On 25^th March 2021 Morgan Hunt hosted a webinar jobseeker wellbeing and resilience. We were joined by Alastair Smith-Agbaje (CEO of Lambeth & Southwark Mind), Dorothée Bonnigal-Katz (Frontline Clinician at Lambeth & Southwark Mind) and Suzanne Penny (Career Coach and L&D Expert. During the session we shared advice for jobseekers on how they can protect their mental health and remain resilient in their job search. Watch the full recording or read our summary below.

Covid-19 has significantly disrupted the UK job market. As most organisations prepared to meet the challenges of the pandemic, growth plans were halted. Normal hiring levels reduced significantly and restructuring in many organisations led to redundancy for many people. As a result, the competition for available roles has increased dramatically, and it is taking many jobseekers longer to secure work.

Although job markets are beginning to pick up, there are many who are still struggling with their job search. The effect of which cannot be underestimated. The experience of submitting applications for tens (sometimes hundreds) of jobs, attending interviews and facing rejection takes its toll on an individual’s wellbeing and ability to stay motivated.

As a jobseeker it is important to take care of your wellbeing and mental health so that you can continue to perform at your best. If you are showing up to interviews stressed, anxious and defeated, it’s more likely that it won’t go the way you hope. You’re far more likely to make mistakes and not communicate the value you can bring to your potential employer. So what can jobseekers do to ensure they don’t burn out?

Dealing with stress and anxiety

As well as feeling stressed or anxious, you are likely feeling tired from your job search. When you feel this way, the best thing may be to take a short break. It is important not to put too much pressure on yourself and to listen to what your body is telling you it needs. However, if you decide to take a break, you should still retain some structure and routine to your days. This will help you to still feel productive and positive. It also ensures you don’t lose your momentum. Don’t forget to include healthy habits like exercising and socialising with others.

Dorothée Bonnigal-Katz, who is a frontline clinician for Lambeth & Southwark mind, highly recommends doing something creative as an antidote to stress and anxiety. Having a creative outlet puts you on the side of love and life, helping to enrich and bring positive emotions into your day.

Dealing with rejection

Rejection takes its toll on us as individuals. It makes us question our self-worth and if we’ll ever make it. But it’s important not to dwell on these feelings.

If you were made redundant, remember that it is not a reflection of your skills and expertise. It was the role that was made redundant, not you, so have confidence on your ability. If you were rejected after an interview, know that you were invited to the interview for a reason. Someone saw something in your ability, which should give you confidence.

Viewing the interview as a learning experience can help change your perspective too. Focus on the elements of the rejection that you can control by using feedback to identify areas of growth and improvement.

If you have faced numerous rejection, you may want to take some time out to deal with the feelings of stress and anxiety, as well as build up your resilience again.

Building your resilience

Resilience is a resource which we build up and is then drained through the challenges we face. When we feel our resilience is low, we know that we need to take the time to build it up again.

The origin of the word comes from Latin, meaning both rebounding and recoiling. Resilience is our ability to bounce back, but in order to do so we must recoil from time to time. To do this, take a break from the tasks that have been draining you. Remember and reflect on positive reinforcement you have received from others. This will be help you rebuild your sense of value and self-worth.

Negative thoughts, which come as a result of stress, have an impact on how we feel and behave. But improving your mood can be as simple as telling yourself positive stories and affirmations   

How to remain positive when job searching and interviewing

After having many knockbacks and feeling like you’re not progressing, it can be difficult to remain positive and determined in your job search. To combat negative thoughts that might arise, try creating a mind map of testimonials and positive comments you have received. Refer back to this whenever you need a confidence boost.

Remember that although you have may have receive rejections, you have been invited to interviews because the hiring managers like what they see. With this in mind, try to relax in interviews and focus on emphasising the elements of your CV that your interviewer liked. And don’t forget to be prepared for your interviews. With preparation comes confidence.

Lastly, if you’re feeling anxious in an interview, view it is an opportunity to see if the organisation is a right fit for you. By changing your perspective, the interview becomes an opportunity for you to find the right fit for you. You’ll then feel enabled to have a relaxing conversation about what both you and the organisation bring to the table to determine if it’s a good fit.

By applying the tips above to stay positive and resilient in your search, your chances of getting the job will be improved as you’ll be able to bring your best self to your interviews. However, a positive mindset isn’t all you need to stand out in a competitive market. Here are some tips on how to improve your chances of getting the job:

• Refresh your CV on job boards every 7 – 14 days. This will improve your chances of being found by recruiters and employers.
• Join groups on LinkedIn
• Join a job search group
• Network with others in your industry
• Take online course and develop key skills
• Do some volunteering to fill your time and gain experience
• Do some form of interview and career coaching

Overall, it’s important to stay positive and hopeful. A negative mentality will not help you to achieve your goals. Pay attention to the areas that you can improve and listen to yourself if you feel like you need a break. Good luck!

If you’d like to speak to a recruiter for career guidance or help finding your next role, get in touch.

On 27th January 2021 Morgan Hunt delivered a webinar on diversity and inclusion titled 'Celebrating different perspectives - Why diversity matters'. We were joined by diversity and inclusion experts Carmen Morris, Amarjit Singh Basi and Hannah Manyewu to outline the benefits of diverse and inclusive workplaces, the challenges facing the implementation of D&I and how these challenges can be overcome. See a summary of the webinar below or watch the full recording at the bottom of this page:

Diversity and inclusion have been at the forefront of many people's and organisation's minds since the events of 2020. The Black Lives Matter movement shone a light on the importance of equality for all people in all areas of life. The need to be treated equally is vital within the workplace, as it's a place where people spend most of their days and lives.

