Tracy Bolan, Commercial Manager at Clayton Recruitment, was recently featured in the Blackpool Gazette talking about the most in demand roles in the North West. The analysis was based on a study conducted by comparing vacancy levels across Clayton’s broad areas of expertise and highlights the ongoing skills shortages affecting many fields. Here’s what she had to say;

CSCS Cleaners

“There’s currently a real demand for, but short supply of, cleaners with the required professional certification to work on 80% of UK construction sites. The Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) Construction Related Occupations (CRO) cards act as industry standard documentation and demonstrates that professionals have both the skills and necessary health and safety knowledge to work in potentially dangerous work sites.”

Payroll Specialists

“At least one payroll specialist is required when a business exceeds a certain size, and the increased level of demand is a positive indication of growth in the region. HR roles and payroll specialists in particular often act as a barometer for both hiring sentiment and general business confidence. However unfortunately there is a shortage of both permanent and temporary payroll specialists, meaning that vacancies continue to outnumber candidates.”

Accounts Assistants

“Finance is a professional sector performing particularly well across the North West at present, and although accounts assistants continue to play a crucial role across both in house teams and accountancy practices, the latter is experiencing a particular shortage. This is likely, in part, due to the stable and lucrative career paths that firms offer, with professionals reluctant to move roles. However as more individuals realise the benefits of relocating to the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ it is likely that these shortages will fall into decline.”

MIG Welders

“As with many highly specialised jobs in the construction sector there is a dearth of MIG welders operating in the region. MIG is a particularly niche area of the wider welding specialism and is utilised in the construction, manufacturing and automotive industries to ensure contaminates don’t enter the weld. The government took action against the shortage of welders in 2013 by allocating £4m to fund high quality welding training, but more needs to be done to encourage both young people and individuals looking to retrain to enter the construction industry.”

Sales Administrators

“Another role which experienced a steady rise in demand is that of sales administrators, over recent years the organisations across the North West have become more profitable and have had a significant number of orders to process. At present administrators are stretched in their roles and candidate supply is falling short of demand.”

For more insights and tips take a look at our blog.

©Depositphoto.com/@ Devon

Ten years ago only a few of us were getting to grips with the early versions of Facebook and had only just discovered the ability to peer into the private lives of people we’d previously only counted as acquaintances. It certainly wasn’t expected that just a decade later you would be hard pressed to find an organisation, or even many individuals, who don’t have some presence on social media in one way or another.

Roles in social media

Tweets, likes, pokes (remember them?) pulse blogs, pinning and regramming were all just glimmers in Mark Zuckerberg and the likes’ eyes and the idea of having a job solely dedicated to something called social media was obviously unheard of. However, things have changed significantly now and social media has not only expanded into people’s personal lives, but also their working ones in many cases. Social media management roles are now commonplace at the majority of organisations, particularly larger ones and thousands of professionals now work in roles related to the field.

We spoke to the Lancashire Evening Post on this very subject last year with our Recruitment Manager, Tracy Bolan outlining some key pointers about working in social media.

“The average starting salary for Social Media Executives is around £18,000 but pay can easily rise to £35,000 and up for Social Media Managers.”

Career paths into social media

And because the field is so new, there are no established paths into a social media role.

“It’s a relatively new concept and new platforms are constantly emerging, so any firm solely looking for employees with marketing degrees is likely to be fishing in a shallow pool. You can gain a lot of valuable experience by using platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram both personally and professionally and having a ‘relevant’ degree certainly isn’t a steadfast requirement.”

However, social media careers aren’t just about following your favourite celebrities and liking your friend’s tweets, you’re in charge of an entire organisations’ online profile and that can be a considerable responsibility. Dozens of companies have embarrassed themselves by not having properly aligned social media communications and this can do considerable harm. At the same time, social media can also present significant opportunities to make a business look good and in touch with its customers or clients. An organisation that replies quickly to its followers when something has gone wrong, for example, is more likely to be seen as responsive and engaged than one which responds sporadically while also posting updates. The latter approach can leave a customer feeling dissatisfied and would probably make them question using the organisation again, while the former is likely to build more of a connection with the firm.

