Our Manchester team is filled with recruitment experts ready to help you find the right person for the job and the right job for the person. We sat down with the team to find out what they love most about Calibre Search, Manchester and what they get up to outside the office...

Rob Jones 

Built Environment, Building Services, M&E Consultant

Nickname: Jonesy / RJ / IT Manager

3 words you think your colleagues would use to describe you: Awkward, Pedantic, Different

How long have you been at Calibre Search: 3 years 3 months

Whats different between Calibre Search and other companies you’ve worked for: Calibre has a really good social side

What are your interests outside of work: Playing golf badly and watching football

Best thing about working at Calibre Search: They are less corporate than other companies I have worked for, no one takes themselves too seriously and that helps create a good working environment

Best thing about working in Manchester: We have a good selection of bars and restaurants on the door step of the office.

Favourite place in Manchester: Gasworks

Cory Taylor

 Geo-Environmental, Geotechnical & Environmental Consultant

Nickname: Curley

3 words you think your colleagues would use to describe you: Shop too much

How long have you been at Calibre Search: 1 Year 4 months

Whats different between Calibre Search and other companies you’ve worked for: Nice atmosphere and great incentives

Whats the best thing about working at Calibre: They pay well and its a good laugh

What are your interests outside of work: Following Man United, going on nights out and listening to techno music

Best thing about working in Manchester: It’s got everything hasn’t it!

Rob Hayton

Management, Quantity Surveying and Building Surveying Consultant

Nickname: Marvel Man or Robbo

3 words you think your colleagues would use to describe you: geeky, daft & odd

Whats different between Calibre Search and other companies you’ve worked for: They blend relaxed and professional working environment really well

What are your interests outside of work:  Play Guitar and I used to be in a band

Best thing about working at Calibre: It would probably have to be that we are always learning 

Favourite thing about Manchester: The amount of food places....Go to El Pancho's Burritos!

Mike Tobin

Civil and Structural Engineering Consultant

Nickname: Tobes

3 words you think your colleagues would use to describe you: Good looking, Athletic and None-of-those

How long have you been at Calibre Search: 3 & a half years

What are your interests outside of work:  Golf, rugby and football & I go to gigs because I’m hip and cool

Best thing about working at Calibre: Plenty of social events throughout the year

Best Thing about Manchester: It’s in Manchester

Andrew Warbuton

Architecture, Interior Design and Town Planning/Land Management Consultant

Nickname: Hoofy

3 words you think your colleagues would use to describe you: vegan, tall & baffling

How Long have you been in recruitment: Over 5 years

Whats different between Calibre Search and other companies you’ve worked for: They have a pingpong table and a nice brick wall

What are your interests outside of work: Guitar, piano, singing… being part of a band

Best thing about working at Calibre: Other than the pingpong table? Everyone here is really nice

Best place to go in Manchester:  Oyster bar has the cheapest pints

Nothing quite says English summer like a walk in the country and a few drinks in a beer garden. So, in true Calibre Search style last weekend the team set off on the annual Calibre walk and, luckily for our walkers, the weather was glorious.

With 16 miles to walk and 9 pubs to visit the team had an early start: an 8am meet to put up the tents for the night ahead and a sausage sandwich to start the journey right. 

A shortage of tents meant a few of the men in the group were sharing. In any usual circumstance that would have been absolutely fine, but there were rumours brewing that a certain Calibre director had a habit of snoring, loudly.

A minibus took the group across to Barden Bridge and by 10am they were off on their first leg of the journey.

There were plenty of smiles on the teams faces, safe in the knowledge the first pub was just 90 minutes away!

At 1pm the team sat down for some lunch, after 2 hours of walking completed and plenty more steps to go the fish and chips at The Swan pub in went down a treat, combined with a few drinks of course….

With a full stomach, the second leg of the journey was a little slower and there were a few more moans from the group. Lindsay, Calibre’s sales administrator, was getting tired, not of the walking, but tired of her partner Josh’s constant moaning and claims he was “going to die”. 

