Going green – be it with a fully electric car or with a hybrid car – makes big sense if you’re a company car driver. That’s because, for the next few years at least, running such a vehicle will be efficient when it comes to benefit in kind tax.

And the good news is that tax situation is set to be the status quo, because benefit-in-kind tax bandings have been frozen until April 2025.

How are hybrid company cars taxed?

Not all hybrid cars are created equal. Some hybrids are self-contained, and run for only brief periods in pure electric power. These are called regular hybrids, and they’re are taxed in the same way as any petrol or diesel car. This same rule applies to cars that are described as mild hybrids (cars that use electrical assistance to help acceleration but which can’t run on electricity alone, even for short distances).

A driver’s monthly tax bill will be calculated using the car’s P11d value (the on-the-road price, less the cost of registration and the first year’s car tax), its CO2 emissions, and the driver’s personal tax rating (20% or 40%). The lower the car’s price, and the cleaner its emissions, the less the driver will pay in tax.

Then there are plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), which are cars that can be plugged in and have the ability to run on battery power alone for certain distances. This ability further reduces the car’s emissions, so it qualifies for lower tax rates. For such cars, the longer the electric range, the lower the tax band. This is because the PHEVs currently on sale aren’t yet efficient enough to qualify for the very lowest rates (2%), because none has a long-enough electric-only range. Nevertheless, they’re much cheaper on company car tax than a pure petrol or diesel equivalent.

Electric cars were subject to 0% BIK in 2020/21, but for 2022/23 that has risen to 2%, and that rate will remain in place until 2025. Despite the increase, someone with an electric company car will pay thousands of pounds less in company car tax each year than someone with a petrol or diesel.

Here’s an example to illustrate the point.

Perhaps you’re deciding which BMW 3 Series Touring should be your next company car. At the time of writing, the PHEV BMW 330e Touring M Sport has a P11d value of £46,360.  The diesel BMW 320d M Sport has a value of £43,540. For the 2022/23 tax year the PHEV sits in the 12% tax bracket, while the diesel is in the 31% band.

So over the full year, a 40% taxpayer running the 330e will pay out £2225.28. If they’d chosen the 320d instead the bill would be £5398.96. Choosing the hybrid saves £3173.68 in just one tax year.

With the sums so heavily in hybrid’s favour, it’s no wonder that sales of PHEVs are rising all the time. If a desire to change your company car is driving your need to find a new role please visit our job search page.

Conclusion

If you want super-low BiK bills, pure electric power is the way to go. But running an electric car demands certain compromises, such as having to plan your journey around charging opportunities, that hybrid petrol and diesel cars don’t place on you. And, while a plug-in hybrid car with a decent battery-only range can effectively be treated as an electric car for short distances, having petrol or diesel power in reserve means you don’t need to panic when the electricity runs out. That’s why making the switch to a plug-in hybrid car from a petrol or diesel will be much less of a shock than if you made the leap to an electric car. If you would like any more information about the level of reward package you should be offering or receiving please Contact Us at your earliest opportunity.

Why so few female applicants for an MD position? Imposter Syndrome?

I recently ran an advertisement in several on-line media for a Managing Director for a 19 branch retail chain. Of the 91 applications only 6 came from female candidates and we wondered why.

To our mind, retail management has no gender bias. Female CEO’s exist at John Lewis, Coop, Bravissimo, Harvey Nicholls, White Stuff, Jimmy Choo and there are many more so why were only 6.5% of our applications from female candidates?

We are confident it wasn’t the text of the advertisement which was entirely neutral so we asked some female senior managers for their opinion and the majority mentioned imposter syndrome. We don’t absolutely know if this was the cause but Imposter Syndrome is considered to be a factor that is more limiting to women than men when applying for jobs and even more limiting to people of colour. One female MD said that men will apply to job adverts when they know they only have a few of the required qualities but women will only apply for a job if they have all of the required qualities. At Cavendish Maine we work hard to remove conscious and unconscious prejudice from recruitment processes so wanted to learn more about Imposter Syndrome.

Bupa defines Imposter Syndrome as:

A form of ‘intellectual self-doubt’, when you don’t believe your achievements are real. It was first described in high-achieving women in 1978, but anyone can be affected, whatever their job.

People with imposter syndrome tend to be intelligent and high achievers. They’re also likely to be perfectionists, feeling self-doubt whenever something doesn’t go as planned. Or even when things do go as planned, they may still feel that they could have done better. They may put things off, always looking for ‘extra information’ before they start a task as they worry about looking stupid if they don’t know something.

