Company details

Industry: Real Estate Investment & Development

Role: HR Director

Headcount: 75 (UK-based, with European offices)

Division: Human Resources

The Challenge

The employer is one of the UK’s largest multi-let urban logistics property developer and investment asset manager, with a strong ESG-led approach and ambitious growth plans across Europe. As the business expanded beyond the UK, the need for a senior HR leader became increasingly clear.

The organisation required an HR Director with the depth and breadth of experience to support a growing, multi-jurisdictional workforce. This individual would need to navigate complex European employment legislation, support entity set-up across new territories, and work closely with senior leadership to build scalable people processes aligned with the business’s long-term strategy.

Given the seniority of the role, its breadth of responsibility, and the requirement for hands-on experience across multiple European markets, this was a highly specialist search.

The Solution

Tiger HR led a targeted and highly focused search. The brief centred on identifying candidates with proven experience operating across the UK and Europe, particularly those who had supported expansion into markets such as France and Germany and had first-hand experience of establishing HR infrastructure within new entities.

They conducted a discreet headhunt, prioritising candidates with strong technical HR expertise, a solid grasp of European employment law and compliance, and the ability to partner confidently with C-suite stakeholders. Throughout the process, clear communication and a streamlined approach ensured minimal administration for the client while maintaining momentum.

The shortlist presented closely aligned with the employers requirements, enabling them to appoint an HR Director who could immediately support both day-to-day operations and longer-term strategic objectives.

The Impact

The successful candidate is expected to play a pivotal role in supporting the employers continued growth across the UK and Europe. Their appointment strengthens the business’s HR capability at a critical point in its international expansion and provides senior leadership with the expertise needed to manage risk, compliance and culture across multiple jurisdictions.

Feedback

“The process was straightforward and efficient, with clear communication throughout. The shortlist met our expectations very well, and the successful candidate exceeded them.”

Looking ahead

Following the successful appointment of the HR Director, Tiger HR continues to partner with the employer on further hires across business support functions, supporting the organisation as it scales both in the UK and internationally.

The post Case Study: Appointing a Senior HR Director to Support European Growth appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Burnout is no longer just a wellbeing issue. It has become a talent retention and recruitment challenge, and organisations that fail to address it risk losing high-performing employees at an increasing rate.

According to Tiger Recruitment’s UK Salary and Benefits Guide 2026, burnout is now almost as influential as salary when employees decide to leave their jobs. In our survey of almost 1000 UK professionals, 15% reported resigning due to exhaustion, only one percentage point behind those who left for a pay increase (16%).

For HR leaders, this signals a shift in the employment landscape: pay alone is no longer enough to retain talent. The ability of managers to protect their teams from unsustainable workloads is becoming a critical differentiator.

One of the most effective ways organisations can respond is by training and upskilling managers to recognise and prevent burnout before it becomes a resignation risk.

Burnout is becoming a structural issue in many workplaces

Several workplace trends are accelerating burnout across professional roles.

Our research shows that 84% of desk-based professionals now work overtime, while 68% regularly work weekends.

At the same time, economic uncertainty has led many businesses to operate with leaner teams. Fewer permanent hires and an increased reliance on temporary staff mean that remaining employees are often absorbing additional responsibilities.

The result is a workforce that is productive but increasingly stretched.

Even when companies respond with salary increases, the effect can be limited. The guide found that 39% of professionals who received a 5–10% pay rise still plan to leave their roles within the next 12 months, demonstrating that financial incentives alone cannot resolve deeper workplace pressures.

For HR teams, this reinforces an important reality: burnout is often driven by management practices, not compensation packages.

The role of managers in preventing burnout

Managers sit at the intersection between company expectations and employee wellbeing. When they are equipped with the right skills, they can identify early warning signs and rebalance workloads before employees reach breaking point.

However, many managers are promoted based on technical expertise rather than leadership capability. Without proper training, they may unintentionally contribute to burnout by:

• Allowing workloads to grow without reassessment
• Failing to prioritise tasks effectively
• Normalising excessive overtime
• Missing early signs of disengagement or exhaustion
• Struggling to communicate expectations clearly

Our research also highlights that culture and management quality continue to influence resignations, particularly among younger professionals and women.

Developing leadership capability is therefore not just a wellbeing initiative, it is a retention strategy.

What burnout prevention training should include

For HR leaders looking to strengthen their management teams, training programmes should focus on practical leadership skills rather than abstract theory.

Key areas include:

1. Workload Management and Prioritisation

Managers need to evaluate team capacity realistically and adjust workloads, particularly during hiring freezes or restructuring. This can be achieved by mapping tasks and holding regular check-ins to spot overload early. Reallocating or reprioritising work using frameworks like the Eisenhower Matrix helps ensure teams focus on the most important and urgent tasks without becoming overstretched.

2. Early Identification of Burnout Signals

Recognising early signs of stress, such as disengagement, mistakes, or presenteeism, allows managers to intervene before issues escalate. Monitoring behavioural changes through short pulse surveys and having structured, low-pressure conversations gives employees the opportunity to raise concerns and receive support promptly.

3. Psychological Safety and Communication

Employees are far more likely to raise workload or wellbeing concerns when they feel heard and safe. Managers can foster psychological safety by leading through example, acknowledging mistakes and demonstrating openness. Establishing regular feedback loops ensures every team member has a chance to be heard and reinforces a culture of trust and collaboration.

4. Managing Hybrid and Flexible Work Effectively

With satisfaction around workplace flexibility falling to 54%, managers must ensure cohesion and productivity while supporting hybrid or flexible arrangements. Setting clear expectations and measurable goals for both remote and in-office work, along with maintaining consistent touchpoints, keeps teams aligned and connected regardless of location.

5. Supporting Mental Health and Absence Management

Empathetic leadership is increasingly important as employees expect better handling of mental health-related absence. Managers can support their teams by holding compassionate, non-judgmental conversations and planning phased returns or workload adjustments to ensure a sustainable recovery. These approaches help build resilient teams that remain engaged and productive even during challenging periods.

Why burnout prevention is also a recruitment strategy

From a hiring perspective, organisations that fail to address burnout risk damaging their employer brand.

Employees are increasingly prioritising work–life balance when evaluating new roles, with 73% ranking it as one of the most important factors when considering job opportunities.

In a competitive hiring environment, candidates are paying closer attention to leadership quality, team culture and workload expectations.

Companies known for strong leadership and sustainable workloads will naturally have an advantage when attracting top talent.

Building a more sustainable workforce

Burnout cannot be eliminated entirely, particularly during periods of economic uncertainty or organisational change. However, businesses that invest in leadership development can significantly reduce the risk.

For HR teams, the goal should be to ensure managers are equipped not just to deliver results, but to build resilient teams that can perform sustainably over time.

As our latest research shows, employees are willing to leave roles even when salaries increase if the underlying pressures remain unresolved.

Organisations that recognise this shift and act on it by strengthening their management capability will be better positioned to retain their people and attract the next generation of talent.

The post Why training managers to prevent burnout should be a HR priority in 2026 appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

With significant changes to employment law on the horizon this year, we want to make sure all employers in our network feel prepared and supported. In partnership with leading employment law firm Birketts, we held a live discussion focusing on the first wave of changes taking effect in 2026.

With several key reforms due to take effect from 6 April, our Head of HR Division, Kate Headford, sat down with Employment Lawyer Sarah Bull to discuss how HR teams can start preparing for changes to day-one rights for paternity leave, unpaid parental leave, statutory sick pay (SSP) and redundancy protections:

Below is a practical checklist of areas HR teams should be reviewing now, ahead of the April changes, to reduce risk and avoid having to make last-minute policy updates.

Update your family-friendly policies

The Employment Rights Act makes paternity leave and unpaid parental leave “day one” rights for all employees. From April, employees will be entitled to these rights, removing the need for a qualifying period.

While the 26-week qualifying period for paternity pay remains unchanged, new regulations will introduce a day one right to paternity leave for employed parents of babies with an expected week of childbirth on or after 5 April 2026, born on or after 6 April 2026, or children placed for adoption on or after 6 April 2026. Parents will also be able to benefit from the day one right to take unpaid parental leave from 6 April onwards (Department for Business & Trade).

Action: HR teams will need to review and update their company’s family-friendly policies to reflect these changes and train line managers to ensure they understand how to manage leave requests in practice.

Amend your sickness absence policies and update payroll systems

The lower earnings limit is being removed to make statutory sick pay (SSP) available to all employees, regardless of weekly earnings. The rate of SSP will now be 80% of an employee’s earnings or the current flat rate – whichever is lower (Department for Work & Pensions).

By removing the waiting days from the SSP system and amending the period of incapacity for work, employees will now be entitled to SSP from their first full day of sickness absence, rather than the fourth. SSP enforcement and disputes will now be handled by the Fair Work Agency: a newly established enforcement body.

In practical terms, this means more employees will qualify for SSP, and payments will begin earlier than under the current framework. The Department for Work and Pensions believes that these changes will “support all employees to take the time off they need to recover by providing better financial security, whilst also limiting the costs to businesses and reducing the spread of infectious diseases.”

Action: Payroll teams should update their systems to remove the lower earnings limit and apply SSP from day one of absence. HR teams should also revise their sickness absence policies to align with the new ERA and consider completing additional training on sickness management in the workplace. This can serve as a proactive measure to reduce staff sickness levels.

Prepare for collective redundancy changes

In April, the maximum protective award for breaches of collective consultation obligations is increasing from 90 to 180 days per employee (Department for Business & Trade). This significantly raises the cost (and ultimately the risk) of non-compliance, making early planning and manager awareness especially important where workforce changes are being considered this year.

Action: Senior managers should be trained on new legislation to ensure they are aware of changes ahead of any redundancy plans. Further changes to organisation-wide thresholds on redundancy are expected later this year, and we will keep you updated in due course.

Stay informed of strengthened harassment prevention

The Act introduces a strengthened responsibility for employers to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment (Department for Business & Trade). From April, sexual harassment will be added as a ‘qualifying disclosure’ for whistleblowing protection, providing employees with a further legal mechanism to pursue claims of sexual harassment. This change simply enhances existing legal protections, rather than introducing something completely new.

Action: HR teams should conduct audits to assess the risks of harassment and implement appropriate controls. Policies should be updated, and training provided for staff (especially managers) on the new protections, so that they feel confident in addressing harassment complaints. It’s important that your team keeps records of all actions taken to demonstrate compliance.

Revise your probation policies

As day-one rights expand, probation periods will no longer delay access to certain statutory protections. HR teams should therefore review probation policies and make updates to reflect the April ERA changes.

For further information and suggested actions around the changes expected this year, Birketts has shared a very useful Employment Rights Act 2025 summary table to help you create an implementation plan for your business, in line with the Government’s roadmap.

We’re continuing to work closely with industry experts to provide clarity to HR teams, helping them minimise disruption and maintain compliance. If you’re considering new hires over the coming months, our consultants can share market insights and practical considerations to support your planning. Please get in touch to request a callback.

The post Preparing for April Changes to Day-One Employment Rights appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

The world is opening up for the growing number of founders, investors, and entrepreneurs operating from abroad – there are now over 50 countries with digital nomad visas (DNVs) that allow globally-minded individuals to explore new territories without needing to set up a new office. With these modern arrangements, professionals can scale their start-up or build an international business portfolio anywhere, from the heart of the Balkans to a beachfront penthouse in Rio.

With so many countries emerging as digital nomad locations, it can be hard to know where to set sail for. You may already have a particular city in mind, but if your curiosity knows no bounds, we have some suggestions below.

Firstly, there are some considerations you should weigh up to ensure you make the right decision:

• Digital nomad infrastructure – is there widespread, fast Wi-Fi, dedicated spaces for remote working?
• Career opportunities – is there a potential new customer base, and a network of industry peers to help keep your skills and knowledge up to date?
• Climate – do you thrive in the heat, or are you more at home in fresh, Nordic air?
• Application process – each country has its own eligibility rules for securing a DNV, with some, such as Romania, catering to a wide audience, while others like Norway, require a higher income and closer local business ties.
• Transport links – how easily can you travel for meetings? Is there an international airport, a marina for yachts, or a reliable chauffeur service?
• Culture – are you a foodie, art lover, or sports fanatic? Do you prefer a hike on the weekend or exploring the nightlife?

With these factors in mind, let’s look at some of the best countries and best cities for digital nomads.

Portugal

With Lisbon and Porto frequently placing in the top ten of the world’s best digital nomad cities, Portugal should be a consideration for everyone. It has a high quality of life, fantastic climate, and a wealth of culture and history. Lisbon has become a global hub for entrepreneurs, particularly in tech, so the possibilities for networking and scaling up are vast.

Portugal’s digital nomad visas allow you to stay temporarily for up to three years, with the option to apply for longer-term and permanent residency, further boosting Portugal’s reputation as one of the best countries for digital nomads. Applicants must have a minimum monthly income of €3,480, sufficient savings and proof of self-employment or other contract outside Portugal.

Top cities

Lisbon – networking, thriving culture, nightlife, Michelin-star dining

Porto – laid-back lifestyle, art, local heritage

Malaysia

With its fast-growing economy, Malaysia is an exciting place to be right now, and a great strategic base for expansion into ASEAN markets. Cities like the capital, Kuala Lumpur, have a modern infrastructure and English-speaking business sector that makes comfortable living and remote working viable. Of course, the incredible scenery, tropical climate, and delicious food are also a big plus.

Malaysia has one of the easiest digital nomad visas to apply for, with an entirely online process and the option to live in the country for up to two years. There are no restricted nationalities, and the minimum required monthly income is $2,000 USD.

Top cities

Kuala Lumpur – modern infrastructure, international connections, nightlife

Penang – coastal living, history, culture, cuisine capital

Brazil

A recent adopter of digital nomad visas, Brazil is a great option for those with an adventurous spirit. Famously one of the most naturally diverse and beautiful countries in the world, Brazil also has excellent infrastructure for remote working in buzzy melting pots like São Paulo, one of the world’s best cities for digital nomads.  You may choose to visit for a taste of the country-wide Carnival each February/March, or the São Paulo F1 Grand Prix in November, but no matter the dates, there’s no shortage of world-class dining, entertainment and fellow entrepreneurs to connect with.

Brazil’s digital nomad visas are for one year, with an option to renew for one more year. They require a minimum monthly income of $1,500 USD, and that your work is based outside of Brazil.

Top cities

São Paulo– business capital, networking, international connectivity

Brasilia – capital city, modernist architecture, mild climate

Florianopolis – beaches, laid-back, large digital nomad community

Croatia

A fantastic option for connectivity across EU countries, Croatia also has the benefit of a Mediterranean climate and coastline and a rich history. Popular destinations like Split and Dubrovnik lie on the coast, where luxury seaside properties and hotels are in abundance, while the capital Zagreb is inland, with many of the best museums and galleries in the country, as well as a thriving start-up scene.

DNVs in Croatia are available to non-EU/EEA/Swiss nationals with a monthly income of at least €3,295, and are granted for up to 18 months. With the community quickly growing, this is no doubt one of the best digital nomad visas available.

Top cities

Split – large digital nomad community, strong digital infrastructure, coastal Mediterranean lifestyle

Zagreb – capital city, culture, history, less busy tourist season, growing entrepreneur community for networking opportunities

Spain

Spain is as popular for digital nomads as it is for tourists, and for good reason: the country’s DNV has a very generous limit of up to five years and allows for family members to accompany the applicant. There’s a huge variety between the many historic cities and regions of the country, from the Basque Country to the Balearic Islands, so it’s an appealing choice for those who like to stay on the move. The country’s historic ties to Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas make it a melting pot of international trade and business, providing ample networking opportunities.

Spain’s DNV requirements include a non-EU/EEA nationality, employment outside of the country, a university degree or three years’ professional experience and minimum monthly earnings of €3,000.

Top cities

Barcelona – thriving culture, international hub, great networking, digital infrastructure

Madrid – business capital, historic culture, international connections

Valencia – laid-back, beach culture, growing community

This is by no means an exhaustive list, and there are many more countries with digital nomad visas on offer for the adventurous entrepreneur. But with these pins in your map, many more digital nomad locations will come into your range, as well as endless opportunities for business, career and network growth.

If your business is growing and in need of additional full or part-time employees, our recruiters are ready to help. Get in touch with your requirements today. We also offer an Employer of Record service if you are looking to hire employees abroad.

The post Best Countries and Cities for Digital Nomads: Top Locations and Easiest Visas appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

“Tiger really understands what we’re looking for, so I don’t have to explain everything each time. The candidates are always well researched and a good fit. They only send through the right number of CVs, which makes the whole process far easier and gives us confidence in every hire.”

Company Details

Industry: Investment management

Role: Various

Headcount: 60+

Division: Business support & finance

The Challenge

As the business grew, the operations director faced increasing pressure to scale support functions efficiently while maintaining quality and consistency at the senior level. Historically, the company had worked with other recruitment agencies, but as expansion accelerated, the need for reliable, long-term assistant support became more critical.

Speed, candidate quality and confidence in the hiring process were key challenges. With limited internal bandwidth and high expectations from senior stakeholders, there was little room for error. The business needed a recruitment partner that genuinely understood their environment and could deliver strong candidates without lengthy briefing or excessive CVs.

The Solution

The business began working with Tiger in 2021 to support assistant hires. The recruiter invested time in understanding the organisation’s culture, working style and stakeholder expectations. This allowed the team to work with minimal direction, consistently delivering a small number of highly relevant candidates rather than relying on volume.

Through thorough research and careful screening, Tiger ensured candidates not only met the technical requirements of each role but were also well-suited to the business long-term. This trusted, consultative approach reduced the need for repeated explanations and significantly streamlined the hiring process.

The Impact

Over time, the business hired several assistants through Tiger. Three assistants currently in the organisation were placed by the recruiter, while two others remained in their roles for around two years, providing stability and continuity during periods of growth.

The consistency and reliability of the service reduced pressure on the operations director and gave senior stakeholders confidence that the right people were being introduced to the business. Knowing that Tiger could manage the process end-to-end allowed internal teams to focus on their core responsibilities.

Looking Ahead

We continue to support the business with assistant hires as they evolve. With a strong understanding of the organisation and a trusted partnership in place, Tiger remains a key recruitment partner for business support roles as the company continues to grow.

The post Case Studies: Complete Confidence in Every Hire appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

In 2026, London’s finance leaders face an increasingly challenging hiring landscape. Competitive talent markets, shifting business priorities and the introduction of the Employment Rights Act 2025 mean that decisions around interim versus permanent finance hires require careful strategic planning.

Permanent Hires: Stability With Early-Stage Considerations

Permanent finance professionals continue to be the foundation of any finance function. They bring institutional knowledge, leadership continuity and long-term capability.

At the same time, the Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces stronger day-one rights and shortens the qualifying period for statutory protections. For finance directors, this raises the stakes during the early stages of a hire. Missteps in onboarding, probation, or initial performance management now carry both operational and legal implications.

To minimise risk and ensure new hires contribute effectively, organisations need structured hiring processes and strong cross-functional coordination between finance, HR and legal teams.

Key focus areas for permanent hires in 2026:

• Onboarding and probation processes aligned with updated statutory requirements
• Clear early performance expectations and support mechanisms
• Close collaboration between HR, finance and legal functions

Interim Hires: Flexibility Demands Clarity

Interim finance talent remains essential for specific projects, system rollouts, M&A activity and peak reporting periods.

However, in 2026, interim contracts require careful definition. Deliverables should be clearly outlined and the differences between interim and permanent roles must be explicit. Increasingly, finance leaders view interims as strategically scoped resources that provide high-impact support, rather than simply temporary stop-gaps.

Compliance with the Employment Rights Act is also critical for interim engagements. Ensuring contracts are properly structured reduces the risk of misclassification or unintended statutory obligations.

Best practices for interim hires:

• Clearly define project scope and objectives in contracts
• Maintain distinctions between interim and permanent roles
• Align engagement terms with legal and compliance requirements

Balancing Agility, Compliance and Cost

The new Act also brings stronger enforcement powers and penalties, making compliance more important than ever. For finance directors, workforce planning now involves both operational efficiency and risk management.

Successful finance teams in 2026 strike a balance between stability and flexibility:

• Permanent hires provide continuity, leadership development and cultural alignment
• Interim hires deliver targeted expertise, adaptable capacity and rapid capability scaling

By combining these approaches strategically, organisations can build resilient, compliant and high-performing finance teams equipped to handle both immediate projects and long-term objectives.

The post Rethinking Interim vs Permanent Finance Hires in 2026 appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

“They were everything we could have asked for — always on hand, very engaged, and a real pleasure to work with. The process was clear, straightforward, and completely tailored to what we were looking for. The candidates put forward were excellent, and we were kept in the loop throughout. I couldn’t speak more highly of Tiger and would absolutely recommend working with them.”

The Challenge

In August, the employer engaged Tiger Recruitment to assist with the hire of an executive assistant to support senior leadership. The business required a highly capable EA who could operate with discretion, manage competing priorities, and seamlessly integrate into an established team.

Given the importance of the role, the employer was looking for a recruitment partner who could take the time to fully understand their working style, expectations, and culture. They needed confidence that the candidates presented would be both technically strong and the right personal fit.

Clear communication and a well-managed recruitment process were also key, as the role sat at the heart of the business.

The Solution

Tiger led a tailored and highly engaged recruitment process, working closely with the client to build a detailed understanding of what they were looking for in an Executive Assistant. From the outset, the approach was collaborative, with regular updates and clear guidance at every stage of the process.

A strong shortlist of high-quality candidates was presented, each carefully selected to reflect the client’s requirements. The employer noted that the candidates put forward were consistently strong and that Tiger demonstrated a clear understanding of the role and the wider business needs.

Throughout the process, Tiger remained readily available, coordinating interviews, managing feedback, and ensuring the client felt fully supported. Communication remained seamless, even when queries arose outside of typical working hours, reinforcing the consultative and hands-on nature of the service.