But there were still a few smiles, especially when Director Mark Lyons fell into a nettle bush and Amy fell into a rabbit hole. It was hard to mock them too much though, with the constant beautiful scenery it was no surprise that the team spent more time looking at the views than looking at where they put their feet!

Plenty more hills were climbed, too many nettles were touched, a stream was crossed and noses were burnt by late afternoon.

Simon Wake found himself a stylish and fully functioning walking cane on en route and did not miss the opportunity to model his latest look for the group.  

12 hours after first meeting at the campsite the Calibre walkers were ready for some well-deserved dinner. Menston Cricket Club served up some delicious homemade pies and the team were safe in the knowledge that they only had 30 more minutes of walking before they got back the to the camp site… or at least the final pub, the Chevin End. 

The day was a success all round, beautiful weather, lovely food and great company. The group might have been sleeping in tents and sleeping bags but after that much walking most got a good night’s sleep* before heading off home with the guarantee that Calibre Search would not be making them do anymore walking for a long time!

*Excluding the tent shared by a few of the guys, turns out the snoring rumours were true!

At Calibre Search we believe in working hard and playing hard too. We’re a professional outfit but we don’t take ourselves too seriously and we create the right kind of atmosphere so everyone can thrive. We’re looking for talented people for our Manchester offices and we can offer you a considerable benefits package, commission structure, flexibility and a great working environment. Interested? Send your CV to Pete Gillick at pete.gillick@calibresearch.co.uk. We would be happy to answer any questions you have on the role, give us a call on 0161 660 2360. 

Our intern has been busy getting to grips with life in a recruitment office. After three weeks in the job, she gives us a rundown on what skills she thinks a recruiter should have. 

After four weeks working at Calibre Search I think I’m safe to make a confession. It might sound a little ridiculous, it will probably cause a few eye rolls from my colleagues (as it did my parents) and it will make you question why on earth I’m working here but it’s time to be honest.

When I first applied for the job here, I didn’t really know what a recruitment company did.

I mean you don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to know the very basic role of a recruiter, you recruit employees for companies. But how they did it, what a usual work day would look like or what skills made a recruiter, I had no idea. When I first told my parents about the company I was working for they looked at me puzzled…

“But Charlotte you don’t know the first thing about recruitment, how on earth did you get that job?”

After trying, and failing, to persuade my parents I am the fountain of all knowledge, including recruitment, and the company clearly saw my potential and talent, I had to admit that my role was to work on social media and I wouldn’t be doing any recruiting. HOWEVER, after four weeks in a recruitment office, sitting next to recruiters, posting blogs, tweets and insta-pics for recruiters I think I am starting to get to grips with what a recruitment company does, what a recruiter looks like and some insider tips to be a good recruiter. From my vast amount of well researched analysis (four weeks of listening in to conversations I shouldn’t be) I can now publish my final report:

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The Recruiter: A (Kind of) in Depth Report

There are several skills you need to have to be a good recruiter, many of which are not made clear on the job description these are as follows

Strong vocal chords

Recruiters spend over half their day on the phone so a good morning vocal routine is advised. Your phone voice will also need to be strong: different from the traditional office phone voice, the recruiter is friendlier, less formal and should include personalised phrases and stories that WILL be used on plenty of phone calls you make. Calibre examples include holiday advice, questions about the weather, good pubs for the weekend and the story of that time you got knocked off your bike on the way to work and needed stitches. I also recommended practicing the art of a good brew to keep vocal chords strong throughout the working day. There is office etiquette with any brew making and I would advise learning this at the earliest convenience.

There is no ‘i’ in team, but there is in ‘winning a competition’

Working as a team is essential to a happy and healthy office in recruitment. Communication and supporting other members of the team to help current clients and gain new ones is expected. However, introduce a light-hearted competition with a small prize, for example, a pack of biscuits, and there is a stark change. Survival of the fittest mentality kicks in and many recruiters will do anything they can to win. This includes trying to put off other teams, cheating or being a bad winner. I recommend practising your table tennis skills if you are looking to join Calibre Search and not making any bold statements about your running ability until you’ve done your research on the rest of the team. Otherwise you may find yourself signing up for a run and a time prediction you certainly won’t be able to manage.