The Journal of Business and Psychology reported that:

Individuals that have impostor syndrome always attribute their success to either luck, influence, or other people, instead of accepting that they are competent and their hard work paid off. Thus, they believe that they will have to work harder than others to prove themselves. Small and big successes achieved by people with impostor syndrome will trigger an impostor cycle. They will become bothered that their abilities will be scrutinised to reveal a level of incompetence. If you find yourself always avoiding extra responsibilities that could hone your skills while opting for a familiar duty that you have developed, then you may have impostor syndrome.

It appears that a lack of role models fuels Imposter Syndrome and until men and women across all ethnic groups are equally represented in all senior roles, some job seekers will have self-doubt over their ability to secure or succeed in a promotion or a more senior job application.

If this could be you, LinkedIn published a good article that offered some solutions: (18) Imposter Syndrome in the Job Search | LinkedIn

One of the most important (and rewarding) things that a business can offer is supporting employees in reaching their professional goals. When it comes to your “star players,” you will want to reward them with increased responsibility if they want it. But how do you know if they are ready for a promotion? And if they are ready, what new role should they take on?

The following article was created from a range of experts who detailed their insights into how to make these decisions.

Below are 10 signs that an employee is ready for advancement and how to determine what kind of promotion they should receive.

1. They Ask For More Responsibility

When an employee asks for more responsibility, it means they have more capacity and are eager to help the entire team succeed. When they seek to know “what else they can do,” they are demonstrating they are ready for the next step. If they are actively anticipating their leader’s or team’s needs and taking initiative before deadlines, it is time for a promotion.

2. Acquiring New Skills Would Help Them Grow

The biggest pitfall is what is called the Peter principle, wherein people continue to be promoted within an organization until they reach a level of “respective incompetence.” Promote people who excel. You shouldn’t expect more of the same from an employee who has been promoted; the promotion should be a challenge that triggers the employee to develop new skills. So, look at the employee and ask yourself, “What is it that this person in front of me could learn to grow as a professional?” Use that concept to decide on their next step within the company.

3. They Consistently Exceed Performance Expectations

An employee may be ready for a promotion if they consistently exceed performance expectations, seek out additional responsibilities or demonstrate a strong work ethic. To determine the appropriate promotion, consider their skills, experience, and career goals, as well as the needs of the organization. Most importantly, have an open discussion with your people about their career aspirations.

4. Clients And Team Members Provide Positive Feedback

One key indicator of an employee’s readiness to be promoted is the feedback you hear from clients and the people and teams the employee interacts with. Listen for key input, such as, “They are knocking it out of the park, consistently,” “They show up engaged,” “They show maturity,” and, “I go to them for thought partnership!” These are clear signs of their readiness to take the next step in their role.

5. They Work And Think Above Their Pay Grade

A typical sign of readiness for promotion is working and thinking above their pay grade. When an employee is already performing at that next level, they demonstrate a clear readiness for promotion.

6. They Are Willing To Push Themselves

We strive when we are in the flow. The challenge should be slightly higher than the employee’s competencies for them to remain in the flow. If an employee is asking for a real, new challenge outside of their comfort zone, it is a great sign that they are willing to push themselves and grow—and that if they do not get a new challenge, they will soon be bored, which is the beginning of the end.

7. They Take Initiative Beyond Expectations

Employees can demonstrate that they are ready for a promotion in a number of ways: volunteering for additional work, taking initiative beyond what is expected, acing performance in their current role or reaching out to solve organizational problems and issues. Leaders can assess where discretionary effort is being expended to assess the type of promotion that should be considered.

8. They Consistently Operate At The ‘Next Level’

When an employee is consistently operating at the next-level step of business, relationships and leadership, they’re ready for a promotion. As a leader, you will feel proud to see that you are primarily operating in coaching or delegation mode. You also need to know your employees’ aspirations for growth. Moving up is not always the motivation for everyone. No one size fits all.

9. They Show Leadership Potential And A Strong Work Ethic

An employee who consistently meets performance goals, takes on additional responsibilities, shows leadership potential and has a strong work ethic is likely ready for a promotion. Determine the appropriate promotion by assessing the employee’s skills, experience, career goals and company needs. Have regular career development conversations and provide growth opportunities.

10. It’s Apparent From Development Conversations

Ideally, the manager and the employee have regular 360-degree conversations about performance, motivation and aspirations. Together, they will plan the personal and professional development of the employee, allowing the employee to grow within their role and for both parties to establish measurable elements, creating the conditions for a move. A fair leader would facilitate a move within or outside of the organisation.

This is a curated article taken from Forbes Magazine online.

Salary negotiation is something that everyone should be focused on.

