Our education system - lack of basic skills of school and college-leavers

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-13310246

What do you think? How can we improve the levels of literacy and numeracy of our school-leavers?
Where have we gone wrong, or is it just media hype?

Unsocial Media!?

Recent statistics show that only one in five people in the UK search for jobs on social media networks leaving the UK near the bottom of the global rankings in 25th place. However it seems that now more than ever we should be developing a strong online presence on the many professional social networks available to us and take advantage of the opportunities they have to offer to stand out from the crowd!

Try starting by simply making yourself a LinkedIn profile where you can upload your CV, add personal achievements, build your connections and get recommended by your colleagues. This will enable recruiters such as us to view your profile and portfolios and contact you about suitable opportunities for you future.

You can now also follow Park Street People on Twitter and Facebook to keep up to date with all the latest recruitment news and vacancies and hopefully and do your bit for the UK's rankings!

Lauren Candon
Resourcing Consultant

What did we do before technology!?

Park Street People learnt the hard way last week when our rooter crashed and we were inexplicably launched into what can only be described as blind panic! No internet, no emails, no contact with the outside world through our online safety blanket! How will we ever survive!?

Well after hours of trying to sort the problem Park Street People's consultants went back to old school recruiting! It's all about using your resources, keeping pro active, thinking on your feet and yes using that strange thing we sometimes take for granted called the telephone! With social media, e-marketing and e-commerce gone mad whatever happened to smart, down to business conversations?

Our directors were thrown back into old and possibly not fond memories of faxing and hand delivered CVs but we soon found that by using our time effectively and speaking to people that we could overcome any unwanted obstacles and come out on top! It must be said though I think we're all glad we're finally back to full strength! So what are you waiting for!? Come and see us face to face today with your CV or pick up the phone and come one proactive step closer to finding the right job for you the old school way!

Lauren Candon
Resourcing Consultant
18/05/11

For all blogging enthusiasts!

If you're a blogging enthusiast & think you have what it takes to market a brand within the social media industry send your cv to jobs@parkstreetpeople.com subject WOK.04118 now!

A degree of realism?

How realistic are today’s youth when looking for employment? With various statistics released in the past week, this question raises an interesting topic that is increasingly pertinent in the economic climate that we all currently face in the UK today.

Youth unemployment has continued to increase (963,000 total at the end of February 2011) despite an overall drop in unemployment during the past quarter. This continuing rise demonstrates the ongoing struggle that faces many young people in securing long-term, viable employment. With many employers being cautious over their hiring plans, it is becoming more apparent that their current preference lies with recruiting skilled workers who are more flexible with their salary expectations at a time where securing the ‘perfect role’ is very challenging.

Another statistic released this week has shown the average starting salary for a graduate in 2011 is likely to be just over £26,000 per annum. Whilst this demonstrates a fall in real terms (due to the RPI remaining consistently high over 3.7% all year), the average will have increased from £25,166 in 2010. With competition for graduate roles continuing to increase in 2011 (44 applications per vacancy in 2010), many of the highest achieving graduates will still have successful starts to their chosen careers later in 2011. They will be paid above the stated salary level and will have many opportunities open to them in the future. What of the many other graduates who enter the job market in the next few months that are yet to secure employment; will they enter with a set expectation that £25-26K is realistically achievable in a tight job market where vacancies are at a premium and are incredibly competitive?

My own experience of securing my first permanent role after completing my degree was in 2001. I was offered the role prior to taking my finals and I happily agreed to a starting basic salary of £12,000. I saw the potential gain through the outlined commission plan and wanted to have the opportunity to prove myself in a challenging and targeted environment. Now being in a position to set starting salaries for my current employer, I want our employees to be able to live off their starting basic salary but to still have the ambition and drive to earn the commission available to take them well in excess of the £26,000 mark.

This type of employee is what many of today’s unemployed youth should strive to be. By being flexible and approachable to starting in roles that allow them to get a foot in the door, the experience gained will see their salaries rising within a short space of time. People should not be afraid of considering lower salaried roles if it is a viable route to improving their long-term career options. Whilst a % of today's youth will always rise to the top of the current market, the bulk of the population sitting within this demographic will find a difficult employment market waiting ahead of them.

In my opinion, the 16-24 year old range of applicants inevitably holds the future for our country but we are at risk of wasting a generation of talent through a ‘safety-first’ hiring approach and also through a lack of proactivity from the youth market. There are many inspirational stories of leading businessmen and women who pushed themselves when they sat within this age range. Inevitably names include Sir Alan Sugar and Sir Richard Branson and more recently Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook. Whilst all these people share the common entrepreneurial spirit, many of today’s unemployed youth still need to strive to want to succeed within a difficult employment market. Many want to be successful but don’t feel as though they are getting the breaks needed to start their careers. What follows is a short list that many of today’s unemployed youth and tomorrow’s graduates should consider to ensure they aren’t a part of the ever increasing statistic of unemployment.

