Spring forward into a new career

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Don’t get caught with the golden handcuffs

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PR Steady and Design on the Up!

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AF Selection does work - and here’s the proof.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Let's Just Talk!

So we’re maybe starting to sound like we learnt our craft in the ice age or had to use carrier pigeon to get our mail to its intended destination - but bear with us, because we aren’t as old as you may think. But when it comes to communication in an age when many of you have probably learnt to email and text before you could walk, sometimes the best thing to do is get out your digit and speak to someone.

The number of times we have heard back from a potential employer telling us the interviewee hadn’t been able to make it, but hadn’t been able to pick up a phone to tell them directly, is pretty startling.
While we all have to cancel some plans, be it bad weather, the train was cancelled or your child is poorly, the best way to communicate your apologies is as simple as picking up a phone.

Simon Pettigrew, director of AF Selection said: “Not only does it show more honesty, it also shows that you cared about the meeting and have taken the time to explain why you can’t make the appointment. While a text or an email can do that too, it is the person-to-person contact which is going to put you in the mind of your next potential boss, and is also give you the opportunity to show your sincerity and also book the next appointment to meet when it would be more convenient.”

Dry January

Many of you will be pleased to hear that Simon Pettigrew completed a whole month of Dry January. After a long and drawn-out celebration of Christmas with plenty of festivities, Simon decided to start the new year afresh and not drink. He succeed in his challenge, despite for much of the time he was battling man-flu and would perhaps not have been able to stomach an alcoholic drink.
Debra would like to note, for the record, that she did not take part in Dry January, and made sure it was a very enjoyable month.

Sell yourself, and your skills!

Have you ever thought about changing career but are not quite sure where to start? Perhaps it is time for you to have a change, but your CV is showing that you have only worked in one career for the past few years, and you don’t think any current employers would even look twice? Well think again!

Emma Tee from AF Selection said the key to success in finding a new career is to have faith in the skills you already have.

“The key is to not downplay the considerable experience you already have. It may be you are a fantastic writer, are great at taking minutes in meetings, are creative and have never missed a day of work or you pride yourself in being on-time for everything. These all count when the new employer is looking at your CV and you go for that interview,” she said.

“What is also important is to look at your outside interests if you feel they will have a link to your new career. Perhaps you are wanting to go into PR and while you have never worked in that field before, the company you are going for has clients that link to construction or finance, and you have knowledge on these subjects. Make sure you sell yourself and also your transferable skills. It will prove invaluable in the long-run and pay dividends when hunting out your new career,” she added.

Don’t get caught with the golden handcuffs

With spring just around the corner and everyone thinking of having a sort out of their homes, now is the second time in the year there is a surge of interest in getting a new job - and people, like yourselves, looking to overhaul their career.

However there is one pitfall that many a job-seeker falls into, which has been nicknamed ‘golden handcuffs’ - and for good reason.
Imagine the scenario. You have applied for a number of jobs to get out of your current situation. Perhaps your boss doesn’t appreciate you, you don’t see a progression in your career, or you don’t get along with your co-workers and that long 9 - 5, Monday to Friday stint chained to your desk is making you feel miserable.

So you brush up your CV and send it out with fingers crossed, hoping that another company will realise your true potential and want to snap you up there and then.

Obviously you are the right man, or woman, for the job because after a sparkling interview, you are offered the position of your dreams, with a pay rise in a beautiful new office slightly closer to home, and most of all, you can see yourself flying up the career ladder.

After receiving your offer letter from your new employer, you carefully pen your resignation letter thanking your soon-to-be-old boss (while thinking “good riddance”) for the past X number of years of employment, and wish them the best for the future.

You then have to wait with sweaty palms for the best moment to persuade them into the meeting room to do the deed and hand in your notice. Phew. Just four more weeks until you can escape.
And then the unthinkable happens. Your awful boss, who you were just hoping to say ‘ta rah’ to as soon as possible, has matched the offer/offered you more cash than your new place. Wow. You never knew you were that important to them or worth that much. Now you are in a position. What to do? How flattering, but also, how awkward.

Debra Bullmore-Dunn, director at AF Selection said this is quite a common-place scenario to be in, but has offered some invaluable advice to those stuck in this position.

“Quite simply I would say you need to think long and hard about this. Not only were you looking to leave, and for good reason, but they are using the situation almost to their own advantage. Offering you the world on a plate is one thing, but do you think from your past experience they will be true to their word and conditions will improve so significantly that you will be happier here?,” she said.

