subject: There Have Been Further Signs Of Optimism About Economic Recovery And Jobs [print this page] While the Bank of England continues to warn that the UK economy is expected to zigzag in and out of growth over 2012 there have been yet more reports of employer optimism this week, this time from a recruitment agency.
This agency surveyed 2,000 employers and found that they were seeing encouraging signs of growth, leading them to more of them being willing to take on staff, particularly permanent staff.
The employer outlook was particularly bright in London, thanks to the forthcoming Olympics.
This is good news for candidates seeking a career move, perhaps from admin or secretarial to a position as a PA or EA. It is equally good news for candidates who are between jobs and anxious to get back into work.
Nevertheless the Recruitment Industry's professional body, the REC (Recruitment and Employment Confederation) emphasises that it wants to see the chancellor produce a budget for growth and jobs when he makes his annual budget statement later this month.
It highlights some very specific areas that it feels should be tackled including more decisive action on reducing employment "red tape" which is frequently cited by employers as a disincentive to increasing employment. The REC argues that new and existing regulations are still a serious hindrance to growth.
In particular it wants to see a review of the new Agency Worker regulations introduced last year and also an overhaul of domestic legislation like the Employment Agencies Act.
It has also said it wants to see measures that encourage business innovation, boost competitiveness and improve business confidence so that businesses feel able to plan to expand their workforces.
Even with the more positive outlook candidates already involved in job hunting will continue to need to put every effort into presenting themselves as favorably as possible for the foreseeable future because even if the budget does contain the measures employers and the REC are asking for, it would take some time for them to have any effect on the job market.
Talking to an experienced recruitment agency is a useful way of getting feedback on the style, construction and layout of a CV. An agency is likely to be better informed about the current acceptable presentation of a CV and also can advise on tailoring it to the requirements outlined for each specific vacancy.
It is also useful to practice interview techniques and the initial consultation with the recruitment agency will help with this too.
Having been accepted as a candidate with a recruitment agency will not only help with the self confidence, it gives access to support, guidance and to jobs that may not have been widely advertised or may not have been advertised at all.
