Your thoughts have turned to mush, your carefully planned answers are now word salad and your hands are extra clammy. Sound familiar?

Job interviews can be nerve-racking and almost everyone feels at least a little bit anxious about them. But those nerves don’t have to be a negative! With a bit of planning and some tried and tested strategies, you can use your nervous energy to your advantage.

Prepare Well In Advance

Definitely prepare in advance! This is a must for any candidate, nerves or no nerves. Employers expect every candidate they interview to have prepped beforehand and it’ll be obvious to your interviewer if you haven’t.

Research? Check. Answers? Check.

If you’ve researched the company, prepared answers to your interviewer’s questions and reminded yourself of your CV in advance, you can go into the interview knowing you’ve done your due diligence and feeling confidently prepared.

Focusing your thoughts and energy on your interview prep can also help distract you from your nerves and reframe the interview process: you’re controlling what you can control and empowering yourself with knowledge.

Location, location, EXACT location

Make sure you know exactly where you’re going and how to get there. There’s no room for ball-park guesstimates on the day.

If you’re not quite sure of the exact location and how long it’ll take to get there, it’s worth doing a dry run before your interview day.

Look the part

Choosing your interview outfit and laying your clothes out the night before your interview can save time and worry on the day.

Check out the dress code of any office and go just a little bit smarter. Being smart and comfortable is key - it’s not the day to wear-in your new shoes and find out they give you massive blisters or squeak!

Snooze for the win!

It’s best to have all your interview prep completed at least a day in advance of your interview so you can have as relaxed a pre-interview evening as possible.

How much sleep someone needs really varies from person to person. Whatever your ideal bedtime is, make sure you’re snuggled up in time to get enough sleep to wake up feeling refreshed.

Calm Your Nerves On The Day

You know you’ve prepared as best you can, now all that’s left is the interview itself.

Be an earlybird (but not too early!)

Aim to arrive for your interview ten minutes before it’s due to start, this shows you’re keen and prepared. Ten minutes is plenty early, any earlier and you could find yourself inconveniencing your prospective employer.

Allow for your journey time to accommodate delays. A delayed train, a traffic jam, these all happen but you don’t want them to make you late to your interview.

Eat for positive energy

If you’re low on sleep and “hangry” after skipping breakfast, it’s unlikely you’re going to be able to showcase your best-employee-self. Make sure you fuel your body and mind with a good breakfast.

When you’re any kind of nervous it’s best to hit the decaf or skip the coffee altogether because regular caffeinated coffee will make the physical symptoms of anxiety worse.

It’s a two-way conversation

Although you’re being interviewed by your prospective employer, you’re also finding out if this is who you want to work for.

Asking pre-prepared questions about the role and the company when appropriate, will not only make you look keen and interested, it’s also an opportunity to discover more information about the company culture and the role you’re interviewing for, so you can decide if the job would be the best fit for you.

There are some topics you definitely shouldn’t ask about in your interview. Don’t ask about time off or holiday allowance, these are questions for further on in the process, not the first interview.

Remember, that this is a conversation and all the normal rules apply for what makes a good one. The difference is that a job might be waiting at the end of this one!

Quick calm down strategies

Despite all your planning and preparation, you may still find yourself a ball of nerves on the day.

To soothe yourself quickly before the interview, here are some strategies you can use:

1. Deep breaths

Take deep breaths in for a count of 5 and out again for another count of 5. This can help shift your focus and lower your heart rate.

2. Walk it off

A brisk walk will help burn off some of that excess nervous energy and reduce your adrenaline levels.

3. Chat to a friend

Talking to a friend before the interview can help reduce your stress levels and help boost your confidence.

4. LOL

Before your interview, watch funny videos  or speak to someone who properly makes you giggle. Laughing releases endorphins and reduces the stress hormone cortisol, making you feel more relaxed.

5. Shift your focus

In your mind, focus on an object you can see and describe it in as many ways as you possibly can - like the colour, texture and shape.

A combination of good preparation and stress-reduction techniques on the day will harness your nerves to your advantage so your skills and personality can shine!

For more Candidate advice and tips, follow us on Facebook and download ‘How to Wow at Interviews’ our short guide to securing your dream job!

