Guest Blog by Clare Davis (for Euro London)

It’s Mental Health Awareness Week from 15th to 21st May and the theme is ‘Anxiety’. Most of us do feel anxious at times at work due to our busy workloads which may include deadlines to meet, presentations to give, and a long To-Do List.

There is a positive side to feeling anxious because anxiety is a natural reaction when we are under pressure and overwhelmed. Our adrenaline kicks in to help us achieve the tasks efficiently.

On the other hand, we don’t want the feeling of anxiety to become negative, where we are not productive because anxiety takes over our thoughts. This may feel like a nagging feeling of worry and unease that creeps up on you.

What is Anxiety?

Anxiety is worrying about events that may occur in the future. It's something that everyone feels at some point in their lives, especially when under pressure. It can take many different forms, from general feelings of stress and overwhelm, to more specific fears such as performance anxiety.

Anxiety can be mild, such as feeling nervous about a client meeting, or severe and crippling, making it difficult to do everyday tasks. Our brain can go into fight, flight, or freeze mode, causing us to react emotionally and be unable to cope when we would normally cope very well. In my Mental Health Chats YouTube interview with Tricia Maitland, she goes into great detail about ‘What Anxiety Feels Like’ and how our brain reacts when feeling anxious.

We should aim to train our brains to be more positive and relaxed in overwhelming situations at work. You could start doing exercises to help yourself be more productive and manage the overwhelm. 

Here are 7 ways that can help you deal with anxiety when it strikes:

1. Stop and breathe.
   Deep breathing can help reduce anxiety by slowing down your heart rate and relaxing your muscles. Fenella Hemus talks us through a breathing exercise for anxiety on the Mental Health Chats YouTube and Podcast series on anxiety. There are many breathing exercises you can practice every day to help you stay focused and grounded.
2. Communicate with colleagues.
   Talking to others can help you feel more connected and supported. Consider having lunch with a colleague or reaching out for help if you're feeling overwhelmed. Do not feel ashamed that you are feeling anxious. Explain how you feel and tell them you need support. Just confiding in someone can help you change your mindset.
3. Focus on the solution, not the problem.
   Psychologists, Grant and O’Connor from the University of Sydney looked into the difference in outcomes when we focus on the problem compared to the solution. When we are feeling anxious, we tend to get fixated on the problem. By changing our mindset to find solutions, we are more likely to get positive outcomes quicker and more efficiently.
4. Take a break and change the scene.
   When we are in a state of overwhelm, it can be helpful to take a break and change the scene to give your mind a rest. This will help us reframe our thoughts and perceptions about the situation, calming down our minds to tackle the situation more positively.
5. Stop and focus exercise.
   In order to significantly improve how to deal with anxiety, you may do a focus exercise to calm your body and compose your mind to think clearly. You may like to use of my 21-Day High-Intensity Neural Training (HINT) Programme when you are in a state of burden.
6. Reassess the situation.
   So often when we are anxious, we become stuck, only thinking from one perspective. If we look at the situation from a different angle, we can often find another solution that could work. If you think about situations in new ways, changing your mindset, you will improve your coping skills to overcome anxiety in the long term.
7. Use positive self-talk.
   Negative self-talk can contribute to anxiety. Instead, try using positive affirmations to boost your confidence and reduce stress. You may say something to yourself as simple as “I can do this” or “I am confident and know how to find a solution.”

Regardless of what strategies you use to deal with anxiety, it is essential that you get bring emotional fitness into your life every day. Emotional fitness exercises can be done on a daily basis. Here is the link to my activity book, Emotional Fitness: A to Z for Positive Mental Health, which outlines easy exercises to bring into your every day.

In the workplace, Mental Health First Aiders have a very important role to play in your organisation. They work with managers to help spot the signs of mental health concerns, open up conversations to help team members who are in need, and use preventative measures for emotional fitness for all. Nova Associates runs the 2-day Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England Course for organisations. Find out more through our website where you can also get a free guide on how to implement a culture of positive mental health in your workplace.

