Deverell Smith

Many people are lucky enough to enjoy a long break over the Christmas period and whilst digesting turkey and mince pies, start to mull over their New Year’s Resolutions. Along with the relentless annual pursuit of a slimmer figure and healthier lifestyle, the New Year is a time when many people re-evaluate their careers. “Am I happy?” “Am I paid enough?” and “What do I want from my future career?” are questions that will eternally frequent the first week of January. It’s a time for new beginnings and what better time is there to focus on your career?

Add to this the fact that many managers and directors of businesses also see the New Year as an ideal time to look at opportunity in their market place and grow their teams accordingly and we start to see why January is such a busy time for recruiters and job seekers alike. “January has always traditionally been an extremely busy time of year for us,” says Emma Timothy of Deverell Smith Recruitment, “hiring managers are always keen to catch up with us after the Christmas break and be the first in line to see the new pool of candidate talent around. Many recruiting managers and directors are not only looking to recruit one, but sometimes several, new members of staff,” she adds.

Many companies are still not inclined to recruit candidates in to a job role without having previous relevant experience, in fact, in a recent survey conducted by the CIPD and KPMG, it was found that in the third quarter of 2010 less than half (47%) of companies planned to recruit graduates in to vacancies and this trend looks set to continue in to 2011 according to the Association of Graduate Recruiters. This may be bad news for graduates but it’s good news for people currently in the work place as their skills and experience are hugely in demand!  Emma says, “ throughout the past couple of years we have seen a real emphasis from our clients requiring staff with relevant industry experience and a proven track record in their sector; the tide is starting to turn with our clients now being more open-minded to graduate trainees than they were this time last year, however, there is no substitute for a qualified candidate with industry knowledge and experience!” 

The qualifications that our clients here at DSR frequently look for largely depends on the sector in which they are in, however both Richard Wilson, who heads up the Estate Agency team at DSR, and Emma Timothy, cite ARLA, NAEA and NFOPP as hugely desirable qualifications to possess. Emma says, “ARLA and NFOPP qualified candidates are those most requested by our Estate Agency and Lettings Management clients, however, we work with a very wide ranging clientele and IRPM and RICS are also hugely sought after on the Management side of the business”. She adds, “of course, we also offer an Executive Search service and run a Secretarial & Support team too and the sought after qualifications on those teams clearly differ enormously!”

So what tempts people away from their current company and causes them to start looking elsewhere? Here at DSR “money” is a frequent answer! And who can blame candidates who have had salary freezes but more work piled upon them that start looking at alternative options?

Money, however, is not the only reason that people move positions, in fact, there are a number of factors that people take in to consideration when looking for a new role. A recent CIPD study showed that the top two attractions for candidates looking for new jobs were holiday entitlement (45%) and location of work (47%). More than a third of people questioned listed flexible working conditions and bonuses as extremely important and 38% were attracted by the quality of a company’s culture, environment and reputation. A further 28% of respondees listed staff development opportunities (or lack of) as reason to move jobs.

Whatever the reason for a move, the Consultants at Deverell Smith Recruitment are always happy to help. Please do not hesitate to get in touch should you wish to discuss current vacancies, career opportunities, receive impartial advice or simply to discuss current market conditions.

For a confidential chat call DSR today on 0207 291 0900 or visit our website www.deverellsmith.com