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With 750,000 new digital jobs by 2020 the UK is facing a huge tech skills shortage. Brexit could help fill this gap. “Could” being the most important word in that sentence. Before my recruitment days I spent a summer working in parliament between my Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree Studies. In my time there I witnessed a vote to leave the EU, a change of Prime Minister, and an unprecedented amount of shadow cabinet resignations. It was a crazy time. Almost 3 years on I have left parliament, finished my studies, started my recruitment career finding top talent for the UK tech market and then switched to doing the same for the Berlin Tech scene. Being English and recruiting into an international Berlin naturally the topic of Brexit will come up in conversation whilst I’m on the phone, and sometimes people are interested to hear my opinion. If anything, I was expecting to become much more Europe-centric in my stance whilst recruiting into Berlin. But this has not been the case. Why? Well, one thing that stands out about Berlin tech is its truly international nature. Each day I speak to tech professionals from all corners of the globe: Egypt, Brazil, China, the Lebanon, and I could literally list the countries all day. The relative ease of obtaining a visa goes some way to addressing the huge skills shortages in Berlin. Something I think maybe the UK can learn from as they look to attract talent in a time where a good Software Developer has a large list of vacancies to choose from; or should I say a large list of recruiter’s emails to choose to reply to. In Recruiting into the Berlin market what I’ve realised is that, yes! Europe is a big place and something that should definitely be treasured. But, the rest of the world is even bigger, and in each corner of the globe is an immense amount of talent that can, not only address the skills shortage, but also add some real value to the UK’s tech industry. Of course, Brexit has the potential to make the UK look inwards which would be catastrophic. Conversely, it could actually give the UK Tech market an opportunity to look at the wider world for strong tech talent, and it is this that can make the UK realise how big the world actually is.

Well done on getting a new role! Handing in your resignation can be the most daunting part of the process, so here are some tips on how to do it in style. ​ HOW TO RESIGN GRACEFULLY 90% of all counter offered candidates leave within six months as the underlying issues never go away. 50% become active on job boards within 60 days. 1. Plan ahead. Write down what you want to say and list the reasons why just to remind yourself. If you need to practice it with a partner/friend, then do. 2. Be firm and assertive but always remain professional. 3. Thank your manager for all their time and effort but reinforce that your mind is 100% made up and that you would like them to respect your decision. 4. Have a resignation letter with you and get a leaving date confirmed. 5. Be selective on the reasons why you're leaving or where you're going. This information will only be used to sell against your new opportunity. Usually employers act in one of three ways when you hand in your notice: 1. They may thank you for your time and hard work and wish you all the best in your next role. That's the easiest response to get as the employer has accepted your resignation. However, still make sure it's official with your resignation letter and leaving date secured. 2. They may take it personally and be difficult about the whole situation. Fortunately, it's not that common, however you need to remain professional and rise above this. Remember, you're doing it for your best career interests. 3. They counteroffer. All of a sudden you gain a promotion and a pay rise due to your resignation. Sometimes this is enough to persuade an employee to stay on however beware that 90% of all counter offered candidates leave within 6 months as the underlying issues never go away. Just remember the reasons you started to look for a role in the first place. HOW TO HANDLE COUNTEROFFERS 1. Your employer should pay you what you're worth from the beginning, not when you threaten to leave. 2. If you accept a counteroffer, you'll always be considered a fidelity risk. You've already lost their trust and shown your lack of loyalty. 3. Counteroffers are often made to give the employer time to replace you. 4. While a counteroffer may make the situation more tolerable in the short term, your reason for wanting to leave still remains. 5. Counteroffers are only made in response to a threat to quit. Are you prepared to threaten to quit every time you deserve better compensation?​ 6. Decent and well-managed companies don't make counteroffers. We'll always advise you to decline counteroffers made to you by your current employer.