went on holiday and I thought ‘I could be at this company for another 10 years and she could still be here’. “I secured a job at the Japanese embassy and made the move
to London. It was a big move but I thought that most of the big com- panies were in London and it gave me the opportunity to go on and work for some top financial companies after I left the embassy.” Emma’s tale of moving to London for career enhancement
is by no means uncommon, says Meeta Sahni, CEO at Maine- Tucker Recruitment, which specialises in placing office support staff. Particularly over the past few years, she says the economic crisis has driven many more people to the capital seeking employment. “We are seeing a lot more people wanting to come and work in London, people come here because they think they can make their future. But it doesn’t suit everyone — in London people are more likely to have to work 24/7. Often in towns outside London it is not like that. It is very much 9 to 5 and you drive 10 min- utes to work whereas in London most people commute for an hour each way.” For those not keen
on life in London, Meeta says good opportunities do exist outside the capi- tal, with cities like Man- chester, Birmingham and Edinburgh also proving fruit-
ful for PAs. She advises those with an eye on moving to a new
area to keep an eye on what’s happening with the wider
employment market there. “Generally, support roles follow growth in an area generally. They don’t come at the beginning, but a few months down the line when things start to pick up, then EA and PA roles start to flourish.” And choosing an area outside the capital doesn’t necessarily
mean you’re forgoing career opportunities, as Julie Anderson discovered after moving to Jersey just over 25 years ago. She went to the island on a week-long holiday from her hometown of Liverpool and has never looked back. Now an executive assis- tant to one of the partners at Ogier Fund Services, she has worked in accountancy, trust, legal and compliance since moving to the island. “I feel the skill set I have developed in Jer- sey was a lot more achievable on an island with a relatively small local population as opposed to places like London where there are more people seeking work.” And it also has some pretty great lifestyle advantages, she
adds. “There is nothing like the smell of fresh sea air on your walk to work, as opposed to the commute in and around London.” But both Emma and Julie were free of dependants and prop-
erty when they made the move, and these are big factors that can make upping sticks and moving across the country much more difficult, says Neil Bishop, business development direc- tor in the relocations department at Bishop’s Move. “Families definitely struggle more when it comes to relocation. There are more people involved, there is an upheaval with reference to schooling. If you don’t get the timing right sometimes you have to relocate during the school year, which isn’t ideal. And of course if a family is moving to an area where they don’t know anyone they are really relying on making friends through school and that can make things difficult.” On the plus side, however, Neil says that a move within the UK is far simpler than a move abroad. “If you are moving within
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 |
WWW.EXECUTIVEPA.COM 59
the UK, you can pretty much relocate yourself from an armchair by looking on the internet and sourcing a property, looking at schooling and getting an idea of the area’s orientation. It is prob- ably then going to involve you getting in a car or using pub- lic transport and going to the area for a day or two prior to the move to get a feel for the area.” For property owners it isn’t always quite so simple, however.
“When I moved from Bath I was renting so it was just a case of handing in notice, but I have since moved when I’ve owned a property and in the end we
couldn’t sell our property and we had to rent it”
The stagnation in the property market over the past few years has made it more difficult for people to up sticks and move, par- ticularly for those living outside London. There has been some good news on this front of late, with Office for National Statistics data released in July showing that in May, house prices rose in all regions of the UK for the first time since January 2008. Val- ues in London are increasing at a much faster rate than the national average though, and this can make life harder for those moving in and out of the capital. “There is still a big north south divide,” says Neil. “It is a lot harder to achieve a move from north to south because of the property price difference — it is much easier going from south to north, but that said it does deter people leaving to go north if they know at some stage or another they will want to head back south because the longer they are away the harder it is to get back down because of the price difference.” There is a way to avoid the prop-
erty value issues, however, says Emma, and that’s by turning to the buoyant
rental market. “When I moved from Bath I was renting so it was just a case of handing in notice, but I have since moved when I’ve owned a property and in the end we couldn’t sell our prop- erty and we had to rent it, but you can rent properties out quite easily now.” You may not be in such a rush to sell or rent if you are mov- ing without a job offer, but if this is the case, make sure you have an adequate financial cushion, says Meeta. “Whatever level your role is at, it is important to start to create a network, start to research it and look for roles. If you have the financial ability to give it a couple of months, that is usually best. You can always get a temp job, but then getting out to interviews isn’t as easy. You need time to focus on finding the right company. There’s no point making a huge move if you are going to end up in the wrong role.” E
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64