Welcome to December’s blog from Asset Resourcing.

We hope you noticed that we refrained from using the word ‘Christmas’ in last month’s blog? The TV adverts start in August, the shops start putting up decorations in September and from here on in, it’s all you’ll see and hear but from a business and recruitment standpoint, the early bird most certainly gets the worm.

For a lot of companies, Christmas is the key selling point of the year. It’s when a good percentage of business gets done so it’s imperative you are staffed appropriately.

• Have you made sure you are covered over the holiday season?
• Do you know precisely when your employees are away and when they return?
• Have your temp staff been given the appropriate training on your systems and procedures?

If the answer to any of these questions is ‘no’, now is your last chance to get everything in place to ensure a seamless transition over the Christmas period. Make sure you call us today to guarantee high quality temp or cover staff across all areas of your business – Sales & Marketing; Admin & Clerical; Finance & Accounting and IT.

As we alluded to last month, two of our recruiters Annie & Justin are focussing on the new media industry, specifically web development and app development jobs. It is a massive growth area, not just for Asset Resourcing, but for the sector as a whole and while Annie has been with us for a while, we thought it only right to introduce you all to Justin French, so without further ado…

I have been with Asset Resourcing since November 2012.

My job title is Specialist New Media Recruitment Consultant

In an average day, I get into the office and catch up on my overnight correspondence, double-checking everything from the previous day has been actioned. Naturally every day differs, but there is a constant need to keep generating new business, contacting prospective and existing clients and candidates as well as looking for the right candidates to fill some of the most exciting positions in the digital and media space. If there’s a spare six seconds, I’ll grab a sandwich and a coffee!

I like working at AR because it offers me the challenge of building up new clients and in addition, AR is a solid business with an outstanding reputation, not just locally but further afield and while we’re not the biggest recruitment consultancy in the world, we have proven time and time again that we are more than capable of holding our own amongst the biggest players in the market.

For those with web and app development experience, the future is bright because there are a lot of companies who are expanding their recruitment efforts since the economic downturn and due to the lightning-fast pace of the digital and new media industry, there are some fantastic opportunities for the right people in that space, and especially the mobile gaming sector.

A good day in the office is securing interviews for our candidates which lead on to job offers. I have only been here a short while but it was such a thrill the first time it happened, it drives you on to do more, work harder and get results.

The future of web and app development is notoriously hard to predict. Technology is advancing so quickly and we are finding that there are lot of niche start-ups, all looking for the next billion-dollar app sensation and we are happy to help them in any way we can!

Outside of the office, I work as a Sound Designer and Composer for several small game developers and I have worked on a number of AAA games, including Fable “ and Star Wars: The Old Republic.

So there we have it. That’s Justin and he along with the rest of the AR team is available to you for any and all questions, queries or quandaries you have about the recruitment marketplace.

All that remains is for us to wish you a very happy and healthy Christmas and New Year and we very much looking forward to doing all we can for you in 2013.

Ben Sweeting & Michelle Scott, Directors, Asset Resourcing

It’s an all too common stereotypical scenario. If you can’t get a job, you sit around playing computer games all day. While that may be true for a miniscule group of people, for most people in the job market, if you can’t get a job, you spend time looking for a job, knocking on doors (literally and metaphorically) and speaking to recruitment companies like Asset Resourcing who will go all out to find you what you’re looking for.

The reason why we’re talking about computer games this month isn’t to indulge our childlike fantasies of guiding Sheffield Wednesday to Champions League glory in Football Manager, nor is it to demolish Los Angeles in Grand Theft Auto. Rather, it’s to talk about the computer games industry and how two of our recruiters, Annie and Justin are firmly ensconced in a recruitment industry sector that is about to benefit from a huge Government-backed boost.

Let’s first look at the facts –

• The UK games industry is the largest in Europe
• The global computer games market is set to grow to $87bn by 2014
• The UK games development sector contributes around £1bn to UK GDP
• The UK games industry employs 9,000 people, 85% outside of London
• 95% of UK game businesses export their products overseas

The UK boasts a highly qualified and substantial pool of talent that includes world-class creatives and technical geniuses and from the start of April 2013, Chancellor George Osborne is introducing Corporation Tax relief for the video games, animation and high-end television industries.