Clare Davis, the CEO and Founder of Nova Associates, is a management and mental health trainer, coach, author, and facilitator who works with individuals and organisations to help them use their focus to bring out untapped potential in the workplace. Clare shows through real-world examples how the valuable skills that each person brings to your organisation can help your mission. To find out more about how you can manage anxiety within your team, schedule a free Strategy Call and let her assist you to bring positivity to your workplace.

Did you know that there are 7151 spoken languages today?

However, there is a flux in those numbers as new languages are discovered almost everyday but only about 23 of those languages account for over half of the population (Nations Online; UN)

Communication is a means of interaction with others as people use languages to understand and interact with each other and languages have been developing for centuries. Individuals share and/or receive information through speaking, writing or other means particularly as languages all have different grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary. Yet, there is still a large amount of monolinguals out there, and people often do not recognise the benefits of speaking an additional language. Many people consider it a waste of time and money to invest in learning another language, particularly when they do not see the use of it.

But are you aware that there are great benefits to speaking multiple languages? It allows people to develop critical thinking, mental development, mental focus and also opens people to other cultures. It further helps individuals to interact with others from different countries and from different communities. Research has found that learning a new language boosts memory, improves cognitive skills, and the earlier one learns two or more languages, the easier it is. It has also been recommended to start learning before the age of 10 as babies and children learn a language faster due to brain formation and the fast neural formation. This is just a snapshot of how languages are useful on a daily basis, but this extends to the workplace.

First and foremost, understanding of languages and languages skills improves inner-office communication in addition to external communication when dealing with clients and customers, specifically those from different backgrounds. On top of that, speaking another language boosts employability by opening doors to more job opportunities – as language speakers are high in demand particularly when dealing with a specific market. Studies have shown that speaking multiple languages improve memory skills, and helps with focus and since language speakers can easily switch between various languages, they have gained the ability to multi-task – which are great skills to acquire and apply within one’s profession.

So if you have been considering learning a new language but were holding back - whether it was due to financial reasons, a lack of time or not understanding the importance of it - I hope this gives you more perspective and might change your mind. It is also never too late to learn a new language and acquire new skills.

And if you are already bilingual or multilingual and are looking for a language speaking opportunity, do not hesitate to get in touch with Euro London and we would be happy to speak with you.

Published by Taline Ghandour - Resourcer, Regional Division

Blue Monday, Happy Tuesday, Hump Wednesday, Thursdays are the new Fridays, TGI Friday – is the mood labelling of days really appropriate in this age of wellbeing and mindfulness?

Throughout January there are constant reminders about post-Christmas blues, with the UK weather providing an appropriate backdrop of teeming rain and dark days. Easy to see why advertisers seize on the general malaise to push sun drenched beaches, exercise programmes, lifestyle changes – and yes, we as Recruiters are just a bad and will promote January as the necessary time to review your career. New year, new you!

However, are we talking ourselves into this? Why should January trigger a whole wave of miserable retrospection when perhaps we should be congratulating ourselves on what we have achieved, and how we can build on that throughout the year. It doesn’t have to be a mega life change, it could be the fact you managed to put the bins out on time (which surely in anyone’s book should be loudly celebrated), addressed that typo on your CV or completed a crossword. These may be considered little wins but they still deliver that shot of dopamine to give you a boost.

Let’s relegate Blue Monday to the bin (before we put the rubbish out) and instead look forward to a year of possibility!

After my first few months at Euro London, diving deep into my market and familiarising myself with its ups, downs and nuances; one thing has become increasingly apparent to me - now is the time to change! No, really!

Never before have I seen such a candidate-driven market nor understood the genuine freedom of choice that many applicants now find themselves with. Amongst continued political and financial turmoil as we trudge through this latest recession, one thing has at least thrived - the employment market!

Despite an understandably large blip in permanent placements as Covid-19 took its toll at its peak through Feb ‘20 to Sept ‘20, vacancies are now at an abundance. In fact, vacancies remain 56.6% higher than pre-pandemic levels and even 10.3% higher than levels just one year ago. The fact is; employment opportunities remain high after a prolonged period of positive post-Covid growth, even with increased levels of employer caution brought on by global inflation.

