Each week we read stories that today’s graduates are either wholly unprepared for the big wide world of work or there simply aren’t enough jobs out there for them anyway. Only this week, we’ve learnt that the lack of graduate jobs is prompting many to take a gap year, with some 6 out of 10 graduates in jobs that don’t actually require a degree, and that the unemployment rate among graduates (20%) is double the national rate (7.8%). Now here’s my gripe: whilst it is right to highlight the plight of graduates in the current labour market, there is a distinct lack of action actually being taken on the behalf of the education establishments and a failure among other leading careers resources (job boards in particular and careers book publishers) to address the situation.

Yes I know that Messrs Cameron et al have announced plans to tackle youth unemployment. However, whilst creating jobs is one side of the coin the other – perhaps more critical side of that same coin is that today’s graduates are, on the whole, simply unprepared and lack the skills needed in the modern economy.

I have published in excess of 600 careers articles in recent years tackling all aspects, from job hunting to career change, workplace and management issues to redundancy and employment legislation. And the articles I produced back in 2008 and beyond are very VERY different to the ones I currently write. Why? Because the entire recruitment landscape has changed unrecognisably in just 3 short years.

If you go onto Amazon looking for a graduate careers book you will find that one of the biggest selling titles was published 10 years ago. Ten years ago!! Although it offers some sound careers advice it’s greatest failing is that it was written at a time when graduate employment was buoyant, which makes the vast majority of its content totally irrelevant in today’s job market. So it would seem that much of the careers advice that is currently available to graduate job seekers is antiquated and not applicable to the here and now.

University careers services are guilty of the same thing. Not only do they lack any real understanding of modern job seeking methods, such as how to use social media to unearth career opportunities or how the recession has influenced the entire recruitment landscape, but they too have failed to effectively prepare students – whilst at undergraduate level – for what will be waiting for them.

Today’s graduates are this country’s business leaders of tomorrow. The current state of play places the onus on graduates to arm themselves with the skills they need to make themselves stand out from the ever-increasingly competitive jobs marketplace. However, we’re talking about young people who are by and large in their early twenties with little or no concept of what ‘effective communication skills’ or ‘business acumen’ really means. Higher and Further education institutions need to take greater responsibility and implement skills programmes for ALL their undergraduates before they graduate, not after.

Matthew Jeffrey, global director of talent brand for Electronic Arts (EA), addressed members of The FIRM [Forum for In-house Recruitment Managers] at an event in London recently. He argued that brand was essentially linked to emotions – particularly when recruitment is concerned. Echoing findings  from the CIPD which have revealed that companies are still struggling to attract, recruit, engage and retain talent for their organisations. Yet, despite the success of employer branding as a concept, many companies are failing to measure its effectiveness and demonstrate a return-on-investment. So, how can you ensure that your recruitment advertising is communicating the right message to attract the candidates that you need?

The job for life culture has long passed and most employees today will find themselves changing jobs around 7 or 8 times throughout their career. This means that employers need to focus on their unique selling points, the key attributes that they have in their locker that will attract the best candidates to apply for their vacancies. But this is easier said than done, right? Actually no, it is relatively straight forward – if you get your branding right.

There are four key elements that prospective applicants are looking for in a recruitment advert:

1. Job role – is this a job that I can and want to do
2. Salary – does this job meet my salary expectations, is it enough to tempt me away from my current employer?
3. Location – is it where I want to work or will I need to commute?
4. Company – do I want to work for this organisation?

The first three are the basic ‘hygiene’ factors common to all recruitment adverts. Ho9wever, a job being advertised by a company with a strong brand will invariably attract more candidates than a lesser known company. And that’s because they have the “X” factor – the crucial element of attraction that people buy into.

“A brand is a person’s gut feelings towards an organisation,” said Jeffrey. Accordingly, employer branding must be used to “emotionally engage with employees,” adding that “Recruitment through attraction can make or break a business.” And he has a point.Take innocent, the fruit smoothie makers, for example.

innocent has been awarded the Best Workplace in the UK by The Guardian and The National Business Awards because of the enviable reputation that they have for offering people something different. Their offices, Fruit Towers, have astroturf for carpet and the reception area is furnished with park benches.

This quirkiness is also reflected in their advertising. Indeed, both their recruitment and product advertising complement each other and feature the same animated branding that wouldn’t look out of place in a 1970s children’s TV programme. Even the way they describe their business is simplistic yet impactful:

Hello, we make lovely natural fruit drinks like pure fruit smoothies and fresh
yoghurt thickies. Everything we produce tastes good and does you good.

Similarly, Yell, publishers of the Yellow Pages directories, yell.com and 118 247 directory enquiries, has long been a mainstay of UK ‘Superbrands’. Winners of the European Quality Award twice- the only company ever to achieve this – Yell has gained a reputation for developing the best sales people in the business. And this reputation is enhanced in their recruitment advertising.

