Being flexible?

Being flexible can help you secure your next position. You can be flexible in various areas - salary, contract terms, working hours.

Your Salary

Not all employers are willing to offer very high salaries - therefore you should not expect them to.  We find, working in recruitment, that when an employer does not want to increase the salary they have offered for a particular role, it is often the case that they can increase the overall package instead. So where your salary might not be exactly what you were hoping for, you may have a car allowance or a bonus scheme thrown on top.

Your Contract

Upon being offered a role, you may be able to negotiate some elements of your contract. If you already have commitments such as holidays or events which you must attend, you may be able to negotiate your start date. Be aware though, that if an employer has a particular event or meeting that you are required to attend, you will also have to be flexible.

Your Working hours

The traditional 9-5 job doesn't exist as much as it used to. Employers will often expect you to work overtime or extra hours when required. Not all employers pay for this, especially if you are on a salaried wage. If you are in a role where you think you are treated unfairly and are underpaid, then by making you work extra hours, the problem will often lie with the employer, as you are likely to be unmotivated and unloyal to the company. If however the company pays you a fair wage or salary, you may be expected to work these extra hours without question. Being flexible to do this will allow you to progress through your career, and will show your employer that you are serious about your position in the company.

Whilst this article looks at making you, the candidate, flexible, we also expect our clients to be flexible. We operate a partnership here at Focus Management and aim to build strong relationships between candidates, clients and ourselves. Relationships of which the foundations can often be cooperation and an understanding of each party's interests.

Like with any relationship - whether it is between employer and employee, husband and wife, a business and its supplier, all parties are at some point required to make a compromise, and that's what allows business to succeed.