Click to view the Accounting, Finance & Support Salary Survey | UK 2012

To gain insight into hiring and salary trends for 2012, we surveyed 350 senior-level operational and HR managers working in accounting, finance and support. We targeted three areas: commerce & industry, professional services and the public sector.

These are clearly diverse markets but overall, the outlook is that there will be modest growth in 2012, at a rate similar to 2011. Positively, more than half of the firms we surveyed (including multinational corporations and SMEs) have hiring plans for Q1 2012.

On the whole, salaries are expected to remain relatively stable in 2012. Increasingly professionals are considering ‘holistic’ packages rather than focusing on basic salary offers. Elements such as flexible benefits, work/life balance and professional development are becoming more important to job seekers.

We hope you find this salary survey informative. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to contact me directly on +44 (0) 207 092 0078 or email cleeson@morganmckinley.co.uk.

Accounting, accounting salaries, business support salaries, Finance & Support Salary Survey 2012, finance salaries, office support, salary survey 2012, secretarial salaries, UK salaries 2012

The first week back in the office is always hard work isn’t it? How do you feel once you are back at your desk, with no more Christmas parties to look forward to? Chances are, it’s not your favourite time of the year but for many this is a time to start thinking about what they want to change about their career in 2012.

Here are our top tips for the best start to a job search in 2012:

1. Make a plan

A good start to the New Year is writing up a detailed game plan. What role do you want to move into and how are you going to make sure you get there?  Reflect on what you really want in your next role. Explore your options by researching potential careers, jobs and employers.

2. Network

Gain insight into your desired role and opportunities in 2012 by making contact with people already working in the industry. Showcase your skills by creating an online presence on social networking sites such as LinkedIn. Ensure your LinkedIn page optimises the right key words as part of your job search.

3. Gain new skills

Attending training courses, professional development seminars or working towards a new qualification will add to your skill set and make your CV stand out from the crowd.

4. Freshen up your CV

Ensure your CV is completely up-to-date with your current role and responsibilities.  Focus on accomplishments rather than responsibilities.  Check out our CV preparation page.

Send in your updated CV to london@morganmckinley.co.uk

2012, career, cv, CV Preperation, jobs, Linkedin, Networking, new job, Nwew Years resolution, Top tips

Last Thursday our secretarial and office support team hosted an evening of glamour for secretarial and office support professionals in association with women’s charity Dress for Success.

charity, cupcakes, Dress for Success, Hairdresser, Hobbs, Mary Kay makeup, nails, office support, secretarial and office support, secretarial jobs, secretaries, Spray tan

Ensure your LinkedIn page optimises the right key words as part of your job search, the most obvious place is under skills and experience as consultants will use Boolean LinkedIn searches. Use the correct key words wherever possible.

I wanted to share with you a few simple but effective ways to improve your visibility online. These days good consultants employ excellent boolean search strategies and are always determined to find good candidates.  We are less reliant on advertising responses and particularly for specialist roles rely upon proactive searching of candidates via LinkedIn or key recruitment websites.  So if you don’t want to go to the effort of applying for roles, simply optimise yourself and you will be certain someone like me will find you!

These days most of us know about SEO (search engine optimisation). For years companies have been working out the search engine algorithms employed by Google.  I read a fascinating book which I would recommend named after the Goolge button, ‘I’m Feeling Lucky’ . This book gives you an insight into the early inner circles of the Google sanctum.

How does this relate to your job search?

There is a more passive way of finding a new job by ensuring your web presence is optimised! Firstly start with your CV.  If you place your CV on websites like Monster you are prompted to select your key words to maximise your visibility.

Make your CV SEO friendly

Consultants like me will attempt to hunt you down with boolean search strategies to identify the closest fitting candidate to our jobs. If you want to be found, just like your company website, you will need to be SEO friendly.

For example, if I am recruiting for Head of eCommerce, I will search under the key words ‘Head of eCommerce’ or ‘Head of online’ and so on.  If your job title is senior online and content Manager, I may not find you.

If you are looking for a particular job title, repeat these key words on your CV to ensure you come appear high in searches.

Optimise your LinkedIn profile

Ensure your LinkedIn page optimises the right key words as part of your job search, the most obvious place is under skills and experience as consultants will use Boolean LinkedIn searches. Use the correct key words wherever possible.

boolean, Curriculum Vitae, cv, Linkedin, online cv, Search Engine optimisation, SEO

To organise a confidential chat,email Eleanor at ebarry@morganmckinley.com

Continuing from my last update on the Australian technical and engineering market, the industry continues to show strength across Australia despite the global economic downturn. Perth, South Australia and Queensland continue to have high demand for engineering professionals driven predominantly by the mining and resources boom while in New South Wales the specialist areas leading the way are infrastructure, construction and rail. There is a shortage of talent for the mid-senior level positions across project management, design and business development and candidates with international experience, a degree/chartered qualification and over ten years’ experience are particularly sought after.

