This is an amazing opportunity for someone who’s highly ambitious, who lives and breathes Social Media and whose looking to become an integral part of an agency.

See full job details for the Social Media Manager role here

Given the importance of a good CV as a professional’s main calling card to the employment world, it is surprising how few good ones are actually in circulation. This is largely due to the relative difficulty that people experience when writing about themselves, the need to be objective and concise, and the lack of understanding of the things that employers really value.

Essentially, a CV is an instrument designed specifically to get you an interview for a job. Like any instrument, there are good ones and bad ones, so below are a few tips on how to make your CV create the right impression, and give your future career an edge.

The basics

The general rule of thumb with any CV, regardless of the seniority or experience of its author, is that the content should be contained within two pages, and never more than three. For many people, this will involve some succinct editing, but then a successful CV is a masterwork of brevity because it is designed solely to get you to interview stage; you can fill in the detail during the interview itself.

Make sure that you provide your full name and contact details at the top of the document, so that businesses or recruitment consultancies can contact you easily and quickly if required.

What do employers want to see?

In a great many cases, candidates develop their CV’s without first thinking what an employer would like to see. One thing to bear in mind is that your CV will almost certainly be viewed alongside multiple CV’s from other candidates. Because prospective employers have to sift through a series of CV’s to arrive at their shortlist, it pays to communicate your skills and experience in a concise manner, using a basic format that allows the information to be understood and digested easily.

A good CV can be undone by poor presentation, spelling, typos or grammar, so keep it simple and always triple check that there are no glaring errors that might detract from your CV’s professional impact.   Always get someone else to read it for you as a double check.

Profile yourself

This is the one area within the document where you get to create an overall, personal impression of what your skills and experience could mean to an employer. Try and highlight your overall strengths and key skills areas, such as creativity, organisational skills or management ability in a fluent and engaging manner. You will have the opportunity to evidence your particular work and educational experiences later, so use your profile section to condense what the overall benefits of your recruitment would mean to an employer. Short and punchy - if you’ve got exceptional client handling skills, are a great team player with excellent attention to detail, here is your opportunity to say it.

Professional qualifications & skills

Create a short list of all your professional qualifications, including any relevant courses you have attended. In today’s technologically oriented world, it’s also a good idea to state your knowledge of IT systems and computer packages, as well as any foreign languages you speak with an estimation as to your level of fluency.

Education

Depending on the amount of career experience that you need to highlight later, you can add or subtract detail from your educational history (such as omitting your GCSE subjects, for example), whilst still leaving the essential elements. Start with the most recent qualifications and work backwards, remembering to include all your qualifications, with grades and dates. Your educational resume will give potential employers the opportunity to evaluate the path you took before embarking on your career, although many employers count solid work experience as equally valid (if not more so) on a good CV.

Employment history

Start with your current or most recent job. State the name of the company and the nature of its business.  State your job title, explain what your core role is, and then concisely describe your responsibilities, duties and main achievements.  Bullet points are best for this.  If you have extensive experience, keep your earlier jobs brief - it is generally your most recent role that the interviewer will be most interested in. After this, state any other roles or relevant professional engagements in the same format, although with a gradually diminishing level of detail as you discuss some of the earlier jobs you have had.

Generally speaking, interviewers and prospective employers don’t like to see gaps within a candidate’s CV, so if you have taken time out - for example to travel, or to bring up children - make sure that you represent this period, along with a stated reason.  A one liner will suffice at this stage, but the time should be accounted for.

Interests & hobbies

Writing a short list or paragraph about your interests and hobbies is unlikely to be the decisive aspect in a prospective employer’s decision-making, although an insight into what you do outside of work is never a bad thing. As with the Profile section, this area tells an interviewer a bit more about your personality, and about how you as a person might fit into their company culture, which will certainly affect their judgements on your CV as a whole.

References or referees

Very often an employer will seek final reassurance as to a prospective candidate’s suitability by seeking a reference or two. As an essential part of the evaluation process, you should either provide the details of at least two referees or state that ‘References are available upon request’, if you would rather detail these later.

Different CVs for different roles

Very rarely will a single, static CV be uniformly effective across multiple job applications, so it pays to tailor your CV to each individual role if you are to give yourself the optimum chance for success. Remember to ask yourself what the specific employer would want to see from a candidate for this role, and then prioritise and shape your CV (whilst still keeping the essential core components accurate) in order to present yourself as a suitable candidate for the role.

Addendums

Having a separate addendum is a great way to carry additional information while not over-burdening your actual CV -  for example a separate list of projects, with relevant detail can show an employer additional information to illustrate more fully your experience.

A candidate with no questions could really cloud an employer’s estimation of their interest and ability to engage.
Or, perhaps worse still would be a candidate who asks the wrong questions, for example:

• “Questions? No, you’ve answered them already.”
• “What does your company do?”
• “What’s your company’s website address?”
• “What’s the holiday allowance?”
• “How long do I get for lunch?”
• “How much overtime would I have to work?”

Showing that you’ve done your research at this stage is key - so rather than asking who their main competitors are, do your research before and ask more informed questions - “I notice that one of your main competitors is entering the North Amercian market, are you considering this too?”

In contrast to the ‘don’ts’,  these following questions would tell you the candidate is genuinely interested in becoming part of the team and has done their research into the position and the company:

• “Knowing my qualifications and experience, do you have questions or concerns about my ability to perform the job?”
• ” If I were to be the successful applicant, what are the top 3 priorities you would like to see me accomplish and how quickly?”
• “What does your company value most highly? How do you think my work could help further these values?”
• “Your company released a new product last month that hasn’t received great press. What has the internal reaction been to this?”

And these questions will tell you the candidate has mapped out a career path and is highly motivated to follow it:

• “How would you describe your corporate culture?”
• “Would you say from what you’ve seen so far that we would be a good fit for each other?”
• “How important is the function of this position to upper management?”
• “What is your company’s plan for the next five years and how does my position fit?”
• “What provisions are there for ongoing training and further skills acquisition?”
• “What career progression within the organisation would you say this job entails? “
• “How will my performance be measured and by whom?”
• “When top performers leave, what are the main reasons given?”

Thoughtful questions such as these emphasise that the candidate is taking as active a role as the employer in the job selection process. They demonstrate resourcefulness, motivation, intelligence, knowledge, qualifications and engagement.