The Impact

The successful appointment delivered immediate value to the business, with the new executive assistant continuing to work closely with the client. The employer highlighted not only the quality of the hire, but also the clarity and simplicity of the recruitment process itself.

The tailored approach, combined with consistent communication and coordination, resulted in a smooth and efficient hiring experience that exceeded expectations.

Looking ahead

Following the success of this hire, the employer is currently working with Tiger Recruitment on an additional role. While this next position also sits within business support, the client has confirmed they would be happy to partner with Tiger across other divisions in the future, reflecting the strength of the relationship and confidence in the team’s tailored recruitment approach.

The post Case Study: Delivering the Right Executive Assistant, First Time appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

When changes in senior leadership suddenly occur within an organisation and there is no strong affirmative succession plan in line, can a company survive? With the market fluctuating both rapidly and unpredictably, the disappearance of valuable members in a company’s body has become more apparent and frequent. A solution that invites continuity that is often overlooked is succession planning; This introduces growth within an organisation, employee morale and progression, and allows for a company to be prepared rather than reactive. If it’s this easy, why is succession planning not being implemented?

The job market is in such a competitive landscape due to economic data release, investor behaviour, geopolitical events and corporate news, and these factors are leading to quiet resignations, client poaching and natural bias to external hires. These stark changes cause companies to scramble and make urgent responses that are not always in their best interest, potentially costing millions as well as tainting the working environment. Whilst succession planning is a reactive response, it doesn’t have to be desperate and disjointed

Proactive succession allows for a range of steps to be taken to ensure stability- steps which should be led by an HR senior. The approach would include identifying critical roles, assessing employees who embody both technical and soft skills that can be nurtured, and investing in internal development such as mentorship, training, and project work. Succession agility will allow the company to pivot no matter the market condition, and using tools in anticipation allows for continuity if a company loses a key employee.

Senior leaders within HR will be key in driving the continuity resulting from succession planning. This role should be conveyed as a strategic partnership as opposed to process ownership because they will be the ones embedding the plans into the workforce. HR will have the knowledge on all candidates that can fill in the gaps when skilled people depart; they know the career aspirations of the people and who the high-potential clients are. They have the understanding and knowledge to communicate transparently with the board and stakeholders, encouraging growth within the company as opposed to external recruitment. This will also boost office morale and progression, which also tackles the quiet disappearances of current employees.

The geopolitical and economic state of the world is taking a toll on businesses globally, and people are rightfully making decisions to better their living situations, but where does that leave the company? Adapting to the ever-changing market demands is crucial, especially during this economic climate, and succession planning, along with the use of HR professionals, can alleviate a lot of future stresses. What are the ways your organisation is future-proofing leadership?

The post The Need for Succession Planning in a Volatile Market appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

If you’re caught in the belief that to get things done correctly, you must do them yourself, you’re not alone. Many busy professionals find themselves trapped in this mindset, leading to an endless to-do list that leaves little time to switch off.

You may have wondered, “Should I hire a personal assistant?” or “What can a personal assistant do for me?”, but previously thought that hiring a personal assistant is for business owners or the elite. However, it’s increasingly becoming a practical solution for anyone overwhelmed by their daily commitments.

In this guide, we’ll explore the many ways a personal assistant can support you, as well as highlight the tasks that may be out of scope.

Roles and Responsibilities of a Personal Assistant

The diverse skills of a personal assistant will make hiring a PA a valuable addition to your professional and personal life. Their main goal is to make your life more organised, streamlined, and efficient, helping to minimise your stress levels and increase your free time. They can handle a wide range of administrative and personal support tasks, all tailored to your unique needs.

There are many different types of personal assistants, and their day-to-day will differ depending on your lifestyle. However, here are the most common tasks a PA can manage for you:

Administrative Support

Personal assistants are commonly employed to alleviate administrative burdens. They also serve as the initial point of contact among colleagues, which helps reduce the time you spend on administrative tasks. These can vary, but they typically include:

Manage Schedules and Calendars

A PA will keep your schedules and calendars in perfect order. They’ll organise all your appointments, meetings, and deadlines to ensure nothing falls through the cracks. This allows you to focus on more important tasks without worrying about the details of your day-to-day schedule.

Handle Correspondence

In the digital world we live in, keeping up with all your emails, calls, text messages, and social media DMs can feel like a full-time job. Plus, it’s easy to get sidetracked by responding to messages instead of focusing on your core responsibilities. Your personal assistant can take this burden off your shoulders by handling a wide range of communication tasks, from organising your inbox to replying to messages on your behalf.

Support Administrative Tasks

A personal assistant can handle a variety of administrative tasks. Their support ensures that your professional life is productive and your daily routines run smoothly.

Here are a few common administrative tasks handled by a PA:

Reports and Documents

Preparing, formatting, and editing reports and documents.

Meeting Minutes and Agendas

Writing up minutes from meetings and preparing agendas for upcoming meetings.

Scheduling Appointments

Communicating with clients, colleagues, and others to schedule appointments.

Travel Arrangements and Logistics

Whether you’re travelling for business or leisure, a personal assistant can handle all aspects of the travel arrangements. These include booking flights, organising your accommodation, and planning your itinerary. Their expertise can make your travel experience more enjoyable and less stressful, ensuring that everything is tailored to your preferences.

If you’re looking to hire a private personal assistant who can manage complex travel arrangements, Tiger Recruitment will find you an outstanding match.

Booking flights, hotels, and transportation

Travel planning can be very time-consuming, especially if you do it often. Personal assistants can handle travel logistics, including researching and booking the best flights and transport options.

Planning itineraries and managing travel schedules

Personal assistants can coordinate travel itineraries and schedules that align with the purpose of the trip. This includes ensuring all reservations and activities happen on time.

If you’re looking for more support with hiring administrative professionals with travel logistics experience, explore our business support recruitment services.

Errands and Personal Tasks

A personal assistant also supports day-to-day errands, from picking up shopping to managing household tasks. Their level of involvement in your tasks is up to you, but it should be disclosed during the hiring process.

Running errands (e.g., picking up dry cleaning, shopping)

Personal assistants can support with a variety of errands that can often be time-consuming tasks to travel about for.

Making reservations (restaurants, events, etc.)

If you’re looking to make a last-minute table booking, a personal assistant can utilise their network to make it happen. They are responsible for all the administration that goes with the reservation, such as transport to get there.

Paying bills or managing household-related tasks

If you’re looking for a personal assistant to support with paying bills or managing household-related tasks, you may be looking for a private personal assistant. These types of assistants tend to support more with personal-related tasks.

Our specialised division, Tiger Private, can support with hiring a private personal assistant.

Project Assistance

Personal assistants can offer crucial support to business owners and professionals involved in multiple projects. They can assist with project research, coordination, and tracking project progress. This can help you to be prepared and stay organised, ensuring you complete the project.

Researching topics or vendors

One key area that personal assistants can support with is carrying out in-depth research. This can be useful whether you’re launching a new product and assessing the market or looking into vendors for an upcoming event. PAs can collect all their findings and present you with the most relevant information.

Preparing reports or presentations

Personal assistants can bring data together and create reports ready for client presentations.

Coordinating with other staff or teams

Coordinating with other team members and colleagues can be a time-consuming task; however, it is usually vital for project success. PAs can handle this task for you when it comes to planning meetings and ensuring alignment between teams.

What Can’t a Personal Assistant Do?

A PA is an asset to any business owner or busy family by providing a wide range of professional and personal support. However, there are a few tasks that you shouldn’t ask your PA to do. It’s important to recognise these boundaries to maintain a productive and respectful working relationship.

Specialised Professional Services

PAs can’t provide specialised services or advice that require professional qualifications. While PAs are highly skilled, they cannot replace the expertise of professionals in fields like law, accounting, or healthcare. Your PA can help you by managing your appointments with an accountant or scheduling your medical check-ups, but they won’t be able to prepare your taxes or offer medical opinions.

Unauthorised Financial Transactions

A PA can be helpful with your financial management, but it’s important to establish clear boundaries around financial transactions. Make sure your personal assistant knows they should not make large payments or financial decisions without getting your approval first. While this approach may mean you have a few extra items to check off your list, you are preventing any expensive errors or security issues. These boundaries will safeguard your finances and maintain your working relationship with your PA.

Personal Tasks Outside of Scope

The personal tasks that fall outside of scope will depend on the responsibilities you laid out in the PA job description and their contract. It’s essential to avoid asking your PA to handle any tasks outside of their set duties to avoid discomfort or misunderstandings that could impact your working relationship.

Here are a few personal tasks that may not be appropriate for a PA to handle:

Deep Cleaning Your Home

While your PA may assist with a quick tidy, it’s not expected that they scrub the floors or any other labour-intensive cleaning tasks. These tasks should be handled by housekeeping professionals who have the necessary skills and tools.

Cooking For Your Family

Your PA can assist you with meal planning and grocery shopping, but cooking for you or your family generally falls outside of their scope. Meal preparation and the cleanup take significant time, which could take them away from their core duties.

Childcare Services

It’s not a good idea to depend on your assistant for regular childcare. Looking after kids requires constant focus and sometimes special skills, particularly for little ones or children with special requirements.

Looking To Hire a PA?

If you’re wondering how to hire a personal assistant, our experts are ready to support and help you find someone who aligns with your values.

The post What Does a Personal Assistant Do? appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Few HR challenges are as complex as managing parental leave policies across multiple jurisdictions. Global employers should not only consider duration and pay, but also cultural and social differences. As mobility across borders continues to rise, companies are increasingly being asked to explain how they approach parental leave policies.

For example, a London-based employee decides to relocate to Sweden, where parental leave laws are among the most generous in the world. Swedish parents are entitled to 480 days (68 weeks) per child, with 390 paid at nearly 80% of their salary. Comparatively, in the UK statutory maternity leave is capped at 52 weeks, with only 39 weeks paid, and at a significantly lower rate. It’s not hard to see why employees might consider starting a family overseas.

Overview of parental leave entitlements across leading commercial nations (October 2025).

So how do international employers ensure fairness when national legislation dictates unequal benefits?

“Global consistency is a noble goal, but local compliance has to come first,” explains Rebecca Siciliano, Managing Director at Tiger Recruitment. “The challenge lies in balancing what’s legally required with what feels equitable across the business. Employees notice when policies feel inconsistent, especially if they’re working side-by-side with colleagues in different regions.”

One approach gaining traction is the creation of global minimum standards for parental leave. This is a company-wide baseline that applies regardless of location. For example, a business might offer a minimum of 16 weeks of fully paid parental leave to all new parents globally, even if the statutory period in some countries is lower. In places where local laws are more generous, the company simply meets or exceeds those terms.

This strategy simplifies communication around benefits and promotes fairness. It also sends a clear signal that the organisation values parenthood consistently, regardless of geography. Netflix and Spotify have both implemented global parental leave standards to align with their values of flexibility and inclusivity.

While this might sound like a simple solution, it’s not without challenges. “What seems generous in one market might be financially unrealistic in another,” notes David Morel, CEO and Founder of Tiger Recruitment, “you also have to consider how others will perceive the change in some regions; taking extended leave might impact future career opportunities in some cultures.”

An alternative model is to offer flexible policies that complement local legislation. For example, a company could provide additional weeks of paid leave or introduce shared parental leave, giving parents greater control.

Flexibility can extend beyond leave itself and instead allow employees to work remotely or temporarily reduce hours before or after leave. “Support doesn’t stop when the baby arrives,” says David, “it continues when that parent returns to work.”

Navigating employee movement and fairness

One particularly difficult element of managing these policies across borders is when an employee moves between countries. The question of which policy applies becomes complicated. Should the employee benefit from their new location’s laws, or should their entitlement remain tied to their home country?

Most multinational employers address this through a principle known as ‘home-country consistency,’ meaning the employees’ original location policies continue to apply during temporary relocations. Others adopt a ‘host-country’ model, aligning benefits with the country where the employee physically works. Each has pros and cons and requires clear communication to prevent perceived unfair treatment.

Global employers that get global parental leave policies right tend to focus less on mirroring legislation and more on building an inclusive culture. This means normalising parental leave for all genders, supporting those undergoing fertility treatment and offering re-entry programs to ensure the transition back to work is smooth.

The post Understanding and Adapting to Global Variations in Parental Leave Policies appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Company details

Company: Wellgate

Industry: Social Welfare

Role: Head of people & engagement

Headcount: 50+

Division: Human Resources

The Challenge

Our client, Wellgate, is a leading provider of care and support services, headquartered in London and expanding across regional sites throughout the UK. They approached Tiger HR with a unique brief.

Unusually for an organisation in the care sector, Wellgate offers an extensive employee benefits programme, Club Wellgate, featuring perks ranging from private healthcare to exclusive access to company-owned holiday homes across the country.

However, despite these fantastic offers, staff uptake was low. To address this, Wellgate sought a new head of people & engagement to boost participation and ensure their employees were making full use of the opportunities available. The role would be a senior part-time (three days per week), remote working, and require weekly travel to engage with the regional teams.

The Solution

Identifying a senior-level candidate willing to work part-time while travelling regularly proved challenging. However, the remote nature and national scope of the role opened it up to talent across the country.

With this in mind, head of Tiger HR Kate Headford conducted a fully tailored, UK-wide headhunt for a candidate. They would need a strong HR and people background, knowledge of the care sector, and communications expertise to effectively engage with a diverse workforce in culturally varied regions.

Despite the considerable difficulty of the search, Kate succeeded in identifying a highly suitable candidate who possessed the necessary experience, embraced remote working, and lived within easy reach of several key regional offices.

The Impact

Not only did the new head of people & engagement fit the profile on paper, they hit the ground running when in the job. By regularly meeting with multiple staff across all their sites, they are helping Club Wellgate gain the visibility and engagement it deserves.

Client feedback

“Great – Kate and the team at Tiger are responsive and lovely to work with. The successful candidate is thriving and I am thrilled Tiger found him for us.” Millie Powell – Wellgate

Looking ahead

Since placing the Head of People & Engagment role, Tiger HR has continued to work with Wellgate. The team has most recently placed another senior, part-time role, working directly with the CEO.

The post Case Study: Recruiting for part-time senior positions appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Company details

Company: Centre for Justice Innovation

Industry: Not for Profit

Role: Head of people & operations

Headcount: Small organisation

Division: Human Resources

The Challenge

The Centre for Justice Innovation is a charitable organisation operating with a small team, but a growing influence in its field. Their recent growth and re-structure created a vacancy in senior leadership, as an internal promotion left several key functions in need of a division head. CJI approached Tiger HR to help fill this gap with a single, multifunctional new role – head of people & operations.

While the focus of this role would be HR, the position would need to lead in areas as broad as finance, communications, and operations. Being a newly established role, it presented a challenging yet exciting opportunity for the successful candidate; a blank canvas that could become a vital cornerstone of the organisation.

It was important to find the right fit for culture too. As a small charity organisation working in justice, CJI’s team are purpose-driven, striving for integrity and accountability in everything they do. The ideal candidate would need to share their values and vision and bring gravitas to the senior position that would inspire other employees.

The Solution

To find an individual with the right blend of people skills, financial acumen, hands-on problem-solving, and time-management, head of Tiger HR Kate Headford began by focusing the search on candidates with experience in smaller organisations. We wanted to attract individuals accustomed to managing diverse responsibilities within their roles.

It was equally important to account for the broader organisational changes in progress. Taking on a newly created role while supporting an evolving leadership team would require strong interpersonal skills and exceptional communication.

Factoring all these aspects into her search, Kate was able to secure an individual with the versatility to step into this unique role and make it their own.

The Impact

This individual has only recently taken up the position and we’re looking forward to hearing about the impact they’re having at CJI.

Client feedback

“Exemplary! It was smooth, we felt listened to, we received good advice and were updated throughout the process.” Vicki Mulligan – Centre for Justice Innovation

The post Case Study: Recruiting during a restructure appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

When contemplating a career move, aspiring to a more senior position represents not only an opportunity for professional growth but also a substantive increase in responsibility and accountability. The decision to pursue a higher-level role requires careful evaluation of your capabilities and career objectives.

Evaluating your capability for advancement

A higher-level position typically entails expanded responsibilities, which may include overseeing teams, managing complex projects and making critical business decisions. Before pursuing such a role, reflect on your comfort with accountability, decision-making and leadership. Consider whether your experience has sufficiently prepared you to guide others effectively or whether further skill development, mentorship or exposure to complex initiatives would strengthen your readiness.

To assess suitability, review your current contributions and achievements. Identify experiences that demonstrate leadership, cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder management. For example:

• Leading projects that span multiple teams or departments
• Mentoring or developing junior colleagues
• Successfully navigating organisational change or complexity

Understanding the scope of responsibility

Prior to committing to a new role, ensure clarity on the scope and expectations. Senior roles often involve:

• Managing larger or more diverse teams
• Handling complex, multi-stakeholder projects
• Navigating higher levels of accountability to the business or board

Engage hiring managers in a dialogue to understand success metrics, performance evaluation cadence and leadership expectations. Some questions might include:

• How is success defined in the first six to twelve months?
• How is performance measured, and how frequently is it reviewed?
• What leadership style does my manager employ?

Evaluating the total impact, beyond compensation

While remuneration is an important consideration, it should not be the sole driver of a career move. According to Tiger Recruitment’s recent salary and benefits survey, 15% of UK professionals left roles due to burnout, nearly equaling the 16% who departed for higher compensation.

Senior positions frequently come with elevated expectations, longer hours, and increased pressure. A higher salary may be insufficient compensation if it conflicts with your values, work-life balance, or engagement with meaningful work.

Strategic decision-making

Ultimately, deciding to pursue a senior role should balance capability, opportunity and fit. Consider:

• Are you equipped to manage increased responsibility effectively?
• Could additional experience or mentoring enhance your readiness?
• Does the organisation recognise your potential and support your development?
• Does the role align with your long-term career trajectory?

A deliberate and strategic approach to career advancement increases the likelihood of a successful and fulfilling transition, ensuring that your progression enhances both professional impact and personal satisfaction.

The post Assessing your readiness for a senior role appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

For years, jobseekers have been advised that sending a post-interview thank-you note is essential, a sign of professionalism that can tip the scales in their favour. But in today’s hiring market, that advice isn’t one-size-fits-all. Depending on your level of seniority, the role you’re applying for, and even the company, a thank-you note might not always be appropriate.

So, before you hit “send”, it’s worth pausing to consider whether you should follow up with your potential new employer post-interview.

When a Thank-You Note Adds Value

If you’re interviewing for a business support role, such as a PA, or a client-facing role, a brief, thoughtful thank-you note can solidify professionalism and good communication. These are skills important to the role that you’re interviewing for, which help to further solidify your fit. It shows that you value the interviewer’s time, and it can leave a positive impression.

As Rebecca Siciliano, Tiger Recruitment’s Managing Director, says, “It’s definitely a good thing to do. I’d recommend it 100% of the time if you’ve applied directly to a role and have the contact details of the scheduler. It’s an opportunity to reiterate any responses you feel you could have addressed better in the interview, and it shows genuine interest.”

You could use the thank-you note to briefly highlight why the position excites you, or to reflect on a topic discussed that aligns with your experience. These small touches often complement other strong interview techniques that demonstrate professionalism and enthusiasm. This can be particularly effective in competitive hiring processes, where small details can distinguish one strong candidate from another. A thank-you email sent within 24 hours keeps you fresh in the interviewer’s memory and shows that you are proactive, engaged and genuinely interested in the role.

When It Might Not Be Necessary

If you’re interviewing for a role at a senior or executive level, a thank-you note is unlikely to influence the hiring decision. At this level, interviews are focused on strategic alignment, leadership capability, and long-term value, rather than etiquette or follow-up gestures.

It may also be inappropriate to reach out directly. For example, if your interview process is being managed entirely through a recruiter, it’s best to let them handle any communication. Contacting the hiring manager directly can appear as though you’re bypassing established channels or disregarding the process. Similarly, avoid the temptation to reach out on LinkedIn.

As Angela Lopes, Director and Head of the City Office, says, “I don’t think candidates should reach out to hiring managers unless they have shared their contact details and invited them to do so. Otherwise, it can create an awkward situation if the positive feedback isn’t mutual.”

Additionally, if you’re not working with a recruiter and the company has made it clear that the next steps will be taken through HR or your recruitment consultant, it’s advisable to hold off on sending a message directly without speaking to your direct contact first.

Ask Your Recruiter First

Every company and hiring process has different expectations. That’s why your recruiter is your best guide. They work very closely with the hiring manager and understand their preferences. They can advise whether a thank-you note is appropriate, when to send it and what tone to take.

In some cases, your recruiter may even offer to pass along your appreciation directly, which can be a more suitable approach for some employers or senior-level positions.

Summary

Ultimately, there’s no universal rule. A thank-you note should never feel like a box-ticking exercise, but rather a genuine continuation of professional conversation.

If it adds value, it’s worth considering. But if it risks coming across as forced, it may be better to hold back. When in doubt, ask your recruiter; they’ll know the best approach for each situation.

The post Should You Send a Post-Interview Thank-You Note? appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Bespoke finance and accounting recruitment for your business

Tiger Finance specialises in temporary and contract positions, alongside the permanent recruitment of finance professionals working in London, the UK and further afield.  We recruit staff at all levels of seniority ranging from accounts payable jobs and accounts receivable jobs to finance director positions. Our clients range from SMEs to FTSE-listed blue-chip companies, banking and financial institutions and accountancy firms.

We are dedicated to recruiting exceptional financial talent for all our clients. To this end, we make it our priority to understand your specific requirements so that we’re able to source the most appropriate candidates for you.

We are always focused on delivering outstanding customer service, not only because this helps the recruitment process run smoothly, but also because we are passionate about building long-lasting relationships with our clients.