Know your stuff

There is a general assumption that recruitment is simply a sales environment, despite their being some parallels, don’t underestimate how much knowledge recruiters have stored away. Recruiters aren’t selling people to companies or companies to people they do far more advising and informing. They are an industry encyclopaedia, they know what companies want, need and should have, they know the good, from the bad, from the ugly and they know their candidates! I would recommend researching the ins and outs of an industry you want to recruit for, you want to know everything that can help get the right fit for the job. to get the right placement you can’t just look at a company’s location and salary, you need to know the people employers, the career progression, where the company is going and what the office culture is like, to name a few. What recruiters don’t know about a company they are employing for isn’t worth knowing. So, I can’t emphasise enough, KNOW YOUR STUFF! I have worked in sales before, I have pretended to know my stuff about a product, I pretended to know my stuff pretty well, if I even tried to treat recruitment like I did in sales I would lose clients and candidates quicker than I would lose a 100 metre sprint against Bolt! (Despite the running abilities I may have incorrectly boasted about across the office)

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So I may not have been here long enough for anyone to take my analysis seriously but I am pretty sure I have pointed out the key skills and characteristics of a recruiter, or a Calibre Search recruiter at least… who knows this bunch could be in a world of their own!

If you think you think the Calibre team would be a good fit for you. Our Manchester team is recruiting now! To find out more about working with Calibre Search go to our work for us page. Otherwise email your CVs and covering letter to Pete Gillick.

The UK’s engineering sector is in desperate need for additional skilled and qualified engineers and unless action is taken the shortage could dramatically impact the UK economy

 Sam Smith - Linkedin

Consultant (Yorkshire)

0113 234 6047

 In a report published by Engineering UK they stated that, despite the engineering sector playing a key role in the UK economy, there is currently a 20,000 a-year shortfall in engineers and technically qualified people.

Engineering graduates and those in full time engineering careers are well above the national average salary in 2015 with many graduates substantially more than the £22,000 a year average. Yet engineering employers are struggling to find the talent they need.

In a piece for TheEngineer online Rosie Tomlinson, a graduate mission systems engineer for Airbus Defence and Space argued that one of the reasons for the shortage is lack of company awareness. A large number of specialised, small scale and new engineering companies aren't publicly known, therefore both well experienced and graduate engineers are not aware of the job opportunities available to them, she said,

‘If people don’t know which area of engineering they want to go into, they won’t know which companies to apply to and what to put in their applications… Some people apply for the top 10 companies, they don’t get a job so they give up’.

With Brexit looming it is more important than ever that the engineering industry within the UK thrives. The Industry employs nearly 5.7 million people in theUK and contributed £486 billion to UK GDP in 2015. Encouraging young people to pursue engineering whilst protecting those working within companies should be a top priority of government and businesses.

To tackle the increasing employment crisis cooperation is needed between the government, the education system and businesses to commit to improve access to talented individuals and to increase the profile of rising companies. Good recruiters can, and do, play a big part in this process, their far-reaching knowledge of the sectors means they help companies to access the talent they need whilst supporting employees searching for opportunities. 

There is no one size fits all solution to the engineer shortage but, with the crisis set to reach to a 211,000 shortfall by 2022, a more pro-active approach is needed quickly.

There are some fantastic job opportunities in the engineering sector and whether you are starting out in the industry or are an experienced engineer, Calibre Search could help you progress in your career.

Currently there is high demand for Engineers in the Yorkshire area. Our job page has the full list of our current vacancies. If you would like to learn more about the new vacancies in Yorkshire or across the UK please get in touch with our Engineering Consultants by calling our Leeds office on 0113 234 6047 or our Manchester office on 0161 660 2360.