Recruitment for top-end media sales professionals is a highly competitive field. Yet Yell sets itself apart from the competition by resisting the stereotypical temptation to seduce applicants with the lure of material gains such as mobile phones, fully expensed company cars, laptops or share schemes that dominate the majority of media sales recruitment adverts.

Indeed, these benefits are almost deliberately excluded from their advertising. Instead, their recruitment adverts make no secret of the fact that although they offer arguably the highest salaries in the business, it comes at a cost:

We carry no passengers, and make no mistake, we’ll ask an exceptional amount
of you. But then, nothing less exceptional truly appeals to you.

Yell use a mix of online and print media to attract prospective employees and spare no expense in ensuring that their brand and values are communicated in the most effective way. With a strong use of colour, choice imagery and clever taglines such as “The People behind the Numbers”, Yell wants its employees to buy into the organisation’s work ethic – the promise that if you work hard the rewards will present themselves.

The point being made is that employers need to view their recruitment and brand advertising as two sides of the same coin. Recruitment is not simply about placing a job advert in the local paper, it is more scientific, strategic and deliberate than that. At a time when the UK economy is struggling to loosen the grip of recession that has bounded us all for the last 2 or more years and hiring activity remains sluggish at best, employers need to take the same approach that they would take when planning any sales and marketing campaign for the main business to maintain their competitive advantage.

For instance:

• Which publications or websites do my ideal candidates read?
• Does the advert sell our company effectively?
• Does the advert give strong, powerful reasons for candidate’s to apply?
• Have I secured the best position for m y advert in the publication – top right hand page?
• Is our corporate brand reproduced in the advert – full colour logo, image? Will people connect with it?

Remember that this advert has to sell your company to a potential applicant. Don’t be afraid to ask an experienced copywriter, designer or marketer to write the advert for you – with a mix of creativity and some brand application your seemingly uninspiring packing or administration job might become your “Priceless” recruitment advert.

As for me, whilst I cannot say that the world of eye-liner’s and mascara’s would entice me to apply, I may be tempted to become the Marketing Director of the world’s biggest cosmetics company. Why? Because “I’m worth it”!

Perhaps I am cutting my nose off to spite my face, however, as a careers advice writer for several of the top 10 UK and US job boards I have written over 600 articles covering all aspects of workplace issues and job hunting strategies. Yet a minority of the articles I have been commissioned to produce since the onset of the current economic downturn have been aimed at how job seekers can find a job in a recession.

For me as a writer this is frustrating. But for anyone looking on these job boards for sound advice on how to conduct an effective job hunt during a recession, these articles lack any real punch; hence, the popularity of such books as How to get  job in a recession by Denise Taylor and another using the same title by Dr Harry Freedman of Career Energy.

All too often job boards are more focused on building a bank of careers articles that have longevity and are not time-sensitive rather than addressing the needs of job seekers in the here and now. Let’s face it job seeking during these testing times, when there are at least twice as many applicants per job than the pre-recession hay-day, demands a different and more inventive approach. Which means that the advice currently offered by the majority of job boards only scratch the surface of what job seekers really need to be doing to land the position they are looking for.

If job seekers use the same methods employed during pre-recession times they won’t get very far. Competition for jobs is at its highest in 15 years and there is no longer a bevy of opportunities that once existed as recently as two or three years ago. So job seekers need to raise their level of activity by becoming skilled networkers, personal branding specialists, social networkers…the list goes on.

Non-time sensitive guidance pieces are perfectly OK during comfortable economic conditions, but they have little (or no) relevance to the major issues and demand that jobs seekers are currently facing. A recycled article is not a ‘new’ article. Indeed, in much the same way as brands aim to encourage loyalty, job boards need to follow suit. And that means providing relevant and timely information to help job seekers get where they want to be.

A couple of weeks ago, a survey by IT Job Board, an online recruitment advertising site for technology vacancies, found that some 62 per cent of respondents would withhold details of a vacancy from their colleagues to avoid competition for the role. Some even advocated what could best be regarded as ‘questionable tactics’. Indeed, more than a third (35 per cent) admitted they would make persistent calls to a recruiter to ‘persuade’ the consultant to offer them an interview, whilst a further 13 per cent would go so far as to physically visit a recruiter’s offices and refuse to leave unless they were seen.

So what do these findings tell us? Are we living in a society that has become one of desperation whereby some job seekers are forced to resort to desperate and often unethical measures to enhance their chances of job seeking success? Put simply: yes.

In 2008, The Apprentice winner Lee McQueen was caught out for lying about his qualifications on his CV, yet it did him no harm – he won the competition and went on to pocket a £100k salary in the process. Yet some lies are more serious than others.

