General Election day has arrived!

David Cameron has been campaigning through the night and Gordon Brown and Nick Clegg have been completing the final parts of their campaign.  The words “hung parliament” keep recurring and are all over the news today.

I have worked in recruitment for 11 years now and without doubt, the last 18 months have been the toughest of my career.

In our industry, we are front line facing, speaking to candidates and clients on a daily basis and the message that we are now communicating and seeing is that the economy has recovered and that there are increasingly more opportunities available to prospective employees.

People generally don’t like uncertainty and we are without doubt better equipped to deal with certainty and clarity.  Therefore after 18 months of a turbulent economy, a hung parliament will without doubt create further uncertainty.

Some might say that a hung parliament would not have an immediate affect and in fact Switzerland had a hung parliament from 1952-2008 which was entitled “The Magic Formula” …… however “Magic” is not what the UK currently needs and I believe it would have a detrimental affect on morale and impact the feel good factor that has returned to the UK.

David Cameron, general election, Gordon Brown, hung parliament, Nick Clegg, UK

Warning: maintain professionalism at all times!!

Gordon Brown has apologised for the “bigot woman” comment,  he made on Wednesday in Rochdale.  This immediately struck a chord with me.  Sometimes I overhear consultants talking about candidates who have performed exceptionally well during interviews,  however once the interview has ended or they leave the building, they risk ruining all of their hard work by letting their guard down.

For example: being rude to the receptionist on the way in / out of the interview.  Becoming too informal with the interviewer.  It is so easy for this to occur, however we must always be fully aware of our personal or corporate reputation at all times!! Remember that more often than not you represent a company or in Mr. Browns instance, a party.  By forgetting your corporate reputation for a split second, you run the risk of tarnishing your reputation as well as that of your business.  It can take a lifetime to build up a good corporate or brand image, but only a moment for it all to come crashing down irreparrably.  

With the general election less than a week away, it will be interesting to see the impact this comment has on Labour’s popularity!

Bigot, Gordon Brown, Interview advice, interviews

As the sun shines down on the historic city of Bristol today, David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Gordon Brown are preparing to go head to head on Sky News at 8pm.Rumour has it, that David Cameron was seen jogging around the docks of Bristol first thing this morning!

Whilst I was driving into the Bristol office this morning, on my way to work, the local radio station was bursting with “pride” that Bristol had been chosen to host the second debate. The first city being Manchester and the third likely to be in the Midlands.

 Bristol is now known as the “gateway to the South-West” and historically was renowned for its manufacturing and aerospace industries with Concorde making its final flight and resting place based in North Bristol.

In the last 20 years, there have been a significant number of companies who have relocated their head offices in Bristol and the South-West including Lloyds, AXA and Orange amongst others.  At the time this hugely impacted recruitment and career opportunities for the local community. 

Whilst the last 18 months have been challenging for many companies within Bristol, we are now seeing further confidence in the market place. 

 As the days pass, there is a significant increase in job opportunities and businesses opening their doors to us on a more frequent basis. With tonight’s debate, this further heightens the excitement in the Bristol community that seems to be building. Post-election, we anticipate further growth, stability and the feel good factor remaining.

Bristol, David Cameron, Gordon Brown, Secretarial and Support, Sky news