CREATING EXCEPTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
We’ll take the time to listen, understand and help you create a strategy to lead you to the perfect role.
For the latest industry insights, in-depth knowledge of many organisations and their culture; for assistance with job applications, interview preparation, offer and resignation guidance – with Oakley Hill in your corner you’ll have everything you need to succeed.
For people looking for their next opportunity, we know that finding the right representation can be challenging. Trust, honesty and integrity is at the heart of everything we do at Oakley Hill. You can expect transparent communication, clear expert advice and beneficial guidance throughout every engagement.
You’ll benefit from our extensive network of relationships with businesses across the region, developed over many years, offering you access to exclusive job opportunities not available in the mainstream market.
Oakley Hill supports all skill sets and role types within Accountancy & Finance, from entry level graduate & transactional staff, to established financial & management accountants, commercial finance specialists and Senior Finance leaders. Some of the roles we support include:
We represent professionals across all areas of HR including Talent Acquisition, Employee Relations, HR Directors, Generalists and Graduate trainees. Whether your business needs a seasoned HR Manager or an expert in Compensation and Benefits, we excel in finding the right fit for your HR team. Some of the roles we cover:
Oakley Hill matches top talent in Sales, Digital Marketing, and Brand Management with companies seeking highly skilled people who will drive revenue growth and elevate brand presence. We support:
We introduce skilled Technology professionals in many areas including Software Development, Cybersecurity, & Data Analytics to meet the evolving demands of the tech industry. Leveraging a comprehensive understanding of complex and emerging technologies, Oakley Hill delivers talented people who drive digital transformation and propel businesses forward in the competitive tech landscape. We work with:
Oakley Hill partners with experts in customer support, administrative management, and process optimisation. With a focus on excellence in customer interactions and operational efficiency, Oakley Hill delivers top-tier candidates for many Customer Service & Administration roles including:
Oakley Hill has expanded into the Industrial, Construction, Trade and Engineering sectors, representing exceptional qualified individuals with specialist expertise in project management, manufacturing, tradesmanship, and engineering disciplines. We provide top-tier contractors, subcontractors and full-time staff who drive innovation, maintain safety standards, and contribute to the success of infrastructure and industrial projects. Some of the skills we facilitate on demand include:
Oakley Hill are suppliers of quality recruitment solutions for the Education sector.
We deliver, permanent, temporary supply and fixed-term contract placements for roles in Nursery, Primary, Secondary and Further Education settings.
Our ability to understand the unique needs of educational professionals and institutions ensures the right fit across all levels, from support staff and classroom teachers through to senior leadership positions including:
The key to an effective job search is it’s all about plate-spinning, creating a process which acts as an efficient machine with multiple channels, all working on your behalf to maximise the flow of job opportunities you can apply for.
Check out our top tips for implementing a productive job search strategy below
For extra support and expert one-to-one advice, explore our Personal Employment Rep page to book your career coaching sessions.
Here you’ll find our step-by-step guide on how to approach your approach your job search, helping you stand out from the crowd and ensuring you do the basics well.
Update your CV. Keep it relatively simple, avoid fancy fonts, pictures and boxes as these can sometimes cause issues for employers’ internal applicant tracking systems. Highlight key skills & accomplishments – see more about creating a standout CV here
Make sure your LinkedIn profile is current, with a good headline and clear summary of your experience & career objectives. Selecting the ‘Open To Work’ option is a great way to catch the eye of employers and recruiters. For people who are unemployed, or whose employers are aware they are seeking a new role, the ‘green banner’ is very useful as many recruiters & hirers are keen to find people who are actively looking for work. If you’ve heard differently, for example that having the green banner is in some way detrimental or makes people appear ‘desperate’, we strongly disagree with this, and the priority should always be to do everything possible to highlight your availability. The green banner might be the only way for someone reading your profile to tell that you’re actively looking for a role, so in our opinion that pretty much settles the debate!
Social Media – make sure your Facebook, Instagram and other socials don’t contain any potentially embarrassing images or content. In today’s world, it’s not unusual for potential employers to do a quick search to find out what info & content there is about you online!
