Keep on top of your recruitment processes.

An article in this weeks press stated that many London based firms are struggling to find the right candidates for their roles, despite the volume of candidates available on the market at the moment.

In response to this I would ask the following questions

Are they clear about what they are actually looking for in the first place?

Does this candidate exist and if so, are they likely to be in employment, how many of them are likely to be around and how many people are looking for similar skills?

Are they approaching the whole recruitment process from the right angle? Do they recognise that good candidates will still be picky about their next career despite a tight economy and therefore the recruitment process should be managed appropriately.

Have they thought about why they are an attractive employer as opposed to other firms?

Many firms do not put enough thought into this pre recruitment process. For example, in a tight economy, good sales skills are often highly sought after. Often a company will have to work very hard at selling themselves to attract someone who is going to add hundreds of thousands to their bottom line.

Within marketing recruitment, particular areas of growth are within the online sector with many firms choosing to do business internationally for the UK. Good candidates with online skills and international outlook are in high demand.

Some companies still struggle to fill these roles and if they are not careful will continue to do so when the market has turned completely and when the competition for good candidates will become even more fierce.

A career in Sales

Working in sales is not always the career of choice and if you speak to a range of sales people you will often find out that the majority fell into a career in sales and did not spend their life always aspiring to be a sales person.
Often a career in sales starts from a temporary assignment where applicants find out that they are good at it and enjoy it and are attracted to the possibility of being able to directly influence how much they earn.
Experience in sales is viewed as invaluable for someone who is ambitious and looking for a career where the long term aim is to achieve a higher level business management role . International business schools encourage experience within sales & marketing as an invaluable lesson for the executives of the future.
Certainly if you watch The Apprentice on BBC, you will hear Alan Sugar refer constantly to the importance of sales to the success of a business. Whilst he may not expect his apprentice to have come from a classic sales background he would certainly expect them to know how to sell.
A career in sales is a good way to build confidence. Sales people are judged exclusively by their results. They are expected to have high energy levels and perform consistently at high levels and be able to deal with the challenges that work throws them positively and confidently. However if you are the kind of person that takes rejection personally then a career in sales is not for you.
On the other hand if you are successful in sales then you can be confident about your position in the company as successful sales people are often paid more than other staff members and as long as they are producing healthy revenue for the business, the last to lose their jobs in a market downturn.

Working in sales you will be able to influence thinking, have the chance to travel; sometimes internationally; and you will develop many strong personal qualities along the way including presentation skills, time management, resilience, the ability to handle a variety of situations confidently and calmly and the confidence in being able to promote yourself.

It will also give you the chance to meet hundreds of other people and if you work with a good employer, the chance to progress into management positions.

Sponsor Manuela

I have taken the plunge and signed up for the Yorkshire 3 peaks challenge on 11/07/2009 to raise money for Rainbow Trust Children's Charity (www.rainbowtrust.org.uk). Any support that is given would be gratefully received as I am sure I will need extra motivation to complete the challenge.
I appreciate this is not the best year for fundraising but, any donation however small or big would make a difference and would be appreciated.
For your information Rainbow Trust charity provides practical and emotional support to families who have a child with a life threatening or terminal illness. They support over 1000 families a year.

You can sponsor me online which is easy - just go to my Justgiving page:

http://www.justgiving.com/manuelaboyce1

Justgiving sends your donation straight to Rainbow Trust Children's Charity and automatically reclaims Gift Aid if you're a UK taxpayer, so your donation is worth even more. I hope you'll join me in supporting Rainbow Trust Children's Charity.

Thank you in advance for your support.