Other people lie about their age, proficiency in certain high-demand languages such as French or Japanese, or the length of time they spent working for a former employer – as was the case of Rhiannon Mackay earlier this year; Ms Mackay became the first woman in the UK to be jailed for falsifying her references and qualifications on her CV.

However, many employers are becoming increasingly alert to the problem of job application fraud.

PeopleChecking, an organisation which provides background checks and employment screening services to public and private sector organisations, has seen demand for its services increase by over 25 per in 2010 alone as the number of application fraud instances seems to be growing at an alarming rate.

Accordingly: “71% of employers have encountered lies on CVs. Despite this, 33% of employers admit they ‘don’t have time to carry out checks’. The average cost of hiring an individual is £5-10,000 (CIPD 2006) but if a proportion of those recruited are not suitable, this will result in a huge waste of time and money.”

In fact, only 14 per cent of job applications contain discrepancies. In 2009, this figure had risen to 19 per cent and PeopleChecking indicate that by the end of 2010, more than 22 per cent of all job applications will be – in effect – fraudulent.

If an applicant claims they can do X, Y and Z they need to qualify it with- and be prepared to show- evidence of proficiency. Employers are looking for candidates with a genuine knowledge and real understanding of their organisation, it’s main competitors, the issues and trends affecting their sectors in which they operate, and come armed with a plethora of questions to ask their interviewer.

While desperation can push some people into adopting an unethical approach to their job search strategy, they are unlikely to get past the interview stage unless they can back up what they say they can do and, more importantly, have a natural curiosity and thirst for knowledge about the company they are applying to.

“Competition for jobs among graduates is more intense than at any stage since 1993, with an average of 69 applications per graduate job,” he said. “But many graduates continue to put their chances of job success in jeopardy by their inability to make themselves stand out from the crowd. 

“With most large-scale graduate employers having scaled down their annual intake of newly qualified graduates over the last two years combined with the recently announced cut of some 490,000 public sector jobs over the next five years, the prospects for graduates looking for their first steps on the career ladder seem to be muted at best,” said MacKenzie-Cummins. 

“But they can improve their prospects by understanding what employers are really looking for and marking themselves accordingly.”

According to MacKenzie-Cummins, looking for a job is an exercise in marketing whereby the product (the job seeker) must match the requirements that the buyer (the employer) is looking for. Employers don’t want to read a never-ending list of skills on a CV; they want the CV to answer one simple question: What will this person do for my business?

“Graduate applicants need to demonstrate that they have as many of the key skills needed for the role they are applying for by bring them to life. So instead of listing what is little more than a set of adjectives, explain how you have used these skills in a work situation,” said MacKenzie-Cummins.

“Some of these skills could have been gained through non-work related activities or during a work experience placement – you are selling your ‘potential’ not necessarily your ‘proven’ ability.” 

This week the Higher Education Careers Services Unit (HECSU) revealed that graduate unemployment is at its highest in 17 years at 8.9 per cent. Their report, entitled What Do Graduates Do?, found that over the last year, graduate unemployment has risen by a further 21,020 students who graduated in 2009 and were known to be without work in January 2010. The last time it reached this level was 1993 (10.5 per cent).

(This is an article I wrote for the UKTI’s Autumn 2010 edition of Springboard Magazine)

The UK construction industry is simply huge. Employing some 3 million people across a multitude of disciplines in more than 300,000 different companies, the industry has an annual turnover of more than £100bn and accounts for almost 10 per cent of the UK’s GDP. And despite being one of the sectors hardest hit by the recent economic downturn, output in the construction industry experienced its biggest rise since 1963 in the second quarter of 2010 with a jump of 6.6 per cent on the previous quarter, according to the Office for National Statistics.

With such a dramatic rebound from what had been a poor start to the year the construction industry’s performance has exceeded even the most optimistic forecasts from economists -stimulated by strong performances reported from some of the UK’s biggest construction firms.

Balfour Beatty, for instance, has seen a rise of 32 per cent in first-half profit and has recently won a £460m contract to develop a part of Heathrow Airport’s new Terminal 2 building. While housebuilder Tailor Wimpey has returned to the black in the wake of a desperate housing market to return a profit of £19.6m for the first six months of the year, against a loss of £68.9m a year ago.

Tempting though it may be to get over-excited about these latest figures economists are erring on the side of caution. However, what is undisputed is the pivotal role the construction sector performs to the UK’s economic and social development. From improved transport infrastructure and sustainable development to enhancements in social housing, schools and hospitals, the construction industry’s all-round contribution and responsibility as one of the key economic driving forces to UK Plc cannot be underestimated. But it’s not just in the UK where the construction sector plays a prominent role.

