Have you been wondering if estate agency is the right career for you, but perhaps been put off by all the talk of low salaries, long hours, and weekend work? Then, you might want to read on, because there have been some big changes made recently within the sector to attract new talent! So, what is required to commence a career in estate agency? The good news is that you don’t need a specific qualification or university degree to get into estate agency, and if further education is not for you, then you could even sign up to a relevant apprenticeship scheme starting when you are as young as 16 ..read more

We are thrilled to announce that long-term Property Personnel team member, Charlotte O’Hanlon, has been promoted to the role of Senior Recruitment Consultant. Charlotte has been with us since 2018 and we are delighted that she has moved up the ranks from her previous role as Recruitment Consultant. Charlotte joined the team after spending two years travelling around southeast Asia and Australia. Allison met with her and knew immediately that we wanted her on board. Property Personnel Director, Allison Dalrymple: “Charlotte’s exactly who we had been looking for. She was instantly likeable, dr ..read more

We recently celebrated our 35th birthday at Property Personnel. Whilst the world of work is a very different place today to when we first opened our doors, we have seen more changes in the last 3 years than in the previous 32! But, before we talk about these changes, it is terrifying to note that most of our job seekers, and even some of our clients, weren’t even born when we started up the business. Indeed, our colleagues Charlotte, Georgina, and Maddie, weren’t even a twinkle in their parents’ eyes back then, and my co-director Allison was still playing hopscotch in the school yard! These ..read more

Millennials and Generation Z: The facts show that they are the most essential but evasive group of professionals in the workplace today. In his latest blog, Anthony Hesse offers some tough love to employers about how to recruit and retain them. And an advance warning – the offer of biscuits, beanbags and pool tables just isn’t going to cut it anymore… When it comes to recruiting the best talent, the emphasis in recent years has been on the candidates doing the hard work. After all, they’re the ones who are enthusiastically seeking the position, and you’re the one generously offering the sala ..read more

It’s been exactly a year since the team at Property Personnel and I packed up our desks and set up at home. I don’t think any of us thought that 12 months later the desks in our office would still be left unoccupied. It’s been a year of ups and downs for us all, there have been moments of difficulty and isolation from the world but regardless of this I have certainly learnt to enjoy the little things in life, and I feel very lucky to have such great family and friends. Like most businesses, we noticed that towards the end of March things started to get very quiet and shortly afterwards the fi ..read more

After saying goodbye to my colleagues at the office on 17th March 2020, I honestly thought I would be seeing them again in a few weeks’ time. I was in total denial that the world was about to be locked down and life as we knew it would change drastically. In the beginning, we were working from home and trying to make our workdays as normal as possible, so we continued our daily morning meetings and made sure we were checking in on each other. However, it wasn’t long before we really started to miss being in the office together bouncing ideas around, asking questions, talking about the latest ..read more

I don’t know about you, but I definitely thought we would be back to normal by now. When I look back at the last year, I cannot believe we’ve been living with this intrusion into our everyday lives for so long! Here we are, into our third national lockdown, and although we’ve done it twice before, this one has definitely hit the hardest in the Eastwood household. Not only are we frankly bored of the whole situation, but I am also now having to juggle home schooling my 4 (almost 5) year old, and working at the same time, whilst my husband Sam continues to go to work as a key worker. Going back ..read more

I was very dismissive when friends and colleagues were worried about what was emerging in Wuhan: In my mind there was no way it could end up in the UK and I genuinely thought people were overreacting! As news came through that people were being infected in the UK, and that the numbers were rising rapidly, my nerves took over. My youngest son has a complex heart condition and at that stage we had no idea if he would be in the high-risk category and I was not prepared to take the risk. On the 17th March 2020 I packed up my desk and rushed home to what would be 12 weeks of shielding! The thought ..read more

We are calling on estate agencies to be more tolerant of the struggles working parents are encountering during lockdown. Employers need to be aware that school closures have put enormous pressures on parents with children at home and ensure appropriate measures are in place to treat them sympathetically. The impact of the closure of schools has been like a meteor strike on the daily lives of working parents. They suddenly find themselves in a ‘sandwich sector’ of employees – trapped between the requirements of work on the one hand and childcare on the other. As anyone who has attempted it kno ..read more

The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented challenge. There isn’t a sector or industry that’s unaffected, and it’s undoubtedly a worrying time for those of us in the property trade. That’s why we want to let you know that Property Personnel is still here and ready to support you however we can. Like you, we are adjusting to new ways of living and working to protect our staff, which means we are operating with reduced capacity. But, by adapting, we can continue to bring property businesses and professionals together during this time, so that they are poised to carry the industry forward once thi ..read more