Dr. Richard Wilson, Chief Executive of trade body TIGA says ‘this is a brilliant decision by the government and terrific news for the UK video games industry’. He predicted that tax relief for the video games sector would cost £96m, but should safeguard almost 5,000 direct and indirect jobs, offer £188m in investment expenditure by studios, increase the games development sector’s contribution to UK GDP by £283m and generate an additional £172m for the Treasury.

Bobby Kotick, CEO of the world’s largest video games publisher Activision Blizzard added that it these tax breaks are ‘a great first step’.

Said tax breaks should put the UK in a stronger position to compete with other countries offering generous financial incentives for video games production, most notably Canada (where games development has risen by a third).

The lightening quick digital world is awash with new and exciting talent and Annie and Justin have secured first mover advantage by having a clear understanding of the requirements of some of the biggest gaming and development companies in the UK as well as positioning themselves head-on to secure the best jobs for candidates and the best candidates for jobs when the tax breaks come into effect at the start of the 2013 financial year.

More gaming and development companies basing themselves in the UK equals more revenue equals more vacancies and Asset Resourcing can offer you some of the best and most exciting jobs in the industry. We knew this was coming and we planned for it which is why so many companies trust us to deliver, first time, every time.

Over the coming months, keep a sharp eye on our IT vacancies, there are going to be some fantastic careers advertised as the industry explodes and as we mentioned, we are perfectly positioned to take full advantage of the coming boom!

As you know, we also have a broad range of Clerical & Admin, Accountancy & Finance and Sales & Marketing roles. Have a look and see what suits you, then contact us and we’ll bend over backwards to help you.

We’d also like to point you towards our Candidate Clinic where we have endeavoured to give you a series of articles that will add real value to your experience with us. From how to write a killer CV and covering letter to interview tips, information about working hours, maternity and paternity rights and tax matters.

If there’s any aspect of the careers market you’d like more information on but isn’t there, let us know.

Have a great month and we’ll see you in December.

Ben Sweeting & Michelle Scott, Directors, Asset Resourcing

PS: We hope you noticed that not once did we mention the word ‘Christmas’. We’re saving that for next month!

…or so says the headline in a two-day report in the Evening Standard a week or so ago.

The report was focussed on youth unemployment inLondonand it’s hard to argue with the facts –

• There are 120,000 16-24 year-olds unemployed inLondon(almost one in four)
• Almost 50,000 claim Jobseekers Allowance
• The annual cost of JSA to the taxpayer is £145m
• 24,000 have been unemployed for more than 12 months

The report highlighted a number of specific cases, including that of Sana Babar, a sixth-form leaver who has applied for a staggering 3,000 jobs in the last year (almost 10 every day) and in that time, she managed to get just four interviews but no job. In addition, not one of the recruiters or companies she applied to gave her any feedback whatsoever.

‘It’s a process that is utterly soul destroying’ she says.

It appears to be a vicious circle. Long term joblessness leads to depression, social exclusion, anger, and crushed self-esteem but without the holy grail of ‘having experience’, it appears to be a circle that never ends.

Another case is that of Mark Fordham, a bright, hardworking 18-year old electronics whiz who failed all his GCSEs after his mother was diagnosed with cancer and he stopped his studies to become her full-time carer. He also reckons he’s applied for ‘several thousand’ jobs but without experience, getting onto the job ladder appears to be much harder.

Much the same can also be said for university graduates. Birmingham University Architecture graduate Debo Ajose-Adeogun; After 250 applications for entry-level positions in the housing construction sector, all he’s managed is three unsuccessful interviews.

‘It’s demoralising. After your tenth rejection you redouble your efforts, after your fiftieth you doubt yourself and after your 150^th, you feel worthless. I even took a job as a part-time sales assistant in a woman’s clothing store. It was menial, minimum wage work but it’s better than nothing’.

The sad statistics don’t just end there. The Higher Education Statistics Agency reports that 9% of full-time graduates (20,620 in all) are still unemployed six months after completing their degrees, compared with just over half that in 2007.

But here is the worst one of all. In 2007, there were 29 applications for every advertised graduate job vacancy. Today, there are 73 and the consequence is that many graduates are now being forced to compete for menial jobs typically filled by those with no qualifications at all – and many are being turned away for…guess what…? Being OVER-QUALIFIED!

