Confidence & Change

Changing Circumstances

In last week’s Blog we spoke about taking advantage of seasonal circumstances to apply for new positions. Recruitment leaders see the drop-off in applications as often being advantageous to job seekers. Before making a change, many applicants find that they face an unexpected barrier, particularly if they have been in the same job for a long time. This unforeseen obstacle is confidence. There will always be a sense of trepidation when deciding to change your circumstances and this is entirely natural.

Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post, has summed this up well in a recent quote where she writes, “Fearlessness is not the absence of fear. It’s the mastery of fear. It’s about getting up one more time than we fall down.”

Business Confidence

On November 28^th the Bank of Ireland released their Economic Pulse. This survey found that two in five Irish businesses expect to increase investment spending in 2017. Alongside this news were the results of a British business survey conducted by Lloyds Bank which found that 37% of UK firms expect business prospects to improve and 47% citing confidence in an upbeat economy.

At Elk Recruitment, we believe that this augers well for job seekers looking to approach recruitment agencies, and applicants looking to change their circumstances.

In the same survey, the construction sector, one of Elk Recruitment’s speciality areas, revised previous growth forecasts upwards a further 3%, from 25% last year, to 28% this year and this confidence allows job seekers in this sector to feel less apprehensive about changing position and to know that there is an assured stability for applicants.

Finally, in Germany, business confidence is stable at the highest level since 2014 according to recent figures released by the Munich-based IFO institute. The Bundesbank reaffirmed these finding by stating that growth is strengthening “considerably”.

Deciding on Change   

When deciding to change job, an applicant can feel more confident when business leaders and recruitment agencies themselves share that same mindset. Change is not always easy but in the words of Thomas Edison, “If we did everything we were capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.”

Job Resolutions

Elk Recruitment Job Resolutions

As we approach the end of another year, many people will be making resolutions regarding job changes, and here at Elk Recruitment, we have been examining what business leaders say about the best time of the year to look for a new job.

The results are surprising in many cases, but the one constant factor is that by staying attentive and ahead of the curve you can maximize your chances of finding the ideal position. The first piece of advice is to realize that instead of waiting until January to begin your job search, December is seen by many top recruitment firms as an often overlooked window when it comes to job seeking.

Less December Competition

Joe Weinlick, of Beyond Career Network, told Business Insider recently that there is often a drop-off in job seekers during the month of December so there is less competition for positions. This factor can make your CV stand out, and with fewer applicants, many firms are under pressure to fill positions more quickly. By moving your new job resolution forward from January to December, you are immediately giving yourself an advantage.

Echoing this advice, Kathleen Brady, author of ‘Get a Job!10 Steps to Career Success’, writes that many employers need to hire before January begins or risk losing budget funds for new employees.

According to a recent UK survey, changing job is the fourth most popular New Year resolution, so why wait until everybody else becomes the increased competition?

Over at CareerSidekick.com, they narrow down the December window even further by honing in on the last two weeks as being when you will have more attention placed on your application and will be ahead of the competition if new hiring takes place in January.   

It’s All about You

Ultimately, you are the best judge as to when you should start seeking a new job. Advice from experts, in this case, is best understood as a rough guide only. If you are currently thinking about a new job resolution, contact Elk Recruitment, where we are ready to assist with your search.  

Age & Opportunity

Staying in Jobs

As more and more workers are staying in jobs beyond the previous retirement age, this can offer firms a wealth of experience from the employer’s side, and also allow older employees opportunities in terms of new skills and, indeed, new careers.  According to William Fry’s 2016 Employment Report: Age In The Workplace, 48% of organisations, do not have a mandatory retirement age at all. Another stand-out statistic was that 63% of older employees do not wish to, nor expect to be in a financial position to retire at the current state pension age.

Security and Opportunity

This trend is reflected in worldwide statistics and is not just an Irish phenomenon. The U.S. Census Bureau is predicting a 5% rise in workers over the age of 65 by the year 2022. This makes this particular age group the fastest growing in the American economy. Another example of this trend is in Korea where new figures show that 37% of new employees are now over the age of 50.  A recent poll by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) showed that more than seven in 10 human resource professionals believe the loss of skilled older workers is “a potential problem” for their particular sectors. As the number of industries looking to keep or employ experienced employees increases, this offers older employees opportunities in terms of learning new skills, changing job or even changing career.  For employers, the benefits of hiring an older employee are easy to see. An employer can determine how loyal a candidate is. This is not the case with a graduate. An older employee also has the potential to be more flexible as their family circumstances may be more stable than a younger employee. Giving older employees opportunities also creates the ‘mentor factor’ where younger employees can gain the wisdom and insights of someone who has a depth of life experience.

