Tag: advance your career

Delivering premium quality solutions for the technical engineer sector

Tam Shahid is a Delivery Project Manager, Water Environment & Infrastructure Team. He joined Advance TRS in November 2020, specialising in the delivery process for Senior Consultants. Tam generates suitable candidates to match client requirements/expectations.

Group MD and Founder Andy Ridout explains:

“Tam is an absolute asset to the company. In his time with us, he has mastered the complexity and skill required to deliver exemplary service to both clients and candidates. Tam project manages the assignments from our clients and supports our consultants throughout the process. Having the knowledge, expertise, and skillset to source and deliver niche engineering specialists. He provides our clients with an efficient and top quality service, something Advance TRS is recognised for.”

Tam provides bespoke support to our Port Solent based Water and Environment team. The team offer an expert focus and quality recruitment service to both clients and candidates in the sector. They consistently meet and exceed expectations. As a well-respected and effective recruitment partner, the team deliver results time and time again. They offer services for a range of public and private sector clients across the UK. These include consultancies, contractors, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). They place exceptional talent in permanent, contract and interim roles.

In his time in the role, Tam has assisted in the development of a dynamic and efficient delivery function within the team. He is capable of supporting the sales function across market verticals. Tam truly understands the calibre of staff required for our business to thrive.

Today our Marketing Consultants sit down with Tam and his Director to understand more about the role Tam plays in driving the Port Solent office’s success and growth.

So, Tam, what led you to this career?

I started working from the age of 16 part-time within retail, whilst studying full-time. Once I graduated from the University of Portsmouth, I was looking for a change in direction from Retail and came across Recruitment. I saw this as an opportunity to expand on my skills in areas such as communication, time management, persuasion, multi-tasking etc. It also meant I could learn new skills, and learn about the specified markets.

What made you take the job at Advance TRS?

Advance TRS are a growing company and has a clear vision for the future. The company and colleagues I work with have specialist knowledge that enables you to progress in this role. Having previously worked with Rob Kelly at another company, I was managed and trained by him to a high level, so this also drew me to the role. I was excited to be contributing and be part of it all!

How has your role developed since you joined the company?

Initially, I was asked to carry out a Senior Delivery role where I would generate candidates, working on live jobs, advertising roles, writing adverts etc. My role has since developed, and my responsibilities now include supporting internal recruitment. I also project manage the growth of the delivery team, train and develop new staff and provide regular reports on the delivery output. The managing director has approved training to gain my APMP qualification, to become a qualified project manager and progress my role even further.

In what way does your role assist your colleagues and the company?

My role helps support the Senior Sales team workload, allowing them to focus on other key areas and ease some of their work pressures. The process involved contributes to increasing our company’s reputation. We provide a more thorough and polished search, ensuring we are covering all markets and sourcing that ideal candidate for our clients. My experience within the role means I’ve developed a good understanding of the candidates I’ve spoken to, their skills, qualifications, responsibilities etc.

When a client presents us with a role, I’m able to deliver someone suitable and who meets the requirements. Unlike other consultants, I don’t specialise in one area, or one job role. I’ve worked on a broad range of different roles and built a knowledge and understanding based on the job specification and the candidates. Each time we successfully fill a role, it increases our reputation and generates a flow of further work from the clients.

What complexities do you find with this role?

As with the nature of recruitment, it’s always tough when you lose out on a candidate. There may be a number of reasons why they may have rejected a job offer but through experience, you learn when to be persuasive with someone, when you need to be persistent and when you need to be patient. It can sometimes be challenging trying to juggle multiple job roles, so the ability to multitask and be organised is key. You have to learn to prioritise the most important task.

What have been some of your biggest successes?

Since joining the team in November 2020 I have helped contribute to 31 placements for the business. I continually support the business with the growth of the delivery team.

