FINANCE RECRUITMENT BY PROFESSIONALS FOR PROFESSIONALS
​SINCE 1992

Is the future a four day week?

There has recently been talk in the press of the Labour Party, backed by the Unions wanting people to only have to work a four day week and for companies to still pay them as if they were working for a five day week. It would be lovely to think that this could work and in some lines of work, with the efficiencies whcih technology can bring, it might do. If it could be made to work, it would allow people to balance their lives more, particularly if they are carers either of elderly parents or children. However I think in many cases there would be major hurdles to overcome. It would create recruitment issues in essential services where there is already a shortage of qualified staff, such as the NHS. In addition, firms would need to be sure that the same level of productivity was reached in four days as in five in order to be able to pay the same level of salary. This is not a straight forward issue at all and if it were to be introduced needs to be thought through carefully. I'm sure, though, that people thought the same when weekends were introduced and now we take them for granted. It will certainly be interesting to see whether it becomes a workable proposition at some stage in the future. Have a good week. Jeanette Robinson

Conquering interview nerves

It is not unusual to feel nervous when going for an interview. It shows that the interview matters to you and that you want to do well at it. The question is: how do you stop nerves getting the better of you and ruining your chances of getting that dream job. The first thing to remember is that an interview is a two way process. It is as much about you interviewing them as them interviewing you. You need to think about the questions you want to ask the interviewier to see if this is not only the right role for you but also the right environment. After all, you are going to be spending a large part of your waking hours working at the company you eventually decide to go to. A few questions you could ask include: !) If you offer me the role, what would you expect me to achieve in my first three months? 2) What is the culture of the company? 3) Why do you enjoy working here? The other thing to remember to conquer your nerves is that the people interviewing you are people just like you. They get up in the morning, they play with their children, they go to bed at night. If you take them out of the work place in your mind and think of them doing ordinary things, it can stop them seeming quite so terrifying. I hope this helps. Good luck with the job hunting!! Jeanette

August/September Report on Jobs

Cavill Robinson feed into the Report on Jobs each month, which is created by KPMG and the REC from information collated from over 400 agencies nationwide. It is clear from the latest one that the political shenanigans over Brexit are starting to bite in the jobs market with the quickest drop in permanent placements in three years. James Stewart, Vice Chair of KPMG says of the latest figures: "Brexit uncertainty continues to take its toll on the jobs market, evident by the quickest drop in permanent placements in over three years as employers delay hiring staff. Given the current climate, it’s not a surprise but is still a concern to see that the demand for staff increased at the slowest rate since 2012 – and that people are reluctant to seek new roles. On the plus side however, the latest decline in staff supply was the least marked for over two and a half years amid greater competition, softening the pressures on pay.Looking ahead and with investment also contracting, businesses desperately need clarity on Brexit outcomes in order to re-build confidence in the jobs market and be able to make more informed decisions on their long-term hiring plans.” Jeanette Robinson, Cavill Robinson's Managing Director, comments: "It is interesting that the report states that permanent placements have fallen whereas the demand for staff is still increasing albeit more slowly than at any time since 2012. In our experience at Cavill Robinson, companies are struggling to find staff to fill vacancies and we think that staff are staying put whilst the uncertainty around Brexit continues. It is difficult to read where the market will go in the next few months but in the Cambridgeshire marketplace there is still a strong demand for good finance staff and so I would urge anyone thinking of moving jobs, not to delay as September to Christmas is the busiest time of the year for recruitment as a general rule. "