Our new address is:

50 Cygnet Court
Timothys Bridge Road
Stratford Upon Avon
Warwickshire
CV37 9NW

Our telephone and fax numbers remain the same.

Maxine Sweeney of Coventry Building Society, Paul Miles of Big Red and Pat Gill of Coventry Building Society

In stark contrast to some of the tales of economic doom and gloom that are circulating at the moment, Big Red have reached a milestone that reflects positively not only on their business, but on the state of IT companies and departments. This week we were happy to announce our 1000th placement!

A presentation to mark the event was held at the offices of the Coventry Building Society, where we placed Pat Gill, as a Project Consultant, with client Maxine Sweeney. Pat will play a leading part  in the company’s  current integration project with Stroud and Swindon Building Society.

Paul Miles, Operations Director (and the consultant who placed Pat Gill!) commented, “I’m incredibly proud to have helped Big Red to hit this landmark achievement, even more so knowing that Pat has settled into his role at the Coventry Building Society so well and is making a real difference to the integration process between The Coventry and Stroud and Swindon Building Societies . Big Red have weathered the storm of the recession, and this 1000th placement shows that not only are we a successful company, but perhaps more importantly companies are definitely hiring again; IT projects are running, and our clients are looking towards the future.”

With this in mind we asked Cyber Security expert Av Sunner for his top tips for cyber security for you and your company:

“Everything from paying bills to phone calls to distant relatives can now be done online. People save some of their most important documents, photos and financial information electronically — and seem to be more organised than ever. Meanwhile people may be cyber aware and on the cutting edge of digital culture, they may not be cyber secure.
With a growing number of people online for a significant portion of every day, it’s not surprising that more people are particularly visible and vulnerable targets of cyber criminals. Often, a healthy dose of common sense and knowledge about threats are the first step.
 
Keep these 10 tips in mind as you get on the path to becoming cyber savvy.
 
1.    Protect your personal information
2.    Create complex and lengthy passwords that include letters, numbers and symbols. Be sure to change them often
3.    Don’t use cyber cafes or free network points to conduct private business
4.    Set your security software, operating system and browser to update automatically
5.    Conduct transactions only on secure sites. Look for “shttp” or “https” in the URL
6.    Use privacy, safety and other settings on social networks
7.    Back up important information regularly, to keep your music, photos and work protected
8.    Physically protect your computer, too. If you wouldn’t leave your credit card unattended in a public location, you shouldn’t leave your computer either
9.    Report cyber-crimes
 
Remember it is our shared responsibility to stay cyber secure.”

The first was an excellent example of the dangers of how personal content can be to the detriment of your professional life, with Liberal Councillor John Dixon facing suspension following a tweet he made referring to the Church of Scientology as “stupid”. (See the full story here) To him this was mearly a passing glib remark, however he forgot the cardinal rule of social networking - anything you say, you say to the whole world. Unfortunately a member of the Church saw his tweet, and reported him. He has now been found in breach of the code of conduct for local authority members which demands they ’show respect and consideration for others’.

Sarah Palin has been another victim, having been widely mocked for her use of the non-existant word ‘refudiate’ in a tweet (see here for full story). Although she tried to pass off her mistake with a joke comparing herself to Shakespeare, another famous creator of words, Palin has unfortunately become an example of how a tweet can damage your brand, and the way that people perceive you.

Although gaining increasing levels of press in recent months, this is not a new problem. Big Red have had experience of having to terminate a Contractor for Gross Misconduct when our client became aware that they were publishing negative opinions with regards to the company on their personal blog.

So how to deal with these issues? It seems obvious that the impact of social media cannot be ignored, and therefore HR departments must give a clear message to employees with regards to both official and personal use of social media. Everyone has a moan about work from time to time, but employees must be made aware of the implications of doing so to the open forum of the internet when the opinions they publish are accessable to all.

Social Media Guidelines will be different for every company, particularly with a view to official channels. For those in a more relaxed or creative environment there may be more room for a more relaxed and perhaps personal tone to social media communications, and likewise more corporate companies will perhaps want a more polished approach.  Whichever case may apply to your company, the important thing is to make a decision as to which, and be aware both the benefits and the issues that social media can bring.

