January Newsletter

WELCOME TO OUR JANUARY NEWSLETTER

We hope 2010 is a successful and exciting year for all of you - Happy New Year!

IN THIS ISSUE

• BREAKING NEWS - the recession is over
• Blues Point's big plans for 2010
• 2012 - just around the corner
• Interviewing techniques - how good are you at attracting star candidates?
• Go on-have a coffee break!

We want our newsletter to be interactive and full of information that you are interested in hearing: if you want to contribute or if you would like us to do an article of a particular subject please feel free to drop me an email on ashleigh-may@bluespoint.net

IT'S OFFICIAL...WE ARE OUT OF RECESSION!

Newbusiness reported today that, "the UK economy grew by 0.1% in the final quater, meaning that the country has exited recession." According to the report "the economy had contracted for six consecutive quaters, since the April-June quater of 2008. Since then the economy has declined by 6%." To read the full article check out http://www.newbusiness.co.uk/news/uk-economy-exits-recession

It is also positive to note that "manufacturing production in the UK has risen for the first time in two years." Ian McCafferty, the CBI's chief economic advisor says, "After nearly two full years of falling output, manufacturers are seeing a return to modest growth, thanks in part to improved overseas demand and much slower stock reductions." To read the full article see http://www.newbusiness.co.uk/news/manufacturing-sector-returns-growth

THE 'BIGGER BETTER BLUES POINT' PLAN

This month is all about BIG news and changes at Blues Point so to get things off to a good start we would like to say a giant size thank you to all of you for working with us in 2009 and for making sure that December was a busy month for Blues Point. We are especially grateful as it appears that the trend has continued into 2010 with a great pile of vacancies on our books!

Being a hive of activity again after the 2009 gloom and doom is such a pleasure that we have decided the time has come to expand Blues Point Ltd...with an office move scheduled for February and the recruitment of a Sales Recruitment Executive currently under way (when we have a spare moment) we can confidently say that 2010 is go-go-go!

Our second (and much grander) news item is that Matt Byrne, one of Blues Point's Directors, is getting married at the end of January! Congratulations Matt, we wish you and Nina all the best and we hope that you won't fall in love with Australia and decide to stay there after your honeymoon!

2012 - MORE THAN JUST THE OLYMPICS TO LOOK FORWARD TO!

http://www.newbusiness.co.uk/ had a tiny little article this month to report the big news that there is going to be an extra public holiday in 2012. If the Olympics wasn't enough to put a smile on people's faces an extra day off during the summer has to be!

The article, which can be found at http://www.newbusiness.co.uk/news/new-bank-holiday-announced-2012 , announces that "the holiday is to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in the first weekend of June 2012" and that it is scheduled for Tuesday the 5th of June.

Why a Tuesday?! Well, to make a real celebration out of it (seeing as Diamond Jubilees don't come around all that often) the powers that be have decided to move the traditional Bank Holiday at the end of May to the 4th of June so that we can have a four day weekend to celebrate the Queen!

INTERVIEW TECHNIQUES...FOR INTERVIEWERS

Corporate Recruiters, a group on Linked In, recently had a post discussing the topic:

"What is the most outdated interview question?"

We think we learn a lot from candidates and because it's always interesting to hear from the other side of the fence we decided to share some of the ideas with you. Here are a couple of questions that candidates think hirers should make do without:

• "What would your wife say if we were to ask her what your biggest flaw was? (it's even worse than what's your greatest weakness)"
• "If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?"
• "Tell me about yourself..."

After reading these gems in http://www.recruiter.co.uk/world%27s-worst-interview-question/1004044.article I decided to have a look on the internet to see what everyone else was saying about the worst ever interview questions. Here's a selection:

• "If you were a 'Lost' character, which one would you be?"
• "How do you define sexual harrassment?"
• "What is your biggest weakness?"
• "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?"

It's unanimous that the 'biggest weakness' and '5 year' questions are voted the worst possible interview questions. Why? - because both are so overdone and everyone has an answer ready.

So what should we be asking in Interviews?