If you are interested in learning from Tam and finding out how you can pursue a career in Delivery, we are always hiring. Find out more about our current opportunities here (https://www.advance-trs.com/about/careers-at-advance/)

Rob Kelly, our Water & Infrastructure Director works closely with Tam throughout the recruitment process. He explains the vital role Tam plays in supporting the candidates and meeting our clients’ requirements.

How would you describe the benefits of having Tam in his role?

Tam co-ordinates between our sales function and candidate delivery function. His role ensures an excellent experience for the candidates, developing a rapport with them throughout the entire hiring process. He has likely pre-interviewed and pre-referenced a volume of candidates and assessed their suitability prior to jobs being advertised by our clients. This provides clients with a more efficient, pro-active service and means we are able to quickly source appropriate candidates. This gives us and our clients an edge over competitors and puts us at the forefront of recruitment.

If you’re interested in joining our team, or viewing our latest sector vacancies, please visit our website https://www.advance-trs.com/jobs. Alternatively, you can speak to one of our dedicated team on 01483 361 061.

Why Advance TRS?

Advance TRS is a niche recruitment consultancy specialising in the provision of highly skilled technical professionals for the built environment. We provide permanent, contract and temporary recruitment solutions to both candidates and clients across several key technical sectors including rail, construction and water & environment services.

Since its establishment in 2011, the company has shown remarkable growth, delivering MSPs and RPOs for some of the biggest businesses in the built environment. The team continue to work closely together to deliver honest, reliable solutions to clients and candidates.

As recruiters, we really understand that talented and motivated staff is the key to any successful business. To help us develop our team into the best they can be, all staff receive invaluable mentorship from our experienced senior leaders and map out potential routes of progression within the company.

While all interviews and interviewers are different, there are some common interview questions that are asked to find out more about the candidate and how they deal with certain situations. We’ve compiled a list of some of those questions and guidance on how to confidently answer them.

Tell me about yourself

Some interviewers will start the conversation by giving a little insight into the business and will then most likely ask you to tell them a little bit about yourself.

Give them a quick summary of who you are and what you have been doing and some insight on any experience you’ve had which is relevant to the job. It’s a great point in the interview to mention your top achievements and to say why you think you’d be perfect for the role.

The interviewer won’t want to hear your life story or about your family history here. Make sure to talk about experience relevant to the position instead. 

Why are you looking to leave your current role

Make sure you are honest about why you’re looking for work, but try not to talk too negatively about your current employer. Try focusing on something like you are looking for new challenges, possibly even highlighting aspects of the job you are interviewing for which aren’t available with your current employer.

Tell me about a tricky situation you have dealt with and how you solved it

When being asked this kind of question, the interviewers want to find out more about your negotiating skills or potential clashes with colleagues. The best way to approach these type of interview questions is to explain the situation, how you resolved it and what the outcome was.

Try to steer clear of describing a situation where you caused conflict as this might give them the wrong impression.

What are your weaknesses

Being asked this question can be quite daunting, but don’t let it scare you. We previously dedicated a blog to this question that you may find useful.

Talk about something you know isn’t your strongest point but which you are working on. Picking something that you can get training on and willing to develop will be the kind of answer the interviewer is looking for.

What are your career goals?

When answering these interview questions, it’s important to differentiate between your long-term and short-term career goals. Your long-term goals may be wider, overarching achievements that you would like to accomplish in the future. Whereas your short-term goals should be smaller, actionable objectives that may improve relevant skills or performance.

The salary question

Don’t undersell yourself here or say to the interviewer that you’re happy to take whatever they think will be best.

A lot of job adverts will include a salary band and if this isn’t the case, you can take a look at similar roles and get a good idea of an appropriate salary from those. There may also be some room for negotiation between you and the employer, so bare this in mind.

You can then justify what you are asking for by mentioning relevant knowledge and experience you will bring to the team.

Do you have any questions

Avoid asking about working hours and holidays here but instead, ask something about the business. Something you might have read about and you’d like to find out more. Maybe there is a new product or service they are launching which you can ask about. This shows the interviewer that you have done your research on the company. 