There is no question that making the move abroad can be daunting particularly given the number of opportunities available and the diverse range of locations roles are based in across Australia. Two important factors to consider which can have a significant impact on the success of your move are the types of projects you would like to be involved in and the sort of lifestyle you are seeking. For example would you live in a remote location with limited access to social and leisure activities in return for higher pay, better benefits and interesting work or would you prefer to live in a city near beautiful beaches with great opportunities to build friends and networks for you and your family even at the expense of a few extra dollars.

Working for one of the multi-disciplinary consultancies headquartered in Sydney could potentially offer you the best of both worlds. Your family could be based in one of the best cities in the world and you could still work on a range of interesting assignments as you are seconded to projects based in Sydney and across the wider country. In Sydney there are a number of major developments currently under way including the Barangaroo development, the Southern City Freight line and the Port Botany expansion to name a few and many of the companies involved in these developments are also running significant projects across a range of locations around Australia.

So if you are considering making the move be sure you do your research and carefully consider each opportunity presented to you.

Lets us take the time to understand what’s important to you and ensure your move to Australia delivers all that you are seeking.

To organise a confidential chat, email Eleanor Barry at ebarry@morganmckinley.com

Australia, Construction, design, engineering, Global economic downturn, infrastructure, international experience, moving to Oz, Oz, Project management, rail, Skills, skills shortage, Technical

I read a very interesting article on the Accountancy Age website recently about the lack of female progress onto boards. The author, former PwC director Francois Moscovici, discussed whether the chronic under-representation of women on boards is a talent pool or company issue, and suggested ways forward. She believes more companies need to refine their recruitment practices, systematically include women on board short lists and better manage their executive pipelines – steps I very much agree with.

View the full article here

The facts and figures around this issue continue to be disheartening. According to Corporate Women Directors International, almost a quarter of the world’s 200 largest companies still do not have a single woman on their boards of directors. And the picture in the UK definitely needs improving. The representation of UK female board directors (14.3%) lags well behind Norway (39%), Latvia (23%), Sweden (21.9%), France (20.5%) and other nations.

I believe that increasing these percentages can only be a good thing. Surely greater diversity in boards will lead to more informed, sounder decision making? In her article, Moscovici argues that women lack the confidence and attitude to push themselves through the glass ceiling and that they will only apply for a job if they are 100% confident about their competence. In my experience as a recruiter I haven’t noticed a significant difference between the genders in this respect but in this current economic climate, perhaps a few more risk averse board members is just what we need!

Source: Accountancy Age, 12/09/11

Accountancy Age, diversity on boards, women on boards

So now you’re fully qualified! You’ve passed all your exams and done your time to become a fully fledged chartered accountant. But what next?

With over 6,000 newly qualified accountants this year alone, what you really need is a CV that’s going to get you noticed above the competition. Here are a few tips:

First impressions count

Aim for 1.5 – 2 pages but avoid using large fonts, double line spaces, and eccentric type faces to fill up the space and make it look longer – they didn’t work at school and they don’t work now! Ariel, Calibri or Times New Roman, in size 11 is the norm.

There’s a fairly standard layout for CVs, which is usually:

• Name, address and contact details, plus visa status where applicable, as a header
• A brief personal summary, where you work, your strengths, your goals etc.
• Education details (e.g. university, school, A-levels, GCSE grades etc)
• Any language skills and level of proficiency
• Your work experience, starting with the most recent first and working backwards
• Personal interests and achievements

Show your personality

It’s really important to express your personality as this is what often separates you from other job seekers. This doesn’t mean witty one-liners, more that you should add some detail on what you do outside of work so people get an idea of you as a person. If you’ve climbed Kilimanjaro, or knitted a blanket for charity, then that’s worth mentioning and it will really make you stand out from the crowd.

As a newly qualified accountant, your CV is more likely to be ‘chronological’ rather then ‘functional’ which is more common at the senior end when you are targeting a specific role or company. Your employment history on a chronological CV should follow the traditional format of: dates of employment; name of employer; size and business type; followed by your job title; responsibilities you’ve had and any specific achievements in the role. Try to avoid short 2-3 word bullet points – a coherent sentence for each bullet reads much better.

The best CVs for a newly qualified accountant in practice should also include your top two or three clients and what you did for them. Perhaps it was a specific IFRS conversion Or maybe you audited one of your clients’ overseas entities? It really helps to give potential employers a good feel for what you’ve done and the types of companies/industry sectors you’ve had exposure to.

Check – and then double check

Finally, read it and re-read it to check for any spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Get friends, family or colleagues to give it a once over too before you apply for a position, because once you’ve pressed send, you can’t get it back!

ACA, CA, cv, CV tips, exams, ICAEW, Newly qualified ACA, Practice

The Banker’s recently published annual Top 1000 World Banks report contains some interesting insights and changes from FY 2009 to FY 2010.

The report starts by highlighting that ‘the good times are back’, an interesting statement as it then goes on to highlight some significant issues for the banking system in Europe. Some of the differences in data when ranking US banks against European banks are down to interest rate changes – with the euro and sterling having depreciated against the dollar in 2010.

