08Jul

Relaxation Techniques

If you’re feeling stressed or anxious, consciously attempting to relax through one of many relaxation techniques is beneficial to reduce the heightened state of readiness that your body may be at and return your mind to a state of balance.

The method of relaxation you might choose may be different from everyone you know, and vary at different periods of your life, but it needs to be specific to your needs and the way you tend to react to stress. The method that best works for you will fit your lifestyle and will allow you to focus your mind and shut off from your stressors.

Active breathing is a method that is easy to incorporate into your daily routine is conscious breathing, which is breathing slowly and deeply in through your nose and out through your mouth. This is in contrast to the faster breathing that can occur during stressful periods, thus works to normalise your body’s natural state. Try to consciously relax the muscles in your shoulders and upper chest when you breathe out to counteract any muscle tensions.

Muscle relaxation involves consciously tensing and relaxing different muscle groups in the body and can be combined with the active breathing for additional levels of stress relief. Not only does it help to relax the muscles whilst you are doing it, but it makes you more aware of tension developing in your muscles during stress, allowing you to prevent long term stress. And as your body relaxes, so will your mind. Although the full body muscle relaxation requires time and space, here are a couple of alternatives which you can do almost anywhere:

  • Twist your neck around each way as far as it is comfortable; then relax.
  • Fully tense your shoulder and back muscles for several seconds; then relax.

Visualisation encourages you to think of a situation or place where you feel happy and calm; imagine you are there to recall pleasant memories and help you unwind. This can be achieved anywhere; the commute to work, at your desk and may just be the little relaxation that gets you through your day.

Active relaxation releases the body’s natural stress relief hormones’endorphins’, so for some people, being active is the best method of relaxation; this could be gentle exercise such as like yoga or tai-chi, a walk outdoors, or their usual exercise (running is beneficial for stress relief due to its cyclical nature).

Further reading can be found at www.patient.co.uk and www.nhs.uk/conditions

01Jul

5 ways to avoid burnout

Some of the symptoms of poor resilience include the inability to cope and increased sickness absence and staff turnover at work. This could be caused by ‘burnout’ – a state of chronic stress that leads to physical and emotional exhaustion, cynicism and detachment, and feelings of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment.

For example, do you ever feel as though you are just going through the motions? Maybe you’ve lost the passion and energy that you used to have for your job, and you’ve found yourself becoming increasingly irritated by your boss or your co-workers. You might feel frustrated by the lack of control you have over your workload, or there’s a lack of praise and recognition for the work you do. Or perhaps you feel overworked, leading to a constant feeling of exhaustion.

If this is you, then you might be suffering from burnout.

The good news is, there are a number of things you can do to avoid these feelings from taking over. This video covers five key ways you can tackle burnout and restore positivity and productivity back into your life. So take a look…

24Jun
Siobhan Courtney Women in Business Award Winner

Award Winning Siobhan Courtney

Siobhan Courtney Wins Women in Business At The 2019 Inspire Awards

Siobhan Courtney, Managing Director of The Eventus Recruitment Group is named Winner of the “Women in Business” Award

Siobhan Courtney, Managing Director of The Eventus Recruitment Group, is proud to have been named winner of the Women in Business Inspire Awards, with the judges praising Siobhan’s extraordinary contributions to the recruitment industry through inspirational leadership, customer service excellence and a strong commitment to supporting work-life balance of her staff; which embody the core values of her recruitment business.

The Eventus Recruitment Group has set the standard for customer service in recruitment. This award is a testament to the skill, ingenuity and vision of Siobhan.

The winners were announced at the Inspire Award Ceremony held at the University of Bolton Stadium on 22 June 2019.

Siobhan Courtney Women in Business Award Winner

Siobhan Courtney Women in Business Award Winner

Siobhan launched her business after recovering from osteosarcoma when she was pregnant with her first child. Being in the recruitment business for over 20 years, Siobhan has expanded her business ‘The Eventus Recruitment Group’ significantly since its formation, branching out from exclusively legal recruitment specialists to HR, finance, accounting, coaching & training and more. Siobhan offers a thorough service to create a perfect match for both her clients and candidates.

She believes that a work/life balance in crucial, initially working from home but organising regular meet ups with her team & interaction over phones. Giving her team the flexibility needed to pursue their lifestyles whilst remaining employed.

