Well, that theory has been well and truly blown apart!!

That just leaves the rest of us to pick up the pieces and carry on, which we will because that is what we do.
But for how much longer will the British public remain only “slightly miffed” before they get “really miffed”.
Of course life and business has to go on and to that end it is good to see that the affect on employment seems to be lifting, and from a permanent recruitment point of view the prospects look good with several indicators showing permanent vacancies rising, although candidate availability is fairly static and salaries remain unchanged.
In fact one report suggests that “Double Dip Doesn’t Dampen Jobs Growth” and  the Reed Index indicated that the number of new job opportunities available in April showed steady year-on-year growth, although compared to March, April was slightly down.

This comes in spite of a contracting economy during the first quarter of 2012.
How this is split between youth employment and “experience” is more difficult to understand.
There is no doubt that from a professional and executive standpoint, particularly in the Scientific and Medical sectors that Delta Consultants deal with, availability of jobs for well educated and experienced professionals are around.

It is likely, though, that employers are looking to minimise any risk and therefore it is less risky to employ experience versus youth.
This potentially, as many commentators have observed, leaves a massive hole in employment and a generation of young people unable to find suitable employment.
It seems these days even a good degree is no guarantee of a decent job.

But where do we go from here and how do we encourage employers to hire young people.
The Government seems to have some schemes but, as far as I can see, with only limited success.
Perhaps it is time to rethink and (like some companies are already doing) open up places to school leavers and then train and educate them within the company.
Didn’t seem to do the young school leavers of the sixties and the seventies any harm and let’s face it not everyone is going to become a famous “Reality Star”.

With unemployment rising and job opportunities apparently becoming scarce in some sectors, why do we have to have such a negative outlook on trying to give young people an opportunity to experience what it’s like to go to work?

Surely anything that gives people hope for the future should be tried?

I know it can look like big business are getting free staff and exploiting them, but is that really the case?

If you have never had a job, just maybe this is the light at the end of the tunnel.

Go to work, do the job…………….however demeaning some people may think it is, and show the world that you will give it a go.

What’s wrong with starting at the bottom, even if you have a good degree, and proving that you can make a difference in the company?

I think many people will be surprised how much hard work and a will to be flexible actually does impress “the boss”.

Of course there will be some companies that will take advantage and they should be named and shamed.

Here at Delta we signed up to a back to work initiative about 3 years ago (mainly aimed at long time employed people who suddenly found themselves out of work) which, if you did it properly, probably cost us money as the amount the Government paid barely covered the cost of the time spent interviewing and coaching people.

We did not get paid on “placing” candidates in work, but preparing them for work, and we felt it was something worthwhile we could do to help.

In the end we had to withdraw as it soon became clear that it was potentially a “cash cow” to be exploited and we did not want to be associated with it.

I think we may have earned a few pounds (certainly not the millions the press seems to be highlighting at the moment), although maybe we could have!

However, back to work experience – don’t think of it as exploitation but as your big chance to do something with your life.

Just a word to the big companies involved in the scheme, perhaps you could make some sort of contribution like a portable pension scheme or bonuses for outstanding performance. Then people won’t feel they are being exploited but will go away with a positive impression.

Here at Delta Consultants we have certainly seen a brisk start to the year with an above average number of new jobs in January and market confidence looks positive.

Candidate availability has increased, but this could be due to mergers and acquisitions causing redundancies and adding to the UK employment statistics.

But the good news is that the jobs are out there (in the Scientific and Medical Devices market areas that Delta deals with at least) and for candidates either looking to change careers or seeking employment due to redundancy now is a good time to be job hunting.

While salaries are not increasing rapidly we are finding that employers and candidates are being realistic in their demands and pay levels are where we feel they should be for the experience and knowledge that our clients are looking for.

So, contrary to what you may be reading in the media and all the woes and depression coming out of Europe you can be successful in your job search, jobs are available and with a positive attitude and realistic demands you will find one.

Delta Consultants recruit into the Scientific and Medical Devices sectors and the positions we recruit for include Sales, Marketing, Field Service, Applications, Technical Support and all levels of relevant Management.

I have always had pain in my feet – not surprising with those heels I hear you say. But one day it just got too much and I limped off to my GP who blithely informed me I had bunions http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunion and surgery could be a solution but not to think any surgeon would operate if he thought I would go back to wearing ‘those’ shoes. I was devastated – far too young for bunions – everyone would laugh. But they didn’t as they had been there themselves. We are a nation of poor feet if you can get people to admit it.