In reality, whilst we will continue to see great economic uncertainty ahead, rising living costs and a comparative shortage of candidates in turn thanks to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the vulture-like Covid-19 pandemic still hovering over us, employers and their expansive hiring needs are still rife. Hybrid work has added a whole new dimension to the way people now conduct their professional duties (and expect to), and such is the flexibility that most companies now offer in that respect, the way in which one can work can now be filtered down to opportunities that offer this versatility.

So what have I concluded from my opening tenure in recruitment?

Traditionally, a company may have had restrictive hiring criteria based upon in-situ presence being a necessity, and indeed when presented with a glut of candidates; the choice to refine until the perfect match is met. However, it’s now candidates that - somewhat - hold the power. Does my potential employer meet my requirements and not just vice-versa? Am I offered flexibility? Does this company look progressive?

If your current company doesn’t adhere to these observations, you could find yourself in a much-better-than-anticipated situation in which to find yourself a firm that does.

Now is the time to move, and Euro London and I can make this happen for you.
Get in touch! Let’s have an exploratory discussion and see what the future could hold for you

Published by Adriana Crisan - Resourcer, Customer Support Division

Languages are fickle, aren’t they? Complex, often breaking their own rules, fervently attached to our concepts of self and others around us. For most they are a daily dose of the human experience, though considering how far back our human (and near-human) ancestors roamed the planet and communicated, a relatively recent concept. In the sense of the way languages are now categorised and standardised, labelled and measured as if they aren’t just a bunch of sounds that in more recent centuries have been represented by symbols on parchment, paper, and screen.

Try to picture a conversation with the first humans to leave the cradle of humanity and venture towards the frozen lands of Western Eurasia. Or explaining the concept of an office job. Try to picture telling a story to an ancient Assyrian farmer about your issues with the English subtitles for a popular Korean Netflix series.

Even if the individual words existed to explain these abstract concepts, the meaning behind them would surely be absent. Despite vast differences in our lives and those of our ancient ancestors, there would be some familiarity. Understanding through body language, food, rhythm, and music could potentially be achieved.

After all, you don’t need to understand the lyrics to enjoy the song, right?

Music is another intrinsic part of the human experience, and technology making the world a smaller place allows cultures, styles, and musical genres to mix. This is the reason you can find bands making Country-Western music in Nigeria, Ska-Dub bands in Ukraine, Heavy Metal groups in Mongolia, and a thriving rap scene (encompassing all sub-genres within the umbrella) in Iceland.

On a personal level this last example is the most curious of all because an island on the far northern periphery of the Western cultural conscious is the opposite of the social conditions that birthed the musical movement.

The hip-hop scene originated in and around the 1970s in populated urban areas of the US, applying spoken-word poetry to popular instrumentals, and frequently political voice for marginalised African American communities. Time went on, unique regional styles emerged, and today the scene is more commonly associated with party music rather than speech against oppression.

But the poetic origin of rap is crucial to understanding how an island famous for puffins, glaciers, and geysers became a hub for the scene, despite having a total population smaller than that of Sheffield. Iceland is a world away from the difficult life of US’ cities.

According to the OECD Iceland has a poverty rate of 4.9%, the lowest out of all 38 member countries, compared to a median of 11.1%. According to the Global Peace Index 2022, and for every previous year for the past 14 years, Iceland has the prestigious title of the ‘safest place to live in the world’.

The everyday problems that Icelanders experience are vastly distinct from those of the scene originators, but rhythm and music have no language. In interviews, young Icelandic musicians credit the long polar nights as the main source of inspiration in researching and producing their unique sound.

Equally as crucial is Iceland’s linguistic legacy and poetic past, for in the times before literacy (which arrived on the island with Christianisation but wouldn’t have been relevant to the general population until much later). Alliteration, rhyme, and wordplay were the best ways to tell, retell, and remember legends and stories over multiple generations. The development of a language to suit these ends before it was ever written down leaves a lyrical form of speech. Medieval activities like flyting, a back-and-forth art of delivering insults in poetic verse between two contestants with an audience, is essentially what we would now call a rap battle. Even when you can’t understand the lyrics of these songs, the artful styles of language manipulation are evident by just listening.