Do you post on Facebook, Tweet on Twitter, or share on Instagram? Chances are, you have at least one social media account. Perhaps you have a blog or a YouTube channel that’s a sort of personal journal? Wherever you have a profile online, there’s a treasure trove (or perhaps a Pandora’s Box!) of information about you ready to be discovered by a prospective employer.

We’ve all posted something online we find a bit embarrassing or regret, and some things we definitely wouldn’t want our boss to see!

But there’s a difference between photos of your seven-year-old self with a cringey bowl-cut, and the images of the aftermath of a drunken night out littering your timeline - only one of these could cost you a job.

Yes, it’s the drunken pics.

Online profiles aren’t so private

Your online personal blog isn’t private like a diary hidden under your mattress, and your Facebook photos you’ve shared only with your friends aren’t necessarily accessible just to them.

However private you set your online profiles to be, there are no guarantees. Once something is on the internet it’s there forever, and how accessible it is to other people, is out of your control.

Would an employer really go to the trouble of finding your online profiles?

Absolutely yes!

An employer is investing a significant amount of time, work and money into recruiting the ideal candidate for a job. Then paying for the salary, training, pension and all the other expenses that come along with employing a candidate.

They will definitely take the time to Google your name and check out your online profiles and activities!

Research shows that the majority of employers check the social media content of prospective employees and some hire specialist agencies to research the online profiles of candidates. It’s now a normal part of the recruitment process and done as a matter of course.

Career Builder conducted a survey and found that 70% of employers use social media to research job applicants.

Remember, it’s not just during the application process that you need to be mindful of what your online profiles say about you, 34% of employers have reprimanded or fired an employee as a result of content found online.

Does it matter if a prospective employer can see your profiles, they’re personal profiles, after all?

Personal or not, if they’re in the public domain and would reflect on the company that employs you, they’re a prospective employer’s business.

But does it really matter that there’s a video on Facebook of you at a friend’s birthday party drunk dancing to Rihanna, because that was ages ago…? Or that rant you posted on your blog about how awful your old boss was - that was hilarious!

A prospective employer probably won’t see it that way.

They may be reminders of your teenage antics, and a well-written critique filled with funnies to you, but a potential employer will view them differently.

An employer doesn’t want to hire someone who appears to behave irresponsibly, shows a lack of professionalism or demonstrates disloyalty to a former employer. This looks like someone who could be a potential liability to the company.

If an employer is choosing between three equally qualified candidates and one of them has some questionable online profiles or activity, one of them has a neutral online presence, and the other has a professional blog, it’s more than likely an employer will select the candidate with the professional blog.

What employers do and don’t want to see in your online profiles

What you put online could cost you a job opportunity, but, it can also be a significant factor in a prospective employer’s decision to hire you!

Vlogging about a skill or passion, writing reviews of films or TV programmes, Instagramming the results of your painting or woodwork classes are all great things to share online for your prospective employer to see.

It’s about knowing what employers DO and DON’T want to see.

What employers DO want to see in your online profiles:

• Information that supports the professional qualifications and achievements stated in your CV - photos of your graduation? Great to share!

• Your personality would fit well with the company - applying for a job at a company that has an outgoing and activity-filled company culture? Share your videos of taking part in a charity fun-run with friends!

• You have a professional image and behave in a professional way - no drunk dancing here.

• A wide range of interests - do you have a passion for running or reading? Don’t be shy about sharing your best times or your latest read.

• Great communication skills - keep exchanges respectful and no swears.

• Creativity - love writing short stories or painting? Excellent! Share your work.

What employers definitely DON’T want to see in your online profiles:

• Photos or information about drinking or taking drugs - even if it was a long time ago, these are NSFW, or the application process!

• Inappropriate, risque photographs or videos - if you’re only wearing your undies or less, keep those pics to yourself.

• Lies about qualifications and achievements - an absolute no-no and this could get you in serious trouble.  

• Links to criminal behaviour - No, Absolutely not. No.

• Unprofessional screen names and email addresses. - @SeymourButz may have been funny at one time or another (questionable), but it’s definitely time to ditch it.

• Complaints or rude comments about a previous employer or company - keep it positive or keep quiet.

