Monthly Archives: August 2012

guest blogger, News, Project Management

Funding for Construction Projects Extended to Smaller Firms

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The construction industry has always been a major part of the UK economy and it’s one that has seen some difficult times in recent years.  At the beginning of the recession building firms and suppliers were particularly badly hit by a combination of factors, including the collapse of the housing market and high fuel and transport costs.  However, a number of initiatives are now underway to help boost this crucial part of the economy.  In addition to the planned high speed rail link and the announcement of a nuclear plant building programme, the housing minister, Grant Shapps, has also announced the Get Britain Building initiative.  The scheme is designed to not only provoke growth in the construction industry, but to address the UK’s shortage of affordable and rented accommodation.  The fund that was launched last year has so far managed to under-spend by £100 million, leading Shapps to announce changes to the scheme allowing smaller building projects and firms to access funding.

Spare Change

The fund was established last year with a pot of £570 million available to those companies constructing a minimum of 25 homes.  With the £100 million funding still available the Homes and Communities Agency will now accept applications from firms building only fifteen homes.  The government estimates that releasing this money will facilitate the construction of a further 2000 homes.  Originally the funding was put in place to develop around 15,000 homes on sites that had previously gained planning permission but where work could not be started due to lack of ready cash.  Funding from banks has become notoriously hard to access for small businesses in every industry and the construction industry in particular.  The small to medium sector has been particularly badly hit and by opening up the fund to smaller firms the government scheme may offer a lifeline for this type of firm.

Limited Growth

The announcement is expected to be a welcome one for small construction firms and their suppliers, allowing access to cash in order to continue with previously mothballed projects or begin new schemes.  With figures from the Office for National Statistics showing a nine per cent drop in output in the construction industry as a whole in April this year, there’s a strong a feeling that the changes to the fund are not before time.  Some experts have predicted that the downward trend in output will continue for at least twelve months, however, the broader access to the funding may well help to stabilise this vital part of the economy.

Scheme changes

The new deadline for applications for funding through the scheme is now the 25 July 2012, only a matter of weeks away and there is some other significant changes to the scheme.  The cash available is now only in the form of loans or equity-risk share and there are time limits on when building must begin and when projects should be completed.  The new start date for construction schemes gives firms until 31 March next year, while a condition of receiving the funding is that the project must be completed within two years.  For many small firms and their suppliers this time scale should be more than realistic and help to get the construction industry, the industry’s supply chain and the housing market a much needed boost.

For those supplying the building industry with everything from a volumetric concrete mixer to a steady stream of bacon butties, the extension of the Get Britain Building scheme to smaller firms should help to revitalise this crucial sector of UK business.

Careers Advice, Interviews, Job Applications, Project management career progression

Making time for interviews

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Whilst working full time and having a life outside of work job applications are sometimes a little hit and miss – however once you are attracting interest from hiring managers and have secured interviews you really do need to set aside some time to prepare. I have addressed how to prepare for interviews in a previous blog but the reality of actually putting the work in to ensure you reach success is crucial. Hopefully you will be given some notice ahead of your allotted interview date and as such you should plan ahead how you can spend some time to really work at your technique.

Using the job description you should be able to gain a good idea of the questions you will be asked from the list of required skills. Work through the list and think about some good strong responses, by giving actual examples of when you have used these skills rather than what you would do – the hiring manager will be able to form a good picture of you and how you work. This will no doubt prompt further questions about how you dealt with issues that arose etc and will help the interview flow. It is a good idea to formulate some questions and give them to your partner / colleague or relative to ask you. Answer the questions as you would at interview and be sure to allow your personality to shine through to (not forgetting to smile also), after each question ask your mock interviewer to repeat back to you in their own words what you have told them. By performing this scenario you will get practice at talking out loud about your experiences but also gain a good understanding of how clear you come across. If the responses back to you are unclear – then you need to look at how you are articulating yourself, are you using jargon and terminology which isn’t being understood?

