CSS - together with the Worshipful Company of Chartered Secretaries & Administrators (WCCSA) - struck lucky with a first-class networking event aimed at company secretaries in the early stages of their professional career.

Organised by Kerry Porritt, Liveryman, a 20 strong group donned bowling shoes and descended (literally!) onto the lanes of the exclusive American-themed ‘All Star Lanes’ bowling centre in Holborn. Strengthened by a cocktail or two and the encouragement of team mates, some serious bowling took place. Whilst technical skill levels were certainly varied – from an enthusiastic score of 28 to an expert total of 158* – the evening proved that lack of expertise is no barrier to enjoyment!

Plenty of post-match analysis – took place over a traditional American supper – burger & fries; all in all, a very relaxed and original way to build professional relationships.

*Well done, John Rowland-Jones; who emphatically proved that the multi-tasking abilities of Chartered Secretaries are not confined to the board room!

See our photos of the night below:

For more information on the WCCSA and how to join click here.

Michelle and I found out at this year’s CSSPG’s Annual General Meeting. Members old and new gathered at Royal Over-Seas League, James Street on Thursday 25th February 2010 to receive the Chairman’s Report, review the Accounts for the year, re-appoint the Auditor, elect Officers, agree the subscription levels and discuss any other business relating to the professional practice group.

This was followed by dinner and talk from Seamus Gillen, Director of Policy, ICSA. He delivered an encouraging and insightful speech about the ICSA and its plans for this year, focussing on the growth and expansion of membership, rebranding of the institute and, most importantly, raising the profile of the company secretarial profession, particularly in the not-for-profit sector.

It was inspiring to hear such positivity after what can only be described as a difficult year all round, and to look forward to the roll-out of all the plans for the CSPPG and ICSA.

I spent last Tuesday in the company of a very important group of people; non-executive directors. We were all on an extremely well run and informative technical course run by the ICSA.

For my co-participants it was a refresher day, focussing on key areas of the extensive legislation, much of it very new and complex, that applies to their role. For me it was my first insight into exactly how demanding the NED remit is.

It was daunting to discover the extent of their responsibilities but very reassuring also the see how much legislation and guidance is in place - and how well-qualified the NEDs I met are! It has made a very positive lasting impression on me. The number of NEDs is declining and I can understand why many people might baulk at the challenge but as the day taught me; our boards and investors - and all of us in fact - need our NEDs!

All Job hunting seems to be done online now – all of it! Whether that means Job boards like Times Online, CV databases such as Top Consultant or Monster, or through social networking on LinkedIn, its all in cyberspace!

Here at BLT we have had to move too – I hope you’ve seen the BLT TV on the front page of the website! 95% of our advertising has moved to the virtual space, just as the applications we receive have. On average we get 100 applications to the Management Consultancy team alone per day.

The ease with which applications can be made has changed the way that applicants apply to jobs, and this is not always in their favour. To help in this, we have come up with the Three Deadly Sins on online Job Hunting – I hope they help you with your search!

1) Applying to positions you are not qualified for.
The Web has streamlined how we communicate with each other. Postings are often seen on the Web that "may" be of interest, and candidates quickly apply to them without giving it more thought. I’m afraid that this is the path to failure. Most people who have this habit will then have a tendency to send a short email, along with a generic resume (or no resume at all!). These applications are easily identifiable, as there is rarely even a close match with the role applied for. This can frustrate the recruiter, and reduce your chances of being directed to more suitable roles. For these applicants the issue really is: If you are not interested in the position, why bother applying and, if you are indeed interested in the position, why don't you put more effort into it?

2) Lack of professionalism when applying online.
We are much more informal on the Web. Some people push this attitude too far however to the point of using the wrong "tone" when applying for a job. Keep in mind that a certain degree of formalism should remain. You probably have heard that when attending a job interview, better dress conservatively. At the end of the day, you will be hired for your competence, but you don't want your outfit to be a distraction! This is the same with job applications! You don't want anything to distract the recruiter/employer when reviewing your job application. Being too informal could have a nagging effect on some recruiters and might jeopardize your candidacy.

