state of the market

It’s been a busy time recently, continuing the long-term upwards trend in the number of open positions. In general, companies are still holding out for people who closely match all their requirements. But more recently we have seen some clients being more pragmatic and interviewing candidates who might not tick all the skills/experience boxes.

Skills and people in particular demand are:

• We are seeing stronger demand for C# development skills, while C++ experience continues to be highly valued. Lower level, embedded C and assembler are also sought very actively.
• A number of clients are seeking bright, experienced mechanical engineers, particularly with client/customer facing skills who would thrive in a consultancy environment.
• Good software testers/QA engineers are very thin on the ground. Clients are looking for people who actually have a passion for quality/testing, not wannabe software engineers.

While a large proportion of our candidates want to move on primarily for a "new challenge" rather than simply seeking more money, no one wants to feel underpaid. The shortage of good candidates has naturally increased the upward pressure on salaries.

So if you think you are undervalued where you are, you might just be right! For all the latest jobs (with salary scales) and news, keep an eye on our website at www.ecmselection.co.uk/jobs/.

don’t forget our recommendation scheme

If you know any other bright people who are looking, do please point them in our direction! Visit www.ecmselection.co.uk/refer.htm for our £250 recommendation scheme.

Your ecm reference number is: ~ecm_ref~. Please quote this when you recommend someone. And do keep us up to date with your contact details so we know where to send the "thank you" cheques!

bust your brain for £200

Just a quick reminder that our brainbuster competition ends on Sunday 25 November. So if you haven't entered, get both your thinking caps and your skates on - you could win the £200 of Firebox vouchers.

We'd also be interested to hear from anyone who can set a challenging puzzle.

and finally…

Occasionally we look to see how people have arrived at our website. Most search strings are quite straightforward, such as "Java jobs" or "ecm recruitment". But some tell more of a story, either about people’s circumstances or occasionally revealing a rather optimistic outlook…

A few are just a teensy bit too general, some might be a little too specific… Anyway, we’ll leave you with some of our recent favourites:

• "jobs containing science"
• "Maths lecturer jobs in Norway"
• "jobs in the rhymney valley"
• "2jobs involving mental arithmatic [sic]"
• "speech writing recruitment consultancy"
• "nhs jobs nuclear physics hull"

thinkingpeoplefirst

For over 25 years, high-tech recruitment specialists ecm have successfully matched exceptional candidates with leading companies. For cutting-edge software, electronics and other technical roles, from graduate to director level.

ECM • 3 Stow Court • Stow-cum-Quy • Cambridge CB25 9AS
tel 01223 813399
email info @ ecmselection.co.uk
web www.ecmselection.co.uk