Eloise’s April 2021 News – Recruitment Recovery, What Matters, Slump to Success, Home-based Job Roles

Home-based Job Roles

Hello and welcome to April 2021

Well, it’s officially Spring and we’re ready for change and new beginnings. We’ve already had some lovely sunny days, and weirdly we’ve also had snow, wind, and frosty mornings which haven’t been so great. I hope many of you are feeling optimistic as we are seeing some positive signs in our day-to-day life. For the first time in a long time, we can look forward to seeing friends and family and enjoy more outdoor spaces and places. We will soon be able to get a haircut, eat-in (well outside) a restaurant, and even go to the gym. Certainly, on a personal level, I am very happy to be able to get some fresh air and exercise with friends, and I really feel like things have taken a positive step forward.

Professionally many of us also have our thoughts on the short to medium-term impacts and adjustments that we will be making in the coming months. We have all lived and worked very differently over the last 12 months, some of the innovations have made us more connected and efficient, but I am certainly looking forward to client visits, meeting in person, and having a creative discussion with colleagues when we’re in the same room.

Recent updates from the government suggest the road map out of lockdown is on track which is great news. We continue to be extremely busy at Vanilla with all sorts of job vacancies, and as always if you need help with a permanent or temporary job role then just pick up the phone and call us on 01858 898058 or email [email protected] and we can work together to help us keep this positive change happening.

It’s still tough out there, but I’m feeling good about the future. Stay positive everyone and here’s some other useful news for April…

Recruitment recovery

Data collated by REC UK show that in the third week of March, there were 146,000 new job adverts posted in the UK. This follows a further 179,000 in the previous week – the two highest weekly figures since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The labour market has been remarkably resilient through the latest national lockdown, and this increase in new job adverts could indicate a growing number of businesses looking to bring in new staff in the coming months as restrictions ease.

There has also been a higher proportion of job adverts for temporary roles in recent weeks – showing how important these roles are as businesses prepare to emerge from the third lockdown. Temporary roles represented around 16.3% of all active job adverts in mid-March 2021, compared to 15.1% in early July 2020 as the first lockdown was eased, and 14.0% in mid-March 2020.

Neil Carberry, Chief Executive of the REC, said:

“The fact that we have just had the best two weeks for new jobs postings since last March is a sure sign of the resilience of our jobs market. There are particularly positive signs for the retail, leisure and hospitality industries, as businesses in those sectors look to prepare for re-opening. And we continue to see the importance of temporary work in helping businesses and workers get back on their feet.

“As we reach the tail end of the pandemic, job creation is returning. But it’s clear that the recovery will not recreate exactly the same economy as we had before. Pathways into work matter – especially for young people, who have been most severely affected by the last year. But so do job transitions into growing sectors that are already facing labour and skills shortages. Reforming our skills system, including the apprenticeship levy, and making the new immigration system work more effectively for our economy will be key debates in the months and years to come.”

If you’d like to discuss any of this in more detail, or if you’re facing recruitment problems then please let me know.

What matters most? How you think or how you act?

Have you seen our recent blog post which asks the question ‘what matters most, how you think or how you act’?

This is an interesting question, and the majority of people are likely to say that it’s actions that get results, therefore it is how you act that’s most important. Indeed this is true. Action is important, thinking alone doesn’t achieve anything unless people act on those thoughts. But what most people miss is that it’s thoughts that influence and direct what actions are taken and how they’re taken.

Gavin Drake from MindSpan Global recently shared an interesting phrase during a webinar. He said this: “It’s not what you’re thinking that matters, it’s HOW you think what you’re thinking about, that matters most.” Now while this seems like a bit of a tongue twister, if you think about it for a moment you’ll realise how true it is. Read the full article here.

How to get out of a slump and into success

Have you ever noticed how when things start going wrong in your life, suddenly everything seems to start going wrong? It can almost feel as though the whole world is conspiring against you and even the simplest tasks become an effort. It doesn’t help that the news forecasts are filled with negative news, especially now. And so it can be really difficult to escape from being sucked into a downward thinking spiral. The important thing though, is how do you change that? If you find yourself in a slump, let’s be honest, it doesn’t feel very good. If there’s nothing else to motivate you, there should at least be the sense that you want to be able to feel better about your life.

Are you in a slump? We have some advice on how to turn the situation around. Read the full article here.

Should Recruiters worry about where a candidate lives?

Someone once said “you live where you want to but you work where you have to….” However, that was before Covid and the rule book has been totally re-written.

Arguably, pre-Covid, we were all getting too hung up on where an employee lived or where they were based. With senior Sales/Operations roles, there is a likelihood that the person is going to have a roaming brief with a territory, and attendance at a Head Office location will be a requirement. But this will give rise to all sorts of questions – can the role be home-based? Is it necessary to relocate? Who pays the mileage?

Some Companies used to be quite inflexible about location and say that employees must live within commuting distance whilst the “new normal” is that employers will take a more enlightened view and say that they want the best person for the role regardless of where they live.

How practicable is it to say that location doesn’t matter? Read the full article here.

How are you finding it working from home?

We decided to create our own quick survey for people who are currently or have been working from home. The questions are fairly light and just to help get an idea of how you are feeling about working from home at the moment. It’s totally anonymous and should only take around a minute to answer the ten simple questions. We’d really appreciate you taking 60 seconds to fill it in if you can.

That’s it for another month

Get in touch if you have any recruitment needs or questions, and I’ll be back with another update in May.

Eloise

PS If you’ve not already done so check out the ‘The State Of Recruitment Report 2021’ to see what impact has COVID-19 had on the recruitment market in the East Midlands?

We recruit throughout the East Midlands covering Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Rutland and the surrounding areas, especially Market Harborough, Lutterworth, Leicester, Corby and Kettering. We help people find their perfect job and match suitable jobseekers with businesses looking to hire the best candidates across our five specialisms – Sales, Marketing, Accountancy & Finance, HR and Office

Please find below some helpful links:

Gain a new skill in 2021

Study in your own time and at your own pace to get a verifiable qualification with New Skills Academy. With over 700 courses to choose from you’re sure to find a course that interests you. All of the online courses can be studied from your PC, MacBook, tablet or smartphone device. Click here for more info.