3) Failure to recognize competition.
The internet has levelled the playing field by allowing more job seekers to gain access to more job postings. Jobs posted online are accessible to anybody who has an internet connection. With this increased exposure comes increased competition. Yet, many job seekers fail to fully acknowledge this reality. When posting an opening online, an employer can be bombarded with as many as thousands of applications. Knowing that, you should ask yourself what you have done to stand out.

I hope these three pointers help. In conclusion, there are no shortcuts to finding a job. Time is of the essence. Choose which jobs are worth applying to carefully and spend as much time as needed to put all the odds on your side. You only need one job, so focus on tailoring each of your applications. It's not an odds game. Applying to many openings won't necessarily increase your odds if each of your applications don't make the cut.

Annual Report & Accounts – what they are and why they matter!

A big thank to everyone who attended and to Victoria Penrice for presenting our most successful seminar so far! Victoria did a great job in giving us an insightful presentation on how to handle the practicalities and politics surrounding the Annual Report & Accounts process.

Click here to see Caroline’s follow-up discussion with Victoria Penrice.

What do you think you, your children or perhaps your grandchildren will be doing in 20 years time? If you are worried you (or they) may be stuck in a dead end office job with few prospects and little excitement, think again.

Fast Future, which makes a living from predicting what might be about to happen, has come up with 20 new careers that it expects to emerge over the next two decades. My personal favourites are:-

Body Part Maker - Advances in science will make it possible to create living body parts, so we could need living body part makers, body part stores and body part repair shops. Footballers and other sports stars will probably find this particularly useful given their propensity of injury!

Memory Augmentation Surgeon - Surgeons could add extra memory to people who want to increase their memory and to help those who have been over-exposed to information and need more memory to store it.

Fans of Star Trek may be interested in a career as a space pilot or tour guide whilst the police force might include weather modification police, a special branch set up to control and monitor who is allowed to shoot rockets containing silver iodine into the air - a way to provoke rainfall from passing clouds.

Of course a lot of these ideas are merely pie in the sky at the moment but they do conjure up some interesting images. With scientific and technological advancements being made at such speed, who knows what the future has in store? One thing’s for certain, it’s bound to be an interesting couple of decades.

We’d love to hear your views on new careers. What new careers do you think will emerge over the next 20 years?

It’s not only employers that are feeling more confident that employment prospects will improve in 2010. Candidates also predict that the UK jobs market will bounce back towards the end of the year, according to new research from CV guidance firm CV Trumpet.

Its survey of 1,226 jobseekers found that almost half anticipate that the employment market will have fully recovered by the end of 2010 - with only 5% believing it will take until 2013 or longer before the job market recovers from the knock-on effect of the recession.
While 72% of respondents agreed that finding new work last year was more difficult than in 2008, only 36% agreed or strongly agreed that it would be more difficult to find a job this year (2010) compared to last year (2009).

Robert Odhams, founder at CV Trumpet, says: “Our research has revealed a distinct level of optimism regarding the job market next year. There is a 36% increase in the number of people believing that finding work won’t become any more difficult this year compared with last. This ties in with the result that jobseekers predict that the job market will have recovered within two years.”

Employees who are prepared to be flexible could well benefit according to Keith Dugdale, director of global recruitment at the accountancy firm KPMG who says that "More forward-looking employers are looking at more flexible working patterns”. He adds that KPMG will be using much more creative ways of working, offering different types of contracts.

Another survey published towards the end of last year showed that 42% of respondents would be seeking pastures new in the new year, while 22% already felt more confident about their job prospects for 2010. Around two thirds of employees in banking and financial services (63%) and sales, marketing and media (61%) said they were looking to change jobs in 2010.

What are your thoughts? Do you think the job market is picking up and would you consider changing jobs during 2010?

Britain’s year-and-a-half long recession is set to draw to a close, after figures released earlier this week showed manufacturing was at its most buoyant for two years in December.

Manufacturing activity, as measured by the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, reached 54.1 in December, the highest level recorded since November 2007. Any figure over 50 on the scale indicates growth — and the consensus of City economists before the data was released was that December’s figure would be 52.