Remember that practice makes perfect so the more you can run through your examples, the better you will be at articulating yourself. Try to keep to a structured format when supplying your responses, set the scene (briefly but concisely) then talk about your actions (remember the interview is about you not your team so “I did..” not “we did..” should be used and then talk through the outcome, what was it you achieved (the benefits).

Careers Advice, Job Applications, Negotiation, Project management career progression, Q&A

Counter offers from current employer – questions answered

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I have been with my current employer for several years but feel I am not really appreciated – I have been responsible for delivering strategic business lead projects and implementing PM structures. I have become increasingly frustrated by the businesses attitude towards my work as I rarely receive any recognition and my salary has not been enhanced for 3 years. I decided to apply for a new role and have now found myself with a couple of offers which pay more and potentially look like good places to work, I discussed with my boss who has made a counter offer of more pay. I really do not know what to do? Tony; Project Manager, London.

So you’ve been feeling undervalued in your job for a while and as such you have taken action by applying for new roles which you feel can meet your potential and after interviewing receive an offer or two. It’s a nice place to be in and negotiations are underway with your potential employers; you have made it known with your current employer that you are going to leave your role and your hiring manager is making moves to keep you, but has he asked why you wish to leave? All very straight forward and being professional you can explain that you feel that your skills could be put to better use on a new challenge and that you are feeling undervalued currently. Then the big question comes from your boss; what do they have to offer? Now this does not always happen as a good deal of employers feel that if you haven’t taken the steps to move on that you must do what you feel is right as they do not want begrudging staff in the office moving forward. However as in your case, some businesses know that as you play an instrumental role in their projects that losing you will be detrimental to the team and the project and so contact HR and arrange a new package offering for you to stay.

Have you considered that the “knee jerk” reaction to you leaving only then presents a need to reward you? This does not bode well moving forward within this business as they are only willing to re-evaluate your current status and reward because they are going to lose you. Does this also mean that every time you want progression or a salary review that you must go through the same cycle of applying for roles outside the business to gain any recognition?

The very fact that you have originally gone out and secured job offers says a lot about where you feel you are and having been made a couple of offers from businesses which appreciate your worth whilst offering you a remuneration package which reflects this means you are indeed worth more. Sometimes a change is as good as a rest, if you have any concerns about your potential employers – drop them a line with some further questions. Good luck!

Infographic, News, No, Project Management, The CV Righter

Unveiling our new animated infographic by Zack Esterhuizen Design

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Infographics are becoming increasingly popular in a number of fields and apps which produce these are a plenty however taking the infographic to the next stage is an exciting concept which is being embraced across the digital media industry and spreading out to other sectors – the animated infographic. Intrigued by the concept The CV Righter engaged Zack Esterhuizen Design to create an infographic about our business and were very pleased with the service we received. I met with Zack who is the company founder of Zack Esterhuizen Design – he performed requirements gathering and really worked to understand what The CV Righter as a business hoped to achieve from the animation. Our primary goal was to have a piece of work which clearly covers our service offering and has a humour element too. Once Zack had taken down a detailed brief about the business they went away to work on a project plan and were back in touch with a story board and script for the animation which we went through together, slide by slide, to ensure it worked and said the right things. Perky Pair engaged S2Blue, an established audio services business in broadcasting, to create the voiceover – who took on the assignment with as much professionalism as Perky Pair and created a great piece of work which runs over the animation. Once this was approved and changes were made we were presented with the final product.

Not only were we impressed by Zack and Vikki’s professionalism throughout the project – we also felt included in the process which I have to say was very exciting. The final piece is both informative and easy to follow – it says a lot in a short time frame and as such I personally feel this would be an exceptional tool for engaging stakeholders on large projects. It moves away from the traditional “stuffy” format and brings a fresh element to presentations. But don’t take it from me – have a look for yourself here.

The animated infographic is a fantastic way to present service offerings to a wider audience and unlike the static format – it engages its audience with a short presentation which gets to the point and presents some great facts without getting embroiled in confusing detail. Perky Pair manage the project from start to end and engage the third party suppliers as required – overall I would say they have embraced stakeholder engagement exceptionally!