came across when we met with them, their hopes and plans for the future, salary expectations and location so full transparency from the beginning saving you a whole lot of time!

Choosing the right job board to advertise your role on can be tricky and can mean that you end up not receiving any applications for your position, here at JR Personnel we only advertise on job boards we have experience of bringing in the best results. Most importantly, we have a large database of existing candidates who are registered with us and who we keep regular contact with, many of whom use us as an agency exclusively and aren’t actively looking on the usual job boards. And of course we can offer a full head hunting solution for those trickier, niche roles which can be particularly difficult to fill.

So you’ve finally managed to get a decent number of CV’s, sifted through and found the best ones but now you’ve got to arrange interviews. Nobody knows better than recruitment consultants how difficult it can be to get hold of a candidate who has applied for a role to arrange an interview. It can mean countless messages left and emails sent but going through an agency means you can pass this workload over to consultants who are well-equipped and most importantly, have the time to chase candidates. A great way we manage this process for you ensuring a quick turnaround is to manage expectations even before we have sent you the CV – this means liaising with the candidate and finding out their availability for interviews; are there specific days or times they can do? Do they have any other roles in the pipe line they may get offered or are holding out for? Managing both client and candidate expectations is something we pride ourselves on at JR Personnel and has proven to eliminate the difficulties associated with the interview process.

Contact JR Personnel now on 01509 211211 or by emailing [email protected] to find out in more detail how we can help with the recruitment headache and add value to your business!

We’re back!

To normality!

…Almost!

We may have seemed a little quiet on our social media and blog pages during the pandemic but rest assured that’s only because we have been working so hard behind the scenes on finding work for our wonderful candidates. But now we are back and ready to share with you an update on what we’ve all been doing.

We are now officially back in the office and it feels great! Whilst our doors still aren’t open for face to face registrations we are undertaking Zoom, Facetime and WhatsApp video registrations giving us more flexibility with when we can carry these out. If you’re looking to register or give us an update on your circumstances please call the office on 01509 211211.

Now that the world is opening back up again we have noticed a significant increase in temporary and permanent jobs coming in, so if you or anybody you know is looking for work please get in touch, you can contact us by using the contact form on our website or emailing: [email protected]

We can’t wait to hear from you!

Unhappy in your job? You don’t have to be – take the leap this leap year!

Are you fed up in your role but find yourself coming up with excuse after excuse as to why you shouldn’t leave? Don’t worry, you aren’t alone. The thought of looking for a new position can be daunting and scary but it doesn’t have to be, here at JR Personnel we pride ourselves on being approachable, friendly and confidential and here to help you find your dream role and get you out of a career rut. Have a read below and see if these excuses apply to you!

“I won’t find another job easily”

Get yourself out of that negative mind set and start thinking positively! A discussion with a recruitment consultant can really open your eyes to how valuable your experience and skills are and give you a realistic idea of what is out there job wise.

“I bet things will get better eventually”

And things “might” get better, that colleague who doesn’t pull their weight might pull their socks up, that manager you hate might leave and you might finally get recognised for the extra hours you put in…But it might not.

Registering with an agency means you can see what other positions are out there and get insider knowledge on companies before committing to even applying for another role, don’t base your happiness purely on hoping things will change, do something about it today!

“I will lose all my current job perks”

Sometimes changing roles can mean that you have to take a pay cut, take a drop in responsibility and other perks such as additional holiday days you have accrued over time but have a good think about if it’s all really worth it. We spend the majority of our time in work, how much is your happiness worth?

If you are unhappy in your current role and considering a change why not use the additional day this year to dust off your CV and register with us on 01509 211211 or by emailing your CV to [email protected] we are here to help.

Great news for employers and job seekers!

Our governing body the REC (Recruitment& Employment Confederation) has launched the latest job report which states that employers’ confidence towards hiring following the general election has a more positive outlook.

Employers’ confidence in the UK economy rose by 2 percentage points and this has in turn made hiring and investment decisions improve by 4% which is great news for the start of 2020.

There are still skill shortages for companies so if you are looking for staff or looking for that next move using us is a great way of securing that dream person/role as we match tightly to what our clients and candidates are looking for – striving to always give the best service possible.

Call our recruitment team today to find out how we can help you on 01509 211211.