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Almost half of workers resent colleagues who are consistently late
Almost half of workers resent colleagues who are consistently late
A new survey conducted by Jobs.ie has found 46% of workers feel resentful of a colleague who is consistently late for work and 50% of respondents in senior management positions said that colleagues arriving late for work creates workplace animosity. Half of employees said that they would like to see flexible working hours, and a further 27% would opt to work from home. The employee punctuality study by Jobs.ie also found that the most common excuses for being late include Traffic (59%) Oversleeping (33%) Weather (26%) The survey also found that 20% admit to being dishonest when explaining why they were late for work. Just over 40% of employers are said to have a 'zero tolerance' policy for lateness in the workplace, enforcing punishments if employees fail to show up on time with one in four employers surveyed admitting they have fired an employee for consistent lateness. Among those surveyed on their employer's attitude to punctuality, 41% described being punctual for work as absolutely essential. Some 37% said there are no real consequences for being late, while 8% said there is a casual approach to punctuality and employees arrive when they wish, and 10% said that provided an individual gets through their work, nobody really notices what time they start work. Overall, 96% of all employees said that they always arrive to work on time, with over half of employees (59%) aiming to be in work at least 15 minutes ahead of their scheduled start time. But those who work nine to five prove to be the least punctual - with less than half (47%) arriving to work on time every day within the past 12 months. 71% of respondents who work early morning shifts and 71% of those who work night shifts were always on time in the past year. Jobs.ie general manager, Chris Paye, said: "It may come as a surprise to many people that Irish workers are actually a very punctual bunch and take great pride in being on time or even early for work. Given this context, it's inevitable that tensions can arise in the workplace if one colleague is consistently late without a valid excuse. One potential solution is moving towards greater workplace flexibility, particularly in relation to start and finish times and remote working facilities. However, this is not a universal solution and may not be effective in all organisations.
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6 Qualities of a Great Recruiter
6 Qualities of a Great Recruiter
Being a recruiter isn’t for everyone but if you have these qualities, it could be the perfect role for you… Target Driven Recruitment is a competitive industry, so a recruiter needs to be driven and work well under pressure. As a recruiter, you will have weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly targets to achieve. It’s a target driven career, so a person in recruitment needs to be motivated by targets and enjoy working to achieve long-term and short-term goals. Confidence Recruiters are often extroverts. A recruiter needs to network and interact with people on a daily basis, so it’s important that the recruiter is confident. It’s not only about being confident enough to network but to make others confident in you. It’s important that a recruiter shows confidence so that their client, candidates and their team is confident that they can deliver. Curious Someone who has an interest in digging for information and is naturally curious is an ideal recruiter. Being vigilant and eager to ask a lot of questions is the type of person who will find out everything they need to know and share the most up to date relevant information with candidates and clients. Curiosity killed the cat, but it made the recruiter. Superb Communication Skills A recruiter deals with people constantly so it’s important for them to be excellent at communication. Communication in every sense must be perfected by the recruiter and this means listening as well as talking and also written communication. There is administration work involved in recruitment so having good writing skills is very important. Marketing/Sales Skills In recruitment you will be selling the benefits of using your company to both jobseekers and employers. Sometimes you will even be seeking out new business by doing research on who’s recruiting and phoning around to talk to prospective clients. A recruiter needs to know how to market and promote the roles they are trying to fill for clients, as well as market their candidates to clients. If a recruiter has a handful of ideal candidates for a role and the client refuses to consider any of them, then the they probably aren’t suited to recruitment. A large part of recruitment is selling and if you don’t have negotiation skills or selling skills it’s probably not the job for you. Mentally Strong Recruitment comes with a lot of failure and I mean a lot! Sometimes you just miss out on your target, or your candidate pulls out of the process because they get another job or the role you were working on gets filled by someone else. Rejection is part of being a recruiter, but a great recruiter knows how to deal with it. We’re not saying in order to be a great recruiter you must accept failure and not react to it, but when things go wrong a great recruiter can deal with the disappointment and be equipped to self-motivate themselves to keep trying. Thinking about working in recruitment? Why not work at Sigmar? Contact careers@sigmar.ie
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The Medical Device Sector – Why you should consider a move to the West?
The Medical Device Sector – Why you should consider a move to the West?