Our service is not limited to handling job vacancies. We are always on hand for clients who require information or advice on other recruitment matters, such as market knowledge, salary/hourly rate guidance, and holiday entitlement. We also act as an Employer of Record for businesses that require seamless international hiring and compliance.

Furthermore, our service does not end as soon as we have placed a candidate – we pride ourselves on providing excellent aftercare so that our clients always feel supported.

WHY SHOULD YOU PARTNER WITH TIGER FINANCE?

Speed up the hiring process

As a professional finance and accounting recruiter, we have access to a wide pool of talented jobseekers. The best candidates don’t have time to search job boards. Instead, they turn to a specialist recruiter who they can trust to find them the right role.

Market knowledge

A business’ finance and accounting staffing requirements can often be specific and difficult to find, this is where a specialist recruiter’s industry expertise and market knowledge prove valuable.

Easier finance and accounting hiring

As a specialist Finance and Accounting recruiter, Tiger Finance can quickly find temporary, contract and permanent candidates with the finance and accountancy skills your business requires.

To find out how we can source the best finance and accounting talent for you, please contact us here.

We look forward to working with you!

The post Welcome to Tiger Finance! appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Managing business finances can be overwhelming. You have to deal with tax preparation, financial forecasting, regulatory compliance, and more. Add challenging economic conditions and changing regulations into the mix, and the task becomes even more daunting.

That’s why it’s crucial to have a competent accountant on your team. Their expertise is essential for maintaining your financial health and driving your business forward.

In this guide, we explore the benefits of hiring an accountant, the costs, and how to find the perfect match for your financial management needs. If you need help finding qualified accountant candidates, Tiger Finance is here to help.

What Is an Accountant?

An accountant is a professional trained in managing financial accounts, ensuring compliance with tax laws, and providing financial advice. Any business, from small startups to large corporations, can hire an accountant to help manage their finances. Individuals can also hire an accountant for taxes and other financial tasks, especially those with complex financial situations who will benefit from an accountant’s expertise.

Accountants are frequently mistaken for bookkeepers. Bookkeepers primarily record financial transactions, while accountants take a broader role by analysing these records, generating reports, and advising on financial strategy. Understanding the difference can help you decide what kind of financial professional fits your needs best.

Here are a few of the typical responsibilities of an accountant:

• Preparing and examining financial records
• Ensuring records are accurate and that taxes are paid properly and on time
• Assessing financial operations and making best-practices recommendations to management
• Suggesting ways to reduce costs, enhance revenues, and improve profits
• Providing auditing services for businesses and individuals
• Advising on tax strategies and preparing tax returns
• Helping clients comply with legal and regulatory requirements

Benefits of Hiring an Accountant

Choosing to hire an accountant can transform the way your business operates, offering benefits that go beyond simple number crunching.

Expert Financial Advice

Accountants provide expert advice on how to handle financial matters, making them invaluable for strategic planning and decision-making. Their insights can help identify profitable opportunities and avoid financial risks, ensuring the long-term sustainability of your business.

Time Savings

Your accountant will handle all the complex, time-consuming financial management tasks. This saves you time, allowing you to instead focus on core business strategies and growth opportunities.

Compliance and Tax Efficiency

With ever-changing tax laws and compliance regulations, having an accountant ensures that your business adheres to all legal requirements. They can also improve your tax position, potentially saving you a substantial amount of money annually.

What to Look for in an Accountant

When hiring an accountant, you need to consider their qualifications, experience, and how they will fit into your company’s culture.

Skillset and Specialisation

The qualified accountant you hire should have a solid understanding of financial reporting and planning, risk management, tax preparation, and compliance. They should be specialised in either corporate finance, public sector finance, or personal finance, depending on your unique needs. You should look for someone with experience in successful strategic decision-making, ensuring that they can bring long-term financial benefits to your business.

Team Dynamics

Your accountant will need to work closely with other departments to gather, manage, and report on financial data. When recruiting an accountant, it’s important to assess their communication skills and ability to collaborate effectively with colleagues and management. You can do this by asking specific behavioural questions or checking their references to see how the candidate performed in team settings.

Accountancy Recruitment: Finding the Right Fit

Are you ready to recruit an accountant? Find out what you need to do to ensure you hire the best accountant for your company:

Know What You Need

Before you start the recruitment process, it’s essential to identify the specific skills and experiences that are crucial for your accountant. This clarity helps in targeting the right candidates and ensures that they can meet your business’s unique financial challenges.

Job Posting and Advertising

Crafting a clear and compelling job description and using the right channels to advertise your vacancy is crucial. It ensures that the position reaches a wide range of qualified candidates, increasing your chances of finding the perfect match.

Screening and Interviews

Screening CVs and conducting thorough interviews are critical steps in the recruitment process. These allow you to assess not only the technical skills and experience of the candidates but also their fit within your company culture.

How Do I Hire an Accountant?

We explain the steps you need to take to hire an accountant, plus how finance recruitment agencies like Tiger Finance can help:

Determine Your Budget

You first need to determine your budget for your accountant role. This will help you determine whether you need a permanent, contract, or temporary accounting professional, depending on what makes the most financial sense for your business.

At Tiger Finance, we’re here to assist you through every step of the accountant hiring process. If you’re unsure about what to budget for an accountant, check out our Finance and Accounting Salary and Benefits Review. This will help you set an accurate and competitive salary benchmark for your accountant role.

Evaluate Credentials and Experience

When hiring an accountant in the UK, it’s important to look for credentials such as ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) or ACA (Associate Chartered Accountant) qualifications. An accountant candidate with these certifications indicates an expert level of training. Candidates with experience in your specific industry can also be beneficial as this means they will understand the unique challenges and opportunities your business may face.

At Tiger Finance, we can assist you in evaluating the credentials and experience of potential candidates. We have access to a broad network of highly qualified and vetted accountants. Our team of specialist recruiters can guide you through the process of matching the right credentials and experience with your specific business needs.

Onboarding and Training

Once you have chosen your accountant, proper onboarding and training are essential to integrate them into your business smoothly. This ensures they understand your business processes and financial practices, setting them up for success in their new role.

Tiger Finance is committed to creating a long-lasting relationship with each of our clients. That means we don’t stop once we have sourced you a candidate. Whether we help you with accountant recruitment or hiring a financial planner, we will provide aftercare to ensure you are always supported while you integrate your new member into your team.

Cost to Hire an Accountant

The average salary for an accountant in the UK can range between £45,000 to £55,000, but this depends on various factors.

Fee Structures

Accountants can be compensated through various fee structures, including salaries, hourly rates, fixed fees, or a retainer basis. The fees they charge will depend on whether it is corporate finance recruitment, public sector recruitment, or personal finance recruitment, impacting the nature of the work and the level of expertise required.

Cost vs. Value

Hiring an accountant can seem costly, but it’s important to consider the value they bring. An experienced accountant can save your business money in the long run through efficient tax strategies and financial management. This can quickly outweigh the expense of your accountant.

Negotiating Terms

Negotiating terms with an accountant helps control costs by agreeing on a fee structure that fits your budget. It ensures that the scope of services is clearly defined, preventing overcharges for unnecessary services. This flexibility allows for adjustments in services and fees based on your business’s changing needs.

Tips for Successful Accountancy Recruitment

It can be frustrating to go through a lengthy recruitment process only to discover that the accountant you’ve hired isn’t the right fit for your business. To avoid this, we have some tips to ensure your accountant recruitment is a success:

Networking

Networking can be a powerful way to enhance your accountant recruitment process. By attending industry seminars or engaging on platforms like LinkedIn, you can connect with qualified accountants. These networks provide access to a broader pool of talent and increase your chances of finding the right fit for your company.

Continuous Learning and Development

Highlighting continuous learning and development in your company can attract top accountants who value career growth. This emphasis on professional advancement makes your business more appealing to skilled candidates looking for long-term opportunities, helping attract high-quality talent.

Performance Reviews and Feedback

Performance reviews and feedback from your current accounting team can help refine your recruitment process. These insights can help you identify the skills and personal qualities that suit your company, helping you tailor job descriptions and selection criteria. Feedback can also reveal skill gaps in your team, ensuring you focus on candidates who can fill these specific needs. You can also use this step if you’re looking for how to recruit a finance director.

Why Tiger Finance?

Tiger Finance specialises in recruiting best-in-class accountants. Our recruiters have extensive experience and deep market understanding to ensure that we fill your roles with top financial talent. We’ve worked with SMEs to large corporations, offering tailored recruitment solutions that meet the unique needs of your business. If you’re looking to recruit for other finance roles, such as a financial controller or a finance business partner, please get in touch to see how we can help.

Hire an Accountant with Tiger Finance

Hire a perfectly matched accountant with Tiger Finance. Our expert recruiters have an extensive network and sourcing tools to find the best candidates for your needs. Whether you’re looking for a contract-based or permanent accountant, our accountancy recruitment service is ready to meet your requirements.

Get in touch today to kickstart your accountant recruitment.

The post Hire an Accountant: The Essential Guide appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Hiring a finance director is essential for any organisation looking to enhance its financial management and strategic planning. They will bring financial leadership, expert insights, and strategic vision to your business, ensuring you can handle any economic challenges and take any growth opportunities.

In this guide, we explain how to recruit a finance director, helping you secure the perfect candidate to drive your company’s financial success.

What is a Finance Director?

A finance director is a senior executive responsible for overseeing your company’s financial operations. They will typically hold a seat on the company board, working closely with other senior leaders to align financial goals with overall business objectives. Their role involves strategic planning, risk management, and ensuring the long-term financial stability of your business.

They are often confused with financial controllers. A financial controller handles the day-to-day financial operations, including accounting, reporting, and compliance. The director typically has a broader, more strategic outlook. Both roles are crucial, but it’s important to know what you need before looking into how to hire a financial controller or director.

Key Duties of a Finance Director

Before you hire a finance director, it’s important to understand their key duties. This ensures you’re hiring the right person for the role.

Their duties are extensive and can vary depending on the specific needs of your business. Here are their main responsibilities:

• Overseeing financial planning and analysis.
• Developing long-term financial strategies.
• Establishing and managing budgets and financial forecasts.
• Ensuring compliance with financial regulations.
• Supervising financial reporting and audits.
• Identifying and preventing financial risks.
• Advising on investments and financial decisions.
• Leading the finance team.
• Ensuring professional development within the finance team.

Essential Skills and Qualifications

To hire the best director for your business, you need to know what skills and qualifications to look for during the candidate screening process.

Certifications

A candidate will typically have a degree in finance or accounting. A strong candidate typically holds additional certifications, such as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). Candidates may also have advanced degrees like a Master of Business Administration (MBA), which enables them to bring valuable insights to the role.

Experience Level

Experience is crucial when selecting a director. Look for candidates with at least five years of experience in financial management, ideally within your industry. They should also have a record of successfully leading financial teams and implementing strategic financial plans.

Expertise

Look for candidates who are skilled in financial modelling, budgeting, and forecasting. They should also be experts in financial software and have a deep understanding of regulatory compliance and risk management.

Soft skills are equally important in this role. Your director should have excellent leadership abilities to manage, motivate, and develop the finance team. Strong communication skills are crucial for conveying complex financial information clearly to stakeholders. Strategic thinking is also critical for ensuring your business is a success.

Importance of a Finance Director in an Organisation

You might already have a great team of accountants and financial analysts and wonder if you need a director. A finance director is an essential role as they bring valuable strategic insight and leadership that can take your financial operations to the next level.

Here are some key benefits that show why this is an important role to fill:

Strategic Financial Management

A director ensures your company’s financial health is monitored and managed strategically. They provide expert oversight of financial planning and analysis, helping you make informed business decisions. This financial insight keeps your organisation competitive and financially stable.

Risk Management

This role plays an important part in managing risks for your business. They identify potential financial risks and develop strategies to prevent them, such as credit or interest rate risks. This proactive approach protects your company from unexpected financial challenges.

Credibility and Compliance

A finance director enhances the credibility of your financial reports. Their expertise in compliance and reporting reassures investors, stakeholders, and regulatory bodies about the accuracy of the reports. They also ensure all reports are completed on time and meet regulatory standards, maintaining a positive reputation for your business.

Broad Impact

A finance director will manage the entire financial strategy of your organisation. Compared to a finance business partner, who focuses on specific departments, a director has a wider reach across all financial aspects of the business. Both roles are important, but a director has a broader strategic impact.

They also have a more complex role than an accountant. If you need tasks like bookkeeping and tax preparation done, you will hire an accountant. If you need strategic planning and financial leadership, a finance director is the right person for the job.

How to Recruit a Finance Director

The director you choose will play a crucial role in your business, making the recruitment process vital. Finance recruitment agencies are helpful because they have access to a broad talent pool and know how to find the right candidates. They can save you time and ensure you hire the best person for your business needs and culture.

If you prefer to handle the recruitment yourself, here are the steps to follow:

1. Crafting the Job Description

A clear job description is essential for attracting the right candidates to your role. It should outline the role’s responsibilities, required skills, and qualifications, helping potential candidates understand if they are a good fit. This will help save you time by ensuring only suitable applicants apply, reducing your screening process.

Here’s what to include in a job description for a finance director:

• Key responsibilities and duties
• Required qualifications and certifications
• Essential skills and experience
• Company background and culture
• Reporting structure and team details
• Expected performance metrics
• Salary range and benefits

A job description differs from a job advertisement. The job description provides detailed information about the role’s responsibilities and requirements. A job advertisement is a shorter, more engaging summary designed to attract candidates to apply.

Use our finance and accounting salary and benefits review to determine a fair and competitive salary to offer to ensure you attract the ideal candidate to your role.

2. Identifying Ideal Candidates

Once your job description is ready, you can post it on job boards or your company’s website. You can also send it to a finance recruitment agency, who will help find and screen potential candidates for you.

Alongside posting your job description, you can actively source ideal candidates to approach. This proactive strategy helps you find qualified professionals who may not be actively job hunting. Use professional networks, LinkedIn, and industry events to identify and reach out to these candidates.

3. Screening and Shortlisting Candidates

Once you have a list of candidates, the screening process can begin. This is when you will review each candidate’s CV and cover letter to assess their qualifications and experience. Look for red flags like missing qualifications, irrelevant experience, or poorly written resumes to quickly narrow down your list to the most promising candidates.

4. Conducting Effective Interviews

The next step in the recruitment process is conducting interviews. This is your chance to talk with each shortlisted candidate and get a deeper understanding of their qualifications, experience, skills, and how they present themselves.

For the interviews to be effective, you need to prepare the right questions to ask the candidate. There are questions you should always ask in an interview, but you will also need to create tailored questions that are relevant to the role and your business. For example, you might ask how they have managed financial risks in the past or how they approach financial planning.

You also need to use the interview to assess how well they would fit into your company culture. A good cultural fit is crucial for long-term success and job satisfaction, which can save you from having to repeat the hiring process. Ask about their leadership style and teamwork, paying close attention to their communication style.

5. Assessing Competencies and Aptitude

After the interviews, you can ask the remaining candidates to complete competency-based assessments. You might include assessments such as financial modelling exercises, case studies on risk management, or strategic planning tasks. These tests can provide insight into their analytical skills and capabilities so that you can confidently select a candidate who will excel in the role.

6. Checking References and Backgrounds

Before you make a final decision, you will need to check the candidate’s references and background. Reach out to former employers to verify the candidate’s work history and performance. Use this as an opportunity to ask specific questions about their strengths and areas for improvement.

It’s also best practice to ensure the candidate has a clean financial and legal background. This helps maintain the integrity of your business’s financial operations and reputation.

7. Making the Job Offer

This is a critical stage of the recruitment process. You must make the best job offer so you can secure your ideal candidate.

To make the best job offer, include comprehensive details about the salary, benefits, and additional perks. Clearly outline the job responsibilities, the reporting structure, and performance expectations. This transparency helps the candidate understand exactly what to expect and makes your offer more attractive.

It’s important to be open to negotiation during this stage. Your candidate may have specific requests or conditions that need to be met. Being flexible and willing to discuss these aspects can help you get the candidate you want.

8. Onboarding and Integration

After the candidate accepts the offer, focus on their onboarding and integration. Begin with a thorough orientation to introduce them to your company, their team, and their role. Make sure they have all the tools, resources, and training they need to get started.

Integration is key to helping your new finance director feel welcome and become productive quickly. Schedule regular check-ins and encourage open communication to address any questions or concerns. This support will help them adjust to your company culture and align with your goals.

Retaining Your Finance Director

Now that you know how to hire a finance director, it’s important to focus on retaining them. Losing a director can disrupt your business and lead to costly and time-consuming recruitment efforts.

Here are some tips to ensure your director stays long-term:

Competitive Compensation

You should regularly review and adjust their salary and benefits to ensure you are keeping up with industry standards. This will help keep your director satisfied and less likely to look for opportunities elsewhere.

Professional Development

Providing opportunities for professional development will benefit both the director and your business. You can encourage your director to attend conferences, pursue certifications, and stay updated with industry trends.

Positive Work Environment

Focus on creating a positive and supportive environment to help enhance their job satisfaction. You can do this by formally acknowledging any impressive contributions, providing constructive feedback, and promoting a culture of respect and collaboration.

How to Recruit a Finance Director with Tiger Finance

Tiger Finance specialises in recruiting top-tier finance professionals. Our team of experts, extensive network, and deep industry knowledge enable us to identify and attract the best candidates for your specific needs.

We handle every step of the finance director recruitment process, from crafting job descriptions to conducting interviews and reference checks. By partnering with us, you will find a director who is highly qualified and a perfect fit for your company’s culture and goals.

Ready to hire your next finance director? Fill in our request form today to start your search.

The post How To Recruit a Finance Director appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Whether you’re a small business experiencing growth or a large corporation needing to improve efficiency and compliance, choosing to hire a financial controller is a strategic step. They play a vital role in managing day-to-day accounting operations and ensuring financial accuracy. A skilled controller can also provide valuable insights, helping to drive your business forward.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about hiring a financial controller. From understanding their role and responsibilities to identifying the signs it’s time to bring one on board, we’ve got you covered.

What Is a Financial Controller?

A financial controller is a senior financial executive who’s responsible for overseeing a company’s accounting operations. They ensure that the day-to-day accounting activities and reports are accurate and compliant. They can also offer valuable insights based on the accounting data to help with decision-making.

The Role of a Financial Controller

Whether you are running a major corporation or small business, a financial controller has an important role to play in your company. They ensure your accounting operations are accurate, compliant, and efficient.

Here are some of their key responsibilities:

• Overseeing all accounting operations.
• Ensuring the accuracy of financial reports.
• Ensuring compliance with financial regulations and internal policies.
• Preparing financial statements, including income statements and balance sheets.
• Conducting internal audits to prevent inaccuracies and fraud.
• Developing and monitoring budgets.
• Analysing financial data to identify trends and provide insights.
• Managing the accounting team and financial processes.
• Supporting strategic financial planning and decision-making.

How a Financial Controller Differs from Other Financial Roles

Financial controllers fill a unique role in your business. They are more than just accountants because they oversee the entire accounting process, ensuring compliance and accuracy. If you need someone to handle basic bookkeeping and daily transactions, you will hire an accountant, not a controller.

The controllers also differ from finance directors. While controllers focus on managing daily accounting operations and ensuring accurate financial reports, finance directors set the overall financial strategy and goals for the company. The controllers will manage the day-to-day, while the finance directors will manage the broader financial direction.

They also play a distinct role compared to finance business partners. Finance business partners are deeply integrated with different departments. They use their financial insights to guide strategic initiatives and ensure collaboration between finance and operational teams.

Signs Your Business Needs a Financial Controller

Knowing when to hire a financial controller is crucial. Here are some of the sure signs that your business needs to recruit a controller:

Rapid Business Growth

If your business is experiencing rapid growth, it can become challenging to manage finances effectively. A controller can help ensure that your accounting operations scale with your business. They provide the expertise needed to handle increased financial complexity and support sustainable growth.

Increased Regulatory Requirements

As your business grows, so do the regulatory requirements you must comply with. A controller ensures that all financial practices meet legal standards and internal policies, helping you avoid any costly penalties.

Inaccurate Financial Reporting

Frequent errors or inconsistencies in your accounting reports are clear signs that you are relying too heavily on your accountants. Financial controllers bring the necessary skills to improve accuracy and reliability in financial reporting, ensuring you have the precise data needed for making informed business decisions.

Qualifications and Skills to Look for in a Financial Controller

If it’s time for your business to hire a financial controller, you need to know what to look for in potential candidates. All candidates should have a strong background in accounting and finance, demonstrated by a relevant degree and professional certifications such as Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

To suit this role, the candidate should also have strong analytical skills, proficiency in accounting software, and reporting capabilities. Candidates with experience in your industry will mean they are familiar with industry-specific financial challenges and regulations, making them a great fit.

How to Hire a Financial Controller

Using finance recruitment agencies can streamline the hiring process. These specialised agencies will quickly identify your specific needs and match you with the right candidates. They can also help you with creating the perfect job description, screening, and securing your ideal candidate, saving you time and effort.

If you want to do it yourself, follow our step-by-step process:

1. Identifying Your Needs

You first need to identify the needs of your business for this role. Consulting with your accountancy team can provide valuable insights into what is required. They can highlight areas where additional support is needed and identify specific skills that are crucial for the role.

You can then use this information to create a detailed job description. A well-crafted job description will attract candidates who are well-suited to meet your business’s specific requirements. Make sure to clearly outline the responsibilities, qualifications, and skills needed for the role.

2. Finding Potential Candidates

A finance recruitment agency is one of the best ways to find potential candidates. They have extensive networks and resources to connect you with highly qualified professionals. This can speed up the hiring process and ensure you find top talent.

You can also place the job description online on various job boards, network within your industry, and use LinkedIn to find suitable candidates. Attending industry events can help you meet professionals who might be looking for new opportunities. These methods can help you reach a broad audience and find the right fit for your business.

