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Chris Mullen joined Understanding Recruitment in 2019 having previously worked at a well known high street recruitment agency. Before getting into recruitment, Chris was a Senior Sales Negotiator at an Estate & Lettings Agency. Now Chris is our Client Engagement Consultant and IT Recruiter, focusing on providing clients with an expert level of service and supplying them with quality, hard to find tech talent across .NET, Java, DevOps, JavaScript, AI, and machine learning. We caught up with Chris to find out more about his recruitment journey and how he’s finding it so far! Where were you working before you joined the team, Chris? I had worked in an Estate Agency for five years before deciding to move into recruitment. I started my recruitment career at a well known high street recruitment agency in Watford for a year, before joining the Understanding Recruitment team. What do you like best about working at UR? I enjoy working with very talented people who have a great attitude and are always willing to lend a helping hand. The company always rewards hard work and good performance throughout the year. There are also loads of incentives everyone can get involved in ranging from trips abroad to team activities and director's lunches.  How does working in the tech industry differ from your previous industry? It’s a big change and one that comes with a lot of research and preparation. The tech industry is a lot more fast-paced which definitely comes with more rewards than high street recruitment.  Because the tech industry is constantly evolving the demand for quality tech talent is very high. This demand creates a higher earning potential and makes the average deal value larger than most industries. What would your advice be to recruiters thinking about moving company/industry? Be prepared to work hard and learn about the new industry as much as you can. Ask questions and learn from those around you. They have experience in the industry that you're entering and will be able to help and guide you. How would you describe the culture at UR? I would say it's a good mix of hardworking, inclusive, friendly, professional, and respectful. There are loads of opportunities for career progression and I would say that the team overall is really engaged. What would your advice be to your younger self?  Although working for a high street recruitment agency gave me some good experience, I would have liked to have gone straight to UR and started learning and developing with the business from the get-go!  ​Curious about #LifeAtUR?  We'd love to hear from you!  DM Emily Kitamura on LinkedIn, email your CV to emily@understandingrecruitment.co.uk  or call 01727 228 255 to have chat about the ​opportunities we have for you.

At the beginning of 2020, the number of searches for “how to start a business”, increased to 18,100 - the highest on record. A recent survey of 1,000 adults in the U.K. backs up this trend with a staggering 65% of respondents planning to start their own business. While start-ups are popping up left, right and centre, building a business to stand the test of time is another ballgame. According to Review42, 90% of new start-ups fail and 20% will do so in their first year. Only 1 in 10 will survive past five years and only 1 in 10,000 will reach unicorn status, worth at least $1 billion. While there is rarely one sole reason for a start-up’s failure these are some of the red flags keeping them from gaining the traction they’d hoped for. 1. No Market The number one reason start-ups struggle to gain traction is because there is little to no market for the product or service they have created. How many new products that come onto the market solve people’s pain points or are needed? A report by CB Insights stated that tackling problems that are interesting to solve rather than those that serve a market need, was cited as the No. 1 reason for failure, noted in 42% of start-up postmortems. Passion and the belief in what you are creating are fundamental to the success of any start-up. But these can also be a hindrance leading founders to see a “gap in the market” for their product, which is not always there. Success has a lot to do with the timing being right. Launching a product before it’s ready can leave a negative impression on customers that is impossible to fix. When the market or technology has not developed as quickly as hoped for some products may fail because they are simply before their time. When the product/market fit isn’t quite right many start-ups pivot, often dramatically changing their strategy to cater to a different market. While there are a lot of success stories where start-ups have pivoted many founders struggle to act decisively and adjust to the new circumstances. For example, YouTube successfully pivoted and went from starting as a video-based dating service to become the hugely popular video streaming platform it is today. 2. Lack of Resources This one’s obvious: lack of capital resources. Many start-ups lack the financial resources to position themselves in the market in the long term. There are times where they cannot raise the money they need because a competitor already has. Some start-ups may have funding, to begin with, but burn it hard fast or scale too quickly. Likewise, it can be difficult to get the pricing right, so it covers costs but is still attractive to customers.  Some of the key issues include: High payroll costs Low profit margins Small but often recurring purchases Delayed or late payments from clients High expenses 3. Wrong Talent According to Statista, 23% of start-ups fail because they don't have the right team in place. The first five hires are key and can make or break a business. If the team doesn’t work well together, doesn’t share a vision and is lacking the skills needed, the start-up won’t stand a chance either. A diverse team with different skill sets and an understanding of the market is also critical to the success of a start-up.   Many start-up teams do not have a good understanding of the market they are operating in. Likewise, a lack of real long-term interest and passion for the market can also lead to failure. 4. Not Listening  It’s easy for start-ups to get tunnel vision. Some founders wind up building products for themselves and not the user. Losing sight of what the customer wants and needs accounts for 14% of start-up failures according to CB Insights. Despite doing all the research and finding “the gap in the market”, the product isn’t always right. Many start-ups have made the mistake of planning their product or service completely out of the market instead of getting input and feedback from clients right from the start. 5. Competition While most start-ups are built around a novel idea, the first-mover advantage can quickly fade. The market can become saturated with large companies and other start-ups quick to swoop in and capture the market you helped validate.   Unfortunately for some start-ups, these competitors can be longstanding companies with large budgets and the capacity to make the products cheaper and more effective, pricing them out of the market. How We Can Help We understand the challenges you're facing and focus on getting your early hires right, giving you the rocket fuel to supercharge your business. Hiring quality talent doesn't have to cost the earth. We know that cost is key so we've made our Talent Accelerator fee structure flexible to suit your needs.  So whether you're at seed series or series A, B or C of your funding journey, we would love to play a part in your success story. 

