Creating recruitment partnerships!
02-May-23
Working effectively with a recruitment agency can greatly increase your chances of finding the right job opportunity. To ensure that the process goes smoothly and you get the results you're looking for, it's essential to work effectively with us. Here are some tips to help you do just that: Choose the right agency: Research and identify reputable recruitment agencies that specialise in your industry or field of expertise. Look for agencies with a good track record and positive reviews from candidates and employers. Build a relationship: Treat your interactions with the agency as a professional relationship. Establish open and honest communication from the beginning, and maintain a friendly and respectful demeanour throughout the process. Provide detailed information: Be thorough when providing information about your skills, experience, and career goals. The more details you provide, the better the agency can match you with suitable job opportunities. Update your CV regularly and include relevant keywords for your desired positions, also make sure to keep your LinkedIn profile in-keeping with your CV. Clearly communicate your preferences: Be specific about the type of job you are looking for, including location, salary range, work schedule, and other preferences. This helps the agency narrow down their search and find opportunities that align with your needs. Be responsive and available: Respond promptly to communication from the agency, whether it's emails, phone calls, or text messages. Make yourself available for interviews, meetings, and any other requests. This demonstrates your commitment and professionalism. Prepare for interviews: If the agency arranges interviews for you, take them seriously and prepare thoroughly. Research the company, review the job description, and practice common interview questions. Dress appropriately and arrive on time or log in promptly for virtual interviews. Provide feedback: After each interview, promptly provide feedback ...
Teamwork makes the dreamwork!
20-Apr-23
When you partner with us at Uxbridge Employment as a recruitment agency, you're entrusting us with the important task of finding the right candidates for your organisation. To ensure that the process goes smoothly and you get the results you're looking for, it's essential to work effectively with us. Here are some tips to help you do just that: Clearly communicate your needs and preferences. The more information you provide to us about the skills, qualifications, and experience you're looking for in candidates, the better equipped we will be to find suitable candidates. Take the time to clarify your requirements and any preferences you may have, such as desired salary range, work experience, location, and education level. Be responsive to our consultants requests, recruitment agencies work on tight schedules, and delays on your part can have a ripple effect on the hiring process. When you are asked for feedback or updates, respond promptly to help keep the process moving forward. Set realistic expectations, while we work hard to find the best candidates, we may not have these in our pool of candidates at present but if you have strict deadlines or specific requirements, communicate these upfront to avoid any misunderstandings later and we can get to work on sourcing for your requirements. Provide feedback on candidates, when we send you cv’s or candidates to review, take the time to provide feedback on each candidate. This will help our consultants to fine-tune their search and find more suitable candidates for your business. Be specific about what you like and don't like about each candidate, and provide reasons for your feedback. Build a collaborative relationship, we should be a partner in your hiring process, not just a service provider. Take the time to build a collaborative relationship with us by asking questions, providing feedback, and being responsive to their requests. A strong relationship can lead to better results and a smoother hiring process, ...
CV writing that works
12-Jan-23
Writing a CV that works can be a daunting process when staring at a blank page but by following a few tried-and-tested rules and spending a little time on it can reap great rewards. Whilst there is never such thing as a “one-CV-fits-all” one key point to remember is your CV’s goal is to attract the attention of the people advertising the opportunities you seek. If you receive a lot of call backs from employers and recruiters then congrats – your CV works! If on the other hand you think yours could do better please have a read of our top 10 CV Writing Tips which will sharpen up the focus of your CV and tell the world all about you and secure that all important interview! Tip No 1. Its key to watch “Keywords” Congratulations – you are reading this on our website which demonstrates your acceptance that recruitment happens online! This will (hopefully) seem an obvious statement, however it should serve as a reminder that when your CV is placed online, it will be handled in a very different way to a human recruiter. Luckily, we are not in a place as yet where online algorithms have the intelligence to sort accurately by relevance, so they scan for “keywords” that match the advert then rank accordingly: i.e. if someone is recruiting for an Accounts Clerk with “Sage Line 50”, “Excel” and “Word” it is important to ensure these terms are replicated on your CV (obviously, only if you have these skills 😊). Ensuring these key words are duplicated on your CV will ensure you rank higher in the recruiters results! A great tip here is to search for jobs that are suitable for you and highlight the key words that reappear in adverts specifically related to the roles you are applying for. If you have these skills, make sure they are incorporated into your CV!!! Tip No 2. It’s no novel – make it punchy It’s an unfortunate fact that on average employers spend as little as 8 seconds reviewing a CV. For this reason yours should be no more than two pages of A4 – and that’s ...