3. Evaluating Financial Controllers

Start by assessing candidates’ CVs and resumes to identify those with the right qualifications and experience. Look for relevant certifications, such as CPA, and experience in accounting management. Pay attention to the industries of their previous roles and any accomplishments to determine their suitability for your role.

Conducting interviews is the next crucial step in the evaluation process. You will need to prepare a set of questions that cover both technical skills and their problem-solving abilities. Make sure to ask about their experience with reporting, compliance, and how they have handled any financial challenges in the past.

You can also use assessments, such as practical tests or case studies, to gain insights into a candidate’s capabilities. These assessments help ensure you choose a candidate who can effectively manage your accounting operations.

4. Making the Decision

It’s now time to decide who you will bring into your business. Before making an offer, it’s always best to check the references and background of your potential candidate. This ensures the person you choose will be the best fit for your company’s culture and future success.

Once you have narrowed it down to one candidate, you can make them a formal job offer. This should clearly state the terms of employment, including salary, benefits, and any other relevant details. With a well-structured offer, you are set to secure the top candidate.

Check out our finance and accounting salary and benefits review to ensure you are making a competitive offer that will attract and retain your ideal candidate.

Hire a Financial Controller with Tiger Finance

At Tiger Finance, we’re ready to help you hire a financial controller. We have years of industry experience and access to an extensive network of both active and passive candidates, ensuring that we will always find the right fit for your role. Our team will support you throughout the hiring process, from sourcing candidates to aftercare.

Fill in the request form so that we can make your recruitment process easier and faster.

The post Hire a Financial Controller: A Comprehensive Guide appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Hiring a finance business partner (FBP) has become essential for businesses of all sizes. An FBP will bridge the gap between your departments, using their financial expertise and data-gathering skills to provide strategic recommendations for your business. Without an FBP, making data-driven decisions becomes difficult, leaving your business open to financial risks.

In this guide, we will explain what the role of a finance business partner is and provide a step-by-step process for hiring one for your business.

What is a Finance Business Partner?

A finance business partner is a senior advisor who works closely with various departments within a company to provide financial insights and support strategic decision-making. They analyse financial data to help your business plan and achieve its goals. To be successful in this role, the FBP must have strong analytical skills and the ability to communicate complex financial information clearly.

Responsibilities of a Finance Business Partner

Finance business partners are involved in various aspects of financial management and strategic planning. Below are some key areas where FBPs add value to your organisation:

Strategic Planning and Analysis

An FBP will play an important role in your business’s strategic planning. They will analyse financial data, market trends, and business performance to identify any opportunities or risks. They will then present their data-driven recommendations to your senior management to guide the future direction of your business.

Budgeting and Forecasting

An FBP will help you create effective budgets that ensure your company’s spending aligns with its strategic goals. They will collaborate with the different departments and utilise the gathered data to set realistic financial targets. This collaborative process ensures that every part of your business is working towards the same financial objectives.
FBPs will also prepare financial forecasts to predict future performance based on historical data, market trends, and business assumptions. This accurate forecasting can help you plan for various scenarios and make any necessary adjustments to ensure your business remains competitive.

Performance Monitoring and Reporting

Keeping your finger on the pulse of your business’s performance allows you to make informed decisions and quickly address any issues before they turn into major problems. An FBP will handle this for you by regularly tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) and compiling their findings into performance reports. These reports provide you with clear insights into your company’s financial health and highlight any areas that require attention.

Decision Support and Advisory

FBPs act as advisors to your management. They use their financial expertise to evaluate the potential impact of various business decisions, including strategic initiatives, investments, and operational changes. They will then present their findings to help management understand the potential risks and benefits of different decisions.

Let’s say your business is considering expanding into a new market. Your FBP will analyse this business decision by looking at the costs, potential revenue, and financial implications of this expansion. You can then make a sound decision whether entering the new market is worth the potential risks or rewards.

Risk Management and Compliance

FBPs help minimise the impact of potential risks on your company’s financial health. To do this, they will analyse market risks, operational risks, and compliance risks. If any risks are identified, the FBP will develop strategies that ensure you avoid any financial impacts or legal issues.

How to Hire a Finance Business Partner

If you’re ready to bring an FBP’s strategic insights and effective risk management into your business, follow our step-by-step hiring process:

1. Identifying the Need for a Finance Business Partner

The first step in hiring an FBP is identifying your business’s needs. This will typically depend on the size of your business, your current challenges, and your future plans.

• Large Corporations: In large corporations, you often need detailed financial analysis, strategic planning, and effective resource allocation across multiple departments. An FBP helps manage these complex financial operations and supports your long-term business strategies.
• SMEs: As a small or medium-sized enterprise, you might need help with budgeting, financial forecasting, and improving overall financial performance. An FBP will have the expertise to streamline your financial processes and ensure sustainable growth.
• Startups: If you’re running a startup, you typically need assistance with cash flow management, fundraising strategies, and financial forecasting. An FBP can assist with risk management and accurate forecasting, ensuring your business is ready to scale.

Once you have identified your specific needs, you can then develop a clear job description. This should outline the key responsibilities required for the role to help attract the right candidates for your business.

2. Essential Qualifications and Experience

To ensure your business benefits from hiring an FBP, you need to look for candidates with the right qualifications. The candidate should have a degree in finance or accounting, with additional certifications such as the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) or Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).

They should also have a minimum of three years of experience in strategic planning, budgeting, and financial analysis. Selecting candidates who have worked with businesses of similar size or within your industry ensures they can understand your specific needs and offer valuable insights.

3. Competencies and Soft Skills to Look For

FBPs need certain skills to succeed in their role and contribute to your organisation’s success. Look for candidates with strong analytical skills who can interpret complex financial data and provide actionable insights. They should also have a solid understanding of financial modelling and forecasting.

Effective communication is another important skill to look for. FBPs need to present financial information clearly to non-financial stakeholders to ensure they can support strategic decisions. Other important soft skills include problem-solving, teamwork, and the ability to work under pressure.

4. Interviewing and Selection Process

Once you have a shortlist of candidates with the right certifications, experience, and skills, you can begin the interview process. When interviewing an FBP, it’s important to include the key stakeholders that they will be working with. This can include any department heads and senior members of the finance team, such as the finance director or financial controller. This can help you determine the candidate’s ability to collaborate across different departments.

You will need to prepare questions to ask the candidate during the interview. These questions should assess the candidate’s technical abilities and their soft skills. For example, you can ask them to explain a complex financial concept, such as cash flow forecasting, while also paying attention to how they describe this information to the non-financial interviewers.

Once you’ve identified the right candidate for your business, it’s time to make them an offer. The offer you make needs to reflect their experience level and the value you expect them to bring to your company. Refer to our finance and accounting salary and benefits review to determine a competitive salary offer that will attract your chosen candidate.

5. Integrating a Finance Business Partner into Your Team

The work doesn’t stop once your chosen candidate has signed their employment agreement. Ensuring they are seamlessly integrated into your team is crucial for their success and retention. A well-structured onboarding program can facilitate this process and help them hit the ground running.

A comprehensive onboarding program should include an introduction to your company’s financial systems and processes. Offering training on your company’s specific financial software and reporting practices will enable them to perform their role effectively from day one. You should also schedule meetings with all department heads and senior management to kickstart the collaboration.

Challenges in Finance Business Partner Hiring

Hiring an FBP can come with certain challenges. FBPs need to work closely with various departments, which can have their own goals and communication styles. If there are any misunderstandings or collaboration blockers, this can impact the FBP’s ability to perform their role effectively. To prevent this, ensure clear communication channels and regular meetings are established from the start.

Another common challenge for FBPs is keeping up with industry trends and best practices. The financial landscape is constantly evolving, and an FBP must stay current to provide valuable insights. You can support your FBP by providing access to continuous learning and professional development to ensure they stay up to date.

In certain cases, businesses misidentify their needs and mistakenly hire an FBP when they actually need an accountant. This error can be a significant setback, leading to frustration for both the business and the FBP. If your primary need is for transactional tasks like bookkeeping and basic financial reporting, it’s better to hire an accountant from the start.

Hire a Finance Business Partner with Tiger Finance

Tiger Finance is a specialist finance recruitment agency with the experience and expertise to find the right finance business partner for your organisation. Our recruitment process is thorough and tailored to meet your specific needs. We will support you along every step of the hiring process, from candidate sourcing to salary guidance to effective integration.

Fill in our request form to partner with our professional finance business partner recruiters.

The post What is a Finance Business Partner? appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

The financial services industry is one of the most important to the UK, and in turn, jobs within financial services have increased significantly over the past few years. There are 1.1 million financial services employees employed in the UK. It is an industry that offers a wide variety of roles and career opportunities and, as a result, attracts large numbers of prospects. Take a look at some of the positions that are available at the moment.

As with all industries, there are pros and cons to working within this exciting space. If you’re toying with the idea of a career move , here are some of the things you may want to consider:

Benefits:

Financially rewarding

There is potential to achieve a higher-than-average income at all levels within the industry, as well as a promising career path, great benefits and bonuses. City-based firms often reward hard-working employees with wellness benefits like free gym membership, access to healthy meals and medical consultations.

Variety

No day will ever be exactly the same. The fast pace and unpredictable nature of the industry means you’ll always be busy and learning new things. There’s likely to be an exciting buzz around the office and definitely no time for clock watching.

Exposure

On a daily basis you’ll be faced with high-profile individuals and businesses. It gives you an excellent opportunity to network with new people every day, and this in turn can open lots of doors. In this space, it’s usually not about what you know; it’s who you know.

Social Scene

The financial services industry is known for its ‘work hard, play hard’ mantra. It wouldn’t surprise us if you met life-long friends in the City. And if you’re a bubbly person who loves to socialise, you’ll fit right in.

Potential risks:

Long hours

Working in financial services is not a typical 9-5 affair. Approximately one in three of all employees work in excess of 40 hours per week and a large number work considerably more than that. The work itself can be fairly high pressured and stress-inducing due to the fast pace and the demanding nature of clients and colleagues. To minimise burn-out, we strongly recommend focussing on personal wellness and encourage you to take all of your annual leave. This will help counter-balance any stress caused.

Difficult characters

In a support role you may be expected to deal with employees that will not give you an easy ride!

Competition for jobs is high

As financial services offers good promotion prospects and numerous career opportunities, this means it is a competitive industry. And you’re competing with the best of the best.

Few permanent opportunities

Due to the unpredictable nature of the economy, many of the financial services firms prefer to hire into long-term contracts rather than permanent roles. If you want to work in the City you’d need to be comfortable with this. Rest assured, those in long-term contracts enjoy all the same benefits and bonuses as permanent staff!

We believe the benefits of working in the City far outweigh the risks, but at the end of the day it needs to feel right for you and your lifestyle choices. Submit your CV and update your job requirements, to take your first steps towards a job in the city.

The post The pros and cons of a career in financial services appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

We remind our candidates daily, ‘Don’t forget to prepare!’. If they want the job, they need to show that they’ve completed their research by being able to talk intelligently about the role and business. It’s the same advice for you, hiring managers. If you’re looking to hire an executive assistant, for example, you’ll need to set up the hiring and interview process the right way. Doing so will pay dividends in ensuring a positive brand experience.

Prepare your interview questions ahead of time, craft these according to the key skills required of the role. In doing so, think carefully about both what you’re willing to train for and the skills you need to hire. Try to ask similar questions of all the interviewees so as to be able to compare responses.

If you’re a small business without an HR presence or formalised hiring policy, our tips below can help to guide the right approach.

Make the candidate comfortable

To encourage the best possible candidate experience, try to make sure you’re meeting in as neutral and comfortable environment as possible. Rather than sitting on the other side of the desk or table, try sitting next to the candidate (if space permits!). This move, alongside open body language, will help set the tone of a meeting between equals. You’ll then be able to develop much more of a natural rapport which will give you a significantly more accurate steer on their potential to fit in culturally with the business and team. In a virtual interview, body language is still important – you don’t want to be fidgeting or looking away from the camera – this will unconsciously signal to the candidate that you’re not giving them your full attention.

Have the candidate meet with other staff

It’s important to know if the interviewee was rude to the receptionist. It’s equally important to consider everyone’s opinions to understand their responses to the candidate joining the team. It might well raise advantages or concerns you hadn’t previously considered. While you will want everyone to get on, be wary of hiring candidates with similar backgrounds and interests. A diverse team, after all, is more likely to produce fresh ideas, innovative approaches and ultimately, improved successes. When you ask yourself what’s missing in this team, consider the possibilities a prospective employee might bring to the business rather than just filling a slot.

Money matters

Have your budget prepared and approved in advance to avoid wasting time negotiating and risk losing a star candidate. While many hiring managers still argue, “if they like us, they’ll take it for less”, it’s sadly a little unrealistic in today’s market to do so.

Representing the brand

Even if the candidate isn’t successful, a positive experience with you will mean that they’re more likely to speak highly of the business. To help this positive experience along, try the following:

• Leave your stresses and negativity at the door

• Don’t be late

• Allow enough time in the interview for the candidate to ask all the questions they need to

• Listen (really listen) and don’t interrupt

Check your biases

We all have them, though we might not want to admit it. Consider your biases and be aware of them beforehand. These could include judgements about personal appearance, comparing them to the previous incumbent in the role, or even where they went to school. To avoid this, bring an objective colleague to the meeting and assess their suitability together afterwards.

Can we help you recruit your next permanent or temporary role? Get in touch with one of our specialist consultants today, or read our complete interview and selection guide for employers to find out more about best practice hiring.

The post Hiring managers, are you preparing the right way for interviews? appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

As we move towards 2026, conversations around employee benefits have never been more important. Our latest salary survey revealed that while salary remains critical, benefits now play an equally decisive role in attracting and retaining talent. More than half of professionals (56%) told us they want their employer to help with the rising cost of living.

So what matters most to employees in 2026?

1. Annual Leave

With employees consistently ranking annual leave as their number one priority, paid time off tops the list again this year. Despite the statutory minimum remaining unchanged, employers are now going beyond the standard 20-25 days. Some businesses are offering senior staff additional holiday entitlements or simply rebranding ‘duvet days’ as ‘recharge days,’ designed to reduce burnout. Others are offering additional PTO to employees who commit to full-time in the office, sometimes up to 15 additional days.

2. Hybrid and Remote Working

Flexibility remains a non-negotiable for many. However, the survey found that satisfaction with flexible working has dropped as employers increase mandatory office days. Over half (54%) of professionals are satisfied, a worrying sign given how closely flexibility ties into retention.

Employees are seeking alternatives where flexibility is shrinking, such as banks of remote-working days or shorter working weeks. Some businesses are offering work from anywhere schemes, often one or two weeks a year and typically used in the summer as an alternative to traditional sabbaticals.

3. Cost of living support

Household expenses are still high and jobseekers want to see more from employers. Some examples we’ve seen include:

4. Health Insurance

Private medical cover continues to be one of the most valued core benefits, particularly in larger firms. It’s now being extended to include greater mental health provision, fertility treatment and cover for dependants.

5. Personalised benefits

Three in ten employees now say they want the ability to tailor benefits to their personal circumstances. This means moving away from a one-size-fits-all package, which often fails to cater to differences in lifestyle, age, family commitments or career stage.

Many employers are turning to flexible benefits platforms, which allow staff to shape their own package. Employees are given a set allowance, or credits to spend on a menu of options, from extra holiday, training courses and gym memberships to childcare support, wellbeing stipends or enhanced healthcare. This not only ensures individuals can choose what’s most valuable to them but employers avoid wasted spend on underused perks.

6. Retirement and financial planning

As the workforce ages, finance wellbeing is climbing the agenda. Pension contributions above the statutory minimum are offered by over a third of employers according to our survey. Employees increasingly expect financial education, savings schemes and planning support alongside them.

7. Professional development and training

Two-thirds of professionals told us they want more learning opportunities and many feel this is lacking in general. It shouldn’t just be a nice-to-have; it’s central to retention. One of the top five reasons employees leave their jobs is due to lack of progression and learning opportunities. Employers should be building clear development pathways to keep staff engaged long-term.

8. Mental health and wellbeing

While requests for wellbeing support have slipped slightly in the rankings, the issue remains acute. 15% of professionals told us they resigned due to burnout, just one point below those who left for higher pay. This is a stark reminder that wellbeing isn’t a secondary concern.

The best employers are taking a proactive approach, such as offering access to Employee Assistance Programmes, wellness apps, “recharge days”, and in some cases, wellbeing stipends that employees can spend on what works for them, whether that’s yoga classes, therapy sessions or a gym membership.

The future of benefits

It’s temping to focus on headline-grabbing perks, from Christmas hampers and turkeys, to unlimited holiday (which in reality, often leads to people taking less time off). Our research shows employees care most about the essentials, time, flexibility, financial security and wellbeing. While creative benefits can differentiate you as an employer, it’s important to ensure the basics are in place first.

The post How to build a benefits package employees will love in 2026 appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Company details

Industry: Strategic Advisory and Intelligence Firm
Headcount: ~200 globally
First placement made: 2021
Division: Business Support (Executive Assistants, Administrative Temps, HR)
Number of placements: 15

The Challenge

For many years, the client relied on a single recruitment agency to hire PAs (now EAs). That relationship worked well until standards began to slip, leaving the business without a trusted partner.

With hiring needs growing as the company expanded from 45 employees to around 200, the client needed a recruitment agency that could take the time to understand the firm’s values, find the right calibre of candidates, and build a lasting relationship. They preferred to work with one recruiter who “just gets us,” rather than having to repeat requirements to multiple agencies.

After testing several firms, including both boutique and high-volume recruiters, the client engaged Tiger Recruitment.

The Solution

From the outset, Tiger Recruitment stood out by focusing on relationship-building and cultural understanding. Working closely with the hiring manager, our consultant quickly grasped the types of profiles that would thrive in the business, while also ensuring diversity of thought and background rather than providing “carbon copies.”

The client described Tiger’s approach as one where their consultant “just nailed it” – consistently presenting candidates who not only had the skills required but also fit seamlessly into the team dynamic.

Tiger’s long-standing partnership with The Oxford Media & Business School (OMBS) was also highlighted as a differentiator, giving the client confidence in the calibre of entry-level candidates. Alongside this, Tiger maintained transparency when the market was challenging, setting realistic expectations.

Over time, the relationship has become one of familiarity and trust: “It’s easy, it’s familiar. We don’t use anyone else now.”

The Impact

Tiger Recruitment has had a measurable impact on the client’s recruitment strategy:

• Efficiency in hiring: fewer unsuitable CVs, saving managers’ time.
• High-quality hires: many of the firm’s EAs have come through Tiger, creating instant recognition and shared standards within the team.
• Trusted relationships: strong rapport with individual consultants ensures continuity and confidence in the recruitment process.
• Added value beyond recruitment: regular attendance at Tiger’s seminars and use of resources such as DEI and neurodiversity reports has enriched the client’s HR and leadership teams.

Client Feedback

• “She just gets us – the profile, the culture, and the diversity we need.”
• “Tiger makes our recruitment processes more efficient because we’re not wasting time with rubbish candidates.”
• “We don’t use other agents in London anymore – it’s easy, it’s familiar.”

Looking Ahead

While the firm doesn’t anticipate major expansion in the immediate future, Tiger Recruitment remains the first call for EA and administrative hires. The client continues to recommend Tiger to peers and values the partnership as a cornerstone of their recruitment strategy.

Disclaimer: This case study is based on the experience of a real client. For confidentiality reasons, their identity has been withheld. If you would like to speak directly with one of our clients about their experience working with us, please contact us and we will be happy to arrange an introduction.

The post Case Study: Beyond Carbon Copies – Recruiting for Company Values and Diversity appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Company details

Industry: Global Private Equity Investment Firm
Headcount: 600+
Division: Business Support
Number of placements: 7

The Challenge

When our client stepped into their current role, they inherited a large business support function comprising approximately 25 staff members. With so many direct reports to oversee, they required a recruitment partner who could deliver high-calibre candidates who would complement the existing team and bring long-term value.

While they had known Tiger Recruitment for years, initially as a candidate themselves, the choice of agency came down to quality. Other agencies often submitted numerous CVs without proper screening, leaving the hiring manager to request additional CVs. The challenge was finding a partner who understood both the demands of the role and the nuances of team culture, ensuring every introduction was worthwhile.

The Solution

Tiger Recruitment built a strong working relationship with the client by investing time in understanding their needs. Through regular feedback sessions and ongoing communication, the agency developed a deep understanding of the client’s management style and the types of personalities that would thrive in their team.

By carefully screening candidates before submission and prioritising quality over quantity, Tiger ensured that every CV sent to the client was relevant and well-matched. This approach saved time while increasing the likelihood of long-term success.

This method led to several successful placements, including a new receptionist and team assistant who are “absolutely smashing it,” as well as a calm, steady EA whose personality perfectly complements the existing team. Tiger Recruitment’s approach ensures hires not only meet the skill requirements but also add diversity and balance to the team dynamic.

The Impact

Tiger Recruitment’s partnership has had a transformative effect on the client’s business support team. The impact includes:

• High-performing hires who have quickly added value and shown strong long-term potential.
• A stronger team dynamic, with complementary personalities enhancing collaboration.
• A trusted recruitment process, removing the frustration of reviewing unsuitable CVs.
• A boutique, high-standard service, aligning with the client’s view of Tiger as a “quality” brand within the recruitment market.

Client Feedback

• “Tiger Recruitment just gets it. They absolutely smash it out of the park.”
• “I don’t get 10 CVs for the sake of it – it’s quality over quantity, which I appreciate.”
• “I’m not sure what I’d do without them. They have oodles of patience and flexibility.”
• “It feels boutique, elite – Tiger is well known now, and the quality is super high.”

Looking Ahead

The client continues to work with several agencies, but Tiger Recruitment remains firmly in their top three and often their first choice. They regularly recommend Tiger to peers, confident in both the speed of response and the quality of delivery.