Above all, they show that the candidate knows how to make informed decisions, a sought-after skill for any job.

But how does one develop career motivation, self-belief and even progression within an economic context that is nothing short of despondent? Below are some tips on how you can, and indeed should, develop a keen sense of motivation within the workplace.

Motivation is infectious

In business, as with other aspects of life, every participant has the opportunity to affect the performance and moods of others in both positive and negative ways. Just as a depressed mood within the office can start to get under the skin of even the most hardened optimist, a refreshed and motivated individual can spread an upbeat philosophy equally as well. Start trying to focus on the positive things, and you may well see your momentum carry across to fellow colleagues, who in turn may inspire you further.

Which curve are you on?

Despite the gloomy economic situation, there are still many individuals and businesses in the UK that are continuing to develop and prosper. This may be due, on a collective level, to the business operating in relatively unharmed sectors, such as energy, education or pharma. On a more personal level however, it can also be the case that the business is surviving because the teams and individuals involved are highly motivated and intent on bucking the trend.

Human resources are often the most valuable assets of any company, so look at the bigger picture and realise that the only way to deal with times such as these is for everyone to be highly charged and focused towards common goals.

Visualise, then actualise

Whether you are trying to motivate yourself, another individual or even a whole team, the key initial step is to develop a vision within your own mind of the preferred outcomes and the actions required in order to achieve them. Only once your objectives and methodology have been fully developed can you hope to inspire and motivate both yourself and others to get behind the strategy. The more clearly you can communicate this vision, the more actively your colleagues can successfully implement it.

Individuals need different goals

Although most people respond to similar incentives and motivational triggers within the professional environment, it is important to remember that we all also have a slight variance in our priorities. With this in mind, try and understand the motivations within yourself and others, tailoring your approach to objectives and their rewards accordingly. A clear goal is only aspirational if everyone involved can translate it into benefits that resonate to them.

Stay focused

Motivational workshops or other initiatives, both internally and externally run, are often a good idea to refocus a team and the individuals that populate it. It is worth bearing in mind however that you will need to initiate processes that serve to motivate yourself and your colleagues day in, day out, rather than experiencing around the workshops themselves. With consistent application, motivational practices can weave their way into the cultural fabric of any company

Celebrate achievements

A huge part of successful motivation, and confidence building, is the reward received when an objective is reached. Whether this be a financial bonus, taking the team out to lunch, or just a general feeling of individual and collective achievement, it needs to be celebrated. If you are

trying to build motivation, make sure that some of the initial goals are fairly easily reached, providing a ‘quick win’ scenario whereby everybody involved feels the satisfaction of achievement early on. This will in turn build motivation to more complex objectives, backed by the knowledge and experience of meeting objectives in the past.

Staying motivated in a changing world

The concept of motivation is, by definition, a relative one. Everybody has times when they feel more or less motivated than they have done in the past, and this can be as the result of both internal and external pressures. Being motivated is a positive state however, and it involves being able to see the opportunities, rather than the pitfalls, in everything you put your mind to. It’s an easy habit to create, infinitely preferable to being de-motivated, and could open up avenues within your current and future career that you hadn’t thought previously possible.

A good Conference Producer will have an input into virtually every aspect of a Conference’s development, from inception, through marketing to eventual delivery. They are often the primary stakeholder as to the essential details and components, and as such must have a keen eye for detail in addition to being able to look at the bigger picture.

A Conference Producer’s life is governed by deadlines, relationships and an innate ability to capture the imagination of the target audience. It can be an extremely exciting and rewarding career role for professionals with the right blend of skills and experience.

What do they do in the role?
As with many roles within Events, the ability to manage people and contacts is a key and primary skill, although the remit of a Conference Producer goes much further, and begins much earlier in the production stages, than that.

Initially, a Conference Producer gets involved in writing Conference proposals and creating the actual shape and content of the event itself, so meticulous research and planning is central to the role.

They will also play a large part in attracting relevant speakers and building relationships with industry people in order to be constantly aware of the burning topics and influences that could potentially translate into a compelling, rewarding and successful Conference.

Marketing experience is also important, in terms of being able to accurately define the event’s target audience and create communications material that will appeal to them and instigate a desire to attend.

Finally, a Conference Producer will be present at the event itself, ensuring that the Conference flows smoothly, that the speakers are looked after, and that the planning process is executed flawlessly in practice.

Who might they work for?
A Conference Producer could conceivably work for any organisation that had a requirement for, or a business model that includes, the staging of commercial Conferences.

A commercial events company is a business that exists to deliver bespoke events aimed at certain industry and interest groups, such as the Utilities, Finance, Education and Legal professions. The overarching objective for companies like this is to attract paying delegates to ensure that the event is successful, well attended and makes money.

A publishing company may have a similar requirement for a Conference Producer, although their objective in staging an event might be slightly different. Publishers might run an event that relates specifically to one of their media titles and the interests of its readership, which fulfils a dual role of generating revenue whilst at the same time developing the media title brand itself as a key player in the industry.

A Conference Producer might also operate in a standalone capacity for an association or institution that has a less directly commercial objective behind the event, to ensure an engaging and relevant programme of events and content is generated by the association on behalf of its members.

The key to success for all these different types of Producer however, is the ability to manage events that feature content and speakers that the target market genuinely want to see.

Who do they deal with in the role?
Externally, a Conference Producer will need to be in regular contact with influential industry figures, who may be useful either as speakers themselves or as conduits to other people or commercial entities. This will enable the Conference Producer to keep a ‘finger on the pulse’, stay networked, and develop ideas for conferences that are proven to be interesting.

A good Producer will also be in regular contact with sponsors and potential sponsors, who may wish to target the same audience as your Conference, providing them with regular updates and opportunities where they may be able to get involved.

Internally, a Conference Producer will be constantly liasing with the Sales and Marketing teams to ensure that the marketing communications are being managed correctly and the sales figures for the event are strong. Invariably, the Conference Producer may well have an obligation to report to the board of directors, or senior management, in order that they may be presented with a top line summation of the event’s practical and commercial progress.

The Producer will also link into the Operations team – who will be responsible for all logistical aspects of the event, the venue, catering etc. (In some companies the operations role may also fall to the Producer, but normally this is a separate function).

