NEWS
Preparing for a Competency-Based Interview
What is a competency-based interview? It’s all about you! Competency-based interviews can also be called structured, behavioural or situational interviews, and they are designed to test various skills and competencies (which is a concept that links together knowledge, skills and attitude). The interviewer has a list of set questions, each focusing on a specific skill, and your answers will be compared against pre-determined criteria and marked accordingly.
How to...Answer Common Interview Questions
There are a number of common interview questions that you can prepare for before your interview. It’s good to have a think about what you feel the interviewer is really looking for when they ask these and to have thought about an honest, but positive response for each.
Preparing for your Interview
If you have an interview date and time arranged, congratulations! Your CV has done what it needed to do, it’s got you through the door. Now you need to make sure that you are ready to show the interviewer that you are as good or even better than how you came across on paper, as well as being ready to learn all you need to, to make sure that this is the right move for you too.
How to...do phone and video interviews well
Telephone and video interviews are often used in the early stages of the screening and interview process (and especially during this COVID crisis). It can feel that they are more informal than a face-to-face interview and, although they are subtly different, you want to make sure that you put in all the preparation as if you are meeting face-to-face. So, how do you go about making sure it goes as well as possible?
Jobs Update August - What should we expect as the furlough scheme winds down?
We’re drawing to the end of August; a month in which the furlough scheme was slowed down. It is now paying 60% of wages (up to £1,875), with employers topping up any extra, and with the whole scheme due to be brought to a close at the end of October. At the end of July, 9.5 million staff were still on furlough, and 1.2M employers were taking part on the JRS. Everyone is concerned about what is going to happen with jobs and employment prospects, but we’re here to help, however we can.
Jobs outlook June - first signs of potential optimism in the jobs market?
It appears that there’s mixed opinion on what the UK job market is doing at present, with some sectors faring better than others. Unemployment is certainly up, however we may have passed the sharpest rise.
Mental Health and Wellbeing
As we are drawing to the end of Mental Health Week, we realise the topic is big news for now, but how much attention do we pay to it at other times?
Updated Construction Site Operating Procedures
The Construction Leadership Council (CLP) have updated the Site Operating Procedures (SOP) to incorporate a number of technical changes following the recently published Government guidance on Working Safely during Coronavirus (COVID-19) – Construction & Other Outdoor Work
How do I get paid during lockdown?
What we understand about the situation as of 25/3/2020 - It’s a bit of a minefield knowing what help is out there and what you can do to keep afloat. We have put together this list of advice from a range of different sources. Links are here to help too. Of course, this is a constantly evolving situation, so we’ll update this as often as possible
"MacArthur know how to spread the net further afield"
“They have the expertise to know where to look for the sort of staff that we need,” says Mike. “It saves us a lot of time, because they have excellent links and networks, and we get far more options. In our field, there are not so many people living locally, but MacArthur know how to spread the net further afield.” It’s the first time M & P Gadsden have used a recruitment agent, and they are impressed with the way that MacArthur communicate and keep them informed at every stage of the process. “We would happily recommend them for anyone who needs specialist employees,” says Mike.
My move to Cumbria - Tihomir Velkov
When MacArthur Recruitment found a new job for Tihomir Velkov, they helped him find a new life as well. Tihomir is an architect who came to England from Bulgaria a year ago with his partner, a psychology practitioner now working in the NHS. Her family live in London, but it was in the north-west, in Cumbria, that she and Tihomir settled when he started working for M & P Gadsden Consulting Engineers Limited.
“MacArthur Recruitment concentrate on listening to what we need, rather than telling us what they have.”
A chance meeting at a networking event has changed the way that a Lancaster construction company recruits new staff. James Titterington, managing director of JT Construction, met the team from MacArthur Recruitment a couple of years ago. His wife Michelle, who is company director and company secretary, said that JT had used recruitment companies in the past. “But it just didn’t work for us,” says Michelle.
Candidate Case Study - Sarah Burgoyne
Once you start a new job, the people who recruited you have done what they set out to do; that’s the common perception and, probably, a common experience. But as Sarah Burgoyne discovered, the “after-care” service provided by MacArthur has made the deepest impression on her.
Top 5 reasons to come and live and work in Cumbria
This is the view I stepped out of the house to this morning – it put a big smile on my face. We all know the highest mountain and deepest lake in England are here, but locals can take advantage of these and countless other natural wonders daily, after work, and early on the weekends before day-trippers arrive. You can enjoy picnics on the lake shore (or a quick dip in it) after school pick-up, go sledging on your local fell in the evenings, spend the weekend exploring, and discovering new places to go and things to do whenever you feel like it.
United Utilities takes on Cumbrian Graduates and Apprentices
Graduates and apprentices, many from Cumbria, have been recruited to the United Utilities graduate and apprenticeship programme. In total, there are 35 new apprentices and 13 graduates, who made it through rigorous testing and interviews from the almost 2800 applicants that applied for the positions.
Update that CV with confidence #1
When re-writing your CV, sitting with a blank page in front of you can seem daunting. It’s tempting to just pull up your old one and tweak it a bit, and that can be a good place to start – however, there are a number of CV mistakes that you need to watch out for and make sure that you edit out. Here are some major pitfalls to avoid, to set you on the right track to a successful CV and hopefully an interview:
What do recruitment agencies look for in a CV at first glance?
Following the well-publicised news that you have around 6 seconds to catch the eye of a recruitment consultant, we thought we’d pass on some tips to help you maximise those 6 seconds, along with reassurance that once we’ve found a CV with the basics required, we certainly do look in more depth!
Ulverston Blue Light Hub; new completion date
Bringing together local police, fire and ambulance services under one roof - the first building of its kind in Cumbria, the delayed ‘Blue Light Hub’ in Ulverston is continuing to take shape, as a new December 2018 completion date has recently been set.
Number of people in employment is the highest it’s ever been
Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) director of policy Tom Hadley said on Tuesday 15th May: “Candidates are now in a better position, if moving jobs there is a strong chance of getting a pay rise. Businesses want to grow and with employment rates high they are having to compete with each other to attract people. Our data shows that one way they are making themselves more attractive is by offering higher starting pay for new recruits.
A unique development opportunity at a high-profile site near Penrith has hit the market.
The seven-acre site next to the A66 and Rheged Centre in Redhills, near Penrith, is being marketed as a place for a hotel, leisure or commercial development, subject to planning permission.