Manufacturing represents about 15 per cent of the UK economy, and the battered sector has been helped by a recovery in car production, an uptick in exports helped by softness in sterling, and an end to the rundown of stocks. In November, UK car output was ahead by 15.7 per cent, the first increase seen since September 2008.

Malcolm Barr, a JPMorgan economist, said: “Although monthly releases remain choppy, the key orders and output readings are starting to run at levels well above the long-run averages for this survey, consistent with a manufacturing sector which is contributing to an upswing in growth.”

Investec is forecasting that the Office of National Statistics will say that the UK economy grew by 0.4 per cent in the last quarter of the year, as Britain finally follows France and Germany out of the downturn that began in the second quarter of 2008 in the aftermath of the banking crisis.

The UK job market is continuing its recovery at an accelerating rate, according to Kevin Green, chief executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation. Employer confidence is increasing and the number of vacancies is on the up, with the fastest growth in permanent jobs since July 2007. "Temporary and contract placements also rose at the sharpest pace for thirty months, which underlines the crucial role that flexible working models will play in helping job-seekers back into work," he added.

As we go into 2010 these news items do give us a glimmer of hope that things are getting back to normal. But will these trends continue over the coming months?

Many businesses have not settled down after the Christmas and New Year breaks due to the atrocious weather conditions that have hit the country over recent weeks. The freezing weather has already cost businesses an estimated £690million, and experts fear economic output could be hit by as much as £14billion over the next three weeks if the bad weather continues. Add to that the uncertainty that surrounds the upcoming election and the road to recovery may not be as smooth as some predict.

Could the current spell of bad weather push back our hopes of recovering from the recession or do you think the green shoots of recovery have been firmly planted? And what affect will the upcoming election have on the country’s finances?

Many of you will have seen some our previous Breakfast seminars, or even been to one. The new season is beginning in 2 weeks time with “Entrepreneurship, The Recession and 2010”- a special and engaging look at the entrepreneurial sector.

This recession has hit SME’s and entrepreneurial businesses the hardest. Whether you consult to these organisations, are one of these organisations, or are simply part of the business community, you need to know what the implications are for this key part of the economy.

Our speaker, Rebecca Harding, is an independent economist, founder and Managing Director of Delta Economics Ltd and the World Entrepreneur Society. Previously Rebecca was a Director of Research at Deloitte, Chief Economist at The Work Foundation and she has held senior academic roles various prestigious institutions, including London Business School and Oxford University. She has been a specialist adviser to the Treasury Select Committee on Regional Productivity between 2004 and 2005 and Chief Policy Adviser to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Entrepreneurship (APPGE) (2007-2009). Recently she was engaged in round table discussions with the German President and senior business leaders and policy makers on the future of the East German economy. She is a prolific author, and recent media work includes appearances on Radio 4, Radio 5 Live and the World Service. She is frequently cited in the Financial Times, the Telegraph and the Economist.

Delta Economics are a research-led economics consultancy whose goal is to promote sustainable economic development through entrepreneurship and corporate responsibility. They work with organisations such as Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, HSBC, Grant Thornton and Barclays. All their research is focused on the end user and they specialise in “translating” complex economic and econometric concepts into an accessible format

On Tuesday 19th January 2010, at BLT’s office, Rebecca will look at the impact that the recession has had on entrepreneurs and their businesses across the world. Based on interviews with practitioners from the entrepreneurial sector and a large scale survey of business founders in the UK, she will look at how turnover, demand for finance, recruitment and management have all been affected over the last 12 months and discuss the coping strategies that entrepreneurs and the support services industry (accountants, banks, lawyers and consultants) have adopted to deal with the ‘perfect storm’ of financial crisis and economic downturn. Her talk will also look ahead to the prospects of recovery during 2010 and the implications for the entrepreneurial sector.

The event will begin at 8:00am, with coffee and croissants. Rebecca will speak from 8.30 for 25-30 minutes, followed by an opportunity for questions. There will also be time to meet the other guests and network with them. We hope that you’ll be able to join us for the event and that you’ll find Rebecca’s insights very valuable.

If you would be interested in coming, then please contact the organiser, Stephen Humphreys, by January 13th to srh@blt.co.uk to let us know if you would like to attend. Please use the Subject “BLT Breakfast Seminar”