UK contractors, engineers, designers, component and product manufacturers have an enviable, worldwide reputation that is second to none for working overseas. This is a tradition that dates back to the days of Industrial Revolution when Britain was the workshop of the world and gave rise to the founding fathers of modern construction in the shape of Messrs Stevenson and Brunel et al. At the same time British construction companies consistently rank in the top rankings of world league tables for engineering, architecture and commercial practices. Take Balfour Beatty as an example.

Not only is Balfour Beatty the UK’s largest international construction, engineering and services contractor it is also the 19^th largest construction company- and the number one rail infrastructure contracting firm- in the world. With an increasing presence in a number of overseas markets, including the US, Germany and Singapore and an order book standing at some £9bn, over half of Balfour Beatty’s revenue now comes from outside the UK with over 30 per cent generated by their operations in the US and a further 15 per cent from the rest of the world.

Carillion is another major British player performing well on the world stage. Employing 50,000 people Carillion is one of the UK’s leading support services and construction companies turning over some £5bn with operations throughout the UK, Europe, Canada, the Middle East, North Africa and Caribbean. Along with fellow UK-based Balfour Beatty, AMEC and Costain Group, Carillion ranks among the top 20 of global construction firms.

But it’s not just engineering consultancies, architecture and commercial practices that are making waves overseas, product manufacturers and suppliers are also playing a key part in the overall makeup of the construction industry. Generating over £40bn annually to the UK economy, many of these companies are world leaders and over £5bn of construction products and materials are exported out of the UK every year.

However, despite their success, UK firms cannot rest on their laurels. The sweeping cuts in public spending announced by the new Chancellor George Osborne have forced many construction firms who depend to a large extent on public contracts such as schools and transport infrastructure, to focus on the increasingly lucrative – and increasingly competitive – opportunities for growth in new and emerging markets.

Indeed, having enjoyed the lion’s share of of the global construction market the developed world’s share is expected to sink from 65 per cent to just 45 per cent, according to the Global Construction 2020 report by Global Construction Perspectives. As the economies of Brazil, Russia, China and India – where Balfour is helping develop Mumbai’s metro and Delhi’s airport – continue to develop at phenomenal growth rates, the next ten years promises to see the emergence of a number of new markets that will prove increasingly seductive for UK construction firms keen to make their mark and assert their place. And with the downturn in the property market across the Gulf states, organisations are already starting to look to other markets.

The oil-rich and fast-growing nations of Angola and Nigeria, for instance, both have significant infrastructure requirements combined with a low construction skills base. While Vietnam has greatly benefited from international investment in recent years and has aspirations to emulate the success of neighbouring China. Such is the extent of investment in the country Davis Langdon place Vietnam as the world’s fourth fastest growing construction market with spending within the sector expected to hit $1.4bn by 2015.

In South America, Brazil has the greatest need. With a population growing at 2m a year and a ‘new’ middle class of some 20m demanding more housing and improved infrastructure combined with the fact that the country will play host to the 2014 football World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, which UKTI estimates will require 80 projects, Brazil presents arguably the greatest markets for UK firms. Yet despite Halcrow, Balfour Beatty and Mott MacDonald all having a presence there, Brazil remains relatively untapped for UK firms.

Closer to home, Turkey is currently Europe’s sixth-largest economy with a fast-growing population that analysts predict will propel it to become the third largest economy in Europe by 2050. As the gateway from Europe into Asia, Turkey – according to the UK Government – offers British firms “multi-billion pound construction opportunities”. In their 2009 report, Building Turkey: Opportunities for the UK Construction Sector, the UKTI highlighted a plethora of infrastructure, regeneration and tourism projects that are in the pipeline, plus the construction of around 600,000 homes. “We’ve been finding very strong interest in British firms forming JV’s with Turkish contractors,” says Graham Hand, chief executive of British Expertise. “Turkish contractors bring a value-for-money proposition, but British firms can supply a more sophisticated design aspect.” Dominic James, also of British Expertise, goes a step further to suggest that UK-Turkish partnerships could provide a catalyst for UK firms to tap into the Central Asian market.

“There’s a thirst for knowledge about these Central Asian countries and how to get into them. We’re seeing increasing stability there and good governance is gradually spreading.” With investment from the European Bank for Restructuring and Development into the region, the likes of Uzbekistan, the Kyrgz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Mongolia are all benefiting from 40 projects a year worth $300m and James recommends working with a UKTI adviser “who can go through your business’s balance sheet and work out whether it makes sense.”

While the emerging markets offer a number of opportunities, India remains and will continue to be a major market for UK businesses looking for rich pickings for some time to come. “With a massive infrastructure deficit that needs be addressed urgently in order to sustain the levels of economic growth and cope with increasing migration to the cities, India plans to invest some US$500 billion in its infrastructure to 2012 and double this between 2012 and 2017, says Fraser Addiscott, UKTI Head of Global Infrastructure & Cross-Sector Projects.

