The demand for technical talent has been consistently ramping up over the last 6 months and this trend is set to continue; according to IT sector specialist recruiter Jenrick IT.

Philip Fanthom, Managing Director at Jenrick IT commented:

“The constant demand for technical experts is unabated. I haven’t experienced an explosion in demand like this for over a decade. Java and C++ development experts are still top of the list, with HTML and Websphere coming close behind.”

This market commentry was echoed from reports from Silicon Valley, as follows:

Here is a heads-up alert for you: be prepared because not only will the infamous “War For Talent” be returning to impact your firm, but it is already underway in its full intensity here in the Silicon Valley. Begin planning for this next round of talent wars, because once the intense competition begins, there simply won’t be time to catch up with, no less get ahead of your talent competition. If you’re not familiar with the “war for talent” phenomena, it involves a prolonged period of intense competition where top applicants are both scarce and arrogant, employees leave by the droves, firms regularly raid each other for talent, and bidding for top talent is commonplace.

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Being good at programming is insufficient qualification for becoming a world class software project manager/leader. Too often, we take our best coders and turn them into incompetent managers because it seems like a logical next step, and because we don’t pay adequate attention to what we really want from these critical executives. (Hint, this is about many fields, not merely software).

1. Clients want useful visibility into the future in terms of costs, timing and deliverables

in fact, it’s almost impossible to be too clear, to benchmark enough and most of all, to overdo the work of identifying forks in the road when it comes to decision making. When a client hires a developer or a company embarks on a software project, they are lost. Even something as complex as building a house is dwarfed by the rapid change, shifting priorities and most of all, the requirement for the new, that’s involved in even a simple software project.

The indispensable software development manager is aware of this and lays it all out for us.

2. Code is going to be used, reviewed, updated and inspected by people other than the person writing it

At some point in the next [insert time frame], a dozen people we have never met will either be updating or using this code, whether they are people we hire or people we partner with. It’s tempting to question the value of an organized architecture and clear code commenting, but again, it’s almost impossible for an organization to overdo this. We don’t have time to do it over so we have to spend the time to do it right. In software programming only the amateur’s approach rewards speed over long-term usability.
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Jenrick IT has conducted research throughout 2011 on employees who have approached our company requesting assistance with finding a new permanent or contract IT job opportunity.

Our consultant team took the opportunity to ask these individuals what the key reasons were as to why they wish to leave their current employer.

Here were the top 5 reasons that they stated they wished to leave their current organisation / seek a new organisation:

main reasons why people leave organisations

• Company Bureaucracy - Having little or no say in how the department or company structure/rules are set. Lack of empowerment.
• Stagnated - Top IT talent needs to be stimulated. When projects are mundane or move into the area of BAU, this fails to ignite passions and leads to a desire to exit. Direclty linked to lack of growth.
• Poor Structured Reviews - Managers can often be busy and find conducting reviews a ‘necessary evil’. Employee feedback to Jenrick is that they desire to be given quality time and be made to feel that their work / role is valued within the organisation.
• No Shared Vision - Employees like to ‘buy’ into the culture. Jenrick’s research indicates that employees who are unaware of / do not share the company’s vision are more likely to leave.
• Multiple Reports - The research indicates that employees who report to more than one line manager become disenchanted and de-motivated, due to lack of clear direction and the potential for conflicting priorities. A clear line of communication linked to clear priorities is essential.

Applying this knowledge within your own organisation:

If you are seeking to retain your top talent and possibly expand your team in 2012 our advice is to ensure you consider all of the above points and assess if you believe they impact your organisation. (more…)

Recent research, by major online job boards, such as Jobsite, Monster and Reed, showed that a sizable proportion of CVs contain a number of obvious mistakes.

When you consider that a role will frequently have well over 70 applicants, and as such a recruitment consultant can only spend up to a minute assessing your details, it shows how essential it is to double check everything.

Some of the most frequent CV mistakes we have encountered within Jenrick Commercial are highlighted below. We would urge you to spend a couple of minutes referencing them against your current CV:

Spelling and grammar
Over 20% of CVs have obvious and multiple spelling mistakes. A spellcheck on a PC is a good start, but please check it yourself - or, even better, have someone with fresh eyes look through it.

Concise and to the point
You have a limited window of opportunity, so keep it to the point and ensure your core messages come across with strength - and do not make your CV too long.

Lack of tailoring
Each employer is looking for a CV and cover letter that applies to their role and as all roles are different, you should make small adaptations so that it matches their specific requirements. Show that you understand what it is they want you to do.

Information Gaps
Whether it’s by choice or just forgetfulness, some people leave previous jobs off their CV meaning a gap in employment. Even if you were not working, state what you were doing.

Keep the design simple
Unless you’re going for a design role, layout should always be second stage to the content of your CV. One standard font in a Word Document is perfect - please do not send PDFs.

Incorrect personal details
It is amazing how many people write the wrong telephone number on their CV, or misspell their email address - please test them. Also, if you are applying for jobs, ensure your voicemail is not too personalised or your email address is not inappropriate - it may put off potential employers.

