Posts Tagged ‘project manager’

Career progression with languages

Friday, April 19th, 2013

This week Samantha Judd, Director of the Multilingual & Corporate Services team talks about languages and job opportunities. 

 

Today more of the world’s population is bilingual or multilingual than monolingual, and research in 2012 has confirmed that if you do speak more than one language, you are likely to be smarter than your monolingual counterpart.   Research showed that bilingualism helps develop the attention span and task switching functionality and thus linguists are afforded flexibility of thought and the ability to cope with change; both huge advantages in the work landscape of 2013.  Cognitive benefits have been identified in young children as their ability to adapt to change affords them greater confidence and security,  and in older people evidence shows a less rapid decline in cognitive functions during ageing.

Multilingualism and multiculturalism naturally enhances individuals opportunities in the work place.  Not only are they likely to be smarter, more confident and resilient to change,  the globalised nature of work is clear for all to see.   The evidence presents itself to us daily through the brands and logos which appear in all corners of the world and confirm that we are all consumers regardless of geography, language and culture.

Multi-national organisations invest significant amounts into localising their products and marketing messages to engage local markets both linguistically and culturally.  Additionally, the rise of social media is significant to brand capital and communication of brand values; linguists are in demand to ensure the Anglophone focussed business communication does not misinterpret, insult or ridicule the product or service locally.   Localised digital content should not only be linguistically accurate but culturally “in & of the moment” and the value of this should not be underestimated.

Korn Ferry research from a poll conducted by 12,500 visitors to their website suggested that bilingualism is already a significant hiring factor in senior roles with this demand expected to continue to increase.

At boycerecruitment we believe that the difference to our candidate’s opportunities of multilingualism is shown in later career rather than in the early days. Multilingualism will advantage you against your co- workers as the cognitive, personality and social benefits allow you to progress; you become more promotable and hence increase your earning potential.

Do multilingual individuals earn more money ?   As far as I am aware no specific research has been conducted in the UK on this, however an article in NY Times in 2012 suggested that the advantages to human capital gained from multilingualism would enable greater opportunities for career advancement.  This coupled with the cognitive benefits would allow individuals a greater amount of time to continue to work at reach the top level and thus enable more income producing years.

I am not bilingual but I would like to be.  Working in multilingual recruitment for over 20 years has allowed me to clearly see and track the benefits that have been presented to my colleagues, candidates and clients.  My advice to anyone looking for work with languages is to focus on the actual content of the job role and ensure that it is something that would challenge you regardless of how much language use there is initially.  I do however stress to candidates that multilingualism should be cherished and that it will pay dividends in later career.  There is always a chance to  promote your linguistic ability by communicating socially with colleagues & friends, offering help on global projects wherever needed or liaising with overseas offices.   It is never too late to start, so if speaking another language has always been a dream go for it; the health, career and social benefits will be an investment that you will not regret.

Jobs review: 2012 was good year for middle skilled market researcher job seekers

Friday, December 7th, 2012

It’s a pretty good time to look for work in market research if you have just passed your “2 years work experience” threshold and are ready to move to the next level. Over 68% of jobs taken this year at Boyce were at “mid” level: namely positions for:  Senior Research Executives, Research Managers, Client Managers, Project and Senior Project Managers and  Account Managers.

This is surprising as the number of purely commercial roles we have taken (Business Development, Commercial directors who’s focus is purely to drive revenues) have dropped in comparison to 2011 which is probably an after reaction to the huge drive for Business development specialists in 2011.

12% of the roles we took in 2012 were specifically requesting language skills. The way that the internet has influenced research over the past 5 years is phenomenal. Many major Online Research specialists rely on overseas revenue to succeed and yet they still chose to centralise their operations in London.  

2012 has been a great time for candidates who are overseas and wanted to build on their online experiences and apply for work in the UK.  London is seen as the centre for cutting edge research and methodologies and many of the major players in the online and digital arena are based in London.

Certainly the opportunities for growth as a research specialist in other European countries have been limited. This is partly due to economic factors (we have seen a rise in the number of Greek, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese applicants, for example) but also due to the limited number of market research agencies and therefore job opportunities in the respective countries.

The demand for senior divisional directors or global directors has been consistent with 2011, with a steady but smaller number of jobs taken. This is just as expected as there are, quite frankly, fewer opportunities all round at that level.  

Overall salaries have not changed however the healthcare and digital sectors have both offered the highest remuneration often a good 15% more than other sectors. The demand for talent in these areas has continued to thrive and we have seen an increase in the number of candidates outside of this sector who have chosen to move into healthcare and digital related research.

 

Payroll corner : Monica Popescu

Friday, November 30th, 2012

If you ever wondered who sorts our the temporary weekly payroll and looks after the day to day accounts then meet Monica. ….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How did you end up at Boyce recruitment?

I was asked by a friend if I could do a one day assignment at one of Boyce recruitment’ clients using the Romanian language as she was unavailable for the placement. Following this, the consultant dealing with this client arrange for me to come to the offices to register, but on the day I was due to attend she was off sick and sent a message cancelling the appointment which  fortunately for me I didn’t receive in time. When I arrive at the offices , I met Samantha and the rest is history.