“The road building sector, for instance, has been identified as a priority $50 billion opportunity for UK business, using innovative financing and delivery platforms based on PPP models. Other infrastructure opportunities are also emerging for high-speed rail links connecting major cities which mirror the road projects. While some US$7.7 billion has been earmarked to upgrade 25 airports in addition to plans for over 200 port projects – valued at over US$11 billion.”

Although some British firms may initially struggle to compete with locals for many construction projects in some regions, , the UKTI strongly advises construction firms to consider finding a local partner as a pre-requisite when operating in less well-regulated or unfamiliar markets such as Turkey and South Africa.  That said, the UK’s global reputation within the areas of architectural services and project management will ensure significant demand for firms.

“ UK engineering consultancies, architectural and commercial practices lead Europe and command a top 10 ranking in world league tables both in terms of reputation and quality of services,” says Addiscott. “The UK’s world class infrastructure value chain spanning construction, mass transport, environment and water, energy, engineering, financial services, creative industries and beyond is well placed to play a leading role in delivering innovative infrastructure projects from concept to completion, bringing a long experience of partnering, an ability to maximise value and world-class technology.”

Dominating the industry both at home and abroad is the drive towards making a low carbon future. And those UK firms with expertise in sustainability will continue to be in demand. Global Construction 2020 revealed that while carbon emissions have reportedly fallen in the UK and US, they are increasing by up to 5.5 per cent in emerging markets. All of which means these newly emerging economies will need to invest in more sustainable buildings and technology – an area where British firms excel.

With a focus on delivering efficient and sustainable solutions, the UK excels in maximising investment value across the whole lifecycle of the project with UK infrastructure companies ranked among world leaders in master planning, consultancy, design, project management, engineering, low carbon solutions, security and professional advice (legal, insurance, PPP/PFI), according to Addiscott. This, combined with the relative weakness of the pound against the dollar, will ensure that UK providers will prove an increasingly attractive proposition both in terms of expertise and competitiveness.

Domestically the latter half of 2010 may prove sluggish compared to the first half. However, overseas opportunities promise to provide an increasingly viable option for UK construction firms who are prepared for the challenges ahead and ready to invest in new, relatively untapped markets. With public spending cuts likely to affect many within the industry in addition to minimal GDP growth forecast until 2020, international expansion has become considered by many as a need-to rather than a like-to-do for many organisations.

Indeed, as Addiscott rightly points out, industry commentators are unanimous in saying that we are living in an era of unprecedented investment in infrastructure on a global scale. “From meeting growing energy demand to managing the impact of urbanisation and providing for an aging population, this investment is essential to long-term economic growth and our ability to responding to some of the greatest challenges we face,” he says.  In doing so, all of this needs to be balanced with reconciling economic and social needs in ways which are integrated, sustainable and financially viable. And with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimating that some USD$40 trillion could be spent on infrastructure projects worldwide up to 2030⁺, the opportunity for UK companies involved in infrastructure is massive.

Furthermore, while there continue to be opportunities in the more familiar markets such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar or India, these are gradually being caught up by the innumerable prospects being laid on the tables of the Vietnam’s, Turkey’s and Brazil’s of this world. And the great news for UK construction firms is the fact there is less competition for contracts in these lesser-known markets. As Turner & Townsend Asia director Duncan Stone, says “Smaller markets can be much more welcoming to foreign investment because they don’t have the resources or expertise that bigger countries do.”

⁺ Source: KPMG

Despite the last two years being one of the most challenging periods the recruitment industry has faced, with 1 in 5 recruitment consultancies throughout Wales and the rest of the UK forced to shut up shop permanently, the number of people starting their own recruitment agencies has more than doubled (up 117 per cent) since 2005. 

“Recruitment is one of the most entrepreneurial industries in Wales and the recession has prompted a number of would-be entrepreneurs to establish their own businesses – either through necessity as a result of being made redundant or an overwhelming determination to offer something different or better to what is already on the market,” said Paul MacKenzie-Cummins, director of MacKenzie-Cummins Communications. 

“Having been the second fastest growing industry in the UK with a six-fold increase between 1992 and 2008, the recession changed all this and recruiters saw billings plummet by an average of 25 per cent across the board over the last two years. 

“But since the turn of the year, there has been a noticeable, positive swing and we have seen a significant increase in enquiries from new businesses opening their doors for the first time and needing public relations and marketing support to help their fledgling businesses,” adds MacKenzie-Cummins. And it seems that being a smaller business has its advantages. 

“The majority of consultancies that suffered during the recent economic downturn were relatively large and invariably either forced to close permanently or they found themselves ripe targets for acquisition. However, as a recent report from Experian revealed, smaller businesses tend to fare better during tough trading conditions than their larger counterparts and are less likely to go insolvent.” 

