In her career management presentation delivered at ChemEng08 in Birmingham, Sarah Taylor, associate director at NES told jobseekers that, as budgets are subjected to increasing scrutiny in many organisations, the stability offered through a permanent workforce has grown in popularity within the oil & gas, pharmaceuticals, food & drink, validation, water and nuclear sectors.
“A shift in favour of permanent workers has been emerging since the beginning of the year,” Sarah notes. “Permanent roles allow greater control of finances for companies during times of economic uncertainty, which explains current market trends,” she adds.
“With employment prospects uncertain in many UK industries, chemical engineers are fortunate that demand remains relatively strong. However, it has never been more important for workers to appeal to the preferences of potential employers” Sarah continues.
“NES offers a discipline specific consultancy service, meaning that every recruiter has a detailed understanding of the industry in which they work, and my advice to chemical engineering professionals who have enjoyed an affluent contract market in the past is to consider permanent roles now in order to avoid spending potentially longer periods of time out of work in the future. This is not a time for bad decision-making. This is a time for making plans, showing determination and for embracing change.” Sarah insists.
Sarah’s advice to jobseekers is to focus on the requirements of the organisations for which they would like to work, selling themselves – qualifications, skills and experience – with the support of a well-presented, carefully constructed CV and through adequate interview preparation.
“With more candidates likely to be competing for similar roles, being able to sell yourself effectively is crucial,” Sarah concludes.