Siobhan was also a participant on the ERDF innovation development program at Lancashire University, and has recently opened new premises in Lancaster for those who would prefer an office environment.

Siobhan Courtney Women in Business Award Winner

The Eventus Recruitment Group recruits talented legal, HR and finance professionals, throughout the UK and in particular, across Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cheshire, North East, Cumbria, Merseyside, Wales, Bristol, Somerset, Hampshire, London & Home Counties on both a permanent and contract basis.

Eventus is Latin for “Results” and their main aim is to provide both candidates and clients with a thorough, professional and effective service.

Find The Inspire Awards Online:
For more information about the Inspire Awards, please visit http://inspirewomenawards.co.uk

Massive congratulations to Siobhan!
Women In Business Winner

13May

Eye Care working with screens

Eye Care at work is vital to improving overall comfort when working from a screen for prolonged periods.

Tips to keep your eyes healthy when working from a screen

  • Arrange your desk so that you are at a comfortable distance from the screen which is about arm’s length. Your eyes should be about level with the top of the screen
  • Work from documents at an equal distance to your eyes as the screen so that you do not have to keep readjusting your focus. Use a vertical document holder attached to the side of your screen if it helps
  • Arrange your desk and screen so that bright lights are not reflected in the screen. Ensure any windows are fitted with blinds and adjust them regularly
  • Use the brightness and contrast controls on the screen to suit the lighting conditions in the room
  • Adjusting the background colour to soft blue or grey can be more comfortable than a white background for some people
  • Make sure the characters on your screen are sharply focussed and can be read easily. They should not flicker or move
  • Take frequent short breaks away from the screen and allow your eyes to refocus on something distant
  • Try to drink plenty of water at regular intervals during the day
  • Try to remember to blink regularly as people working on computers for prolonged periods have been found to blink less often
  • While working swap frequently to tasks that don’t involve the keyboard whenever possible
  • Keep the screen clean and free of dust by using screen wipes.

Take a look at this short video from CooperVision about how you can alleviate the symptoms of eye fatigue and try out the exercises below for eye care:

Eye exercises for eye care

When you focus on the screen for extended periods of time, your eyes can become tired and strained. To prevent this happening try:

  • Eye exercise – looking at the screen continuously will concentrate your gaze on near vision, the opposite of the eyes’ relaxed state. Remember to look away from the screen every 20 minutes or so. Focusing your eyes on the distance horizon will relax them, and utilise other muscles.
  • Eye blink – computer users often experience ‘dry eyes’ since their blink rate has been reduced, due to long periods of concentrated computer work. Make an effort to blink your eyes more often as this will prevent your eyes from drying out.
  • Eye rest – to rest your eyes from the light, cup your hands over your closed eyes and hold them there for one minute.
  • Remove reflection and glare – ensure your monitor is free from reflection and glare, try adjusting the dials on the monitor and note any improvement in the visibility of the characters of the screen. If this offers little or no improvement, reposition your VDU so that you are not directly under overhead light, facing or in front of a window.

Click here to download a copy of ‘Working with display screen equipment (DSE)’ published by the Health & Safety Executive.

15Apr
siobhan courtney business finalist

Siobhan Courtney Business Finalist

After our previous news, that our MD, Siobhan Courtney is a nominee in the Inspire Women in Business Awards, we’re thrilled to update you with news that Siobhan is a finalist in this coveted award.

The Inspire Women in Business Finalists exhibit every talent required of a brilliant business owner, including sublime creativity, focus and growth. Siobhan’s efforts have achieved remarkable growth and profitability for The Eventus Recruitment Group.

Siobhan Courtney

This is an award celebrating Inspirational Women across the North West of England. The awards evening will celebrate women showcasing extraordinary examples of transformation, skill and success. The awards ceremony takes place on the 22nd June 2019 at the University of Bolton Stadium.

siobhan courtney business finalist

The Eventus Recruitment Group would like to congratulate all the finalists for their incredible achievements. We hope you all enjoy a wonderful awards evening.

01Apr
James Turver

The Eventus Recruitment Group Expands into Finance and Accountancy

The Eventus Recruitment Group has expanded its recruitment offering further by recruiting a dedicated Head of Finance and Accountancy.