Working in Market Research

Working in Market Research.
The UK is one of the world’s largest employers of Market Research professionals and hosts many of the most highly regarded and prestigious Market Research Agencies. These agencies work with a broad range of organisations and help them in their business strategy.
Market research is viewed as an essential tool for businesses and public sector organsiations when gauging the views of its customers, employees and also the markets. It is an invaluable tool for business planning whether looking at growth, reduction or expansion into new markets.
In a recession many firms need to use market research to find out what their customers want as this is a time when many companies need to be sure that they are doing what they can to maintain their revenue. This may result in sticking to what they do well, changing their strategy, lowering margins or even offering other products as part of their core service
Working in market research can be extremely challenging and interesting with opportunities for a broad range of individuals with strong analytical skills as well as interpersonal skills.
Market researchers collect and analyse information on behalf of organisations such as businesses, governments and charities. They analyse consumer opinions and collect data from a variety of sources to enable organisations to make informed decisions.
Market Research professionals often specialise in one sector, such as social or consumer research. They plan and implement research projects, and assess the results. They may also work with organisations, advising how to make best use of the information provided and are used often to shed light on trends in behaviour.
Examples of research include: who and why do people buy certain products, why certain products or events are more popular than others, what is the public opinion on government popularity , which media will be best placed to advertise certain products…
There are two specific types of market research :
Quantitative research which focuses on gathering and analysing information using techniques such as questionnaires and electronic data collection.
Qualitative research which focuses on people's attitudes and motivation, using methods such as focus groups and in-depth interviews.
Some MR roles use skills in both quantitative and qualitative research, however generally these are split and people tend to specialise in one or the other.
Market Research positions can be based within an agency or “client side” meaning employed within a specific organisation’s marketing department.
Where to get skills in market research
Market research can be studied at university as part of psychology, sociology, business management, geography, human sciences and as a module within a Marketing diploma. There are also specialist bodies like the MRS (Market Research Society) which offer courses to individuals looking to enhance their research expertise.
What are the typical job responsibilities?
 Developing relationships with clients including pitching projects ;
 meeting with clients to negotiate and agree research projects;
 researching a specific subject ;
 preparing briefs and commissioning research;
 formulating a research plan/proposal and presenting it to the client or senior management;
 writing and managing the surveys and questionnaires;
 briefing interviewers and researchers ;
 liaising with and managing survey staff including telemarketing professionals ;
 moderating focus groups;
 undertaking ethnographic research (observing people in their homes and other environments);
 conducting qualitative or quantitative surveys, which may involve field, interview or focus group assessments;
 using statistical software to manage and organise information;
 monitoring the progress of research projects;
 analysing and interpreting data to identify patterns and solutions, including surveys and focus group transcripts;
 writing detailed reports and presenting results to the clients;
 advising clients/senior management on how to best use research findings;
 managing budgets;
 working closely with colleagues on research projects;

Teamwork is key when working within market research. It is also essential to have strong analytical skills as there will always be a need for analysis of data even if the role is within Business Development. Research can be done online, face to face and through written questionnaires.
Working in market research also offers good career progression opportunities with many Market research agencies able to offer clear development plans as well as the opportunity for training and mentoring opportunities. In addition company benefits can be excellent with good holiday entitlements and flexible packages at all.

Happy Birthday!

This week we celebrate the 25th anniversary of Boyce Recruitment.



For those of you that did not know Boyce Bilingual was set up in 1984 by Tony Boyce, a recruitment entrepreneur and business man who had set up and run a successful legal recruitment agency.



Operating from offices based in St Pauls, Boyce Bilingual provided linguists with secretarial skills primarily to international banks, law firms and media companies. Located in prestigious offices, with the latest single non electronic typewriter, audio machines and paper records of candidate and company details, Boyce Bilingual seemed well equipped at that time, to launch its services.



In 1994, celebrating its 10th anniversary, Boyce Bilingual was re-branded and re-launched to Boyce Recruitment. Our name was changed to reflect what we did best- Recruitment. To this day, we still work with many of the same international organisations however languages are considered a skill, like any other and are not always a prerequisite.



The use of languages in the workplace has changed dramatically since 1984. Many businesses operate globally and are able to do so confidently with the evolution of new technologies. Language graduates are now being offered a broader range of jobs with languages in every sector of business.



Technology has also evolved from working with a single typewriter in the 1980s to the use of mobile and web technologies. Job applications are now made online more than offline and nowadays it is rare not to be an owner of a mobile phone.



Legislation has also evolved with new acts including the EU working time directive, age discrimination laws, an extension of maternity rights and paternity rights and an increase in holiday entitlement as well as introduction of holiday pay for temp workers.