According to http://humanresources.about.com/b/2009/08/29/best-job-interview-questions.htm there is a better way and it even has a name - "Behavioural Interviewing". Behavioural Interviewing intends to find out "not just what the candidate predicts he or she will do in some future work situation" but rather "what they have already done in the past." Here are a few example questions:

• What is your dream for your work life?
• What is the most recent book you have read related to your job?
• Describe the work environment in which you will most effectively be able to contribute.
• What makes you happy at work?

What do you think?

If you would like advice on conducting interviews please let us know as we are considering doing an "Interview Technique" workshop for our clients. We think it would be a great opportunity not only for you to hone your interviewer skills but also for our clients to network with other local businesses.

GO ON...HAVE A COFFEE BREAK

A weather wise read for you from http://www.101funjokes.com/computerjokes.htm

There was a pilot flying a small single engine charter plane with a couple of very important executives on board. He was coming into Seattle airport through thick fog with less than 10m visibility when his instruments went out. So he began circling around looking for landmarks. After an hour or so, he starts running pretty low on fuel and the passengers are getting nervous. Finally, a small opening in the fog appears and he sees a tall building with one guy working alone on the fifth floor. The pilot banks the plane around, rolls down the window, executes a 275 degree turn and proceeds to execute a perfect blind landing on the runway of the airport 5 miles away. Just as the plane stops so does the engine as the fuel has run out.

The passengers are amazed and one asks how he did it. "Simple" replies the pilot, "I asked the guy in the building a simple question. The answer he gave me was 100 percent correct but absolutely useless, therefore that must be Microsoft's support office and from there the airport is just a while away"

THANK YOU!

Thank you for reading our newsletter! If you would like to subscribe please email 'subscribe' to ashleigh-may@bluespoint.net

Check out our website on http://www.bluespoint.net/

DECEMBER NEWSLETTER

WELCOME TO OUR DECEMBER 2009 NEWSLETTER

We hope our letter catches you daydreaming about your plans for the Festive Season...Happy Christmas Everyone!!

IN THIS ISSUE

• Some juicy news about the Job Market
• What we've been up to at Blues Point
• Top tips for employers who are feeling anxious about the work Christmas Party
• Social Media - is is worth it?
• Have a coffee break

We want our newsletter to be interactive and full of information that you are interested in hearing; if you want to contribute or if you would like us to do an article on a particular subject please feel free to drop me an email on ashleigh-may@bluespoint.net

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE JOB MARKET?

With Christmas just around the corner it's encouraging to note that everyone we talk to feels that the economy is slowly picking up...and we talk to a lot of people!

According to The Recruiter permanent placements are rising at the fastest rate since 2007. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG 'Report on Jobs' reveals "a third consecutive month of growth in both permanent placements and temp billings during October, marking the sharpest rise in two years an 16months respectively."

The report states that demand for "permanent staff rose for the first time in 17 months, while demand for temps continued to grow following September's slight gain. Candidate availability continued to increase in October, but the rates of improvement in both permanent and temporary staff availability eased to its least marked in 15months."

The Chief Executive of the REC, Kevin Green, says: "These figures show that the UK Job Market is on the road to recovery, with signs of improvement for the third month in a row. The demand for permanent recruitment is returning as employers start to hire people at an accelerating rate...Based on the latest findings , we anticipate that unemployment will not reach 3m in 2010 as some predicted. This again highlights the benefits of the UK's flexible labour market and a balanced attitude towards employment legislation in terms of keeping people in work."

View the full article on http://www.recruiter.co.uk/permanent-placements-rise-at-fastest-rate-since-2007/1003289.article

WHAT HAVE BLUES POINT BEEN UP TO?

With business picking up it's been all hands on deck at Blues Point in November but we did take time out to partner up with The Staffordshire Partnership to encourage work related learning with a group of GCSE Students at Chasetown Sports and Community College.

The students have just started the new Business Administration and Finance Diploma which is designed to give young people an in-depth understanding of industry sectors relevant to their Diploma subject. To enhance the learning experience the school are working with The Staffordshire Partnership who forge links between schools and local or national companies to give young people a chance to experience situations relevant to the modern workplace.

Blues Point Ltd offered to help out and delivered a training session on how to develop Interview and CV writing skills. Sally Smith from The Staffordshire Partnership thanked Blues Point for their involvement saying, "Blues Point are fully supportive of Educational Engagement with young people. An excellent workshop provided the opportunity for learners to interact and improve their future skills."