James Turver

Based in Lancaster, James Turver has worked in the Accountancy and Finance market for over 6 years recruiting transactional roles, all the way up to Finance director level. James will tailor his service to meet clients’ needs, as he has experience both at SME and corporate level. Out of work, James is a very keen golfer and just as competitive in the office as he is out on the golf course.

Managing director Siobhan Courtney says “We are absolutely delighted that James has joined The Eventus Recruitment Group his experience is vast and his enthusiasm is contagious. It is an incredibly exciting time for us in that although we will still have the model of flexible homeworking for consultants, we are opening an office in Lancaster as from May this year which will enable us to have a training academy for graduates looking to work in recruitment. We will continue to grow the team with experienced consultants also whilst ensuring our core values of integrity, honesty, transparency, professionalism and respect are maintained.

Siobhan’s formula clearly works, The Eventus Recruitment Group business growth has more than doubled in the last three years in terms of headcount, turnover and profit.

The Eventus Recruitment Group are recruitment specialists for Legal, HR, Finance and Accountancy Sectors.

11Mar
Siobhan Courtney

Siobhan Courtney Inspire Awards Nominee

Siobhan Courtney from The Eventus Recruitment Group Nominated for Three Inspire Awards

Siobhan Courtney Recognized as an Inspirational Woman in Business and Leadership

Siobhan Courtney

Siobhan Courtney has been nominated for three Inspire Awards in business and leadership. The awards celebrate a huge wealth of outstanding contributions women have made across Lancashire and the North West.

Each year, Inspire Awards selects inspiring women across a wide variety of sectors to celebrate the dedication of women who deserve recognition for their contributions to leadership and business.

“I have worked in recruitment for over 20 years and would say I am a “traditional recruiter” in that I believe you should offer a genuinely thorough service to both candidate and client and not simply “‘match” CV’s.” said Siobhan Courtney, Managing Director.

“I also believe that work/life balance is imperative, hence why I set up the Eventus Recruitment Group, we all initially worked from home but still very much work as a team with regular meet ups, weekly meetings and constant calls.”

“As of May, we will be launching our new office premises in Lancaster to open up the business to those who would rather work in an office environment although the emphasis on recruiting those in line with our core values of integrity, honesty, transparency, professionalism and respect will still be paramount.”

The Inspire Awards recognise and celebrate the extraordinary work of women across the North West. Siobhan’s nominations highlight her as a first-class role model for the younger generation or any female wanting to achieve in business.

The Inspire Awards recognises: “Women leaders must constantly innovate to sustain and grow their organisations. A true leader inspires! Whether in private or public sector, charity, business or education, they must lead and inspire their team and take them to greater heights. They must retain clear vision, balance business and altruistic dynamics, answer to boards, governors, trustees and public scrutiny while managing volunteers, staff and beneficiaries.”

28Jan

Career Resilience

Career resilience is becoming increasingly important in a rapidly changing work environment – but not everyone is naturally resilient. This blog post will explain how you can build resilience strategies to help you develop a positive mind set for future career growth.

So why not read on to explore:

  • What is meant by career resilience?
  • How can you develop your own career resilience?

 

What is meant by career resilience?

You can think of resilience like an elastic band. It’s the ability to bounce back after life stretches you and flourish. Resilience is the capacity to adapt, cope and overcome barriers and adapt to problems as and when they arise by finding appropriate solutions. In the workplace, it’s about not giving up at the first hurdle when you are managing unrealistic expections in your role and finding coping mechanisms for different scenarios.

Developing career resilience is important so that we can build confidence in taking on and succeeding in challenging tasks. It involves perseverance and being flexible in how you achieve goals. Resilient people are confident that they’re going to succeed eventually, despite setbacks or failures.

Career resilience is about three things:
1. Coping with adversity
2. Building assets to overcome future adversity
3. Limiting and reducing risk factors with things that might cause us stress in the future.

Building your capital

Psychological capital is having the capacity to move into and adapt to a fluid job market, and being able to withstand the challenges and pressures that throws at us. People with developed psychological capital have the capacity to adapt and demonstrate resilience, which is where our resilience fits, but there are other types of capital that we need to develop.

Resilience is never developed in isolation. For example, we need human capital, which is developing knowledge and skills, so we become well-rounded professionals.

We need to develop our social capital, so we develop networks and social relations to enhance our knowledge, and to access and target employment.

We need to develop cultural capital, which is appreciating the culture of sectors and organisations and really being able to present yourself and your profile in a credible way.

