Trainee Opportunities in Tax and Audit – Closing date for Applications 8 February 2008

We have exciting trainee opportunities in our St Albans, London (Tax only), Milton Keynes and Northampton offices for bright, focussed individuals wishing to obtain a professional qualification and pursue a rewarding career with countless prospects/opportunities.

See our trainee recruitment page for more details.

Career opportunities in London, St Albans and Milton Keynes

We are currently looking to fill 3 exciting opportunities within Mercer & Hole’s London, St Albans and Milton Keynes offices.

For more information on these roles please refer to our vacancies page available here

St. Albans & Northampton career opportunities

Two new exciting career opportunites became available today.

For more information please refer to our vacancies page available here

Opportunities for change available now….

Currently, we have a number of career-defining opportunities awaiting excellent candidates who appreciate being able to balance work and home life.

If you are seeking:

• Greater responsibility and career progression


• Acknowledgement and recognition for your efforts


• Fast-moving culture


• Family friendly benefits such as Flexible Hours and Childcare Vouchers


• Excellent working environment

and the chance to work alongside similar minded people, please take a look at our vacancies page.

Hampshire PA Hunt Update

I thought I’d done all the hard work in finding a suitable candidate but it seems the work is just beginning. Well, at least, for our Facilities and IT people rather than me!

Our new PA has signed up and there is a mass of activity afoot, trying to ensure that her home office is set up with everything she needs. Broadband has been installed as well as extra phone lines and next week all the files and furniture will be delivered. The poor woman must feel like she’s been invaded but she seems to be happy enough.

The flexible hours system will be put to the test with this role and I’m keen to see how it works out. Holiday calculations etc seem to have been made easier by us agreeing a minimum number of hours over the year although we’ll have to see how we determine exactly what constitutes a day’s holiday which I guess might be the average number of hours worked per day.

I’ll be going down to visit our new recruit to do an induction in the next couple of weeks and may be I’ll be able to persuade her to write a blog too about the role and her experiences.

Telephone Interviewing

Day two of our telephone interviews and things seem to be going well.

My colleague Sarah and I are conducting first interviews by phone to see if we can screen candidates more effectively at this stage by using a defined questioning and marking system which leaves little opportunity, if any at all, for subjectivity to creep in. In theory, anyone should be able to conduct these interviews and objectively mark the candidates. It also should save lots of fee earner chargeable time (these interviews were previously done in person by a Manager) and will save the candidates having to make two trips to our offices.

So far, the same old issues are arising (as per my blog about the perfect interview). Candidates are failing to research properly the firm, role and the qualifications they will be taking which is very frustrating. However, the system itself seems to be working because contrary to my fears that we might get lots of candidates with the same marks, a range of scores has been generated.

We’ve made minor modifications to the scoring process as we’ve gone along (which has been retrospectively applied to all candidates) with the aim of ensuring it is completely fair to everyone.

Will keep you updated of our progress. We will sit down to decide on 9 March which candidates will come through to the assessment day stage.

The Hampshire PA Hunt

I am so excited at the moment about a brand new role I am recruiting for. Apart from anything else, it’s unusual that I get to visit an old haunt of mine, the beautiful county of Hampshire and the role itself is part of the groundbreaking movement that’s taking force in terms of flexible working.

What’s really so wonderful about this role, I guess you’re probably thinking. Well, for me it’s the type of role that demonstrate’s the willingness and flexibility of an organisation and its culture to respond to social change and to adopt best practice. Most of all I am finding the process fun. For the last week or so, I’ve been helping our eminent Tax expert and lecturer, Robert Jamieson determine the best way to find his right-hand person who will organise his commitments and writing. Robert is an author and is well-known in the field of Tax because he trains those at the top of the profession today.

The role itself offers completely flexible hours (July and August off! – I’m so jealous) and the opportunity to work from home which will suit many people and the successful applicant will probably become typical of the country’s future workforce. There is a very strong desire out there amongst candidates for this kind of role. Anticipating a large response, I allowed only five days for application and have been thrilled to receive approximately thirty high quality candidates, which reinforces that perhaps this is indeed the way of the future.