Disclaimer: This case study is based on the experience of a real client. For confidentiality reasons, their identity has been withheld. If you would like to speak directly with one of our clients about their experience working with us, please contact us and we will be happy to arrange an introduction.

The post Case Study: Less CVs, Better Fits – How Tiger Recruitment Saves Time appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Company details

Industry: Executive Search

Company headcount: 20-25

First placement made: 2019

Division: Business Support (PAs)

Number of placements: 8

The Challenge

Our client required reliable PA support for each of their partners. With four partners, each supported by a PA, alongside a Head of Operations, the firm’s structure demanded administrative staff who could balance both partner support and wider office responsibilities.

While they experimented with another agency for one PA hire, the candidate proved an unsuitable fit, highlighting the need for an agency that truly understood their business culture and expectations. This experience reinforced the importance of working with a long-term, trusted partner who could deliver the right talent consistently.

The Solution

Over the past 6.5 years, Tiger Recruitment has successfully placed the client’s entire PA team. From their longest-serving PA, who will celebrate seven years with the business in January, to their most recent hire earlier this year, every placement has been carefully matched to the unique requirements of both individual partners and the wider operations team.

When a previous hire outside of Tiger did not work out, the client immediately returned to Tiger, recognising the value of an agency that “just gets it.” By investing time in understanding the nuances of each partner’s working style – from high-demand requests to balancing personal and professional support – we were able to source candidates who not only excel in administrative duties but also integrate seamlessly into the firm’s culture.

Tiger Recruitment also provided valuable benchmarking insights during salary discussions, ensuring compensation remained competitive while reflecting the demands of the role.

The Impact

The result has been a stable, high-performing PA team that has revolutionised the client’s operations. By alleviating administrative pressures, partners have been able to focus on client delivery, while the Head of Operations has confidence that day-to-day tasks are managed smoothly.

Each PA placed has contributed beyond traditional administrative duties, taking on wider responsibilities across IT, office management, and charitable initiatives. This has created a highly collaborative operations team where every member adds measurable value.

The client highlights that Tiger’s ability to consistently deliver the right candidates has “taken the stress out of admin,” with hires tailored to the personality and demands of each partner.

Client Feedback

• “I just trust Tiger and their judgment. They know what’s important to us as a business and always deliver.”
• “I recommend Tiger all the time. I don’t even think about the referral prize; I just know they offer a good service.”
• “It has revolutionised the team because it takes the stress out of admin.”

Looking Ahead

While the client’s operations team is now at full capacity, they remain committed to Tiger as their recruitment partner should future needs arise. Having recommended Tiger to others within their professional network, the relationship continues to strengthen beyond direct hiring.

The trust built over years of successful placements ensures Tiger Recruitment remains their go-to partner for PA recruitment.

The post Case Study: How Tiger Recruitment Transformed One Firm’s Admin Team appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Company Details

Company industry: Renewable Energy

Company headcount:25-30

First placement made: 2018

Division: Business Support (Receptionists)

Number of placements: 13

The Challenge

In 2018, our client began looking for a recruitment partner to support them with administrative hires. At the time, they were seeking a receptionist to ease the pressure on existing staff and wanted a candidate who could grow with the company. Having not worked with other agencies previously, they turned to Tiger Recruitment to provide the right solution.

The Solution

We quickly introduced a strong candidate who matched not only the immediate need for reception support but also had the potential to progress into more senior responsibilities. This hire proved highly successful, remaining with the business and advancing within the organisation, where they continue to be a valued member of the team today.

Since then, we have continued to partner with the client exclusively for administrative recruitment. Each receptionist placed has gone on to take on more senior responsibilities, creating a clear progression pathway within their team. Our approach of understanding the role requirements and providing high-calibre candidates has ensured a seamless recruitment process every time.

The Impact

The client notes that our service has consistently made them “look good” to their team and leadership, thanks to the calibre of candidates delivered. They value the efficiency of our consultants, the speed of response, and the assurance that submitted CVs always align closely with the job description.

By continuing to use our temp-to-perm offering, the client has been able to secure exceptional talent who not only meet their immediate requirements but also contribute to their longer-term growth.

Client Feedback

• “The calibre of people who come through is fantastic, I know I won’t be sent someone who isn’t right for the role.”
• “Tiger are really efficient, responsive, and always deliver quickly, even in emergencies.”

Looking Ahead

Our relationship with this client continues to strengthen, with introductions being made to other organisations through their professional networks. The trust built over years of successful placements has established Tiger Recruitment as their go-to partner for administrative roles.

Disclaimer: This case study is based on the experience of a real client. For confidentiality reasons, their identity has been withheld. If you would like to speak directly with one of our clients about their experience working with us, please contact us and we will be happy to arrange an introduction.

The post Case Study: How One Reception Hire Sparked a Long-Term Partnership appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

• Address: 6–8 Blandford Street (just off Marylebone High Street), London W1U 4AU
• Website: josephinebistro.com
• Opening: April 2025, by Michelin-starred chefs Claude & Lucy Bosi; the second Josephine after their Chelsea original

Josephine is a refined Parisian brasserie transported to Marylebone. It blends classic French bistro cooking, with roots in Lyon and inspiration from Paris, with a strong focus on British seafood. Expect dishes like steak tartare, moules mariniere, trout au beurre rouge, soufflé au Camembert, oysters, and langoustines. The wine menu is equally thoughtful, with Loire Valley and Bordeaux highlights and a stellar vintage Champagne selection

Founded by Claude & Lucy Bosi, whose Chelsea bistro became a hit, Josephine in Marylebone aims to evoke both warmth and refined Parisian brasserie culture. The interior, designed by Fabled Studio, features burgundy leather seating, antique mirrors, Impressionist-inspired art and soft lighting, creating a cosy yet stylish dining room, plus a dedicated oyster bar and a 16-seat terrace.

The Food & Drink

• Starters: Highlights include fresh, delicate mussels (moules marinières) and classic steak tartare. Both exemplary in authenticity, seasoning and freshness, especially for diners well-versed in French cuisine
• Wine & Bubbles: We enjoyed the house Champagne (a fine vintage-style highlight) and a beautiful Sancerre, which paired beautifully with our meal. The broader quality wine list, including Loire and Bordeaux selections, is overseen by a highly knowledgeable sommelier who enhanced our experience
• Typical mains and sharing dishes: Alongside the mussels and tartare, the a‑la‑carte menu features trout in red wine butter sauce, Dover sole meunière, and generous seafood platters (including fruits de mer). The lunch plat du jour is attractively priced (£16.50 on weekdays); weekend Menu Duval offers two courses for £24.50, three for £29.50

The Venue & Service

Set on a quiet corner off Marylebone High Street, the bistro offers multiple seating zones—from the main dining room and oyster bar to a private back room and a leafy terrace. The sommelier service is smart and unobtrusive, guiding wine choices with confidence. The ambience strikes a balance between relaxed daytime comfort and the potential for romantic evening charm.

Verdict

Our group, many of whom have spent extensive time in France, felt the food was extraordinarily authentic—some even called it the best French cuisine they’ve had outside of France.

The combination of fresh mussels, classic steak tartare,  house Champagne, and a fine Sancerre made for a memorable lunch. The wine list and sommelier stood out as a real asset.

Josephine is ideal for a business lunch or informal get‑together, yet with its tailored interiors and wine bar, it could just as easily transform into a romantic evening date‑night venue. We’ll definitely be returning!

The post In Review: Josephine Bistro, Marylebone appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Inclusive hiring has always been at the forefront of my mind throughout my career. Prior to becoming a recruiter, my interest stemmed from my own lived experience, from reflecting on inequalities during maternity leave and supporting my neurodivergent daughter to witnessing the wider impact of movements like Black Lives Matter. When I stepped up into a leadership role, my experiences evolved into responsibility, I now had an obligation to use my position to drive meaningful change.

I’ve worked with professionals across a number of industries but one area I’ve seen a consistent need for change is neurodiversity in hiring. For most employers, the confidence to act on their desire to change is often lacking. HR leaders have such a crucial role in closing this gap.

So what can HR leaders do to build confidence around Neurodiversity in Hiring?

Be vulnerable

A couple of years ago, I shared a LinkedIn post about neurodiversity in hiring, and by doing so I was unexpectedly inundated with messages from individuals who I had encouraged to share their own experiences. A senior candidate who had applied for a role I was advertising reached out to say the post had given them the courage to disclose their neurodivergence to the employer, which was something they hadn’t spoken about since she was in school. With reasonable adjustments made to the recruitment process they were able to display their suitability for the role and as a result, were offered the job. I saw the impact of simply being transparent and learnt how valuable it is to share your own experience, because it might encourage someone else to do the same.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions

Most employers are eager to support neurodiverse candidates, but often aren’t sure how. Some say the terminology is daunting, or are afraid they might say or do something to offend. Others just aren’t sure what accommodations might look like in practice and worry it might just cause confusion. Encouragingly, this is beginning to change. More businesses are educating employees on bias in job adverts and including positive action statements explicitly welcoming neurodiverse applicants. But it’s not just about what you say that will have the most impact, but how you act. HR leaders should feel empowered to ask questions, seek guidance and work together to create a process that works for everyone.

Challenge the status quo

A huge part of a recruiter’s role is constructively challenging hiring processes that inadvertently exclude talent. I recently supported a neurodivergent candidate who asked for the interview questions in advance. At first, the employer felt this might give her an unfair advantage, but I suggested the questions should be shared with all applicants. Although their resistance resulted in the candidate withdrawing from the process, the next time I partnered with them, they implemented this change from the outset. I worked with them to prepare the questions further in advance, to allow them to be distributed. As a result, the interviews were more structured and insightful, and the panel was better prepared.

Similarly, I worked with a leading non-profit to rework their recruitment process for a director of people role. Instead of submitting their CV, applicants were given the opportunity to answer three questions, in a written or spoken format. Candidates also experienced inclusive language, an adapted format and received job packs. They were given clear fixed timelines for each stage of the recruitment process and were provided with financial support for travel and additional childcare costs required to attend the interview. Most importantly, the interview process featured structured questions with clear criteria, levelling the playing field for each of the applicants. As a result, the successful candidate was neurodivergent and they have since played a pivotal role in applying the same changes across the organisation.

Consider the working environment

Candidates who successfully navigate an inclusive recruitment process, don’t necessarily thrive in the workplace. More often than not, employers place so much importance on the accommodations made during the interview that there’s not much support once they start their job. As a result, a new hire feels let down and may struggle to perform to the best of their ability. On a basic level, employers should consider the working environment, offer flexible working arrangements, provide clear onboarding documentation and regularly check in on what’s working and what isn’t.

Start Small

Businesses often fear making adjustments for candidates because they think it’s expensive and time-consuming. However, it’s possible to make simple changes to the recruitment process that cost nothing. Employers can create a psychologically safe environment by merely asking the question, “Are there any reasonable adjustments required?” This will make them more comfortable disclosing their neurodivergence, even if it’s at a later stage in the recruitment process. Other examples include providing interview questions in advance, offering extra time for tasks or providing clear, structured communication.

I’ve seen firsthand how transformative inclusive hiring can be, for both the candidate and employer. A candidate I worked with has since launched a neurodiversity committee at their organisation, another helped reshape an entire onboarding process. As HR leaders, we don’t need to have all the answers but we must be willing to listen and learn. As a result, we create workplaces where everyone has the opportunity to thrive, which is beneficial for all.

The post How HR Leaders Can Build Confidence Around Neurodiversity in Hiring appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

As we settle into Q3, there has been a clear shift in employer and jobseeker priorities. Permanent hiring has slowed and demand for temporary and fixed-term contract staff has remained consistent. Hybrid or flexible working arrangements are still a non-negotiable for many candidates, with working parents seeking greater flexibility around start and finish times.

Economic Overview

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reports that the number of payrolled employees decreased by 0.4% between May 2024 and May 2025. A dip of 0.1% in just one month between April and May this year has likely been influenced by a seasonal slowdown in industries such as hospitality, education and retail, where temporary roles end after financial year-end decisions.

Despite these short-term contractions, the employment rate for those aged 16-64 rose to 75.2% between March and May, a positive sign of growing labour market participation.

Our recruitment experts predict stability in Q3, although the Autumn Budget is contributing to uncertainty within the permanent market.

Demand Grows for True Flexibility

Jobseekers have shown hesitancy around career moves. For many, true flexibility, not just hybrid working, has become a non-negotiable. They want autonomy over what time they start and finish, and the ability to work from home or abroad.

Temporary and Contract Hiring Trends

Tiger Recruitment Consultants have noted that temporary interviews are now being treated with the same rigour as permanent hires.

• Increased workloads are being managed by contract staff to cover departures
• Maternity leave coverage is a key driver of contract hiring
• Smaller businesses are leaning towards fixed-term contract hires, while larger organisations continue to rely on temporary staff to meet immediate needs

Jobseeker Priorities

• Hybrid working remains a top priority
• Access to more flexible working hours (e.g. later starts/earlier finishes)
• A positive and inclusive company culture

ONS data paints a mixed picture, with some notable signs of resilience. Despite the dip in payrolled employees, the employment rate and wage growth point to resilience in a complex and shifting economic climate.

To download a copy of this recruitment market update, click here.

The post Tiger Recruitment’s Quarterly Market Update appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Whether you’re hiring for your business or private household, this article will help you make an informed, cost-effective decision. In this guide, we’ll break down:

• The typical PA salary bands
• The factors that influence PA costs, such as location, experience, and scope of duties
• What to include in a job description to attract the right talent

If you’re thinking about hiring a personal assistant (PA) to help streamline your work schedule and relieve you of daily tasks, you may be wondering how much it costs to hire a personal assistant in the UK?

To learn more about what a personal assistant is, read our guide.

Average Cost to Hire a Personal Assistant in the UK

Source: Tiger Recruitment 2025 Salary & Benefits Review.

Note: Salaries in London and other major cities may be higher due to living and travel costs.

If you’re looking to hire a personal assistant, we can connect you with outstanding candidates.

Key Factors That Influence Salary

1. Location

When it comes to hiring in major cities in the UK, this often equates to higher salary costs due to the increased costs of living and greater competition for top talent.

2. Experience Level

It’s not unusual that the more experience someone has, the higher their salary expectations. If you’re hiring a personal assistant with many years of experience for a demanding role, you should expect to pay a top salary.

A PA with more experience will likely hit the ground running without the need for much training. If you’re expecting more support outside of the 9-5, PA’s on a higher salaries will be more willing to work a surplus of hours.

3. Duties and Scope

If you’re looking to hire a PA responsible for tasks outside a PA’s usual scope, such as booking travel or running personal errands, you should expect to pay a higher salary. Ensure you include the expectations of your future PA in the job description, or learn about the different types of PAs to understand what to look for.

4. Full-Time, Part-Time, or Freelance

The cost of hiring a PA will also depend on the contract type. A full-time or part-time PA will expect benefits such as an annual leave allowance, pension payments, or parental support. These are all important investments if you’re looking to retain long-term staff. If you don’t need a full-time PA, freelance or virtual assistants are a lower-cost alternative.

“We often advise clients that the cost of hiring the right PA is an investment, not a cost,” says Cai Pike, an Associate Director at Tiger Recruitment. To hear directly from our consultants on the key factors that influence a PA salary, visit Instagram.

What Should You Include in a Job Profile?

When looking to hire a PA, it’s essential to ensure the job description fully outlines everything you’re looking for in a personal assistant. Read our complete guide on how to write a job description for a personal assistant.

Job title

Before choosing a job title, you need to understand whether you’re looking for a personal assistant, executive assistant, or private PA by learning the key differences.

Location

Your job description should clearly outline the location of the role, specifying whether it is in the office, hybrid, or remote. If there is an expectation to travel, it’s vital to disclose this at the earliest stage of the recruitment process.

Salary range

It’s beneficial to include a salary in the job description for both parties. This will ensure applications are more closely matched to your expectations, and there’s no time wasted if it’s not disclosed until later. If you’re unsure of the salary, a recruiter should be able to advise you, or you can refer to our latest Salary and Benefits Review for industry-specific averages.

Working hours

Working hours should be included in the job description as this will highlight whether the role is to be full-time, part-time, or flexible. Additionally, if candidates have additional commitments, such as children to care for, it’s important to disclose the hours of the day they’re expected to be online or in the office.

Duties

You should include the day-to-day duties required and everything they are expected to be involved in. This should be tailored to your specific needs, rather than a generic outline.

Required experience

Depending on the responsibilities and pace of the job, it’s normal to expect prior experience. The number of years of experience is dependent on how much training you’re prepared to offer. For example, if you’re looking for a highly proficient PA who will be ready to go from day one, ensure you list 10+ years of experience under requirements. In addition, make sure to list out specific areas they need to be experienced in e.g. travel, administration or diary management.

Benefits

It’s important to include the benefits that come with the role. This could include bonuses, pension and training opportunities. Sometimes, top applicants will compromise on salary if there are additional bonuses that they value more.

Looking to Hire a PA?

Tiger Recruitment offers tailored solutions to help you hire a personal assistant for business or your private household.

“Tiger Recruitment helped us find a highly experienced EA for our executive team. The process was efficient, consultative, and tailored to our business needs. We were impressed by the quality of candidates and the speed of delivery.” – Global Investment Firm (London)

The post How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Personal Assistant in the UK? A Complete Employer’s Guide appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Every interviewer will have their own personal preference for different interview styles. Each interview format will require a slightly different approach on your part as the interviewee. Take note of the tips below and you won’t go wrong!

1. The phone interview

Phone interviews can take on a number of different guises. From a 5-minute screening chat to 1-hour thorough conversations, each can play a crucial role in whether or not you’re successful in being invited to the next stage. Key points to consider are fairly obvious… but important! Ensure you’re located in a quiet spot where you’re unlikely to be interrupted, have strong phone signal and a fully charged phone.

2. The video conference call

Video calls are a very common interview format now. Make sure you’re in a well-lit and quiet location, are connected to Wi-Fi, and have a Plan B if technology fails you! The Plan B could be a phone call, FaceTime or Skype audio. If you’re not prepared, a poor experience of cutting in and out may significantly and negatively impact the experience.

3. The lunch interview

If you’re lucky enough to be taken for lunch on your interview, please don’t forget your manners. That means being polite to the wait staff, holding your cutlery properly and probably not ordering the spaghetti. Remember what mum used to tell you about elbows on the table? This is THE moment when it matters.

4. The panel interview

Panel interviews can be the most daunting kinds of interviews, essentially because you’re facing a firing squad aiming questions at you left, right and centre. In these scenarios, remain calm, acknowledge all of your interviewees when you speak, and maintain open body language.

5. The group interview

In a group interview, you’ll typically be asked to complete a task or solve a problem as a team. In these sorts of scenarios, you’ll need to impress in some small way. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to lead the group, but you will need to think about how you might demonstrate value in a team scenario.

6. The team interview

Meeting the team is a great way for both parties to assess cultural fit. It also generally means you’ve impressed the key decision maker, which is good. Woo the team with your personality and charm, and you’re sure to succeed.

7. The test interview

The test could take the form of presenting to a group, or it might just mean being assessed of your Microsoft office skills. Either way, these must be skills that the employer considers crucial to the role at hand. If there is an opportunity to prepare properly, take the time to do so rather than cramming and leaving it down to the wire. Get plenty of sleep the night before, and try meditation techniques for keeping any anxiety at bay.

8. The recruitment agency interview

A positive meeting or registration with a recruitment agency is essential if you’d like that agency to represent you and put you forward for roles. Be proactive and ask for feedback at the end of the interview. Then take it on board!

9. The puzzle interview

The likes of Google, Apple and other highly sought-after brands have been known to weave in puzzle questions into their interviews. An example might be: “If you’re in a small room with nothing but a bar of soap and feather, how do you get out?” Weird questions are not uncommon and can often work well to illustrate your thought process. Embrace them!

10. The traditional interview

And finally, the traditional interview. This is likely to be set in a meeting room with one or two interviewers who ask you a series of questions designed to reveal your suitability for the role at hand.

Looking for a role? Apply for a new job or submit your details with us today.

The post How to excel at ten different types of interviews appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

How do I get a temporary summer job?

As an undergraduate or recent graduate with three long summer months at your disposal, it may be tempting to pack your life into a backpack and take off, exploring your European backyard. However, this period is also a perfect time to bulk up your CV and gain valuable work experience. Could a summer temp job be in your immediate future?

Should you be considering a temporary job in London over the summer, you’ll need to start thinking about it now, as most companies will look to fill contract roles before June comes around. Here are some steps to take to give you the best chance of success.

1.Prepare your CV

There’s no point searching for a temporary summer job without a spot-on CV. As one of the most important tools in your job hunt, your CV is your chance to make a fantastic first impression, showcasing just how your skills and experience could assist a business. Make sure it’s up to date, has all relevant work experience and education, as well as anything else you think would be of interest to an employer.  Don’t forget to explain what you’re looking for and include your interests and achievements! These little details could be the differentiator between a hiring manager choosing to interview you and not someone else.

2. Register with a job agency

Recruitment agencies like Tiger often have three-month contracts over the summer in a variety of industries. In our case, submit your details to our database first before applying for jobs directly. A consultant will then follow up with a face-to-face registration if your experience is suited to their clients. Once registered, make sure you stay in regular contact and reply to any potential roles in a timely manner – the nature of temp work means roles move quickly!

3. Conduct research

Once you’ve registered with a recruiter, it could be worth looking into the businesses that are likely to advertise for summer temp jobs. A simple search on Google will reveal who has hired temporary employees in the past, as well as who has current openings. This can guide your applications, as well as demonstrate the scope of roles available to you. It’s also worth calling a range of businesses that work in the industry you want to work in to see if they need assistance over the summer.