Meet Our Engineer Specialists

Cory Taylor - Linkedin

 cory.taylor@calibresearch.co.uk

Recruitment Consultant- North West, South West & West Midlands

0161 660 2360

Simon Wake - Linkedin

simon.wake@Calibresearch.co.uk

Recruitment Consultant - North East 

0113 234 6047

Jake Finch - Linkedin

jake.finch@calibresearch.co.uk

Recruitment Consultant - East Midlands 

0113 234 6047

 Sam Smith - Linkedin

sam.smith@calibresearch.co.uk

Recruitment Consultant - Yorkshire

0113 234 6047

Meet Charlotte, our new social media intern for the summer, just two weeks into her placement she gives us a rundown of her experience so far…

“I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, Calibre Search is not your average internship”

As a student you spend countless hours, days and weeks searching for summer internships. Work experience is essential to getting the graduate job you want, we all know it and we are all reminded of it far too regularly. Consequently, when summer comes, job site searches are our lives. Online applications are a killer and knowing the good from the downright awful isn’t that easy.

After five summers of different internships I would class myself as somewhat of a “job criteria connoisseur” I know the buzz words that employers use to entice us desperate students and I know that most are too good to be true.

“Not your average internship” is up there with the most overused and inaccurate job descriptions I’ve come across. Whilst the description remains vague you imagine trips abroad, a temporary position on the board of directors and 10 till 2 days whilst being paid fulltime. In reality, it means you are still filing for hours, getting coffee and inputting data into a spreadsheet but at this company YOU GET TO WEAR FLIPFLOPS ON A THURSDAY!!

So, with my connoisseur head on I was somewhat sceptical when I went for my first job interview with Calibre just over a month ago. Despite the job criteria being clear “marketing summer internship” and with no embellished descriptions, stepping into the office on my interview day there were beanbag chairs, a table tennis table and goldfish bowl all within a few feet of me. The tell tail signs of a “not your average internship” office. I’d fallen for this before. I wasn’t being fooled.

I have had plenty of summer internships over the years and I knew what to expect, you start at the bottom and you do the jobs everyone else doesn’t want to do. I was applying for Calibre because I liked their values, the size of the company and a chance to work on marketing campaigns...and money, as a student with an overdraft, I needed money. But I wasn’t expecting anything particularly different to the traditional internship.

A week after my job interview and I was offered the job! I was delighted and very excited to start the following week. Getting a good, local and paid internship, I was the envy of my fellow student friends, but we all knew the reality of an internship and by week two the excitement and enthusiasm for the job starts to dwindle.

Two weeks have passed and with all the will in the world I can’t stop myself: I cant believe I’m actually saying this, Calibre Search is not your average internship.

This last few weeks has raised the bar for any future internship. Not only are the people lovely, the directors super friendly and the office in a great location but two weeks in and I already feel like a valued and important member of the team.

I’ve been given the freedom to create campaigns, pitching to the directors almost daily, the opportunity to attend events with the team to learn hands on rather than following a manual and important responsibilities from day one.

After 10 days, I’m not counting down the days until it ends -like I’ve had a habit of doing-, I’m gutted I’m already two weeks down.
Yes, I’m still in the honeymoon period but I honestly believe that this could be the first time that the job criteria doesn’t do an internship justice. Two weeks in and I can’t wait to see where the placement takes me, what more I can learn and how I can help the company’s marketing grow*.

So what has the first two weeks at Calibre Search taught me?
1. Not all internships are the same;
2. Sometimes a beanbag chair is the sign of good things to come; and
3. Don’t try and persuade your Manchester United Supporting boss to wear a Leeds United Shirt, it won’t go down well!

I wonder if I will feel the same in another two week, check back to see my next update of The Intern Diaries!

*Calibre Search has not bribed me with extra money, holidays or a Leeds United Season tickets to produce this post, however all are welcome…

Calibre presents the ninth instalment of our 'CVs to Get You Hired' blog series: Insider Tips for the ideal Geotechnical Engineer CV.

Cory Taylor - Linkedin

0161 660 2360

Be project specific and help your CV stand out

The geotechnical area is very broad and can cover a wide variety of projects from transport, commercial and residential, through to oil and gas. If you are applying to a consultancy that work mainly in the residential sector, then help yourself to stand out by detailing your residential project experience – you can do likewise with other sectors. An employer is likely to spend more time assessing a CV that contains skills (e.g. piling, slope stability, retaining walls etc) that can match the projects they are working on. A simple and effective way to do this is by working out exactly what your next employer is looking for (the job description is your main clue) and then adapting your CV accordingly.