As a whole the Medical Device Technology Industry is estimated to be worth somewhere between 173-193 billion euro and Ireland are the second biggest exporter of medical technology in Europe with giants like Boston Scientific and Medtronic employing 5200 and 4500 respectively in Ireland alone. The main area of expertise lies in Cardiovascular (Abbott, Medtronic and Boston) but there are plenty of Orthopaedic (J&J and DePuy) and Diagnostic (Beckman Coulter) MedTech companies too. The West of Ireland specifically has roughly 40% of the employment in the MedTech sector and 31% of that is stationed in Galway city and county. Eight of world’s top ten med tech companies are established here. The only downside…the companies in the West need more Engineers as their growth is surpassing the local development of graduates. So why not be part of the wave of new job opportunities washing over the West? Galway – the beating heart of the Medical Device Sector It’s a well-known fact that Dublin has overtaken London as the most expensive city to live in Europe. It’s also far to say that there is plenty on offer across the south in the biomedical engineering sector, but it is spread very far apart with one location not necessarily leading the way. It’s also no secret that multinational MedTech companies have identified Ireland as one of the best companies to develop their excellence, manufacturing and R&D operations. Don’t worry though as the Wild Atlantic West has plenty to offer and particularly in the MedTech hub, Galway. With the IDA developing Parkmore, Mervue and the other business parks and with most of the working professionals either directly or indirectly employed by a MedTech business, the future seems as bright for the West Coast of the emerald isle. Galway also has a thriving cultural scene, even winning the European Capital of Culture for 2020 where they aim to flood the city with cultural activities and tap into the deep history and sense of community. Galway has been named UNESCO city of film and awarded the European green leaf award as the most environmentally sustainable small city. Start-ups or Multinationals? The choice is yours! Whether you’re looking to get into an established company and to learn from the best in product excellence and R&D like Boston, Medtronic or Merit or have your heart set on getting into that niche start-up and making a life changing new product, thereby claiming your place in the Global Medtech Innovation. There is so much opportunity. A client of ours made waves after starting off in the engineering start-up program with NUIG by making ground breaking neurovascular devices and were recently acquired by J&J to help the Galway based site grow further with a global network of sister sites in America and Europe to help with manufacturing, compliance and product development. Similarly, another start-up called Novate was sold in a deal worth up to $150m due to their success in developing a blood filter. Also, with the likes of Capsos, Neosurgical and Veryan there is a large possibility, the amazing ability of the Irish and particularly Galway to innovate will continue strong, further adding to the vast opportunities for Engineers here in the West. Start-ups aren’t the only ones pushing the boundaries in Research and Development as Boston had 21 successful patent applications last year for their Galway site. They are also the largest medical device employer in Ireland and the Watchman implant has the MedTech sector very excited. Medtronic too have added the likes of Covidien life support products to their growing catalogue and founded their global site of excellence and development here in Galway for a reason, the continued success of the Galway talent pool to innovate and improve patients’ lives. Similarly, academic studies into MedTech are securing massive investment such as the Cúram research centre at NUI Galway (NUIG) which secured 22 million in funding from the EU. Finally, a key aspect which many of the MedTech companies here are involved in is Additive Manufacturing and the research of 3D Printed medical device solutions. Specialists in Polymers, Compliance/Regulatory Affairs and Manufacturing will have their choice of the lot when it comes to the jobs of the future. Innovation has been and will continue to be a massive part of the West’s success story in Medical Devices. Why the West? From Sea Sessions (outdoor music festival on the Atlantic coast which is not to be missed) in Donegal, Other Voices (an unmissable acoustic experience in Mayo) and the Galway International Arts Festival. The music scene has something to be seen and heard all year long. Galway has become renowned for attracting the music stars of the future, with no small mention to Ed Sheeran who busked and based a world-famous song on the city. If trad music is what