Construction Sales FREE Career Clinics for November 2016 - UK wide locations

It will soon be Christmas, so why not get yourself an early Christmas present by way of a new job, before it gets too hectic!

If you are you thinking of making a move but are not sure of the best way to approach it or what opportunities are out there, we can help.

So, if you do want to progress your career in construction sales or marketing, then you should take advantage of a FREE evaluation of your career, gain expert guidance on your next move and take a look at suitable current vacancies. Interested...? Arrange to attend our PinBuild Career Development Clinics this November. 

This could be the most important appointment of your career so far...

PinBuild Clinics are for sales and marketing professionals in the construction and building products sector, providing specialist career advice and a match to the latest construction sales vacancies.

Call us and arrange to meet one of our expert construction industry consultants on 01480 405225 or contact us via to secure your booking e-mail recruit@pinnacleconsulting.co.uk

November

• Wednesday 2nd November - Manchester
• Tuesday 15th November - Leeds
• Thursday 17th November - Reading
• Wednesday 23rd November - Birmingham
• Thursday 24th November - Norwich
• Tuesday 22nd November - Derby
• Tuesday 29th November - Crawley

Our current jobs: You might find one you'd like to discuss: Search for building and construction products sales jobs

PinBuild Clinics will evaluate the job seeker’s career to date and identify the best opportunities available. The clinics provide professionals with expert advice on how to progress their career by discussing the industry sectors that have potential for growth, the skills and focus needed to ensure that they develop with the changing nature of the market and how to ensure that their career continues to progress rather than stagnating.

The clinics will also assist those that attend to map out a realistic and achievable career path, including any potential training requirements. Assistance will also be given to evaluate their CV and also their interview technique and where they should focus to ensure they realise their true potential in the building and construction industry.

We specialise in external and internal sales positions, marketing and management roles and director and board appointments with manufacturers, merchants or distributors across the whole building, construction and interiors product spectrum.

Take some time out to read about CRASH the construction industry's charity for homeless people and one of our industry partners for our charity initiative 'Helping others as you recruit.' Our other partner is the wonderful Lighthouse Club, who look after people and families from the industry who have suffered from illness, injury or death. 

Have you ever considered a career in recruitment?

If you are thinking of changing your career, then recruitment is definitely worth considering. It is a career that many overlook, but it is exciting, challenging and interesting, as well as personally and financially rewarding. 

Pinnacle Consulting is looking to add to our team - not only will you be working for a market leader within the construction sector, you will be working with an outstanding sales team. 

We are currently looking to recruit - Trainee Consultants and Business Development Managers.

Reasons to work in recruitment

It is a major industry sector

The recruitment industry has an annual UK turnover of over £20 billion and employs almost 100,000 people, therefore contributes significantly to the UK economy. However, its real value is actually much more... 

Help shape the economy of the UK

A recruitment agency helps shape the future of the whole economy by providing a range of professional services to people and companies across many job functions and industry sectors.

Your aim as a recruitment consultant is to successfully guide individuals through their career and assist companies to add real value to their business. In summary, your placements help to deliver a successful UK economy by enabling other sectors to generate income, through the right people being placed in the right roles to allow companies to benefit.

Become a unique talent scout in a diverse and challenging environment 

The job is arguably one of the most diverse within the business world. It is fast paced, exciting, competitive, challenging and very rewarding. Your role is that of a talent scout, trying to identify and uncover qualities and potential in people to flourish in the right environment.

Help enhance peoples’ lives and companies to grow 

A recruitment consultant comes with a high degree of responsibility as you directly influence futures - you have the opportunity to change lives for the better. We all like to help others; it brings a great sense of satisfaction to guide an individual in their career path, or a company to that next level – placing the right person in the right job is a job well done. 

Develop your interpersonal and professional skills 

You are the vital link between the candidate and the client; you will need to have (and learn to enhance) a wide range of skills to succeed.  Most important is the ability to build professional relationships with your clients. 

You need to be comfortable operating under pressure and should be ambitious and confident. It is also vital that you can multi-task and be able to apply a high level of integrity to your decision-making.

