Highly recommended! Josh and Sarah have been fantastic at Astute. They've found and placed me in 2 jobs now between them, both really responsive and excellent at keeping you up to speed with things. Very knowledgable about the roles and happy to talk to companies with any queries you have.
Great agency one of the best ones I've worked with! Liz has been a great help and support in helping me towards a new direction in my career life. She is very attentive and keeps me in the loop at all times! She makes the extra effort to work with my preferred requirements for work and even if it isn't completely attainable she meets me in the middle and does as much as she can to help! Also Liz is very funny might I add 😂 and I'm happy that I can now put a face to the name after all these years! Thank you again Liz for all your help and support! 😊
Josh and the Astute team was very swift to help me to find roles that matched my profile. They are really reliable and will help through every step of the recruitment process going out of their way to assist and follow up when needed. Could not find a better recruitment agency!
Fantastic recruitment agency.. Josh was extremely enthusiastic, encouraging and clearly knowledgeable about what was needed from both the employee and the employers point of view. Extremely supportive especially in regards to interview preparation and endeavoured to procure feedback promptly. Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Astute in the future to both candidates and recruiting businesses particularly for the right fit for the role!!!
I have worked as a candidate for Astute and they have been excellent. Super friendly service and professional agents keen to fit the right person to the right job. It has been a pleasure dealing with them and I would happily work for them again in the future. Highly recommend this agency.
Contact us
Derby
Suite 1, Ground Floor West,Cardinal Square,10 Nottingham Road,Derby. DE1 3QT
Our team includes several parents and we’re sure they and all parents have been eagerly waiting for today when their children can return to school!
8th March means relief for working parents including several in our team. It’s no understatement to say it’s been a struggle to juggle wfh with home-schooling.
Some working parents have been lucky, with one parent doing the lion’s share of home-schooling allowing the other parent to carry on working from home.
But for single-parents and for households with both parents working full-time, it has been even harder.
Let’s not forget the kids too. It’s been really hard for all children, not to be able to see their friends and play with them for months. For their social and educational development, this is such an important milestone!
Thank you to all the teachers too! 👏👏👏 Their hard work has meant that our children can have a safe and secure school environment they can return to.
Hopefully, it won’t be too long before we can all get back to normal, but we applaud this first step back to work, school, and normal life.
So, let’s all say well done to everyone for doing the best we could for our kids and each other. ❤️ 👏
An article by Mary Maguire
Managing Director
Astute | Accountancy & Finance | HR | Office Support
A one-way strategy of positive milestones from the Government was announced by the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson this afternoon.
The basic points are set out below. It is important to remember that these will be conditional on the continued success of the vaccine rollout and maintaining declining figures of hospitalisations and infections.
Nonetheless, some very welcome news!
Summary of key points: –
Boris Johnson sets out his four-step plan to release England from lockdown
Step one, on 8 March, will see schools reopening and two people allowed to meet outdoors for a chat
From 29 March, outdoor gatherings of either six people or two households will be allowed
Outdoor sports, including football, golf, and tennis, will be allowed to resume from 29 March as well
Step two would see shops, hairdressers and gyms reopen from 12 April in England
Also from 12 April, outdoor hospitality will resume, as well as zoos and theme parks
Step three would start on 17 May with most social contact rules lifted, as well as limited mixing indoors
The prime minister hopes that step four, from 21 June, would see the end of all legal limits on social contact
The UK PM will also hold a televised press conference at 19:00 GMT
Scotland, Wales, and NI will set out their own approaches
Covid vaccines have a significant impact on the risk of serious illness Public Health analysis shows
In the fourth week after the first dose, hospitalisations were reduced by 85% and 94% for the Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs
Let’s hope that the 8th March Budget will also provide some fiscal good news and continued support for businesses, employers, and staff.
An article by
Mary Maguire
Managing Director
Astute | Accountancy & Finance | HR | Office Support
Macmillan Cancer Support recently published research showing that an estimated 7 million people across the country have turned to exercise including jogging or running during the pandemic crisis to boost their mental health.
One in seven people in the UK (14%) said exercise had helped them handle stress better since the first lockdown.