Try to avoid registering with too many agencies – one or two is ideal. Ensure that they will act with your best interests in mind – you’ll be able to judge this from the time they take in understanding your situation and preferences. They should want to meet you, either in person or via video call. The good ones will always provide constructive and positive advice, will stay in touch, call you back and answer your emails! The less-good ones might not be as communicative and tend to ask a lot of probing questions about where you’re having interviews, which interviewers you’ve met and who your old boss is. All of these are sales-driven questions and whilst you might be happy to answer them, they’re not particularly relevant or beneficial to your search.
Define your specific search criteria, especially the roles and locations you’ll consider along with salary, company size and industry.
Apply directly – many employers have their own hiring teams and will look to source candidates directly in the first instance, only utilising agency help if it’s absolutely essential. Make a list of at least 10 companies you’re interested in working for and have a look at their careers page on their website for any relevant opportunities. Jobs can also be found on companies’ LinkedIn pages.
Tailor your CV for specific applications. If the job description states a preference for someone with particular technical knowledge, skills or sector expertise, or experience with a particular IT system, make sure your CV reflects this as employers & recruiters will be using keyword searches to identify applicants who meet these criteria. For sales roles, be sure to include numbers such as revenues you’ve generated, your performance vs targets and any KPI/activity levels.
Cover letters are not usually essential, but can be useful if they are tailored and well-written.
Follow up on applications – if you’ve applied for a role, and you have a contact name, sending them a short message via email or LinkedIn to let them know you’ve applied and hope to be considered for an interview will show initiative and helps you to stand out from the crowd.
Create a profile on job search platforms such as Reed and Indeed. Most recruiters and employers pay for access to these CV databases, so this is a great way to put yourself in the ‘shop window’ and get those employers & recruiters coming to you with opportunities, rather than you doing all the legwork!
Develop a thick skin. A comprehensive job search is quite a commitment and covers a lot of ground, you’ll likely apply for lots of positions and may experience occasions where you don’t receive a response following an application, especially if it was an online application. This can be frustrating and we all agree it shouldn’t happen, but given the volume of applications received by employers and recruiters it unfortunately does happen. We just need to shake it off, stay positive and keep ploughing ahead with the search! Oakley Hill will always provide feedback to shortlisted candidates.
A bit of an old cliché, but failing to prepare really is preparing to fail.
Our below guide on how best to approach your interview prep will give you the edge and confidence to deliver a great interview performance.
Study the JD – knowing the main aspects of the job in advance will serve you well, it’s likely you’ll be asked what you know about the role during the interview. Prepare some examples of your knowledge and experience in these areas. (Tip: It’s important to convey that you enjoy those tasks, so the interviewer will feel confident that the job aligns with what you’re looking for.
Research the company. It’s likely you’ll be asked something along the lines of “What do you know about us?”, to which you’ll be expected to know the basics of the services or products they offer, how long they’ve been in business and roughly how many people they employ. All of which is readily available info via Google, LinkedIn and Wikipedia. A quick summary of the above 3 items in your answer, will leave the interviewer convinced you’ve taken the time to look into them.
Tip: For an even better impression, mention something financial such as their latest reported revenues or something positive which has been reported in the media about them recently, for example a merger, acquisition, or a new product / territory they’re launching. Using Google’s ‘News” tab is great for this.
Be prepared for different types of questions. Some might be about your strengths, weaknesses and behaviours in certain situations. Others might be more technical or “competency based”, questions, where you’ll be asked to give a real-life example of when you’ve carried out a task or taken action in a particular situation.
Common competency-based questions might include: “Tell me about a time when you’ve been under pressure in your role, what was happening and how did you manage the situation?” or “Give me an example of a time when you’ve dealt with a difficult stakeholder, how did you react to this and what was the outcome?”
The important thing to remember here is that it’s always best to give examples of situations that have actually happened, and that you talk about your involvement and actions as opposed to your team.
Tip #1: Ensure you use “I” instead of “We” when describing the story.