We also need to develop our own identity capital, which is understanding our experiences, our values and achievements, which supports our development of our professional profile, and our professional self.

It’s also about the development of strategies to accomplish our career goals.

How can you develop your own career resilience?

You might well be thinking that you don’t feel very resilient, particularly if you’ve experienced recent setbacks. If so, don’t worry. Not many of us are lucky enough to be naturally resilient.

Be flexible in your thinking
Resilient people understand that things change and that carefully made plans might sometimes need to be amended or scrapped. So, being prepared to look at alternative routes to reach your goals, or possibly even changing your goals completely when necessary, is really important. For example, you might need to change the timescale that you had in mind for changing your career. You might need to think about an alternative route to reach your goal. You might need to think about a different career altogether, that’s going to be more realistic for you. So, it’s not being too fixed in your thinking.

Keep fit and healthy
There’s been a lot of research to show that getting enough sleep and exercise is important for managing stress, and for coping effectively with challenges that come up in your life. Good physical health can play a part in helping you build a sense of confidence and control, which is really crucial for building resilience.

Mental Fitness
As well as being physically fit, it’s also important to be mentally fit. Keep reading and learning.

Personal Support
Research shows having a strong support network will help reduce stress. Harnessing personal support might sound like common sense, but having an adviser of some sort, a friend, family member, even an online community to cheer you on through those difficult times, can really help you build resilience.

Setting realistic goals
Create a short term action plan to help you towards longer term goals. If you have a career goal in mind, consider if you need to undertake any training. Think about who in your network, you could speak to who is in a similar role and can share with you, their experiences.

Get in touch

The Eventus Recruitment Group source talented legal, finance and HR professionals across the UK on both a permanent and interim basis. Founded in 2008, our highly experienced team recruit nationwide across a range of disciplines and roles. Please book a free careers consultation at : https://www.eventusrecruitmentgroup.com/contact-us

21Jan

Professional Development Planning Cycle

It is important to undertake continuous professional development related to your role and see this as an ongoing professional development planning cycle.

What is currently stopping you from being as successful as you feel you can be in your professional life?

Personal development planning (PDP) is the process of:

  • establishing aims and objectives – what you want to achieve or where you want to go, in the short, medium or long-term in your career
  • assessing current realities
  • identifying needs for skills or knowledge
  • selecting appropriate development activities to meet those needs.

PDP is best understood as a cyclical process, where improvement comes from moving around the loop. The following chart outlines the process:

Professional Development Planning Cycle

Professional Development Planning Cycle Step One – Establish your purpose/direction

The first step of your PDP is to identify the purpose of your personal development. You can do this alone or you may choose to work with your manager, colleagues, friends or mentors. Stage one involves:

  • gaining an awareness of your current standing and future potential within your chosen field or sector
  • gaining a measure of what you are good at and interested in (because these things will motivate you)
  • taking account of the organisational (and sectoral) realities you encounter
  • linking your plans to organisational (and sectoral) needs as much as possible.

In doing this, think about:

  • your own value system, involving private life and family, work and money, constraints and obstacles to mobility, now and in the future
  • the characteristics of the kind of work that fits with your value system.

Professional Development Planning Cycle Step Two – Identify development needs
The next step is to identify the need for your personal development. This may emerge from taking on new tasks or responsibilities, from discussions with your manager including formal PDP discussions, or from dissatisfaction with current routines. Some people know what they are good at, others may be less sure. You can use various processes such as self-assessment tests, benchmarking exercises and personal diagnostics to assess your skills in a structured way. One example, is the personal competency framework designed by the European Management Association. Click here to access

Professional Development Planning Cycle Step Three – Identify learning opportunities
In this step you identify and draw up a list of opportunities to gain the skills or knowledge you need to acquire, update or improve. Compare the list with your current skills and knowledge base and identify any gaps.

Think about:

  • how you like to learn
  • your development opportunities – in your own organisation, government and private advisory agencies, literature and open learning, multi-media or online packages, professional institutes, your peer groups, networks and colleagues, and family and friends
  • the range of learning options available.