4. Open up your network

You never know where a conversation could take you! Start focusing your efforts on meeting as many people as possible, attending university or industry events and connecting with professionals on LinkedIn. It’s also worth using your existing network – do your friends and family know of any positions going? At the very least, making a concerted effort to talk to others about your job search could result in helpful advice, if not your dream role!

The post Temporary summer jobs in London appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

The introduction of AI to our lives has disrupted the way we all work, whether that’s positive or negative depends on who you ask, but when it comes to job applications, we advise steering away from the temptation of using it.

As AI becomes more accessible, professionals are resorting to using it in many areas of their jobs. AI tools like ChatGPT have over 5.19 billion visits a month, whilst sitting at number 5 of the most visited sites in April 2025.

Although there is an argument that AI streamlines the work we are doing day-to-day, it should be avoided in your job search. David Morel, Tiger’s CEO reports that he’s seen “a significant increase in employers pushing back on applicants who submit CVs generated by AI”. Simply speaking, by using AI in your job search, you’re putting yourself at a huge disadvantage behind those who don’t.

We see this all the time with candidates at all levels of seniority, and they wonder how something so useful can place you at a disadvantage. There are several reasons why this is the case.

1. AI doesn’t know you

It’s important to keep in mind that AI doesn’t know you. It doesn’t understand your work experience, motivations for applying for a role, and what makes you tick. You can feed the tool your CV and give it the information about a role you’re applying for. But we all know a CV merely touches the surface of the achievements you’ve had over your working life.

When it comes to placing someone in a new role, companies, of course, look for experience and knowledge, but they also place importance on value alignment.  An AI-generated CV isn’t something that can demonstrate your personality and how you’d fit within a team. Hiring managers want to understand who you are, not just what you’ve done.

2. AI doesn’t replace human touch

We’ve all seen those LinkedIn posts outlining how to spot AI-generated content, with a particular spotlight on the “em dash”, but what many people don’t realise is that there is so much more that gives away that a CV has been created using AI. It loses a human touch and authenticity; it’s almost crafted too perfectly and robotically. That doesn’t mean to say you should generate an AI CV and add a few mistakes to make it seem like you’ve created it. It’s more about losing the robotic tone.

3. Don’t even think about using it for interviews

The issue with using AI for interviews is that you’re going to end up with answers the same as any other candidate in the process, which isn’t going to do much for you when you’re trying to stand out. Moreover, when you’re asked skill-based interview questions, which are incredibly common in an interview, AI doesn’t understand your experience or know every example of where you have shown a certain skill. Only you can give a genuine answer about your experience.

Thinking of using AI to feed your answers during a live interview? Don’t do it. Interviewers can tell, and it instantly raises red flags. Your preparation ahead of the interview should give you enough confidence to go into the room and show the value you’d bring to a team. However, if you’re presented with a question that you’re unsure of how to answer, you can always ask for it to be rephrased in another way or explain that it’s a knowledge gap, but you’re eager to learn more.

Employers don’t want perfection when it comes to interviews, which is what AI has led us to believe. But the truth is, not many of us can keep that level of perfection up. Hiring managers want to see someone who’s passionate and eager to learn. Giving robotic answers that are fed to you during an interview isn’t going to match that brief.

4. What can AI help me with?

If you’re looking to use AI, you can explore software that offers speech feedback, which will analyse your tone and speaking voice to make sure what you’re saying is coming across as you planned. However, no analytical tool can prepare you for the natural pivots that happen in an interview, so it’s important to be mindful that this will only help you to a certain extent.

Taking all these points into consideration, it’s important to remember the value you can bring to a role and understand this isn’t something that can be described for you. If you’re struggling to convey this yourself, reach out to a recruitment agency that can support you and help you put your best foot forward.

AI can be a valuable tool at times, but your personality, potential and passion are what truly set you apart in job applications.

Explore our latest roles or submit your CV today.

The post Why AI Won’t Get You Job Interviews appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

June is Pride Month, which is much more than the flags and parades. It serves as a timely reminder to identify employers that truly champion diversity during your job search. As Kate Headford, Head of the HR division at Tiger, says, “inclusive employers will create space for you to thrive as your full, authentic self”.

Your LinkedIn feed is most likely flooded with pages posting facts, diversity figures or reports about Pride Month, but how do you spot a truly inclusive employer behind these statements?

1. From the job description

A lot of the time, the first time you’re introduced to a company is through a job description. This is a good opportunity to get a real feeling about how they portray themselves.  If you read between the lines, you can tell a lot about what a company believes. HR Magazine reports that 84% of jobseekers in the UK say they judge a company on its recruitment process.

Take note of the language they use, is it inclusive? Are they using language like “seasoned” or “native English speaker” instead of focusing on skills and qualifications?

2. Representation at all levels

One of the great things about social media is the ability to find plenty of information about your potential future employer. Use this to your advantage and search LinkedIn or look at the team page on their website to learn about the company background. Who is leading teams, who is at the top and who is in decision-making roles? Is there gender diversity in their leadership? If you see patterns with who has the ‘power’, this could be a clear indication of a company’s position towards diversity, not everyone practices what they preach.

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is not just a set of values that a company can differentiate itself with, they are expectations. Good employers shouldn’t just welcome differences, they should cultivate workplaces that allow people to thrive because of them.

3. Transparency

Transparency is key when evaluating employers that claim to celebrate diversity. Look for companies that openly share their diversity policies or publish clear statements detailing the actions they’re taking to promote inclusion and how they plan on doing this. It’s not just about what they say, it’s about what they do. This is the perfect moment to bring all your research together. You’ve identified their policies; now ask yourself, are these values reflected at every level of the organisation? Do their communications reinforce their commitment to diversity?

Moreover, look at employers who don’t claim to be doing everything right, but they’re on a journey to do better.

4. Benefits and support

Benefit packages give an insight into what businesses value. If you’re looking for a diverse employer, you want to be looking beyond a free fruit basket or pizza every Thursday. Do they offer reasonable adjustments for employees with disabilities or other needs? What is their shared parental leave policy? This can be a useful insight into the policies companies value.

If you’re struggling to find what you need to decide if an employer is truly inclusive, you can also ask questions during an interview, which will give you a better understanding of the company’s approach to DEI.

• “How does the company support diverse communities, including LGBTQ+ employees?”
• “Can you tell me about any DEI initiatives the business is currently involved in?”
• “How is inclusion measured?”

Whether you’re searching for a company that aligns with your values or seeking support in navigating inclusive employers, our consultants can help.

Ready to take the next step in your job search? Submit your CV or browse job opportunities.

The post Championing Diversity: How to Identify Truly Inclusive Employers appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

The Benefits of Temp Work

In today’s fast-moving job market, more professionals, at all levels of seniority, are turning to temporary work.

There are many reasons why a professional may choose to do temp work. Some may have been made redundant, others may fit temp work around another commitment, such as a creative pursuit or parenthood, or to gain the relevant experience. Temporary work can range in length – some temp placements can be for a day; others can be for several months.

Could temping be for you? With plenty of benefits, it could just be the perfect career path.

It presents a challenge

Temporary assignments can be extremely challenging as you will need to pick up processes, procedures and policies very quickly. You will likely be required to cover a workload for a member of staff who is out of the office, so there’s a chance there won’t even be a handover. For this reason, you’ll need to be able to pick up tasks with little to no direction, using your common sense and initiative to figure tasks out.

Experience

Working as a temp will allow you to develop your skillset and gain fantastic experience, which you can then add to your CV. A broad CV that displays several skills is very appealing to employers and may well get you the job over another applicant.

Remember to regularly update your CV whilst temping, making a note of key achievements within a role. Think about what will be appealing to those reviewing your CV and try to sell yourself.

Temporary work works extremely well for those straight out of education, as it allows you to ‘try before you buy’, while building up essential experience that will bode well when you eventually decide to pursue permanent work.

Flexible working

The flexibility of temp work is what makes it appealing to so many people.  If you communicate your availability to your consultant, the temporary working world is your oyster.

As temporary working assignments can vary in length, you can choose exactly how long you’d like to work for, making your work life work for you.

Confidence boost

Starting a new job can be daunting, whether it is temporary or permanent. Taking those first steps into work is nerve-wracking. However, taking on temporary work placements means you’ll be required to do this regularly, which will increase your confidence immensely. You will build your people’s skills each time you step foot in a new office and find new ways to strike up a conversation or get to know your colleagues. Building your confidence will also help you when it comes to interviewing elsewhere for new roles.

Networking opportunities

Often, when job seekers first move to an area, they can walk straight into a great temporary job and gain experience and income quickly. Moving to a new area can be difficult, and the idea of leaving friends and family behind is a scary thought. By working as a temp, you will be meeting new people regularly. You will be constantly building new relationships and making great friends!

Paid holiday

Did you know that temporary workers also have the right to claim holiday pay? The Agency Workers’ Regulations, introduced in 2010, state that all temporary workers should receive a minimum of 28 days’ holidays a year, pro rata against the hours they’ve worked. Holiday pay is accrued at 12.07% of your gross pay. When temping through Tiger, you remain on our payroll, so your holiday pay accrues across all placements. You can usually get this paid out should you not want to use it. If you have any questions about holiday pay as a temp, feel free to get in touch with the temp team.

Opportunity

Temporary work could be that all-important foot in the door with employers. They could ask you to come back each time to cover an absence. Not only this, but temporary work could lead to a permanent position within the company. Your employer may see great potential in you and will not want to let you go. We see a high instance of candidates starting in a temporary role and going permanent. Think of every temp job as an interview and initial introduction to a company.
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If you’re looking for temp work, submit your CV today.

The post The Benefits of Temp Work appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

While awareness of neurodivergence in the workplace is growing, there’s still a long way to go in closing the employment gap. According to gov.uk, less than a third (31%) of autistic adults in the UK are in employment, compared to 75% of the general population.

As Associate Director at Tiger Recruitment with nearly 20 years of experience in the industry, inclusive recruitment has always been a passion of mine. Since moving into a leadership role, I feel an even greater responsibility to drive change.

Hiring managers are happy to offer reasonable adjustments when candidates ask for them, from their point of view, they feel they’re being supportive. What many don’t realise is that applicants may not feel confident enough to disclose their neurodivergence. As a result, they may turn down opportunities due to a lack of support during the hiring process, often seen as a sign they won’t be supported in the role itself.

One of the most common reasons I hear employers give for not adapting their hiring or onboarding process is a lack of time or budget. However, there are several small changes businesses can make that can have a significant impact on neurodivergent candidates:

1. Normalise disclosure

Even if candidates aren’t ready to disclose their neurodivergence, asking about adjustments early on helps create a sense of safety and inclusion.

2. Share interview questions in advance

Individuals with ADHD or autism often benefit from having extra time to process information. Sharing interview questions in advance gives candidates the opportunity to consider their responses carefully. My clients who have actioned this felt more prepared, and the quality of candidate answers were so much better. It’s a win-win!

3. Be clear about timelines

Some organisations offer financial support for travel or childcare to help candidates attend in-person interviews. For those unable to offer such benefits, clearly communicating the interview date, time, and location at an early stage can be just as helpful. With enough notice, candidates can make the necessary arrangements and are less likely to drop out due to disruption.

4. Provide a clear onboarding plan

New environments can be particularly challenging for neurodivergent individuals. A detailed onboarding plan outlines what to expect, helping to reduce stress and give them a sense of control. A written plan is especially useful, allowing them to revisit the information and process it at their own pace.

It’s essential that inclusive recruitment policies are embedded throughout the organisation, not just used as an attraction tool. This lays the groundwork for long-term retention and success for neurodivergent hires. If you’d like advice on inclusive hiring, onboarding, or workplace adjustments, I’d love to speak to you!

The post Small Adjustments, Big Impact: What Inclusive Recruitment Really Looks Like appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

The search for a job in London can be a full time job in itself. However, there are ways to make the process easier, including registering with a recruitment agency. Employment agencies in London specialise in placing candidates in roles across a range of industries and can help you secure your next dream role.

Choosing an agency

Firstly, you need to think about your needs. What job are you looking for? What industry do you want to go into? You can get generalist and specialist agencies, so if you know exactly what you want to do – you want to be a PA, for example – look for an agency that specialises in administrative and PA recruitment. If you have no idea what route you want to go down, look for a generalist agency who will have a number of different roles that might be suitable. Have a look on the agency job pages on their website to see the roles they have advertised to help you decide which might be most suitable. You might have certain employers you want to work for; perhaps you could find out who does their recruiting and get in touch with them.

It’s always good to ask friends and colleagues if they have any recommendations too. Tiger offers a £250 reward for any successful referrals for permanent positions and other agencies can offer similar, so it works in your friends’ benefit.

How do you register with job agencies?

The process of registering with a job agency in London will vary from agency to agency, but usually you will submit an initial enquiry online. You may then be invited to meet with a recruitment consultant for an interview. During this meeting you will have the chance to talk about your CV and career goals. It’s not only skills and experience that make an impression;, this is also an opportunity for your consultant to get a sense of your personality and what roles and company cultures may suit you best.

Don’t be afraid to register with a few job recruitment agencies in London or elsewhere. By placing your CV in front of as many job agencies as possible, you’ll increase your chances!

Finding the perfect role

Once you’re registered with a London job agency, you’ll be considered for jobs that fit your skills and preferences. It’s not uncommon for London employment agencies to ask you to complete skills testing – these online tests will assess relevant skills such as your touch-typing speed and Microsoft Office proficiency.

Should your consultant wish to put you forward for a role, they will check with you to ensure you wish to be considered for the position. Generally a shortlist of candidates is shared with the company seeking to hire, and they will make the decision to invite a selection of people to interview.

The perks of using a recruitment agency in your job hunt

Your consultant will support you in every stage of your job hunt. The collaborative nature of securing work through a job agency will save you time and may also expand your professional horizons as you could be considered for roles you wouldn’t have otherwise heard about.

Many job agencies also offer interview training, CV advice and professional development opportunities to candidates, all at no cost.

Some London recruitment agencies offer assistance with securing temp roles as well as permanent contracts. Temping in London can be a great way of gaining confidence and experience, making ends meet while hunting for a permanent role, or working flexibly alongside other commitments. There are both specialist temp recruitment agencies in London, as well as industry-specific agencies in London that cover both temporary and permanent placements.

The post What can a recruitment agency do for jobseekers? appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

When you interview for a role that you really want, you simply can’t afford to bring anything less than your A-game to the meeting. I’m sure that you will have read the job description carefully, picked your lucky outfit, and prepared your answers to their prospective questions. For some, that may be enough. But just in case, keep these tricks up your sleeve and you’ll be able to successfully convince the interviewer that you’re the right person for the job!

1. They want to bring on board someone that they like… so be nice

This is a really easy one and while it might seem simple, it works! Maintain positive body language throughout, keep smiling and ask questions where relevant. We also recommend telling little personal anecdotes to give them a window into your personality.

2. Do your research

People like to talk about themselves and the things that interest them, so you’re more likely to endear yourself to interviewers if you ask about topics they want to talk about. Have a look for your interviewers on social media. LinkedIn and Twitter are the best channels for a good snoop into their history and areas of interest. It’s ok if they know you’ve done your research on them: you could even make a bit of a joke of it.

3. Ask probing questions

We think that the best interviews are two-way conversations – don’t wait until the end of the meeting to ask questions. It’s more interesting for both parties if you answer one of their questions by rounding it off with a query back to them. Similarly, at the beginning and end of the interview you might find yourself in a position to make small talk. Feel comfortable asking about their weekends, about the office space or how they get into work.

4. Show confidence with body language

Your body language tells its own story to the interviewer, regardless of the words coming out of your mouth. From the very first moment that you enter their line of sight, try and maintain strong body language. It will speak volumes about your confidence and sets you up to impress. Stay standing while you wait to greet your interviewer; maintain strong eye contact throughout the meeting; and refrain from fidgeting your feet and hands. Some of our Candidates find that a power pose before an interview can really help as well. If you arrive early enough, take five minutes to do this in the bathroom ahead of the meeting. Stand, with your feet shoulder width apart and your hands on your hips. Look straight ahead and hold the stance for at least two minutes while breathing deeply. You’ll be amazed at the confidence kick it gives you.

5. Be totally engaged

In an interview scenario, it’s not uncommon to focus on what you’ve just said or what you’re about to say. Many Candidates struggle to simply be present in the conversation. It’s a big mistake not to engage completely with your interviewer. When they speak, focus on what they’re saying and respond accordingly. If they tell a joke, laugh. If they’re speaking on a more serious note, respond accordingly. This will leave them feeling like you’re truly enthused about the job at hand.

If you think you need a bit of extra help with your interview technique, why not try an online training course? You can also apply for available roles.

The post Five ways to outsmart your interviewer appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Your CV is essentially a written advertisement for yourself. This is the first piece of documentation that the employer and recruiter will receive, so you will need to sell yourself and make sure all crucial information is clearly listed. Make your first impression count!

Ensure your CV follows a clear layout

Start your CV with the essentials: your contact details and name. This is so very important, as you need to be contactable by recruiters. Make your name, telephone number and email address stand out at the top of the page.

Aim for a simple design – something too complicated can put people off. Use a clear font, simple headings and don’t include a photo.

Try to keep your CV to a maximum of two pages – the hiring manager will usually be very time-poor so won’t have time to review anything longer. Remember to proofread any document you send it to recruiters and employers. Look for any spelling and grammatical errors and if your CV includes bullet points, ensure they are all the same and follow suit.

Avoid the irrelevant

Be realistic when writing your CV. Keep all information relevant. If you are applying for a particular role, tailor your CV to suit the job spec. If you have covered elements in another role which may fit the position that you are applying for, make sure you mention this. By adapting your CV to match the job spec, you will be far more appealing than a candidate who may not have the experience required. When writing your CV, make sure you are always thinking about what you are writing. Avoid the obvious and ensure you do not waffle on. Try to bullet point your key responsibilities in your previous roles to stay succinct.

Mind the gap

You will need to explain any gaps in your employment history. An unexplained gap is usually a red flag and your recruiter will definitely ask you about it, as they will need to explain it to your potential employer. It doesn’t matter what your break was for – travelling, maternity/paternity or just a career break – being clear is much better than being vague.

You should also make reasons for leaving jobs clear – it could be that you felt that you were no longer busy and felt you needed a new challenge, or it may be that you were made redundant. Reasons such as these are not negatives and your consultant will appreciate your honesty.

Never, ever lie on your CV

It is common that candidates tell a fib or two on their CV. This may be in the hobbies and interests section, where it mentions that they enjoy team sports and cooking. However, others have made the mistake in lying about qualifications, salaries and achievements. Employers do carry out background checks on their candidates and if they find something that doesn’t match up, it can lead in a retracting of an offer at a later stage. The consequences are never positive, so it’s essential to make sure your CV is a true and honest representation of your experience.

Limit job-hopping

Millennials have thrown away the idea of company loyalty – most will only stick around for two years before looking elsewhere. [1] So, while having a variety of roles has become more common, there is a point where employers will start to question why your stints have been so short. There is an expectation that, unless there is a valid reason, you will remain in every permanent role for a year – if you only stay in a job for a few months, it will make you appear unreliable to your recruitment agency and employers.

One way to do this is to really think about the job before you accept an offer. Think about any reservations that you may have and why you may have such reservations. Your consultant is there to answer any questions you may have if you would prefer to avoid asking the employer directly.

You may be leaving a job due to boredom; your skills are not being utilised and the role is not busy enough for you. Before throwing in the towel, think about what you could do to help matters. Speak to your employer and explain how you are feeling. They may be able to help and give you more responsibility, making your current job more exciting and essentially will make you stay in the role for longer. The longer you stay in a position, the more reliable and loyal you will appear. If you have a hoppy CV, where you jump from roles without a second thought, it may appear that you lack engagement and struggle to get on with colleagues.

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For more advice on CV writing, check out our Insights page. Once your CV is ready for the job hunt, get in touch with the Tiger team, or check out our job listings.

1. https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/millennialsurvey.html

The post How to make your CV and experience stronger appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

As an office manager, moving offices can be one of the most time-consuming and stressful experiences in your career, as balancing day-to-day operations with searches and viewings can take their toll. We’ve compiled a checklist to help make relocating into a serviced office as simple and stress-free as possible, so you can enjoy the positives of moving office[1].

Do your homework

Although you may want to find a new office in a hurry, taking the time to work out exactly what you want to gain from your new office is vital! Weigh up your business needs such as location, budget, size and quality. Many organisations looking for a new space change their requirements within weeks of their first search. This is usually because they weren’t clear on their parameters to begin with.

FreeOfficeFinder, an online office broker, has developed a new pricing tool for serviced offices[2]. The tool is updated regularly, and allows users to filter individual office requirements like team size and budget. This allows office managers in London to plan their office search and calculate rental prices easily. The tool is regularly updated and allows users to filter individual office requirements like team size and budget, so office managers can plan their office search and calculate rental prices easily.

Location, location, location

Knowing the right location for your business[3] remains one of the most important factors when searching for a new office. Can employees and clients commute to the new office easily? Make sure you consult your colleagues during your search process, through a feedback survey or meetings. This way, you can ensure your new office will be a good move for everyone. The FreeOfficeFinder tool also features an interactive map, allowing users to discover and compare nearby locations available for your office move.

Room to grow

For any company to succeed in today’s world, the ability to adapt and grow is crucial. Whilst you may only look for a space to accommodate your current team, it’s equally important to look to the future plans of the business. Having the flexibility to downscale or expand your office during your contract is a valuable advantage. The last thing you want is to be unable to expand your business because your office space will not allow it. Serviced offices allow businesses to rent work space on a rolling licence agreement, giving you room to grow. You can’t predict the future, but considering any changes your business may face is key to thriving in your new office.

If you have office move experience, Tiger Recruitment may be able to assist you with finding a fantastic permanent or temporary office manager job! Apply for jobs here or submit your details online today!