The perfect personal profile

Your personal profile is the first chance you have to sell yourself. Employers see multiple CVs on a daily basis, so it’s important to have a clear and concise synopsis at the top of your CV that creates a good first impression. Try and avoid too many buzz-words to describe your soft-skills (dynamic, enthusiastic etc) – be specific on what you are good at technically. It is also beneficial to outline what you are looking for in your next move; if you are wanting to be more design-based, it will separate you from engineers pursuing more site-based roles - when doing this look at the job description - our Geotechnical adverts can be found here. Additionally, this shows that you are being pro-active and thinking about your career.

Avoid the generic

Mentioning soft skills definitely sets you apart, but they need to be evidenced. For example, many people put the generic ‘I am good at working within a team and individually’. This may be true, but the meaning has been diluted by overuse. A much better phrase would be, ‘I am an excellent team player, having successfully worked on [project A] and [project B] in a small team with ‘x’ amount of people, but I can also work independently doing the site work and writing reports on [project C] with little supervision.’ Not only does it sound better, it gives the employer an idea of the level you are working at.

Dont be shy!

For every Geotechnical role in the area, there will be several engineers wanting to be considered. It is important to make yourself stand out; if you had a big, individual impact on a project then ensure that you say this. Don’t undersell yourself.

One for the Graduates: Include details of individual contributions to projects and go into detail about university modules and dissertations

If you are a fresh graduate, always put your education first. While your work experience is relevant and shows that you have skills that can be brought forward, the most relevant are those that you developed in your education. It is what will make you stand out. Go into detail about the main modules and what the dissertation entailed. Civil Engineering is such a wide topic, so it is good if you can outline exactly what it is about the Geotechnical area that interested you.

Still stuck?

Don't worry. The art of CV writing is a tricky one. Our specialist consultants are experts when it comes to writing a great CV, and we're just on the other end of the phone. Find details on how to contact us here - or if you like, drop us a quick email. We'd be happy to help - we can offer advice and even professionally format your CV for you.

Last Friday saw the return of the Annual Calibre Search Golf Day, after the achievements of last year the pressure was on to deliver a day filled with fun, sun and a bit of competition! 

With the weather looking good and the stunning views across Huddersfield Golf Course, the day was set to be a success from the get go.

The morning started with a bacon sandwich at the Huddersfield golf club Centenary Suite and a few introductions from Calibre Search Director, Matthew Finlay.

The turnout was great and after being filled with bacon and tea the first team were ready to tee off.

The first team made their score predictions and following four very promising first drives they were on their way! 

To the surprise of many of the attendees, most of the golfers started strong on the first hole and the confidence was high as the final team set off an hour later.

The competition stepped up a little on hole 8, with a Beat the Pro challenge all in aid of Calibre Search’s chosen charity REDR.

REDR are an international NGO whose mission is to rebuild lives in times of disaster by training, supporting and providing aid workers to relief programmes across the world. 

The Pro for the day was Dave Liversidge and after a few practice swings before the competition began he was ready to challenge our golfers.

Two very happy players, Mike Tobin from Calibre and Mark Dean from Enable by Design, beat the pro and we raised a fantastic £110 for the charity.

Despite the strong start, some teams were more eager than others to take a break at the halfway house.

Our lucky golfers were treated to the taste of Yorkshire with Roosters Brewery’s Yankee Pale Ale and tasters of Divine gin.

The founder of Divine Gin, Ray Woolhead joined the golfers at the resting point to give the teams some tasters and a mini masterclass in how to properly drink gin.                                                      

With a pork pie, a pint and gin to burn off the teams were sent on their way to complete the rest of the course.

Like any golf round there was the good player, the lucky player, the optimist, the pessimist, the player who had done badly and the player who had played TERRIBLY, but all continued with a smile and got back into the swing of things….If you’ll pardon the pun!

The challenges continued onto hole 11 with closest to the pin, won by Calibre’s own Mike Tobin; followed by the longest drive on hole 16, which after a close race was won by Mark Dean.

