While browsing the web the other day I came across the ACCA Student Blog, and their latest post about graduates stuck in the inevitable rut – you need a experience to get a job, but you can’t get experience without a job. Their top 3 tips for people in this position were:

1. Avoid mistakes on your CV
2. Show how your non-work experience is relevant
3. Make the most of the knowledge you gained from your studies

I thought these were great tips. Advising you not to make mistakes on your CV may sound obvious but it’s surprising how many CVs we receive with basic spelling or grammar mistakes. Get someone to proof read it as often they’ll notice things that you won’t.

But what else can you do to make yourself employable? Look at doing some unpaid work or an internship. This will give you valuable experience and something concrete to put onto your CV and discuss in an interview. Also make sure you highlight your skills – for example, are you a strong communicator? Then make that clear and give examples to back it up. These are the qualities that employers are looking for so really sell yourself and let them know that you have what it takes. Finally, don’t blow your chances of grabbing the job by letting yourself down at the interview stage – remember to present yourself professionally and do plenty of research.

A New York based company was recently looking for a social media marketing expert to join them – this is what the advert said according to the Times:

“(i) Email me two tweets. The first should be about your experience. The second should by why you’re perfect for this job. If you exceed Twitter’s allotted character count, you’re done.
(ii) Email me your Twitter name in link form (e.g. http://www.twitter.com/YOURNAME)
(iii) Tell me how many followers you have and how many people you follow.
(iv) Tell me who’s the best person you follow and why (in tweet form).
(v) Tell me what’s the best way to get more followers (in tweet form).
(vi) Specific salary requirement.”

Now, obviously this is for a job specifically relating to social media so applying via Twitter makes sense. But could it be picked up by organisations in other sectors? I think it’s a great idea and very original, which makes the job stand out. It also tells the employer the key facts he or she needs to know, demonstrates a skill they’ll need in the job and tests their ability to communicate effectively, follow instructions and be inventive.

But is that enough? There’s no mention of education, of any achievements or successes and no real way to get an insight into the person. As a recruiter – and a person who works with a great team – I think it’s vital that the cultural fit is right, and that’s something that only comes from using a recruiter. Social media will definitely continue to play a significant part in the recruitment process, but it won’t be able to replace the recruiter – just provide another tool to help along the way.

• Almost 90% said it’ll become harder to keep up with financial reporting regulations
• Three quarters stated that they see themselves moving away from their current role to a more profitable consultant and business adviser
• Over 80% said that in the future it’ll be important for them to advise clients on how they can use IT to boost profit and efficiency

You can see the full report on Accountancy Age here.

Do you think life will become tougher for accountants in the 2010s? Or does the profession need to do more to motivate its people?

Hooray, some good news. After 2009, which I think we will all admit was a tough year for everyone involved in finance, it looks like we’re now all feeling a little bit more optimistic. Not only has it been announced that the UK recession is officially over, but according to Smith & Williamson’s annual financial services survey, 39% of businesses surveyed last year felt more optimistic about the year ahead. OK so that figure could be better but it’s an improvement on the 23% from the previous year’s survey.

On a more positive note a huge 94% expected stable or increased sales over the course of 2010 and almost 90% feel confident about maintaining or increasing their recruitment activity – which is great news for us!

It seems that although all signs point to a gradual recovery throughout 2010, business are still cautious and don’t want to be too confident and tempt fate – after all the recovery isn’t in full swing yet. But we’re definitely seeing an improvement in conditions so let’s hope this continues.

Is tax damaging London’s position as a financial market leader? It seems that some think so. The CBI has recently published their “Future of Financial Services” study in conjunction with PwC and there is a mixed bag of opinions. Chairman of HSBC, Stephen Green, said that he thought London would lose some market share to centres such as Hong Kong and Singapore due to ‘shifts in the global economy’ but that it wouldn’t lose its importance and still has fundamental advantages. Others disagreed, and many cited tax as the problem.

According to the Telegraph: “Stuart Fraser from the City of London Corporation said: ‘The only people who pay the taxes are those who love being here or can’t move. Those that can will move. The question is where the tipping point is. London’s strengths are fantastic. But you can’t constantly bash it and tax it and expect it to stay that way.’”

So what is the future for the City? Obviously the credit crunch and the subsequent regulations it provoked had a substantial effect and no doubt it will lose some business over it. But London has been one of the world’s biggest financial centres for a long time because it has so much to offer. I can’t see that changing dramatically any time soon.

Accountancy Action is in the press again! Read our article on the rise of the working interview on the Association of Accounting Technicians Jobs website here.  

Managing your boss – it’s something that many people find easier said than done – especially if you have a boss like David Brent (above). If you’ve ever struggled to get your manager to listen to your ideas, you may want to read our article on the Association of Accounting Technicians, here on how to boss the boss.

1. Danny

2. James

3. Dan

The rest of us left trophy-less, with slightly aching arms, but having had a fun afternoon. See the pictures of Action in action below:

This will be the last post of 2009 for us, so we hope you all have a very merry Christmas. Thanks for reading and see you in 2010!

Flat fees – many people in the recruitment world are sceptical. However it’s something that I really believe in.

In my view there were (and still are) too many recruiters thinking that they could just source a CV from a job board, match it to a job spec, send it over to a client and charge a fee if they were placed – that’s not recruitment. What I wanted to do was build a business that gave a quality service at a reasonable price. So whether a client is recruiting an Accounts Clerk or a Finance Director, they pay 14%; 12% if it’s a sole agency agreement. This is a fee level we’ve committed to until at least the end of 2010.

We’ve been accused of buying business, of coming up with a knee jerk reaction to the recession, of panicking in a tight market. But in fact, when I set this business up in 2001 that was my model – we’ve always done it and we have no plans to change it. Because it works! If that upsets some of the big boys who think that we’re somehow ‘devaluing’ the service by not charging 25% then frankly, that’s their problem.