MERRY CHRISTMAS! With best wishes from The YouYou Team!!

Good news on the job front!

The demand for new workers in the private sector is increasing (hopefully this will accommodate those in the public sector who will shortly be looking for a job as was stated when the cuts were first announced) and this increase has spread across a wide range of sectors including banking and financial services. The number of job openings in the UK rose by four points in November... This, together with the fact that the Salaries Index rose by two points this month, is really good news!

The job demand has reached its highest level this year in a number of sectors including technology which is so encouraging and London, which of course is the area that all of us are concerned with, reported a nine point increase to a high of 110 - again, good news!

And the meaning of all this is - that employers are building for the future and this will affect all of us! Sustained economic growth is what this country needs and things are looking up. This is a great way to draw this year to a close... not that it's over quite yet!

With best wishes
The YouYou Team

How do you feel?

I've been reading a great deal about how people feel about their jobs recently and there is absolutely tons of research done in this country on the workforce...

I recently read that almost half the people in employment are remaining in jobs that they are unsatisfied with because they feel that they have no other option and that only 53% of people feel valued in their job.

This tied in with some news a couple of weeks ago about how PAs feel about their bosses.

Research done in the secretarial/administrative sector revealed that almost 20% of PAs who were asked wanted more respect from their bosses - it doesn't cost anything for anyone to be more appreciative and polite!!

We agree!
How do you feel?

Recruitment moving away from human beings!

On Friday the recruiter news bulletin published the above statement made by Peter Searle, the CEO of Addeco UK and Ireland, which means that here at YouYou we are the forerunners in what is now the trend in recruitment!

Our website, www.youyou.co.uk, provides what traditional recruiters are against. It removes from the recruitment process the ‘human element’, which means that instead of using what traditional recruiters use which is gut feeling and relationships, we here at www.youyou.co.uk, have moved the recruitment process towards a more impartial, entirely non-judgmental method by which candidates are considered.

Skills and experience are the most important selection factor on our site and the recruiter, the intermediary with their personal opinions and prejudice is therefore no more! This is, in fact, more in line with employment law which is supposed to have done away with the bias in terms of background and appearance that traditional recruitment engenders leaving the company themselves to decide who is appropriate to their vacancy.

Dr. Barbara Lond responded to the statement made by Peter Searle with this statement,

‘Research among Senior women bankers (directors) actually found that some thought recruiters actually add to the lack of diversity within the banking profession: "You just see the same old CVs from the same people circulating" was one comment in my research. Bias and stereotyping is rife, and unless aware, very difficult to control. Indeed, it is why professions are staffed with one kind of person. This then becomes the 'fit' both organisations and recruiters look for, or 'cloning'. Feedback is never given, and that is because clear criteria is not used, but rather, some subjective or 'gut feeling'.

Indeed it is the same within any sector, including the secretarial one. Here at www.youyou.co.uk clear criteria is what we too are interested in!

Here is another response to Peter Searle's statement,
‘Comments like this demonstrate a fundamental lack of knowledge about what the new recruitment methods are. The latest trends simply utlise technology to deliver a faster, more accurate delivery method for the actual relationships between the recruiter and the candidate to take place.’ Darren Revell, Recruitwise Technology Ltd.

You can’t argue with that!

‘Expecting candidates and clients to wait while the recruitment industry catches up with technology is like asking a man to sweep back the morning tide with a broom.’ Darren Revell, Recruitwise Technology Ltd.

Our Salaries!

Numbers have never been my favourite thing... anything to do with them, unless it's a little gentle adding and subtracting, has been mostly a mystery to me, at least until it affects financing my life. The recession has affected many of us adversely and I was horrified to hear about the enormous cuts in government spending this week and that the new our travel fares here in London will be rising yet again. These things make our income ever yet more important to each and every one of us.

It is commonly known that status and pay drive all of us human beings and a recent survey revealed that for many of us our sense of self-worth is directly linked to what we earn. This was of great interest to us - being in the recruitment industry we here at www.youyou.co.uk know that the salary you get in your new role is everything to you and yet there is still a taboo surrounding discussing our salaries with one another. Here are some of the interesting things that this survey revealed...