• Sharing confidential information about a previous employer or company - another absolute no-no. You could be in breach of your former contract and this will certainly put any potential employer off you.

Before you share anything online, think about whether or not you would mind if your boss or prospective boss sees it.

Should you have a spring clean?

If you're worried about what a prospective employer might find on your online profiles, have yourself a spring clean!

Give yourself a Google

Check what is most easily found and delete as necessary.

Profile pics and cover photos

However private you set your profiles to be, it’s likely these are still visible to the public. Make sure they create a good impression rather than a knot in your stomach at the idea of an employer seeing them.

Blogs, vlogs and status updates

It’s great to have a professional looking blog, particularly if it’s relevant to your prospective employer’s industry. But if it’s more of ranting, stream of consciousness, it’s probably best to take it down. Same for vlogs and it might be a good idea to delete any moany status updates too.

Bonus tip

Double check you’ve deleted that dormant MySpace account you set up way back when, and any other profiles you don’t use anymore.

Make your online profiles work for you and stand out from the competition

Your online profiles can have a big influence on your job prospects. Take advantage of having online profiles by using them to sell yourself to prospective employers. Make sure all your online profiles represent you in a positive light and you’ll be on the right track to ace the application process!

For more Candidate advice and tips, follow us on Facebook and download ‘How to Wow at Interviews’ our short guide to securing your dream job!

Find out How to Wow at Interviews by downloading our short guide to securing that dream job!

An interview is your opportunity to sell yourself, to find out more about the position you’re
applying for and the company as a whole. Priority’s guru Emma Chamberlain, Lead
Consultant for Commercial, shares her experience on what makes a great interview.

When you attend an interview with a prospective employee, they want to find out
about you: what motivates you, whether you will fit in with their team and, of course,
whether you have the skills they are looking for.

An interview is a two-way process and is as much about you finding out whether the
job and company are the right fit for you as it is about selling yourself to the employer.
So whilst it’s important to always be yourself at interview, there are some simple rules
that you can follow that will help you to wow the interview panel and stand out from
the competition.

Do you know anyone who needs a job? A friend, family member or anyone else you know who is actively looking for work?

Recommend Them To Us!

YOU will receive a £30 voucher for a local shop of your choice for each person you recommend if we find them a permanent or temporary job.

Just pass on our details to your friend and ask them to get in touch with us to find out if they’re suitable for any of our current roles.

If we place them in a permanent role or they complete a minimum of a week in a temporary assignment you will earn £30!

So get thinking about who you could recommend so you can start shopping!

Ask your friend to either call:  01256 334575

Contact Us or pop in to see us at:

Priority Appointments
Winchester House
19-23 Winchester Street
Basingstoke
Hampshire
RG21 7EE

Office Hours: Monday – Friday, 8.30am – 5.30pm

Terms and conditions

You don’t have to be registered with us to earn £30.
A minimum of one week’s work must be completed by the person you recommend.

85% of HR decision-makers admit to having made a bad hire according to REC, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation.

Of those, one in three who hired the wrong person as a manager, director, or in a senior official role think it cost their business nothing.

However, the true cost of hiring the wrong person is actually higher than you would expect.

REC have produced an infographic that shows that the aggregate cost of taking on the wrong employee at a salary of £42,000pa could actually lead to losses of over £132,000 to the business.

A single bad hire can create a domino effect: poor performance, coupled with strife within the team, will affect productivity and potentially damage your business’ reputation.

REC estimates the costs to the business of a bad hire are estimated as:

• £28,000 in wasted salary out of the total annual pay of £42,000
• £1,500 in wasted training
• £9,730 spend on recruiting and training the new employee
• £9,625 on lost productivity of the individual
• £29,160 on lost productivity of the wider team
• £54,000 in staff turnover as a result of dissatisfaction in the team

However, there are steps that hirers can take to ensure that the next is the right one who will contribute to growth and profit, rather than someone who seems like a square peg in a round hole:

1) Understand exactly who you need right now: Don’t just dust off the last job description when the time comes to recruit again. The job role may well have evolved and you need to regularly review the criteria for success to ensure you attract the right kind of candidate. Also, consider the overall balance of your team and build a flexible and inclusive workforce that can adapt as your business grows.