Why did you choose to work in accounting?

As most of my work experience since leaving college involved accountancy in one way or another, I felt this would be an obvious choice of career path for me.

 

What do you enjoy the most about your job ?

Receiving positive feedback and comments from the candidates and clients.

 

What are the main challenges?    

Meeting the payroll deadline and keeping track of the constant changes in the accounts.

 What are the three most important qualities in a good accounts/ payroll specialist?

Accuracy, punctuality and presentation

What advice would you give someone who was thinking about a career in the industry? 

The recruitment industry if a fast paced and challenging environment which does not tolerate many mistakes.

                                                                                                        

How has working in the recruitment industry changed since you started?

Due to the current economic climate, with a lot of businesses struggling and making cut backs, recruitment agencies need to work harder to find new clients and competition is much greater

What is the biggest lesson you have learnt in life?

It’s far better to be nice to people .

What would you be doing if you weren’t in accountancy?

I would probably be working in an office administration or PA role.

 

If you were sent to a desert island, what three objects would you take with you?

Ipod, my cat and shoes

 

What makes a good market research project manager?

Wednesday, July 18th, 2012

What makes a good Market Research Project Manager

I was amazed to hear from one of our clients last week, that despite 28 first interviews  held in their last recruitment process, they only managed to secure one hire in the whole process. I was chuffed to bits that after sending only 2 people, the chosen shortlisted candidate was mine.

This didn’t really help the client much as they are still left with a number of roles to fill.

Sometimes it is difficult to spot a good candidate until you meet them but here are my top 5 pointers that make the difference between an average candidate and a good market research project manager candidate:

  • time management  (this is critical as all projects have a time scale and deadline, sometimes it is about understanding what the real deadline is, and whether this can be achieved without sacrificing the integrity of the project and the  end result)#
  •  ability to juggle priorities  (frequently project managers work on more than one assignment and they need to be able to juggle what is urgent and what is important
  • an understanding of the demands of a market research project   (knowing what the chain of events is and how this affects different parts of the business is critical in understanding how to be successful)
  • managing relationships  (internal and external)  this is critical, being able to deal with difficult people;  being able to extract the exact information you want from a client who isn’t very willing to give it;  being able to manage their expectation and achieve a win/win situation
  • knowledge of the market research agency process. The industry is extremely competitive and being able to sound like an expert, or certainly someone who knows how to run the whole process is critical to success.

In many ways these elements are typical to the success of many roles and jobs in London but they are definitely good pointers when applying for a new role . How does your application for in with the above?

Interview of the week : Market Research Project Manager

Monday, April 16th, 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week our featured job is for a market research project manager. Elika has been working in the industry for a number of years and now features specifically within the Online arena.

Why is your role is important to the business?

Project management is the defining factor of an organization’s success. Every company has to carefully plan to accomplish predetermined goals and objectives. There’s never one-size-fits-all plan that can be blindly followed. It is the difference in planning and execution of project management that yields the desired results.

How long have you been doing what you have been doing?

 I’ve been a Project Manager for the past 3 years but have been working in Market research industry for the past 5 years.

How did you get into this: what did you do before?

I started as a telephone interviewer while I was studying at university.

What was the interview process like to get this position, or how did you start your career in this sector?

While working as a telephone interviewer I was promoted to a team leader after a year I was moved up to senior Team leader position and finally project management.

What tips would you give someone who was interviewing in your company?

Be prepared to answer any question!

What do you do on a daily basis?

  • Project set up- Review project proposal, set the project up in the system and inform internal teams and outsourcing
  • kick off calls- Go through the questionnaires and quotas with the client.
  • Mark up the questionnaire- adding programming instructions
  • Send final questionnaire to programming
  • Script/link checking
  • Sampling/Monitor fieldwork
  • Data processing and checking

What aspects of your role do you enjoy the most?

The ability to work independently (trust from employers). It’s great to work with people that care about their company and doing a good job.

 

What are the challenges faced in your  role?

  • Managing deadlines and sometimes unrealistic deadlines
  • Vague, Ever-changing Requirements from clients
  • Project Scope changes

 

What 3 adjectives would you use to describe the type of person/ skills needed in your job?

  1. Excellent Communicator
  2. Good Organizer
  3. Problem Solver

What do you most value about your employer?

Good management; open communication and feedback (positive & negative); and the organization offering career support and development.

What three adjectives would you use to describe the culture of your current employer.

  1. Customer-focused
  2. High accountability standards
  3. Strong trust relationships

Do you have any career regrets and if so what would they be?

No regrets so far!

What is the most valuable lesson you have learnt in your career so far

There’s always room for improvement

Who has been your biggest influence on your career to date?

My Mentor

 What are your predictions on how your role will evolve in the next 5 years?

My role could be come a team leader or manager, or I could move into more of a research, analytical role.

What do you do in your spare time, when you aren’t working?

I really enjoy swimming