No matter when the last time you negotiated for a better salary was, the time will come again when the value of the work you do is not reflected in the compensation you receive for that work.

When this time comes, it’s important to approach the issue objectively, build an evidence-based case for your desired salary and negotiate for it.

This guide will cover the basics of salary negotiations, how to find out your objective value from job market data, best practises, how to negotiate a pay rise and what you should do afterwards.

What Are Salary Negotiations?

Salary negotiations are discussions between yourself and a representative of your current or prospective company that aim to help you secure a higher salary.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a long-time employee or a new hire — if you believe that your salary isn’t enough, you should feel empowered to negotiate in order to get what you deserve.

When you decide that you want to negotiate for a better salary, be prepared to:

Build your case: You will need to prove that you are worth investing in, with specific examples of the value you’ve provided to your employer throughout your tenure there.

Face some resistance: Even air-tight cases for a salary increase can elicit skepticism, so be prepared to answer questions, especially, “Why do you deserve this salary?”

Strike a Balance Between Firm and Flexible: Your salary negotiations won’t go well if you refuse to give any ground or say “yes” to a minimal salary increase. Be prepared to go back-and-forth during negotiations and be sure that any compromise reached is acceptable.

Why It’s Important to Negotiate Your Salary

It’s important to understand that negotiating your salary is a perfectly normal part of the employment process and that getting the salary you deserve is part of advancing in your career.

Your salary is more than a deposit to your bank account — it’s how your company shows you that they appreciate your work and value you and your skills.

Your salary is also how your company supports your work-life balance, with career development, work flexibility and health-related perks.

Negotiating for some of these perks will help you to get the complete salary and benefits package you need:

University Tuition Reimbursement: University tuition is only getting more expensive, and negotiating for tuition reimbursement is highly appealing for people who want to continue their education.

Training, Professional Development & Certifications: Not every company offers effective professional development and/or certification programs, but career-minded professionals should be sure to negotiate for professional development resources.

Mentoring & Coaching: This perk is nearly priceless because it can lead to both professional growth and growth of interpersonal relationships with talented leaders in the company.

Childcare: The costs and time requirements of childcare add up quickly, and negotiating for childcare is a great way for parents to secure a better working arrangement.

Health + Fitness: Negotiating for health and fitness benefits (such as wellness stipends, gym memberships, etc.) can add value to your bottom line.

Flexibility: Being able to work from home, work while travelling or work on a different schedule can be more attractive to some people than a higher salary.

While dollar signs definitely matter when negotiating your salary, these are forms of compensation that should be considered before taking a new offer or re-signing on a dotted line.

How to Find Out What You’re Worth

Before you go into a salary negotiation, it’s crucial that you find out, objectively, how much someone in your position, with your experience and in your location, should be paid.

Salaries range greatly by industry, seniority and geography, and getting the salary you want will depend on asking for a realistic compensation package.

Define Your Range and Do Online Research

First, you need to find out what people in your position, with your level of experience, are making in your area.

Being an office manager in Bristol, for instance, yields a different average salary than being an office manager in London does.

To get a sense of what the average salary is for your job title, a simple search on Glassdoor’s salaries tool will give you baseline information.

Know Your Salary

After researching the compensation range for the job, the next step is comparing the average compensation with your market worth. Using google, glassdoor and a  range of free online tools, look up the average salaries for your title and location — the results you will see are based on what others in your field are being paid. You’ll also see available job listings for those titles.

Once you have a general sense of your market worth, you’ll be able to compare that with what the average salary for the position you’re vying for is.

Salary Negotiation Tips

Salary negotiation doesn’t have to feel uncertain or intimidating.

As long as you’ve done research to learn a realistic salary range to ask for and have a plan in place for navigating the negotiation, there’s nothing to worry about.

Following these tips will also help you to have effective salary negotiations.

Have a salary range rather than a single figure: When pressed for your salary requirements, you should always be sure to offer a range based on what others in the field are earning, rather than a single fixed number. Having an acceptable salary range helps you to negotiate and find compromise more easily.

Practice your pitch at least once before the actual negotiation: Find someone to listen to your proposal for a salary increase, so you can feel the cadence of your speaking points out loud in a conversational setting. Much of a successful negotiation boils down to feeling comfortable and well-prepared.

Be gracious: If you’re at all worried about coming across as demanding or ungrateful, there’s a very simple solution to that: be gracious. No matter the outcome, be understanding, appreciative and thankful for the opportunity.

Be confident in your delivery: It’s extremely important to put on your game face when the moment comes for negotiation. Bring confidence to the delivery of your pitch and in the negotiations that follow.