The big eye opener was that £52,000 was the amount that most people think would make them feel comfortably well off with 30% of people admitting that the incentive of an annual bonus would make them work harder.

63% of people thought that their salaries did not reflect how hard they worked and 40% say that their career ambitions are fuelled by how much money they could make although 59% of people surveyed have never ever asked for a pay rise.

The statistic that I find most strange was that only 39% of people rejected a job offer because of an unsatisfactory salary package... I would have thought that this figure would be much higher although, having thought about it, because we all want £52,000 perhaps anything under that is 'unsatisfactory'!

Charitable Giving

Lehman Brothers are hiring again for the first time since the CRASH... the upturn in the economy should herald an upturn in disposable income for both businesses who are doing better and individuals who are on a firmer footing than they have been for some time and with that should come an increase in charitable giving! When we set up www.youyou.co.uk, one of the most important aims of the business was to donate on a regular basis to a London based charity. Since launching we have researched possible charities and recently met with Rachel Waldron, the National Development Manager, at Chance UK, a charity that works with 5-11 year olds and whose aim, so correctly, is to intervene before anti-social behaviour at this age develops into criminal behaviour a few years down the line. This foresight, together with the fact that their systems and processes are in place having been in operation for years, made them an excellent choice. Our money would be going to a charity that was not only local but where we would know exactly its destination. We will be paying for the activities that the children and mentors choose to do together on a weekly basis over the year that they spend in their relationship. What could be better? We feel fortunate to be in a position to be able to be affiliated with such a worthy cause and indeed, because it is London based, to be able to take a more hands-on approach. Although none of us are currently in a position to be able to commit to mentoring for a year, we can attend the graduations of those who have undergone the programme and because there are two people in the relationship - the child and the mentor - there are two sets of graduates who receive certificates and absolutely huge amounts of applause. Oli and I attended the graduation of nine children and their mentors last Friday in Hackney and it certainly was a wonderful occassion set in the grand surroundings of the Town Hall with a Councillor handing out the certificates. The children's achievements were many, including one young man who raised £400 for Chance UK by completing a Triathalon (his mentor also completed one on the same day - the adults one of course), this was a boy who had barely swam, run and ridden a bicycle until this past year. It was a joyous and moving occassion, not least because this would be the last time that the children and mentors would see one another and there were some tears... inevitably! Charitable giving - whether it is hands-on as in the case of the Chance UK Mentors or by providing financial support as a business or a private individual, is an important aspect of being part of a wider society. There are many thousands of people in this country who manifest their desire to be of help to others and give daily, weekly, monthly or annually. We don't often hear about these people let alone get the chance to meet them and hear about their experiences. Oli and I were lucky to have been able to do that last week and it was indeed a humbling experience.

The need for flexible Jobseekers

A recent survey by a top job search site has revealed that job seekers in the public sector are much more willing to take a pay cut, travel further to work and even take a lower position than their pay grade.


A survey of over 1600 job seekers has shown that more than two thirds are willing to take a pay cut in comparison to less than a third a few years ago. This coupled with a 14% decrease in public sector jobs openings over the second quarter of 2010. Conversely there has been a 7% increase in private sector jobs in the same period.


John Salt, director of Totaljobs.com, said: "Public sector jobseekers have a high level of transferable skills. However in today's market, this isn't enough. Jobseekers need to be flexible to secure that next position and it seems that they finally understand this. Those willing to move with the times will find they will reap the benefits in the long term."

This means that jobseekers need to be more dynamic with what they are looking for and perhaps willing to accept a little less.So perhaps now might be the perfect time to change your profile around and diversify your skill set.