One of the issues that needs to be addressed is the perceived mismatch of skills. Who is responsible for failing to ensure a steady stream of young people are entering work and structured training programmes? If this carries on for much longer, social problems mount and the economy becomes stagnant, yet we know that businesses want – need – to recruit and invest in youth because of an increasingly aged workforce.

Therefore, we can’t simply put it down to a weak jobs market, there is a fundamental mismatch between the skills that businesses need and the skills – or lack of – possessed by young people looking for work.

Unfortunately, here at Asset Resourcing we don’t have all the answers. We wish we did. It’s clear that the Government has to ensure young people are leaving school, college and university with better qualifications, MUCH better careers advice and a MUCH better understanding of the nuances of the world of employment.

As a recruitment company, we are well aware of our responsibilities. It’s not just about finding you a job, taking the commission and going on holiday. We know it’s tough out there (we recently advertised for a junior position at Asset Resourcing and got 277 applications) but what we want everyone who comes through our doors (metaphorically and physically) to know is that we are here to help you, to answer any and every question you have and to be your advocate in helping you get the job you want.

It’s about going the extra mile. It’s about us being available to talk through your options and it’s about making sure we work our socks off to get you what you came to us for.

What we will say is this – while it’s hard, don’t get demoralised. Good things happen to good people and if you’re talented, hard-working and ambitious, your perfect job might just be around the corner.

For Accountancy & Finance vacancies, click here

For IT vacancies, click here

For Admin & Clerical vacancies, click here

For Sales & Marketing vacancies, click here

In addition, we also have a wealth of resource information in our Candidate Clinic that you might find interesting. Have a read and let us know what you think, what else you’d like to see and if it was useful.

In the meantime (and for rear of going over old ground), we are here for you. It’s the cornerstone of the Asset Resourcing business model and we encourage you to take us up on our offer!

Until November…

Ben Sweeting & Michelle Scott, Directors, Asset Resourcing

At Asset Resourcing, we like to think we have our collective finger on the pulse. We have a growing list of clients, an ever-increasing pool of talent and we have taken on more staff over the last 12 months but one phrase keeps cropping up when we’re taking to our tech-savvy friends.

How effective is your social media strategy?

Over the last few months, we’ve been reading some startling statistics that have made us sit up and listen –

• 90% of recruiters use social media to source, connect with and engage with talented candidates
• Over 80% have visited a prospective candidate’s social network profile as part of the screening process
• 69% have rejected candidates based on social network content
• 68% have hired a candidate based on their social network profiles
• Over 50% of UK jobseekers use social media to help them find a job

Swings and roundabouts, but the fact remains, social media is about to play an even bigger role in the recruitment process.

Facebook – Facebook as it stands right now is the big one.  It has over 900m members so it’s simple to fathom why it’s becoming a vital resource to recruiters.

On average, members spend 405 minutes a month on Facebook and your business page should give candidates a flavour of the culture of your company. Engage with them. Share tips, thoughts and prompt debate. That way, your company will be regularly fresh in the minds of your ‘fans’.

When we speak to candidates about potential roles, the vast majority will go straight to Facebook to do their ‘research’ before they go to your own corporate website. How are you engaging with the people you want working for you?

Go to Asset Resourcing’s Facebook page for the latest jobs, tips and advice.

Twitter – Twitter has close to half a billion accounts. To be fair, a lot of it is spam but the key to using Twitter as a recruitment tool is being able to target the people you’re looking for. Are you using the right #hashtags? Do you know what keywords your target candidates are searching for? What times of day are your prospects are online?

Once you have this information, you can almost guarantee your jobs are being seen by a community of followers who are already engaging with your industry and who are likely to be good prospects.

Follow Asset Resourcing on Twitter for regular updates and industry information.

LinkedIn – While Facebook and Twitter walk the fine line between social and professional, LinkedIn is purely used for business. There are 160m professional profiles and over 2m business pages and like Twitter, you should be developing a community of connections who are all engaging in discussion threads and sharing industry-specific content which will lead you organically to a relevant talent pool.

Connect with us on LinkedIn.

