Online Business Blog

It used to be the case that when people were looking for a job there were a few places they would go. The first would be the newspapers, either local or national, depending on the type of work they were looking for. If they were looking for specialised work, then trade magazines might be included here, alerting them to specific opportunities within their industry. Job boards were also popular, as they gave people a good idea of what work was available within their immediate area, and could present opportunities that may not have been advertised in the newspapers.

However, since the rise of the internet, people have a huge number of extra resources to check. Not only have most newspapers made their job listings available through their website, but you can now go online and find a directory or even a search engine for job offers. Even the UK government have spread to the internet, making their jobseeker resources available online.

Applying for the jobs themselves is much faster nowadays as well. Emails are used in place of letters a lot of the time, and companies can display vacancies directly on their websites rather than having to wait for a weekly newspaper to go out. Application forms can be integrated into websites as well, allowing people to submit their CV directly, saving time for everybody involved.

2008 saw the financing world dramatically hit by global economics, subsequently leading to a market where employees in banking jobs chose to stay in their current roles and jobseekers opportunities were reduced with hiring volumes greatly diminishing and supply far outweighing demand.

As an employer this provides you the opportunity when recruiting for finance jobs to pick from a highly competitive and meticulous job seeking market where more than ever before the demand for highly skilled, experienced professionals is expected and needed. 2009 has been a year of recovery and whilst job volumes have stayed relatively low, the financial sector has stabilised with permanent and temporary recruitment particularly in the financial control sector. Studies have shown that in spite of the economic downturn, there is still a skills shortage so finding the right candidate can be testing. Choosing a specialist professional recruitment consultancy to fulfill your recruitment project should provide you with a solution to meet your needs.

The right recruitment consultancy will help give you a competitive edge and find the right candidate for areas covering financial control, product control, audit, systems projects, treasury, tax, compliance disciplines to name but a few. They should be able to identify a candidate that will optimise your business performance and achieve the job role required of them. They will also be able to advise you on a range of market issues including salary surveys, organisational planning, payroll, contractual matters and training support. A good recruitment consultant will be trained to understand their market fully and their clients recruitment objectives and create and deliver a personalised service.

When choosing a recruitment consultancy it is wise to find out some key information. Consider their experience, how long they have been established, what their core values, vision and mission are. What benefits they can offer you as a client?  What their recruitment solutions are and how do they generate the right candidates? Ensure that you choose one that is expert at placing accountants at all levels of business from part qualified to finance directors to ensure you are paying for a service that will greatly reward you with the candidate you deserve.

There are two things that mean a lot to an employer: dedication and innovation. If you can show these traits when applying for a job, then it will work to your advantage. The problem is that if the only opportunities you have are in an interview, where the employer is asking the questions, and an application form or CV, then you’re limited in what you can show off.

The answer is surprisingly simple, and surprisingly effective: make your own opportunities.

Over the years, a number of strange approaches have been tried and met with success, even when dealing with international recruitment. There’s no reason that anybody couldn’t try one of these tactics, or even come up with something new.

Meeting the Employer

If an employer has met you outside an interview, and you’ve demonstrated your strengths in a more casual and friendly environment, then you’ve already got a lead on other candidates.

Seizing the initiative if you run into a potential employer on a train, waiting at a bus stop, or anywhere that you could conceivably spark up a conversation can be a great tactic. It shows off your dedication to getting the job. You might also learn some useful information that you can use in a more formal interview, or find out about another opportunity that the employer thinks you’d be perfect for.

Meeting the Staff

Find out where the staff of an organisation during their lunch breaks or after hours. Listen out for opportunities, get to know them, let them know you’re looking for work, and they could pass on a positive word to their employer.

This has the double advantage of alerting you to new opportunities (you might be chatting to lawyers and hear about accountant jobs) and showing your dedication. It’s also a rather innovative approach, which will bear weight with employers.

Put Yourself Out There

Try and make opportunities for yourself. If you can convince somebody that you’d be an asset to their company, even if they hadn’t considered employing at the time, then you’re in with a chance. Show what new ideas you’d bring in.

Even if they don’t take it further at that time, they could be in contact later. Once again, this shows a level of dedication and innovation that few will match.

The Ultimate in Dedication

Work for nothing. If you can show that you really want the job, and then demonstrate that you’re good at it, employers will be very impressed. Offering to work unpaid is one way of doing this, but of course you must be sure you don’t get taken advantage of.

Be Truly Innovative

We’ve given you some ideas, but if you truly wish to innovate, then you’ll have to come up with something even fresher. Be bold. Show that you are the best candidate for the job, whatever it takes.

Finding accountant jobs can be a tough task, and job seekers need all the help they can get. So in this blog post we are going to look at some ways in which to market yourself during the job hunting process.

1. Selling yourself

If you think of yourself as a product, you can choose which features and benefits you have that will make a potential employer want to hire you. It may seem a strange concept, but thinking of yourself as a gadget that you want to sell to a certain market can be a great way to think of how to sell yourself.

2. Be confident

The British people can be very bashful when it comes to promoting themselves (maybe not the big brother contestants) and this can be true with some peoples CVs. You need to really sell yourself and talk about your skills and experience and not think take it too personally.