We also got very positive feedback from the students, for instance one student said of the training session, "The workshop was very useful in bringing my learning to life" and another, "very useful, it taught me how to write a winning CV."

HELP! IT'S THE CHRISTMAS PARTY

According to a survey of more than 2 000 employees from online job board TipTopJobs over 55% of workplaces have cancelled the annual Christmas do this year because of the recession. A report in The Recruiter (http://www.recruiter.co.uk/1003660.article) says that around 64% of employees are loathe to lose out on the Christmas party and that "they would like a 'budget office party' in light of the economic climate."

The survey also revealed that "42% of the offices that are proceeding with their Christmas Party have had to make significant cuts to budget due to the recession. The swanky restaurant has been substituted for the office meeting room; the elaborate canapes now a humble cocktail sausage."

Employee's may be happy with the budget festivities but how are employers feeling? Recruiter suggests that part of the reason a workforce enjoys the Christmas Party "is due to the 43% of employees who admitted to their boss having embarassed themselves at their previous functions." (and we know that this is only one of your potential Christmas headaches!) SO we have compiled a couple of FAQ's from ACAS to help you survive the annual Christmas celebration:

• Q: What if an employee who has clearly drunk too much at the Christmas party is planning to drive home? It's not my responsibility, is it?
• A: In fact, it is. As an employer you have a 'duty of care' toward your employees and as it's the company's party, you need to take some responsibility. Think about your travel arrangements and maybe end the party before the public transport stops running. Or provide the phone numbers for local registered cab companies and encourage employees to use them. Hiring minibuses to take staff home is another option which would probably be greatly appreciated.
• Q: We want to make sure there isn't a repeat of last year when people failed to turn up for work the day after the Christmas party.
• A: Make sure you provide plenty of non-alcoholic drinks and food. Before the party ensure that all staff realise that disciplinary action could be taken if they fail to turn up for work and there is reason to believe it is due to over-indulgence.
• Q: If an employee suffers verbal abuse about being gay at the local pub before the party - it's not on work premises so it's a matter for them, isn't it?
• A: Wrong - goign to the pub before the office party counts as an extension of work and so all the laws covering discrimination still apply. Make sure the company has policies in place on bullying and harrassment and discrimination and that everyone knows what they are and what the penalties are for ignoring them.
• Q: Our Christmas party has always been a rather quiet event. However, we took over another company this year and now havea majority of younger employees. They are used to more boisterours celebrations and I'm worried that age discrimination claims will be lodged - how can I make everyone happy?
• A: The key to a successful party is to put some thought into it. Try to ensure that there is a mix of music and that any organised entertainment takes account of all ages. What you end up with may not be to everyone's taste but you can always learn from it and canvass suggestions for next year!

For the full article and other similar Q&A articles please have a look at http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/legal/35_1/Christmas-party-employers-answers.shtml which is our source for this article.

SOCIAL MEDIA FRENZY

One of Blues Point's recruiters went on a Utilising Social Media and Online Networking course recently to find out whether there is any intrinsic value behind the hype surrounding Twitter, Linked In etc. The answer was a firm, resounding YES! At the expense of a couple of minutes a day (if you are disciplined) you get great back links for your website, build your brand awareness and increase your online presence without spending a penny.

We would love to know if you've been bitten by the Social Media bug too so if you have come follow us on Twitter and get up to minute information on what Blues Point are up to. We will happily follow you back to listen to your tweets! Check out our profile on http://twitter.com/BluesPoint

GO ON...HAVE A COFFEE BREAK

A little treasure from http://www.101funjokes.com/computer_jokes.htm

SPELL CHECKER

I halve a spell checker,

It came with my pea see.

It plainly marks four my revue

Mistakes I dew knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word

And weight four it two say

Weather eye am wrong oar write

It shows me strait aweigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid

It nose bee fore two long

And eye can put the era rite

Its rarely ever wrong.

I've scent this massage threw it,

And I'm shore your pleased too no

It's letter prefect in every weigh;

My checker tolled me sew.

THANK YOU

Thank you for reading our newsletter, we hope you have enjoyed it! If you would like to subscribe simply send the word "subscribe" to ashleigh-may@bluespoint.net

To find out more about us please check out our website, http://www.bluespoint.net/