Your CV or resume has probably been the first and possibly only tool you have been using to apply for jobs so far.  You probably update it every time you decide to move jobs as you know recruiters always want a copy and employers often ask you to talk through it at the start of a job interview.

A resume or CV is not the only way to get noticed by potential employers

However – as well as keeping your CV/resume polished and up-to-date, it’s worth being aware of the other methods that companies are starting to employ in order to filter out strong candidates.

The Wall Street Journal yesterday reported that a venture capital firm, Union Square Ventures asked investment analyst job applicants to submit links representing their ‘web presence’ such as a Twitter profile or blog. They were also asked to supply short videos demonstrating their interest in the position.

The reason for employers’ interest in these new ways of sourcing candidates is that CVs can be a limited way to find out information about an individual.  They provide the important, but basic factual information on work experience and education.  However, there is little insight into personality and the possible ‘fit’ the candidate may have with the rest of the company.

In the current uncertain economic climate, every hire a company makes it crucial and employers are likely to be more interested than ever in finding out more about the person they might be interviewing.  So even if your recruiter or interviewer only asks for a CV or resume, it’s definitely worth spending time carefully creating and moulding your online persona as it may well help your next career move.

For advice on how to stand out from the crowd both in your CV/resume and online, contact Morgan McKinley: marketingdepartment@morganmckinley.co.uk

candidates, career move, cv, job interview, Morgan McKinley, potential employers, resume, Union Square Ventures

This week, we released a salary survey which provides market intelligence into hiring and remuneration across the financial services sector in London. Over the course of 2010, we saw increased hiring activity within this sector. According to Morgan McKinley’s widely read monthly London Employment Monitor, the total number of job vacancies increased by 48% year-on-year. Whilst this is a pleasing increase, it is still at relatively suppressed levels when compared to pre-recession levels.

Other key findings from our research are also positive. Well over half of hiring managers (62%) expect to see salaries increase over 2011. Only a quarter (26%) expect them to stay the same. This not only reflects an improving market and a stronger demand for talent by our clients but is a strong indication of how, once again, it is becoming increasingly difficult to attract and retain staff. Over half (52%) of our clients cited that attracting and retaining staff would be the key driver for salary increases this year. Combined with these results, the whole subject of bonus is clearly a key barometer of market conditions. Whilst the largest percentage of our clients (38%) felt that bonuses would remain similar to 2009/10, over a quarter (27%) felt they would increase in the 2010/11 bonus round. Overall, the trends and key indicators for 2011 continue to point to further improvement in the employment market.

Download our 2011 London Salary Survey as a pdf [2.92 MB] >>

We hope you find this salary guide informative. If you have any questions, feedback or would like to discuss any of the findings in this salary survey, please feel free to contact me or any of my colleagues here at Morgan McKinley for further information. Finally, I would like to thank you for your continued support and wish you all the best in your employment endeavours in 2011.

2011 salary survey, Careers, Financial Services, financial services salary survey, London, London salary survey, Morgan McKinley, recruitment

From January 2011, VAT is set to increase to 20% in a move the Chancellor expects to raise around £13billion annually, to pay off the UK’s monster deficit.

Many have welcomed the changes, heaping praise on the government for avoiding any additional reliance on income tax payers. This move towards indirect tax has also been popular with other European governments.

That’s all well and good but as a regressive tax, any increase in the rate of VAT was always going to be controversial. Predictions as to how this affects household budgets average out at around £400 annually; this could hit poorer families very hard indeed whilst high earners are unlikely to feel the pinch in quite such a painful manner.

The effect on business is likely to be mixed. For those unable to recover all the VAT they incur, the increase will represent a significant hike in operating costs. For businesses close to the edge, this could be the final straw. The winners are likely to be the biggest companies, able to absorb the costs gaining market share at the expense of smaller rivals.

In the public sector, the NHS for example is likely to feel the pinch as the increase will reduce the amount of real cash available for frontline services. Other key public services are likely to suffer similar effects.

As the increase will take much needed spending power out of the economy, there’s a real possibility of it affecting our fragile economic recovery. Growth figures over the last six months have been outstanding but concern is growing that this spending flurry could be the result of an increase in spending prior to January’s VAT-fuelled price-hike. A higher rate of VAT will not be the sole cause of a double-dip recession but currently, the economy needs all the help it can get.

Morgan McKinley, Tax, VAT

I have been asked a few times recently, when is it really a good time to make a move to another organisation? Well, like most things, there is never really a bad time to move. There is a misconception in the market that considering a move before Christmas is not a good idea. Well this isn’t true and I’ll now explain why.

Firstly, Christmas brings cold weather, longer lunches and generally good spirits which coincides quite well with hiring managers scrambling to fill head count before year end! Therefore, there is a good chance you will find yourself a good role with very good reward as a result. Secondly, by moving before the New Year, you miss the bonus rush, so you avoid creating unnecessary competition for yourself. Come Q1/Q2 when bonuses are paid, the percentage of employees searching for new opportunities naturally increases considerably. Therefore, by looking early, you give yourself a competitive advantage!

