Jobs & employment blog

  It’s a new year and many of us are feeling a lot more settled than we were 12 months ago in the world of work. As was the case in 2020, last year’s events meant we had to constantly revise the plans and ambitions we had set out in January. The Cambridge Dictionary has announced that ‘perseverance’ is its Word of the Year for 2021. Defined as ‘continued effort to do or achieve...

As we approach another new year, are you feeling, dreaming and anticipating failure when you think about setting new goals or resolutions? You know that goals work and that you should set them. The Internet is awash with advice for setting SMART or other clever-sounding goals. So, you set some. And then by 1st February, you are back in the guilt of not following through. Is this you? ...

Have you ever noticed how many of the metaphors of talent are linked to water? We’ve had talent pools, talent pipelines, talent flow, talent leakage, talent waves… and I’d like to now add another, the talent puddle. I was recently having a conversation with an HR Director in a global tech business. She was bemoaning the limited supply of talent in her business, saying that it was...

  What role does inclusive leadership play in challenging gender inequality in the workplace?   To find out, watch our live event featuring our panel of experts: Jason Dunwell, Global D&I Council Member at Hays, Sandra Henke, Group Head of People and Culture at Hays, Ife Onwuzulike, Head of Diversity and Inclusion at CBI and Monica Parker,...

  To succeed at work, the ability to deliver strong presentations will always be important. Whether you’re a novice, or a seasoned public speaker, it’s always a good idea to brush up on our presenting skills.   That’s why today I’m lucky to be joined by Jay Surti, keynote speaker and author of several books including Ultimate Presentations: Master the Art of Giving...

During my career I’ve seen many candidates struggle with a common interview question when they shouldn’t. It’s a line of conversation that provides them with a great opportunity to impress the person leading the interview. Instead, I’ve often found that they mistakenly believe that the reply is an easy one and gives an unsatisfactory answer without stopping to think. That’s why I want to...

Christmas is prime time for catching up with loved ones – whether that will be in person or over video calls this year. However, if you are currently feeling unhappy in your current role, you are, no doubt, dreading being asked the inevitable question: “So how is your job going?” You wouldn’t mind usually, but right now this is a loaded question, simply because the truthful answer is...

Some of the trickiest conversations you can have as a senior figure within an organisation are those around pay rise requests. They’re a veritable minefield to navigate, during which a misconstrued word could quickly escalate the situation into full confrontation, or worse resignation. Having said this, it helps to regard pay rise requests not as a nuisance, but as an opportunity to reward...

If you have a science or science related degree, a PhD or experience in a related industry, you have already met the base level qualifications requirement for working in a research-focused team, such as medical affairs, in the life sciences industry. The main objective of the medical affairs team is to strategically partner with the commercial and research roles within a...

Counter-offers – they are an unavoidable reality for most hiring managers far and wide so if you haven’t experienced a candidate being counter-offered yet, then chances are you will at some stage. And whilst you can’t stop an employer from making a counter-offer, you can minimise the chances of the candidate accepting this counter-offer by taking certain steps throughout each stage of the...

  Whether you were actively looking for a new position or not, you have found yourself in a situation where you have been offered a new role. What’s more, the role pays far more than your current one for doing pretty much the same thing, so on the face of it, the choice seems obvious – go where the money is. But is this decision really that clear cut? The answer is rarely yes. There...

  The festive season is upon us and most of us are looking forward to a well-earned break to rest and catch up with friends and family – even if some of us are having to do that virtually. There is a tendency to see this period as “downtime”, and so it should be; you have worked hard for it all year after all. And what a year it has been. However, if you are already dreading...

Marketing is one of the fastest-changing industries out there, with huge shifts in consumer behaviour and new technologies altering the way that organisations both market and sell their products or services. When faced with this backdrop of continuous change, marketeers must take proactive steps to secure their long-term employability. So today, we’re joined by Keshia Khan, Marketing...

While we have more ways than ever to connect with each other, workplace loneliness is a daily struggle for many employees. In fact, a study by Future Workplaces found that managers and employees spend nearly half of their day communicating via technology, not in person. In the latest Hays Journal, we consider how organisations can work with staff to ensure nobody feels isolated. ...

When it comes to recruiting new team members, most hiring managers fall into two buckets: 1.  they’re either so busy that they find it hard to even find the time to prioritise hiring, or, 2. they’re so busy they simply can’t wait to find a replacement for a recently departed employee, as swiftly as possible. Worryingly, both scenarios can lead to an unnecessarily rushed...

  You know what your best interview performance looks like, and that wasn’t it. Despite all of your careful interview preparation, the points that you wanted to make just didn’t come across in the right way. You felt nervous and uncomfortable, you went blank when asked questions, and you struggled to build a rapport with the interviewer. It may feel as if all of your...

The pandemic has brought both change and uncertainty to the world of work. As a result, many professionals are feeling unsure about their career paths and how best to take the next steps in their professional journeys. So today we’re joined by Sarah Ellis, Co-founder of the professional training and consultancy business, Amazing If. Sarah is here to provide her expert advice to...

If you’re currently in fulltime employment, the change and uncertainty that has come hand-in-hand with the pandemic may have understandably left you with a feeling that you need to somehow prove yourself, or, position your role as ‘indispensable’. After all, this is a highly pressurised time and will inevitably lead many to worry about the future. Failing to manage this situation in the right...

It’s one of the things that many of us dread happening to us at work: that person in the office that we’re always going out to lunch, sharing our work worries and stresses, and celebrating our successes with, leaving the organisation. They’ve been a part of your professional and personal life for so long, you’re so reliant on them, and you look forward to seeing them every time you arrive...

  Careers are full of satisfying, challenging, and rewarding moments but there can also be times when we feel out of our depth, inadequate or depleted. In these instances, resilience is important, it can help us to understand failure and respond to it quickly and bounce back.   So today, we’re joined by Dr Susan Kahn, Business Psychologist and coach, and author of the...