What skills, experience and qualifications are required?
A degree is normally required, although not essential, for any Producer position of responsibility, as it demonstrates to a certain extent (dependant on the degree) the ability to employ strong research techniques and abilities to a focused endpoint.

Good copywriting skills, excellent interpersonal skills and organisational skills are also core competencies that contribute to a successful candidacy. Above all else, however, solid industry experience (whether gained within the degree, reflective of a personal interest, or gained within past production experience) is highly prized, and will enable you to develop the confidence to deal with senior level contacts, also a critical skill.

Producers often develop areas of specialism in terms of the sectors they know – highly valued, some roles might demand this specialist knowledge as essential, but Production skills are normally viewed as transferable across sectors.

Career Path:
As with many roles, there is not always a straight, linear path towards becoming a proficient and respected Conference Producer. The traditional career path, however, consists of the following stages:

· Junior Producer
· Producer
· Senior Producer
· Conference Manager
· Conference/Divisional Director

Producers will tend to ‘grow through the ranks’ of a company – but they may enter the profession at a higher level from other areas of specialist topic knowledge.

There is also a strong freelance market for Conference Producers. This can be a very attractive option provided that you have good experience gained at a recognised company.

What other roles are there out there similar to this?
Event Manager – some, although not all, Event Manager roles can require some Producing elements, particulary within Associations or similar content/interest-led organisations.

What are the Salary & benefits within the role?
An entry level salary begins around the £18K pa mark, rising to around £23-35K pa for a Conference Producer. An experienced Conference Manager/Director can expect to earn in the region of £35-45K pa.

Bonuses are normally part of the package based on the commercial success of the events produced, and can contribute significantly to a high OTE.

What’s it really like: Diana Dixon
Diana Dixon has worked as a Conference Producer on behalf of some of the most successful commercial events companies in the UK. With over 10 years in the profession, Diana now produces conferences on a freelance basis.

What are the best and worst bits about being a Conference Producer?
“I think for me one of the best parts is the high degree of autonomy and diversity within the role. A good Conference Producer needs to be able to take responsibility for, and deliver, a great many elements simultaneously, such as forecasting, budgeting, planning, writing, arranging speakers, and briefing the marketing team, and I enjoy the challenge of balancing these diverse areas.

On the downside, there is a huge amount of stress and pressure in ensuring that these things are delivered and create a successful event. In Conference Production, there are very strict timelines, and if you lose time in one area, it will start to compress the other areas, such as marketing, due to the finite, project based nature of the work. If this starts to happen, it can impact on the success of the event.

Does the role suit a particular type of personality?
There is a duality about the role, a need to be both introvert, in order that you can focus on the research and writing aspect, but also a real extrovert, so that you can network, create an energy about the project and persuade the right speakers to participate. Similarly, you need to be able to balance an eye for detail with an ability to see the bigger picture, often at the same time. This is quite a tricky ability to have, although it becomes much easier and more intuitive with experience.

I think that there is a parallel in skills with journalism – the ability to research, write and call people up cold and get them involved are very much part of both jobs, and not everyone can do this. I am also very much a project person, and I like the fact that a Conference Producer role has a defined start and finish point.

What do you think is hard about the role?
The job can be very frustrating at times, if a speaker pulls out of an engagement at short notice for example, this can be pretty stressful, particularly if you have already sent the conference programme to print. The industry is also pretty competitive, with many different people trying to put on conferences for the same sorts of people at the same time. This can lead to some fairly intense rivalry, which can be quite draining.

How did you get into Conference Production?
I started off working at (broadcasting company) ITV, before joining IBC, which then became Informa (commercial conferencing company). Working for two of the best agencies gave me a lot of valuable and varied experience, and also enabled me to travel, which can be a real perk of the profession, particularly when you are just starting out in your career.

Best lessons learnt/best advice could give
If you are new to the role, try to gain experience working within a larger, more reputable company that provides good training programmes. You may well get thrown in at the deep end, but concentrate on developing your writing ability, people skills, contacts and self-belief. Everything gets easier with experience.

No-one can tell you how to conduct the absolute perfect interview, because this is entirely dependant on the role you are being considered for, the skills and experience that you possess, and the natural strengths to emphasise in your character. There are many different approaches that yield different levels of success for different people, although the tips below should allow you to approach any interview scenario with solid foundations, confidence and optimism.

Be yourself, condensed
If you are at the stage where an interview is required then congratulations, you have already represented yourself well, either through your CV or through positive personal association. This means that your interviewer will know something about you already, particularly if you have come through a specialist recruitment consultancy that thoroughly briefs both sides before the interview.

This allows you to professionally be yourself, to a certain extent. You should take confidence from the fact that someone has requested an interview, and let this dispel any nerves that might prevent you from expressing yourself to your fullest potential. Try to condense and communicate the most attractive elements of your natural abilities, learned skills and acquired experience into a coherent proposition for your potential employer, and let your personality do the rest.

Know more than your interviewers do
One of the most important common traits of a successful interview is the amount of research a successful candidate undertakes prior to the interview itself. It sounds obvious, but many prospective candidates will carry out only the most superficial levels of research, giving you a distinct advantage if you are prepared to dig a little deeper. The Internet is a powerful tool for this purpose, so use it to check out your prospective employer’s business, the markets within which they operate, and the types of corporate values that they hold. All this will come in very handy.

The ultimate realisation of accomplished research is to know more about certain aspects of your prospective employer’s business than your interviewers do. If you can demonstrate a depth of knowledge about the employer, this will enable you to have a much more sophisticated conversation about the ways in which your candidacy can help them achieve their commercial objectives. It will impress them with your initiative, allow you to ask intelligent, informed questions and go a long way helping you to secure your new role.

Match yourself to the role
Once you’ve done your research, you should have a pretty good idea of why your prospective company is keen to recruit, and also of the types of professional skills and experience that they might require in order to be satisfied that they made the right choice of employee. Because you now have a clearer idea of what they are specifically after for a particular role, you can then try to highlight areas within your own personal experience that match these criteria in order that you can communicate these during the interview.

Make a few notes about the role’s requirements, and then add further notes regarding your own skills and experience that meet them. In this way, you will be accentuating your suitability for the role, and thereby heightening your chances of convincing interviewers that your candidacy ‘ticks all the right boxes’ on a practical level. On a personal level, look back on your research to tell you the type of personality, ethics and working values that your prospective employer promotes. This will give you an angle on the types of characters and personalities that they would wish to employ too.