your searching for, Sligo Live or one of the many traditional pubs will be sure to give you a great night out. Regarding food, the Galway farmers market has a baffling variety of Indian, German, traditional Irish and even more types of cuisine. Similarly, the likes of Kai (Awarded Michelin Bib), Cava, Dela, Ard Bia and the Galway Bay Brewery (Several best in Ireland beer awards) all have fantastic locally sourced food but as a whole Galway has been highlighted as the Gastronomic must visit city of Ireland. Sport-wise and activity wise, there are plenty of local sport clubs across the city and suburbs to join with the Medical Device companies offering sports and social clubs too. Also, Connacht have enjoyed plenty of success domestically and in internationally. The Sportsground is very centrally located and is always worth a visit. Croagh Patrick and Westport offers a decent challenge to mountain and hill climbers with spectacular views. As annual exports of medical devices valued at over 7 billion euros it would only make sense that investment has been made to further develop the infrastructure in the West of Ireland. With two airports, both seeing increased global services including regular flights to the UK and Germany from Knock and massive long-haul flights departing from Shannon as of late, the west is well serviced. Also, it is very well connected by road and rail to the other beautiful parts of Ireland. It’s hard to argue with how amazing the West of Ireland and how much further potential it has is. With a bright future in the medical device sector, come visit us or contact us directly for all of the details on the top jobs in MedTech here in the West of Ireland. Join us for our Engineering Open Day to find out what companies are hiring in the West of Ireland Date: Wed Nov 1st 2018 Venue: A The Crowne Plaza Hotel, Blanchardstown, Dublin. Time: 11am-7pm Book your place now
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Five Ways To Impress Your Boss
Five Ways To Impress Your Boss
This may come as a shock, no one expects you to be perfect and know everything, even your boss! Sometimes you may feel like you’re not good enough and worry that you can’t impress your manager, but it is actually easier than you think and you’re probably doing some of these things already… 1. Dress to Impress Make sure your personal hygiene is impeccable. One of the worst office offences is bad body odour. Once you have your personal hygiene in check, dress smart. Dressing well will impress your superiors and your fellow colleagues. It will also give a little extra confidence while you do your day to day tasks. via GIPHY 2. Timekeeping Traffic, public transport, school runs, they can be a nightmare in the mornings and we’ve all been there, but it’s no excuse to be late for work constantly. Want to make a good impression? Be on time! Even if it means you have to leave earlier in the morning. If you want to impress your boss, you have to make real effort and show you are reliable. Bad time-keeping is a pet hate for managers. Remember: When you are late, show you understand that time-keeping and attendance matters and always inform your manager that you’re late. A quick text or phone call can really make all the difference. via GIPHY 3. Socialise If you want to impress at work, get involved in social events with your colleagues. It’s important for managers to see you gel with the rest of the staff and integrate with the culture of the business. If there isn’t a social scene in work why not try to organise something yourself? You could suggest after work drinks, a running club, a book club? Getting involved is impressive to a boss, but if you can organise your own social activity, that will definitely get your managers attention. via GIPHY 4. Share Ideas Don’t be afraid to tell your boss about ideas you have. Managers appreciate someone who takes their own initiative and wants to help improve things. It’s a great way for your boss to know you care about your role and the company and that you want to make it even better by putting your stamp on things. via GIPHY 5. Be Prepared Always be prepared to work. When you come in in the morning be ready to hit the ground running. When you attend meetings have all the relevant information and documents needed. Remember, you’ve been appointed this role and if your boss sees you struggling in it, it’s not going to impress him/her. Always being prepared and showing your boss you can manage your task will impress your boss and even increase your opportunity for a promotion. via GIPHY It’s always good to remember, not everyone is perfect, and your boss doesn’t expect you to be. Trying your best should always be enough to impress your boss. All a boss wants is an employee who’s working hard and is happy in the company and with the work they do.