So, you’ve applied for the job, aced the interview process and are basking in the glory of that awesome new job feeling. Well done you! But now what? Where do you go from here to make sure you get off to a great start in your new role? The first 90 days are crucial and the actions you take during this time will have a major impact on your success or failure. Most probation periods also last around this time so it can often be a vulnerable phase while you’re also trying to climb a learning curve and operate in a new environment. But don’t worry. Our experts have put together some tips to help you settle into your new role without putting too much pressure on yourself. Good luck!     1. Don't be shy! By staying in touch with your employer before you start you can get ahead of the game and find out more information about your role and how it fits into the wider team and business goals even before your first day. While the thought of introducing yourself repeatedly might fill you with anxiety, you’ll want to show your enthusiasm and get to know people in your first days. You can also ask your manager for a list of people they think you should meet with. Try to remember people’s names but if you do forget, a simple “Could you remind me of your name?” will do. We spend a lot of time at work (90,000 hours over a lifetime*)! That’s a lot of time spent with your colleagues so, make sure to get to know them outside of work and try to get involved in after-hour activities. Drinks after work, lunches with your team or even virtual quizzes are all great ways to develop strong relationships with your new colleagues.   2. Define success In your first few weeks, it’s important to establish mutual expectations with your manager. Find out what is expected from you within the team, the wider business, and as in individual. What does your success look like? While you need to know the basics aspects of your role, for example; your working hours and responsibilities, it’s also important to understand the more in-depth parts of your role and how it contributes to the bigger picture. How your performance will be measured and what your job progression will look like, are just a couple examples of this.   Write down any questions you have so you don’t forget and raise them in a one to one with your manager. This is also a good time to find out what their pain points are and to plan how you can reduce these and add value quickly (although you may already know these needs from your interviews).  Also ask them how they prefer to communicate – in person, over the phone, via email or video chat?   Ask yourself: What do you want your legacy to be?   3. Develop good habits Get into good habits from day one. A new job can be a fresh start, so make sure to start it on a positive note and turn up ten minutes early. Decide on how you're going to manage your time, calendar and projects and get set up for your new way of working. By establishing a good working routine early on, you're taking steps in the right direction to achieve your goals and earn the respect from your team and colleagues. This is also the time to set boundaries. Coming in early and staying late after starting a new job can be a way of seeking acceptance but you should try and re-establish the boundaries that help you do your best work. Remember, saying “no” will help you focus on your goals and better manage your time.   4. Ditch the bad ones! This is the ideal time to shed old routines that aren’t serving you anymore! In your first 90 days, avoid developing negative habits and work hard to break any existing ones.   5. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes Nobody likes making mistakes, but they can happen, especially in a new role. Feel the fear and do it anyway and make sure to throw yourself into your new role and step outside of your comfort zone; know that you will make a couple of initial mistakes and that it is perfectly fine to do so! Although we don’t like making mistakes, they are a great learning tool and sometimes you need to make mistakes to improve.   6. Get up to speed Your first weeks are more about listening and less about talking. Every organisation has a culture and norms of behaviour that people are expected to operate within so try to absorb these in your first weeks. Take the time to get up to speed on both your industry and your job role; what kind of technology your candidates and clients will be working with, how these fits into their businesses etc. Is there a particular code you need to learn for your role?    7. Review, review, review Don’t forget, while your employer will be seeing how you get on for your first three to six months it’s also a time to see if they are the right fit for you! Don’t be afraid to ask your manager directly for ways to improve and ask for feedback on how you’ve been doing and make sure to check you’re still on track to accomplish the goals you set in your first weeks. Finally, make sure to regularly highlight your wins in a way that makes your manager and team look good throughout the first months in your new role and celebrate those early successes!         * Source: Gettysburg College

