Health and Safety Jobs – Career development

Recruiting quality staff in a candidate-led market is tough but it can be equally difficult for jobseekers to secure a role that offers the opportunity to reach their full potential. Steven Bryan offers an insight into the current recruitment market for health and safety practitioners, from the perspective of both the employer and employee.

The market for health and safety professionals is candidate-led, i.e. demand for quality candidates significantly out-strips supply. Effective staff retention reduces the need to recruit under these difficult market conditions, and many market-leading companies are investing in training and developing their staff to improve retention rates. However, business growth and “churn” will always create movement in the market, and these requirements need to be fulfilled.

You can find the latest health and safety jobs on SHP4Jobs

From the perspective of health and safety professionals, market conditions are having a positive effect, as employers tend to be more willing to support continued professional development. The recent introduction of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations and the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act have brought health and safety to the top of the agenda for many companies, raising its profile and highlighting the importance of professional health and safety management to business.

Credit crunch?

The current economic climate has forced companies to re-evaluate staffing levels and create efficiencies where possible. Although there have been job losses in certain sectors, the market as a whole has remained buoyant as the business world appreciates the importance of attracting and retaining quality employees. This is not necessarily bad news for the industry, as health and safety professionals can add value to a business in a number of ways. A commercially-aware, competent health and safety professional will not only ensure that all company functions abide to all health and safety legislation but will also achieve improved accident statistics, translate best practice into reduced insurance premiums and a positive company reputation, secure future projects and contracts, and increase staff efficiency. They can also work alongside senior management to integrate effective health and safety management systems into the business to meet commercial objectives, gaining buy-in and improving job security.

Recruiting quality candidates

There are various things that employers must consider when recruiting health and safety professionals in the current climate. Before beginning the process, it is key to establish exactly what the role will be, why you need someone, what value they can add to the business, and how flexible you can be. It is equally key to have a clear understanding of the position and its importance to the business in order to prepare a clear brief and inspire confidence in potential candidates.

How you will recruit is also important. Spreading the net far and wide can slow down the process, cause inefficiencies, and ultimately reduce the chances of securing the right candidate. Working alongside a specialist recruiter with a clear understanding of your business is one way to gain access to the best available candidates. (When choosing a recruiter it is important to ensure they are reputable, with a good name in the industry, as they will be representing your company.) Advertising directly is another popular option, but you must make sure you have appropriate resources in place to deal with responses, and accept that there is an up-front cost with no guarantee of filling the role.

The method chosen will usually depend on past experience of recruiting for similar roles. It is also worth considering training and developing a current employee who has an interest in health and safety. This is cost-effective and, usually, the employee will already know the business. However, this can take time and there can also be a credibility issue.

Make the most of your experience

The health and safety sector seems to be thriving, and it is important that health and safety professionals have the opportunity to make the most of their experience, develop new skills, and continue professional development for the profession to move forward. Attitudes towards health and safety are changing, and companies are beginning to see it as less of a compliance issue and more of an opportunity to improve their business.

Professional development is important on both a personal level and for the sector as a whole, and a practitioner who demonstrates continued professional development, and who holds, or is working towards, chartered membership of IOSH, will usually be seen as an asset. Becoming involved in the industry by attending conferences, taking an active role in your local IOSH branch, and networking with other health and safety professionals will help you make the most of your experience and open up new opportunities. It will give you the opportunity to meet others at a similar stage in their career, as well as highly-experienced health and safety practitioners who will be happy to offer advice, guidance, support, and mentoring.

Gaining non-health and safety skills and qualifications will also prove useful — for example, an understanding of integrated management systems extends the scope of your role, as would an environmental qualification (see Dr Anne Miller’s article in last month’s SHP).

In a growing and evolving industry, it is inevitable that health and safety practitioners will move between jobs to gain career development. You may be looking to move into a different industry sector, to relocate within the UK or abroad, or go back to studying full-time to gain additional skills. Whatever your reason for looking for a new role, it is important to manage the process in a professional and targeted way to gain maximum benefit from the move.

Do you need to move?