A few years ago, this scene was mainly underground. Forgotten Lores was a group founded in 2000, and really helped launch the hip-hop scene in the Icelandic language, performing over ‘old school’ beats and gaining an international following thanks to the island becoming a popular destination for Music Festivals. Groups like Reykjavíkurdætur (Daughters of Reykjavik) began with a gritty sound with (I’m told – although also evident in their older music videos) anti-patriarchal content. However, the traction that they have gained meant that this year, 2022, they were almost chosen to be Iceland’s entrants for the Eurovision Song Contest.

‘New wave’ rappers GKR, Emmsjé Gauti, and the duo Úlfur Úlfur (Wolf Wolf) carry the legacy of early Icelandic skaldic poetry (as the culture began to develop unique qualities and separate from that of mainland Scandinavia), by incorporating imagery and content that reflects the lifestyle of Iceland. Pylsur (lamb hotdogs), volcanic landscapes, sheep, tractor-pulling contests, geothermal pools, colourful flat blocks, and the unique sideways trot of Icelandic horses.

When you think about it, Iceland is linguistically the most likely place in the world to have a rap scene; it has been bubbling away under the surface like the fagradasfjall volcano.

Published by Nik Moore - Resourcer, Sales & Marketing

Due to international business changes, there is now more demand for language speakers. Increasing competition in different industries requires business owners to use different languages in order to scale up their companies.  Even small business owners that are aspiring to sell their services and products to different linguistic backgrounds and cultures, need to take their content to the next multilingual level. While many companies have entered the global marketplace in the digital age, none is more worldwide than those in the Tech industry.

In the Tech industry certain skills are an absolute must – skills such as a solid knowledge of programming languages, project management capabilities, and exceptional analytical and problem-solving abilities, to name but a few. But no matter where your specialty may lie within the Tech industry, being bilingual is quickly becoming an essential asset as companies are becoming more global.

Even though English is commonly seen as the global language of business, languages such as Russian, French, English, Mandarin, and German have started taking more space in the markets. There are several reasons why speaking more than one language is becoming essential in the Tech industry. The first is the global nature of the business. Another reason is that products created within the Tech industry are intended for a broad range of customers who will claim different languages as their native tongues. Hiring language speakers can help companies attracting a new base of customers that would have previously been unreachable.

Speaking a second and third language doesn’t just benefit Programmers and Software Engineers. Workers within the Customer Support and Sales segments of the industry often need to speak different languages, in order to better answer the customer needs around the world. Speaking another language does not only help companies to communicate with their customers more effectively it also exposes speakers to different cultures and patterns of behaviour.

From an employee point of view being able to speak a language that’s in demand may even result in a promotion or a higher salary, especially in a competitive industry like the technology sector. Whether you’re a Developer, Tech Sales professional or a Cloud Engineer, knowing another language will give many more opportunities within the industry.

References:

Darmody, J., 2018. Why is a second language so important for tech jobs?. [online] Silicon Republic. Available at: <https://www.siliconrepublic.com/careers/second-language-skills-tech-jobs> [Accessed 16 August 2022].

Hulett, M., 2019. Council Post: How The Power Of Language Can Grow Your Career And Business. [online] Forbes. Available at: <https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2019/07/02/how-the-power-of-language-can-grow-your-career-and-business/?sh=1e35a6a70b93> [Accessed 16 August 2022].

Medium. 2018. 10 Most Important Business Languages in Global Market. [online] Available at: <https://medium.com/swlh/10-most-important-business-languages-in-global-market-17b49b7cf2d2> [Accessed 16 August 2022].

MI Translations. 2018. Why The Tech Industry Is Looking For Bilingual Job Candidates - MI Translations. [online] Available at: <https://mitranslations.com/why-the-tech-industry-is-looking-for-bilingual-job-candidates/> [Accessed 16 August 2022].

Neeley, T., 2012. Global Business Speaks English. [online] Harvard Business Review. Available at: <https://hbr.org/2012/05/global-business-speaks-english> [Accessed 16 August 2022].