Job descriptions often give clues as to which competencies you might be assessed on, e.g. it might list criteria & attributes they’re seeking such as teamwork, resilience, working to deadlines, prioritisation, relationship building etc, for which you can prepare answers ahead of the interview with examples of when you’ve demonstrated those competencies.
Tip #2: When giving an example, ensure its a situation which had a positive outcome, ideally where you made a key impact. Telling a story about a deadline which was ultimately missed, or a high-pressure situation where it was in fact someone else in the team who made the key contribution, might not put you in the best light).
Avoid mentioning salary unless the interviewer brings it up. If asked, answer honestly but avoid bringing up the subject yourself, as doing so tends to give the impression that this is your main concern. There will be opportunities to discuss this later in the process if both parties wish to progress further.
Smile! In all walks of life, one of best ways we can express our confidence and personality is to smile, and show we are enjoying being in the company of others. This is key in interviews, hirers are always looking for people who communicate well, are comfortable talking about themselves and their experiences, and will get on well with others. Interviews can be nerve-wracking for some, so smiling will come easier to some than others of course, however if you can train yourself to smile during the interview this is likely to give a great impression and help to build rapport with the interviewer.
Dress appropriately. Gone are the days when a full business suit is the basic requirement for an interview. You can wear a jacket and tie if you wish, however in most cases a ‘smart casual’ look is best – a shirt or blouse with a collar is good, with smart trousers/skirt or even plain chinos/jeans coupled with shoes (not trainers!). Generally, as long as you don’t turn up wearing a baseball cap, Hawaiian shirt, Bermuda shorts or flip flops, you’re going to be ok. These guidelines apply to both in-person and video-based interviews.
Employers get lots of CVs to look at and have to decide quickly who they’re going to interview. We’ve compiled a guide to help you create an excellent CV to enable you to land more interviews.
Templates: Microsoft Word and Mac Pages have an excellent range of CV template options, choose a clean, crisp template and avoid using photos.
When you write your CV, remember to:
Tip: Tailor your CV to match the job and company you’re applying for to improve your chances of getting an interview.
Your CV should include a section for your contact details, an introduction, your education history, your work history and references.
You need to let employers know how to contact you if they want to offer you an interview.
You should include your name, phone number, email address, town of residence (not full address) and a link to your work network profile, if you have one, such as LinkedIn.
Tip: You should not include your age or your date of birth, but can include your marital status, gender (including preferred pronouns) or religion if you wish.
This should be a few short lines that summarise who you are and what you hope to do. It should sit just under your name and contact details.
Tip: Make your introduction sound like you’re the right person for the job you’re applying for.
You can add this after the introduction if you’re early in your career or do not have much work experience.
If you have a lot of work experience, you might want to change the order and show off your work history and experience first.
Whatever order you choose, you’ll need to include the:
You should include details of any work placements, volunteering and paid jobs you’ve had. List the most recent experience first.
You should include:
It’s normal to have some gaps between jobs and work experience when life events happen. Be honest about the reason for the gap and keep it short.
If you’re applying for your first job, or if you haven’t gained much work experience yet, you can focus on skills you’ve learned through projects, work experience or volunteering.
You can also include your interests and hobbies that show some of the skills you have. For example, if you’re a captain of a sports team, this demonstrates leadership and organisation skills.
You might want to include a section about references if there is someone who has agreed to give you one. This could be your current or previous employer, a teacher or someone respected in your community.
Use the STAR method to plan your answers to interview questions and to show your skills and experience on a CV or application form.
STAR stands for:
Example:
Tell me about a time when you have shown leadership skills
S – in my previous digital marketing job, the company wanted to get more people to sign up to a newsletter which was not receiving a lot of attention.
T – my job was to find a way of getting more people to sign up.
A – I organised a meeting with other important members of the marketing team to come up with creative ideas, and I led the social media campaign to generate interest in the revamped newsletter.
R – over a period of 3 months, there was an 25% increase in sign-ups to the newsletter and the approach I took was used by the management team in other departments.
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