Avoid accepting the first offer: If you need time to evaluate an offer, say so. Schedule your next meeting 24-48 hours out and come back with your counteroffer.

Understand your leverage: Your negotiating power will vary depending on your current employment situation. For example, if you are unemployed and applying for work, expect to earn approximately what your old salary was or slightly less, unless your skills are in particularly scarce in a high demand job market. You’ll only know this via research. Even if you believe this to be true, this must be delivered in a gracious way to avoid disappointment.

Asking these questions will also help during salary negotiations for a new or current job:

“Can I negotiate this offer?” Make sure to start off by asking if the offer is negotiable in the first place.

“Besides the base pay, what other benefits are negotiable?” This can include items such as tuition and training, paid leave, holiday time, moving expenses and pensions, just to name a few.

“How did you calculate this number?” By asking this question, you’ll be able to see if the number you’re being offered is a hard cap or a potential springboard for negotiation.

“What’s the outlook for salary rises or promotions?” Whether or not your salary offer is negotiable at the moment it’s offered to you, it’s important to know what the future potential is for a pay rise or promotion.

“What metrics do you use to evaluate the success of employees?” This is an important follow-up question to ask in salary negotiations and, if you end up working for the company, this information will help the next time you’re back at the negotiating table.

“Can I get the salary offer in writing?” Verbally settling a negotiation in your favour is great, but it doesn’t mean anything until it’s on paper.

How to Negotiate a Pay Rise

Even if your manager understands the value you’re adding to your company, it doesn’t mean they’ll proactively offer you a pay rise — you have to prove your case for a pay rise just as surely as you have to prove your case for a higher starting salary at a new job.

Leverage Internal Moves

A new role in your company provides a great negotiation opportunity. If you are considering a promotion or new job with your current employer, don’t buy the argument that management’s hands are tied and pay growth is capped.

Use market data to lay out what it would cost the company to try and hire off the street, and ask for it. You will likely find resistance, but be firm in your stance.

Choose Your Moment

Maybe it has been a while since your last pay increase, but you still need to pick a good time to negotiate for a pay rise if you’re serious about getting it.

A great time to bring up the subject of a pay rise is when you know your manager is impressed with your performance and/or in a good mood.

Be Firm & Persuasive

Confidence and persuasiveness are essential for successfully negotiating a pay rise.

What to Do After a Salary Negotiation

Whether you’ve just negotiated successfully or unsuccessfully, it’s important to already start thinking about the next salary negotiation so you can set yourself up for success.

Your Responsibilities May Increase

If your salary increase also came with a new job title, that’s more of a promotion than a salary negotiation. But even if you still have the same job, your responsibilities still might increase if you were given a pay rise. Since you stepped up and showed your worth, you’ll have to prove you were right about deserving more pay.

Your boss expects more out of you now, whether your higher salary came with changes to your responsibilities or not, and exceeding their increased expectations is important for getting that next pay rise or promotion.

If you didn’t get something in writing, make sure you get a letter or e-mail from your boss with the details of the new role outlining what they expect from you. Most importantly, make sure you know when your job changes — whether it’s immediately, or at the start of the next quarter.

Your Boss May Trust You More

As you go back to work post-negotiation, you might find your boss trusting you more or asking for your input on bigger decisions. Moreover, after they’ve seen the kind of confidence you have and how you view your work performance at the company, they will likely have greater respect for you.

Salary negotiations can be tough and nerve-wracking, but when you have a successful discussion, it sends at least two positive messages to your boss. The first is that you have plans to stick around at the company for a while, which is a good sign to any leader. The second is that you’re someone who is focused on the value of the work that they do and your boss will respect that directness and negotiation prowess.

You’re Not Done Negotiating

After a salary negotiation, it’s important to know that it wasn’t the last. Your job might become harder if you end up taking on new responsibilities, or you might find yourself with a promotion next year.

A lot can happen in the next year or two, so it’s important to consistently make sure that you’re being paid fairly for the amount of work you’re doing.

Hopefully this article will help you realise your true value, for any further advice please do not hesitate to get in touch…

Performance reviews can make employees nervous.

Common questions that might roll through the mind: What will my manager say? Have I achieved enough? What if their feedback is terrible?

The presence of the unknown can be unnerving in these annual assessments.

But they needn’t be.

While performance reviews evaluate your success against certain markers, they are also dialogues with your manager about improvement, ambition, and support.

Here are some performance review tips to take the anxiety out of the process and maximise what you get out of this valuable two-way conversation.