[1] http://aspectinteriors.com.au/benefits-of-office-relocation/

[2] https://www.freeofficefinder.com/pricing-tool

[3] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/81406

The post Office managers in London, here are three tips for moving into a serviced office appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

So you’re nearly at the end of writing your CV, covering your personal statement, previous positions and education. But have you included your interests and achievements? This often neglected element can be the section that puts you ahead of the competition, showing employers a little more about you.

This is almost the hardest part of your CV to write. Your education and work history are already set out for you, but now you have to be creative and use your imagination to paint a picture of the real you. Your CV is likely to be read by people who will have no other insight into your personality, other than what is on the piece of paper in front of them. They will be reading hundreds of CVs for a particular role, and so you need to make sure you stand out from the rest by giving them something to remember you by, to prove that you are an interesting person and character, and somebody they want to meet.

Try and think of things that you’ve done that will suggest to an employer that you’re able to fit into different environments and get on with other people. Perhaps you’ve completed your Duke of Edinburgh Award or taken part in an expedition on your gap year, which will convey that you’re up for a challenge and determined. If you’ve done a flower arranging course, enjoy photography, or do salsa classes every weekend, they’ll want to see that too. Jobs may require someone with certain traits, so match these to your achievements and make it attractive. For example, perhaps they want a PA who will use their initiative, be proactive and develop within the role.

It’s also important to consider how you write your interests and achievements. Writing ‘Head of debating society’ is not as attention-grabbing as ‘Whilst running the university debating society, I organised debates with other university teams and arranged social events for the society members’. If you play a musical instrument don’t just say ‘I play the piano’; make it sound more exciting by saying ‘keen jazz pianist’. But don’t lie! If you say you love going to the theatre and you get to the interview, you’ll be stumped if they ask you what the last play you saw was and what you thought about it.

Of course, there will be some employers who don’t value extra-curricular activities as much as others, and who will be focusing predominantly on your experience. If a recruitment agency is putting you forward for a role, then utilise their expertise and knowledge of the company by asking them for advice – they will know what kind of person the company are looking for.

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Read more about the importance of creating a great CV here, here and here.

The post Why You Should Include Interests & Achievements on your CV appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

From panels to Skype or Facetime calls, Google hangouts to coffee shop meetings, there are many different ways to be interviewed. You should be prepared for them all as part of your job search. Phone interviews, especially, are very common, not least because they’re a practical way for recruiters to screen candidates ahead of a comprehensive meeting.

That being said, a phone interview has the potential to last just as long as a face-to-face meeting – if not longer – so it definitely pays to be prepared if you have a scheduled call in the diary. In shorter phone calls, the hiring manager or recruiter may just be looking for an articulate manner and confidence, but in the event of a longer phone call you’ll likely need to elaborate on your professional experience and achievements.

Do your prep

Set aside quiet time for your interview and be sure that you won’t be interrupted. Treat it as you would a meeting, and ensure there’s no background noise such as radio, TV or children. The other potential annoyance could be a fading battery so charge up before you answer the call. Sit down five minutes beforehand with your printed CV and any other necessary paperwork you might need. It’s best to be relaxed, not flustered, when you answer the phone. If you have one, consider wearing a headset – it will make note-taking easier.

In all other aspects, the phone interview should be treated as you would any other interview. Complete your research ahead of time: Review the business online, Google your interviewer and look out for any latest news items where the business might have appeared in the press. Be prepared to ask intelligent questions about the future of the company and what your role might look like within it.

One thing to know is that a phone interview is likely to feel less spontaneous than a face-to-face meeting. The interviewer will probably have a script they want to follow and are needing to tick off the boxes. While you might feel rushed at times, it’s possible they’re getting the answers they need so just go with their flow.

Obviously, it can be difficult to gauge body language on a phone call, so it does make it a little harder to judge how happy they are with your responses. The way to get around this is to try and help them out along the way. For example, if they ask you to summarise your career, before you progress to responding ask them to stop you at any point that they have questions or would like you to expand your point. Similarly, once you’ve finished answering, clarify you’ve covered everything that they were looking for before continuing.

Let your personality shine through

Have you ever noticed you can hear a smile on the phone? Strange as it sounds, answer the phone with a smile and with confidence. It’s a first impression that will stand you in good stead down the track. Similarly, maintain a consistent level of enthusiasm throughout the interview as this will be the most effective means to project your personality.

Try not to get too flustered, and if you need more time at any point, it’s totally fine to simply state, ‘let me think about that for a second’. Once you’ve come to the end of the call and all your questions are answered, thank them for taking the time to talk to you about the opportunity and reiterate your interest in the role. If you have their contact details to hand, send a quick note of thanks by email too.

Want to talk to Tiger about your next big career step? Get in touch today!

The post How to impress in a phone interview appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

If you’re reading this, you’ve most likely handed in your resignation, or you’re planning to soon. If that’s the case, you’ll be expecting a meeting with HR for your exit interview.

Volunteering your general feedback about your employer can sometimes be an uncomfortable experience, so we’ve provided eight do’s and don’ts for exit interviews to help you prepare.

What to do in your exit interview

Do: Prepare like you would for any interview

Treat this interview as you would any other and prepare accordingly beforehand. Google some exit interview questions that are typically asked and practise answering them. Regardless of why you’ve chosen to leave, it’s important to provide thoughtful answers that will help the company improve in the future.

Do: Act professionally

You should remain professional right through to the very end. It will keep the door open for potential opportunities in the future and won’t diminish your chances of receiving a positive employer reference.

Do: Discuss the positives

Try to highlight the positive aspects of the role you’re leaving, even if it’s been the worst job you’ve ever had. It can be anything from the benefits package to the office facilities. This will help to balance out any negative points that may become apparent during the course of the conversation. It also displays a high level of professionalism and awareness on your part.

Do: Exit on good terms

When all is said and done, the aim is to leave the interview room on good terms. Make it clear that you are thankful for every opportunity the company has provided. Even if there is some resentment on your part, it’s better to leave on a positive note and have a clean slate for your new job.

What not to do in your exit interview

Don’t: Vent with no constructive feedback

Your exit interview is not the time to discuss petty grievances with your colleagues. Avoid discussing colleagues unless you’re specifically asked to do so. If it does come up, stay clear of slander and only provide reasonable examples that support a valid argument. You can discuss your ‘suggested areas of improvement’ for the company, but it’s important to remain tactful in your approach.

Don’t: Brag about your new role

Your interviewer will probably ask about your reasons for leaving. While you may be jubilant about leaving, it’s important to avoid boasting as it’ll come across as discourteous. Just keep it short and to the point. For example, if you’re excited that this move is a step up in your career (with a considerable salary increase), you could mention that the new position gives you more responsibility than your existing one.

Don’t: Raise issues that the company cannot address

Any good employer will be looking to improve the workplace using your feedback. As such, you’ll want to refrain from expressing sweeping statements with no rational explanation. They’re not actionable and don’t give off the best impression of you. While preparing for your interview, try to come up with suggestions for how certain situations could be improved in the future.

Don’t: Be unresponsive

You’re probably familiar with the term, “if you have nothing good to say, don’t say it at all”? While this may be great advice in general, don’t apply it to your exit interview. Being unreasonably tight-lipped could be viewed as patronising and won’t help the process. The interviewer will respect your honesty as long as you keep it relevant to the exit interview questions being asked. If you’re looking for a job, we continue to update our live job listings daily. Make sure to also check out our insights page for helpful resources to help navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.

Author bio: This article was written by Check-a-Salary^[1] . Check-a-Salary provides insight on earnings collated across multiple sources for every position in the UK.

^[1] www.checkasalary.co.uk

The post Eight dos and don’ts for your next exit interview appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Perhaps you’ve recently relocated. Perhaps you’ve been with your business for a little too long. Perhaps you just need a new challenge. Whatever the reason, you know in your heart of hearts that it’s probably time to look for a new job. Making the decision to move is a big step in itself, but what next? How do you create interview opportunities? Where do you look to find out about those roles that aren’t advertised? And most significantly, what do you want?

Taking the next career step isn’t always easy. So, to help you find those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, we’ve compiled our top ten tips which will hopefully guide you towards your dream role.

1. Research

For a complete overview on your chosen sector, we can’t stress enough the importance of completing your research. Take the time to find out what you want, who you want to work for and why.

2. Self-assess and determine your USP (unique selling proposition)

Use this time to assess where you’ve been, and where you want to go. Why would someone want to employ you, and how can you demonstrate those assets in the job application process? It helps to rehearse your own perfect elevator pitch. When you can confidently exhibit your abilities and desirability, you’ll do a far better job convincing other people of them.

3. Money

If this is the job of your dreams, you may need to compromise and think seriously about what you’d consider as a minimum pay check. Find out what your market worth is and how you might compare to other competing candidates.

4. Social media

Get your social media profiles on track. Ensure all those freshers’ week Facebook photos are set to private or, better, deleted altogether.

5. CV

Spend time on your CV and your cover letter, and don’t leave it to the last minute before writing it! Again, research, craft it properly, and have it proof-read by someone who’ll give you honest feedback.

6. Network

They say success comes knowing the right people but we think you make your own luck. It’s down to you to create your own achievements! That said, it certainly doesn’t hurt to put yourself in situations where you’re more likely to meet people who can give you solid advice – or introduce you to those who can.

7. Be committed (and persistent)

This is the job of your dreams we’re talking about! Don’t be put off by rejection. Try and try again. And try again.

8. Be creative

There are lots of ways you can stand out from the crowd. It doesn’t hurt to try something a little different, providing that you think the business might be receptive to it.

9. Upskill

You might be lucky enough to already have what it takes. But if you’re not, plan your path accordingly to becoming the ideal candidate. This might involve upskilling, re-training or volunteering – speak to those in the know to find out more.

10. Work with your recruiter

A good recruiter is worth their weight in gold. Once they’re convinced of your brilliance, they’ll bat for you until they find you the job of your dreams! Ask lots of questions, take on board advice and attend training.

Securing the job of your dreams is likely to be a marathon rather than a sprint. Keep to a clear path that aligns with your goals, and we firmly believe you’ll get to exactly where you want to be. Get in touch today and speak to a Tiger consultant about your career path: we may just have the dream role for you!

The post Top ten Tiger tips to win your dream role appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

At Tiger, we’re very lucky to have two fantastic women within the senior management team – Managing Director, Rebecca Siciliano, and Director and Head of City Office, Kat Martyn. To commemorate International Women’s Day, we sat down with both Rebecca and Kat to find out how they’ve worked their way up the career ladder and what lessons they’ve learnt along the way.

Rebecca – Managing Director, Head of Temporary Division (West End)

1. Can you give me an overview of your career journey? How have you ended up as MD of Tiger?

I got into recruitment back in Sydney through a recommendation from a friend. She had just started in recruitment and told me that she thought it would be the ideal role for me. To me, recruitment was a job where I got paid to talk to people and the harder I worked, the more successful I was. I moved to the UK knowing that I wanted to stay in recruitment and what type of company I wanted to work for. Joining a small business meant that I grew as the company grew and had the opportunity to implement so many positive changes and initiatives. It’s been a lot of hard but rewarding work.

2. Have you faced any challenges as a woman in the workplace?

I don’t feel that I have. I have worked with successful women who have acted as role models for me but I don’t feel that I have encountered men who have disregarded me because I am a woman. I now work in female-dominated workplace so am surrounded by fantastic females every day!

3. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt in your career so far?

Pick your battles. Knowing where to invest your energy and what to let go can make a huge difference!

4. What part of your career are you most proud of?

The nice thing about my role is that there are constant milestones and achievements. I fondly remember starting out in my career and being proud of my very first placement. Then how daunting it was moving to a new country and starting over. I am so proud that I was able to pick up my career in the UK and create what we have at Tiger. Your proudest moments then start to become the proudest moments of those in your team.

5. What advice would you give to women starting in the recruitment industry?

– Work hard and absorb everything you can from the people around you. You can take your career as far as you choose to.
– When you are in a situation that you are unsure of, always ask for help. You will learn new things daily.
– Never underestimate the importance of relationships both internally with your colleagues and with clients and candidates. Always act with honesty, integrity and respect for others.
– You can’t control what people do, don’t sweat the small things.

6. Who are your #girlcrushes?

Can I say Lady Gaga? She’s always represented a strong female figure who has proven herself to be an incredibly successful businesswoman. She has conquered multiple challenges throughout her career. I love that she is a public voice against bullying and all the work that she does for mental health and equality.

She’s also now the first woman in history to win a Grammy, BAFTA, Oscar and Golden Globe in the same year – how could you not admire that?

–

Kat Martyn, Director and Head of City Office

1. Can you give me an overview of your career journey? How have you ended up as a director at Tiger?

I started my ‘sales’ career at 17, selling everything from flights to endoscopy cleaning products (true story!). After taking a year out to travel around Asia, Oz and NZ, I registered with a local agency who said ‘have you ever thought about recruitment?’ I jumped at the chance and I haven’t looked back since.

I worked locally for a couple of years, then decided to tackle the City around 10 years ago. A pivotal point in my career was joining my first ‘secretarial agency’, I really got my head around banking, growing a temp desk and then later down the line becoming a director and growing a team. I joined Tiger in 2015 to set up the City office, by far the most challenging and rewarding part of my career to date.

2. Have you faced any challenges as a woman in the workplace?

My biggest challenge is definitely balancing having a family and work. Having a baby is the most magical experience but I found coming to work on a couple of hours sleep, or leaving my daughter when I knew she wanted me, really hard. I know this is part and parcel of being a working Mum but it certainly can make things challenging.

3. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt in your career so far?

The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that you cannot keep everyone happy all the time and sadly, things are out of your control at times! People are all motivated by different things, whether it’s your employees, candidates or clients, and people are unpredictable. I always listen to and trust my instincts and go about my work with genuine enthusiasm. I hope for the best, but when things do go wrong, I don’t dwell on it, I dust myself off and try again.

4. What part of your career are you most proud of?

I’m lucky to have many proud moments. My proudest has to be winning the business of a huge, global investment bank, one of the world’s top businesses. I prepared for and delivered the pitch on my own and felt so very proud of myself when I won the account.

5. What advice would you give to women starting in the recruitment industry?

The advice I would give anyone starting in recruitment is to be prepared for intense highs and lows. I can’t think of another role that requires so much of you emotionally. To succeed in recruitment, you have to genuinely love people, be disciplined, have skin as thick as a rhino and be 100% committed to your work. The feeling of placing a candidate in their dream job is honestly like no other feeling in the world. So, whilst the role can require a lot from you, the excitement and the highs you experience, are quite something.

6. Who are your #girlcrushes?

I have loads! Whether you love or hate them, I have so much admiration for the Kardashians. They’ve made themselves so famous as a family and built an empire off all of their individual businesses – I think they are pretty impressive!

I absolutely love Karen Brady, she’s a sharp cookie, incredibly sophisticated and I love her direct communication style.

–

We believe in encouraging women at every turn. Should you be looking for the next step in your career, check out our latest roles today!

The post IWD 2019: Meet our leaders appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

If you’re looking for a PA job in a new industry, there’s a chance that you have a sense about which sector will suit you. Have you ever stopped to wonder where these ideas have come from? Was it a film or TV show, or did a friend have a bad experience and you’ve been turned off ever since?

We have been noticing a number of candidates are hesitant to be put forward for roles at certain companies because of a misconception they have about the industry. It’s important to challenge these perceptions, as they may stand between you and your dream job!

Finance is too corporate and full of big banks

If your impression of the finance industry comes from the Wolf of Wall Street, you’re in for a pleasant surprise! The finance sector is extremely varied. While some financial services firms can still be corporate (global banks still employ a number of finance job in London), the sector also includes smaller fintech companies which are a far cry from mega-corporate offices and old-fashioned cubicles. They include creative start-ups which are using AI, social media and cutting-edge techniques to push their business and disrupt the industry.

IT is anti-social and has a lack of diversity

Many people perceive an IT office or department as a quiet place full of engineers who never look up from their computers. However, this sector includes the likes of Twitter, Deliveroo, Google and Facebook, who have been leading the way in offering fantastic benefits packages. While the sector’s lack of diversity has been well-documented, the Higher Education Statistics Agency has found that number of women graduating from computer science degrees is increasing year-on-year[1], meaning that with the right diversity hiring measures, this sector will hopefully become more balanced in the coming years.

Start-ups offer little career stability

This misconception may be true of some unsuccessful start-ups, but it shouldn’t turn you off all new companies. In fact, if they are hiring for PA or secretarial jobs, it’s likely that the company has consolidated their initial employee numbers and has grown to the point where they require administrative support. We’ve worked with some fantastic start-ups who have grown from strength to strength, only for their PAs to grow with them and become business leaders in their own right. If you’re still worried, do your research. You should be able to find out who their competitors are, how they’ve been received in the press and any investment information, which will give you a better idea of where they sit in the market.

Creative companies are full of millennials, bean bags and little work

The creative sector is made up of industries from marketing agencies to TV studios, museums to interior designers. With such varied companies, it’s not surprising that 83.6% of jobs in the creative industries are held by people aged 25 to 59 years according to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport[2], meaning that you’re going to be working with the same diverse mix of ages as in any other sector. It’s an exciting time in this industry, with creative sectors across the UK growing twice as fast as other sectors, according to Nesta[3], so you’ll definitely be kept busy as the company flourishes.

Recruitment is ruthless

Tiger is a testament to how wrong this stereotype is! While we know there are some companies who operate in this way, we’ve found that fostering a positive working environment with clear communication, a candidate-sharing policy and amazing team incentives means that successful recruitment companies don’t have to be cut-throat. If you’ve been asked to interview at a recruitment consultancy or executive search firm, it’s highly likely that you’ll have a firm friendship group, great earning potential and fantastic benefits in store.

If you’re looking for a role in a new industry, browse our active job listings to make your exciting next step!

[1] https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/what-study

[2]https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/811903/DCMS_Sectors_Economic_Estimates_2018_Employment_report.pdf

[3] https://www.nesta.org.uk/news/creative-industries-are-driving-economic-growth-across-the-uk-on-track-to-create-one-million-new-creative-industries-jobs-between-2013-and-2030/

The post Five of the biggest candidate misconceptions about different industries appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Learning at Work Week is a timely reminder of the value of continuous development. But meaningful learning doesn’t always come from formal training programmes or online courses. Often, it’s practical experience and conversations that lead to the most impactful professional growth.

Whether you’re early in your career or looking to move up the career ladder, here are five practical ways to enhance your development at work.

1. Shadow a Colleague in a Different Team

Gaining insight into how other teams operate can expand your understanding of the business, improve cross-functional collaboration, and potentially uncover new career interests.

Even a brief shadowing session can offer valuable perspective and sharpen your understanding of how the wider business operates. Gaining insight into another team’s priorities and challenges can directly enhance the quality and impact of your work. For example, if you work in marketing, spending time with the customer service team can reveal any recurring consumer queries. You can then tailor your messaging, content, or campaigns more effectively.

Tip: Try shadowing a role that challenges your understanding. It may highlight skills you’d like to develop or spark interest in a new direction.

2. Keep a Weekly Reflection or ‘Learning Log’

Allocating time at the end of each week to reflect on a challenge, mistake, or accomplishment can reveal patterns in how you work and think. This habit encourages accountability, builds self-awareness, and helps turn daily experiences into learning opportunities. You can use this as a checklist to avoid making the same mistake again.

Tip: At the end of each week, reflect on what went well, what could have gone better, and what you would do differently next time.

3. Identify a Process You Can Improve

An effective way to grow professionally is by re-evaluating your regular routines. Taking a step back to question existing processes, no matter how small, can reveal opportunities for greater efficiency or collaboration.

Is there a recurring team task that could be streamlined? Perhaps meeting schedules could be better coordinated, reports shared more effectively, or handovers could be clearer. Proactively identifying and refining these processes not only supports your team’s success but also demonstrates strategic thinking and initiative.

These small improvements can lead to meaningful impact, and the ability to spot them is often a strong indicator of leadership potential.

Tip: Try finding a process that helps streamline activities for your manager or team. This way, your work will be visible, so you can track its impact.

4. Help Others Learn

Helping others learn is a great way to test your understanding of a topic or skill. If a colleague approaches you or your team with a question, consider how you could use your existing skillset or conduct your own research to help fill knowledge gaps within your organisation. You can share your insights by offering short, upskilling sessions for the wider company. Perhaps you have a particular skill in building your personal brand on LinkedIn which you think could benefit others across the business. Alternatively, you can offer to help train new starters as part of their onboarding process, or provide mentoring for junior staff.

Tip: This is an effective way to demonstrate your leadership skills if you’re looking to progress into a managerial role in the future.

5. Speak to a Professional You Admire

If you want to expand your knowledge proactively, try reaching out to someone whose work you genuinely admire. That could be a colleague in a different department or a professional on LinkedIn.

You might ask how they approached a recent challenge, what tools they use to stay productive, or what advice they’d offer someone looking to develop similar skills. Most professionals are more than happy to share their insights, and this kind of informal learning can build your confidence, strengthen relationships with colleagues and create new industry connections.

Tip: Try to speak to someone outside of your usual circle; this way, you’re pushing yourself to speak to people you wouldn’t usually.

Final Thoughts

Professional development isn’t confined to online courses or structured learning programmes. Some of the most impactful growth happens when we proactively seek out small opportunities to learn, reflect, and engage with the broader picture of our work.

This Learning at Work Week, we encourage you to think differently about how you grow and take ownership of your development in a way that’s practical and sustainable for you. Powerful moments of growth can be sparked by curiosity, courage, and the decision to learn differently.

If you’re eager to upskill in a new role and take your next career step, submit your CV or browse jobs with Tiger today.

