As part of our Bright Sparks of Stockport video series, we’ve been asking local business people what they wanted to be when they were kids. So to see how times have or haven’t changed since…
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With continued uncertainty over exactly what will happen after Brexit, one department is being affected more than others – Supply Chain. Question marks over customs arrangements and trade tariffs mean that how to most efficiently…
Inspired by the 2018 England squad, Cathy Bates shares what businesses learn in recruiting a successful team. I’ve been coming into the office singing football songs all week, hyped up on the prospects of our…
Despite having one of the most well-educated workforces in the North-west, Stockport sits below the national average when it comes to how much we’re taking home in our pay. Although it’s not just Stockport –…
Since 2000, the number of people who have relocated to a different region of the UK for work has dropped by a quarter. Would you be prepared to up-sticks and move across the country for…
What is that helps you and your colleagues get the working day? A love of your job? Being in sync with your company’s aims and values? Or perhaps it is simply a steady supply of…
She’s been with us since March, so it’s about time we gave a proper welcome to our new Branch Manager, Jacqui Francis-Lamont. Jacqui might already be a familiar face to many of you, having previously…
Cathy and Jacqui were at this year’s Hatters’ Ball in Stockport last Friday. It’s a great annual event to raise money for the Mayor of Stockport’s Charity Fund. They had a great time, and got…
Recruitment news website UK Recruiter has been looking for people working in recruitment to share their stories of the industry. Our Managing Director, Cathy Bates, with over 20 years of working in recruitment, much of…
It’s that time of year again. The beginning of the new financial year in April means that the rates of the National Minimum and National Living Wages are going up, as well as the minimum…
Women are still earning less than men on average – our highly unscientific salary survey shows a whopping £4,000 gap between salaries here in Stockport. That might be about to change, but not necessarily for…
More and more companies are swapping suits and shirts for jeans and t-shirts. In our office building in Stockport, it’s pretty rare we’ll share the lift with anyone in a tie, or other formal business…
In any job where you work with people, it’s easy to get cynical. In recruitment, it happens when your candidates cancel on you – whether that’s missing an appointment, skipping a job interview or calling…
Over the last couple of months, the French government has been considering whether or not it should ban employers from e-mailing their staff outside of their contracted hours. While we criticise the French work-ethic for…
It was pretty warm last week, with temperatures exceeding 30 degrees, Britain was hotter than Jamaica! But, when you’re trying to look smart and professional for a job interview, a heatwave isn’t necessarily your friend. You…
There’s been a lot of negativity about the economy in the media following our EU referendum. The pound has dropped in value, the stock market has taken a hit, but for the vast majority of…
Job interviews. Presentations and pitches. Important meetings. We all get nervous in these sorts of situations. Flashbacks to messing up our lines in a school play, anyone? But some people do handle things better than…
It’s being dubbed the Fourth Industrial Revolution: the explosion of robots, machines, algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace is coming. There’s been a lot of recent speculation about how robotics and automation will…
Last Wednesday, a few of us headed over to Parrs Wood for a bit of ten pin bowling. The catch? We were bowling blindfolded. The event was put on my a local Stockport charity, Walthew…
The popular dating app for your phone, Tinder, has recently released its list of the best jobs to hold to attract interest from the opposite sex. Tinder has revealed the top 15 occupations for men…
At Essential Personnel, we like to use our blog to share great advice with job seekers in Stockport and the North West so they can go on to find great jobs. We also of course…
2015 was fantastic year for skilled people looking for work and now that we’re a month into 2016, it looks to be a similar year ahead. Most employers were running their businesses with little space…
The CV is the most widely used document we use when applying for new jobs. It’s ultimately a fact-based approach, allowing you to highlight your past work experience, education and skills in 2-3 pages. Of…
The week before Christmas is typically a quiet one for us, but according to the online job board CV Library, 7.7 million of us will be looking for a new job come 2016 – that’s…