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!
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