Posted by Nigel Wilson on 28 March 2017 | Comments
I recently read a great blog by Leo Babauta titled ‘Why I’m always in a hurry, and what I’m doing about it’ This resonated with me. I’m often in a hurry, not because I’m running late, but because I want to achieve more In fairness to myself, I’ve been making a conscious effort over the last few years to slow down. This is largely thanks to...
Posted by Nigel Wilson on 8 June 2016 | Comments
I watched the BBC lunchtime news today. Not something I usually do. But I was keen to see the appearance of Dominic Chappell - recent owner of BHS - being interviewed by a House of Commons Select Committee Why? I have a vested interest. I started my business career at BHS in 1976 as a graduate management trainee, and spent six years there, working in several...
Posted by Nigel Wilson on 15 February 2016 | Comments
I read an article last week, written by a recruiter in Australia, asking whether curiosity has become irrelevant in recruitment. He argued that perhaps too many recruiters feel they have enough to get by. They don’t want to learn new skills or acquire new knowledge. Their employers also aren’t helping by providing training. As a result, he explained that recruiters are leaving the industry in droves,...
Posted by Nigel Wilson on 21 December 2015 | Comments
One of the most popular questions I’m asked by clients and candidates is ‘what’s the market like’ 2015 has generally been a year of consolidation for many companies. No-one notable has gone out of business; trading conditions remain competitive; many companies have seen incremental growth, whilst some report negative growth, and a few have experienced better than expected growth. In other words, a pretty average year In terms...
Posted by Nigel Wilson on 12 June 2015 | Comments
I was talking with a business contact last week, and he expressed his frustration about the failure of one of his clients to recruit effectively, in particular their unrealistic expectations about new recruits He went on to explain that this client - like most companies - has a list of key requirements. His criticism of his client was that once he’d recruited his chosen candidate, his expectation...
Posted by Nigel Wilson on 27 February 2015 | Comments
There are various reasons why candidates fail at interview. I’m going to highlight two of the main reasons, and what can be done to overcome them When a client wants to interview a candidate, they are invariably hoping the candidate will perform well. They’ve had the CV, and maybe a summary from the recruiter, so on that basis, they feel the candidate has the potential to...
Posted by Nigel Wilson on 18 December 2014 | Comments
The adjective ‘great’ is generally positively applied to a person, place or thing as an expression of admiration, respect, particular liking or enjoyment However, when it’s applied to a person, it can often be over-stated. An example underlining this came from a recent article written by Stuart Barnes (former rugby player) about the New Zealand rugby captain Richie McCaw Barnes described McCaw as “arguably the greatest (rugby) player...
Posted by Nigel Wilson on 18 November 2014 | Comments
There’s a lot of talk surrounding the problems Britain’s ‘Big 4’ supermarket chains are suffering. The ‘Big 4’ being Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Asda The popular reason on the street is because of the German discounters - Aldi and Lidl. But that’s not the only reason. Let’s look back for a minute, and look at my local situation, which is probably similar to towns throughout the UK...
Posted by Nigel Wilson on 7 November 2014 | Comments
Is it just me or is it not crazy that in 2014 we still have to put up with appallingly slow mobile internet connection, ie when we're out and about. We're now used to high speed internet in our homes and offices (unless it's extremely rural), yet mobile connection speeds outside major cities and conurbations are largely very poor Mobile internet is a way of life....
Posted by Nigel Wilson on 6 October 2014 | Comments
I wonder how many people find the current economic picture confusing. We hear almost daily how well the UK economy is currently performing, now that we're out of the recession. Our GDP is apparently one of the highest in Europe. Yet the reality it would seem to many people is that they hardly feel better off. Wages have generally remained the same since 2007/8, with an...