Are you redundancy ready?
09-Dec-22
Are you nervous about being made redundant? If so, you are not alone. Once again, we are staring down the barrel of an economic downturn, which inevitably leads to uncertainty, insecurity from fear of losing your job. It isn’t official yet as a recession is not declared until we have had 2 consecutive quarters of falling GDP. However, the last quarter our GDP dropped, and the Bank of England is expecting this to drop again in our current quarter, which runs up until the end of December. Companies are gearing up for some challenging times ahead. But what about the employees? have you started preparing? What can you do as an individual to protect yourself? There are a lot of factors that will be completely out of your control when facing redundancy. There are also many factors that you can regain control, most importantly you can increase your knowledge, awareness and start connecting with the right organisations and people that can help you if you are faced with being made redundant. We have compiled a list and link to some key bodies that can advise, support and assist and we have tried to include as many free options as possible. ACAS This body gives employees free, impartial advice on workplace rights, rules and best practice. You can find full details on their website: Acas | Making working life better for everyone in Britain You can call their helpline too on 0300 123 1100 Citizens Advice Bureau This body offers a range of free advice for employees, including but not limited to; Redundancy, Negotiating with your employer, Getting a reference. You can read full details on their website: Citizens Advice You can call their Adviceline on 0800 144 8848 Below is a particularly useful link to an area that explains how a fair redundancy process will run. This provides a full run through of what a redundancy process should look like and therefore prepare you for the right conversations and questions at the right time: ...
Right to Work Changes from Oct22
11-Oct-22
From October 2022 changes are happening to the UK Right to Work checks so we have prepared a quick quide with some useful info/links. The guide was originally prepared for clients, but for any candidates it should still offer a simplified overview on the process so we hope it proves useful and serves as a guide. Previously allowed checks until Sept 2022 Back in March 2020, temporary adjusted right to work (RTW) measures were introduced to help companies on-board new team members using scanned documents (rather than originals). Employers were then allowed to confirm the identity of the individual, along with these scanned documents, via video call. These measures were in place to help those working remotely, however as of 1st October 2022 businesses will no longer be able to use this adjusted checking process. As businesses accept, ensuring compliance with RTW procedure is essential to prevent illegal working and penalties. So, to protect your business you need to ensure you are following the correct procedure and ensure this is done so before any form of employment commences. What changes are being made? From 1st October 2022 there will be three main ways to check RTW; A manual right to work check - a physical check of the applicant’s original documents (the old way). Use an online (IDSP) provider to check on a digital platform - UK/Irish (in date passports only). View a job applicant’s right to work using their share code and date of birth. Conducting any of these checks following the Home Office guidance found on the gov.uk website will ensure you are following the correct process and successfully completing your Right to Work check. If your applicant’s immigration status requires verification by the Home Office, for example they are awaiting an administrative review/appeal or they have an outstanding application, then you can also use the Employer Checking Service. In this scenario use this link to contact the Home Office, however please remember you will ...
If you are recruiting at the moment, you may have noticed something quite different about the candidate market.There are more people looking for work...more applications are coming through...so on paper, that should make recruiting easier.But is it?From the conversations we are having with businesses across Uxbridge, Windsor and the surrounding areas, the reality is often quite different.Having more candidates available doesn't necessarily mean finding the right person has become easier. In fact, for some employers, it has simply created a different recruitment challenge.The candidate market is changingThere are some encouraging signs appearing in the UK recruitment market with the latest KPMG and REC UK Report on Jobs showed that permanent staff appointments increased in August for the first time since September 2022. Candidate availability also continued to rise sharply, with redundancies, fewer vacancies and concerns around job security contributing to more people looking for their next opportunity.It is certainly a welcome sign that confidence may be starting to return, but while candidate numbers have increased, employers are still understandably cautious about hiring.And when a business does make the decision to recruit, getting that hire right matters more than ever.More applications don't always mean more suitable candidatesPost a vacancy today and, depending on the role, you could receive a significant number of applications.At first glance, that sounds ideal - the problem is that quantity and quality aren't necessarily the same thing!An employer might receive 100 applications, but how many applicants have genuinely read the job description? How many have the right experience? How many are realistically within the salary range? How many can get to the location? And, importantly, how many genuinely want this job?There is also an increasing amount of technology involved in recruitment.AI and automation can now help candidates prepare CVs, write applications ...