The moment of truth
Once you are actually conducting the interview itself, there is very little margin for error, so any preparation beforehand is time well spent, including perhaps even practising your technique with a friend or family member. During the interview, it is important to strike a balance between different instincts: you must remain alert enough to think on your feet, and yet at the same time be relaxed enough to remember to breathe and not trip over your words when giving answers,

Any answers that you give must be concise and considered, although expressive enough to allow the clarity of your thoughts to shine through. You should also take a notepad to jot down any thoughts or questions that you might ask your prospective employers at an appropriate moment during the interview. Your interviewers will have little choice but to make fairly quick judgements about what you have to offer, so it is important that you keep your nerve, remaining positive and professionally impressive throughout.

As the interview concludes, be sure to enquire as to what the next steps are, and ask whether there is anything further you can do to support your bid for the role.

Following up
One of the most important things to do after any interview is to obtain some feedback on your performance. In this way, even an interview in which you did not land the role can be successful in providing quality tips and advice that will only improve your abilities over time.
If you are working with a quality recruitment consultant, they will be able to talk directly to the employer on your behalf after the interview and gain some valuable insights into how well you were perceived.

The Basics – Regan & Dean Interview Check List
The following quick tips may sound obvious but…

-     Don’t be late - always allow extra contingency time to get to the interview unflustered (and if you are running late, ring ahead to let them know)
-     Dress smart (ask your Consultant for any guidelines on this depending on the type of role)
-     Ensure you’ve got all required details of the address/map/who you’re seeing, etc. with you, and take a copy of your CV (and portfolio if you have one)
-     Review the job spec and the company’s website thoroughly in advance, discussing the position in depth with your Consultant if necessary
-     Check websites of competitors too, in order to get a good general feel for their market
-     Make sure you can confidently and succinctly explain what your current and past roles have involved (a well structured CV is a great basis for this)
-     Prepare for any competency-based questions by identifying examples from your own working life that illustrate your skills/abilities. These examples must be prepared in advance, so that they readily spring to mind during, rather than after, the interview!
-     Develop a robust case in advance of why you think you’d be good for the role, and what key skills and attributes you have to offer your prospective employer
-     Take a list of questions about the role/company to the interview
-     Make sure you listen carefully to the interview questions, and focus your responses on directly answering their enquiry - you can always check with them to see if you have answered a question to their satisfaction - don’t waffle.
-     If you’re nervous, remind yourself to take deep breaths - it can often lighten the atmosphere if you explain to your interviewer that you are feeling nervous
-     Round up the interview by asking if there are any areas that your interviewers feel you haven’t covered fully enough for them, or areas of concern
-     Give a good positive end to your interview by restating your strong interest in the role, and thank them for their time
-     Phone your recruitment consultant asap after the meeting to give them your feedback

Many of the great UK banking institutions of the last century have either collapsed, merged or been nationalised, and this crisis of confidence is affecting every UK business and professional, both now and into the foreseeable future. So what does this mean for companies and individuals intent on succeeding through these troubled times? Below are some thoughts on why confidence is everything, and how you can use this mentality to create success, even during challenging circumstances such as these.

The sky is not falling on our heads
The most important thing to keep in perspective is that however bad things may seem, the situation will get progressively better given time. Although the nation’s media, and some of its key politicians, are defining the situation with extreme language, businesses will still trade and smart professionals will still thrive.

Whilst no one would suggest that the current outlook is anything but bleak, it is a lack of confidence that caused the crisis and it is confidence, both on an individual and a collective basis, which will ultimately provide a large part of the solution back to prosperity. Fortune favours the bold.

True confidence is based in realism
The ability to make realistic, objective appraisals of both your own and your company’s current situation will be invaluable over the coming months. The situation is likely to be very fluid, so accurately assessing your position within the business, and the position of the business within the market will enable you to make confident decisions that will only enhance your future prospects.

The certainty is, for example, that jobs will become increasingly scarce across virtually all professional sectors over the coming months. If you are a candidate, it may well mean that you will need to up your game to remain competitive in a diminishing pool of opportunities. If you are currently employed, it could be that you may be required to work longer hours to justify your position, or at the very least demonstrate flexibility in your approach to your role and responsibilities.

Whatever the scenario, being aware of the real effects of a downturn to your individual situation and making sensible decisions on how to counter them is a useful skill indeed.

Adapt and survive
It takes a set of heightened, sharper skills to truly thrive in a period of economic downturn. Businesses and individuals will not only be required to perform more effectively, but they may well need to change the way they see their business model or personal role. Whilst this will without doubt be demanding for all concerned, often it can be viewed as no bad thing, as it compels people to become more resourceful and industrious, qualities that are vital to successful companies.

Taking the initiative and reshaping your role or CV to reflect a more diverse and flexible skills base is a key aspect to creating personal opportunities in any economic climate, although it is an essential attribute in today’s marketplace. If you are looking for work, be prepared to consider alternative options such as temping or part time positions, and be realistic and flexible towards salary aspirations.

Necessity creates innovation
As anyone over 35 will know or tell you, recessions are traumatic periods to work within, although they do eventually yield significant benefits to professionals and individuals flexible enough to weather the storm. The lessons learnt during recessions may be tough, but they can contribute greatly to the overall development of businesses and individuals alike.

Within recessions, professionals need to be proactive, resourceful, and adaptable. Perhaps most importantly, individuals and businesses need to rediscover the ability to innovate, pursuing fresh and alternative avenues towards personal and commercial success. Whether this means approaching the job market in a different manner, or thinking outside the box within your own business and its recruitment policy, it is clever, inventive thinking that will allow certain people and companies to prosper in a time like this.

Confidence works both ways
Despite the regular portions of impending doom served up to the hungry masses by the UK media (arguably creating a self fulfilling prophesy), it is more than possible to develop your career prospects, professional development and personal fulfilment, even during periods such as these.

Supported by the right people, such as a specialist recruitment consultant that knows the marketplace inside out, there are still some great opportunities out there for you to aspire to. All the recession does is make those roles that much more competitively contested, meaning that any approach to landing your ideal role must be sharper than ever.

A critical part of this approach will be confidence. Get yourself into a positive state of mind and stay there.

