Welcome to The Wonders!

After The Noughties...The Wonders! The next decade will, I'm sure, be called The Twenties in a sensible fashion. But The Wonders is apparently the moniker that has been chosen to describe the 2010-2019 years!

Whatever!

But...what delights will The Wonders hold for all of us? And in particular this year 2010.

As reported in last Wednesday's Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jan/20/uk-unemployment-surprise-fall :

Surprise fall in UK unemployment amid surge in part-time jobs

A rapid growth in part-time jobs may prevent the jobless total rising above the 3 million mark after unemployment unexpectedly fell for the first time in 18 months in November.

The Office for National Statistics said the broadest measure of unemployment fell by 7,000 to 2.458 million, the first quarterly decline since May 2008, leaving the jobless rate at 7.8%. The narrower measure of people claiming unemployment benefits dropped by more than expected in December, falling by 15,200 to 1.61 million, the biggest drop since early 2007.

But the fall masked an increase in the number of people in the labour force who are neither working nor looking for work, with the inactivity total rising above 8 million for the first time since records began in 1971. The rise was largely driven by an increase of 81,000 in the number of students not looking for work.

Full-time employment fell by 113,000 to 21.2 million, while part-time employment did not rise fast enough to compensate, increasing by 99,000 to 7.7 million. As has been the pattern for months, the figures are being driven by women finding part-time jobs while men, predominantly, are losing full-time ones.

There was better news for the under-24s, who saw a fall in joblessness of 16,000 to 927,000...

There is some good news out there folks...it's just that you need a microscope to see it!

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Weird Conundra!

A while back, I was pondering the plural of the word conundrum. Consulting my friend Mister Google, I found a lengthy discourse in the Notes & Queries column of The Guardian answering the question posed: What is the correct plural of conundrum?

At the end of it, the answer which appealed to me, was that whatever word conveys the meaning...is OK!

The conundrum is the meaning of the word "correct". Language is a living, growing construct of the human mind and, as such, changes constantly. The question, "What is the correct distance between my current location and any other location?" varies as my location changes. Similarly, any form of the plural of "conundrum" which conveys the meaning to the intended audience is a correct plural. (Rocky Kurchak, Akron, Ohio, USA)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-5253,00.html

In work, business, and significantly, employment interviews though, the opposite holds true. Much as we might prefer it to be the case, unfortunately anything does not go! We are obliged to do the done thing, to please as many of the people as much of the time as we can.

Trainer Jon Dean expresses it thus:

When somebody meets me for the first time and it’s important to them and they turn up without a jacket or maybe without a tie, I shouldn’t judge them. Those things don’t really matter in the great scheme of things so to judge somebody on them would make me wrong. But I do. I can’t help it, I do.

When I take lunch with somebody who can’t use their cutlery correctly I shouldn’t start to worry about the other social gaffs they might make that might have deeper reaching consequences. To do that would make me wrong. I know it makes me wrong. But I do it.

When someone’s CV or marketing copy or invite or letter or email is littered with misplaced apostrophes, typos that Word would have redlined or poor grammar I worry about what else they might be getting wrong.

I know I’m the one who’s reading too much into some of this. I know that none of these on its own tells me anything at all about what somebody can offer or the brilliance they might have in other areas.

None of it should matter at all. But it does, because I know I’m not alone. One of my favourite definitions of marketing is ‘anything you do that makes it easier for your business to do business’. If these little things are making people worry about your performance then however much it shouldn’t matter, it’s mattering.

http://www.jondean.co.uk/

In a nutshell: similar to the conundrums/conundra conundrum, nothing really matters at all, except when it matters to someone else...particularly when it is someone we are trying to impress!

If you want to know how to behave impeccably at job interviews, and WIN job offers, see the advice freely offered on the Seltek website: http://www.seltekconsultants.co.uk/interviewadvice.htm

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Seltek Reports Surge in Results!

It's the simplest way we can measure the progress of the economy - how much we bill. Invoiced total at the end of December 2009 for the second half of the year was a stunning 45.7% more than the total billed in the first half of the year.

We are looking forward to 2010, and are currently actively looking to take on more consultants to help with this growth in demand for our services.

If you, or anyone you know would like to talk to us about an exciting and lucrative career in business consulting, please look at our website http://www.seltekconsultants.co.uk/jobs_science_recruitment.html or telephone Guy Buncombe, Director on 01279 657716.

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Thought for Food!

There was a man who worked for the Post Office whose job was to process all the mail that had illegible addresses. One day, a letter came addressed in a shaky handwriting to God with no actual address. He thought he should open it to see what it was about. The letter read:

Dear God,
I am an 83 year old widow, living on a very small pension. Yesterday someone stole my purse. It had  £100 in it, which was all the money I had until my next pension payment. Next Sunday is Christmas, and I had invited two of my friends over for dinner. Without that money, I have nothing to buy food with, have no family to turn to, and you are my only hope. Can you please help me?  
Sincerely, Edna

The postal worker was touched. He showed the letter to all the other workers. Each one dug into his or her wallet and came up with a few  pounds .