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How to Land that Promotion
How to Land that Promotion
If you have been in a job for some time, you may feel like you are ready to take on more responsibility or feel you deserve an added amount to your salary. The way you can accomplish this is by doing the following: Own Projects from Start To Finish Creating your own project and implanting it from start to finish is a great way to get a promotion. Showing you have the initiative and determination to carry out your own project will give you the opportunity to be given more responsibility. via GIPHY Do Things You Don’t Have to Do Don’t be the person who says “That’s not my job” and refuses to do tasks they are asked outside their job specification. Sometimes in order to get noticed and to get ahead you need to be willing to do jobs you don’t want to do. via GIPHY Be Prepared Always be prepared to work. When you come in in the morning be ready to hit the ground running. When you attend meetings have all the relevant information and documents needed. Remember, a promotion is a company giving you more responsibility. If you’re not handling what you’re doing then how do you expect to be given more? Always being prepared will impress your boss and increase your chances of a promotion. via GIPHY Be Positive Coming into the office every day and complaining about how you don’t want to be in work or giving out about the work you have to do or complaining about your colleagues, will never land you a promotion. If you’re unhappy doing what you do and you complain constantly, your boss isn’t going to feel comfortable giving you a promotion. via GIPHY Avoid Office Gossip You can’t control workplace gossip, but you can control how to react to it. Not getting involved in office gossip and politics will mean you keep your professionalism. Those who take part in gossip can become known as unprofessional, immature and untrustworthy and none of those characteristics will help you get a promotion. Any time someone tries to involve you in drama, simply say you are not interested and leave the conversation. via GIPHY If you feel you're doing all the above and you have mastered your role and feel like you’re ready to take on more responsibility, it may be time to ask for a promotion. Click here for our blog on How to Ask for a Promotion
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The Benefits of Using LinkedIn Effectively
The Benefits of Using LinkedIn Effectively
LinkedIn has been around since 2002 and you’d think 16 years is enough time to master something but essentially people are still using LinkedIn wrong or avoid using it because they don’t know how. This blog will give you a guide to LinkedIn and how it can be used effectively to benefit your career. Who Should Use LinkedIn? Some people understand LinkedIn to be an online CV and it should only be used by jobseekers. This isn’t the case. There is a certain audience for LinkedIn and it does include jobseekers but that’s not all. This is who should use LinkedIn: Anyone in a job Anyone looking for a job Students Freelancers Recruiters Someone who has something to contribute about their industry Someone with an interest in connecting with professionals If you’re any of the above, LinkedIn could be the perfect social media platform for you. However, you will need to know how to use it effectively, depending on your reason for using it. Benefits of LinkedIn if you are Employed: Networking LinkedIn has 500 million users from all over the globe in different industries. This gives you the opportunity to connect with so many different people and broaden your professional connections. This could give you new opportunities for you in your current role. Sharing Ideas & Learning New Things In our current day to day tasks we come across many obstacles. LinkedIn can be a great opportunity to share these difficulties and how you overcame them. Chances are if you found it difficult, so did another person. Sharing your experiences on LinkedIn can help other professionals like yourself with issues and vice versa. LinkedIn gives professionals the opportunity to learn and share new things. Motivation Motivated was the most overused word on LinkedIn in 2014 and 2015 and it’s still in the top 10 of most used words in 2018. Motivation can be infectious on LinkedIn. Everyday new posts on new learnings and achievements are illustrated. If you’re looking to boost your creativity or just looking for some inspiration, then LinkedIn’s newsfeed is a great place to start. Benefits of LinkedIn if you are Job Seeking: Showcasing Your Talent and Experience Your profile is essentially an online CV and it can highlight all your relevant experience and skills to potential employers. A lot of job applications and job boards, require a LinkedIn page to submit your details. In order for you highlight your professional resume, it is essential for you to have a LinkedIn account. Reach Out to Employers/Hiring Mangers/Recruiters LinkedIn gives jobs seekers the opportunity to approach hiring managers about available positions. If you’re thinking of applying for a job or you already have applied, why not connect with the hiring manager and introduce yourself? It could be the thing that makes you stand out and be offered a job. Keeping Active During Your Job Search LinkedIn has 3 million active job listings on the platform. Even if you don’t have any interviews lined up, you can stay active by networking on LinkedIn and searching for available jobs. LinkedIn is a great way to stay active in your job hunt. Benefits of LinkedIn if you are a Student: Learn from Professionals in your Industry Following and connecting with professionals who work in the field you are studying in is a great way to learn more about what you are studying and what to expect when you receive your qualification. Build a Network Before you even start your professional career you could already have a bank of professional people in your network, all from LinkedIn. Benefits of LinkedIn if you work Freelance: Showcase your Work You can have an entire online portfolio on your LinkedIn profile that can showcase all your experience. You can share this among your connections who can also do the same. It's a great way to advertise your expertise.
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Ever wonder what it would be like to work as a Sigmar Recruiter?
Ever wonder what it would be like to work as a Sigmar Recruiter?