As the economist Paul Romer once said, “A crisis is a terrible thing to waste’, and history has proven time and time again that successful businesses are not necessarily the biggest, but the ones that are most responsive to change. As the operations of HR Departments across the UK become required to deliver mitigation against the economic downturn, below is a guide to how your business might view, manage and defend its most valuable resource during 2009.

Establish your critical mass

Within every business, there is a core cost to output ratio that needs to be kept keenly balanced if the company is to remain competitive. This is true regardless of the commercial climate, but it is especially true at a time of economic uncertainty.

Within boom times, it becomes possible to take a slightly broader, more investment oriented approach to commercial objectives and the resources needed to fulfill against them, although the current situation requires an altogether more focused approach. By defining your own cost to output ratios by department, you will be able to make an accurate assessment of the critical mass of individuals needed to keep the business driven.

Defending your position from above

As someone with a responsibility for the Human Resources decisions within your company, there is a possibility that you may be required to provide a robust defence for the maintenance of HR strategy and personnel levels.

Using the critical mass approach, you can make fairly authoritative decisions about which employees are key to the company’s future plans, although if you are under pressure to make changes that you don’t agree with, be sure to present an alternative business case that supports your perspective. Effective HR is all about ensuring the business has all the professional support it requires to prosper, and shedding the wrong people can be a destabilizing influence on any company.

Insulate your core

Having evaluated your core human resource requirements through the prism of an economic downturn, it is imperative that the individuals whom the company considers valuable are kept happy and motivated. There is a camaraderie and focus that can develop within businesses experiencing choppy commercial waters, and this can be encouraged with the right incentives to blossom within your own company.

Ensure that you recognise, reward and continue to train your best people – it will be these people that you will need to depend on to deliver results at a time of most critical need.

Maintain a dynamic recruitment policy

As contrary as it might seem to develop an active recruitment policy during a period of mass redundancies, research has proven time and time again that effective recruitment can be a formidable foil to any downturn, and can help your company recover quicker when business picks up.

Fuelled by redundancies, the job market has become a pool of opportunity, as many talented individuals will be looking to ply their trade elsewhere. Companies with an eye on what talent is available are perfectly poised to add professionals to their teams who might actually increase your productivity levels and revenues during these difficult times.

Turning perm into temp, and vice versa

As part of your assessment into the quality and performance of employees within the business, you may see an opportunity for certain individuals to revisit the nature of their working relationship with the company. It may be expedient in the short term to revaluate and recast certain permanent roles as temporary, although your core employees will almost always be permanent.

Similarly, there may be sound economic reasons to bring a talented temporary employee in-house, perhaps creating cost efficiencies and engendering company loyalty at the same time. Performance related bonuses are a reliable way of aligning the motivation of both permanent and temporary employees with that of your company’s business objectives.

Squeezing more out of less

There is little doubt that you may be called on to make more out of existing or diminishing resources within the workplace over the next 12 months or so. As the old adage suggests however, less can indeed be more, providing that you have identified the key players within your organisation that can roll their sleeves up, go the extra mile for the business, and can inspire others to also do so.

A back to basics approach, whereby a company can return to its fundamental revenue streams and look at ways of working smarter to deliver these better is no bad thing at any stage in the economic cycle. Effective organization and motivational skills are of paramount importance in order to carry the momentum of your business forward.

Catching the next wave

Commercial circumstances are always benchmarked by, and relative to, the period before them. The UK has enjoyed a period of comparative stability and prosperity for over a decade prior to the systemic banking failure of 2008, and despite Gordon Brown’s pledge as Chancellor, a boom is always both preceded and followed by a period of comparative bust.

By refining the roles and business goals within your departments however, and translating these into measurable, incentivised objectives for key personnel, you can actually create a company that is more profitable, streamlined and prepared when the economy inevitably recovers. After all, what comes down must, eventually, go back up.

Don’t overdo the overdraft

Over the past few years, the access to cheap credit has been plentiful and widespread, to the point where most people wouldn’t think twice about dipping into their overdraft facilities if necessary. All that is changing now, and there will be more significant consequences for those who stray outside their authorised overdraft limits.

Over 2009, it will pay to rein in your spending, or at least have a conversation with your bank, if there is a risk of you slipping into unauthorised borrowing. To give you an idea of the implications, the average authorised overdraft borrowing rate is 14.8%, whilst interest charges on unauthorised borrowing are currently 60% more.

Re-energise your energy bills

Spiraling energy prices are hitting every UK household at a time when they could probably do without it. During 2008, average prices for gas and electricity rose by 48% and 28% respectively – a huge leap regardless of your personal salary levels. Naturally, this price increase is felt most particularly during the winter months, so it might be a good time to use one of the few weapons that you have against the energy price rises – the laws of competition.

There is a possibility that the government could get tough with energy companies in March, and that prices could fall by as much as 20%, although winter will have passed by then and you can still save yourself hundreds of pounds in the meantime by doing thorough research and switching tariffs or energy companies.

Mobilise your phone use

As the mobile telephone market matures and begins to plateau in the UK, largely down to the innate success of the phone companies in putting a mobile phone in the hands of virtually everyone, the game is about to change. 2009 will bring a whole range of new, largely SIM-only deals to the market, and this will be good news for the consumer.

Most people have at least one handset that they don’t mind using, and the no-frills value of solely acquiring a SIM will become ever more attractive in these cash-strapped times. ASDA and IKEA have already launched their initial offerings in this field, and expect to see similar offers from all the larger retailers, allowing you to get a great deal as the price of mobile communication drops.

Clear your cards

As with the overdraft reduction, 2009 will be a good year to try and clear some of your credit card debts if you have any, or at least ensure that you begin to pay more than the minimum amount required each month. It may be hard to find the extra cash to do this, but you will be saving yourself huge amounts of money in the long term.

If you have a £2,500 debt on your cards, for example, and pay only the minimum (2%) on an interest rate of 14%, it would take 232 months (nearly 20 years) to repay the original amount, plus interest of £3826. If you paid back an extra £50 a month, the payment duration would only be 37 months (3 years) and interest of only £1,005. The difference is considerable.

Get interested in rates

The British Government is wading into historically uncharted waters with their consecutive interest rate cuts: at their current level of 1.5% they have never been so low. Whether this will actually translate into an increase in lending, and therefore the potential for business growth, remains to be seen, although it will mean good news for consumers prepared to shop around.