Professional Development Planning Cycle Step Four – Formulate an action plan
Set development objectives for each of the skills and knowledge gaps you identify. These objectives should:

  • be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely
  • have an element of challenge in them so that they stretch you as an individual and carry you on to new ground
  • be attainable and viable within a realistic time frame

Failing to reach your set objectives could have a negative impact and make you wary of further personal development. To avoid this, create mini-milestones to motivate yourself, for example ‘within one year I would like to have achieved this, and the first step is to do X within one month’.

In today’s digital age, it’s important not to forget about your online presence when professional development planning. Extending your professional online presence should be part of your action in order to reach your professional development goals. Having an online presence can in essence be a digital CV. Moreover, you can spread your expertise and share knowledge to a wider audience through platforms such as LinkedIn. Ultimately building useful connections and sourcing opportunities to support your professional development. To read more about creating and building a professional online presence, view our guide here.

Professional Development Planning Cycle Step Five – Undertake the development
Put your plan into action – what you do and how you do it should be your choice. In addition to training courses you could also take up:

  • work shadowing
  • secondment
  • job rotation
  • project work
  • networking and community involvement.

This action plan should be monitored and adjusted if circumstances change.

Professional Development Planning Cycle Step Six – Record the outcomes
Keeping records will help you to focus on what you have got out of your development activity. Record the date, the development need identified, the chosen method of development, the date(s) when development was undertaken, the outcomes, and any further action needed.

Professional Development Planning Cycle Step Seven – Evaluate and review
Evaluation is the key stage in the self-development cycle. There are two issues you should reflect upon: whether the development activity you have undertaken was appropriate and worthwhile; and whether your skills or working behaviour have improved as a result and how.

Ask yourself the following questions:

  • What am I able to do better as a result?
  • Has this experience thrown up further development needs?
  • How well did this development method work?
  • Could I have gained more from this activity?
  • Would I follow this approach again?

We have previously discussed personal development plans on this blog. These should be reviewed and updated regularly. A personal development plan needs to include SMART objectives so you can achieve your plan, along with development activities to help you achieve these objectives.

You may find the following, useful reading (click to open new link) in developing your professional development planning cycle:

Personal Development Planning

SWOT career development tool

Maintaining A Work Life Balance

Receive a Tailored Service from The Eventus Recruitment Group

Here at the Eventus Recruitment Group, we offer realistic, honest and straight forward advice to enhance your career. We can help you to find your next opportunity at no cost to you as a candidate. We recruit for all roles within the legal, HR, Finance and Accountancy sectors. To view our latest jobs, please click here.

We also support you in applying for jobs through finding suitable roles that fit your requirements and skills, CV writing and preparing you for interviews. Get in touch for a confidential discussion.

If you would like help hiring for a vacancy, please click here to contact us.

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03Dec

Employer Research

When we are coaching candidates, one piece of advice we always give is to thoroughly carry out your employer research. Don’t just look at the organisation’s website, look at their competitors, read the related press and gain as much information about them as possible.

This research, not only needs to be done prior to an interview, but also when you are drafting your covering letter and application. Employers want to hear what you know about them and why you’ve picked them. It is important to show why you are a good fit. Research will help you find this information so that you can draw on it in your covering letter and CV / application. This is an important factor in helping the employer want to know more about you.

Why Employer Research is important

It is important to research the organisation you are applying for because job adverts will not provide all the necessary information.You may want to highlight a specific aspect of the company in your application and demonstrate the company ethos, values and projects in your own application / covering letter / CV, to show how you and the organisation match. It will be evident to your potential employer that you have taken the time and effort to carry out some research.

Sector Research

Developing an insight into the wider sector and competitors will help you build a picture of the nature of the role and wider company direction.You can draw attention to your knowledge of the whole sector. By researching comeptitors, you are able to demonstrate how you recognise the challenges and targets for a company and what other organisations are doing. Researching the sector showcases your in-depth knowledge and you can utilise this information to potentially show how the role you are applying for, fits into the bigger picture.

What to Research

Researching the company’s culture, ethos, values and future direction on company websites is beneficial. You’ll usually find this information on the website’s “about” page. General things to note are when the organisation was founded, learn about their mission, values and objectives. Research news on their blog, social networking feeds and in the local and national press. Check industry news stories, competitors, staff appointments and company reports.

19Nov

SWOT career development tool

SWOT Analysis is a simple tool or framework for identifying and analysing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing a business, project or programme. It is also very useful for assessing yourself and for planning your personal development. Carrying out a SWOT analysis can be useful preparation prior to a job interview, in order, to be clear in communicating your strengths. It is also useful to sketch one out on a regular basis for personal development and career planning.

The knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses can paint a broad picture of your current status.

SWOT can be applied across diverse management functions and activities which include:
Workshop sessions
Brainstorm meetings
Problem solving
Planning
Competitor evaluation
Personal development planning
Decision making

Two purposes of SWOT

1. As a tool for getting people together to kick-off a planning or strategy crafting process for a project, programme or business.

2. It can be used as a sophisticated management tool for decision making and for your own personal development / career planning.

Done properly, a SWOT analysis will give you a clear picture of the most important factors that can influence or inform the survival and sustainability of your project, programme or business. As well as a plan to act on. When carried out on yourself, it provides a clear picture of where you need to focus in your personal development and career planning.

SWOT Analysis is popular because of its ease of use and flexibility. With little effort in thinking it can help to highlight where an individual, project, programme or business idea is strong and vulnerable and where there are opportunities to explore and competencies to protect. The result of this process is the crafting of a ‘plan of action or strategy.

Strengths


To an individual, project, programme or business, strengths are-
Competences and skills (sometimes unique)
Valuable resources – e.g. highly skilled and motivated workforce
Attributes – e.g. good brand image and reputation

Available and accessible to decision makers in exploiting opportunities in their external environment or to counter threats from the external environment.

Some questions that can help you to assess or identify the strengths:

What does the individual, project, programme or business do better than any other else?
What advantages does this person, project, programme or business have?

What resources can this person, project, programme or business draw upon that others can’t?

What do key stakeholders perceive as the strength of the project, programme or business

Assess and decide whether you / the business or project has the appropriate strengths(capacity and resources) on which to build and exploits its opportunities

How can it best exploit its strength in relation to the opportunities available to it?

Which strengths should the organisation seek to develop for the future?

Weaknesses

Weaknesses are a lack of competences and skills required to perform better than the competition – e.g. in the design, development and implementation of project, programme or business ideas?
Lack of key resources compared with competitors – e.g. low skilled workforce, poor technological know-how, equipment and infrastructure
Lack of key attributes – e.g. no brand awareness or reputation, lack of skills.

Some questions that can help you to assess or identify weaknesses include:
What essential competencies or resources need updating and strengthening?
Where are the complaints coming from?
What obstacles are preventing progress that we must remove or avoid
What will key stakeholder see as weakness of the project, programme or business?

Decide whether remedying weaknesses is more urgent than building on strengths to exploit opportunities.

Does ignoring key weaknesses make the business or project vulnerable to threats which could lead to the demise of the project or business?

How can critical weaknesses be converted to strengths?

Opportunities

It is important to bear in mind how long opportunities are and how you or the project, programme or business can take the best advantages of these opportunities.

Identify new products, services or markets that might be suitable given the business or project strengths and competencies

Identify changes that are occurring to existing users, clients, customers or beneficiaries of the project or business

Identify changes that need to be made to services or products of the business or project

Threats

Threats are things that have the potential to damage or hinder performance. Threats mostly arise from competition and or from factors or forces out of the control of the decision makers of the project, programme or business.
Some questions to consider:
What are your competitors doing?
Is changing technology threatening your project, programme or business position?
Is there debt or cash-flow problems?
Could any of your weaknesses seriously threaten your business / career?
Do threats need managing more urgently than the opportunities pursued?
What threats need to be dealt with immediately and in the short term?
How can critical threats be turned into new opportunities?

Four Components of SWOT

It is important that the four components of the SWOT analysis are considered together and not in isolation. This is because a factor can be both a threat and opportunity depending on the situation. For example new or changing technology could be highlighted as both a threat and an opportunity.

How to initiate and carry out a SWOT analysis

The starting point for carrying out a good SWOT Analysis is to have a clear aims or objectives. On a personal basis, it could be to plan future development or to consider career development. Some of the reasons why businesses or projects carry out SWOT Analysis include:
Preparing the business or project for dealing with problems
Identifying and understanding its competitive advantages
Analysing the prospects for the business or project in the eternal environment
Allowing for the development of contingency plans

Tips for analysis

Do not overestimate the strengths or under estimate weaknesses of your business or project. Be very realistic in your analysis.

Your analysis should distinguish between where your business or project is presently and where it could be in the future.