One example of how a brand engaged with fans on Facebook was the Hard Rock Café. They were opening a new restaurant in Florence and wanted to target fans of specific rock bands to find staff.

Thanks to the embedded features in their Facebook page, they accrued 6,100 ‘fans’ in four days and in the space of four weeks, they received 4,000 job applications!

Hard Rock Café is of course a global brand with a global reach but the same goes for your business. By using social media correctly, you can make lasting connections and facilitate on-going communication with those who you actively want to connect with. It becomes less of a crapshoot and much more targeted.

Asset Resourcing has earmarked dramatic improvements to our social media strategy over the next 12-18 months and once you connect, you’ll be able to engage with us and we’ll be able to engage with you on a more social level.

Have a productive month and we’ll see you in October.

Ben Sweeting & Michelle Scott – Directors, Asset Resourcing

These are from actual CV’s:

“Personal: I’m married with 9 children. I don’t require prescription drugs.

“I am extremely loyal to my present firm, so please don’t let them know of my immediate availability.”

“Qualifications: I am a man filled with passion and integrity, and I can act on short notice. I’m a class act and do not come cheap.”

“I intentionally omitted my salary history. I’ve made money and lost money. I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor. I prefer being rich.”

“Note: Please don’t misconstrue my 14 jobs as ‘job-hopping’. I have never quit a job.”

“Number of dependents: 40.”

“Marital Status: Often. Children: Various.”

“Here are my qualifications for you to overlook.” 

“Responsibility makes me nervous.”

“They insisted that all employees get to work by 8:45 every morning. Couldn’t work under those conditions.”

SPECIAL REQUESTS & JOB OBJECTIVES:

“Please call me after 5:30 because I am self-employed and my employer does not know I am looking for another job.”

“My goal is to be a meteorologist. But since I have no training in meteorology, I suppose I should try stock brokerage.”

“I procrastinate – especially when the task is unpleasant.”

Serious Bit

Although amusing right now, mistakes such as these can be the reason you may not be asked for an interview! Small mistakes can create big problems. Although we offer a CV vetting service at Asset Resourcing make sure you double check you’re CV for errors or else you may end up on our next CV bloopers page!

Have a great weekend!

Khalid Oukhellou

Still number one and a key highlight of our home Olympic Games, Usain Bolt blasted his way into the record books after being the first man to successfully defend his 100 and 200 metre titles. The Jamaican legend powered to his second Olympic gold in the 200 metres final in a blistering time of 19.32 seconds. Finger pinned to his mouth as he crossed the finish line, a gesture to silence the doubters who thought the golden thread that runs through his core had started to fray.

The man… the legend… the greatest… the Lightning Bolt!

Facts & figures

Bolt became first man to retain both sprint titles.

95% The fitness level Bolt claimed he was at before the start of the Olympics inLondon.

Bolt holds two of the best three 200m times ever recorded.

12 Hundredths’ of a second that Bolt beat Blake in both the 100 and 200m.

Our Golden Generation

Now on a total of 52 medals, Team GB are flying! Total dedication and talent has led to our medal cabinet glistening with 25 golds across a variety of events and we’re not finished yet! The Londongames have been a great success for our British Talent. The face of the games Jessica Ennis had to display her strength and determination to win gold in the heptathlon. The likes of Mo Farah showing great endurance and drive to win gold in the 10,000 metres and Sir Chris Hoy stormed into the record books when he won his 6^th gold medal in the keirin cycling to be crowned asBritain’s greatest Olympian. Team GB have inspired a generation and made our nation proud, theLondon games have made history and created an electric atmosphere that will not be forgotten in years to come. With Team GB doing so well we can rest assured we are a nation of true Olympians.

As you may know, the slogan for this year’s Olympics is: faster, higher, stronger.  This has not only inspired many athletes but has also inspired us as a business.  We act fast to your new vacancies. We aim higher to achieve better results for you across the board with vacancies available, the detail in which we process your application and of course the 360 degree recruitment process. Then of course there is our strong team of consultants who are here to service your every need and work tightly together to create the best results for you!

Hopefully Asset Resourcing can bring you Gold to your trophy cabinet in the form of the perfect candidate. Our testimonies should prove our success in being top of the podium every time.

Khalid Oukhellou