1. Know what to expect

• In most performance reviews, managers offer their assessment of an employee’s performance and then outline future expectations, often setting a timeline in which goals should be achieved.
• Don’t be afraid to ask your manager for their performance review tips, and what to expect from the process.
• Are there particular documents they want filled out? Perhaps they want you to present feedback in a particular way?
• The review process shouldn’t be one of secrecy, and you’re entitled to know what will be asked of you and the metrics or benchmarks against which you’ll be assessed.

2. Be prepared for your performance review

• Keeping track of where you went well, when and why you received feedback, and the KPIs you met and exceeded as they happened will take much of the stress out of your performance review planning process.
• It’ll also ensure you’re organised and prepared for your review, avoiding a last-minute scramble for evidence of the past year.
• Start an email folder dedicated to filing relevant emails
• Did you get great feedback from a client about your timely service delivery? Did a senior member of the organisation praise your problem-solving abilities?
• Whatever the commendation, if your skills and achievements are celebrated on email, file them away in an easy-to-identify folder.
• If you get verbal feedback, ask for it in writing
• Whether positive or more constructive, if you receive feedback in a meeting or during a phone conversation, ask the source to document it, if even briefly.
• This will add to the body of commentary you have on your work throughout the year, and show you’re serious about feedback you receive and using it to improve yourself.
• Invite feedback and praise.
• If the colleagues, clients, stakeholders and senior leaders you work with haven’t provided feedback on the work you’ve done together, ask them.
• Having a range of people from within and outside the organisation provide feedback will provide a comprehensive picture of how you performed across your various duties.
• Reflect on your previous performance review.
• Have you achieved what you set out to in your last review? Maybe you weren’t able to, because a large project got in the way, or the direction of the department changed?
• Again, it’s best to note and track these changes when they occur, so you can confidently account for what you have accomplished, and account for when goals might have got away from you.
• Be honest and open.
• Many performance reviews ask for a component of employee self-assessment. This will be a document that asks if you’ve fulfilled your core role responsibilities and achieved agreed KPIs over a specified period, and to what extent you did or didn’t fulfil these.
• If your employer doesn’t require self-assessment, consider writing something independently. It’s a valuable exercise for you and will provide more information for your manager to determine eligibility for benefits used to reward exceptional performance, such as pay rises or promotions.
• Being honest in these assessments allows you to talk candidly with your manager about the areas you’ve succeeded in, but also the areas that require attention or improvement. It will also make you more receptive to constructive criticism, and able to implement suggested changes and strategies both quickly and effectively.

3. Talk about the future in your performance review

• Want to know one of the most important performance review tips?
• Use yours as an opportunity not just to reflect on the past year, but to plan and share your ambitions for the future with your manager. Perhaps you’d like to learn skill, or class of business, or further your professional qualifications?
• By hearing your aspirations, your manager can lead you toward the right developmental activities – ones that help you as well as benefit the wider organisation.
• Performance reviews don’t need to be scary. In fact, they should be seen as opportunities for self-improvement, and conversations in which to plan and prepare for the next steps in your career.

4. Deliver constructive 360 degree.

• Whilst you work for the business, and report into a manager, the company must provide and support you to achieve the goals that you both agree during the review process.
• This is a two way relationship, and is the perfect opportunity to talk through what support the business delivered in the previous review period, and any areas where it fell short, or could be improved.
• Talking through these points in a constructive way will maximise the success for both parties, and allow for any adjustments for the coming year, ensuring that both parties are fully committed to supporting and delivering the direction for the following review period.
• Be open to the feedback and suggestions presented in this annual review, and never be afraid to ask questions or for clarification. It is, after all, your performance review.

We read thousands of CVs each year and our specialist consultants can provide feedback on how well your CV is working for you. The following notes provide general guidance around content and layout and we have a CV template that will help you to build your CV.

What information should I include on my CV?

While there is some core content that should always be on your CV, consider the need to adapt parts of the document (typically your personal statement) to increase its relevance to each job application.

1. Personal details:

You would be amazed at how many people forget to include their name, email, contact phone number and address. You need to make it easy for an employer / recruiter to contact you and please make sure you have a personal and professional greeting on your voicemail when you are job seeking. In an era of agile working you might not think that where you live is important – but its vital. Employers want to know how far you are from the office or from the centre of the area you will be covering and recruiters use your postcode to match you to future job opportunities.

2. Personal statement

This is going to help you to stand out from the crowd. It explains who you are, what you’re offering, and what you’re looking for. Aim to prove why you’re suitable in one short and succinct paragraph. Avoid cliches and use numbers for maximum impact.

