Welcome to B & M Bulletin, produced specifically for IT specialists. In this issue:
• Beating the crunch by being proactive
• Tech View: Unified Communications update
• Specialist Profile: Jim Armstrong, Mainframe Storage Specialist
• B & M staff member profile: Sarah Yandle, HR Team Leader
• B & M SkillSource
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Beating the Crunch: why being proactive will secure you the best jobs
Matt Jones, HR Manager, explains that there is no time to waste if you want to seize the best contract opportunities during these difficult economic times
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"Update your CV… "
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A few days may not seem like a long time when you are considering a new position that will last for months or even a year. However, in periods of high competition for the best opportunities, it is those who are proactive about providing us with information early who invariably come out on top. B & M always seeks to act quickly to give candidates the best chance - but it's a two-way street. Here are some ideas of ways of making sure that you are always at the top of the list when we are instructed to source experienced IT professionals:
- Keep your CV up to date and make sure it's both comprehensive and technical. Technical Managers want detail, so be prepared to provide more detail if we ask for it. We prepare your profile in advance so that we can act promptly when an opportunity arises.
- Keep us informed of your availability and your current contact details - if we think that you're working when you're not, or if we can’t contact you, you may miss out.
- Paperwork can be boring but providing us with the appropriate information (e.g. supplier company details, work permit etc.) before an opportunity arises saves valuable time later on.
- Applying promptly for jobs improves your chances. Tell us up front about any circumstances that might prevent you taking a job. If you agree to be proposed, then be prepared to answer the customers' queries and provide us with prompt updates to questions on your specific skills.
- Provide details of referees early on - customers always demand that we check out everything before considering who to interview and B & M delivers on this.
- Stay in touch throughout the process and leave your mobile phone on! Remember, you are in competition with others for the work. Being unavailable means that you may lose an interview slot with the customer.
- After interview - give feedback to B & M at the earliest opportunity. This allows us to strike while the iron is hot and to pre-empt any issues that the customer may raise. Make your decision quickly - hesitancy doesn't impress.
- If you want the job, agree to start as soon as you are able - there are project schedules to meet. The customer might go elsewhere if you appear indecisive.
- Sign and return contracts straight away.
.... and good luck!
For up to the minute information about opportunities, contact people@bmeurope.com
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Unified Communications update
Paul Smith, Technical Manager at B & M Europe looks at the latest trends in the fast-moving world of Voice over IP and Unified Communications
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We last explored the concept of Unified Communications (UC) about a year ago, but a great deal has changed since then. It seems that growth is being driven equally by developments in the technologies themselves and increasing pressure on businesses to reduce both costs and their carbon footprint - and there are plenty of service providers who are capitalising on this with advertising and marketing campaigns built around these benefits. Traditional VoIP may have been largely subsumed by UC, but in reality it offers the main structural base for UC and gives organisations the choice of whether they want full or partial voice and data integration using IP connectivity.
Software-based solutions are available from IBM (Lotus Sametime and Notes) and Microsoft (Office Communications Server, Outlook 2007 and Exchange 2007), while Cisco's Unified Communications Manager enables organisations to exploit their own software, hardware and converged IP networks.
There are many other manufacturers providing solutions for or making components of UC; Nortel, Avaya, RIM and Dell to name but a few. Some already have tie-ins with other solutions providers, for example Nortel and Cisco are working with Microsoft and IBM. To further spice things up Open Source developers have come up with two offerings, Druid and Elastix, which are built on the Open Source PBX Asterisk and there is a free of charge UC software offering from Unison.
There are plenty of cost-effective solutions to choose from and, as software becomes more widely adopted, the transition to UC can be relatively straight forward - even without the interim step of adopting VoIP.
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Specialist Profile: Jim Armstrong, Mainframe Storage Specialist
Jim Armstrong celebrates a life free from office politics after some 23 years predominantly in permanent roles the IT industry
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Jim Armstrong is a highly-qualified Mainframe Storage Specialist (he has a BA Hons and an MSc in Information Technology for a start), who began working on contract with B & M very recently after a long career in permanent positions at organisations including BT, Scottish Widows and Standard Life.
Jim is currently about half way through a seven-month contract working for a major storage vendor on a project at a large bank, not too far from his home in Scotland - a role that he is thoroughly enjoying. Jim believes that working as a contract specialist, rather than as a permanent member of staff enables him to use his skills to best effect. "Contracting means I'm able to concentrate on the technical aspects of the job, which is what I think I do best anyway," he explains, "and this means the customers are getting the best out of me." After some 18 years working in data storage, Jim is particularly pleased to be working for a storage company as he feels that it gives him access to a high level of support and information.
Working in the banking sector in particular at the moment means that contractors are under pressure to deliver - along with their permanent counterparts. But how does the business climate affect Jim's day-to-day working? He explains, "Like everyone else, I'm going the extra mile at the moment to prove to the customer that I'm good for the next contract".
Despite such a long period as an employee, Jim has found fitting in with the team where he is currently working to be very easy, and has found permanent staff at the customer company to be helpful and welcoming.
So, having ventured into the world of contracting, what are his plans now? Jim says, "I'll be looking for the same type of storage related work, ideally on a 3-6 month contract that's anywhere within range of Edinburgh airport". And he is happy that he has chosen B & M to help him enter the world of contracting as he says that he has found the team to be "exceptionally professional and supportive".
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Real people, real skills: B & M's Sarah Yandle, HR Team Leader
This month we hear how HR Team Leader Sarah Yandle had made a success of remote working
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Following the completion of her BA in Business Administration at the University of Glamorgan, Sarah began her career as Payroll Assistant for a Social Services division in South Wales. She subsequently moved into a support role for the Children’s Service Department.
Sarah relocated to Hampshire and joined B & M in 2003 as HR Administrator and has developed an expertise in identifying suitable specialists for our customer requirements. Sarah has succeeded in cultivating relationships with our specialists and has helped to tailor how B & M focuses its attention to meet the needs of our specialists. Sarah is also responsible for delivering valuable and essential administrative support to our Account Managers, thus helping to increase our core business productivity.
In 2007 Sarah moved back to South Wales to be close to her family and now works for B & M remotely.
In her spare time, Sarah can be found visiting family and friends, cycling in the Welsh valleys and renovating her new home.
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B & M SkillSource
expertise for enterprise systems
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B & M SkillSource is a professional service that delivers experienced specialists for short or long term contract work on projects for large-system enterprise platforms. B & M's skilled specialists bring new or additional skills, knowledge and expertise to enterprises for projects which typically include:
- Communications projects such as network planning, product installation and support, network performance and connectivity
- Data management including database administration, database design and storage management
- Capacity management and systems performance
- Operating systems management including change management, product installation and transaction processing
- Systems and network security including planning, design, implementation and administration
We apply stringent best practice standards across all our services, which ensure that they are consistently of the highest quality.
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