Published by Emmi Huovinen - Consultant IT Sales & Technical

Have you ever noticed how you adjust your language based on your situation? When you’re sitting in the park, the pub, or the cozy terrace with a group of friends, you speak casually, quickly, and with a comfortable level ease. If you are in the office, you will use professional tones, and your colloquialisms will be pushed to the side. If you are meeting someone new, you will choose your words more carefully and wait until you have an understanding of them before you release your natural language and conversation tones.

The same thing happens when you switch between languages. Language can be an insight into the culture. Every language has its own personality and mannerisms. German speakers, for example, will rarely interrupt each other mid sentence. In a German conversation, the sentences may feel longer, and peppered with long compound nouns, and each person will still wait until the end to respond. This may be out of politeness, but it is also strongly influenced by the fact that the German language simply does not lend itself to be interrupted. German sentence structure forces you to wait patiently for the point, since the verbs are at the end! English on the other hand, has the verbs up front, with the less fundamental aspects of the sentence at the end. It is easier to understand the point of the sentence before it’s completed, making it easier and more common to interrupt and bounce between speakers quickly.

You can even find cultural cues and identifiers within the same language, but from a different country, or within different dialects. For example, Spanish in Spain uses an extra conjugation, “vosotros.” This is a formal conjugation for ‘you all.’ You won’t hear this used in Mexican Spanish. This slight difference in the Spanish languages can be felt in the culture as well. Spain will have more of a formal undertone in the culture than you may find in other Spanish speaking countries.

Once you understand the cultural intricacies of a language, you can immerse further into the culture and feel less like a foreigner even in a foreign country. Language creates a sense of unity within its speakers. English speakers will migrate towards other English speakers, even if they are not from the same country or speaking with the same accent. There is a sense of comradery and understanding. This breaks down even farther when you move into dialects and accents. Each language group shares something in common, but they still have differences depending on which dialect, accent, and regional version of the language you speak. These commonalities and differences between languages reflect the culture of the location and the people. When a speaker switches between languages, the cultural characteristics switch with them. You may not even notice that when you switch between languages, your personality can shift as well.

I leave you with some food for thought…when traveling, speaking to colleagues, or going through your daily routine, take a moment to think about how your languages influence your interactions. Take a moment to enjoy the new cultural intricacies and insights that appear once you switch into a new language.

“A language is not just words. It’s a culture, a tradition, a unification of a community, a whole history that creates what a community is. It’s all embodied in a language.”

Noam Chomsky

by Samantha K. Giovino, Recruitment Consultant

After almost two years of uncertainty brought by the Covid pandemic, recruitment has now started to return to normal as much as possible. After a post-pandemic boom of new roles, things are now slowing down and returning to the levels of pre-pandemic. However, the combination of the pandemic and BREXIT has made recruitment in the UK even more challenging in 2022. In addition to this, we have a war in Europe and massive rise in cost of living, followed by a potential recession that the world is now facing.

The pandemic has brought us many changes and most of them are for the better. For instance, most of the businesses managed to adopt very quickly to remote working arrangements and develop a whole new system that is already proven to be successful for most of them. Some businesses will never return to their offices on a full-time basis, and some have closed them completely. Hybrid working arrangements are getting more and more popular amongst employers. It is basically a combination of work from home and office days, where the team has certain days to meet and work from the office. However, there are still many employees who prefer to work from the office on a full-time basis as they miss the socialising and after-work drinks, hence one of the challenges would certainly be the new working arrangements.

Another challenge for recruiters is the lack of qualified/skilled workers that we are currently experiencing in the UK. Many industries are short-staffed from the increase in redundancies over the last couple of years and lots of professionals decided to change their career paths and move to industries which were less affected. It is a candidate driven market when it comes to skilled workers. The best way to tackle this, would be to tailor the offers to the skilled people, and base them on their experiences and knowledge. Also, some industries will need to drastically increase their pay rates so they can keep attracting candidates. Highly competent candidates are aware of the value of their skills. In addition, they have plenty of choices in the job market, therefore a more personal approach might be very useful.

