| Does Premier Jobs UK cover the UK?
Yes. We have regional consultants that cover the UK. Our client companies have
vacancies throughout the UK.
Wherever possible we like to meet candidates and clients face to face.
Back to top
What if I don’t see any jobs in my area listed in your vacancies?
The vacancies we have change on a regular basis and are not always flagged on
our search facility. Contact us to check other vacancies and register your
interest for jobs in your area so that we will contact you immediately a new
suitable position is available.
Back to top
Is there a fee charged for using Premier Jobs UK?
This is a free service to candidates. We charge our clients for introduction and
placement of candidates.
Back to top
Will my details remain confidential?
Yes. We do not forward your details to any third party without your knowledge,
and we do not send out your details on a speculative basis. Back to top
Why do I
need to register with full details of my
work background?
In order for us to research suitable roles and do our job professionally we
need to understand your work background, previous level of performance and
professional qualifications. There are major differences in the training and
business processes with different job roles and companies that exist in financial
services. Your current employer will give us a good idea as to the training you
have had and also the type of clients you are used to dealing with. Finally our
clients’ details are confidential until we know that any candidate is suitable.
Back to top
How do I get into financial services?
This depends on the level you want to get in at. Generally, most financial
services roles require you to hold industry qualifications e.g. CeMAP for
Mortgage Advisers and Full FPC/CeFA or CF1-5 for Financial Advisers advising on
investments, pensions and life products. For sales roles a background of sales
is preferred. There are some employers that will consider taking individuals
looking to come into the industry for the first time although most will expect
to see some progress already in gaining the industry qualifications. It is
worth considering starting as an administrator / paraplanner and building up
your experience to move on to other roles as you develop your career. Our
trained consultants will provide advice on your immediate and long term career
goals.
Back to top
How do I go about taking the Industry exams?
There are various training companies offering tuition but see our links page
for the websites of the relevant examination boards. There is a fee for taking
the exams so prior study and preparation is important. Some are written exams
and others are multiple-choice and can be taken online.
Back to top
What can I expect to happen following my initial registration?
You will firstly have a telephone screening interview as part of your initial
registration to understand your background and what you are looking for. You
will normally be asked to attend a face to face meeting with one of our
regional consultants at a mutually convenient venue and time. This is so that we can meet you on
behalf of our client companies as well as complete a comprehensive review of
your skillsets, understand your career aspirations and provide you with an open
and honest evaluation. You will be asked to bring with you evidence to validate your record of performance and qualifications. Our experienced
consultants will impart up to date
industry knowledge and give you a full and unbiased overview of suitable vacancies.
We will also provide help with preparation for company interview and assessments.
Following our recommendation of appropriate company
vacancies your details together with our appraisal will be forwarded to them
for consideration.
Back to top
What should I take with me to a client company interview
/ assessment?
Following being short listed for interview / assessment by a client company you
should generally take a copy of your CV, your relevant documents such as qualification
certificates, performance statistics, P60 / pay records and any letters of
congratulations from your employer or testimonials from clients. You should
also take any information you have on the role you’re applying for.
Back to top
Interview
Techniques (Back to top)
Every interview is slightly different. However, there are a
few rules that can be applied in most situations.
Company Research:
Interviewers will
expect you to have a good grasp of what their company does, it’s target market,
how big it is and who it’s main competitors are. With these facts at your
command you will be able to hold a meaningful conversation about the company
and put other company information into context.
Role Research:
You need to make
sure you have fully understood the job description and know how it fits into
the overall company structure and why this role appeals to you. Ask yourself
what the key skills and competencies are that the job requires and think of
examples of occasions when you have demonstrated those skills with positive
outcomes.
Interview/ Assessment Research:
Make sure you
find out what format the interview will take. Often they can be combinations of
standard interviews and role-specific tests (such as role plays, group
exercises or psychometric questionnaires). The fewer surprises on the day, the better.
Your consultant should brief you before you attend.
Personal Appraisal:
You can never
predict every question that you will encounter, so approach the interview with
a list of important points.
Make a list of
the points about yourself that you want the interviewer to know. For example,
if you were to apply for a job as a Financial Adviser, you might want to list
the products you have sold, and types of customers (typical income or asset
value). Each question will be an opportunity to provide some of this
information to the interviewer.
Typical questions
you can ask the interviewer:
- Tell me more about the company’s objectives?
- Describe my area of responsibility
and likely targets?
- Is this post a new or existing one?
- What are the promotion / career
prospects?
- What training is available?
- What type of clients do you deal
with?
- Will you be holding second
interviews?
Typical questions that interviewers will ask candidates:
- How does this job fit in with your career goals?
- Why does this job interest you?
- What kind of contribution do you think you could make to our organization?
- Where are you in your company league tables?
- How much business have you completed this / last year?
- How do you keep abreast of what is happening in
the industry and use it to your advantage?
- What would your colleagues say about you?