Changing Perception

As a new perception of today’s workforce dynamic begins to emerge, both employers and employees alike can benefit. Opportunities for older employees can help transition a company through the current economic climate by contributing stability, wisdom and experience.    

Career Guidance

Setting Goals

The Italian artist and architect, Michelangelo, once said this about setting goals, “The greatest danger for most of us is not setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark.” For many people, unfortunately, this observation remains all too real. Sometimes it is our unwillingness or inability to see our full potential that holds us back, and we stay in a rut, not realising that we are capable of so much more. At Elk Recruitment, career guidance is a process that we have been complimented on many times. Our expertise in the recruitment process means that we can offer forward-thinking advice to candidates and draw from our international experience when it comes to choosing a new job and a new career path.

Changing Direction

The façade and fenestration industry, which is one of Elk Recruitment’s niche area’s of expertise, is a perfect example of a potential career path which can incorporate new, exciting skills with a solid foundational platform. Elk Recruitment career guidance in this area is unique in that we are in constant communication with leading companies at the forefront of this sector. We are seeing and recruiting new skill combinations for an industry that is foreseeing whole new career trajectories opening up because of technological patterns and breakthroughs. The Smart Cities Mission urban renewal project in India is an excellent example. This ambitious development envisions a multitask approach to planning, building and conservation which will incorporate a skill-set involving façade and fenestration, power and water supply, IT connectivity and the latest MedTech and citizen safety attributes.

A New Path

Taking a chance on a new path can be a risk, but if you feel it is time for a change, then Elk Recruitment career guidance can offer practical advice based on years of multi-industry experience. Until we take that first step, we will not know what opportunities await us. 

Another quote from Michelangelo is a fitting final say and sums this up perfectly,

“The marble not yet carved can hold the form of every thought the greatest artist has.”

Elk Recruitment, Niche Recruitment

As the economic climate continues to improve worldwide, here at Elk Recruitment, we are continuing to set the pace in relation to the recruitment and placement of candidates. In particular, our niche recruitment and area’s of expertise consist of façade and fenestration, construction and MedTech are all sectors in which the global market expects to see strong growth in the second half of this decade. 

Job Rise Optimism

This week, American statistics relating to construction provided more good news. September construction alone added over 23’000 new jobs, according to the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Construction employment in The United States is now at its highest level since 2008. Another factor to consider is that pay increases are continuing to hold steady in this sector at almost 3% per year. This optimism is reflected in the Irish construction sector with CIF President, Michael Stone, expecting that 75’000 jobs can be created by the year 2020.  There was also positive news in relation to world façade and fenestration, another Elk Recruitment niche recruitment area. The Indian government’s target for over 20 ‘Smart Cities’ to be constructed will require a radical increase in the use of aluminium and other environmentally friendly construction factors. The trend for high-rise buildings will require thousands of jobs within the façade, glazing, roofing and cladding sectors. India Inc. this week identified five essential upgrades which will be required for ‘Smart Cities’. There are water, power, broadband, environment and housing.  Meanwhile, the MedTech industry continues to go from strength to strength. Brian Cole, Managing Partner and Medical Device Practice Leader at Kaye/Bassman International said that there are simply not enough qualified candidates to fill MedTech positions at this time.  Cole summed up the situation by saying, “Every company and region I am aware of is looking for talent and having a difficult time getting it.”

Career Solutions

Elk Recruitment’s niche recruitment areas of expertise are some of the fastest growing job sectors today. An examination of the latest statistics shows that this trend is expected to continue for the foreseeable future, which is great new for our clients and candidates.

Construction Sector Encouraging Female Applicants

AECOM Warning

There was some surprise this week when government figures were released showing that only 1% of apprentices are women. Out of 9’587 apprentices, only 52 were female.

One area where this gender imbalance is having a huge effect is the construction sector.