For example, which of these sentences would impress you more?:

‘A super-star, high achiever who has wowed my colleagues ever since I joined’, or

‘Exceeded my sales target every year since joining and grown my business area by 85% over the last three years’.

 3. Work experience:

This section should include all of your relevant work experience, listed with the most recent first. Include your job title, the name of the organisation, time in post, and your key responsibilities. Using a template is the best way to structure this. You can access a CV template here.

Don’t presume that the reader knows your present employer and include a brief summary that provides context.

For example:

Sept 2018 to date

Commercial Manager                    XYZ Petfoods Ltd

XYZ Petfoods is a £15M turnover UK import and distribution business supplying a US petfood brand to UK retailers. We employ 31 people including my field sales team of 6.

My responsibilities include:

 4. Achievements:

Keep this to a maximum of 5 specific examples. Be succinct and don’t repeat what you have said elsewhere. What did you achieve and when did it happen? Make it recent and powerful.

5. Education:

Your CV needs to sell you. Think about how relevant your qualifications are for the job. Does the advert request any specific qualifications? Generally, the reader only wants to know your highest level of academic qualification and there is rarely any need to specify actual grades.

6. Hobbies and interests:

You don’t always need to include hobbies and interests in your CV but mentioning relevant ones could back up your skills and help you to stand out from the crowd – not to mention give you something to talk about at an interview. Just don’t say you enjoy socialising with friends just for the sake of including something. If it’s not going to add value, leave it out.

What words should I include in my CV?

It is challenging to sell yourself without sounding arrogant so don’t go over the top here. It is better to give examples that demonstrate your talents than just list them. Show that you are hard-working rather than just saying it. Appropriate keywords for your CV could include Accurate, Adaptable, Committed, Confident, Hard-working, Innovative, Personality, Pro-active, Reliable, Responsible.

How should I present my CV?

Your CV is the first thing an employer will see when hiring for a vacancy, and how it looks at first glance will be the reason they decide to read it in more detail. Even if your skills match the role perfectly, a messy and confusing CV probably won’t even get a second look.

To ensure you’re presenting yourself in the best light, you should always:

– Keep it short and succinct – two sides of A4 will almost always suffice.

– Choose a clear, professional font to ensure that your CV can be easily read

– Lay it out in a logical order, with sufficient spacing and clear section headings (e.g. Work experience, Education)

– Order your experience and education in reverse chronological order to highlight your most recent experience and achievements

– Check your grammar and spelling thoroughly

Our CV template is a good place to start. Once you have a CV we are happy to provide constructive feedback on its content and layout in order that its really working for you. Please Contact Us or go directly to one of our specialist consultants.

Let me guess. You’re thinking that you need to exercise more, drink less, eat better, work less, earn more and learn to speak French or play the piano. Same list as last year? Me too.

January 2023 is a great time to think a little deeper about what you want your life to look like a year from now and starting to make it happen. As Abraham Lincoln said ‘the best way to predict your future is to create it’.

We really like these suggestions from Aisles of Life:

1. Get more organised at work and at home

2. Stop worrying about what others think and about things you can’t control

3. Start living in the moment

4. Spend more time with the people who are important to you

5. Stand up for yourself

6. Be more optimistic

7. Quit an unfulfilling job and change career

8. Stop holding grudges, forgive others and let go of the past.

9. Try new things, even if they seem scary

10. Learn when to say No and when to say Yes

11. Enrol in course to gain more knowledge and to learn new skills or to improve the ones you have

12. Get out of your shell, make new friends and find ways to become more confident

13. Travel more, even if only locally

14. Make better financial decisions by earning more, saving more, investing wisely and budgeting well

15. Reduce social media use

16. End bad habits that have been holding you back

17. Let go of toxic friends and unhealthy relationships

18. Read more books

19. Adopt a more sustainable lifestyle

20. Give back to the community through volunteering, donations or random acts of kindness

If finding a new role is top of your list this year, we can help you with your CV preparation (Tips for CV Writing – Cavendish Maine) and job search. Just Contact Us and we can start the process.

Want to move up the ladder? These 10 traits may be the key to your success.

In these competitive times, advancing in your career is far from automatic. Those who sit back and wait for things to happen for them often end up frustrated, disillusioned, and burned out. In contrast, those who look for opportunities and seize them seem to have “better luck” than others.

Of course, it’s not luck at all.

If you’re looking to move ahead in the workplace, you’d do well to learn from those who seize the day and seem to advance easily. Here are the top 10 traits of people who advance in their careers:

1. Enjoy a Challenge

Too many people, when faced with a time-consuming project or a lengthy assignment, try to shirk their responsibilities or “delegate” them to others. But those who advance don’t shrink away from challenges and adversity. They see these times as opportunities to learn and grow–a new project, a new boss, or a new office are all chances to grow in a new way.