If you are currently considering a career move and would like our consultants to review your CV, please call any of the Jenrick Offices and we will be more than happy to help.

We just received a report from Personnel Today regarding additional information on how the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) will affect UK employers.

The report was compiled by Linda Goldman and Joan Lewisand will provide some useful additions to the information already available.

Please click on the link below to read the full online report:

• How the Agency Workers Regulations affect employers

Source: personneltoday.co.uk

Click on the following links for more UK job market news or to gain job hunting tips and advice if you are thinking about moving jobs.

The Jenrick Recruitment Group is an award-winning multi-sector recruitment agency that has been helping people develop their careers since 1967.

In today’s challenging job market, securing employment is more important than ever.  We found this recent article regarding the importance of a firm handshake during the interview process.

Developing a firm handshake is a vital to landing a new job, according to new research.

Experts say unemployed people often miss-out on landing a new position because they make a bad impression with the commonplace ritual.

And a study found that one in five people suffer from a ‘limp fish’ grip which means they are downgraded or dismissed in the first five seconds by interviewers.

In a survey of 2000 people nearly 20 per cent admitted they judge people instantly on the quality of their handshake.

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“It’s the angle your nose meets the wind” - that was the answer I was given by the US naval pilot, Curt, who answered my question ‘what does the word attitude really mean?’

The famous motivational speaker Zig Ziglar said:

“My altitude depends more on my attitude than my aptitude’ and that phrase has stuck with me since I first heard it about 10 years ago.  How far you go, how successful you are at something, how high you reach up whichever ladder you might be climbing, depends more on how you approach it than how skilled you are.  It’s your attitude that counts.

I’d always thought attitude was something that described a person and their general way of being, you’ve heard it so many times ‘Oh, he’s got a bad attitude’ and ‘You need to change your attitude’, ‘you’ve got the wrong attitude’ - you can hear it as an everyday phrase.  I hadn’t realized that there was a more powerful, useful meaning.  Words are like that, aren’t they, they’re often ‘just words’ until you get under them and into their meaning.

So it’s your angle of approach.  Think about it.  How you approach something; the angle your nose meets the wind as you approach it.

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The word ‘positioning’ is one that we hear a lot and that, when push-comes-to-shove, few people really are able to define.  I define positioning, in everyday language, as putting things in the right place for people.  In a place that’s useful for them and, at the same time, is useful and helpful for you.

If you think about positioning a picture at home, for example, you’re placing it where it’s accessible and can be seen, it looks good in the light and yet it fits with the décor of the room.  You think about the angles and you position it accordingly.  Positioning your skills, what they do and your value, it’s the same principle.

People need to understand what you’re going to be able to do for them, find a use for it in their world (not just in yours) and these 7 P words which will make positioning yourself, your skills and your value easy for you:

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Jenrick IT is privileged to be one of a select group of recruitment companies exhibiting at the DESi 2011 show, which opens today at ExCeL, London and is dubbed as “The World’s largest Arms and Defence Show.”

SC and DV Cleared Professionals are encouraged to visit the award-winning Recruitment Company at Stand N4-187 to receive up to date Security and Defence Career Advice, which reflects the current skill and experience requirements within the Security and Defence Sectors.

The career advice team at the show, led by Jenrick IT’s Managing Director, Philip Fanthom and Security Careers and Recruitment Specialist, Miriam Lee, added further comments on their role at the show:

“There is an incredible amount of opportunity available for SC and DV Cleared Professionals, especially those with an IT background, which is the area of careers that is our primary focus. However, due to the nature of this industry, people will be largely unaware of many of these job opportunities, which is a key reason we have made ourselves available at DSEi,” Fanthom explained.

Miriam Lee added, “the speed at which the market is evolving is incredible. {{Job hunting techniques of two years ago are now largely obsolete.}} This is one reason why I recorded the career advancement podcast; to highlight the current career strategies that individuals should implement.”

The Career Advancement Podcast for SC and DV Professionals, is just one of several exclusive career and job-hunting resources that are available to visitors of the DSEi Show.

In addition to gaining access to these resources, SC and DV Professionals will also be able to receive a one-on-one career clinic with a member of Jenrick IT’s experienced career advancement team.

If you wish to pre-book an appointment with one of the Jenrick IT team, please email dsei@jenrick.co.uk, or call the office on (01932) 245 500.

Think of any film you’ve seen that grabbed you.  What about a TV series you follow, or a book you read and re-read or share?  They’ll all have grabbed your attention and kept it with a story.

The story that’s threaded and woven throughout any attention-grabbing book or film is what we remember, long after the titles and credits.  Stories have the power to move us and make us act.

We all tell stories - to ourselves, to our friends and families and to our clients, customers and colleagues.  That phrase “so what’s the story on that?” - we want to know the story.

The facts are just that, basically a list of details or information.  The story is what makes the difference, how the facts are all pulled together and it sways people and if &nda sh; and how - they take on and accept your message.

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