By the time he made the rounds, he had collected  £96, which they put into an envelope and sent to the woman. 
 
The rest of the day, all the workers felt a warm glow thinking of Edna and the dinner she would be able to share with her friends.

Christmas came and went.   A few days later, another letter came from the same old lady to God.   All the workers gathered around while the letter was opened. It read:
 
Dear God,  
How can I ever thank you enough for what you did for me?  Because of your gift of love, I was able to fix a glorious dinner for my friends. We had a very nice day and I told my friends of your wonderful gift.  By the way, there was  £4 missing. Between you and me,  I think it might have been those b*stards at the post office.
 
Sincerely, Edna

Nota Bene! This fable in no way reflects our opinion of The Post Office, which is a fine institution. Editor.
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Hot Jobs

There's one way to warm the cockles of your heart on these cold snowy wintery days - and that's to consider heating up your career with a great new job! Now that the recession is but a dim and distant memory, unemployment is tumbling like a medieval clown, you'll need to get your skates on if you want to beat the rush to the best of the new job opportunities.

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• Summary: A globally recognised leader in the genomic research arena is keen to recruit a three Technical Support Representatives who will be office based from their German offices. You will join a team that supports customers and internal staff throughout Europe, and your task will be to focus on Spanish/Italian/French speaking customers. You will answer queries by telephone and e-mail and ensure that technical queries are handled and resolved properly, no matter how demanding or unusual they are!
• Why you should apply for this job: This is an outstanding opportunity for someone looking for their first step out of research into a more commercial role yet still very focused on the science. Full training and support will be provided to ensure you are successful in the job.
  
  

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£47,000 OTE, car, bonus, pension, healthcare

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• Summary: A leading brand in the life science sector is expanding its sales team and is keen to recruit an Account Manager in the Cambridge/East Anglia region to focus purely on developing sales for their range of life science research instruments. You will have a a range of instruments to promote which will include QPCR, DNA extraction, platforms and flow cytometry systems.
  
• Why you should apply for this job?  The area is well established and there is a healthy pipeline of sales already developed. Those with strong hands-on technical experience who are now keen and committed to moving into a commercial role should contact us as the company can train and support those that are new to sales.

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Technical Sales - Immunology

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£28,000 basic salary

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£33,500 OTE, car, bonus, pension, benefits

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• Summary: This company is keen to recruit an enthusiastic biomedical scientist or immunologist to cover the Birmingham to Newcastle region, to sell cell and biomolecular separation products.
• Why you should apply for this job: This is a great opportunity to join a world leader in this technology in a key role within a company which is well known for their innovative and novel products. Our client is open to considering a trainee.
  

Clinical Jobs

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• Summary: Here is a full scope Senior CRA role with local country level clinical responsibility! Lead a team of experienced CRAs across phase II and III oncology, CNS and cardiovascular projects! When you work for this medium sized, well respected company you work for a company specialising in supporting the development of new drugs in the therapeutic areas of oncology, CNS and cardiovascular sciences.
• Why you should apply for this job: On offer to the successful candidate is a competitive remuneration package, excellent training and development, and the opportunity to become part of an expanding international team!
  

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• Summary: Here is an exciting opportunity to work for the expanding early stage development arm of a leading international CRO as Director of Business Development! This role is offered on either an office or field basis in Europe, within one of the following countries - UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland or Belgium. This business development role involves both account management and new business development, promoting the company's early stage service offerings to biotech and pharma companies across Europe.
• Why you should apply for this job: There is no glass ceiling within business development at this company which allows high performing business developers to fly as high as possible, with promotion to Senior Director and involvement in more business strategy and team building/management!
  

Hot Candidates

Andy Murray (the well known Scottish tennis player) to win the Australian Open? England to win the World Cup? Tiger Woods to become a monk? What are the odds on any of these events happening?

What is virtually a certainty, is that any of Seltek's Star Candidates can immediately add value, and bring revenue and profits to your company. Employers! Don't monkey with the future! Call Guy Buncombe, Director, on 01279 657716 to arrange a confidential discussion with one of our consultants, to find out how you can project your organisation to the top of the rostrum!

Scientific Sales & Marketing Division

* Business Development Executive Anywhere! £43/45K Ref: 79752
* Sales Manager North East £40/50K Ref: 104475
* Senior Account Manager Midlands £40/50K Ref: 47298
* Account Manager North UK £38/45K Ref: 32527
* Key Account Manager Anywhere! £35/40K Ref: 29450
* Northern Area Sales Manager Anywhere! £33/35K Ref: 104273
* Account Manager East Anglia £32/40K Ref: 89470
* European Sales/BD South East £32/38K Ref: 91703
* Account Manager London (Anywhere!) £30K Ref: 84340
* Sales & Marketing Coordinator London £25K Ref: 99393

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Clinical Research Division



*BDM (Pharma) Home Counties £50K Ref: 102437
*Database Programmer Home Counties £42K Ref: 86900
*BDM France France €open to offers! Ref: 93379
*Regulatory Associate USA $open to offers! Ref: 104027