1. Take time to have a clear understanding of what work you want to undertake. A scatter bomb approach shows uncertainty in your decision making and often leads to instability in your early career.    

2. If you have limited commercial experience, don’t sell yourself short but don’t have an overinflated expectation of your salary demands. Set a mark in your mind and make applications for similar roles. You will quickly be able to gauge whether this mark is achievable when you see the level of response coming back to you.

3. Ensure you use all avenues open to you to make job applications. Traditional press, online job boards, direct employer’s websites, recruitment consultancies, Job Centre Plus and networking with friends and family are an immediate handful of approaches to consider.

4. Rigorously check your application (CV and cover letter) for spelling and grammar errors. Get this proof read before sending it through. Nothing harms your initial chances more than sending through an application which shows a lack of care and attention to detail.

5. Ensure your CV highlights the positive attributes you can bring to a potential employer. Focus on your strengths and achievements and tailor your CV to each role that you are applying for.

6. Follow up on your applications. Respect closing dates if stated but then don’t be afraid to call to speak to a decision maker to competently demonstrate your suitability for a particular vacancy. If you know your CV is not the strongest, then this becomes even more important to consider.

7. Act professionally at all times irrespective of who you are speaking to, no matter how frustrated you may feel by the process of finding employment. With recruitment businesses, remember that we are an extension of our client’s hiring functions. We get paid to send applicants that we have the utmost confidence in representing our business in-front of our client. If you treat a recruiter as someone who is getting in the way of you finding employment, you should never expect to receive much back in return.

8. Learn from every interview you attend. Any feedback that you get will assist you in the future so use every meeting as a learning experience to improve your chances at later interviews. The smallest points such as body language and demeanour can often be attributable to your chances of success and failure.

The more realistic they are and the greater efforts that are put in to secure employment by the youth of today will inevitably address the upsurge in an unwelcome statistic. Too many rely on others to change their own lives and it’s down to this generation to want to be tomorrow’s success stories in the world of business. There still are plenty of opportunities out there for this age range and many are still achieving very strong salaries. These are the youth who are following through and pushing themselves to be successful. Learn to rely on yourself to be a success and the rewards will soon follow.

Enhance your chances of gaining future employment by learning a 2nd language

A recent BBC News article demonstrated the continued increase in dominance of English being the common global business language as the reluctance of many British students to push forward with their mandatory studies to learn a 2^nd fluent language.

Many of the current generation of current and future graduates would significantly enhance their chances of gaining employment within a difficult and competitive job market by furthering their skill-base through looking at language requirements that are commonly difficult to find within the UK employment market.

European countries which tend to have high-standards of living and lower unemployment levels will always see a lesser movement of workers into the UK market. Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland all fall comfortably under this banner and any candidates with the relevant language capabilities from these countries will typically find many career opportunities open to them that otherwise wouldn’t be there for other British workers.

Based on a study of multilingual recruitment requirements during the past twelve months, Park Street People have seen that any companies requiring fluency in German, Dutch, Swedish or Danish will commonly see these needs open longer than any other roles within their organisation. This dearth of local talent in the market should be seen as an avenue for savvy students to benefit from in the coming years. Similarly with countries such as China becoming far more dominant in global economics, considering learning languages such as Mandarin is a smart choice for many business stars of the future.

Educating the youth of today that learning to not rely on English as your sole means of communicating in a business environment should be seen as a key message when teaching our children languages from an early age. Had my school emphasised the benefits of these studies and what I could gain in my later life, I’m confident that I’d now speak at least one further language to a high standard.

As a business, we’re always keen to hear from applicants with multilingual capabilities as we know our clients can derive additional benefit from harnessing those skills. Our message will always be clear to anyone considering learning another language; why haven’t you started already?

James Bessant
Director- Park Street People

Welcome to Park Street People the recruitment specialist's new blogging site! Here you can find out about the top recruitment news and the inside tricks of the trade from our very own consultants such as CV tips, interview techniques, how to go about getting visas, the best ways to find accomodation when relocating for a role and much, much more!

Sign in and visit us each week for the most up to date vacancies and feel free to start discussions on what type of jobs you're looking for, what you're passionate about and what you think makes a great recruitment agency to help us to help you!

We look forward to hearing from you all!

Happy Blogging :)