Here at Sigmar our Recruiters work hard but have a lot of fun along the way. Check out what it's like to spend a day as a Sigmar Recruiter... If you want to be a Recruitment Consultant in Sigmar. Check out our job opportunities here
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20 Disney Quotes That Will Inspire You To Succeed in Your Career
20 Disney Quotes That Will Inspire You To Succeed in Your Career
There's a lot of wisdom in Disney films so here are some of the best quotes to inspire you today.. "Venture outside your comfort zone. The rewards are worth it." - Rapunzel (Tangled) "All it takes is faith and trust." - Peter Pan (Peter Pan) "The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all." - The Emperor (Mulan) "Don't just fly, soar." - Dumbo (Dumbo) "In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun." - Mary Poppins (Mary Poppins) "Life's not a spectator sport. If watchin' is all you're gonna do, then you're gonna watch your life go by without ya" - Laverne (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) "The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem." - Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean) "Believe you can, then you will." - Mulan (Princess Stories) "Today is a good day to try." - Quasimodo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) "If you don't know where you want to go, then it doesn't matter which path you take" - The Cheshire Cat (Alice in Wonderland) "Admit defeat, and defeat will surely admit you into permanent custody" - Beret Girl (An Extremely Goofy Movie) "Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it" - Rafiki (The Lion King) "You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think" - Winnie the Pooh (Pooh's Most Grand Adventure) "Always let your conscience be your guide" - The Blue Fairy (Pinocchio) "Happiness is the richest thing we will ever own" - Donald Duck "Just because it's what's done, doesn't mean it's what should be done." - Cinderella (Cinderella) "Sometimes the right path is not the easiest one." - Grandmother Willow (Pocahontas) "The only thing predictable about life is its unpredictability." - Remy (Ratatouille) "Now, think of the happiest things. It's the same as having wings." - Peter Pan (Peter Pan) "All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." -- Walt Disney
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What To Do If You’re Dealing With A Toxic Boss
What To Do If You’re Dealing With A Toxic Boss
In last week’s blog we looked at How to Recognise a Toxic Boss. We know the perfect boss doesn’t exist, just like the perfect employee doesn’t, so you shouldn’t be too hard on your boss. However, once you are sure your manager is toxic, it’s important to know what to do Try Not Take It Personally Whatever is going on with your boss, it has nothing to do with you. If this is their managing style they more than likely have treated people like this before and will probably continue to treat people like this in future. Try to remind yourself of this as often as you can so your self-confidence doesn’t become affected by your toxic boss. Know That You Don’t Need Them To Succeed Your boss may make you feel like they are the reason you have a job and you would be useless to another company, they’re wrong! You are more than capable of being successful in your career and that has nothing to do with your boss. Karma This is always a sweet little reminder when your boss is treating you badly. Things come back around on people and the same goes for you. You’re having a hard time now, but things will improve for you and as for your boss, they will probably get what is coming to them sooner or later. Write Down How You Feel This is a great way to get things off your chest. Write it all down. Everything! It can even be as inappropriate as you like, ‘cause your boss will never see it. That’s the beauty of it! Say everything you need to and destroy the evidence. I can guarantee you’ll feel a lot better after it. Keep Records Try to document as much as you can. If your boss is treating you unfairly, it’s best to have documents to prove it. Even if your interaction with them is mostly face to face, ask them to follow up in an email. A lot of the misbehaviour of a toxic boss is going back on their word. For instance, they tell you to do something but then deny it or grant you permission to do something, like take annual leave and then they deny ever being asked. The best thing to do is always follow up on verbal conversations with an email and to keep a diary. Write everything your boss asks you to do in a diary and if they ever accuse you of not doing something you can check back in your diary afterwards. Arrange A Meeting With Your Boss Sometimes just sitting down with your boss and explaining that you feel they are unhappy with you can really make a difference. Having a face to face conversation about the issues you have could solve things. It might not be the case but it’s the first step before approaching HR. Speak to HR If you have approached your boss or have at least tried to but felt it was unsuccessful, the next step is to speak to HR. After you have prepared your records and can explain your bosses misconduct clearly and accurately you should have a strong case for your HR department. Know When to Leave Sometimes the only thing you can do to fix the situation is to find a new job. Life is too short to sit in a job with a boss who makes you miserable. If HR couldn’t solve the issue and you couldn’t move departments, you may wish to start applying for new jobs.
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