Recruiters must be prepared for a very high turnover in temporary recruitment. Candidates are looking to gain new experience and skills in a short-term placement that could help them to change directions in their career paths, and they will be preferably looking for permanent opportunities straight after that short assignment. In addition to the above, we have BREXIT which restricts new workers entering the UK from Europe and that makes temporary recruitment in the UK even more challenging. Skilled workers are in high demand and they are hard to find and difficult to keep. Recruiters need to make sure they really look after their temp candidates if they are willing to keep them on their books. This might also include communicating to their clients and to try to increase pay rates so they can attract more relevant candidates, especially for the short-term assignments. Recruiters need to adopt to the new normal. With the potential recession knocking at our door, it is possible that there will be an increase in temporary staffing needs.

The below data is from May 2022 (taken from https://www.hiringpeople.co.uk/blog/recruitment-news-outlook-for-the-remainder-of-2022/)

90% of UK employers are seeking to recruit in 2022 – a significant increase from 66% in 2021
76% of employers are offering remote and hybrid positions – to meet candidate’s increased work-life balance expectations
87% of companies are struggling to fill job openings – with 63% failing to hire because of skills shortages

The above numbers are confirming the shortage of skilled workers and the shortage of staff in general.

The five lessons and recruitment practices employers need to consider when hiring in 2022 include:

1. Wherever possible, adopt flexible, hybrid working options to attract candidates
2. Improve the attractiveness of roles by promoting extras, such as development and training opportunities, benefits, and bonuses
3. State a willingness to consider transferable skills in job advertisements and assess candidates for them
4. Broaden recruitment strategies to target wider geographical locations while highlighting higher pay and increased workplace flexibility
5. Appreciate that hiring will take longer and cost more

The report, conducted in partnership with Dynata, which surveyed 400 UK talent acquisition, recruitment, and HR professionals, indicates that companies are hiring relatively equally, aiming to fill new roles and replace existing staff.

To tackle the challenges, recruiters need to consider a wider talent pool, look for transferable skills and train those candidates. Hard and soft skills are always in demand including communication, strategic planning, collaboration, flexibility, IT, and problem-solving.

Published by Georgi Slavchev, Senior Recruitment Consultant – Temporaries Division

Many people will agree that the UK is a unique place to live. It is lively, fun, and multicultural with beautiful landscapes, historical places and some of the best museums, art galleries and cinemas worldwide. However, coming to the UK can be an equally exciting and daunting event. It may take time to adjust to life in a different culture and a plethora of questions may cross your mind about your social life or even how you will begin to get around.

Despite the feeling of excitement of moving to a new place, you may also feel terrified because you leave the familiar environment of your home and your family members. Straight after you switch to a new environment, you are likely to be hit with culture shock and homesickness.

Here are some difficulties that I faced at the beginning:

Culture shock
I moved to the UK 5 years ago to study. I had never been there before and for that reason I was very stressed, as everything seemed different. As expected, I got hit by culture shock which made it even more difficult to adapt to the different aspects of the UK society. Language, accents, and mannerisms caught me off guard. On those grounds, bear in mind that social behaviours may confuse, surprise, or offend you, specifically in the centre of large cities, like London, where people might come across as cold and distant or always in a hurry.

Picking up the local language and slang
Before moving to the UK, I studied English for several years, however I still felt nervous when it came to communicating with the native speakers. Sometimes people were confused by my accent and at first, I did not always understand what they meant. Constantly listening and speaking in a foreign language might be tiring, especially when English is not your first language. Phrases and slang make up also a large part of social communication, which can be puzzling if you have never heard them before. British slang can be equally confusing, as they tend to informally use words for their opposite meaning, or even to mean something totally irrelevant. For instance: “sick” means “good“ and “peak” means “bad”. This has caused to many of us some embarrassing moments!

Politeness
Politeness is at the heart of everything they do. Orderly queues, holding doors open and saying “please” and “thank you” are what the UK was built on. From rushing past someone on the stairs to walking into a lamppost, Brits love to apologise. For example, you might accidentally hit someone with your bag, so why are they apologising to you? It’s an unspoken rule that everyone should apologise over the most trivial reasons, regardless of who, or whether anyone is at fault.

