FINANCE RECRUITMENT BY PROFESSIONALS FOR PROFESSIONALS
​SINCE 1992

Report on Jobs May 2020

Every month, Cavill Robinson Financial Recruitment contributes to the Report on Jobs, which is compiled by the recruitment trade association, the REC and KPMG. This months's figures bear out the atrocious impact of the government's decision to shut down the economy because of Covid-19. Commenting on the latest survey results, James Stewart, Vice Chair at KPMG, said: “Lingering uncertainty around the COVID-19 pandemic, and when the outlook may improve, continues to take its toll on the UK jobs market. Hiring plans which were put on hold in March remain on ice, with many businesses focusing on maintaining their current staff rather than expansion or replacement. The number of people looking for work has risen at the quickest rate since July 2009 making it a highly competitive market. With a potential July stimulus package from the Government set to include a focus on retraining and skills, adaptability will be the key to success for jobseekers in 2020.” Neil Carberry, Chief Executive of the REC, said: “Given the impact of the lockdown in early May, it’s no surprise that these figures look bleak. But in the two weeks since this data was collected, lockdown rules have been eased and the feedback we get from recruiters every day suggests that the slight improvements that we can see in the placements and vacancies data have continued. I’m also hearing from business leaders all over the country that things are starting to look up. There is a long way to go, but it’s time to talk about how we recover from this crisis. “Collaboration between government, businesses and recruiters will be vital as we try to get the economy up and running again. The UK’s staffing and recruitment companies are experts at helping people find work, and we are ready to support jobseekers in the months ahead.” Jeanette Robinson, Managing Director of Cavill Robinson said: These are very bleak figures for both jobseekers and the recruitment industry. History will judge whether effectively shutting down the economy was the right thing to do but the damage it has wreaked on people's lives and livlihoods is disastrous and it is difficult to know how long the impact will last. It can only be hoped that we are now moving in the right direction but I fear mass redundancies once the furlough scheme starts to be tapered down and competition for roles will be intense."

The State of The Job Market May 2020

I have been in finance recruitment since 1986 and during that time have seen a number of recessions, including the Great Recession of 2008. I have never seen a jobs market like this one in all that time and i fear that in the long term , Rishi Sunak's furlough scheme will contribute to making it worse. Firstly, since all this started about 8 weeks ago, it is accurate to say that there have been hardly any roles around. Even when companies do want to recruit, they have the difficulty of onboarding people whilst socially distancing. It is hugely difficult to integrate someone into your company's culture and ensure they know what they are doing, if you can not sit with them for a few weeks. In addition, whilst people can interview by Zoom, Skype or whatever other on line platforms they can use, the reality is still that people would like to meet face to face at the final stage. I strongly believe that Rishi Sunak is not helping matters by extending his furlough scheme through to October. Many of the jobs he is protecting are now redundant. More of them will become redundant as companies run out of cash from paying their other expenses as the months go on. At some stage, the government will have to face what they are dreading and running scared from, namely mass unemployment caused by their policies regarding this virus, which is currently killing about 1 to 2% of those infected. I understand that their decisions are not easy and it is admirable to want to save jobs but if you shut the economy down, companies can not live off thin air and mass unemployment will be the result. At some stage, the government is going to have to decide whether the death rate justifies huge swathes of the population losing their jobs and becoming impoverished. Currently, it looks as if they think it is and a compliant public, which is still being paid agrees with them. I shall be very interested to see what the public think when the funds currently paying them, dry up. Stay safe Jeanette Robinson

How To Survive Working From Home

I was speaking to a client this week who told me she "hates" working from home. As someone who has been primarily working from home now for a few years, I was genuinely surprised as I love it. So I thought I thoguht it would be helpful to all of you who ahve been catapulted from an office exisistence to the isolation of home to write a few tips on how to cope. 1) Have a structure to your day. This is extremely important as otherwise you will go in one of two directions. You will either do nothing at all or you will spend hours in front of the computer without giving yourself a break. 2) Working from home can be very intense. You can almost by accident, find yourself not moving from your computer screen from early in the morning to late in the evening. Your Things to Do List should incorporate breaks which you can tick off as well as work 3) You should schedule "Catch Up With Colleagues" calls into your weekly diary. These can be about work or just social. Either way, they help you stay connected and stop the feelings of isolation. I usually have early morning calls with staff and then one later in the afternoon. It helps us to review work, keep on track and exchange ideas. 4) As I said before, working from home can be intense and when I started doing it, I often found I had fionished all my work early. If this happens, don't worry that you've missed something. It's just that without many interruptions, you get a lot more done in a lot less time. You can use that extra time to do something for yourself, whether that's learning a new skill or housework. I personally, love that aspect of homeworking. 5) Try and go for a walk outside at some point during the day - as i write this, we are still allowed one exercise a day. It gives you fresh air and makes you feel as if you are still connected to the real world ( as much as this is possible at the moment!) 6) If when things get back to normal, you are still working from home, take yourself off to a local cafe or restaurant once or twice a week for lunch and enjoy a restful hour or so away from your desk. 7) If you have children, find out from your boss when you have deadlines for work and find out if they are happy for you to work otside the 9 to 5. One of my employees has a two year old and she frequently (pre this situation) takes her child to child groups in the morning but then does work for me in the early evening when her child is in bed. It suits her and it suits me. Flexing your work an be a major plus point when you work from home. 8) Other plus points: You don't have to commute and you can stay in bed a bit longer as a result! So in short, you can be more productive at times that suit you in less time than normal. This leaves you loads of time to devote to family or hobbies. Just don't keep biscuits, cake, or chocolate in the house if you want to stay slim!!!! Have a good week and remember - the lockdown won't last for ever!! Jeanette