Last week, AECOM released a statement which included the following warning, “The construction sector in Ireland must improve gender diversity if it is to tackle the industry-wide skills shortage.” At the moment, men account for 90% of the construction sector’s employee’s.

Speaking Out

Speaking ahead of UK Construction Week, which runs from October 18^th at the NEC, Birmingham, Director, Nathan Garnett is encouraging more women to consider construction as a career. UK Construction Week is hoping to change the image of the sector and make it more attractive to female applicants. It is estimated that in Britain alone over 250’000 new construction jobs will be created over the next five years. This is a huge opportunity for apprentices and graduates. This is echoed by an Irish Director of AECOM, John O Reagan.

O Reagan believes that flexible hours, days worked and the option for working from home can attract women to various construction sectors. AECOM have set themselves a target of making 40% of their European staff women by 2020. Like the UK, the projection for Irish construction jobs is also high, and with over 80’000 new jobs expected to be created by 2020, O Reagan believes that it is only through diversity and overcoming previous biases that we will manage to fill these vacancies.

One innovative element of AECOM’s recruitment strategy is to raise the profile of its female employees in order to encourage others into the construction and property sector.

Career Profile

Casey Elsby, a crane operator with construction firm Laing O’ Rourke, believes that choosing a construction career path can be of huge benefit to women and will strengthen and diversify a person’s career profile. With women making up half of the overall career pool, the construction sector cannot afford to ignore such numbers based on the job vacancy projections currently being forecast.

Tough Interview Questions

Managers More Sophisticated

In a previous Blog post, we spoke about various preparation techniques which can help a candidate with nerves and apprehension relating to tough job interview questions. Recently, a survey published by Business Insider UK revealed that leading hiring managers are becoming even more sophisticated regarding gleaning information from candidates without candidates truly understanding the effect their answers can have. The reason for this, according to Tina Nicolai, founder of Resume Writers Ink, is to break through traditional interview “noise and clutter”. In other words, managers are aware that with so many free online interview tutorials available to candidates, answers to traditionally tough job interview questions can be rehearsed beforehand. This makes hiring decisions more difficult to negotiate.

First Five Minutes Crucial

A recent Harris Poll Survey is a telling dissection of employer’s attitudes to interviews, with 50% saying that they have decided upon a candidate’s suitability within the first five minutes.

Is this down to a flaw within a candidate’s interview strategy or attitude? Tellingly, it may connect to the topic of tough job interview questions. Richard Branson, writing in The Virgin Way: Everything I know About Leadership, has concluded that a manager cannot always believe what is written on a CV and suggests beginning an interview with a question like, “What didn’t you get a chance to write on your resume?” 

If this sounds like a question that might catch a candidate off-guard, then spare a thought for those interviewed by Elon Musk, the South African-born business magnate. Musk has used this geography riddle as one of his tough job interview questions, “You’re standing on the surface of the earth. You walk one mile south, one mile west, and one mile north. You end up exactly where you started. Where are you?”

The answer, by the way, is either the North or the South Pole.

The Best Advantage

Here at Elk Recruitment, our knowledge of the fast-moving recruitment environment differentiates us from our competitors. We strive to give all of our candidates the best advantage relating to industry knowledge, career advice and the best preparation for all of those tough job interview questions.

Choosing The Postgraduate Route

A Higher Degree Increase Potential Earnings.

Today’s Blog follows on from last weeks which highlighted the various paths open to students and graduates by examining the advantages of a postgraduate degree.

Having finished college, the most popular route taken by graduates is into immediate employment but deciding to pursue further education, as well as diversifying, can give a potential employee numerous advantages in today’s job market.

Statistics show that the higher level of qualification a graduate has, the higher their earnings will ultimately be. This in itself may seem justification enough to seriously consider the postgraduate path. But research also shows that a higher degree has the benefit of increasing a candidate’s chances of being called to interview when compared with a bachelor’s degree. As many graduates know, competition in today’s employment market begins with CV appraisal and well before the interview stage.

Adapt and Thrive

The range of additional skills that come with further education can also be advantageous in the areas of self-management, confidence and the ability to diversify in order to find multi-level solutions to business problems and impasses. Prospective employees with the ability to think on their feet and bring a wide range of experience to an organisation are valued highly. Gary Hamel, one of the world’s foremost business thinkers and strategists, summed this up perfectly when he said, “You can’t build an adaptable organisation without adaptable people.”