3…… But not cocky

Our tips so far have been to sell yourself and believe in yourself, but some people can do this too much and come across as cocky. There are certain ways you can word things in regards to their tone.

4. Choosing the right audience

You can create a list of businesses and employers you think your skills will benefit and then enquire about whether they have positions open. Professional institutions can provide great information on your target employers that their HR department might not be so forth coming with.

5. Getting your foot in the door

Some people ask to meet up with employees from potential employers in the flesh and talk about things related to the company and the sector in general. If they like you they are likely to give personal recommendations if you apply for a job with the business.

6. Networking

Family and friends are a great way to start networking. Letting them know the type of work you are looking for and what you bring to a business will help them get you in touch with the right people. It is surprising how effective this technique can be in finding a potential employer.

A well-written application form can give you the boost you need to stand out from the crowd when applying to a banking job or any kind of job really. Whether you’re going for a part-time local job, or aiming at international recruitment, you may well be presented with an application form as the first hurdle.

In an application form, an employer will be looking for more specific information that may not be included in a CV. You need to make sure that you give it to them.

With that in mind, here are our tips for making sure any application form you fill in is the best you can make it:

• Make sure you understand all the instructions, and be sure to adhere to them all the way through. Dropping to lower case when you should be using block capitals will impress no one.
• If you’re given the chance to talk about yourself, take your time! Plan it out and be sure you mention what you’ll bring to the job. What makes you the best candidate?
• Emphasise any of your achievements that are going to be particularly useful in the job.

And if the application form is a paper copy, rather than an online copy:

• Make a photocopy for a practise run.
• Black ink means clearer photocopies. It also looks more professional.
• Handwriting counts! If the employer can’t read your form it’s going to ruin your chances.

And in all cases, be sure to double check! Spelling or grammar errors are not going to endear you to a potential employer. Ideally, get another person to read through your work.

Hopefully, you found the list of do’s useful; now here’s a list of don’ts:

• Don’t leave sections blank. An incomplete form is not useful. If a section does not apply to you, fill it in saying why.
• Don’t include a CV or cover letter unless specifically asked to.
• Don’t lie! The consequences of getting caught are simply not worth the risks. If you’re found to be lying you could be blacklisted from any future openings in the company, and the information may be shared among the entire group of companies, if one exists.

We hope that these points are useful to you. Remember them when filling in application forms. Good Luck!

Everyone knows that their CV is important when looking for jobs as it is your first opportunity to impress your potential employer by allowing them to see you are suitable for a role.

But not many people don’t know that employers can take only around eight seconds to scan a CV and work out whether to keep it or not. So this means you have to know how to make your CV stand out and make the cut.

1. Stick to the point

Keeping your CV concise allows recruiters who are faced with many documents at a time, a clear representation of your experience and qualifications. Your CV is your foot in the door and only the first step of the recruitment process. A good guideline for a length of a CV is around 2 sides of A4 paper, you want to keep some things to the interview.

2. Target it to the opportunity

Different job opportunities will mean recruiters will be looking for different qualities, so you should tailor your CV to each role. You can tell a lot about a business from some quick research on the internet and looking at the ad they placed. When writing about your skills and experience, you should bear the requirements of the role in mind.

3. Plug the gaps

Recruiters tend not to like seeing big gaps on CVs as they have no idea what you were up to during these periods. You might have gained some transferable skills during your time off that you can mention. The best way to do this is by updating your CV regularly, so you can keep track of skills you may gain while out of employment.

4. Make it error free

In the Finance Recruitment world and other high interest sectors, recruiters will be looking for easy ways to cut down the weaker applicants and one easy way to do that is to look for errors. Simple things like spelling and grammar, should be picked up by your computers spell checker, but getting a few people to read over it will make sure it all makes sense and is error free.

5. Be truthful

It is quite common for applicants to exaggerate or lie on applications and CVs and this maybe easy to get away with if you are applying for a fast food job. But in International recruitment situations or high responsibility roles, recruiters will be a lot more thorough when checking qualifications and claims made on your CV. The best advice is to not lie at all as it could be very embarrassing when you are caught out.

According to reports from recruiters, city firms have started to hire again after the trouble of recent times, although slightly cautiously.

There was an uplift in the finance job market in June that held fairly steady in July despite the slow summer trend in recruitment that usually happens every year.

Although the number of new jobs within the London financial services sector dropped overall by 7%, a two month consequent increase since June in new finance jobs in the market is positive news for finance professionals.

It is good news for the financial recruitment industry if employers are feeling more confident and starting to increase the amount of job opportunities available in the UK. As with most things during the recession it will be a slow steady increase rather than a sudden jump to how things were before.

The statistics are showing that job opportunities are appearing for most areas within the financial services industry and this is especially true at the managerial and executive level.

According to the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the profession of an accountant is changing.  The claims of the ACCA are based on substantial research.  The polled over 2,500 qualified accountants in over 50 countries around the world.  The results of the polls definitely lead them to believe the accountant job role is changing.   And, they also explain why many companies are having difficulties recruiting, developing and retaining employees in the accounting profession.