- How would you describe your boss’s style?
- What motivates you and what demotivates you?
- Tell me about a time when you prioritised the
elements of a complicated project.
- Tell me about a time when you failed personally.
- What are your career goals/objectives?
- What makes you different from other candidates?
- Tell me about a time when you had to deal with
an irate customer.
- Describe a time when you took the initiative to
accomplish something.
- Tell me about a time when you were under a
great deal of pressure.
- When you are supervising people, how do you
motivate them?
- Describe a time when you resolved a conflict
between two of your subordinates.
- Describe a situation when you felt you were
unfairly criticised. What did you do?
Appearance at
Interview
Particularly if you're going for an interview for a sales
position or managerial role, appearance is paramount. That means wearing smart
business wear and does not in include cartoon ties or brightly coloured socks.
Make sure shoes are polished. Avoid excessive jewellery or body piercings. Use
a smart briefcase or document folder to hold your papers.
Punctuality
Plan your journey, be sure of exactly where you are going and don't leave it to
chance (use Multimap / AA route planner on our links page).
Leave plenty of time for your journey, and allow for delays on
busy routes. Try not to book a client appointment immediately before your
interview as it can be difficult to leave.
Get there early and compose yourself completely before going
in. That'll give you time to focus on the meeting and what you want out of it.
Getting there late always
creates a negative first impression.
If for whatever reason, you are running late, call us or the interviewer.
Try not to make interview arrangements when you know you've got to be somewhere
else immediately afterwards. Rushing your answers could lose you the job. Not allowing sufficient time can show lack of importance attached to the
interview.
Personality questionnaires
These are used to determine how people are likely to behave
under various conditions. There are no right or wrong answers. The best way to
approach these questionnaires is to answer them as honestly and
straightforwardly as you can. Personality questionnaires can also be used as
self-assessment tools to help you understand your preferences and how these
relate to your strengths and possible areas for development. See our links
page for a
practice questionnaire.
Aptitude tests
These examine abilities such as numerical, verbal or
abstract reasoning; they do not test intelligence or general knowledge. Often
presented in a multiple-choice format, the questions have definite right or
wrong answers. They are usually strictly-timed and increasingly becoming computerised,
and to be successful you need to work through them as quickly and accurately as
possible. Aptitude tests can also be used as self-assessment tools to help you
understand how your abilities relate to career choices. See our links
page for a practice
questionnaire.
How long does the recruitment process take after job offer?
Typically a successful candidate can wait between 4 – 5 weeks from job offer
stage to start date. Financial Services is a regulated environment and as such
the referencing procedure is very thorough and will normally research previous
employers over the last 5-10 years.
The more employers you have had, the more references are required. In addition,
you will need a reference to confirm periods when you were in between jobs. There
are several forms of documentation you’ll need to make available. Producing
these documents and having them verified early in the process will save time.
Clients frequently asked
questions … (Back to top)
What area do Premier Jobs UK
cover?
What are your charges?
When are your charges payable?
Do you provide temporary staff?
Do you supply written references?
Will candidates meet our requirements?
How do we register a vacancy?
What area do Premier Jobs UK cover?
Although our offices are situated in the South of the
country we have a network of regional consultants across the UK. We
interview candidates face to face wherever we can.
Back to top
What are your charges?
Our charges are dependant on the following factors: job roles, kind of
person you’re looking for, volume of applicants, location, existing client
relationship, advertising and special needs. Call or email us and we can provide
you with a bespoke quotation.
Back to top
When are your charges payable?
We only charge a fee when we have placed a candidate for
you. No placement – no fee. Our terms of business are payment within 30 days of
the candidate starting.
Back to top
Do you provide temporary staff?
No. We only offer permanent
placements.
Back to top
Do you supply written references?
All our candidates are screened and relevant questions are asked to
build a comprehensive picture of work history and qualifications held. We don’t
request or supply written references as the time required in doing so would
mean a huge delay in getting the candidate to our clients and they are likely
to have started a job elsewhere. Furthermore, the majority of positions within
financial services require extensive referencing to be carried out by the employer’s
HR / T&C divisions prior to start date, regardless of any references we
could supply.
Back to top
Will candidates meet our requirements?
In order to build a strong reputation within the financial
services industry we have a policy of only submitting candidates that meets the
requirements of our clients. We therefore seek to fully understand your company needs and build a job description /
person specification for each of your
job vacancies. We rigorously screen and assess all candidates prior to
submitting their details.
Back to top
How do we register a vacancy?
The first step is to let us know about the vacancy you have. Once we know
what you’re looking for we’ll confirm our rates and send you terms of business to
sign. As soon as we have that signed and sent back to us, your vacancy will be included
in our search for suitable candidates. Either contact our directors by
telephone or use our ‘register a vacancy’ page and we will be in touch to
discuss how we can help.
Back to top
Copyright Premier Jobs UK Ltd 2007
|