Exercise proved more popular than meditation or yoga (12%). Roughly 33% said physical activity including running, helped them feel calmer and more positive, while one in five said it helped them to feel mentally stronger.
Macmillan is hoping this will all mean a record interest for the 2021 London Marathon. 2020’s event was first postponed to October and then cut back to just an elite event, following a year that has left charities devastated following reduced fundraising.
You are never too young, or old to start either. Nor are you too fit or unfit. From a gentle jog initially, gradually building up to a slow, then faster run, this is one exercise with no limits on who can join in or at what level.
Everyone can do it.
Whatever the weather!
Taking a regular stroll to the local park, it’s surprising how many new faces you can spot, having a run or jog.
According to City AM, Sports Direct sold 218% more pairs of running trainers online during the lockdown than in the same period 12 months before, and Britons bought 243% more running clothing than normal!
One of the best, instant results from a run is the immediate lift of your mood. This isn’t an accident.
The science bit.
When you exercise, endorphins, tiny chemicals, react giddily with chemical receptors in our bodies and go mad inside our bodies. That’s what causes you to feel lifted in body and soul. Those jigging, rushing chemicals. A whole new 21st-century twist to the phrase ‘gettin’ jiggy with it’ 🤣🤣
Whether you’re experiencing a simple case of the Monday blues while working from home, or more persistent symptoms of depression, that’s why exercise can really help to boost your mood and reframe your mental health to a new, much more positive place.
Getting regular exercise is important for good physical and mental health. Exercise can help stimulate parts of your brain that aren’t as responsive when you’re feeling depressed. It also promotes the release of feel-good brain chemicals. Exercise can also help to distract you from your worries and improve your confidence.
Commenting in the Guardian, Saurav Dutt, a 38-year-old author in London, ramped up his running in 2021 after taking it up for the first time during the initial lockdown.
“I used to try to avoid running as much as possible just because of the effort,” he said. “But the endorphin release after a big run is really significant, it really lifts your mood. And you’re also thinking about reinforcing your own general health, because underlying conditions are a big problem with Covid.”
In the absence of normal running groups, a number of virtual running challenges have been set up online during the pandemic. Its why we set up our #miles4meals initiative too so that people wfh can still get some valuable exercise AND help a worthwhile cause!
These virtual running groups are especially popular with people working from home. It’s not good for us to be sat down at a desk all day, the tension it puts on your lower back and your hips, it is really important to get out and move the body. Here at Astute, we are thrilled with the response so far from candidates, clients and businesses offering their time and miles to help us.
Its been interesting to highlight to businesses and employers that the benefits of virtual group exercise projects can really help the levels of employee engagement, staff wellbeing AND productivity levels in their teams. Some bracing physical activity is scientifically proven to aid and improve worker’s efficiency and increase the amount of work they can do in their job.
You can easily join into a virtual group by using the NHS/ Public Health England’s Couch to 5k app which was downloaded 858,000 times between March and June last year, a 92% increase compared with 2019. Check out more information on this useful link https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/get-running-with-couch-to-5k/
Like many across the country, our busy working days now revolve around a “commute a few steps downstairs or upstairs” and Zoom meetings. With long, long hours sat tapping away on laptops interspersed with calls.
Gone is the commute to the office. For many, our step counts and levels of movement have suffered.
Before Covid struck, most of us would travel, often walking to meetings, even taking a lunchtime stroll to grab some lunch. Now, that 20-minute stroll can easily become a daily ‘two-step toddle’ to the fridge and back.
This is why all of us at Astute wanted to do an organised event to raise awareness of the physical and mental health benefits of exercise AND support our local communities whilst helping a brilliant local charity, all at the same time.
Hence, our #miles4meals charity initiative was born! 😊
To make a donation, check out our fundraising page on Derby City Mission’s website HERE
Alternatively, if you or your team would like to join us to help Derby City Mission put together more food parcels for those in need, please email me – [email protected] and my team and I will warmly welcome you and send you more information.
Article by Mary Maguire
Managing Director
Astute | Accountancy & Finance | HR | Office Support
#BeAstute – Childrens Mental Health Week 2021 “I’m enough as I am said the boy”
What inspires children can so often inspire all of us…
“What’s your best discovery?” asked the mole.