• Know what the job is. Nail down the job specification; although it’s great if you have fluid and flexible roles in the company, a vague spec is a friend to no one. It’s very difficult for us to sell the job to prospective candidates if we can’t actually explain to them what they will be doing. Also, once the spec is confirmed and given to us, be aware that if you decide to change it, it will lead to delays in the process – the more the goal posts move, often the longer the delay. Don’t panic if you do find yourself a little unsure of the spec though, we can help you confirm this in a Job Spec meeting.
• Know what you want. If you don’t know what you want it’s difficult for us to find it for you! Try to decide on a list of must-have qualities and experience, and a list of nice to have qualities and experience. Again, make sure you have considered this carefully as changing your mind can lead to delays. Don’t forget that you can ask us to run a research project within the market and salary surveying prior to starting recruitment to make sure you have all the information you need.
• Run your internal recruitment process first. Even if you’re sure that no-one will apply, even if you’re sure that there is no-one suitable. All it takes is one person to apply during our external process to cause a delay in the project, a delay that can mean losing the best possible candidate for the role to a different project. Also, no matter how sneaky and stealthy we are in our job posting, we can’t guarantee that one of your employees won’t find the ad and work it out, much better for your team morale if they find out about the position from you and feel they’ve had the opportunity to have a crack at it if they wish, than finding out through us and feeling overlooked.
• Get sign-off. If you don’t have sign off, we can’t start work. No matter how desperate you are for this person to start and how convinced you are that you will get approval. Changes in available salary/rate and stop-starting projects when angry HR Managers find out we’re adverting without their prior knowledge can damage your chances of finding the right person, and damage your credibility with candidates.

If you have all of these things in place then you are giving yourself, and us, the best possible chance of filling your vacant position!

• It’s bright pink (or blue, or orange, or white), in three different fonts, with extra bonus strikethough and italic underlined text. You think you’re helping your CV stand out from the crowd. Our eyes hurt.
• Your CV is longer than 2 pages. Most recruiters will read the first page in some detail, then skim the second page to back up their decision. Any more than that is probably not going to get looked at.
• Speling mistakes in the frist paragraph. Immediately your attention to detail is questioned, then your CV put to one side.
• You open with a detailed description of your wife, the names of your children, your wedding anniversary and how many dogs, cats and fish you have. We are concerned about your ability to gauge what is relevant.
• Your email address is wellardbeerboy32@hotmail.co.uk
• You list 3 reasons why your Project Management experience is second to none on the first page. You are not applying for a Project Manager position.
• Every paragraph is eighty-three sentences long and to make that worse they are massive great run on sentences with little regard for grammar and with very little point to every other sentence and not actually really expressing anything but gosh there are a lot of buzz words and jargon in here and not actually any cold hard figures and facts about your career and but you did lots of exciting stuff in your last three roles and you are the perfect person for this job and throw away your other CVs because we’ve found the perfect candidate.  Did you read that?

 In short, keep your CV succinct and simply formatted. Look at the job you are applying for, and tell us why you should be the one to do it. Recruiters will love you for it, and you should see your number of call backs and interviews soar!  

See below for a great example of a CV we received for a position recently:

Candidate Name

Address XXXXX

XXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXX

XXXXX

Email: candidatename@hotmail.com

Tel: XXXXX XXXXXX

D.O.B. XX/XX/XXXX                                    

Accomplishments

• Over ten year’s extensive IT experience with excellent working knowledge of all aspects of IT including; hardware, software, networks, applications development, data warehousing, security, service delivery, and service support.
• Three years Project & Programme Management experience utilising PRINCE2 and MSP methodologies.
• Designed, built and supported two XXXX XXXX XXXX systems; XXXXX and XXXXX
• Designed, built and supported reporting infrastructure through data warehousing.
• Introduced the concepts and culture of Service Delivery and Service Support for IT, according to industry best practice (ITIL).
• Researched, developed and delivered a policy/procedure documentation system based on XXXXXXXX.
• Introduced Change and Release Management to bring all IT changes under control.
• Involved in the acquisition of a XXXXXXXX business (XXXXXXX.) and was responsible for the migration of their IT XXXXXXX and XXXXXX systems.