The post Five Meaningful Ways to Learn at Work – Without Signing up for a Course appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Table Of Contents

• Introduction
• Money Talks
• Development and Training
• Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
• Flexible Working
• Employee Wellbeing
• Relationships At Work
• Employee Turnover
• Summary

Introduction

Tiger Recruitment hosted a roundtable event, bringing together a select group of HR leaders across a range of industries. The discussion focused on their experiences of employee retention and acquisition.

There are plenty of reasons why staff leave their jobs — from low salary, poor management and lack of flexible working through to a long commute. According to Forbes, however, the most common reason an employee leaves is because of a toxic company culture, which ranks number one for 62% of jobseekers. With this in mind, the ever-evolving challenges that HR leaders face are far from simple.

Throw in the cost-of-living crisis, and employers now face even more pressure to improve working conditions for their employees. With junior jobseekers and graduates receiving lower salaries, compared to the average UK business support salary at £40,656, graduate retention and attraction came up time and time again as a key concern among our HR leaders. Is it possible to attract entry-level staff without the same attractive salary that might be offered to those with more experience?

In 2022, workplace trends, like the Great Resignation and quiet quitting, exploded, prompting many to reconsider their retention strategies. From boosting salaries to protecting employee wellbeing, read on to discover what our HR Leaders will be investing in over the next 12 months.

Money Talks

Our latest Salary and Benefits Review revealed that 51% of UK office workers received a pay rise in the last 12 months — almost twice as many as in 2021 (28%). While that might not present too much of a shock, given the current cost-of-living challenges the UK is facing, what may surprise employers is that many employees are prepared to receive less money overall (inclusive of salary, benefits, bonuses), in return for an increased base level of pay.

As bonuses are usually positioned as a job performance incentive, some employees aren’t confident that their performance will be accurately evaluated. Those in roles without commission also have less faith in the bonus system, as the value that they bring to a role has more vague indicators of performance. According to Employer News, 83% of HR professionals believe that compensation should be linked to performance. With this in mind, it’s no surprise that new employees who are yet to ‘prove themselves’ have concerns about the effectiveness of bonuses.

Some employers are experiencing an increase in requests for salary raises from junior candidates, due to a generational trend of open discussion about salary ranges. With 64% of UK-based employees wanting greater transparency from their employers about pay practices, and over half of employees across the US wanting to know what everyone at their organisation is paid, it’s clear that the push for more open communication is strengthening.

What employers are finding difficult, however, is not the request for transparency, but the lack of variable allowance across different industries, roles, type of pay, and experience. If these factors are omitted, the reality of an individual’s desired pay may fall short of their expectations.

At our roundtable, employers spoke openly about graduate salaries, with most — in light of the cost of living — agreeing there is a growing pressure to increase them. Many have altered their graduate bonus and salary structure, to accommodate for higher salaries with lower bonuses.

Employers mentioned that they were getting to the stage where the grads that they hired five years ago were starting to think about buying a home. But with the cost to buy being so expensive, these employees were looking to move further out. One employer expressed how disruptive this was for the business, and that they were planning financial support options for employees looking to buy their first home, to retain talent effectively.

Key actions

• Consider offering financial support to long-term employees looking to buy their first home. This will help to retain staff who are debating whether to relocate.
• If the budget doesn’t allow for an increase in the overall employment package, increase the base pay and reduce the bonus.
• Only consider pay transparency or banding if you can accommodate variations across experience, sector and role type.

Development and Training

Career development remains a leading factor in employee retention. In our Salary and Benefits review, over 40% of jobseekers reported that career development was a priority in their next job. Around the table, HR leaders made it clear that their retention efforts were focused on strong employee development structures, regardless of role or industry.

Some shared how they had realigned their career development framework to prioritise visibility in their structure. In doing this, they found employee feedback overwhelmingly positive as a result of all staff being able to map out a clear path of personal progression.

Some HR leaders said that they were trying to improve the level of training offered to roles that traditionally lacked in this area. For example, one company was in the process of launching a new training programme with the Institute of Executive Assistants and Administrators. This employer also planned to implement a top-to-bottom training plan, allowing for a diverse group of employees with varying experience to capitalise on peer-to-peer knowledge sharing, thereby encouraging transparency at the same time.

Training, as part of graduate apprenticeships, is a key focus for 2023. Many are evaluating these, with the majority seeing apprentices working weekends and unusual working hours, due to off-the-job training requirements. Following a full day of learning and working, many employers received negative feedback from their grads a contributing factor to feeling burnt out.

The training and development piece for grads is a key focus for employers, with most leaders at the roundtable saying that they find graduate employees the hardest to retain. In the Wiley Edge 2021 report on graduate retention, 16% of employers surveyed found that a staggering 51% – 100% of their graduate employees typically leave the business within 24 months. A further 38% found that between 21% and 50% leave within two years. With this in mind, HR leaders at the roundtable were either thinking of scrapping apprenticeships completely or had done so already.

Demonstrating to your staff that yours is a business where they can develop a career will play a huge role in their decision to stay or go. The more your company gives people the opportunity to improve themselves, the more likely it is they will stay to find out how. By nature, we don’t want to stagnate. This is self-perpetuating because as our career furthers, the more important our decision-making inevitably becomes – which in turn heightens our emotional investment in the business.

Key actions

Retention efforts should be focused on strong employee development structures, regardless of role or industry

Prioritise visibility in the career development framework, so staff can take greater ownership of their personal progression within the business

Extra hours and “tick-box” exercises enforced in certain graduate apprenticeships are proving to have a negative impact on graduate retention. Companies should consider assessing these schemes, by requesting feedback from their graduates

Equity, diversity and inclusion

Diverse workplaces make better decisions 87% of the time. Research has also shown that diverse staff are more innovative, creative, and faster problem-solvers.

The push for a more diverse workplace is still front of mind for many employers. HR leaders at our event declared that their diversity and inclusion had improved across the board, and that they are still reporting rising numbers in their data.

Several employers have made significant progress as a result of establishing ED&I committees, with one claiming they were inundated with applications for the committee elections. Another stated that increased maternity and paternity payments have been a great success in regard to a more inclusive work environment. With new strategies in place, employers also have more accessible data on ED&I, which has been pivotal in their plans to make further changes.

One leader said that by requesting ongoing feedback on their ED&I initiatives, they are able to ensure that new strategies are well received, and gain greater insight into the thoughts of a wide range of employees.

Although progress is being made, equity, diversity and inclusion remain an area that still needs sustained and continued attention. The majority of employers agree that moving forward, actively hiring a more diverse workforce is essential in striving for equality.

It’s still as important as ever for employers to be part of the change, and at Tiger we will continue to champion the efforts made for progress. If you are looking to improve your ED&I, here are a few tips on how to do so.

Education

• Education can be in the form of training, discussions, and open communication. A good place to start is by creating an ED&I guide for staff.
• Learn from previous mistakes; educate yourself and your employees on what can be improved.
• Lead by example as an employer; pass on the importance and benefits of inclusion in the workplace.

Reach wider audiences

• When writing job openings, descriptions should be catered to reach broader audiences. These jobs should also be sent to a wider net of platforms and outreach programs.
• Advertise your company values on ED&I. Most companies forget to celebrate their workplace culture in their job listings, website, and media channels, but this should be a very visible part of your employer brand.

Communication

• Inclusive language is very important and a powerful tool for managers to open up internal communication.
• To make sure you are using inclusive language, avoid biases, slang, and expressions that discriminate against groups of people.
• By asking your diverse workforce for feedback you will ensure transparency as well as ownership of your actions.

Offer meaningful opportunities

• Take an individualistic approach to career development by nurturing talent and asking people what they want. Offer equal opportunities and be inclusive of all diversity groups.
• Set measurable goals, whether it be through quotas or feedback. Use this data to help direct progress in the right areas.

Foster at all levels

• From management level down to graduates, diversity should be a consideration when hiring for any position.
• Whether via blind CV, skills testing or widening your candidate pool, make a commitment to remove biases from the recruitment process.

Offer better workplace flexibility and policies

• Allow employees to take time off for religious holidays that may not be officially observed by the company.
• Be flexible with RTW parents and offer competitive parental leave.
• Ensure your office is well-equipped with inclusive facilities, including wheelchair access and non-gendered bathrooms.
• Offer the option for flexible working hours.

KEY ACTIONS

• Actively align the recruitment process into DE&I initiatives, involving key stakeholders and training managers where needed.
• Review existing policies to make sure they’re inclusive. Installing an ED&I committee in the workplace can support internal change.
• Even with improved ED&I data in 2023, more still needs to be done, as equality figures remain unbalanced across the board. Hold those in management accountable to change.

Flexible working

In the second half of this year, we saw a wave of employers insisting on workers returning to the office full time and, as a response, many employees started to look elsewhere. While most people enjoyed the flexibility of WFH and found greater productivity, some employers were not convinced. According to a BBC report, 87% of workers believe they’re performing just fine, while only 12% of employers say they have full confidence their team is productive.

Many of the HR leaders that we spoke to said that post-pandemic, they had asked workers to come in three days a week, but received a lot of pushback. People couldn’t benefit from the savings of a five-day season ticket, and, as a result, some employees were asking companies to expense the difference. Under the assumption that remote working was a permanent fixture, some staff relocated further away from their offices during lockdown and were more resistant to coming in for three days.

Since then, most employers have decided to judge flexible working on a team-by-team basis. Certain businesses have found this altered approach to be a popular strategy, as there is not a one-size-fits-all solution. As for travel expenses, the HR leaders we spoke to were unanimously opposed to reimbursing these costs.

However, the rise in the cost of living has shed light on the pressures for employers to help out with rising energy prices. As remote working has become less affordable, some employees have campaigned for businesses to reimburse their energy usage whilst they’re working from home.

Uswitch estimates that full-time home workers increase their daily gas use by 75%, while electricity use is predicted to rise by 25%.

If an employee is seeking financial support, employers agree that encouraging them to return to the office would help with the reduction of home energy usage. Collectively, our HR leaders agreed that they would rather increase salary than recoup energy bills.

Being inclusive of new starters has continued to be a struggle in the remote landscape. Some employers have emphasised the importance of new employees being in the office in the first few months of their role, even if their role is fully remote. By having direct access to their superiors, some employers have noticed learning has been faster, and new starters have built better relationships within their teams.

That said, some employers felt that we should perhaps be embracing the new way of working to be more accommodating to the younger generations, by finding better solutions in the remote world. One HR leader expressed that it’s just a matter of showing them the right tools and changing the mentality of how leaders can knowledge-share. By adapting how we mentor, we can provide learning and development opportunities without forcing them back
into the office.

While hybrid working has its benefits, employers have noticed a greater risk of burnout in those that work exclusively remotely. Some have said that remote workers are more likely to work longer hours to try to keep up with the workload. Given these circumstances, employers have encouraged these members of staff to attend the office more. In doing so, they’ve resolved workload anxiety organically by collaboratively sharing the load without the fear of bothering colleagues over the phone.

At our roundtable, the concluded outlook on flexible working, was that flexibility goes both ways. On the whole, employers were more open to offer flexibility to those employees who showed willing and, in return, met the needs of the company.

• Recent evidence suggests that companies with a 90% remote workforce reported being just as happy with manager-employee face time as those with a 10% remote workforce. Of those with face-time concerns, engagement and culture – not productivity – emerged as the primary challenge.
• 1.8% According to the ONS labour productivity report, output per hour worked was 1.8% higher in Quarter 2 (Apr
  to June) 2022 than the average level in 2019, pre-pandemic.

KEY ACTIONS

• Employers should stand by employees’ flexible working, as productivity remains higher compared to those working in the office full time.
• There’s no one-size-fits-all to hybrid working. Flexibility should be judged on a team-by-team basis, allowing managers to decide what works best for their individual teams.
• If employees are looking for help with their energy usage and/or travel expenses, consider implementing a designated cost-of-living bonus rather than a reimbursement.

Employee Wellbeing

More than 50% of employees want employers to do more to support their mental wellbeing, and feel that workplace stress and anxiety can result in increased absence and dissatisfaction with their job. With this in mind, employee wellbeing has been in the spotlight. By implementing workplace support, employers have noticed a positive shift in office morale as well as sustained productivity. Some have been actioning an individualised approach, whereby one-to-one coaching and therapy sessions are offered to help employees build coping mechanisms when confronted with anxiety and stress.

The wellbeing of newer members of staff is of particular importance, especially those with limited work experience, as they’re less likely to ask for help when their workload becomes overwhelming. Many employers believe this is partly because new starters don’t feel completely comfortable yet within their team relationships, which could be hindered by the lack of social exchanges in remote working.

Successfully onboarding a new employee into the workplace is all about trying to provide opportunities for the new employees to build key relationships and make new connections, whether they are working from the office or from home.

Small interactions can make all the difference when integrating new starters into the workplace. Many employers have encouraged their senior management to take initiative and the time to introduce themselves to new starters whenever they catch them in the office. Saying hello by the coffee machine or sparking conversation in the communal areas of the office, are all simple but effective ways in making a less intimidating work environment.

People don’t want to be ignored or feel excluded from decisions that directly relate to them. Be transparent with your staff about the business’s performance, your frustrations, your hopes, and any news. Encourage open plan areas in the office where staff can communicate with each other. Offer regular 1:1s and listen. You’ll encourage buy-in from staff if they’re feeling heard. Listen to their concerns and observe how they feel more valued as a result.

Relationships at work

According to m3, half of people stated that company culture is the most important factor when deciding whether to accept a new role, while 41% said that culture is one of their main considerations. This suggests that publicising and promoting the company culture should form a key part of the recruitment process, yet businesses are failing to effectively capitalise on this opportunity. Disappointingly, one in 10 businesses do not promote their company culture to potential new employees at all.

While flexible working remains highly sought after, the office social life has become tumbleweed to some. In the hybrid world of working, Friday has become a popular WFH day for many employees — a world away from pre-pandemic Friday evenings when co-workers would gather and go for drinks.

The HR community has had their fair share of challenges in reintroducing a post-pandemic social life to the workplace — with one notable issue being the increased popularity of sobriety. In fact, 26% of 16–24-year-olds are not interested in drinking alcohol at all. Our HR leaders recommended social activities such as sporting events, bowling and even candle-making workshops, with the most creative approaches being the most well-received among staff.

Recognition needn’t be in the form of cash, and reward needn’t be in the form of a prize. A simple ‘well done’ in front of the wider team can do wonders if it’s genuinely delivered. Even better, see how well an unexpected early finish on a Friday goes down! Offer employees the opportunity to listen to your reasons for making decisions. By giving them a glimpse into your rationale as opposed to barking orders, you’re much more likely to incite trust. For the business and staff to feel a collective sense of purpose, you’ll need to tap into their emotional values and personal visions. Offering them the opportunity to come together as part of a team effort will enhance this, so be sure to encourage teamwork and open communication.

KEY ACTIONS

• HR leaders are planning more inclusive work events that cater for sober employees.
• With Friday evening socials off the table, employees are enjoying more activity-based social activities.

Employee Turnover

Employee turnover rate and retention both play a crucial role in shaping the success of an organisation. By prioritising staff retention, HR teams can build a loyal workplace with increased productivity and a positive impact on the company’s overall performance. It’s important to make sure there’s a balance between managing the turnover and implementing successful retention initiatives. When the balance is right, employers can expect productive, thriving employees who are fulfilled and excited about contributing to the long-term success of the business. Reducing employee turnover requires a proactive approach that supports the longevity of your employees.

A successful onboarding process is vital for ensuring new employees feel welcomed during what can be an uncertain time. Successful onboarding goes much further than administrative tasks and paperwork, to ensure that the new employee is given as positive start as possible.

If you don’t have an HR team or dedicated person who can help with this, use your office manager to help with onboarding. The process should start before their first day, and can include a welcome message alongside a pack on what they can expect in their first week or month. Supporting the social aspect of your company ahead of their start date can be beneficial. For example, a coffee or drinks could be organised with your new hire and the rest of the team so that they see some familiar faces on their first day.

Encouraging employees’ work-life balance goes a long way to supporting their wellbeing and overall happiness. From the top down, by promoting a culture that values the importance of personal time, employers and leadership teams will find that that staff are more energised and productive when at work.

There are a number of ways that HR teams can implement this, with one of the easiest being flexible arrangements such as remote work options and flexi-hours. Importantly, managers should also set realistic workload expectations to avoid excessive overtime and prevent burnout.

Leading by example and promoting self-care, offering resources for stress management and wellbeing initiatives will further demonstrate the business’ commitment to supporting a healthy balance between work and personal life.

Having personal development initiatives in place provide employees with the necessary knowledge and support to excel in their role. By investing in continuous learning opportunities, employers are demonstrating the ways that they value their staff, prioritise their growth and offer opportunities for career advancement.

Summary

In 2022, we witnessed trends like the Great Resignation and quiet quitting, which formed the basis of recurrent recruitment and retention difficulties. In response, we have also seen employers prioritising the upskilling of their existing staff to compensate for hard-to-fill roles. If you’re doing this, we encourage you to put in place a clear career development
plan. This allows staff to progress in new areas of the company or role, motivated by a supportive structure and the promised rewards of expanding their skills.

In 2023, we expect to see the ratio of job vacancies to candidates to be more equally matched, ahead of the Great Rebalance. The January “big move”, where employees leave positions in the new year after bonuses are paid, is a trend that we see repeated year after year. With this in mind, we advise employers to recognise the employees who have gone the extra mile in their EOY appraisals and to consider offering competitive salaries and career development training for the new year.

At Tiger, we expect to see flexible working as a continued attraction to jobseekers in 2023, and we encourage employers to offer hybrid working as part of their employment package. Like many of the employers at the roundtable, we suggest judging flexible working on a team-by-team basis, to better meet the needs of the employees and company.

At our roundtable, job perks were a discussion highlight in the context of 2023 retention strategies, and we were pleasantly surprised to hear about some of the innovative ways companies were prioritising employee wellbeing. Organised activities such as massages and mindfulness lessons were most popular among staff, with the consensus being that these directly impacted improved morale and positivity.

Free office lunches were also suggested as an easy win. Employers noticed an increase in office attendance when they provided food, and plan to continue organising free meals as part of making a small difference in the cost of living. One HR leader also mentioned that this was a great way for new starters to socialise with other staff, as they found attendance was up and everyone took some time to chat whilst on lunch.

As many as two-thirds (67%) of employees who have free food at work class themselves as “extremely happy” or “very happy”.

Some HR leaders are also finding value in employee apps that provide financial advice, mindfulness techniques, yoga etc., which employees can access at any given time. Some of these include Welbot, Headspace for Work and Ben. Private financial planning was another retention strategy that some employers were looking to help their employees within 2023.

KEY ACTIONS

• Ahead of the January big move, recognise the employees who have gone the extra mile in their EOY appraisals, and consider offering competitive salaries and career development training for the new year.
• The key to retention in 2023 is securing a strong benefits package. Where relevant, this should also be updated to suit the hybrid working model.
• Employee wellbeing is in the spotlight for 2023. HR leaders are trying to incorporate mindfulness into the workplace, as well as perks that make employees feel valued.

The post Retention and Acquisition Trends appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

With several decades’ experience as a leading London recruitment agency, Tiger’s consultants have seen and heard it all when it comes to interview questions, and weird interview questions are going nowhere – in fact, they’ve become even more popular! They are now a mainstay of the process, used to see if interviewees can think on their feet, approach questions laterally and work well when faced with a difficult situation.

So with a near-sure guarantee that you may encounter something a little strange along the way, we’re taking a leaf out of Benjamin Franklin’s book, who once said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” Here are just some questions our candidates – and consultants – have encountered along the way. Do you have an answer for them?

1. You’ve got two doors to choose from. One, you’d have to live in the desert for six months; the other, you’d have to live in the Antarctic for 6 months. Which one would you choose and why?
2. Out of a polar bear and a snake, which one would win a fight?
3. If you had to be a fruit, what type of fruit would you be?
4. What would you write on your gravestone?
5. Tell me about your biggest mistake.
6. Can you rate the finalists of the current season of the Great British Bake Off and list each of their strengths and weaknesses?
7. If you were a biscuit, what biscuit would you be?
8. How much paint would it take to paint an aeroplane?
9. How many golf balls can you fit in this room?
10. What is your star sign?
11. What do your parents do?
12. If you were a cocktail, what cocktail would you be?
13. If we asked all your contacts on the phone about you, would their response be largely negative or positive?
14. Do you watch Love Island?
15. What’s the biggest mistake you have ever made?
16. What event in your life has made you the person you are today?
17. You are on a boat that is sinking with five other people. You can be anyone you want to be, alive or dead. One person has to be chucked over – who are you and what is your pitch to save yourself?
18. If you were on an island and could only bring three things, what would you bring?
19. What is your favourite and least favourite thing about humanity?
20. If you could take five people to dinner, dead or alive, who would they be?

How to respond

Should you be faced with a question you’re just not sure how to answer, don’t rush to respond – taking your time will show you’re not quick to jump to conclusions.
While you’re ruminating, think about the role you’re interviewing for – is there a link between your potential answer and the skills or responsibilities your interviewers would be looking for? Is there potential to demonstrate specific knowledge?

Whatever the question, make sure you have a logical explanation for your answer – even if the question doesn’t appear to be so! Rationalising the situation shows that you look for solutions, instead of focusing on the problem – a fantastic quality for any role!

It’s also worth remembering that these questions are designed to reveal your personality, so don’t be afraid to show it off. It could be the determining factor that gets you the job!

Should you be looking for a new role, we have a range of permanent and temporary roles available. View our jobs listings and apply today.

The post The ultimate guide to weird interview questions appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

In today’s job market, finding the best talent is proving harder than ever. While some are looking to hire HR staff in London to help with their people strategy, others are now looking beyond the basic salary package, introducing soft benefits that enhance their employees’ working lives. Could you introduce any of these into your business?

Should you be ready to hire, Tiger can help with all your permanent and temporary hiring needs. Get in touch today!

The post The best benefits to encourage attraction and retention appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.