There was a lot of fun and friendly competition on the two holes but we all know a winning pair when we see one and Tobin & Dean had gold medal winning skills! 

By 4pm all the teams were finished and it was time for some more food, some drinks and the presentation. 

The trophies, presented by Calibre Search Managing Director Mark Lyons were awared to Team Two made up of Pete Bevils, Andy Baker, John Bowes and Niall Mellor with an impressive 75 points, followed closely by Team Six, Matthew Finlay, Paul Taylor, Tim Justice, Mike Tobin with 72 points. 

And there were plenty more winners:

The day was a resounding success and despite a few missing balls and a couple of burnt noses it was a day filled with plenty of fun whilst raising the money for charity!

Special thanks to all the companies that joined us:

Persimmon
SCP Infrastructure
Central Alliance
Mott MacDonald
A-one
NG Bailey
Systra
Bryan G Hall
Alan Wood
Box Architects
Projex Building Solutions
AAD Architects
Castles Special Projects
Enable by Design

Last Friday saw the return of the Annual Calibre Search Golf Day, after the achievements of last year the pressure was on to deliver a day filled with fun, sun and a bit of competition! But with the weather looking good and the stunning views across Huddersfield Golf Course, the day was set to be a success from the get go.
The morning started with a bacon sandwich at the Huddersfield golf club Centenary Suite and a few introductions from Calibre Search Director, Matthew Finlay. The turnout was great and after being filled with bacon and tea the first team were ready to tee off.

Team 1: Sam Sykes, Andrew Smith, Steve Carmody, John Cassidy

The first team made their score predictions and following four very promising first drives they were on their way!
To the surprise of many of the attendees, most of the golfers started strong on the first hole and the confidence was high as the final team set off an hour later.

The competition stepped up a little on hole 8, with a Beat the Pro challenge all in aid of Calibre Search’s chosen charity REDR, an international NGO whose mission is to rebuild lives in times of disaster by training, supporting and providing aid workers to relief programmes across the world.

The Pro Dave Liversidge standing at the 8th tee waiting to make some money for charity

Two very happy players, Mike Tobin from Calibre and Mark Dean from Enable by Design, beat the pro and we raised a fantastic £110 for the charity.
Despite the strong start, some teams were more eager than others to take a break at the halfway house. Our lucky golfers were treated to the taste of Yorkshire with Roosters Brewery’s Yankee Pale Ale and tasters of Divine gin.

Director Richard Robinson with Divine Gin founder Ray Woolhead

With a pork pie, a pint and gin to burn off the teams were sent on their way to complete the rest of the course. Like any golf round there was the good player, the lucky player, the optimist, the pessimist, the player who had done badly and the player who had played TERRIBLY, but all continued with a smile and got back into the swing of things….If you’ll pardon the pun!
The challenges continued onto hole 11 with closest to the pin, won by Calibre’s own Mike Tobin; followed by the longest drive on hole 16, which after a close race was won by Mark Dean. There was a lot of fun and friendly competition on the two holes but we all know a winning pair when we see one and Tobin & Dean had gold medal winning skills!

By 4pm all the teams were finished and it was time for the presentation. Pete Bevils, Andy Baker, John Bowes and Niall Mellor made up the winning team with an impressive 75 points, followed closely by Matthew Finlay, Paul Taylor, Tim Justice, Mike Tobin with 72 points.
Team two picking up their trophies from Calibre Search Director Mark Lyons

And there were plenty more winners:
Wooden Spoon – Tom Brown (Calibre)
Calibre Cup – 2nd place – Mike Tobin
1st place – Sam Sykes
• Overall - 3rd place – Tim Justice (AAD Architects)
2nd place – Mark Dean (Enable By Design)
1st place – James Finch (Systra)

The day was a resounding success and despite a few missing balls and a couple of burnt noses it was a day filled with plenty of fun whilst raising the money for charity!

Special thanks to all the companies that joined us:
Persimmon
SCP Infrastructure
Central Alliance
Mott MacDonald
A-one
NG Bailey
Systra
Bryan G Hall
Alan Wood
Box Architects
Projex Building Solutions
AAD Architects
Castles Special Projects
Enable by Design