You could also ask what goals and objectives the company has over the next, 3, 5, 10 years etc. This will indicate your interest in their mission and longer-term commitment to the business.

Are you looking to take the next step in your career? 

Advance TRS is growing quickly and we are always looking for ambitious, driven people to join the team. Find out more about our current opportunities or for a detailed and confidential conversation, contact our Talent Acquisition Manager Jess.

Having a personal statement on your CV is the perfect opportunity to introduce yourself to prospective employers. It should be a short paragraph, around 5-6 lines, detailing your attributes, what you can offer the company, and your career goals.

We’ve put together some top tips on writing your personal statement:

What should you include?

You should think about the following points:

• A statement about who are you
• What you currently do? (if applicable)
• What are your career goals/what are you searching for?
• Your value to the company

As employers will only spend a short time reviewing your CV, it’s important to highlight your potential straight away.

Why you should vary your personal statement:

If you have time, it would be beneficial to adapt your personal statement each job you apply for. This allows you to make it as relevant as possible to the role you are applying for. Make sure you do your research on the specific requirements the employer is asking for, both for the job and personal skills. This shows potential employers that you understand the requirements for the role.

Employers may also use applicant tracking systems that analyse your CV for keywords and phrases. Having these included in your personal statement, increases your chances of being seen and progressed in the application stage.

Remember, your personal statement gives you a chance to sell yourself in one paragraph. The rest of your CV is your work experience and your qualifications, so this gives you the opportunity to add that personal touch.

How to structure your statement:

• State who you are – Begin your statement by detailing who you are, your qualities and where you are in your career. Use of buzzwords can capture the attention of potential employers and help you stand out from the crowd.

Example: As an experienced project manager, I have over 10 years of experience across the rail industry. I am a reliable and well-organised manager, bringing a variety of expertise and knowledge to the table

• Communicate your value – The second section should state why you are suitable for the role and what value you bring to the company. This is your chance to highlight any key achievements relevant to the position and distinct qualities.

Example: In my current role, my determination and proactive approach resulted in several successful completions of important projects. The combination of my time management, communication and decision-making skills ensured maximum productivity of each project and of those involved.

• Detail your career goals – In the final part of your statement, you should explain what your career goals are and why you’re applying for this role.

Example: I am now coming to the end of my current role and am seeking a new challenge. I’m looking for a position which will allow me to contribute my skills and experience, whilst increasing my current knowledge.

Advance TRS

For more helpful tips and job search advice check out our website. We have various Advance Advice articles that cover all aspects of job hunting.

If you are looking for a new career in the built environment, contact us today on 01483 361 061. Alternatively, contact us via email at info@advance-trs.com. We have plenty of permanent and contract roles across all our sectors. Our recruiters are here to help!

Do you need an up-to-date CV? Remember your CV represents you to your future employer. Your employer wants to know why they should hire you and not any of the other applicants. So, how do you make your CV and experience stand out? Here are some top tips from our team that you need to think about when writing your CV.

Register on our website to get access to free CV template downloads, and other helpful resources. 

Presentation

When structuring your CV, remember employers see lots of applications for each role, so if yours doesn’t make the right information easily accessible it will go straight to the bottom of the pile. The simpler it looks, the easier it is to read.

  • Invest time to tailor your personal summary specifically for the job you are applying for. This is your primary opportunity to highlight your strengths and previous successes
  • Follow on from this with your qualifications
  • Keep the font to one standard type and size
  • Don’t begin each sentence with ‘I’. Unfortunately, it is not the way to create a compelling CV
  • Keep your education and job history in chronological order. It makes sense to put the most recent achievement or job at the top of the list as this is what the employer is interested in

Be truthful

Noting down truthful experience is essential. If you feel that you have to add in an experience you haven’t completed, this job is not for you! Note down all experience you think is related to the job you are wanting to apply for and you will find the perfect employer who wants to invest in you.