Arguably, the most important part of finding a new job is committing to the decision to move and planning how you will achieve your professional goals. Before preparing a CV, or applying for jobs, you should first decide exactly what you want to achieve from the move. Some people decide that their market rate is higher than their salary and secure a new role before approaching their manager to discuss a pay rise. Others want more responsibility, or additional training.

Bearing in mind that the market is short of quality candidates, invariably employers would rather retain quality employees than recruit new ones, so it is always wise to establish exactly what is on offer with your current employer before deciding to jump ship. There will, of course, be situations where your current employer cannot, or will not, be able to meet your professional development needs, and this is when it is time to start serious job-hunting — put it off and it is unlikely that anything will change.

Setting objectives

Now that you have decided to search for a new role, you must identify what you want to achieve, what will motivate you in the long term, any professional goals that you may have, and the type of environment in which you want to work. Equally important are your salary and package expectations, the locations in which you are prepared to work, whether you are prepared to travel, and the type of work you want to undertake. Being clear in your own mind about what you want to achieve can mean the difference between moving job and realising your full potential.

It is, of course, equally important to be realistic in your expectations — there are not too many part-time jobs within walking distance of home, which pay double your current salary! You can research market rates by looking at job advertisements and salary guides. This approach will help you ensure that you are not caught out by regional or industry-specific variations to salaries and packages.

Starting the search

Looking for a job can be intimidating and confusing: intimidating, because you are probably worried that your employer will find out, you have to attend interviews, and ultimately start a new role with a new company and new people; confusing, because it can be difficult to know where to start the search and who to approach.

The good news is that many jobs are now advertised in professional magazines, such as SHP, and on various online job boards and specialist recruitment consultancy websites such as SHP4jobs.co.uk and hays.com — in theory the job market is just a click away. There are, however, several things to consider before you start making applications, and the first is whether you will use a recruitment consultancy, apply directly to employers, or use a combination of the two methods.

However you decide to proceed, make sure you only go for suitable vacancies, as quality is far more important than quantity. Take some time to think about whether, on the face of it, the job advertised meets your criteria and, if not, make further enquiries rather than applying ‘just in case’. This will start to become time-consuming and will inevitably dilute the search as your details begin to float around the market. The most successful search will be targeted and, whether you apply directly or use a specialist recruitment consultancy, you will need to constantly bear this in mind.

If you do decide to go down the latter route it is wise to use a consultancy that has dedicated consultants specialising in health and safety, rather than a generalist who may not understand the market, or your specific requirements. A professional consultancy will insist on meeting you in person, and will also ask you to prove your eligibility to work, and your professional qualifications. You should also ask for an assurance that your details will not be released without your express permission, to ensure that you benefit from using their market knowledge and contacts, while retaining full control over your details.

Securing your ideal role

Once you have secured interviews for roles that meet your requirements, the next step is to convince the employer that you are committed to moving for the right reasons, that you actually want the position, and that you are capable and competent. While you are not expected to be an expert on the company, taking an interest in their business and researching the work they do will help you identify transferable skills and relevant experience that you can focus on during the interview.

Interviews are a two-way process, and you must ensure that you are asking relevant questions about the company and finding out whether they would be prepared to support your professional development. Being honest about your goals from the outset can help avoid disappointment on both sides further down the line. You should, however, achieve a balance and avoid talking yourself out of a job by becoming too demanding — present your objectives in a proactive light and highlight benefits to the employer.

Managing the process

This is particularly important when you have a number of applications, as you do not want to end up in a situation where you miss out on an offer while waiting for a decision from elsewhere. If you are making direct applications, keep a note of closing dates, and ask employers about timescales they are working to so that you can manage your own expectations and those of others. If you are using a recruitment consultancy, ensure that they are aware of any deadlines that you have to honour.

When you have an offer, or multiple offers, you must make an objective decision in a timely manner — leave it too long and employers may begin to question your commitment. As soon as you have received your contract and formally accepted the role you must agree a projected start date and tender your resignation. Behaving professionally, leaving your current employer on the best possible terms, and avoiding counter-offers are all key to a smooth and (relatively) stress-free move.