2) Check the salary band is correct: A professional recruitment consultant with good knowledge of employers in the local area will be able to advise you if the salary you have in mind is appropriate for the role you are recruiting for. 

3) Consider soft skills: No amount of technical ability will compensate for a lack of soft skills which are essential if a candidate is going to integrate with your culture successfully. Good communication, leadership and collaboration skills can often mean the difference between a good and bad hire.

4) Onboard new recruits effectively: If there are problems, they usually rear their head in the first few weeks of joining. By having a clear induction process and giving responsibility to other members of the team to show the new recruit the ropes, their chances of a smooth and trouble-free integration are much higher.

5) Partner with an experienced recruitment consultant: According to REC, 40% of companies state that their staff do not have the correct interviewing skills to find exactly the right people.

By choosing a local, professional recruitment partner, you can save time by relying on the consultancy to screen candidates and propose a short-list of people. They can also advise on the types of questions to ask in an interview.

With careful planning and the right support from an expert, professional team, you can face a future free from the cost of a bad hire.

To find out how we can help you find the Perfect Match for your team, call us today on 01256 334575.

Many employers are shocked to find out that the Modern Slavery Act may be relevant to them. But if you are a business that employs casual labour in some areas of fresh food warehousing or agriculture, or work in the supply chain for these industries, you need to be aware of the regulations.

‘Modern Slavery’ is a form of human trafficking, where people are forced to work through physical or mental threat; are controlled by an employer through actual or threatened mental and physical abuse or have restrictions placed on their freedom of movement, for example by having their passports taken away.

Modern Slavery in the news

Horror stories about the mistreatment of vulnerable workers hit the headlines from time to time, but those of us who run law-abiding businesses are unlikely to think that this has anything to do with us.

However, in a climate where that there has been a five-fold increase in victims of modern slavery since 2012, with 55% of cases involving labour (Source: National Crime Agency), it’s not surprising that there is now tighter legislation in this area.

Writing a Modern Slavery Statement

Any businesses in the UK with a turnover of £36m or more per annum is now legally obliged to write a statement outlining their anti-slavery policy and publish it.

Whilst it is currently only mandatory for large companies to have a Modern Slavery Statement, smaller organisations which have contracts with eligible companies are likely to be asked to supply a statement as they form part of the supply chain. Depending on your business, it may also be worth preparing a policy or statement even if you don’t currently supply large companies as it means you will be ready to go through due diligence if you tender for a new piece of business from an organisation that requires its suppliers to have one.

As a small employer, Priority Appointments is not obliged to have a Modern Slavery Statement. However, we have published our policy which explains to our clients and candidates our commitment to being vigilant in looking out for abusive labour practices and training our team so that they can look out for and report any inappropriate policies. 

Gangmasters Licensing Authority

Licenses issued by the Gangmasters & Labour Abuse Authority (GLA), a public body that answers to the Home Office, are a key part of preventing modern slavery and other immoral labour practices. In addition to its licensing and regulatory function, the GLA also has a broader role to investigate and enforce suspected cases of modern slavery across the labour market.

There is a useful guide about who needs a license on the GLA website.

The onus is on companies to show that they are aware of Modern Slavery legislation and to show that they only source labour from legitimate sources. They also need to show that they have taken reasonable steps to ensure that it doesn’t take place in any of their supplier organisations.

You can read our Modern Slavery Policy here.

The National Living Wage is frequently in the news, with even large and reputable companies under the spotlight for not having kept up with regulations and incurring fines for underpaying some staff.

This has highlighted how important it is for companies of every size to understand their obligations and comply with the regulations.

The UK has two compulsory minimum pay scales in place, governed by two different sets of regulation:

• National Living Wage (NLW) regulations came into effect in 2016 with the goal of ensuring that all over-25s will be paid at least £9 per hour by 2020.

• National Minimum Wage (NMW) has been in force since 1999 and applies to employees under 25.

Rates for both the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage are reviewed annually by the Low Pay Commission.

In April 2018, the National Living Wage increased to £8.05 per hour and will rise to £8.50 per hour by 2019.