Employment history

Keep this short and sweet. Employers don’t need to know every job you’ve had throughout your life. If you think, on average, 50 people apply for every job on the market. If those 50 people all have 8 paged CVs, the employer will quickly become disinterested in reading through all of that information. Save the long explanations of your employment for your interview. Just note the job role, the company and the dates you worked there and add a little bit more information on what you’ve done in your most recent roles.

Check, check and check again – no typos!

Checking your spelling and grammar is essential. You might want to ask someone to look over your work as well as using spell check and looking up any words you’re unsure of!

TOP TIP!
Why not check out some brilliant spelling and grammar checkers to improve your writing? We particularly like Grammarly.

Make your CV role specific

Make sure you tailor your CV to suit the job you’re applying for. It’s very tempting to try to cut corners with a generic ‘one size fits all’ CV, but it is unlikely you’ll get away with it. Always read the role’s exact requirements and re-word your CV accordingly. This will involve you doing your research so you know exactly what the employer is looking for, it may take a bit of effort, but if it puts you one step closer to your dream job so it’s well worth it!

Once you are convinced that your CV meets all the job criteria and portrays you in the best possible way you are ready to search and apply!

Take a look at our Advance Advice for more help with CVs, interview preparation, and all things relating to your job search!

You’ve just finished writing your CV and ready to send it to prospective employers, but what is your CV really saying about you? Before eagerly submitting any job applications, we’ve put together some tips on reviewing your CV.

Personal Statement

This can be tricky to get right, but is also one of the most important areas of your CV. It is your opportunity to sell yourself to your employer and let them know who you are. Within this section you want to include your attributes, what you can offer to the company, and your career goals/what you’re searching for. We recommend that this is roughly 5-6 sentences long, save your detailed information for the interview stages.

It is also important to tailor your CV/personal statement to each role you apply for. This will show employers that you have put care into your application and understand the requirements for the role. Employers may also use applicant tracking systems that analyse your CV for keywords and phrases. This will look for words/phrases that match the job description or what the employer has instructed the system to look for. Having these included on your CV, increases your chances of being seen and progressed in the application stage.

Employment History

So that employers can get a better understanding of what you can bring to the role, fill your employment history with the skills you used whilst in this job. You can also include any achievements and positive outcomes within your existing roles.

Having a detailed section of previous responsibilities and achievements should be positively received by employers and help you stand out from other applicants. They will be keen to understand your transferable skills and how these will benefit them.

Hobbies/Key Achievements

Whilst it may be tempting to fill your CV with your hobbies and interests, you should think carefully about how this will be received by the employer. We’d suggest only including hobbies or interests that relate to the role you’re applying for or offer intriguing information about yourself. Don’t list interests just for the sake of it.

If you’re struggling with ideas on hobbies or interests, you could have a section for your key achievements. Have you taken part in a charity run? Gained any qualifications? Been promoted to a senior level? Your achievements could be both personal or professional, minor or major, as long as they portray you in a positive light and add value to your CV.

Key Skills

Have you thought about additional skills that could help your CV shine? There are plenty of courses online that are either free or only require a small fee to be. New certifications can then be added to your CV. This will show potential employers that you are proactive and take your personal development seriously.

For more tips and CV advice, take a look at our website and Advance Advice articles. We cover everything from interview preparation and CV writing to top tips for your job search. https://www.advance-trs.com/advice/

“Do you have any questions?” It’s asked at the end of every job interview, and your answer should always be yes. if you haven’t prepared for this interview question, it can catch you off-guard.

When preparing for an interview, you should always come up with a list of questions to ask the interviewer. They help to make you come across as interested in the business and the role, enthusiastic and engaged. Come up with about 5-7 questions to ask, just in case they have already been answered during the interview.

When preparing your list try to avoid asking questions that only require a yes or no answer, and steer clear of questions around salary and holiday allowance, at least for the time being – those points can be discussed once you receive a job offer. 

If you need some inspiration, we have listed some good questions to ask at an interview below.

Where do you see the company heading in the next five years?

