How to get the answers right at interview September 28, 2011 THE vast majority of interviews are “competency-based” these days. This means they use a method of questioning that aims to find out whether or not you can do the job. It also means that the same questions come up time and time again. This is great news for interviewees because it’s easy to prepare when [...]
Liberalism is left for dead by Labour September 28, 2011 YOU’VE probably never heard of Ivan Lewis, a rather obscure Labour politician. But yesterday Lewis, the shadow culture secretary, unveiled an astonishingly sinister proposal which threatens free speech and media plurality in the UK like never before: he called for a register of journalists, with anybody deemed not fit struck off and banned. Of course, [...]
How to go about asking for that raise September 21, 2011 HEADHUNTER, ROBERT HALF EMPLOYEES are currently faced with a barrage of contradictory news and opinions about economic and business forecasts and the potential impact of these on their own career prospects. While some companies within the financial services sector may be maintaining a tight hold of their purse strings, others have seen some buoyant remuneration [...]
A man’s shoes are as crucial as his suit September 13, 2011 THERE’S an old saying that if you want to know if a man’s well-dressed, look down. It’s absolutely true: good shoes make an outfit and bad ones stand out terribly, and that’s especially true of the City. So what should you be looking for in a good pair of English lace-ups? First, if you’re going [...]
It’s time to abolish the 50p tax rate September 8, 2011 THERE are many reasons why the top 50p rate of tax should be axed. It sends a message that the UK doesn’t like successful people; it has made Britain less competitive in the race for talent and capital; and the job losses and reduced economic growth it will cause means that the overall revenue raised [...]
Eurozone needs to cut out the rot before it’s too late September 7, 2011 WHEREVER one looks, the signals are bad. The S&P 500 is down 14.5 per cent from its highest point of the year. The Vix, a measure of market turbulence, rose 9.4 per cent yesterday. Bank stocks tumbled everywhere. The Swiss franc went nuts when the authorities took the dramatic step to peg it to the [...]
Why more QE would be wrong for UK September 2, 2011 IT is not looking good for the global economy, with manufacturing output slowing or contracting in most countries, including Britain. There is growing talk that the Bank of England could launch a fresh round of quantitative easing as early next week. If so, that would be a mistake. The British economy faces many challenges but [...]
App for spotty teenagers wins start-up award August 31, 2011 BACK in July I wrote about the launch of StartUp Summer, a scheme to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship among students, organised by YouGov with University College London and Imperial College and supported by Downing Street. It has been a fantastic six weeks, with the students making great progress in developing their ideas while learning from [...]
City backs Eurozone break up and voices disapproval of leaders August 30, 2011 EU leaders trying to dig Europe out of its debt crisis should be planning an orderly break up of the single currency, according to almost two-thirds (62 per cent) of City A.M’s Voice of the City panel, run in association with PoliticsHome.com. Thirty-eight per cent said they “strongly approve” of a Eurozone break-up, with a [...]
Understanding the headhunting game August 24, 2011 HEADHUNTER THE best CV I’ve ever received came from a well-respected FTSE non-executive director who managed to squeeze his already successful career onto a single page. I love to receive CVs, but paragraphs of superlatives and hyperbole are not very useful. Recruiters work to find candidates who fulfil their clients’ concrete requirements. We look for [...]