Particularly notable highlights for FY 2010 from the Top 1000 World Banks 2011 report:

•Globally banks profits are up 77% to $709bn – $80bn short of the pre-crisis peak in 2007
•Total Tier 1 Capital* for the top 1000 banks rose by 10.5% on last year
•105 banks returned to profit in this year’s ranking from last year’s losses – while only 14 have tipped from profit to loss
•In the UK, Tier 1 Capital and assets both fell
•Among the top 25 banks, all UK and eurozone banks slipped down this year’s ranking (except for Asia-focused HSBC)
•Only one of the top four Greek banks suffered a loss in 2010 – largely due to conservative underwriting and funding strategies pre-crisis
•China’s share of global banking profits has more than doubled to 21% from 2007 to 2010
•Japanese banks saw year-on-year profit growth of at least 50% in the financial year ended March 2011 (partly due to the Yen appreciating 11% in 2010)
•Asian banks are showing sustained outperformance relative to the most developed markets: 17 of the top 25 banks for asset growth are from China

As leading global financial services recruiters, we look with interest to see how global bank performance changes and what economic, political and legislative changes will impact the market over the remainder of H2 2011.

*Tier 1 Capital is a key indicator of banks’ financial strength from a regulator’s perspective. It is composed of core capital and disclosed reserves and may also include non-redeemable, non-cumulative preferred stock.

No tags

Do recruiters exist to send over multiple CVs hoping that one will fit the bill?  Or telling candidates exactly what to say to impress hiring managers?

Actually no – there’s far more work that goes into matching jobs with professional job seekers.

Networking
Good professional recruiters gain their reputations from being able to provide an overview of the entire market. Very few HR or line managers have the time or network to know who to approach, what their competitors’ hiring strategies are or what is being paid in bonuses at any given time. It takes constant research and communication with employers and job seekers to gain this knowledge.

Facilitating the process
Managers tasked with hiring can rarely afford the time involved in the recruitment process. They will focus on the selection process. So what makes the job seeker think that the company is an attractive place to work? How do they go about negotiating remuneration?  Who keeps them in the loop when there is a delay in the process? That’s where the recruiter comes in – picking up where the hirer just doesn’t have time, keeping the candidate interested and the process moving.

Specialist knowledge
In industries like banking, IT and life sciences recruiters will not go far unless they know the market. It’s hard to recruit a product controller for a bank or a java developer for a business intelligence company without understanding what the role involves and where it fits in the business. Employers are relying on recruiters to be well-briefed on market developments to anticipate demand and meet clients’ hiring needs.

Finding the elusive candidate
The best person for a job may is often not looking for a new role. This is the candidate that a business will rarely attract alone. The recruitment company however, is expected to know who is out there whether actively looking or not. They will do the research, make the approach and in many cases present their clients in the best light to a job seeker, making a job move highly attractive.

So, there are a number of assumptions and expectations of professional recruiters that actually require a great deal of research, networking, communication and negotiation behind the scenes. The fees attached to this work are a reflection of the hours involved in ensuring that an employer hires the very best person for their job and somebody with the potential for a good career with that company.

the role of the recruiter, what recruiters do

On last night’s episode of The Apprentice, both teams struggled to grasp the idea of the reinvestment task, whereby they were given a pallet of stock from a wholesaler to sell to the public. The real challenge was to make a profit by reinvesting in stock they knew would sell. At the end of the show, chatterbox Melody Hossaini was silenced by Lord Sugar when she became the latest contestant to be fired.

Over the course of the season we’ve watched Melody demonstrate some great skills; consistently taking big risks and putting herself forward as project manager.

It was clear that firing Melody was not an easy decision for Lord Sugar to make. Unlike the usual slaughter house style axing, Sugar commented, “You three have given me a bit of a dilemma to consider here”. Lord Sugar’s final line before dismissing Melody was “It is with regret, Melody, that you’re fired”. After Melody left the boardroom he said, “We have a woman of exceptional ability there I think, but it is a cruel process”.

Will Lord Sugar live to regret his decision? Like he did in the 2010 series after sacking Lizz over Stuart Baggs? Time will tell.

The advice we can offer:

Employers – clearly you won’t be under as much pressure with cameras rolling to make a decision on the future talent of your company, but choosing the right professional, no matter how many rounds of interviews are done, is always a gamble. Using an experienced recruitment consultant will  reduce that risk so always seek their advice and make sure you are working with the best.  Remember, a recruitment consultant’s success is measured by matching the right individual to the right role, consistently.

Job seekers - clearly Melody was talented, Lord Sugar thought so, and so are you, but often when you are up against competition that appears equally as good as you, it’s hard to not feel bruised when you’re not chosen. Learn from knock backs and work to gain more experience until you get that offer.  Be patient, confident and believe in yourself. The right role will come along for you. Trust me, I am a recruitment consultant…

BBC, BBC1, Careers, Karren Brady, Lord Sugar, Melody Hossaini, recruitment, The Apprentice