Here are some of my suggestions which will help you adjust quicker to the UK lifestyle:

Keep yourself busy! - (My favourite one)
UK is a place, where you can always keep yourself busy. There may be an opportunity to learn a new sport or activity or continue an interest from back home. Ever since I moved here, I managed to become fluent in two new languages and discovered my passion for travelling. Moreover, you can easily meet new people and socialise with them and find someone to talk to, who will listen to what you say uncritically and with understanding. It can be a great learning experience, which will make you more aware of aspects of both your own culture and the one you have recently entered.

Build your network!

Even though culture shock might only be something temporary, it is essentially important to have in mind that there are certain things that can help you get through it. It really helps to surround yourself with other people who are in the same boat as you as it is a huge relief to know that you are not alone in this new chapter in life. In general, making friends is not only important for building your network but also for your mental health as it goes a long way in improving your social skills that can be useful across many areas in your life. It is always good to keep in touch with friends and relatives as well and update them on your current situation.

Always be open minded

An effective way to overcome culture shock is to stay open minded even in the most awkward situations. Take some time and think before you act. Treat everything as a new chance to learn more about the culture which in this case is largely based on politeness. You can gain knowledge from the most insignificant moments. From the q’s to the bus driver to the p’s to the barista that serves you your morning coffee. Being polite will always be appreciated and put you in a good stead. Undoubtedly, the word “please” will always be followed by a “thank you”.

Curiosity goes a long way
Ever since I moved here one of my biggest fears was being alone in a completely different country. Therefore, if there is one thing, I wish I knew earlier was how much people are willing to help you. Surprisingly it is considered to be very normal to stop someone on the street and ask them questions. Apart from that, asking my British friends questions helped me understand better the British culture and encouraged me to be more confident in my everyday life. As a result, I found communicating in English much easier. It might take you a while to get a grasp with the British use of English, especially if you’re used to watching American TV shows like I did, but don’t worry, you’ll pick it up in no time!

Conclusion: The UK as a society is very diverse, with many different cultures and nationalities. Welcoming people from different countries has been a long tradition, and for that reason many have stayed here permanently. It might be difficult once you move to a new country, but the way to deal with it would be: to always have a plan, be very well organised, and learn every day to be patient, because it WILL get better!

Published by George Theodotou Associate Consultant - IT Sales and Technical Division

There are a wide range of barriers to employment which affect jobseekers. These barriers affect socioeconomic and ethnic groups differently, but we have identified five common barriers which are faced by almost all jobseekers in the UK but especially those who may not speak English as a first language. This blog has been created to help jobseekers overcome these barriers, improve their chances of submitting successful job applications and to help streamline what can sometimes be an arduous task.

• Relevant Experience

Describing previous experience can be challenging especially if you have limited work experience and you are translating your CV into English. However, it’s good to remember that previous experience doesn’t only come from past employment but also hobbies, extra-curricular activities and general life experience. Learning how to articulate all of your experiences concisely and apply

• Documentation

There is a lot of documentation involved with starting a new job especially if you have just moved to another country for work. Keeping your documentation organised and accessible can save you a lot of time and stress. One common issue candidates face is proof of address. Generally, some forms of proof of address cannot be digital copies, e.g., bank statements which often need to be printed out from a bank and stamped in order to be valid. P60s are probably the easiest form of proof of address to obtain as these can now be accepted in digital format and anyone who works in the UK can access one.

• References

Having a number of people who can write positive and reliable references for you can aid your job applications a great deal. These people should be familiar with your work ethic, skills and achievements. It’s worth remembering that referees don’t always have to be managers, especially if they are managers whom you didn’t frequently interact with. They can also be teachers, supervisors or other colleagues who you feel like know you well. Asking them in advance can also help you save time with your applications.

• Employment Gaps

Having gaps between periods of employment is common and not necessarily a bad thing! The reasons for having gaps between periods of employment are varied; some may take a break to return to education, start a family or care for other relatives. Its important, however, that any gaps between periods of employment are stated and justified on your CV and application. Its also a good idea to explain which skills you developed or gained during these periods of your life.

• Language & Communication

Language and communication barriers can be significant for those who do not speak English as a foreign language. However, it’s important to remember that even native English speakers can struggle to communicate clearly especially when in a pressured situation such as a job interview. Many people will prepare their answers for interview questions and those who have learned English as a foreign language should do the same. Learning set phrases and memorising examples of times when you showed employability skills can help you to communicate concisely in front of prospective employers.