“Once you have made your mind up to leave then I truly believe you should continue down that path if you have a good, solid offer on your plate. Make a list of reasons to stay and reasons to go and be honest with yourself. More money doesn’t always equal more happiness if the conditions and the way you feel you are poorly treated doesn’t change. Plus the worst of it may be that if you decline the ‘new’ job you had also accepted, you risk having a bit of a black mark to your name, especially when it is a small industry you work within. But worst of all, you may have priced yourself out of the market so if you do realise after another few months that you shouldn’t have stayed, you may be earning more than other companies are willing to pay for your skills, and so you are effectively chained to your desk with the golden handcuffs. You need to know that the counter-offer is solid gold, rather than being ‘tricked’ into accepting the gold-dipped offer of rusty handcuffs that is your old job,” she added.

Top tips for not getting stuck:

* Assess what is really right for you. If it is just the pay rise you are after when you were looking at new jobs, then this may have been a blessing in disguise.

* Before handing in your notice, anticipate this may happen. But have a response in mind just in case, even if it is ‘please give me 24 hours to think about your offer’.

* Be honest with your potential new employer about what has just happened, however don’t use it as a ‘bribe’ to get more money out of them and play one off against the other.

* If you were miserable, then run for the new job and don’t look back. If there is a career ladder and/or training at the new business, use this as a step to better yourself and earn the extra money you have just been offered by the old boss and know you are making the right move for all the right reasons.

*Pick the job that is going to make you happy, not handcuffed!

PR Steady and Design on the Up!

We have witnessed a paradigm shift in the recruitment practices of some of the mid-sized agencies across the North West and The Midlands with a 25 per cent increase in the number of roles registered at AE and SAE level. May be agencies are beginning to see the light that it can take up to three months to source candidates at a more senior level and have decided to hire at a junior level and train.

Whilst PR still leads the field on the recruitment front for roles being registered with us, it has not been as frantic as the early part of 2014, however, the availability of skilled candidates remains a significant concern and businesses are already fiercely competing to secure top talent.

We are still seeing credible candidates with solid agency based experience receiving more than one offer but not as frequently as we witnessed in the first half of 2014 – this is most likely due to the availability of both permanent and temporary candidate supply deteriorating further. The availability of experienced personnel to fill job vacancies, in particular, at account management level.

On a positive note, it is nice to see an increase in the number of senior design roles registered with us since the start of 2015 and more heartening to witness creative roles that require conceptual print based creatives as opposed to purely digital.

With pay inflation still apparent, it still seems that employers are continuing to use a high salary as the main draw, but focusing on a more holistic approach to attracting candidates may be the key. Softer benefits such as flexible hours, free parking, paid training and development can sometimes have a more positive affect on attracting talent. It’s worth calculating what the benefits actually mean to you, when weighing up whether to go for a job.

Some agencies are seeing some roles at account management and director take up to three months source experienced personnel. We still see candidates rejected with credible in-house experience so we are asking clients to consider non-agency based candidates.

AF Selection does work - and here’s the proof.

Claire Fry. PR Consultant at Clive Reeves PR.

To anyone looking for a change in career, even when they may be a few years over the age when perhaps you should already know better, then I’m proof that it does work!

I was a journalist for a decade and worked on a number of titles across the West Midlands. And while I loved it, and all of its quirky unbelievable moments that you honestly couldn’t script, or even write for the paper sometimes, there came a time when I knew it was time that perhaps being a roving reporter was no longer for me. So I decided to change over to the world of PR, and since making that decision I haven’t looked back!

I was contacted between Christmas and New Year by Debra at AF Selection telling me there was a PR job in the centre of Birmingham that had come up, and asking if I would be interested.

A few days later I was being interviewed for the position by Clive of Clive Reeves PR, and was told that while I hadn’t been in the world of PR for long, my experience and skills in writing and photography were perfect for the role. Since starting the job in January, I honestly haven’t looked back and had it not been for AF Selection and Clive having faith in me, my skills and abilities, I don’t think I would have landed such a great position and felt so settled so quickly. I now work with some amazing clients, have some great colleagues and most of all am working in the heart of a buzzing city I feel like I’m alive again. The only down-side I would say of working here is that I am by all the shops I love and so am having to resist a daily shopping trip!