Back in May, we explored why temporary support was driving more hiring conversations.At the time, many businesses weren’t necessarily ready to recruit permanently. However, workloads still needed to be managed, customers still needed to be supported and overstretched teams needed additional help.A few months later, that trend hasn’t disappeared. In fact, flexible hiring is beginning to look less like a temporary response to uncertainty and more like a deliberate part of how businesses plan their teams.The latest KPMG and REC UK Report on Jobs shows temporary billings rising at their fastest rate in more than three years, while permanent recruitment remains cautious.It is an encouraging sign that parts of the market are beginning to stabilise, but businesses are still thinking carefully about how and when they hire.Businesses still need peopleEconomic uncertainty may affect confidence, budgets and long-term decision-making, but it doesn’t remove the need for good people.Projects still begin. Employees take holidays. Workloads increase. Customer expectations continue. Skills gaps emerge, and teams can only absorb extra responsibilities for so long before something starts to give.The question facing many employers is no longer simply:“Should we hire someone?”Increasingly, it is:“What type of support do we need—and what is the most practical way to bring it into the business?”For some organisations, the answer will still be a permanent employee. For others, temporary or project-based support offers the flexibility they need to act now without making a decision that may not suit the business six months from now.Flexibility is becoming a strategic choiceTemporary recruitment has traditionally been associated with short-term cover: sickness, holidays, seasonal demand or an unexpected gap in the team.Those requirements still exist, but the conversations we’re having are becoming broader.Employers are also using flexible support to: Support time-sensitive projects Access ...
Despite continued uncertainty around budgets, approvals and longer-term hiring decisions, the day-to-day pressures on businesses haven’t slowed down. Work still needs to be delivered, customers still need to be supported and teams still need enough resource around them to keep things moving.As a result, more businesses are quietly turning to temporary support again — not necessarily because they are ready to hire permanently, but because they need reliable support now.Interestingly, many of these conversations are naturally evolving into something more long-term over time.What often starts as:“We just need someone to help for a few weeks…”gradually becomes:“Actually, this role is becoming more important than we first thought.”That’s something we’re seeing more and more.Temporary support has always given businesses flexibility, but in the current climate it’s also giving them breathing space. It allows managers to reduce pressure internally, avoid rushed hiring decisions and keep operations running smoothly while they work out what longer-term structure is actually needed.And importantly, it removes some of the pressure that comes with committing to a full recruitment process immediately.In many cases, businesses simply want support around workload, holidays, projects or gaps in the team. They want someone dependable who can step in quickly, integrate well and help keep momentum going without creating additional disruption.That’s why high-quality temporary staff are proving so valuable right now. They’re no longer viewed purely as short-term cover. Increasingly, they’re becoming part of a more practical and flexible hiring strategy — one that allows businesses to respond to demand as it happens, rather than trying to predict everything in advance.From front-of-house and administration through to customer service, HR and finance support, we’re seeing strong demand for experienced candidates who can make an immediate impact from day one.And in many situations, once a ...
As a family-run recruitment agency that’s worked with local employers and jobseekers for years, we’ve seen our fair share of policy changes shake up the employment landscape. Some come and go without much impact - others genuinely reshape how people hire, work, and build careers.The Government's decision to shift from “day one” unfair dismissal rights to a proposed six-month qualifying period has already sparked strong opinions. But from where we sit - working closely with small businesses and candidates every day - there are some practical considerations worth highlighting.Here’s what this change may mean in practice. A More Balanced Approach for Small BusinessesMany small employers have been nervous about the idea of day-one unfair dismissal rights. For a family-run shop, a small café, or a growing start-up, every hire is a big investment - not just financially, but emotionally too. When you’ve only got a handful of staff, getting the hiring decision wrong can put real pressure on the whole team.By setting a six-month qualifying period, the government has created a workable compromise. Employers still need to treat people fairly - and most genuinely do - but they now have a realistic timeframe to assess whether someone is the right fit without immediately worrying about tribunal risks.By setting a six-month qualifying period, the Government has introduced a compromise that aligns more closely with how most businesses already manage probation. Employers will still need to treat people fairly (and most genuinely do) but they now have a more practical timeframe to make sure the role and individual are the right fit.This will, in our view, make some business owners more confident about hiring again, especially after years of economic uncertainty.A Win for Jobseekers Too — Especially Compared to the Old Two-Year RuleWhile six months isn’t as protective as day one, it’s still a significant improvement on the previous two-year requirement.Many people - especially those ...