“that I’m enough as I am” said the boy.
I love this quote by Charlie Mackesy in his award-winning 2019 book, The Boy, The Mole, The Fox And The Horse.
My son was given this book to inspire him and all the then year, 6 pupils, in his school.
He’s kept it.
The other day, he came up to me in my upstairs bedroom (aka ‘office’ 🤣) and said,
“Mum, this is a really great book!”.
“Can I have a read?” I asked.
” ‘course you can Mum, but I want it back!”
Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye as I read beautiful and moving pearls of wisdom. Whilst written a couple of years ago, this is a timeless, wonderful book for kids and adults alike.
The gentle words wash over you, giving you a warm hug of reassurance.
And we all need a hug right now. ❤️❤️
Thank you Ashbrook Junior School!
Thank you Charlie Mackesy for creating such a heartwarming, wise and beautiful book.
A book for the best of times, and the hardest of times too. It’s a brilliant book to recommend to all those parents working from home for their children, especially during this special children’s week dedicated to raising awareness of child mental health.
It’s a beautiful, and rare book that can befriend a child and also captivate adults too.
A lot of parents are struggling to juggle their work and jobs from home whilst overseeing their children’s schoolwork at the moment. As a parent and an employer of staff with children, its really important to highlight and recommend great opportunities to help hardworking parents reassure their kids.
Their Virtual Assembly with BAFTA and Oak National Academy is now available to view and share – featuring Jodie Whittaker, Oti Mabuse, Matthew Lewis, and many more…
If you would like to read more articles and posts on employment, recruitment, careers, mental health, and more, please follow Mary and our company page for Astute Recruitment Ltd on LinkedIn and Facebook.
Mary Maguire
Managing Director
Astute | Accountancy & Finance | HR | Office Support
6 ‘astute’ Interview questions and answers to help you get a job in a pandemic
With interview requests and new jobs taken by our team at Astute Recruitment, it’s great to share some pointers for candidates about to enter the job market to give them an edge on interview.
Imagine, you’ve been selected for a job interview! Well done! It’s always great news, but especially so in such challenging times. But preparing for a job interview might be trickier than usual, too.
It would be a little weird if you and your interviewer didn’t acknowledge the global pandemic going on.
You’ll probably be doing your interview remotely, online, at least the first interview, and it’s also likely that you’ll be starting work remotely.
The people and business you’re interviewing with won’t be operating as normal, plus you’ll have to navigate different ways to work together.
Apart from the obvious, (ensuring you’re wearing smart clothes, and your Zoom background looks tidy & professional), preparing for an interview means being ready to answer some different questions. So, what can you expect to be asked?
1. How are you feeling?
It’s normal to start off an interview with an icebreaker, but in the pandemic, small talk can take on a deeper meaning.
For an interviewer, it’s a way to gauge the tone of the interview. Some candidates’ replies might reveal they are struggling, whereas others will take the question much more lightly. In either case, there is no shame in acknowledging how the Covid-19 crisis is affecting you. The worst thing would be if a candidate came across as too disconnected from the situation, which could be a hint as to empathy skills or lack of.
The pandemic is impacting people emotionally, and for an employer to ask this question, shows they care. If you are asked this question, you should show you understand the situation and are adapting to it. You shouldn’t just use the same answers that you had prepared pre-pandemic, as if you were still in a typical office setting.
2. How are you handling your work-life balance?
If you can keep a healthy work-life balance, it shows a potential employer that you’re able to manage your time independently, and be organised.
Working from home is set to continue for a lot of us for the foreseeable, meaning employers are looking for these qualities,
Companies and hiring managers need to know that even if you don’t have a team around you sitting in an office, you ARE going to be able to work by yourself, can be trusted to wfh independently and autonomously.
This doesn’t have to mean that you’re calendar-blocking each hour of your day. But this question is a prime opportunity to highlight how you can, and have been able to work productively.
In an online interview, it’s an opportunity to also build a bond as you can reflect back a question to your interviewer, e.g.”I’ve found it’s key for me to factor in a 20 minute slot to excerise /walk the dog/ play with kids. I find this improves my feelings of wellbeing and makes me more focused and productive working for the rest of the day. What works for you?”.