Penalties for employers who flout the regulations are punitive. If an employee can prove that they have not been paid correctly, HMRC can issue a fine and insist that employers pay any arrears. If these monies are still unpaid, the employment tribunal could impose fines of up to £20,000. 

Voluntary ‘Real Living Wage’ Scheme

To complicate matters further, there is also a voluntary scheme known as the 'Real Living Wage', run by the charity the Living Wage Foundation, which aims to set a recommended minimum pay-scale based on the cost of living. This is independently calculated each year and applies to all employees over 18.

There are currently around 4,500 accredited employers who support this scheme from very large employers, such as Google or Burberry, through to small, independent businesses. The charity says that by choosing to opt in to the voluntary Living Wage, organisations are more likely to attract the best staff.

As a reputable consultancy with some 20 years experience, we understand the nature of the local job market, which means we can offer you guidance on the optimum hourly pay rates and salaries to attract the best candidates.

For more information about setting appropriate pay rates, contact Tracy Welch at Priority Appointments on 01256 334575 or email us.

Tracy Welch shares her top three tips to help businesses which offer jobs in Basingstoke, Alton, Camberley, Andover, Winchester and the surrounding areas to build the right team for long-term success

Our home town of Basingstoke is a pretty buzzing place to live and work right now. Given our location just between the M4 and M3 and the easy access the area offers from Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire, it is no wonder that so many local businesses are seeing many of the benefits of the overall improvements in the UK economy.

Basingstoke is one of the country’s Business Improvement Districts (BID) under the brand ‘Basingstoke Together’. The BID is designed to encourage local businesses to work together to improve the town’s economy by leveraging their joint buying power and attracting more commercial spend in the area. Investment continues to grow, with several new business ventures in the area.

Our neighbouring town of Hartley Wintney is also getting in on the act, and had its moment of fame with starring role in one of the episodes of the BBC series, ‘Best Bakes Ever’!

However, the potential downside of this prodigious growth is that businesses are finding it hard to source the people they need to help their companies to capitalise on the opportunities that a buoyant market offers.

So how can you ensure that your business will be one of those which benefits from all the inward investment and media attention in and around the Basingstoke area?

Well, as the hundreds of local people who take part in the annual Basingstoke Half Marathon in October will tell you, the secret to success over the mid to long term is to have a strategy that will enable you to stay the distance, as well as dealing with challenges in the short term. Here are our top three tips to help you get the right teams in place so you can stay the distance in the race for growth and success:

1.  You need the right team in place to support long-term success, not just for a short sprint.  As an employer, you need to plan your recruitment strategy months – or even a full year ahead if you want to secure the best candidates. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation regularly publishes reports on the availability of key staff and over the past couple of years this has consistently shown that businesses around the UK are worried about the anticipated shortage of permanent and temporary staff with many firms reporting difficulties in finding people with the right skills in the technical, logistics and professional/managerial sectors in particular.

2.  You need the right resources for every step of the race. Whilst a long-term strategy is key, every business needs to also ensure that it has the right staff to deal with seasonal fluctuations, short-term rushes or to meet tactical business needs. A good plan is to work with a trusted recruitment partner who can help you find agency workers to deliver short-term access to the key skills your business needs, whilst also supporting your long-term goals.

3.  You need advice and support from experienced professionals you trust to help you achieve your goals. By working with a local recruitment partner who knows the area; understands your business and has access to people with the right skills, you can maximise your chances of securing the right people for your business for both permanent and temporary posts much more quickly. If you choose a recruitment consultancy that has a strong local reputation, you will also have a much better chance of getting the sort of candidates who are interested in staying for the longer term, helping to save you time and money compared with appointing short-term staff.  In a climate where finding candidates for permanent roles continues to be a challenge, it is more vital than ever to work with a recruitment partner who can help you find and attract the right people.

At Priority Appointments, we know about staying the distance: we have been finding great jobs for people in Basingstoke, Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire for almost 20 years and our knowledgeable team has over 60 years’ combined experience.

Our specialist Office and Industrial recruitment consultants take the time to find out what you need, talking to every candidate and visiting every business we work with, so we can accurately match people to the local permanent, temporary or contract vacancies that are right for them.

For a no-strings chat about how we can help you fill your Basingstoke-based jobs, do contact us on 01256 334575.