What to do if you lose your job!

Apparently, it’s official!  We’re nose-diving into the worst recession since…ooh…10,000 BC when there were no axe-heads to be chipped at all.  Well it might not be as bad as that, but Britain and the rest of the world in all probability are about to go through a period of negative growth (as the financial wizards charmingly call decline).  Which means there will be job losses.

In the event of emergency:

• Don’t panic!
• Carefully rewrite your CV (if you haven’t written one for some time, you’ll find advice on Seltek’s website http://www.seltekconsultants.co.uk/TipsForSuccess.htm
• Identify two or three suitable agencies to help you.  If you’re involved in scientific sales & marketing, service engineering, or clinical research, send your CV to Seltek (guy@seltekconsultants.co.uk)
• Use your down-time fruitfully: enrol on a course at your local college, learn a language!
• Keep yourself occupied: even doing voluntary work will keep your mind active, and involved with other people.
• Do a part-time job, whatever it is.  Try to leave yourself time for attending interviews.
• Be as open-minded as possible regarding new jobs.  It may not be possible to get a job with the same status/title, salary and conditions as your old job, in your own area.
• Apply for every job you feel you could do, even if it's one or two rungs down the ladder from the position you held before.  It will always be possible to move on again in due course.
• Keep fit!  Try not to sink into the slough of despond.  Maintain a good diet and exercise regularly.
• Read more books.  Write a book!  (It worked for J.K.Rowling!)
• Don’t be afraid to ask people to help you!
• For financial advice you need to talk to experts, but you can make a start by looking at websites such as http://www.armchairadvice.co.uk/financial/
  

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Now is the time to buy US stocks, says fearless Buffett

Legendary investor Warren Buffett has given a resounding vote of confidence to the US stockmarket, saying that now is a great time to "buy a slice of America's future at a marked-down price".

After global equities suffered another bruising week, Buffett revealed he is now buying US stocks with his own money and predicted shares would "substantially" outperform cash over the next decade.

Writing in the New York Times, the Sage of Omaha echoed his famous motto: to be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.

"Most certainly, fear is now widespread, gripping even seasoned investors," wrote Buffett, who has built a reputation for sound investing over several decades.

"To be sure, investors are right to be wary of highly leveraged entities or businesses in weak competitive positions. But fears regarding the long-term prosperity of the nation's many sound companies make no sense. These businesses will indeed suffer earnings hiccups, as they always have. But most major companies will be setting profit records five, 10 and 20 years from now," he predicted.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/oct/18/warren-buffet-us-stocks

Graeme Weardon, The Guardian Saturday October 18 2008

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Difficult Interview Questions

One of the hardest questions to answer at a job interview, is the salary question!
Here's how.....

Reaching the end of a job interview, the human resources person asked a young MBA fresh out of uni, "And what starting salary are you looking for?"

The MBA said, "In the neighborhood of £125,000 a year, depending on the benefits package."

The interviewer said, "Well, what would you say to eight weeks holiday plus bank holidays, full medical and dentalcare, company matching your retirement fund to 50% of your salary, and a company car leased every two years, say, a Mercedes CLS320?"

The young MBA sat up straight and said, "Wow! Are you kidding?"

The interviewer replied, "Yeah, but you started it."

(Adapted from: http://www.dirtybutton.com/text/2626-job-interview/)

....NOT to!

Incidentally, advice on the correct way to handle the salary question is given in our second interview advice sheet: http://www.seltekconsultants.co.uk/secondinterview.htm

Leave all discussions of rewards until you are actually offered the job, unless the company broach the subject. Initially it is best to say 'It's the career and opportunity here that really interest me. Of course I'm interested in being paid well, and I'm sure that if I'm the right person for the job, you'll make me a fair offer'. If they press you to name a number (salary), you could ask if they are in fact offering you a job. If 'Yes', then use whatever information you have to pick a suitable figure. You may already know what the salary parameters are, from your consultant, or from advertising, or from your first interview. Alternatively, you could take your last salary and add 15%. Or you may have calculated a 'bottom line' below which the job would just not be worth doing. Don't price yourself out of the job: companies prefer to hire at a lower rate (you are untried and untested after all) but will usually increase pay in the first year or two, as you prove yourself, to pay you what you are worth. On the other hand, you don't want to price yourself at too low a level, just to get the job, if you would not be able to get by on such a wage. If 'No' or 'Maybe', suggest that perhaps it would be better to wait until they are sure they would like to make an offer to you, before settling the terms of employment.

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Hot Jobs

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• A fantastic opportunity to join a small but growing niche supplier of immunology reagents!
• The opportunity to be responsible for both key account management and new business development, especially within CROs!
• A chance to have total autonomy to work the territory and the support of a friendly and approachable sales manager!
• The prospect to really grow with the company and have your ideas heard!

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• Selling quality reagents for drug discovery to academic, pharmaceutical and biotechnology laboratories
• Highly innovative market leader with outstanding products, continually addressing market needs with ground breaking product solutions
• Major accounts established on territory, both in the UK and Scandinavia
• Great applications support from specialised staff
• Small friendly team together with very supportive manager
• Substantial training and back up for the right person
  

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£26,000 basic salary, £38,000 OTE

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Car, pension, healthcare, 24 days holiday, laptop, mobile

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• Entry level opportunity for those looking for their first field sales role!
• A world leading brand in the life science sector with a market leading position!
• Extensive training and ongoing support to ensure your success!
• Established area with excellent mix of academic, biotech and clinical laboratories!