Technical and Business Skills

Microsoft Windows Server ▪ Microsoft Exchange ▪ Microsoft SQL Server databases ▪ Data Warehouse Design & Build ▪ Business Objects XI ▪ Crystal Reports ▪ Microsoft Office ▪ Windows Desktop Support ▪ TCP/IP Network ▪ Network Design ▪ Network Security ▪ Business Continuity Management ▪ Disaster Recovery Planning ▪ Risk Management ▪ Process Mapping and Design ▪ PCIDSS ▪ Business Analysis ▪ Project & Programme Management.

Professional Experience

Month 20xx – Month 20xx

Company XXXX

Company XXXX is the UK’s only dedicated provider of XXXXXX XXXX XXXX to the XXXXXX sector. Services provided include; XXXXX, XXXXXXXX, and XXXXXXX.

Programme Manager

• Set up a Programme Office to monitor and control all programmes and projects throughout the business.
• Identified over XX ongoing or proposed informal projects, rationalised this down to just over XX.
• Designed and delivered a project framework based on PRINCE2 project management methodologies.
• Managed various internal projects and advised on others, including outsourcing of the XXXXXX and systems migration following a company merger.
• Researched XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX requirements and instigated a project to achieve compliance.
• Seconded to a major two year project to define and implement the IT and process elements for the replacement of the internal XXXXXX system, with an external system (XXXXXX).
• Took over Project Management of the XXXXXXXX project during the latter stages.
• Worked closely with the external application development team to implement post project change requests.
• Developed an IT skills matrix, process responsibility (XXXX) matrix and documented core procedures.
• Defined and built an IT Risk Management Policy and Risk Log.

20XX -20XX

Company XXXX

IT Manager/Head of IT

• Published an IT Service Catalogue describing the services offered by IT, together with the IT Framework, documenting our resource capabilities and plans.
• Designed and built secure networks, mail systems and database servers.
• Delivered an IT security policy in accordance with IT Security standard XXXXXXXX
• Set up an internal Service Desk built on the principles of best practice as defined by ITIL.
• Upgraded the company Data Warehouse to a SQL Server database, which I designed and built.
• Migrated existing client reports to the new data warehouse using Crystal Reports.
• Installed and maintained Business Objects reporting infrastructure (version 6.0 to XI R2).
• Championed the conversion from Crystal Reports to Business Objects as the standard reporting tool.
• Recruited a team of four developers to maintain the in-house XXXXXXX system.
• Successfully managed the infrastructure relocation from previous building to the current premises over a single weekend.
• Managed an annual IT budget of circa £XXXXXXXX.
• Involved in the preparation and due diligence stage leading to external investment, became a shareholder upon completion, and was appointed to the operating board of Company XXXXXX.

19XX – 20XX

Company XXXX

IT Development Manager

• As a self taught developer, I designed and built XXXXXX, a XXXXXXXX system, which I migrated from the original Unix based package.
• Designed and built a data warehouse for ad-hoc reporting, analysis, and data mining.
• Developed a suite of client reports and interface files.
• Designed, built and supported XXXXXX, which was the SQL server upgrade to its predecessor.

19XX – 19XX

Company XXXX

XXXX Manager

• Responsible for XXXX and XXXX departments.
• Introduced internal service levels, later adopted by the rest of the company.
• Established first formal training programme for new recruits.

19XX – 19XX

Company XXXX

XXXX Supervisor

• Supervised two teams of XXXX.
• Set up XXXX teams and XXXX team.
• Improved productivity by automating many repetitive tasks.

19XX – 19XX

Company XXXX

XXXX XXXX XXXX

• Assisted in setting up the company.
• Involved from an early stage in the IT systems, assisting the then IT director with basic tasks.
• Helped develop the original company processes and procedures.

Education/Training 

Diploma in XXXXXX – XXXX University:

• Module ▪ Date (Grade)
• Module ▪ Date (Grade
• Module ▪ Date (Grade)
• Module ▪ Date (Grade)
• Project Management (PRINCE2 Foundation) ▪ Date
• IT Service Delivery & Support (ITIL Foundation) ▪ Date

Jon Coldridge is a founding Director at Big Red Recruitment.