To advance in your career, embrace challenges instead of shrinking away. Not only will your skill set come out stronger as a result, your manager and other company higher-ups will see you taking the initiative. Remember, rewards come to those who stand out–not those who blend into the background.

2. See Failures as Opportunities

Dealing with failures as a professional is very difficult. You feel as if you’ve let yourself and your colleagues down. However, those that advance in their industries see failures as opportunities. Rather than blaming others or beating themselves up for making a mistake, they learn from their experience and focus on doing better in the future.

When you see failure as an opportunity to grow, you’ll be less prone to the emotional upset associated with it and you’ll advance in your career more quickly.

3. Possess Confidence

It’s amazing how an aura of capability makes people think you really are capable. Those who advance quickly possess confidence–in themselves, their work, and their career plan. This confidence helps others trust them, which helps them be seen as leaders.

As you pursue your next promotion, remember to build and exude confidence. Even if you’re a naturally shy person, you can learn to change the way you hold yourself, your body language, the tone of your voice, and more with consistent practice.

4. Are Optimistic

No one likes to be around a co-worker who constantly complains and sees the negative in everything. Those who advance quickly are optimistic, seeing solutions instead of problems. They aren’t unwilling to admit to challenges, but instead, they look for ways to overcome them.

To advance more quickly in your career, try looking on the brighter side. If optimism doesn’t come naturally to you, practice at home by writing down three to five things a day that you’re grateful for. These can be small things–like the fact that you hit a green light at a busy section. No matter what you write down, learning to see the good throughout your life will carry over into your performance at the office.

5. Are Open to Feedback

Being coachable is a major part of succeeding in business. Those who are promoted rapidly take feedback well, and are able to learn from it and implement changes. Instead of seeing feedback as criticism of your work, see it as constructive–you’ll be on the path to moving ahead quickly.

If criticism tends to throw you–leaving you either angry with rage or teary with disappointment–learn to take a few minutes to compose yourself before responding to the feedback. Try saying something like, “I appreciate the feedback, but I’d like to take a few minutes to reflect on it privately. Can we discuss this further in an hour?”

6. Look for a Mentor

Having someone on your side who can advocate for you is a big part of being promoted swiftly. Those who are successful seek out mentors whom they can learn from. Then, they also benefit from that manager or leader advocating for them or pointing out potential opportunities to take on new responsibilities.

Look for a mentor in your company who can help get you on the fast track, but don’t take the mentor-mentee relationship lightly. If a senior manager offers to assist you in this way, either in a formal or informal mentorship capacity, be respectful of his or her time and do your best to repay the favour whenever possible.

7. Are Flexible

While succeeding isn’t about giving up all your nights and weekends, being flexible has its advantages. Sometimes being flexible isn’t about more hours at all–it’s just as much about being willing to head up a project when you expected a quiet month in the office. To succeed in your career, do your best to be more flexible with the changing demands of the business. Your boss will notice.

8. Focus on Results

In business, it’s not about whose job a task is–it’s about getting the task done. Those who advance quickly focus on results–their own, their department’s, and the company’s. They don’t waste time with blaming or shifting responsibility. They dig in and get the work done. When you do this in your work, you’ll be positioning yourself well for success.

9. Aspire for More

Sometimes, the only difference between someone who gets promoted and someone who doesn’t is the “want it” factor. When you make it known that you aspire for more from your job and company, you’ll put yourself out there as someone who’s available for additional responsibility and promotion.

Of course, you’ll need to be careful with this one. Gossiping openly about how you deserve a better title isn’t going to do you any favours, so learn to show, not tell. Make it clear to your immediate supervisor that you’re interested in advancement opportunities, but also prove that you’re willing to put in the work to be worthy of them.

10. Are Good at Negotiation

It’s no secret that it’s hard to create win-win situations on the job. Often, no matter how hard you work to avoid it, some people feel short-changed in a situation, while others feel they won. Those who succeed quickly are those who learn to help everyone feel great about a particular outcome and stress the positive points for everyone involved.

The good news about all 10 of these traits is that they can be learned and developed. Don’t feel like those who advance rapidly in their careers are somehow better than you. They’ve simply mastered these 10 traits and used them to their best advantage. With a little practice, you can too.

