Hi again everyone and seasons greetings to you all.
It’s been a few months since our website launch now and it’s certainly been an interesting period for the group. We’ve seen a record number of hits to our site, market conditions appear to be turning slightly and there seems to be increased consumer confidence out there at last. Also, on a lighter note, the AP Group stork which seems to do the rounds every couple of years, has delivered three new arrivals for staff and former staff in the space of about two weeks!
Since we ran with the new site, our IT guys have been working hard behind the scenes to ensure that we are reaching our target audience and that the site is achieving the desired results. We are delighted that this has been the case and following this success our sister company, AP Technical which is run by my colleague Andrew Cullen, will be following suit and coming up with their own new look. Keep an eye out for the brand new site www.ap-technical.com which is now in the latter stages of its construction and due for completion in early 2010. I am sure Andrew and the team will deliver another fantastic website.
In regard to market conditions, we have seen our most positive months of 2009 recently and are confident that this trend will continue. We’ve seen a steady increase in the number of new vacancies coming in and our clients are saying that after a period of evaluation, they’re now ready to start building again. This is good news for job seekers and I believe that 2010 will be far less gloomy than ‘09. I recently spoke with a friend at another recruitment agency who was of the same opinion - that we’d be pleased to see the back of this year and we both shared optimism for the year ahead.
In an article I read this week, it suggested that next year would still be tough and we are probably two years away from getting back to where we were at the end of 2007. You can take that one of two ways. Either you dwell on what has just befallen us, or you can make 2010 your year and MAKE things happen. There will be organisations out there who want to correct the damage of 08/09 and will seize this opportunity to re-shape their business and only recruit star performers who can make that happen. Do you want to be one of those star performers? It definitely offers food for thought and if you’re serious about your career then this may be the opportune time to do something about it.
My advice to anyone that is thinking about a move in the New Year is to act now. Christmas brings with it the usual chaos of office parties and last minute gifts, and it is often the end of January before the dust settles and one feels sufficiently back down to earth to start making enquiries. I can promise you that with companies receiving new head count and new budgets for probably the first time in a couple of years, they won’t be waiting until the end of January to start making things happen and nor should you. There is no harm in sending in your details now so that come January you can hit the ground running in your job search.
Before I leave you, I mentioned about the AP stork paying a little visit again. These things seem to come in two’s or threes around here, maybe there’s something in the water! For those of you who have had the pleasure to deal with them over the years, my former colleagues Lucy Mallett & Claire Hyland are now enjoying time off with their new arrivals, both little girls, so congratulations to the two of you. Whilst I can’t claim to have gone through the trials of pregnancy or child birth, I am certainly experiencing the sleepless nights as my wife too gave birth (a boy) during the same two week spell. Apologies to anyone who has had to deal with me in the past couple of months.
May I take this opportunity to thank all of our candidates and clients for their support during ‘09. It’s certainly been a tough year but we look forward to dealing with you again in 2010. Enjoy the festive period and remember not to leave it too late to make 2010 your year.
Steve