Although COVID-19 has significantly impacted many organisations' hiring plans, the tech market continues to boom, making it trickier to find and retain top-notch developers with JavaScript skills and commercial experience with modern frameworks such as React, Angular2+ and Vue.js. Our 2020 JavaScript report is based on data from our placements, an extensive questionnaire filled out by a highly relevant pool of candidates and salary ranges provided by our current partners that include some of the best technology-driven businesses across the UK. What’s the current state of the JavaScript talent pool in the UK? In today’s market, there are 64,000+ UK professionals on LinkedIn with the job titles of; ‘Front-end Developer’, ‘Full Stack Developer’, ‘JavaScript Developer’ or ‘Web Developer’, working with either React, Angular 2+ or Vue.js. 87% of these professionals are male, highlighting that the gender gap is still very prevalent across the UK tech industry. However, companies are trying to combat this by encouraging more gender diversity in the workplace. The demand for talent within the JavaScript market is high and as a result, many companies are willing to pay above market rate to attract the best JavaScript talent. We've also seen that organisations are willing to offer higher salaries to candidates experienced in Cloud and DevOps tools. On average, JavaScript Developers are likely to move to a new company after 1.2 years making it even more important for companies to retain good talent.  Although an increasing number of companies are taking on JavaScript developers without formal degrees, our research showed that JavaScript developers were most likely to hold a degree in: Computer Science Computer Software and Engineering Information Technology Mathematics and Physics. To find out more about which universities are producing this talent see the full report. What does this talent earn? Based on placements of JavaScript candidates in 2019/2020 in London and the surrounding home counties, Graduates or Junior Front-End Developers with 2 years’ experience working with either React.js, Vue.js or Angular2 can expect to earn on average, between £25,000 to £40,000 per year, with some earning up to £50,000. Mid-Level Front End Developers with 2.5 to 4 years’ experience, reported earnings of between £40,000 – £65,000, with a small few even earning in excess of £75,000 per year. Furthermore, professionals with the job title ‘Lead Front-End Developer’ with 5+ years’ experience working with a modern JavaScript framework such as React.js, Vue.js, Angular, as well as experience managing a team or mentoring, earnt anywhere between £75,000 - £120,000 per year. In addition to this, 35% of our respondents received an annual bonus with the highest being up to 56% of their base salary. For more salary insights check out the full report here. Where is this talent located? The UK companies with the largest number of JavaScript/Front-End Developers within their workplace are; Facebook, BBC and JPMorgan with Amazon leading the way with a massive 444 professionals currently working for them. In the last year, companies such as; OakNorth, Revolut, Starling Bank and Nationwide have increased their JavaScript talent by up to 330%, highlighting the increasing demand for skilled JavaScript/Front-End Developers. As expected, London is still the location with the largest number of JavaScript professionals with nearly 20,000 developers choosing to work there. Up-and-coming locations for this type of talent include Leeds and the fastest growing tech city in Europe – Manchester. You can also expect to see a small number of professionals based in areas like Edinburgh, Glasgow and the West Midlands. The importance of Flexibility 77% of respondents said their company currently offers them the option of remote working, while 63% said they are offered flexi-time. The demand for flexible working has never been higher and this is only highlighted by a staggering 73% of respondents saying they would not accept a new job offer if it didn’t offer flexible working or the option of working from home on some basis. It has also been highlighted that Covid-19 has had an impact on the way developers feel about remote working as 65% of developers reported that the pandemic impacted their way of working with 68% of these wishing to carry on working fully remotely. Only 3% said they would like to return to the office 5 days a week, with 29% happy to work from home 1-2 days a week. Despite the general scepticism around working from home, we’ve found that because of the pandemic, organisations have learnt to trust their employees and are happy to allow them to work from home on a continued basis. What else is important to JavaScript Developers? The top 5 employer value propositions most important for this talent are: Good work-life balance Excellent compensation and benefits Colleagues and culture that inspire employees to do their best Employees have influence over tasks and priorities Convenient commute to work Other popular benefits include: Healthcare, medical cash plan, gym, childcare Paid breakfasts & lunches Option to buy additional holiday or unlimited holiday Season ticket loans Training budgets, training time, dedicated time to work on personal projects Let’s chat For any further information about the statistics in this report or other information about the JavaScript market, including competitors, tech on the rise and hiring processes, feel free to contact me for a chat. Simran Hundal Head of JavaScript simran@understandingrecruitment.co.uk +44 (0)1727 228 231 or +44 (0)7958223054 Connect with me on LinkedIn Schedule a call with me