Extra Third Level Funding

Funding for third level degree courses is expected to rise significantly in this year’s budget which will be announced in October. Some figures suggest an investment of over 100 million Euros, part of which will be allocated towards postgraduate grants. This is in itself good reason to reconsider the postgraduate path. Courses can accommodate varying needs, including both taught and research-based curriculum’s so there is room for manoeuvre depending upon a graduates circumstances. Whether a graduate chooses to progress in such varying sectors such as computing or healthcare the employment statistics tell the same story; the further a candidate progresses in education, the more likely they will be to find employment. Postgraduate job statistics continue to bear this out.

Construction Industry Using Apps & Games to Recruit Future Talent

Strong Construction Growth Expected

Figures released for July 2016 show that the construction industry continues to grow steadily. The statistics were released by the Ulster Bank Construction Purchasing Managers Index and were compiled by senior economists at the bank. This is very encouraging news as many had predicted a decline following the first composition of data following the Brexit. Although economic predictors remain cautious there is a growing optimism that the construction sector will continue to experience strong growth going forward.  Simon Barry, Ulster Bank’s chief economist in the Republic of Ireland said that new orders have risen to their highest level since March.

New Construction Employees Needed

This predicted growth in the construction industry has led The Chartered Institute of Building to develop a novel new app based on the Minecraft video game in order to train and eventually recruit the next generation of architects and construction employees. In the UK alone, for example, over 400’000 construction workers will retire between 2018 and 2023, which will create an unprecedented vacuum in the industry unless planned for today. The app is called Craft Your Future and can be accessed at ciobmc.org. Minecraft is an open-world building game which allows participants to plan, design and construct everything from houses and skyscrapers to entire cities incorporating electricity grids and water systems.

Minecraft Designs Inspiring Architecture

According to the CIOB, construction sector employees of the future will need such diverse skills such as digital construction technologies, sustainability planning and logistics, just to name three. All of these areas are incorporated into the Minecraft app and already solid results are being observed. At a recent house design competition in the UK four of the finalists were designed using Minecraft.  Even more impressive is the feat of Guy MacDonnell, a quantity surveyor for Interserve Construction who won a major construction award for designing and building an update of the CCTV Tower in Beijing using Minecraft.  Going forward, Irish recruitment companies and the construction industry itself will be able to access, examine and recommend online portfolio’s of prospective jobseekers which are already being uploaded onto the CIOB website. 

Job Hopping Affecting Recruiters & Human Resources

1 in 3 Irish Jobseekers Are Job Hopping In The First Year 

Figures by The American Bureau of Labour Statistics have backed up what many Irish recruitment agencies and HR professionals have noticed recently, namely that job hopping, particularly in the cases of young women, is rising dramatically.

They found that the average time a person spends in a job is 4.4 years but in the cases of young employees, this time, length is halved. In Ireland, 1 in 3 job seekers will move job within the first year. Regarding reasoning, salary, change of location and fresh motivation are listed as the primary factors behind these statistics. But are these reasons actually beneficial to job seekers in the long term?

Red Lights Upon CV Appraisal

There is no doubt that the allure of new experiences can broaden horizons and add to a CV skill-set but along with restarting in a new job comes having to adapt to new rules and to fit into an already existing work environment. Valid questions are also being asked by recruitment agencies and Human Resource professionals when it comes to the appraisal of a CV that shows a clear pattern of switching jobs over the short term. How a recruiter’s recommendation might impact upon any future relationship between the agency and the company is one prominent concern, but a recruiter may also become suspicious about the reasons behind so many job changes. Many Human Resource professionals will look at this information as a potential sign of previous strife and an inability to adapt and stay motivated.      

Innovation Encourages Loyalty

Xerox’s Chief of Marketing Christa Carone has come up with some possible solutions to ensure that employees feel less need to change jobs which Irish recruiters and employers can integrate into work environments and when weighing up the suitability of prospective candidates. Carone cites clear communication, applying to both management, recruiter and employee, and the encouragement of new ideas. She also advises entrepreneurial side projects to create innovation and leadership. These tactics help in fostering motivation and loyalty in the work environment, reducing the need to job hop.