One of the key findings from the study revealed that new roles and skills are needed for accountants.  Also, many accountants are becoming more motivated and ambitious with their careers.  This is particularly true in rising economies.

In today’s world, there is apparently more regulation and a changing business environment that accountants must deal with.  These changes give accountants a new role and require different skills.  Bottom line, their work becomes technically more demanding.  Additionally, they have to start thinking strategically instead of just computing numbers.

One thing that really stood out in the study was that there was a noticeable difference between the skill level of the majority of accounting and financial professionals and the level of skill that is needed by most corporations today.  Fewer people are measuring up to the necessary level, and it is becoming more difficult to find individuals that measure up to fill the accountancy jobs.

During the last few years, more and more accountants seem to be less loyal with their employers.  They seem to switch employers and switch segments.  A lot of people are even looking for international opportunities instead of moving up the corporate ladder.  They think that this will help build their resume.

Additionally, there is a common misconception around the world about accountants.  Many people think accountants are dry, boring, soft, or dull.  Often they assume that they lack the necessarily skills, specifically people skills.  For this reason, they often stick them behind a desk and underutilize them.  The negative connation regarding accountants sometimes leads to a supply shortage.  It can make recruiting difficult and retention even further problematic.

According to sources at the ACCA, now is a good time to be a qualified accountant (the key word being qualified!).  If you are qualified, organizations are most likely out there who need your services.  Also, if you are new to the industry, there will be less you have to adapt to with the changing business environment and new regulations.   For those who are currently accountants, it is important to keep up on your skills and stay ahead of the competition.  It will definitely benefit you.

Today, business is conducted worldwide.  This means that employees are needed all over the world.  It is not uncommon for someone in another country to need your services.  However, it is not always easy for them to find you.  Because of the increased number of global workers, international recruitment has changed.

When you work internationally with a recruiting agency, you most likely work with a special agency known as a professional employee organization.  This type of organization works with companies in various industries throughout the world.  To save time and money, they use email to contact people.  And, they source international jobs that are needed.  A lot of the time the work is contract work, sometimes temporary.

Although a PEO works to recruit employees around the world, they spend a large amount of their time developing strategic alliances.  They make these alliances with businesses around the world.  They help these businesses become more profitable by allowing them to outsource anything possible that is costly to PEO workers.  Almost anything can be outsourced.  Companies outsource unskilled positions and even the position of CEO.  Thus, the business becomes more profitable and work is created for people around the world.

This new about to recruiting changes the game when it comes to temp work.  Many people can benefit short term from this situation or even long term.  Also, a lot of times, the positions available are better because the market is so much larger.

In the future, these recruitment agencies are hoping to have job boards online.  They want individuals to have access to job information in real time.  This way they can find candidates faster and more effectively.  Also, it helps those interested know where to look.

One of the major focuses of the PEOs is professionalism.  These PEOs work with great companies and professionalism ensures continual work.  From studies done throughout the world, there is an obvious lack of professionalism in temp agencies.  The PEOs want to avoid this.  They hope to find people around the world that need work and find the right job for them.  In their eyes, it is a win-win situation for everyone.

If you are in between jobs or are looking for more experience, look into working with a PEO.  It is a great option for developing your professional qualifications.  Many jobs, even if they are temporary, are ones you could include on a resume.  Also, it may help you determine what you really want to do in the future!

With more and more jobs in the private sector at risk as the economic downturn continues to hurt small and medium businesses, more people are looking at public sector jobs as a career alternative. But what are the benefits and how easy is it to stand out considering the competitive nature of the current job market?

Perhaps the primary benefit of working in the public sector is the sense that you are contributing something back to society through your work rather than generating profit for your faceless corporate masters. But it’s not all altruistic, in general public sector wages are higher than the national average. This is also coupled with an attractive benefits package and stable pension scheme. Flexi-time and other flexible work arrangements are also prevalent, allowing busy people a better chance to maintain a work life balance.

There are a wide range of careers available in the public sector, so being able to find a job that utilises your skills should not be a problem. The public sector is increasingly aware of the benefits of employing someone with private sector skills. In fact the main drawback sited of working in the public sector is that you can often feel like you have stepped into an arcane world of bureaucracy and red tape. But fear not, with increased pressure to not waste tax payers money, the ability to recognise waste and streamline working practice will lend you a distinct advantage over other candidates.

So how can you stand out in the job market? Employers are not short of applicants for available posts in the current climate. In fact a recent store opening in Nottingham attracted 1800 applicants for just 20 positions. This means it’s important to make yourself unique and present a clear case to a prospective employer to justify why you are the best person for the role.

Perhaps the smartest way to do this is to let someone else do the donkey work for you. Identify a specialist in public sector recruitment and meet with them to ensure they understand your skills and what sort of role you are after. You are looking to give them the detail that helps bring your C.V. to life and allows them to go out and present you as the well-rounded employee that you are.

Rather than wasting time applying for dozens of ill-suited roles, working with a recruitment professional will help you to land that dream public sector job.