Social media roles are becoming increasingly common, however it’s a big responsibility and you can also expect to be asked to report regularly on engagement, follower numbers and just about every metric you can imagine. If you’re looking for a role in social media, get in touch with our specialist team.

Tattoos are a subject of much debate at the moment and it appears that views towards them have shifted considerably in recent times. Just a decade ago it’s likely that few professional employers would have welcomed them in a work environment, but now they’re seen as commonplace in many companies and views towards them have become much more positive. But are tattoos, as some research suggests, a ‘barrier to employment’?

A study commissioned by ACAS from academics at King’s College London found that body art is still seen as unacceptable at many workplaces. This struck us as odd. After all, tattoos are considerably more prevalent than they ever have been with the latest figures suggesting that 1 in 3 young adults in the UK has one and that we’re not going to reach a tipping point until 2025, when the UK’s supplies of ink may or may not run out.

It’s hard to pinpoint when the craze really took off. Back in the 80s and even early 90s tattoos were seen as a sure fire method to make your mum cry and to steer you away from any stereotypically ‘professional’ roles. Some have suggested that Patient Zero was David Beckham, or Amy Winehouse, but really the trend is buried deeper in the cultural complexities of this country than that.

Tattoos – an issue for jobseekers?

One of the main issues for jobseekers – and employers – is now how to deal with tattoos and their role in the workplace. Organisations, after all, that are completely against hiring anyone with a visible tattoo are essentially ruling out up to a third of young professionals which, in times when skills shortages are rife, doesn’t seem like an intelligent approach.

As Director of HR Diversity Consultancy, The Clear Company, Kate Headley says – “Tattoos are perhaps seen by some as an indication of someone’s background, often associated with criminal behaviour, anti-establishment thinking and a lack of respect for authority. Yet these are all assumptions based on conceptions created by a broader society influenced by stereotypes, like the tendency for people with tattoos being depicted as the ‘bad guys’ in fiction. The issue for people with tattoos is getting employers to see beyond this stereotypical bias.”

A personal choice?

Tattoos are a personal choice, however it’s not illegal to discriminate against someone with one which means it often comes down to bias and the aforementioned stereotypes to drive decision making. You could argue that they’re a choice made by the individual who then has to live with their decision, but the same could be said about religion and we all know it’s illegal to discriminate on the basis of faith.

Feel free to disagree (we’d love to hear your views) but we believe that tattoos, unless they’re particularly offensive or poorly positioned, don’t affect an individual’s credibility or their ability to do their job, so why should they be seen as a negative? Of course, there is another school of thought that suggests that work is a time for professionalism and that all tattoos are linked to personal lives and should be kept under wraps during working hours. But as we all know, life in and out of work is becoming ever more converged so where does that leave us when it comes to things like flexible working, or having the ability to work from home?

Ultimately, it’s down to the employer. The best ones are unlikely to doubt you because you’ve got a tattoo and those that do should perhaps consider the size of the workforce that they’re essentially ruling out from ever working for them by doing so.

If you are looking for further advice then why not check out our advice pages

Unfortunately, the outside perception of recruitment isn’t always an overwhelmingly positive one. All too often the media paints the picture of unscrupulous recruitment firms and materialistic recruiters – both of which are incredibly misleading. In reality it’s only a very small number of firms which give the profession a bad reputation. Recruitment can be an incredibly rewarding career and many professionals are motivated by the satisfaction of placing candidates in their dream role rather than the cash remuneration on offer, as many critics might have you believe.

Recruitment firms are not all alike

No two recruitment firms, let alone recruiters, are the same and unfortunately even a small minority unethical individuals can drag the reputation of the entire profession downwards. Often when people think of recruitment companies, even those who have had positive experiences with recruiters, they remember being bombarded with useless content, or called about jobs they aren’t interested in or suited for. In reality many people’s career paths are shaped by recruiters, and often they can offer a substantial amount of valuable advice and guidance.