Support Services Group, a leading specialist investment business that focuses exclusively on the recruitment sector, agrees with these findings. 

“Over the last two years alone we have successfully helped to launch over 50 new owner-managed recruitment consultancies and indications are that this number will continue to rise as we move into 2011 and beyond,” says Claire Armstrong, director of operations and policy at Support Service Group. 

“The economy is growing once more and individuals who are highly motivated with strong commercial acumen and a passion to offer something better than what is already on the market will do well,” adds Ms Armstrong. 

So despite the somewhat gloomy outlook within the sector, it would appear that the entrepreneurial spirit displayed by recruiters could help steer the Welsh economy away from the dreaded double-dip.

Paul MacKenzie-Cummins, one of the UK’s leading employment and careers experts and director of Newport-based MacKenzie-Cummins Communications – Wales’s only and the UK’s second biggest PR firm specialising in the recruitment industry, has found that there is a significant lack of creative and digital talent available to help HR departments meet the challenges of recruitment in the increasingly tech-driven era.

“Given the speed at which technology is advancing and the increasing influence that digital media and social media sites such as LinkedIn and Twitter are having on every aspect of the recruitment process, demand for experienced personnel with the skills needed by HR departments to keep the pace is at an all-time high,” said Paul MacKenzie-Cummins. 

“New roles such as mobile app developers, digital media specialists, technical lead developers and mobile recruitment developers are just some of the vacancies that are proving a challenge not only to recruit but also to reference effectively, given the relative newness of these technologies,” he added.

Mark Powney, managing director of Cardiff-based ECOM Digital and former head of digital recruitment at Golley Slater advertising agency, agrees: “The media landscape has become increasingly fragmented in recent years and gone are the days when an employer simply placed a job advert in the local newspaper. The current generation of job seekers are tech-savvy and recruiters who reach out and engage with their target audience will attract – and retain – the best talent for their organisation.

“Over the last six months alone we have seen a surge in demand from both employers and recruitment consultancy owners alike who need help in delivering recruitment programmes across a multitude of platforms,” he said. 

The impact that social and digital media has had on recruitment cannot be underestimated. LinkedIn, for instance, has been the most popular website for job seekers since March 2010 with almost 1 in 10 of all UK job seekers using this as their preferred source for vacancies. While Twitter has jumped from relative obscurity in 2008 to become the third most used social network after Facebook and YouTube, with more than 3.7 million visitors in the UK every month. 

“Social media has already proven it is more than just a fad. And with more recent developments such as mobile applications for recruitment, video interviewing and virtual recruitment fairs becoming increasingly central to the whole recruitment process, employers are looking for candidates who effectively ‘have it all’ and are well-grounded in all things digital,” said Paul MacKenzie-Cummins. 

“Web 2.0 is developing all the time and employers who readily embrace these new technologies will not only significantly reduce their recruitment costs but will soon reap the business benefits to be gained.”

The research commissioned by Abbey Legal Protection and conducted by The Protection Gap also found that over a third (36%) of senior managers and almost half (42%) of executives without management responsibility identified redundancy as an existing concern. But what strikes me is that although more than half a million British workers will be ‘let go’ from their jobs every year and the air of uncertainty that still lingers in the current climate, why are some people seemingly playing a waiting game rather than proactively taking steps to safeguard their jobs if and when redundancy strikes?

There are an umpteen number of career advice articles offering a plethora of job search techniques that you can utilise to maximise your employment opportunities – I should know because I’ve written a large proportion of them for the likes of Monster, TotalJobs and CareerBuilder et al. But few talk about how to actually keep hold of the job you already have.

Yes, I know that job boards are money-making machines whose sole purpose is to create a ‘must get a new, different job’ mindset, however, there is the criticism that they are actively encouraging people to jump ship and swim to the land of milk and honey that is a new job rather than getting people to take a look at their present situation and helping them to consolidate and build upon what they already have – why create a need when there isn’t one?

So without turning this post into some kind of Tolstoyesque-length rant, here are my top tips for safeguarding your job against redundancy: 

1. Have a clear goal for what you want out of your career and where you want to take it – researchers at the University of Pennsylvania interviewed 350,000 executives and discovered that the top 10 per cent performers worked to a plan and as a result, were also the happiest workers.
2. Don’t delude yourself into thinking that you are not irreplaceable, because you are – identify our key skills and position yourself as an expert in a particular aspect of your job and be good at the things others are bad at. 
3. Lead by example – If you have demonstrated that you are a solid performer who can be relied upon to meet your targets, position yourself as the person your boss can turn to when new starters join the company. Act as a mentor and offer to help them to find their feet, accompany them on meetings for example, and be the person they can turn to without them having to go to the boss. This will raise your profile in the office and will earn the appreciation of your manager who has a busy enough schedule as it is. 
4. Brush up on your networking and social media skills – if the recession has taught us anything it’s that business is very much a case of who you know. So put yourself forward as the person who will happily mingle with the key players in your industry both online and offline.
5. Avoid the office neg-heads like the plague and don’t allow yourself to be drawn into their sphere of negativity – keep your own attitude in check and focus on the things that make you happiest instead of dwelling on the bad elements at work.