3. Have you learnt any new skills since March last year?
This isn’t a trick question. Recruiters
wouldn’t be put off if a candidate said they had struggled with motivation or finding time to learn at the beginning of lockdown.
Instead, they’d welcome and expect some honesty about what they’ve learnt about themselves during the pandemic.
You don’t have to pretend you’ve been on some kind of productivity marathon if you haven’t. Of course employers will want to know if you’ve added any professional skills to your CV, but talking about hobbies you’ve picked up or personal lessons you’ve learnt helps to give interviewers a glimpse of your personality and a real glimpse of you.
For instance, what you learnt about yourself could be how you discovered a new skill or the ability to step back from something. It doesn’t need to be professional, it can be something more personal.
But, how do you answer if you can’t think of anything you’ve learnt in the past few months?
Something as simple as trying out a new recipe counts. Most of us have discovered some new culinary skills 🤣.
4. What’s your ‘work-from-home set-up like?’
Potential employers have every right to ask about a candidate’s home working environment. Especially making sure that potential employees have a computer with internet access, that they have access to a telephone or a landline, and asking about the reliability of their wifi signal
Employers need to know that you have the equipment you need to do the job you are being interviewed for. However, they are aware that few of us have the perfect WFH set-up. Don’t be afraid to mention any challenges you’ve faced working from home, and how you’ve found solutions to work around them.
This is a good question for employers to ask candidates to see how creative they can be, and how they’re dealing with and have adapted to the current situation.
5. “We’re all on Microsoft Teams/ Slack/ Google Hangouts. Have you used it before?”
Of course, if your interview is on a platform you haven’t used before, you’ll want to test it out beforehand to make sure you know how to use it.
It’s also worth getting to know the main digital communication tools that are popular with businesses. Google Hangouts, Microsoft Teams, Slack and Zoom are all free to download and experiment with.
Some great advice to all candidates, is to be organised and prepared with the tech that they could be using if they are offered a job.
Lots of companies used digital communication tools before the pandemic. They’re just using them even more now. If candidates are unfamiliar with them they should definitely look them up & try them out before interviewing for a new job.
For employees who have started looking for a job after several years, this is a really useful tip.
6. Do you have any questions for us?
Pre-pandemic and lockdown, candidates would go into the office, meet a couple of members of the team. They’d get all of the contextual information before being offered the job and deciding whether to accept it.
Now, with largely online interviews, applicants don’t have all of the sensory, physical experiences through Candidates who have managed to get an interview aren’t getting the complete view of companies they’re applying for.
To counteract this, ask a lot of questions during your interview to get a clear idea of how the company works, the office culture and how you’ll work with different teams and individuals.
For starters, ask questions about training, daily tasks and communication methods. It’s equally important to ask about potential colleagues and hierarchy. This may mean clarifying who you would report to or who you can ask for help when you need it. Alternatively, it might mean taking a more informal approach to interviewing altogether.
A great suggestion for candidates is to ask, “If possible, could I have a virtual lunch with the team that I could be working with, just so I can get to know them—maybe not so much in a professional sense, but in a more casual, informal way?“
You could ask to have one-on-one meetings with potential future team members as part of the interview process. This shows you take the future culture of your potential colleagues seriously.
Companies should be understanding about these requests.
It’s really key that candidates meet more people, especially now. Particularly so if companies add a few more steps to the recruitment process. This can give applicants the confidence to be happy if they go on to secure a job offer.
Remember, it’s not just the candidate who has to adapt to the recruiter, but the recruiter who has to understand it’s a different situation for applicants too!
If you have questions around this topic or would like more information about this or something else, feel free to contact our MD, Mary Maguire, by email on [email protected]
An article by Mary Maguire, Managing Director Astute Recruitment Ltd
Our team includes several parents and we’re sure they and all parents have been eagerly waiting for today when their children can return to school!
A Roadmap out of lockdown!
Macmillan Cancer Support recently published research showing that an estimated 7 million people across the country have turned to exercise including jogging or running during the pandemic crisis to boost their mental health.