Personally and financially rewarding with superb career development opportunities 

Recruitment consultants can be very well rewarded – and if you are good at your job - the performance related bonuses or commission levels are very attractive. 

There is also excellent career progression in recruitment - if you’re new to the industry you would normally start as trainee consultant, progressing to a senior consultant and then depending on the company size, a branch manager or regional manager.

So for your next job, why not consider a career in helping other people find rewarding jobs and companies to flourish with ideal employees.  Interested? Why not work for Pinnacle Consulting...

Four facts about Pinnacle Consulting

We offer expert industry-specific recruitment services

We are a specialist sales and marketing recruitment agency operating exclusively in the UK construction products and building materials industry. This means our knowledge and advice is based on a true understanding of our customers’ needs.

Our Consultants manage projects from cradle to grave 

You would manage relationships with a broad range of clients from multi-national distributors and manufacturers of building products to small independent ones.

You would be responsible for the whole recruitment process - this includes sourcing and qualifying new sales and marketing vacancies, sourcing interviewing and screening candidates and then matching candidates to vacancies.

We consider integrity as being vital to our philosophy

Our mission is to build long-term relationships for long-term gain. It is not just about filling a vacancy for us and getting a placement - that would be the easy fix and not fair on either the candidate or the client. 

This is where our philosophy of integrity and professionalism plays a vital role and makes us different from many others. We do this by really getting to know our clients and candidates, so we intuitively know what they need, resulting in confidential advice that is invaluable and hard to find elsewhere.

We encourage the development of our own talent too

Although previous recruitment experience is beneficial – it is not essential. It is just as important to have a naturally positive outlook combined with a professional and well-organised work ethic. 

Our current team are from a combination of internal telephone based sales and customer service type backgrounds. Most importantly they share a common grounding within challenging and targeted environments where there is the need to deliver. 

If you have experience of selling products or services, dealing with decision makers and working to measurable targets or business objectives then the role of recruitment consultant at Pinnacle Consulting could be right for you.

Still interested? We offer a negotiable basic salary depending on experience plus uncapped commission. Call Natalie Matthews on 01480 405225 to discuss further or email natalie@pinnacleconsulting.co.uk

Leaders in construction products and building industry sales recruitment.


Image: Thanks to Shutterstock. Copyright: wavebreakmedia

BMF say that Construction is buoyant despite Brexit fears

There are few signs that Brexit has negatively impacted the construction industry according to the latest figures from the Builders Merchant Building Index (BMBI).  The new figures show sales up by 13.1%, with heavy building materials up by 14.1% and timber and joinery products up 11.8%. Overall like-for-like sales (allowing for two extra trading days) were up 2.8%. Year to date sales grew 5.4%. 

The BMBI is produced for the Builders Merchants Federation which represents 560 merchant and supplier companies who together have combined sales of over £22 billion.  The BMFs 300 plus merchants members operate around 4500 branches across the UK, supplying 80% of the building industry.    

ONS statistics, released today, suggest construction output decreased by 1.5% in August.  Whilst these are a different and broader measure of the construction sector, the contrast with BMBI figures, which relate to building materials, is startling.  

BMF Managing Director, John Newcomb, commented “We are surpised by the ONS figures as they do not reflect what we see happening in the building materials industry.  We believe that the BMBI figures more accurately show the strength of the sector as they correlate to future output.  Put simply, for a brick to be laid, it first has to be supplied and purchased.

“There is lots of speculation on the impact of Brexit on the economy as a whole and on construction, so we are very encouraged to see sales growth of over 13% in August, which shows that our industry is still strong and in robust health”.

Latest builders merchants jobs >>

Competition to design a bathroom that might be on sale in 20 years’ time

Ideal Standard and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) have teamed up to launch a competition for architects and design professionals to present their ideas on how bathrooms will look, feel and perform in the future, with a cash prize of £5,000 up for grabs.

The UK bathroom manufacturer has often been at the forefront of innovation including addressing the limited space available in domestic bathrooms, designing products that help save water and using well known designers to produce functional, practical bathrooms with strong aesthetic appeal.