What qualifications are important in Legal?

To be blunt you need to have a bit of nouse about you and a good deal of grey matter to work in the legal profession. The ability to form coherent, strong and convincing arguments and identify flaws in your opponents’ case, combined with the resilience to work sometimes excessive hours under pressure takes a certain type of person who is able to cope with all these things. 

As mentioned earlier, for many a legal career is a matter of choosing between being a solicitor or a barrister but, there are a number of other roles to choose from that do not demand a university degree as a pre-requisite for entry. So if you are undergoing a career change and don’t have a degree don’t think that that will be a barrier to you getting the job you want.

For instance, Legal Executives, Law Costs Draftsmen, Barrister’s Clerk/Advocate’s Clerk and Licensed Conveyancers can get in with 4 GCSEs and ‘A’ Levels with new entrants going on to specific on the job training with their respective professional association – such as the Institute of Legal Executives – where they can ‘earn while they learn’. And for those already working in- and with some vocational experience of- the legal sector but without any formal qualifications, an NVQ (Level 4) in Legal Practice is available.

The same is true for Paralegals who like Legal Executives can eventually graduate to become fully fledged Solicitors upon completion of a minimum five-year qualifying period that results in becoming a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives and a further two years thereafter.

Most new entrants into the profession are Solicitor and Barristers. With both roles a university degree (2:1 or above) – preferably in Law – is a must, although Fellows of the Institute of Legal Executives do not necessarily require a degree as mentioned above. If your degree isn’t in law then you will need to take the postgraduate Diploma in Law or the Common Professional Examination (CPE).

As with all professions any experience you have gained which is related to your area of interest will stand you in good stand when it comes to the job application process, whether that be in the form of a work placement whilst at university or approaching local employers directly to volunteer your services – this will give you an insight into what its like working in a legal setting and who knows, your employer may be impressed enough to offer you a job.

What skills are important in Legal?

Having the right qualifications is one thing but, employers in the legal profession don’t just look for the brightest candidates with the most impressive academic credentials to their name. Of equal- some might say greater- importance are the personal qualities and skills that an individual must be able to demonstrate before any employer will open the door to your legal career.

Although the nature of a Barrister’s work will be different than that of a Paralegal in much the same way as a Solicitor’s will vary to a Court Clerk, for example, there is a core set of skills that employers look for that are common to across all roles of the legal spectrum. 

• organisational skills
• a good command of written and spoken English
• genuine interest and broad knowledge of the law
• logical thinker and problem solving ability
• sensitivity and integrity yet assertive at the same time
• attention to detail
• articulate
• discretion and trustworthiness
• meticulous attention  to detail
• evidence of teamworking ability
• good interpersonal skills and the ability to relate with people at all levels

To be a barrister, the ability to interpret complex legal documentation into clear and basic English combined with a high degree of technical understanding in order to be able to cross-examine an expert witness in court, for example, will be highly desirable skills in this role. As will your public speaking ability, debating skills and – dare we say – showmanship so that you can put on a good performance in a self-confident and assured manner in the court room.

Just because you have no experience of ever dealing with ‘complex legal documentation’ and have never been called upon to cross examine anyone before, for instance, remember that employers are looking for evidence of your ‘potential’ to do these things and not necessarily your proven ability to display these skills in a legal environment – employers are aware that you are probably a newly qualified graduate or career changer with little or no previous work experience within the legal profession.

Therefore, the way you ‘sell’ your potential is to think of instances when you have used some of these skills in your old career, during your work placement or even non-work related activities. So don’t get hung up on the specifics.

What makes a good Legal CV?

OK, so you’ve got the qualifications and skills that employers are looking for, now all you need to do is convince a potential employer that you are the best candidate for the job on the two pieces of paper that have the power to kick-start your new legal career – your CV.

With the legal profession being one of the most popular career destinations for graduates, competition for entry level places is high. And employers, especially those with a large intake of new recruits, will take as little as half a minute scanning your CV. So you need to make sure that yours stands out from the crowd.

Your CV has just one purpose in life – to get you an interview, which means that the information contained within it needs to be tailored to the job you are applying for and hits all the right notes that turn an employer on. As its unlikely that you will have any direct work experience within the legal profession you will need to use a skills-based CV that uses the basic building blocks of the more traditional chronological CV( which you will be using as your career progresses), but places more emphasis on the work-related skills you have developed and can demonstrate.