I was referred to the Oak Tree Centre in Huntingdon http://bit.ly/sk8DLi and was immediately impressed by the professionalism and enthusiasm of the staff. I no longer felt a freak – they really wanted to help. There was no waiting list to speak of – I could book in practically when I liked. It was all done on a Monday morning in at 8.00 and out at 13.00 with a bandaged foot and crutches. Although the injections were painful I felt nothing during the operation and the staff were kind, courteous and truly caring. During the aftercare I never had to wait beyond the time of my appointment and once I got there early and was seen early. They were delighted with the result as was I. The whole process was a pleasant surprise as we hear so much negativity about the NHS.

I just wanted to share my positive experience and to say thank you to Oak Tree for giving me back a pretty foot (well it will be when the swelling goes down) and, in the future I hope, the ability to walk without pain. And I promise I will try very hard to avoid those 6 inch heels.

 It made me think of the pleasure of dealing with small businesses.

But how does it all begin? When a business starts it is usually small with one or two people -maybe more – who have an ideal and a product they believe in which will delight the consumer and also make money for themselves. Their enthusiasm and drive will push them forward to work silly hours, probably put their houses up as collateral and generally affect their personal lives. To make it a success they know one of the most important aspects of business is customer satisfaction and they will go out of their way to ensure they keep that close personal touch with the customer.

That’s the nicest thing about dealing with small businesses, isn’t it? The fact they know you personally and you have someone who looks after you. Any issues and you can just call them and they sort it out. You think – what a nice company – and when the ‘big boys’ come calling to try and lure you away, you wouldn’t hear of it.

Their commitment to excellence and this personal touch give them more and more customers and so naturally they grow. As they grow they need new staff, new procedures, and new premises and gradually they are not a small business any more. Great for them of course – they are a success, mortgages can be paid off and the owners / shareholders can have a better life. But when you try and report an issue you suddenly find you can’t get hold of the person you knew there. Now there is a ‘procedure’ you have to follow, a faceless voice on the end of the phone and you find yourself thinking ‘what happened to that nice, friendly, SMALL company’ and you feel just like a number. This growth and total disregard of the customer is all due to greed.

Sometimes of course businesses reach a certain size where they can still give the personal service and we know some of those who are still a delight to work with. But we also know ones who somehow lose it along the way – something I hope Delta will never do.

There was a competition for the Best Shell Scheme stand and the Best Space Only stand – Delta was proud to sponsor the former and going around the exhibition with the other judges was an interesting experience.

We started at 9.00 on Monday morning and observed various criteria we had set.
For instance, was the stand up and running and the exhibitors ready to receive visitors? We observed that ‘no’ it wasn’t always the case. People not there, instruments not working, lights not lit.
Were the people on the stand welcoming? Did they step forward to say ‘hello’ and ‘how can we help’
It was surprising to see that some of the stands had staff on the stand who were too busy talking to each other, checking their e-mails, looking at their PCs or talking on their mobiles to stop and speak to the potential customers in their midst.
In some cases we were just ignored.
Did the stands have scientific equipment for visitors to see and assess potential for a sale? Although they might not be the decision makers, couldn’t they in theory return to their labs and speak to the powers that be to recommend the product they had seen?
Most of the exhibitors did have products on their stands but just tables and chairs and a coffee machine didn’t go down well with the scientific based judges amongst us.

All this made me think about exhibitions and how we should make the most of them. The IBMS Congress is the busiest one I know with companies putting their names on a waiting list to exhibit. Why then do they not make the most of the opportunity of having a captive audience for a change? You would have thought it would be a salesperson’s dream to be passive for a change and not have to drive anywhere! The companies spent all that money and just didn’t make the most of it and there’s only two who have a nice trophy to prove some of them are committed to making an exhibition of themselves.

The staff didn’t look happy to be there, obviously didn’t want to serve me, got my order wrong and one of them showed a real flash of temper with his colleague. I was surprised because the usual people there are so pleasant and greet you with a smile

A lot of us work in customer orientated environments and it can be a real challenge to stay positive, friendly and polite. However I look at it like this: the people who choose to work in front of customers do so because they get on well with people and relate to them – surely this must be the case or you wouldn’t do it? Don’t the employers pick up the sulky ones when they go for the job interview? (Perhaps not – come to us for interview tips!)

I read somewhere once and it has always stayed with me that if you feel unhappy in yourself the best way to get out of it is to do something good for someone else.

So the people in the coffee shop could have come in to work with a smile and thought to themselves ‘regardless of how I feel I am going to make my customers happy today and serve them well’ and they would have had a much better day than I think they are going to have.