Best Wishes
YouYou

Living the Poor Life

Last week George Osborne admitted that Britain’s economic recovery would be “choppy” but that the public should be optimistic. The public have submitted 10,000 ideas for cuts, which is fantastic, but Alistair Darling stated that the cuts will hit those worst off which is unjust. Life can be tough and the no-one should be placed in a difficult situation knowingly. We are fortunate enough to have a welfare state in this country although this wasn’t always so... In Victorian England destitute families and children were put into workhouses. The National Archives have recently placed the original documents online for us to see what life was like then…and perhaps appreciate how lucky we are! This online exhibition is cleverly titled ‘living the poor life’, contrast with Paris Hilton’s ‘Living the simple life’….

www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/livingthepoorlife

Secretarial Recruitment Today!

Competition for jobs here in London is the highest in the country because the job market is tougher here than in any other region in the UK with 30 or more people per vacancy applying for PA and administrative roles.

This means that to get noticed you have to do all that you can to maximise your exposure and signing up to our website - http://www.youyou.co.uk/ - is one of them. Others include; resending your CV to recruiters - it might just pop into view at just the right moment, re-write your CV making sure that you follow the tips on our site or consulting a CV writing website - there are many very helpful ones as well as making regular calls to agencies that you have registered with...

Reports reveal that there are positive prospects for the second half of this year when the number of people for each vacancy should reduce to only ten. This is because the number of vacancies is rising continually. It has risen by more than 6% over the past few months bringing renewed confidence among employers as the UK economy recovers from the recession.

Good news all round then!

Talent!

How did you get to where you are now? Both Henrietta and I worked for companies for free earlier in our careers so that we had the all important ‘experience’ on our CVs. Without this we wouldn’t have got to where we are now. An entrance into many sectors (or a change from one sector to another) can really benefit from volunteering time either completely free or for a low wage. We have also provided this opportunity for people who have kick started their careers or changed sectors as a result. Although we did provide some remuneration, we didn’t pay as much as we might because the relationship was beneficial to them and because they didn’t have the experience. It’s back to that all important experience and how you get it..

Oli is doing ‘work experience’ at the moment. He’s an incredibly talented person whose work you can see profiled here on our blog and on our website, the design of which is all his work. I’m not going to go into how much he is paid for what he does but I can tell you that we couldn’t do without him. Our business thrives because of the contribution that he has made since the outset of our project and let’s face it, the work that he does would cost us a small fortune had it been done by an established graphics design company.

There’s been quite a lot of talk in the news and elsewhere about companies using young talent in their businesses in the form of internships and together with the fact that it is time for businesses to pay the right sum of money in return instead of just their travel expenses. I for one think it really is time to take into account that very few young people have the luxury of being funded by their parents and being able to give their time for free. We here at YOUYOU are great believers in the development of talent and it’s your talents that can be seen by London based companies profiled on our site!

Stuck for words?

Interviews can be such a stressful event but as we know they are the only way to get a new job! If you are lucky you'll get a good interviewer who can guide you through the questions and give you opportunities to sell your skills and experience. Obviously you need to be well prepared for your interview and the best way to to do this is to look at our interview guide!

We recommend that everyone who is interviewing through YouYou has read the guide so that they feel confident about talking about their career. From my experience as a recruiter what we want to hear is someone who is able to speak about their work experience clearly and concisely and who has the ability to throw a bit of their own personality in there as well. When you are nervous this can be a tall order but you don't need to be nervous about the interview as the interview process is a two way thing......you are interviewing the company as well. So make sure that you take the opportunity to ask them some questions about the role and the company to ensure that it fits in with your idea of the perfect place to work.

If you want to delve deeper into the world of interviewing then I would recommend that you read this incredible book written by a very well respected recruiter called Dee Walker who I had the pleasure to meet a few times. Click here to look at the book.

You can also email us if you have any questions or queries and we will get back to you as soon as we can. Our email address is contact@youyou.co.uk

Two-thirds of companies are finding it harder to recruit

A new survey completed by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) have found that two- thirds of UK companies are experiencing recruitment difficulties.