If you own a property, switching to a Standard Variable Rate (SVR) mortgage could potentially save you a huge amount each month, although the banks are aware of this opportunity and are making it increasingly difficult to do so through the insistence on larger deposit sums. For savers, it also pays to shop around, as a number of new, foreign owned account providers will enter the market in 2009. This will make the market more competitive and there will be relatively good deals to be had by those prepared to do their research.

Caveat Emptor

As you may have noticed over the Christmas period, retailers are becoming increasingly desperate to try and attract what disposable income you have. This has led to a bewildering variety of cut-price deals in just about every sector in retailing, meaning that you will almost certainly purchase an item for less money in 2009 than you would have paid last year.

Whilst this is of course good news, be on your guard to ensure that you are not lulled by the cheapness into spending more than you can afford, on items that you don’t actually need. 2009 will be all about holding onto money, and the clearance of any debts, so don’t let those discount signs distract you.

The good news (finally)

Despite all the dire predictions for the first six months of 2009, even conservative experts are claiming that towards the end of the year we may be able to see signs of a recovery.
There is every indication that the recovery will be a long one, although at least the downward curves seen in so many financial charts these days will have bottomed out and will start to pick up again.

This means that many of the financial areas that have been devalued in recent months, from the strength of the pound, to savers rates, to house prices, will start to rise. The stock exchange itself is predicted to grow by at least 10% during 2009, providing a few interesting opportunities on cheap stock. If you play your financial cards right in 2009, you will escape the worst of it and may well set yourself up for a rewarding 2010.

Winners and Losers

Within any downturn, as within any other commercial scenario, there will always be comparative winners and losers. Whilst it may currently seem that everyone is experiencing problems, resourceful businesses and individuals will always manage to find ways to prosper and refine their approaches to great effect. Just because the threats of the economic downturn are writ large in each day’s headlines, it does not mean that there ceases to be a great many opportunities around for those that know where to look. A positive, focused attitude, coupled with the right professional support, could ensure that you finish the year a relative winner.

Realistic, not resigned

When there is so much negative news about, it is very easy to become dejected and resigned to the circumstances around you, without ever really assessing what you might do to counter them. Often it is apathy, whether self imposed or currently experienced en masse within your place of employment, that can hold us all back. There is no denying that 2009 will be tough, and if you are looking for a career move, it will be beneficial to research the outlook and the pressures individual industries and sectors face prior to any approach. A good, specialist recruitment consultancy can assist with this knowledge and, provided you are prepared to go the extra mile, interesting opportunities can and will emerge.

Keeping your job

Probably the safest method of weathering this particular storm is to stay employed and take steps to increase your value to your employer. This may be achieved by taking on extra responsibilities within the workplace, by taking a proactive approach to increasing revenue or creating other benefits to your employer. Within the current economic context, it will be important to be seen to be directly contributing to your company’s core business model, as developmental or otherwise peripheral work may be put on hold, or even axed. By ploughing energy into core areas of the business, you will demonstrate that you are part of the solution.

Changing your job

Very often people use periods of negative commercial outlook to revaluate their priorities and career aspirations, the psychology being that it will be a period of change anyway, so why not put it to constructive use? Despite the well-publicised redundancies, the less reported truth is that there are still a substantial number of interesting and rewarding roles being offered across professional sectors. The short and medium term difference this year however will be an increase in the amount of people applying for these roles, and this will place an onus on each candidate to really impress.

Keep your finger on the pulse

Whether you choose to stay within your current role, or have reason to look for alternative employment, it pays to have a regular feel for the events and challenges that are shaping your industry. Different industries are affected by different things during a recession, dependent on the types of business models and cost bases that they use, although it is fair to say that demand will drop within many. Talk to other professionals within your sector, and also recruitment consultancies that specialise in your field, and you will have a clearer view of the overall picture, and can base any future steps upon this.

Learn to cycle

One of the few benefits of getting older is that one begins to appreciate that the world works in cycles, both great and small, and that it is the friction and trajectory of these cycles that give economies their momentum. As the curve of this recession becomes flatter during 2009, there will be signs that things have bottomed out, and a slow and gradual uplift will occur. Just as Spring follows Winter, the UK economy will emerge from its own rubble and strengthen, fuelled by dynamic businesses, both established and newly created. Once you recognise these trends, it becomes easier to plan ahead for both short and long term career aspirations.

20% Discount On All Ayurvedic Treatments At Shymala Ayurveda Spa

Forget the credit crunch for a few blissful hours, and take advantage of an inflation proof 20% discount on all Ayurvedic treatments and 10% discount on all products at Kensington’s exclusive Shymala Ayurveda Spa. A truly sensational way to start the new year.

Ayurvedic medicine is an ancient Hindu system of holistic health care centred around the “knowledge of a long life”. It combines all elements of mental, physical and spiritual well-being, and is a perfect antidote to the demands of the city professional.

Regan & Dean have teamed up with Shymala Ayurveda to offer all candidates and clients the opportunity to experience the benefits of Ayurvedic treatments for themselves.

To take up the offer, simply mention ‘Regan & Dean’ when booking an appointment to qualify for the 20% discount on Ayervedic treatments and 10% discount on products.

This offer runs until April 15th 2009, and cannot be used in on packages or in conjunction with another offer

25% off all haircuts at Headmasters

Start the New Year brightly with a fabulous new haircut, and get 25% off when you mention Regan & Dean.

Headmasters is offering a special discount to all Regan & Dean candidates across its full range of services. Call them on 0208 296 6455 to find details of your nearest salon.

To take advantage of your 25% discount, simply quote the Regan & Dean Company Partnership scheme when you book your appointment. Then mention Regan & Dean on your arrival.

20% Off All Business Courses With City Lit

At Regan & Dean, we’re passionate about personal development, and so we’ve teamed up with City Lit, London’s largest provider of adult learning and training courses, to offer you a special deal. Until 31st March 2009, City Lit is offering Regan & Dean clients and candidates a full 20% discount on all business courses.

To kick off 2009, we are delighted to make the lovely Kate Oliver our Temp of the Month. Kate has been fantastic throughout December, and during the frenetic Christmas period. She is always ready to go to a booking at a drop of a hat, and is consistently flexible about the kind of roles she goes into. She never complains, and is always 100% reliable!