• Your network of friends, ex-colleagues, suppliers and business partners are the most likely source of your next role, so work hard to keep in touch with people. Linked in is a really useful tool for keeping in touch with everyone you know. If you would like to link to me please click here!
• The internet has revolutionised how the recruitment marketplace works. You should have up to date profiles and be looking on a daily basis at the best sites. The ones we recommend most often are:
  • www.jobserve.com
  • www.jobsite.co.uk
  • www.cwjobs.co.uk
  • www.planetrecruit.co.uk
  • www.totaljobs.co.uk
  • www.reed.co.uk
  • www.monster.co.uk
  • www.executivesontheweb.com
  • www.exec-appointments.com
• Be selective about what roles you apply for, just because it is easy to apply for multiple roles doesn’t mean we recruiters appreciate getting completely inappropriate CVs for roles we are working on. The rule if thumb should be that if you are suitably keen on the role:
• •  tailor your CV to suit
  •  write a specific email to the recruiter
  •  follow up your application to the recruiter with a phone call asking how the application is going

if you can’t bring yourself to do the above, please don’t apply!

• Be positive, in these uncertain times it might take a while to find the best role for you, don’t let this get you down, no one likes speaking to someone overcome with gloom!

1. Be prepared – Make sure that you have read the CV of the candidate prior to the interview, and make sure you understand the key requirements of the role you are interviewing for.
2. Plan your questions – You may think that you will be able to improvise or feel your way through an interview, but to make sure that the interview process is fair, and to make your decision-making easer, you should plan your interview questions ahead of time, and take them into the interview in a written format. This will help you make sure you get all of the information you need, and keep some consistency between interviews with different candidates.
3. Set Expectations – Right at the outset of the interview explain to the candidate the format and exactly what is going to happen. It may seem obvious to you, but you’ll be amazed at how much more comfortable and prepared your candidate will become.
4. Offer Refreshment – It may sound silly, but an interview is a stressful experience. Not only does having a glass of water ward off a nervous dry mouth and help the candidate to perform, but this action also helps to establish a rapport between you and the candidate, showing you are a human being and helping them to relax.
5. Round Table It – If there are multiple people from your company interviewing one candidate, try not to all sit in a row directly opposite them! This is really intimidating. If possible sit around a table, which will give the interview a more ‘discussion’ feel and make for more relaxed, better answers from your interviewee.
6. Ask Open Questions – Don’t ask anything that can be answered with a simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’, you will get frustrated with the candidate for not giving you details, and the candidate will get frustrated with not really knowing what information you are looking for. Try using questions that start with What, Why, or How.
7. Look for Evidence, Not Speculation – Ask for examples of when a candidate has demonstrated skills, not what they might or would do if faced with a situation. We all like to think that we would do the right thing in a given situation, but unless we’ve faced it, how do we know?
8. Remember, You’re being interviewed too! – The interview is a two way process, you have to be the right company with the right position for the candidate as much as they have to be right for you. Make sure that the candidate gets a good appreciation of the company and role, and make sure that you present yourself in the best possible light – dress smartly, be prepared, be approachable and make sure that the interview location is suitable!
9. Leave Time for Questions – Plan 10 minutes into the end of an interview to allow for a candidate’s questions. This not only make sure that a candidate has enough information to make a decision should you offer them the role, but also will help you as the quality of questions asked can help you to assess the intelligence of a candidate and their level of interest.
10. Follow through – Tell the candidate when you will make a decision, and what the next steps will be, and then most importantly, stick to this! Nothing frustrates a candidate more, and may lead to you losing your ideal employee, than ‘surprise’ extra interview steps, or delayed feedback.

The Office for National Statistics (http://www.statistics.gov.uk) has reported that not only is the UK now coming out of the recession, but that the economy has grown more in the last 3 months than expected, with the figure standing at 0.3% growth in comparison to the predicted growth of 0.2%. This positive move in the economy has definitely been reflected within Welcome Break, the leading Motorway Services organisation, who have seen a steady growth in revenue.

David Willock, Welcome Break Director of IT says:

“One of the key reasons for the growth in revenue has been our focus on ensuring our customers get great value for money across our 26 UK Service Stations.  Key IT activities are helping to support this - including the rollout of customer self service systems and free Customer Wi-Fi.  Additionally our IT systems and processes play an important part in the success of our newest Brands – Waitrose and Starbucks.  We are very proud of the work we have been doing to support the business in these tough times.  It is really satisfying to see first-hand how the combination of great offerings and strong business processes can impact revenue.”

Welcome Break acts as a strong example of how the right investment in new projects, with the right support from IT, can result in a business echoing the trend as the country rises out of recession.