If you have just graduated from university and this is the first ‘proper’ job you’ve applied for, make your Education the centre piece of your CV. Include relevant coursework that has relevance to the job you are applying for, awards, publications, qualifications and grades. You should also include information on any work placement you have done during the course of your studies and the skills you have acquired during the course of your university career.

In the previous section we look at the key skills and attributes employers look for, some of which will be stated in the job advert itself. But if the advert states that the employer is looking for ‘Demonstrable technical ability’ or ‘Good analytical skills’, for example, don’t fall into the trap of simply listing these skills on your CV, demonstrate how you have used them in a practical setting regardless of whether you have any legal work experience or not. Perhaps you wrote a key research paper on employment law, or worked alongside a legal executive in the preparation of a case.

But don’t forget who your audience is. Your CV is likely to be vetted first by someone in the company’s human resources department who may be unfamiliar with some of the legal jargon used in this profession. So avoid getting too technical in your choice of language and make your CV clear, concise and easy to read.

What should I expect during the interview process?

Although the legal systems of Northern Ireland, Scotland and England & Wales are different from one another with variances in some job roles (Barristers are called Advocates in Scotland whereas Legal Executives don’t exist north of the border) the application process is largely the same throughout the UK.

The very fact that you have been invited for interview means that your CV has done its job and impressed an employer just enough for them to ask you along and see if you can actually do all the things that you claim you can do.

Interviews can – and sometimes are – a scary experience, especially if you have never done one before now. But as long as you are prepared for what is to come, the rest will take of itself. With the high volume of applicants coming through their door, large-scale employers recruiting for entry-level positions will use assessment centres as one of their main methods of screening which candidates they consider to be the strongest and warrant a formal interview at a later date.

These assessment centres will typically take place at the company’s head office where you will be pitted against your fellow candidates under the watchful eyes of representatives from human resources and the department where you are hoping to eventually work in. During the day you will be put through a series of exercises that are designed to test your practical problem solving skills, teamworking ability, creativity and various other skills along with a number of individual challenges such as psychometric test and presentations.

Small-scale employers will mostly cut out the assessment centre process altogether and go straight to interview where you will be given the opportunity to convince the employer that you are the best person for the job.

Having broken the ice with a few gentle niceties (“What did you enjoy most about your law degree?/Tell us about your current job”), the questions will gradually start to become tougher as the interviewer probes more and more into your background (“What achievements are you most proud of?“), your motivations for applying for the job (“What should we hire you?), and your degree of self-awareness (“What are your strengths and weaknesses?“).  So make sure you have some answers already prepared to avoid being caught off-guard.

And when the job offer comes through your door don’t be tempted to snap their hands off just yet. Make sure you weigh up all the pros and cons of the offer – can the company offer you what you want in terms of training provision, salary, career progression, location…you get the point. Ultimately, go with your gut instincts – they’re rarely wrong.

What career goals should I set myself?

In a sector which employs around 700,000 people and is a magnate for quite literally thousands of hopeful applicants every year, it is pretty safe to assume that you may not walk straight into the job of your dreams but, you can still land the job you really want, with a little patience. 

 Increasingly graduates and career changers are taking on jobs that were done by non-graduates just a few years ago and are using this as an opportunity to get their foot in the door and work their way up from there.  Like any career you need to learn the ropes first and develop your all-round skills and understanding of the law before you can even begin to smell the cigar smoke and taste the cognac as Partner, Barrister or QC.

Solicitors, for instance, can expect to undertake an ‘apprenticeship’ prior to becoming qualified and can realistically become a Partner after six years post-qualification. But in smaller firms there are usually fewer steps to take and career progression could happen sooner rather than later. In the meantime many solicitors choose to specialise in certain areas of the law, such as corporate, family, employment, tax…the list goes on.

After completing their pupillage, Barristers will look to be taken on as tenants within chambers (a term used to describe a collective of barristers) where they will, after time, work on a self-employed basis or as part of a larger legal team within a private company or public sector organisation. While Legal Executives can choose between one of two distinct career paths – the senior executive-to-manager route or take the further professional study and become a qualified solicitor route. 

But as with most things in life we often take a see things with rose tinted spectacles when we are looking at them from the outside in, the reality is sometimes very different. There may be aspects of your work that are exactly how you imagined before you started your legal career, some that are not as good as you hoped and others that are just about on the money. Providing your ambitions, interests and skills can be fulfilled in the law then you can rest assured you are probably doing the right career for you.

Next articles in the Legal series will be: 

What can my next career move be?

What achievement should I add to my CV?

What are the important skills to develop?

How can I get my boss to recognise my efforts?