Half of the organisations (53%) taking part in this survey say the recession has hit their resourcing budget for 2010. The survey also shows attracting and recruiting key staff is the top resourcing objective for eight in 10 (79%) of nearly 500 organisations surveyed, while the proportion of firms planning to implement a recruitment freeze in 2010 has almost halved since last year (22% compared to 42% in 2009).

What does this really mean? Companies will be recruiting new staff during 2010 however they are not able to spend as much as they used to. This is fantastic news for jobseekers as it means that there will be jobs available. However for companies it will become much more challenging to find a new member of staff as their recruitment budgets will be significantly reduced and they will have to spend additional time trying to find alternative ways to recruit.

This is why using YouYou to recruit can help in so many ways. It reduces the amount of time spent finding suitable people for the job and we only charge a fraction of the cost of an agency. This means that companies can still have support finding new staff without having to try and justify large recruitment costs.

To see how YouYou can help you whether you are a jobseeker or a recruiting company click here.

Oli's work

Oli has worked so hard to create a brand identity for YouYou and we think he has done a smashing job! He keeps on creating great new work for us to use to promote YouYou and this is just another example of it. You can take a look at his blog if you click here.

Please forward this blog to anyone who is looking for a new secretarial, PA or secretarial job. We are constantly looking for new people to join the site and if you have any questions about YouYou then email us at contact@youyou.co.uk

Create the perfect CV

We all know that everyone has their own opinion about what makes a great CV and ultimately you can't produce a CV that everyone will like. What you can do is make a really clear and consice CV that shows all your experience, strengths and achievements throughout your career. We created our YouYou profiles in this way, to showcase your skills and achievements and our CV writing guide can help you do this too. The guide is aimed at secretarial staff so all you PAs, EAs and Secretaries out there have a look and see if you can make your CV just that bit more attractive to potential employers.

You can find the guide by clicking on this link http://www.youyou.co.uk/CV%20Writing.pdf You can also contact us if you have any questions or queries about your CV, we are always happy to help. Our email address is contact@youyou.co.uk

Good Luck!

What can you wear to work?

With the Sex in the City 2 Premier in London tonight we are all wondering what the fabulous four will be wearing. Their ability to wear whatever they want for work is enviable but it's not always the case for us mere mortals.
In the last few years companies seem to have started to relax their dress codes and more and more of us are able to wear clothes that reflect our personalities.
We all know that secretaries and PAs are often representing their boss in front of clients so really need to look professional and that to some extent we are all representing the company that we work for but what we want to know is.....how formal do you have to dress for work?

Take our short poll and we'll let you know the results in a couple of weeks.
http://www.youyou.co.uk/

If only there was a map to guide you....

Because we are always looking for new PAs, secretaries and admin staff to join the site we are always creating new promo material to send out. This is one of our latest ones which is a favourite of mine. Don't forget to check out Oli's other work on the actual website http://www.youyou.co.uk/ and we will put up more examples of our promo work soon.

The Launch of YouYou

Ok, so YouYou launched at the end of March and I am only just writing this but in my defence I have been a bit pre-occupied with the launch. So I have decided to blog, I am not an amazing writer, my sister is much better at it than me but I am going to give it a whirl and if I fail then I shall pass this over to her to write! In the meantime you are stuck with me.

My sister Hilly and I have run Aurelius International which is a traditional recruitment agency in central London for ages and when the recession hit and recruitment was really badly affected we decided to think of other ways to help companies recruit. Realising that the whole industry was changing and being worried that we weren't going to be able to survive the recession (we did by the way!) we started to think of other options and that is how YouYou was born.

We started to do some research and look at what other companies provided in terms of online recruitment and we couldn't find anyone doing the same thing as our idea. Once we realised we were going to be the first company to provide this kind of recruitment we decided to move pretty fast! We didn't want someone else to launch the same type of site before us.

We got in touch with our web designer Gary who works in Bath to see if this site was something that could be built and try to work out the logistics of it all. You can see Gary's site if you want to
by clicking here

We really worked hard to provide you with a new way to recruit staff and to find a new job and we hope that it has a positive impact for you or your business. Take a look at the site http://www.youyou.co.uk/