Kate hails from a theatrical background and is looking for a permanent Team Assistant/PA role. She has excellent communication skills, strong MS Office, is extremely personable and has a proactive approach to any task. Kate really has been much appreciated for her work on the temporary side for the last couple of months. Well done Kate – you deserve it!

What our clients say:

“Kate really impressed us while she was here. The team found her to be really reliable and very good at getting on with the job in hand – whatever it may be! She ploughed through her workload quickly and efficiently and was always eager for more work when things slowed down. Kate then came back and covered the office when our whole team were out for our Christmas party with no problems, so really trustworthy and a great help all round!”
Braben

“Kate is very good – she was thrown in at the deep end and coped admirably so we will definitely be having her back!”
Lowe & Partners

The Prize

Each Regan & Dean Temp Of The Month receives a gift voucher, some flowers and a permanent entry into the temp ‘Hall of Fame’ on our website, accompanied by a photo and the client feedback that made their nomination so successful.

Nominate your Temp Of The Month Today!

Each month, Regan & Dean will assess the performance of each temp, using their reliability, punctuality and attitude, in direct conjunction with feedback from the client. The temp who we feel has made the most significant contribution to a client’s needs will be awarded the monthly prize in recognition of their achievements.

Any business can nominate their Regan & Dean temp for the award - it’s a simple process which is a great way of commending and saying ‘thank you’ for their work. Email thea@regananddean.com to nominate your Temp Of The Month today!

Leadership skills are highly prized within companies and organisations, as they can genuinely affect the productivity, motivation and performance of employees, and thus add to the company’s bottom line as a whole. In addition, true leadership skills can, and arguably should be developed by virtually everyone within an organisation, and can really enhance an employee’s career prospects. As we head into an uncertain 2009, here are some tips on becoming a more effective leader.

Start with yourself
No person can expect to influence and earn the respect of others if they are not demonstrably in full control of their own professional lives. This is not just about setting a good example to others, although that is important, but it is also the realisation that an effective leader should also lead themselves as an integral component of the company, rather than being a distant figure that simply delegates orders and workloads. It is only through being on top of your game that you can begin to start developing the tones, qualities and skills to inspire and motivate others.

Calmness is a commodity
In a world of commercial uncertainty, calmness becomes a diminishing and therefore valuable resource. We have all been at positions within our careers where we have benefited from the cool-headed thinking of others, and great leaders tend to exude a confidence and calmness regardless of the turmoil around them. If you want to lead and motivate others, especially during tough commercial times, you must first establish a reputation for calm, clear thinking yourself.

Build a team around you like a house
It is generally true that leaders, even talented ones, will fail to create the impact that they desire unless a significant part of their leadership strategy is devoted to surrounding themselves with good people. A good leader leaves their own ego at the door, and concentrates instead on developing teams that are more than fit for purpose. You should encourage a diverse variety of talent to flourish around you, and fuel their ambitions whilst feeling confident and secure of your own role as facilitator within the process.

Create a vision that others can see
To be a true leader amongst your colleagues, you must first develop a vision of the commercial future that you might ultimately communicate and lead them towards. Your vision must be as shrewd as it is coherent, as comprehensive as it is inclusive, and as achievable as it is far reaching. Look around you at people that you believe to be effective leaders, and you will find that they generally have a single-minded grasp of both the current situation and the desired outcomes of the future. This ability to perceive actions that will make a positive impact on your company’s future performance and achieve agreement amongst your colleagues to work towards shared goals is at the core of professional leadership.

Open people’s minds by being open minded
Particularly during times of commercial and economic pressure, an open mind and a flexibility of approach are key components of your leadership skills. There will be pressure to deliver results, although an open mind is a creative mind, and a creative, innovative approach may well pay dividends in today’s challenging conditions. By keeping an open mind, and being encouraging towards your colleagues ideas, you will not only inspire them to innovate further, but you may well also find that a collaborative effort often yields the best results.

Decide what you can and can’t live with
Setting the boundaries of what you consider to be acceptable levels of performance amongst both your colleagues and yourself is key to effective leadership. In doing this, and doing it as early as possible, you should ensure clear guidance is laid down as to how you expect people to operate. It is also wise to be a realist however, and to accept that there may be some things that you may wish to, but cannot change in the short term. But then that is what the mid and long term is for.

Praise with a loud voice, criticise with a soft one
As with many aspects of management and leadership, it is quality not quantity when it comes to dealing with both colleague praise and criticism. Too much praise and your words will diminish in value, too much criticism and you risk de-motivating the very people that you need to be positive. Instead, work on a strategy that is consistent across all your colleagues, because the rule of law only works if applied equally, and measure your tone and approach accordingly. Encourage with magnified enthusiasm, admonish with quiet authority.

Back it all up
A position of power without authority, or one of authority without power, is not a platform from which to successfully further your leadership ambitions. Both elements must be present in order to develop the respect of colleagues, and a key to ensuring this is your establishing your commitment to backing up what you say. If people come to depend on your word, and your judgement, then they are more likely to trust your vision and get behind it. Similarly, you must take responsibility for ensuring that your company’s promises to its consumers and clients are kept. There is no point in telling people that your company has unbeatable levels of service if you’re not prepared to pull out all the stops to make that claim a reality.

Cultivate a leadership culture
In successful companies, you will often find a devolved structure of leadership that encourages individual ownership and responsibilities within particular areas. This is a great characteristic to foster in your teams, because it is empowering and motivating for individuals to feel that they have a degree of autonomy and freedom in their work. Within your own leadership strategy, the ability to create leaders amongst you will get you to where you want to go faster. Be it through mentoring, personal guidance or specific training, a team built of leaders is a formidable force in any commercial climate.

Work out what you’re selling
Appraising your skills and experience for their worth within the marketplace can be a daunting task, particularly if it has been a while since you were last required to do it. Within times of economic uncertainty, employers become increasingly interested in specific, specialised skills and experience, so the more clearly you can analyse and communicate your key strengths the better.

Some of your strengths may be industry specific, whilst others may be more generalised, transferable skills, and it is important to appreciate the difference between the two, particularly in a tougher job market. A good grasp of the former allows you to present yourself as a needed specialist, whilst understanding the latter may present you with opportunities within a more diverse variety of sector roles.