It puts me in mind of the time when one of my colleagues had a very difficult call with an HR manager who was obviously not going to be pleasant at all to her on the phone. Taking a deep breath my colleague said ‘Oh dear, you’re not having a good day today are you? I am sorry’ That was the beginning of a great relationship. All they needed was a bit of empathy and everyone was happy.

Try a smile and being nice to your customer – it always works. Oh and by the way, the people in the coffee shop were so miserable and distracted this morning I got one of the coffees free – I did offer to pay of course but they wouldn’t hear of it. Some sort of customer service after all!

But, on a serious note, how much time in the workplace is lost by the inevitable Monday morning inquests on the weekend’s games (men and women), and does it really matter?
Or should it be encouraged as part of the general team spirit and ambience that it can create. Well, for those whose teams have won of course.
Perhaps the first 30 mins on a Monday morning should be devoted to re-living the weekend and generally “getting in the right frame of mind” for the arduous tasks ahead.
Not just football of course, but somehow Rugby, Tennis, Cricket, Motor Racing etc. don’t seem to embrace the same passion in the workplace.

I don’t presume, of course, that football is everyone’s passion and for many people it is overrated, boring and the players earn way too much at the top level I am sure.

But how do you get away from it as we are bombarded with it on TV, in newspapers, pub discussions and the office and is it good for business?

My guess would be that it depends on the type of business, whether you are customer facing or not and whether your boss is a football fan. We all want motivated staff and encouraging office “banter” (within the law, of course) is one way to keep the atmosphere buzzing.

It doesn’t have to be football but with the new season in England starting (Scotland are already ahead of us) you can bet that the first Monday will be full of what should have happened, we were robbed, useless referee (I have noticed that referees are generally only rubbish when you lose!) etc.

Oh well, just some thoughts as I prepare for the highs and lows of a new season, while focusing on the business, of course.

For instance, apparently interest rates are going to go up or stay the same, and according to one paper they are going to remain at 0.5% for the next 3 years.
This article was sitting not a million miles away from another article spouting more doom and gloom about the European debt crisis and how interest rates were going to rise.

Now call me an old cynic but how come base interest rates are 0.5% but mortgage rates are considerably higher by a minimum multiple of 8 as far as I can see.
Memory has faded a bit these days, but I am sure when I bought my first house (which was a struggle, something that just seems  to be an issue these days!) the bank rate was around 5% and the mortgage rate just above at around 5.5 or maybe 6%.
With the bank rate at 0.5% mortgages should be around 1% surely.

Ah, but no someone has got to make money so what a jolly good wheeze, let’s charge people obscenely high interest rates to borrow money, give them obscenely low interest rates for savings and make pots of money.

Then, of course, a decision has to be made on what to do with the money.

I know, let’s pay all the people who thought up the idea of high borrowing rates and low interest rates the money………………..job done…………..economy saved.

But apparently it isn’t and we are all doomed, well until tomorrow when the economy is recovering.

Until then let’s try and find some good news in the papers…………..got it………..the Beckhams have had a baby girl.

In order for us to be successful we make sure that you, the candidate, have the best chance possible of success by:

• Thoroughly discussing what you are looking for and only sending your CV by agreement
• Getting feedback on your CV/interview as soon as we get it
• Ensuring you have all the information about the job and company you need
• Supporting you through the interview process including what to wear, what to expect, how to “ask for the job” and we will even critique your presentations
• We will soothe you through the resignation process including how to handle a counter offer
• When you have started we will keep in touch to ensure all is going smoothly and will mediate for you if you have any issues

Also as an ethical company, following the REC Code of Professional Conduct, you can be sure that we will not call you after a few months with another “opportunity”.

All these things we do gladly and more if you ask us.

But recruiting is a two way process and we would be very grateful if you could help us a little in our endeavours to get it right for you. Here are a few requests!

•  Please tell us if you have another job offer – it’s OK, we are not going to talk you out of it if it’s right for you. We do not want to aggressively get you into “our” job. It’s not our style
• Please don’t accept a job offer if you really have no intention of taking it. It makes you look bad and companies have long memories – in a small industry you shouldn’t burn your bridges.
• Please keep a record of all the companies where your CV has been sent so there isn’t a duplicate with our clients making everyone look silly.
• Take our advice on interview technique –if we say wear a suit, wear one. If we advise you to keep to the point and focus on what your interviewer is saying, try doing just that. Do your research on the company – how many times have we heard ‘They didn’t know anything about us’
• Please return our calls and e-mails – just a brief line to say ‘no thanks’ ‘yes please’ ‘can’t make it’ ‘not looking’ ‘just what I have always wanted’

 We love working with you and changing your life – yes, we do that – a new job is a life changing experience and can be very stressful – you need support!

 We are your support – but we also need your support.