Asking this should give you an insight into the company’s progression plans and its place in the market, and possibly give you an idea about any major upcoming projects. Asking this question shows a real interest in the organisation.

What are the day-to-day responsibilities of the role?

Asking these questions provides you with an opportunity to gain an insight into what skills and experience are needed. It will also give you an idea of what the employer’s expectations are, and ultimately help you decide if the role is right for you. 

Are there opportunities for further training? 

This shows that you want to expand on your knowledge and demonstrates that you’re serious about your career.

What are the opportunities for progression within the company?

If you are looking for a long-term career within the company, asking this question will help you find out whether this is the business for you. 

Can you tell me more about the culture of the organisation?

A good working environment is important and asking this question will give you the opportunity to find out whether you’ll fit in.

How could I impress you in the first three months?

This is a great one to ask at the end of a job interview. It shows potential employers that you’re eager to make a positive contribution to the organisation.

Join us! 

As a rapidly growing recruitment business, we have fantastic opportunities for career development. We pride ourselves on rewarding success and promoting from within. However, we are always looking for new talent to further strengthen and expand our teams.

As recruiters, we really understand that talented and motivated staff is the key to any successful business. To help us develop our team into the best they can be, all staff receive invaluable mentorship from our experienced senior leaders and are able to shape a clear career path bespoke to them, mapping out potential routes of progression within the company.

Our dedication to creating a fantastic working environment was recognised at the 2018 Toast of Surrey Business Awards when we were announced as Employer of the Year and Leadership Team of the Year.

Created by The Women’s Engineering Society (WES), 23rd June 2021 marks International Women in Engineering Day (INWED), the only day in the calendar that celebrates women in engineering and similar professions.

According to WES, latest figures show that just under 13% of the engineering workforce is female. INWED gives women engineers around the world a profile when they are still hugely under-represented in their professions. It plays a vital role in encouraging more girls and young women to take up engineering careers.

In 2020 the International Women in Engineering Day Twitter campaign recorded a potential impact of 103 million, with the official #INWED hashtag trending at number one in the UK on the day. The website was viewed 56,000 times during the month of June, with hundreds of events registered and taking place in countries all across the world.

In a blog we published recently, we spoke about a BBC article on the topic of youth unemployment and women between 15 to 24 being most affected in the UK. After reading the article, Advance TRS Group Managing Director Andy Ridout decided to offer three fast-track positions to young women wanting to start a career in recruitment.

We’re hiring

At Advance TRS, we believe everyone deserves the same opportunities, regardless of age, race, gender, religion or sexual orientation. The diversity of our workforce is an essential part of our success. As such, we are committed to supporting contractors and staff to work in an environment that is free from discrimination and promotes equal opportunities for all.

We are currently recruiting for a number of positions across our Guildford and South Coast teams in recruitment, payroll and sales administration. Check out our latest opportunities.

Why Advance TRS?

As a rapidly growing recruitment business, we have fantastic opportunities for career development. We pride ourselves on rewarding success and promoting from within. However, we are always looking for new talent to further strengthen and expand our teams.

As recruiters we really understand that talented and motivated staff is the key to any successful business. To help us develop our team into the best they can be, all staff receive invaluable mentorship from our experienced senior leaders and are able to shape a clear career path bespoke to them, mapping out potential routes of progression within the company.

Our dedication to creating a fantastic working environment was recognised at the 2018 Toast of Surrey Business Awards when we were announced as Employer of the Year and Leadership Team of the Year.

As well as a competitive salary, you’ll also be able to take advantage of our fantastic benefits package including; Discounts and Perks, Private Pension Plan, Team Building & Incentives

(Climb the O2, powerboat down the Thames or enjoy a night out on the company. We ensure hard work and dedication is rightly rewarded), Break Out Room, Private Health Insurance, Uncapped Commission, Life Assurance, and Workplace Wellbeing program. 

Check out our website to find out more!

Read our blog on what support different organisations in the built environment offer women already working in or looking to pursue a career in engineering.