Since our foundation in 1991 Cavendish Maine has seen huge changes in the way recruitment is conducted. We have worked through the launch of mobile phones; the internet; changing legislation; technology, Covid and the new world of remote and agile working. Many employers have been slow to adapt and fail to realise what it takes to attract and retain the talent they want in 2023. Working with a professional recruitment partner, such as Cavendish Maine, should take care of all of this for you – here is a summary that you might find useful.

1. Remote working and online interviews

The number of people now working fully or partly from home has risen by over 50% since March 2020. Surveys show that 80% of people in commercial roles would not now accept a job that offered no flexible working!

When it comes to recruitment, one of the major benefits of remote working for employers is that your talent pool is no longer limited to those who live locally, and it is easier to introduce more flexibility and diversity than ever before.

If you embrace remote working, embrace remote interviewing too. Traditional hiring managers rely on the CV as the only selection tool and invite a small number of candidates to face to face meetings on one or two specified days. You can see the limitations to this.

Online interviewing speeds up the hiring process and saves money. It encourages you to consider more candidates at the first stage which improves your opportunity to spot those all-important ‘soft skills’; you can keep the interviews short and sharp while still making / taking a first impression and you will have confidence in those that you invite to a face-to-face meeting. You are also more likely to invest time in social media and reference checks in advance of the second stage which usually removes the need for any further interviews.

2. Create a positive candidate experience

Candidate experience pre, during, and post-recruitment contributes to your employer branding and can affect your company’s reputation in the job market. It also affects the kinds of talent you attract and retain. By 2030 we will be faced with a talent shortage of more than 85 million people. Considering that and tight competition all around – you cannot afford for bad interview experience or reputation to cause loss of potential talent.

Based on a survey conducted by Kelly Services, 97% of candidates who had a positive experience with a company’s recruitment process would encourage others to apply, and 55% of them would share their positive experiences on social media.

3. Maximise employee retention, minimise bad hires

We believe that a bad hire costs the employer around £15,000, and losing a good hire is double – £30,000. If your company makes just one bad judgment and loses one good employee in a year – you’ll lose £45,000. It’s a lot of money that could be spent differently.

Processes. Think about what has worked in your organisation. Understand the culture, breathe this into the interview and hire people who will fit in, enjoy the team and stay with you in the face of a competitive approach.

4. Put soft skills into the spotlight

For a very long time hard skills were considered the most important in any recruitment process – the higher the competencies, the better. But enlightened employers realise that while hard skills can be learned, soft skills must be earned – mostly through experience.

It’s time to start adjusting the recruitment approach now and focus on more than previous experience.

The soft skills that will matter the most in the next three years

• Emotional intelligence
• Adaptability & resilience
• Integrity & ethics
• Creativity
• Teamwork

5. Understand Gen Z

Knowing how to target different generations with your recruitment process is a key factor for successful hires. And now, as Generation Z (‘Zoomers’ 1997+) are entering the workforce, it’s time to start tailoring your recruitment process to suit them.

Gen Z is characterised by specific values and expectations that need to be considered when attempting to attract them, the biggest being technology, and it’s through its implementation in the recruitment process that you can become an employer of interest in their eyes.

Zoomers are the ones that have been immersed in technology since they were born, they are digital natives. Most zoomers will not tolerate outdated technology in their workplace. The best way to recruit and retain this generation is to fully adapt the recruitment process to the technology they use.

Make sure your application process is fully mobile-friendly. You should make it possible for them to apply on their phones within a few clicks.

This generation will require you to post bite-sized content, preferably in a high-quality video format. They’d rather watch a quick video presenting your company than read text on your website. The year 2022 may be the high time for your company to revamp the website and make it more GenZ-friendly.

Conclusion

Recruitment processes need to keep pace with the world. Today its less about paper-pushing and more about diversity, modern technology, and adaptation. Cavendish Maine can help you with this – using technology and experience to amplify your employer brand and to quickly capture and excite the candidates you want to grow your business in 2022 and beyond.

Please Contact Us  for more information.

Recruitment is also marketing.

It helps position you in the market and it can significantly impact your ability to attract the very best people into your business.

A poorly designed or delivered interview process can leave candidates turned off or disengaged and like lots of bad experiences inevitably they get shared with their friends and colleagues in the market which negatively impacts your brand.

For a hiring manager, communication is key, particularly when candidates have been recommended by internal colleagues.

Managing timelines, expectations and suitability in some cases, is key to maintaining a positive candidate experience. Using an intermediary either an internal HR professional or an external recruitment partner can really insulate the hiring manager from a range of these issues.

To go through some of the details of what a good recruitment process looks like and how to deliver it please Contact Us and I’ll be happy to discuss.

Many thanks,

Steve

stephen@cavendishmaine.com