For those who argue they would rather receive their bonus first before considering a move, you must consider that not only will new organisations consider buying out your bonus, but some are beginning to be more flexible with start dates. For example, some employers will be prepared to wait two or three months for a new permanent employee to join their team.

Finally, by starting a new role in January, whilst most businesses run a January – December financial year, this means that you are able to work a full 12 months and be eligible for a full quota bonus. The other issue with starting half way through the year is that you may only be considered for a pro-rata bonus based on the time you join the new institution.

Therefore, to summarise, now is as good a time as any to look for new opportunities in the market. If you have any questions relating to the above, or are keen to speak to specialist consultants regarding new opportunities, please don’t hesitate to call Morgan McKinley on 0207 557 7222.

christmas, December, Hiring, jobs, Morgan McKinley

November 17th  (Bloomberg)  -  Chris Leeson, managing director at Morgan McKinley, talks about U.K. employment and the outlook for the economy. He speaks with Andrea Catherwood on Bloomberg Television’s “The Pulse.”
(Source: Bloomberg)

http://www.bloomberg.com/video/64578684/

5% Increase, Andrea Catherwood, bloomberg, Chris leeson, Financial Services, FS, Job vacancies, London, Morgan McKinley, Morgan McKinley London employment Monitor, Salaries, The Pulse

In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn’t commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune.  If you have a problem, if no one else can help and if you can find them, maybe you can hire…the A-Team.

For the late 20-somethings and early/ mid 30s amongst us, you’ll easily recall them. And with three years in the making and nearly 24 years of avid fans patiently waiting, the A-Team movie finally hits our cinema screens. The awesome quartet of Face, BA, Murdoch and their sophisticated, cigar-smoking leader, Hannibal will once again grace us with that all too familiar storyline…

Someone is in need of help (usually a damsel in distress), to fight off some nasty villains. For no apparent reason Hannibal gets a tip from one of the team that someone needs their help. He arranges a meeting in which he turns up in disguise to suss out his new client. I must admit I don’t ever recall an episode where he rejected a job because of insufficient skills or credit. So an agreement is made and the A-Team are again employed!

Here is really where the plot thickens. The A-Team conducts a stake out in order to let the aggressors find out who they are. After a series of fisticuffs, B.A throwing someone over a car and a few thousand rounds fired without actually hitting anyone, the aggressors run off to report back to their now very angry employer.

The next scene then involves one or more of the A-Team being kidnapped and locked away in a shed/bunker/garage that often has enough tools and material to build a tank. Lucky that…

Clearly, they escape, but let’s not take anything away as they are after all a crack commando unit. So once free, they fight back, gain power back to the good guys and another successful mission is complete.

I suppose you are wondering what this has to do with recruitment. Well, to be honest, not an awful lot,  however with this long-awaited film going on general release today, it just got us at Morgan McKinley thinking drama and excitement aside, the A-Team exemplifies a group of people who work exceptionally well together as a team to meet targets and achieve results on deadline. They move from one successful project to the next deploying this effective strategy and enjoying their work at the same time. It’s not often that we recommend that our candidates should head to the cinema for tips on making themselves more employable, however on this occasion it might just be a good plan.

I love it when a plan comes together…

A-Team, Morgan McKinley, recruitment

Steve Carter, CEO of Asia-Pacific, Morgan McKinley

Growing up in suburban Sydney the rest of the world literally seemed a million miles away and we were encouraged to consider Australia as the “lucky country” so why go anywhere else. My earliest impressions of the “big bad world” came from American and British TV, Greek and Italian kids I went to school with and a monthly trip to the local Chinese restaurant.

Out of all of these China was the most exotic – it was communist, there was the Great Wall and every toy I owned was “Made In China”. Even then it was obviously a budding industrial powerhouse, “sneaking up” on the unsuspecting West but little did I think that 30 years on I would spend most of my working week in Asia and that the world would spend most of its time gazing in amazement at China.

With its massive population and huge domestic consumption China is growing (fast) in spite of the West’s trials and tribulations of currency disasters, political shakeups, global financial crises and volcanic ash clouds. The demand for skilled professionals is just as vast with Chinese and international corporates all looking to share in the spoils but there is an irony about those professionals that hold all the cards. Back in my school days we had a small but increasingly diverse group of kids and cultures all of whom we (wrongly) seemed to consider as “disadvantaged” in one way or another but in 2010 the children of those “disadvantaged foreign kids”,  particularly the ABC’s (American/Australian Born Chinese) and BBC’s (British Born Chinese), are the hottest ticket in town. Their English/Chinese language skills, ability to think cross culturally and identify with western practices is helping provide China with a bridge to the rest of the world. Sure China produces its own outstanding professionals but over the past 30 years they have been incubating talent in the West just for this very moment when they can drive the economic Ferrari into the spotlight.

If only I had known then what I know now! When my school taught us basic French and German (why in Australia?), why didn’t they teach us Chinese so we could all share in this economic event? Today, lots of things under the Christmas tree are still made in China but the one getting all the attention at the moment is the people, not necessarily made in China , but a product of China nonetheless!

China, Great Wal, industrial powerhouse, Made In China, Morgan McKinley