Published by Alasdair Anderson Talent Resourcer – Regional Division

When you engage a Recruiter, you have a choice of how. Do you want them to a) definitely, b) maybe or c) possibly find you the candidate you ultimately hire?

When you retain a recruiter (option a) you give them the confidence to do their best work and the drive to exceed your expectations. You rely on them, believe in them and commit to them (and them to you).

When you work exclusively with a recruiter (b), you give them a chance to compete with your internal teams and methods and to do strong work. You’ve chosen them alone to help but kept options open.

When you instruct multiple agencies (c), you give them poor odds in a race and won’t have the time to give them all a level playing field. You ask them to work fast and in hope rather than with conviction.

Guess which one everyone involved seems happy with?

I was shocked the first time a client opted to retain me. It was 2005, I was new to recruitment and was told by colleagues that it never happened. None of them had retained clients. We didn’t do it like that. Clients didn’t do it like that.

At this meeting, after a swift glance at terms, this new client read the terms quietly (felt a bit awkward, quite a lengthy document back then) raised his eyebrows and signed up for the retained option on the spot.

Expecting him to be mistaken, I asked if he’d understood that he’d be relying 100% on me for his next multilingual hires and that he’d be paying a portion of the fee that day. The reply was “Why would I want to work with more than one recruiter? You’re here because I don’t have time. I don’t want to be called by five or six people. You specialise in languages and know what I want”. He nailed it. Multiple hires followed. He wanted someone to get the job done with minimum fuss.

Many retained clients later, I’m certain that if the shoe was on the other foot, I’d always retain a recruiter to get my job filled. I’d make sure they understood what I needed and where I could be flexible. I’d trust that if there was a short stint or a career pivot on the CV that they’d checked it out. They’d know the lines of communication were always open. I’d help them market my job brilliantly. We’d both take responsibility to deliver.

When you’re hiring and know you need support, what would stop you committing?

If you’re a recruiter, what stops you asking for a genuine partnership?

Talk to me if you like definitely more than maybe; always happy to talk about the advantages of retaining your Recruiter.

Ben Brogden is an Associate Director at Euro London and a veteran of many retained searches (and plenty of contingency too)

Have you been applying tirelessly for jobs but don’t seem to be getting any calls back from employers? The recruiters here at Euro London have some top tips for writing the best CV, to help you find that perfect job!

1. Look out for spelling mistakes! Regardless of your experience, bad spelling and grammar shows a lack of attention to detail. Employers receive lots of CVs and will throw out those with errors! Make sure you read through it with a fine-tooth comb, double check it, use a spell checker and get a friend to read it, to really make sure there are no mistakes!

• Don’t try to make it too fancy! (But also avoid using a bland, generic template). The information on your CV should be clear and easy to find. Use a plain, easy-to-read font, with clearly distinguished headings. The information you put in your CV should be detailed, relevant, yet concise – your CV should not be longer than two or three pages! You should also put your experience in chronological order, starting with the most recent. Employers don’t want to have to trawl through your CV to find what they’re looking for – hand it to them on a plate!

• Make sure to include a personal profile! This is a great way to introduce yourself to the employer, explain what your current working situation is and what kind of role you are looking for! It also adds some personality to your CV!

• Avoid having gaps in your CV! Breaks in your career can raise alarm bells for employers. Make sure to explain any significant gaps in your employment. If you went travelling for a few months, add that to your CV! Erase all ambiguity from your CV so that any doubts the employer may have, are nipped in the bud.

• Make sure all information you put in your CV is accurate and honest. You will always be caught out if you lie on your CV! Make sure dates on your CV match the dates on your LinkedIn profile. Don’t say that you are fluent in a language if you are not. Embrace the skills you truly have!

Implementing these tips into your CV are sure to help you stand out from the crowd! Now go ahead and apply for jobs with your new and improved CV and see the difference for yourself!

(Honourable mention: make sure you have some contact details on your CV. You’ll never get a call back if there’s no number to call!)

Published by Jordon Walsingham Talent Resourcer – Customer Services Division