In our webinar, our speakers outlined that there are many benefits to be gained from creating diverse and inclusive workplaces. Fostering these kinds of professional environments helps people feel more comfortable. As a result, they are more engaged in their work and with the people around them. Collaboration improves, as does their productivity and effectiveness. As a whole, job satisfaction increases, barriers that in the past made work difficult are reduced and the performance of all employees is boosted.

It's hard to argue against improving the wellbeing of your employees, but there are many benefits to organisations too. Improved employee effectiveness and productivity improves the overall performance of the business. Many studies have shown there is a strong positive correlation between diversity and inclusion and business success. Beyond this, D&I practices foster strong and supportive cultures that people want to work in. It makes retaining talent and attracting skilled people to your organisation much easier.

But how do you begin improving diversity and inclusion? It has to start with senior leadership and management. Boards must authentically buy into the need to improve and understand the challenges that the least privileged people in their organisations face. This requires leaders and managers in an organisation to speak to the people affected and take the time to hear about their lived experiences, the barriers they face and any areas of improvement they have identified.

But the role of leadership doesn't stop there. Next, they must put what they have learnt to action. Improving diversity and inclusion is about creating a change in culture which must be driven from the top down to be authentic. Representing marginalised groups within management is an important step that ensures all perspectives are heard and considered.

Leaders and management aren't alone though. Setting the culture requires buy in and support from all functions of the business. Management must take ownership of this process and invest in the development of staff at all levels. Through this, employees throughout the organisation will gain the knowledge and understanding to make this change in culture effective and, most importantly, permanent.

In the past year we have seen an increase in the number of diversity and inclusion job roles. The creation of positions with this specific focus signals a promising commitment to improvement, however it is important that these appointments are not just tokenistic. These job roles must be thought out and organisations should at least have some understanding of their areas of improvement or what they want to achieve. Otherwise, businesses risk destroying any credibility they have in wanting to promote diversity and inclusion.

For people in these roles, there are a number of factors that will determine their success. Most importantly you should have a direct line of communication to the board or senior leadership team. If this doesn't exist, it is unlikely your role will have the impact that is needed to create change within the organisation. D&I advocate Hannah Manyewu suggests that your definition of success should be based on achieving results through others. Your aim should be to mobilise internal groups across all functions, build momentum and interest in improving D&I and ultimately hold leadership accountable.

Recruitment is also critical in creating diverse and inclusive workplaces. Hiring people from different backgrounds shows a commitment to improving the diversity of the workforce and brings in new perspectives and ideas which can help an organisation thrive. To practice inclusive recruitment, businesses should understand their employer brand and how it is perceived by potential applicants. Through this you gain insight into how you may have to improve how you communicate your employer value proposition to appeal to a diverse range of applicants. Fair and unbiased recruitment methods such as psychometric testing and blind application reviews are also useful tools to make the hiring process as inclusive as possible.

Since last year we have seen a lot of progress, but it is just the beginning. It is important to acknowledge that change doesn't happen overnight, but organisations must begin taking the steps to create more diverse and inclusive environments. Our speakers Carmen, Amarjit and Hannah hope that in the next year we will continue to see more leadership and executive roles filled by people with diverse characteristics, increased publicly visible commitment to the cause and real accountability to change through evidence and case studies.

Find out how you can improve internal diversity and create inclusive workplaces. Contact Clare Keniry, Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Morgan Hunt – clare.kenriy@morganhunt.com.

Today Morgan Hunt unveils its new branding and website. The new brand replaces a visual identity that has been the face of the company for over 15 years. The new brand reflects who we are as a business, the people within it and how we work today.

Our new website brings with it a fresh, easy-to-use interface and new features, which gives candidates the tools to find the right job and for clients to find out about the full suite of solutions that Morgan Hunt offer.

Why the change?

A lot has changed over the last 15 years, that rate of change has particularly intensified over the last 7 months. The modern and inclusive imagery reflects Morgan Hunt’s standing within its markets. It positions the business as the recruitment partner supporting jobseekers that look for a sense of purpose in the work they do. We connect them with organisations that can give them purpose and help them realise their potential, in an environment that reflects their values and allows them to make a difference.

The website augments this message, enabling us to share our story and our services in an engaging way. The site is modern and bright, but most importantly it provides important information to job seekers and employers, as well as a powerful job search function to help our customers find the most relevant and suitable job vacancies for them.

Having a person’s profession as the main search category supports our belief that many skills within the public, private and not for profit sectors are transferable. We trust this will encourage people to explore opportunities that they might not normally consider, whilst making it easy for jobseekers to find the jobs they are familiar with.

What does our new brand mean?

The rebrand brings with it a huge visual change. This includes a new logo, colour scheme and visual language.

Our new logo acknowledges our heritage in its design as it is a modernised take on our previous mark.  The upward pointing lines represent how we have changed, but the familiar square element symbolises that the family values that the organisation was built upon are still present. The outer lines create an arrow but can also be interpreted as ripples. These signify a strive towards progress, innovation and creating positive change for our clients, customers and the wider community.
 

Our Mission Statement: 
Inspiring working lives through purpose and opportunity
 

The change goes much further than just the visuals. We truly believe that when we place someone in a job where they add value and have purpose, their role is more fulfilling. The needs of our candidates and clients are the most important thing to us and we aim to provide both with solutions that inspire them and enable them to inspire others around them too. We are proud to help organisations find the talent they need to grow and make a difference. And we are privileged to help talented individuals make a difference and build meaningful careers.

Managing Director, Dan Taylor commented,
“Our new brand authentically communicates the business we are today. It is bright and bold and reflects the passion that our people have for making a positive difference in their work, in supplying organisations with expert staff to help them achieve their goals”.

If you’d like to find out more how we can support you as a jobseeker looking for your next role, or as an organisation seeking the right talent, please email us at info@morganhunt.com.