Jobs & employment blogs

The world of work is changing faster than ever before. Huge technological, structural and demographic shifts mean that in order to remain competitive, our organisations must start to better leverage the skills and expertise of their employees. So today we’re joined by Dr Maggi Evans, Director of Mosaic Consulting and co-author of from Talent Management to Talent Liberation. Maggi...

  The pandemic has forced change across the world of work and, now that global businesses have had time to adapt, leaders have the opportunity to look ahead and drive innovation as they navigate the new normal. Today I’ll be chatting with Hays CFO, Paul Venables. Paul will be discussing how the pandemic has impacted upon the role of CFO and outlook as a finance leader and giving us...

  We’re coming up to the time of year when many people will overindulge during the festive holiday and then make ambitious resolutions about all the healthy behaviours they are going to undertake in the new year. Gym memberships tend to explode in January, but it is usually quiet again a couple of months later. The problem is we all have some unhealthy habits and replacing them with...

  Being great at giving and receiving feedback speeds your development, accelerates the development of the people you interact with, and builds trust in all those relationships, making you more influential with others (whether those others are across the C-suite or around the dinner table).  And the first step to improving your feedback practice is to work...

  Fresh thinking and creativity are recognised as core skills that help workers and businesses to thrive.  Most experts agree that innovation follows when these creative ideas are turned into something practical and of value. We often hear about the big and sexy innovations, the hubs and labs that are developing breakthrough new approaches and products such as...

Many job adverts can attract hundreds of applications. So, what is it that makes your CV stand out from all the rest? The answer is simple – its ability to succinctly answer these three key questions: Why are you interested in this job, company, and industry? What value can you bring to the organisation? What is your current and future potential? Your CV is your living,...

  You weren’t even actively looking for a job – you thought you were reasonably happy in your current one, but now, almost out of nowhere, you’ve received a message on LinkedIn from a recruiter saying that they want to have a discussion with you about a job opportunity. This isn’t an uncommon situation to find yourself in. Digital technology has seen the recruitment industry evolve at...

  Gone are the days when a salary-boosting counter offer would successfully retain a resigning staff member. Today people leave jobs for a range of reasons, which are seldom addressed by a counter offer. From looking for a new challenge to career advancement, a desire to work with newer technology or within an organisation where they can contribute and feel valued, people change...

  Whilst consumer preferences for online channels were unquestionably present prior to the COVID-19 crisis, the unexpected global events of the pandemic accelerated this trend on an unprecedented scale.   Many businesses reacted to the onset of the crisis by fast-tracking their digital transformation initiatives, and there was a sharp increase in the number of businesses...

Ah, the ever important job advert. No matter how technology changes the way employers sell themselves to candidates; whether it’s giving Virtual Reality tours of the office, or accepting “Snaplications” via Snapchat – job adverts will always remain key to attracting talent. I’ve spoken before on how to get this right, and which mistakes to avoid. But one area I am yet to cover, is the...

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...

The pressure for companies to go green is growing, from both consumers and employees. Furthermore, they need to show authenticity when evolving. But how can organisations take steps to improve their green credentials, and can it benefit their business? The drive towards a more sustainable, low-carbon way of life to tackle the threat of climate change continues to build momentum. It’s...

“Skills” and “competencies” are two terms you’ll come across regularly when searching for your next job.  It might seem as if these two words are interchangeable – but it’s actually not quite right to describe “competency” as a mere synonym of “skill”. There is, in fact, a very real difference between these two terms. If you’re looking for a new job or are keen to understand how you...

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...

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...

The life sciences industry is growing, and it’s not just because of the pandemic. As I explained in my last blog, we are still trying to conquer diseases for patients with unmet medical needs like cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, Crohn’s disease and rheumatology that affect millions of people every day. Cancer, Haematology and Neurology dominate in the arena of new treatments being made...

  Be honest. Have you ever really thought about where you want to be in five years’ time? Are you worried your development career might be going down a road which you know probably isn’t right for you? If so, it’s important to take control now.   First up – don’t panic. As a developer in today’s market, you’re in an amazing position. Thanks to the widening digital skills...

  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...

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. ...

It’s one of the most common interview questions, and often one of the easiest to slip up on. On the face of it, the interviewer is simply asking “Why are you sat across from me in the interview room today?” As such, many candidates provide simplistic answers like “I want this job because I need a new challenge” or “because you seem like a good company to work for”. But these candidates often...