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Area Sales Manager - Liquid Dosing Systems

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£30,000 basic salary, £36,000 OTE uncapped

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Car, bonus

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Clinical Jobs

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• Challenging line management role within an expanding, high profile, specialist medical operations function!
• Lline manage a UK team of 12 staff, involved in the provision of remote monitoring services to large, global phase IIIb/Iv studies!
• Staff recruitment, appraisals and performance management, salary review and training
• Excellent opportunity to get involved with an expanding and constantly evolving area of non-registration research!
• Long term prospects within this department are unlimited and your role will continue to grow with the continued expansion of the team!

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• Magnificent contracts management role within an expanding biotechnology company in a Thames Valley location!
• Manage high value contracts on an international level, negotiating commercial terms with vendors and suppliers!
• 30% travel in Europe and the US!
• Join a company that is really going places, with a strong product pipeline and lots of investment in R&D!
  

Hot Candidates

Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain. The festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture, and is sometimes regarded as the "Celtic New Year". Traditionally, the festival was a time used by the ancient pagans to take stock of supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, now known as Halloween, the boundary between the alive and the deceased dissolved, and the dead become dangerous for the living by causing problems such as sickness or damaged crops.  The festivals would frequently involve bonfires, into which bones of slaughtered livestock were thrown. Costumes and masks were also worn at the festivals in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or placate them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween

So, now you know! What you do not know however is how spooky it would be if our most outstanding and mysterious candidates turned you and your company from frogs into....millionaires! Overnight!!
Well, rub the ouija board that is Seltek Consultants, call us to arrange to meet some of them, and find out for yourselves, the difference between dreams and reality!

Scientific Sales & Marketing Division

Business Development Manager
This is one BSc, PhD qualified biochemist who will not turn into a pumpkin at midnight!  With considerable customer based experience in applications, technical support and product management she is more than capable of whipping up a bubbling cauldron of excitement around your product.  An expert in the proteomics field she is undoubtedly a definite treat for one potentially lucky employer.
Reference 79959PSP
£40,000 basic salary, £50,000 OTE
South East

Sales Representative
It's that time of the year again, Halloween! Don't be tricked but be treated to this pumpkin who will light up your company in the coming years. She will cast a spell over your customers and put a smile on their faces. She is a high flyer with many years of business development and sales experience. The addition of this potion to your pot will make a massive difference to your sales figures. Don't let her fly away, Treat your company now!
Reference 80088CRD
£35,000 basic, £39,000 OTE
Cambridge

Business Development/Sales Specialist
No tricks, only treats with this gifted sales professional! Not just into knocking on doors for a quick candy fix, this mystery man will help build your long term business, adding value both in small and large accounts. Very technically competent in molecular biology, he has excellent core skills in HTS assays and imaging as well as a fantastic record of building business, having established a t/o of £750K from scratch in under two years for a reagents company. This guy will leave your customers screaming for more!!!
Reference 61862SJW
£45,000
South East

Sales Representative
Halloween is here and this witch is looking to cast a spell over you!! With excellent experience in potion making (molecular biology) and spell casting (technical support) this Hermione Granger is looking to make the next step and learn how to fly (sell!!)  With her trusty black cat by her side and her linguistic abilities (fluency in German, Italian as well as English) she will sure cast a spell on your customers and make a magical difference to your sales figures!
Reference 81739JRP
£30,000 basic
Scotland

Key Account Manager
By a spooky co-incidence I have just the candidate for you!  Chemistry degree qualified and a real technical seller in the personal care, cosmetics, healthcare and pharmaceuticals chemicals sector.  Raw and active ingredients knowledge combined with experience of dealing with major corporations as key accounts, and a great track record of success! If your company is a cauldron of chemicals, waiting to be sold, then this is the wizard for you!
Reference 97603JKP
£28,000
UK wide

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Clinical Research Division

Senior Contracts Manager
This time of year is all about witches, pumpkins and trick or treating! This SCRA is a real treat for any company with a few tricks up her sleeve to deliver all your clinical project activities as if by magic! With extensive site management and monitoring experience across phases I-III and exposure to a broad range of therapy areas she has a spellbook to rival Merlin! Constantly exceeding patient recruitment targets in the UK and the heart and soul of her project team, this clinical trial wizard will amaze you with her performance!
Reference 88955DE
£38,000
South West

Senior Clinical Research Associate
Fillet of a fenny snake, in the caldron boil and bake; eye of newt, and toe of frog, wool of bat, and tongue of dog, adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting, lizard’s leg, and owlet’s wing, for a charm of powerful trouble, like a hell-broth boil and bubble. OK, it worked for Macbeth's witches, but it may not work for you; but this outstanding SCRA will! A BSc in Nursing Studies, and...a long time ....working for one of the greatest healthcare companies on Earth, this minor miracle has experience in Phase I to phase IV studies in therapeutic areas such as oncology, cardiology, neurology, women’s health and diabetes. Most recent experience is in nuclear medicine imaging studies. Act now before the witches turn you into the sort of person who misses out on a great opportunity!

Reference 40552DE
£40,000
Scotland