Be specific. Avoid grey areas

Always analyse in relation to the competition i.e. better than or worse than the competition

Keep your SWOT analysis short and simple. Avoid unnecessary complexities.

18Nov
bone cancer awareness

Bone Cancer Awareness

The Eventus Recruitment Group’s Managing Director, Siobhan Courtney shares her experiences of being diagnosed with a rare bone cancer, osteosarcoma, when pregnant with her first child. Read her story in the Lancaster Guardian, raising Bone Cancer Awareness : https://www.lancasterguardian.co.uk/news/lancaster-mum-backs-charity-bone-cancer-mission-1-9399311 Find out more at: http://bcrt.org.uk

Lancaster mum backs charity bone cancer mission
By Gayle Rouncivell

bone cancer awareness

For most new mums, the first year of their child’s life is a hectic whirlwind of nappy-changing, laundry and visits to baby groups.

But at 28 years old, Lancaster woman Siobhan Taylor didn’t even have the strength to feed her own baby.

A new mum to a tiny six-week-old girl, Siobhan discovered she had a rare form of bone cancer.

The mum-of-two, now 45, found a lump on her leg while pregnant with her first child. She was advised by doctors to wait till her baby was born before undergoing tests, which she agrees was “the right thing to do”.

Six weeks after the birth, a midwife urged her to have the lump checked out. One week later, she was diagnosed with an aggressive type of bone cancer called osteosarcoma.

The condition usually develops in growing bones and is most common in teenagers and young adults. It is most often found in the arms or legs, particularly around the knee joint.

“It was really hideous as it completely took over my life,” said Siobhan, who owns The Eventus Recruitment Group. “I wasn’t able to walk or feed my child because I was so ill. I developed a couple of infections too.”

She underwent six months of chemotherapy, and had all of her fibula bone and 30 per cent of the muscles in her leg cut out.

Before her diagnosis, Siobhan showed no other signs of cancer, and felt no pain until towards the end. Despite this, an X-ray revealed a nine inch tumour on the bone of her leg.

“At 28, I was a lot older than most patients with osteosarcoma, as it’s mainly a teenage cancer, which often gets misdiagnosed as growing pain,” she said. “I was one of the oldest people to have it.

“People aren’t aware of this kind of cancer, so if you’re a parent or patient and unhappy with the diagnosis, then ask for an X-ray. My GP had been practising for many years but had never come across it until my diagnosis.”

Now 17 years clear of cancer, Siobhan said she was one of the lucky ones and cannot praise the NHS enough.

But national charity the Bone Cancer Research Trust has revealed a different story for many other patients nationwide.

A survey of 394 primary bone cancer patients, survivors and bereaved families showed one in four patients (26%) had waited more than seven months before receiving a diagnosis – with 13 per cent waiting more than a year.

It also revealed a quarter of all patients (26%) made seven or more visits to their GP or other healthcare professional before receiving a diagnosis.

And following on from Bone Cancer Awareness Week last week, the charity is now highlighting the “red flag” signs of osteosarcoma and calling on all GPs to complete its free E-learning module, developed in partnership with the Royal College of General Practitioners. The goal is to speed up the rate of diagnoses and avoid the need for amputations as a means of survival.

Zoe Davison, the charity’s head of research and information, said there can be a lack of awareness of the symptoms among GPs and other healthcare professionals, as medical students receive no formal training on primary bone cancer during their education.

She added: “We found the survey results worrying and we’re keen to ensure the disease is diagnosed at the earliest opportunity.

“Our E-learning resource is a great way to address this [issue], and those who’ve completed the module see a 70 per cent increase in their understanding of the symptoms that can present with this brutal form of cancer.”

A spokesman for the Bone Cancer Research Trust said there are only five main bone cancer treatment centres in the UK: Newcastle, Oswestry, Birmingham, Oxford and UCL London.

They said: “Patients in Lancaster have to travel quite far for their main treatment which can put considerable extra financial burden and pressure on families being treated for primary bone cancer in Lancashire.”

According to the charity, patients are faced with a five-year survival rate of just over 50 per cent.

Siobhan said: “Raising awareness is the key to saving a life and we need to talk about it in schools, as it’s so common in that age group. I was one of the lucky ones and NHS staff were my absolute gods.”

Further information about symptoms can be found at www.bcrt.org.uk/gp

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