Work out whom you are selling to
Before you begin to target both possible sectors and potential employers, it helps to know who they are. Conducting some thorough research into commercial areas that professionally interest you, and the key players within these sectors, can pay dividends when it comes to applications, and could save you a substantial amount of time and energy in finding your next role.

Researching relevant companies and markets also enables you to ask yourself what these types of businesses are looking for in a potential employee. The current economic conditions are affecting everyone, so an ability to understand what employers want from new employees at a time like this is a must. In the short term, and generally speaking, many companies will be mainly interested in recruiting people who can make a demonstrable difference to the bottom line or enhance the performance of their business in some other manner. Worth bearing in mind when you emphasise the strengths in your CV.

Refine your skills
Within any period of economic decline, you can greatly enhance your career prospects and increase your motivation by becoming engaged in some skills training. An interesting way to visualise this is to see yourself as a company, and to consider your individual skills as assets. Each time you acquire new and valuable skills you are like a company that seeks to diversify through acquisition and development, so don’t be afraid to branch out into new and rewarding areas.

Regan & Dean recommends City Lit, London’s largest adult education provider, for courses across all areas of business and levels of expertise. Click Here to download a PDF of the latest course schedules.

Develop a close relationship with your recruitment consultant
Recruitment consultancies are by far the most popular way of finding temporary or permanent jobs. A recent survey by The Guardian newspaper found that 87% of companies and 89% of candidates use a recruitment consultancy to fill roles, so it pays to find a good and relevant one and keep them close. A good consultant will be one of your closest allies in finding a new role, because you both have a shared objective in finding you a position that suits you and that you are happy with.

Consultants are aware of a far greater range of job opportunities than would be accessed if you were going it alone, and can provide you with useful objective advice regarding your own skills base, aspirations and career opportunities. Good consultants will also give you an invaluable briefing regarding the companies that you are targeting before you meet them, and may well know key figures within the companies, giving you an additional inside track.

Be flexible, motivated and positive
Just because the UK economy may be currently uncertain about its future path, doesn’t mean that you have to be. There are always opportunities to be had within any economic climate, even a negative one, although the steps that you might need to take in order to realise them may be different. In today’s commercial landscape, the ability to be flexible will be a key differentiator, because your prospective employer’s needs will be changing too.

Above all, remain motivated and positive about your worth in the commercial marketplace and don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. With the right attitude and support around you, the job market can still be an exciting and rewarding place.

Yet there is ample evidence to suggest that devoting part of your time to making the workplace more fun and less directly stressful can have a positive effect on your company. Recent research conducted at California State University showed that people who have fun at work are more creative, more productive, work better with others and call in sick less often.

An office environment that is less tense and more enjoyable to work within is bound to increase morale and stimulate a better professional performance from both you and your colleagues, which in turn may well reduce the commercial pressures. Below are a few tips to make your workplace a more fun place to be.

Everyone’s responsible
Even though it is often a manager’s task to facilitate or agree to fun activities, the responsibility of creating an enjoyable atmosphere lies with everyone. In addition, some of the nicest elements of your working day may come from smaller, more personal encounters with colleagues. It all begins with a smile, and the belief that sometimes the smallest details can make a big difference, even in the most challenging of economic outlooks.

Create a creative space around you
Whatever type of workspace you have, it can be both inspiring and stress reducing to engage in a little creative personalisation of the area around you, particularly when you consider how much of your working life you spend there. A few of your favourite items, photos or mementos, perhaps even a small plant or flowers: these are all things that can stimulate you through the day and make your experience of the work that you do all the more enjoyable.

Branch out
Keeping stimulated and motivated within your role can sometimes be a challenge, particularly if the business outlook is itself challenging, and it is at times like this that you should consider diversifying the elements of your role. Offer to take on any projects that capture your interest, provided it does not have a detrimental effect on your core output, and you may find the fresh stimulus rewarding. In the current climate, this is also the type of action that will send a positive signal to your employers that you want to be part of the solution.

Exercise breaks
Medical advice suggests that individuals should take a break of at least ten minutes per hour’s work in order to maintain an optimum degree of focus and productivity. With this in mind, why not orchestrate a break for the whole team if possible? Everyone can stretch out, relieve a bit of tension together, and feel more alert and connected to each other as a result.

A working philosophy
There is a long standing debate about whether people really work to live or live to work, and for most people, the truth is somewhere in between. Whatever your role, and no matter how serious the economic outlook may be, your employment constitutes a large degree of the person that you are. It can inform many aspects of your self-esteem, relationships with the people around you and general sense of well being. For these reasons alone, it is important that you take steps to try and enjoy, and get as much out of, each working day as possible.

Creative suggestions for a more enjoyable workplace
The following is a list of small, but perfectly formed, actions that could make a positive difference to your immediate working environment and day. Pick out a couple and try them, you might be pleasantly surprised at the effects they have.

• Take 60 seconds to think about your favourite moment at work.
• Volunteer to do a colleague’s most hated task.
• Have a dress down half day, in which everyone has to change outfit.
• Invite a new colleague out to lunch.
• Get everyone to write a spontaneous thank you note to their favourite client, customer, or business.
• Eat perfectly ripened grapes.
• Come up with a truly leftfield idea for selling your company’s products or services to clients - even (some would say especially) if you have never done it before.
• Buy doughnuts for everyone.
• Look round the office and work out who has made the most effort with what they’re wearing – then tell them that you think they look great.
• Smile at everyone.
• Bake cupcakes.
• Make everyone gather for a group photo.
• Make a point of complimenting everyone that you interact with.
• Ask a random colleague how they are feeling, and really listen to their response.
• Stretch at your desk for five minutes – and encourage others to do the same.
• Give a copy of your favourite book to the colleague that annoys you the most.
• Celebrate everybody’s birthday, making sure that there is a personal touch to their gift.
• Dress up like it’s a party for the day.
• Have a child paint the office a picture.
• Take time out to really celebrate any contract wins or completion of projects.
• Switch jobs with someone in your department for an hour.
• Write a letter to the most famous person in your industry asking for one piece of advice.
• Do a one minute relaxation exercise that makes you look weird (like yoga nostril breathing), but you don’t care because you’re relieving stress.
• Make a cup of tea or coffee for your entire team.
• Wear all white.
• Give everyone a small plant for their desks.
• Let someone borrow your favourite pen.
• Find out what makes the colleague opposite you laugh out loud