London has always been an international hub for business and this has been enhanced by the increase in number of EU member countries and opportunities for foreign nationals to work in the UK. In addition, the number of jobs with languages that were rarely heard of including Estonian, Lithuanian, Latvian and Bulgarian are now commonplace.



The range of business that we work with has broadened and includes companies within the media and marketing sector, charities, NGOs, financial institutions, professional services firms and the roles we work on are much more diverse that yesteryear, including an expanding number of online job opportunities.



Tomorrow we will be toasting a new chapter in recruitment and look forward to what the future holds. With the approach of the 2012 Olympics and ever advancing technologies who knows what the picture of recruitment will be in 25 years time.



We would like to extend thanks to the many loyal candidates and customers who have worked with us over the last 25 years.

Manipulating Market Research

Last week The Debating Society hosted an event on Market Research is becoming more of a Manipulator than a Messenger at the House of Commons.

An interesting discussion, with both sides represented by leading speakers. Addressing issues for the Motion were Ben Godacre, author of Bad Science and David walker, MD of Audit Commission ; and Ben Page, MD of Ipsos Mori public affairs and Andrew Hawkins, Chairman of polsters Comres, speaking against.

Ben Godacre argued very strongly that research material was manipulated to enhance stories for the press and, that the way information was sourced did not reflect the truth, but were used for political gain. Examples he gave included the reference to a recent article which quoted a survey of young teenagers and their knowledge of the Holocaust. The “story” in question inferred that a poor proportion of the British young population had any idea whatsoever as to what happened in the Holocaust.

Ben’s argument was that many of the children in question were below the age when the holocaust was taught in schools as part of the national curriculum. Suggesting that their lack of knowledge about the holocaust was down to ignorance and poor teaching standards in schools was therefore a distorted statement and a complete manipulation of the press. He felt that this outlined how market research could be and is used to manipulate the view of the general public for the benefit of a good media story.

Ben Page, of Ipsos Mori, argued against the motion saying that the examples quoted were unfair as they were indeed an abuse of the press and not an indication of the true value of market research. Most market research material is not promoted to the public but used for internal businesses and organisations. Bad polling happens and so does bad journalism.

In fact once the debate opened to the crowd it was apparent that the majority of the house felt that the debate really was about the incompetence of bad journalists.

In summing up Page stated : Accuracy is increasing. Our sophistication in understanding the research process has never been more detailed. Research is better than ever and there is more scrutiny than ever. The idea that we are turning into spin doctors just has to be rejected.

The motion was defeated.

Perhaps we should all think twice if we aren’t already, when reading media stories which quote results of leading polls and really think about where the data has come from and who the data is targeting. After all, the market research industry accounts for a huge proportion of employment opportunities within the marketing mix and would not attract so many academic and educated individuals if the integrity of its policies were truly in doubt.

Working in the Digital arena

Over the past few years we have witnessed steady growth in digital job roles, however this has resulted in a surge in demand for a range of limited candidates.
Whilst it is common to learn digital skills in schools, colleges and universities, many employers are asking for specific skills for their businesses which do not fall into the general skills category. Job roles in demand include content producers, web editors, web developers, technical projects managers and online marketing staff.

Competition for these skills is fierce and employers have found it has become increasingly difficult to recruit - and then retain - people with the right skills.
85% of companies express concern that the skills shortage will continue to have a negative impact on their online business' growth in coming years.

It is vital as a work seeker for this industry, to keep up to date with changing technologies. Learning skills like HTML, Photoshop, dreamweaver, CMS, XML, as well as SEO techniques and online mechanics is vital when considering a career in the online industry.

There will probably come a time when these skills are taught alongside other skills in our schools and universities however this isnt happening yet and in order increase your employment opportunities, increasing your digital knowledge will be critical. The digital sector may end up being one of the few employment sectors that experiences steady salary increases over the next few years.

Companies are offering all kinds of interactive tools to their clients for presentations, marketing and also online procurement. And, in recruitment, it isn’t rare to hear of interviews being recorded for video presentation to clients.