Many recruiters are experts in their field and will work to understand what it is that you’re looking for in a new role, and the kind of company culture you’d be best suited to. That’s because the majority of recruiters are truly passionate about their role, and are supported by an employer who fosters their personal growth and provides them with valuable training.

Work hard, play hard

While it’s true that at many firms an individual’s earning capacity is limited only to their own tenacity, most recruiters are driven by the fulfilment of finding a hardworking candidate their ideal role and satisfying their clients. And the suggestion that all recruiters drive luxury cars and take four holidays a year simply isn’t realistic, the role can, at times, be incredibly demanding and recruiters need a strong sense of resilience. The idea that all recruitment firms heavily scrutinise their staff simply isn’t true either, most recruitment firms work hard to support their staff, provide them with thorough training when needed, and regularly reward them for their hard work.

Here at Clayton we know that our people are our greatest asset and we are always looking for passionate and hardworking individuals to join our team. If you are a dedicated and committed professional looking for your next challenge don’t hesitate to contact us!

We usually use this blog as a platform to offer advice, tips and updates on our specialist sectors including care home nursing, logistics and finance. However, Clayton as a business is also always on the lookout for the next generation of talent to work with us, which is why we’ve outlined our top tips on how to be a successful recruiter.

Fill yourself with confidence

You’ll need to be able to hold your own with people who are experts at what they do, and don’t appreciate their time being wasted. Nobody wants to be consulted on a potentially life changing job move by someone who they suspect might not know their specialist field as well as they say they do. You need to be confident enough to take on new areas of expertise, but also be able to portray that confidence to clients and candidates. In addition, you’ll have to be comfortable picking up the phone and engaging with people who don’t know what your credentials are and likely to be at least mildly sceptical about what you’re doing. Working at Clayton takes a confident self starter who is willing to become a subject matter expert.

Be a great communicator

Along similar lines, you’ll need to be an effective and concise communicator and get your point across quickly. You’ll probably be speaking to people who are busy in their current roles and don’t want to waste hours of their lives chatting to a recruiter. You’ll also need to be able to master your email communications and online marketing on platforms like LinkedIn. After all, you’re not going to have much success if your job advert iz ritten lyk dis, lol.

Be resilient, target driven and motivated

It’s not just applicants who face rejection, recruiters do too and you need to be able to take the bumps in the road and still be able to perform to the best of your ability. You’ll have good days and bad – that’s a given – but the secret is being able to prevent the bad days from affecting your output. At the vast majority of firms, you’ll have certain KPIs to work to. That’s an approach that’s not suited to everyone and while not all organisations have the same model, people who are motivated by the idea of working to specific goals will do well here. More autonomous, freewheeling types who are set on recruitment may have to delve a little deeper to find those few businesses with a softer, more consultative approach.

Be a multi-tasker

As a job applicant it’s unlikely you’ll have used just one recruiter to help your job search and organisations are the same and will look to multiple sources for their own talent. This means that if you can move quickly and efficiently, then you’ll be able to beat your competitors. However, you’ll also have a lot to do at once and will likely be dealing with a lot of vacancies and therefore multiple companies and even more candidates. Consequently, you must be able to juggle multiple projects and tasks simultaneously. You’ll have to keep in mind the details, experience and motivators of a large number of people and this requires a lot of organisational competency. If you can master the idea of ‘less haste, more speed’ (i.e doing things quickly, but well) then you should be ok.

Obviously, there a lot more skills required to be a successful recruiter and the job requires you to have the ability to think on your feet and to back your own ability and knowledge. If you’re looking for a career in a challenging and fast-moving, but also highly rewarding, industry and want to join a successful, supportive and rapidly growing organisation, then get in touch with one of our expert consultants for a chat.