This competition is a chance to showcase what future residential bathrooms may look like in 20 years’ time. The design will address the trends, lifestyle, issues, sustainability and demographics of the future. They are not looking for fully resolved designs – more concepts that reveal what today’s professionals foresee in future bathroom and user lifestyle trends.

The format of design proposals should be a complete bathroom though it is possible to focus on one or more elements of the bathroom (e.g. wc, basin, taps etc.,) within the design. They are interested in ideas that show everyday bathrooms rather than elaborate futuristic visions, so the response needs to be practical, realistic and within the functional and economic grasp of a future generation.

Entries should assume the bathroom size is 6 square metres, and focus on the following areas: WC and toileting, basin and washing, bathing, showering.

A dimensioned plan should be included with illustrations of how the bathroom would look, feel and perform within the house, along with up to 800 words on the reasoning behind the ideas. This might be a written summary and / or combined with annotated designs showing the functionality and performance of each element. The reasoning should include the main areas that are likely to change and trends expected over the next 20 years. These are likely to cover: demographics and an aging population, water saving and sustainability, space, health.

Submissions should be sent as pdfs to: asmith2@idealstandard.com no later than 31 January 2017. Winners will be announced March 2017.

Recruitment in the industry to be highlighted as a priority at the next BMF Conference

The importance of recruiting young talent into the building materials industry will be a key theme of the BMF All Industry Conference in Budapest next June. Steve Ingham, chief executive officer of PageGroup, a worldwide leader in specialist recruitment has been confirmed as a speaker at the event.

Mr. Ingham will address the challenges of recruiting young talent into the industry and draw on lessons that can be learned from other sectors.
When he joined Page, 30 years ago, he was tasked with expanding and diversifying a company known for one specialism, accounting, into a broad-based 'people' business. Now, in his 11th year as CEO, he has overseen the company's rapid growth to become a FTSE 200 business with a headcount of 6,000 employees spanning 35 countries. He also rebranded the business in 2012, bringing the three operational brands of Michael Page, Page Personnel and Page Executive together as PageGroup.

Today, Page recruits across all professions including property and construction, procurement, logistics, supply chain engineering, HR, legal and marketing as well as accounting. Their clients range from blue chip multi-nationals to family-run businesses.
Mr Ingham is also a non-executive director of Debenhams plc and a member of the Corporate Partnerships Board for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity.

John Newcomb, BMF managing director, said: "Youth recruitment and succession planning is a critical business challenge for the merchant sector. I think we all recognise that the general public does not view our industry as sexy or exciting, which can be a limiting factor in attracting young people. I'm looking forward to hearing Steve's thoughts on overcoming perception barriers and encouraging the next generation to take our industry forward.”

The BMF All Industry Conference takes place in Budapest from 15 to 18 June 2017 at the five-star Intercontinental Hotel. Broadcaster and TV personality, Gethin Jones, will host the event, which has already sold out.

Further details are available on the Conference website, www.bmfconference2017.co.uk.

There's a dog in mi kitchen, what am I gonna do?

Homeowners now consider their dogs and their children when planning a new kitchen, alongside flexible working conditions and other factors. This has been revealed in new research by JM Blake Associates which shows that the factors influencing consumers when purchasing a new kitchen are changing. 

The study – which questioned 500 UK homeowners who had recently purchased a new kitchen – found that consumers are “showing a renewed willingness to invest in their kitchens” and are using “professional kitchen planners” to ensure their new kitchen suits their lifestyle.

“Our previous research has given us a valuable insight into the consumer purchase process for kitchens, but we realised that there was a stage before the consumer even entered a kitchen showroom which required further investigation,” said JM Blake Associates research director Jane Blakeborough.

Search of KBB sales jobs >>

Outside influences also factor into consumers' choices when buying a new kitchen, with the report finding that television shows such as The Great British Bake-Off have a “positive influence” on the way kitchens are used.

NEW Job in Focus: National Specification Sales Manager for Heating & Plumbing Products - £70k OTE

Our new Job in Focus for is an excellent opportunity to become the National Specification Sales Manager for a manufacturer of high performance Heating and Plumbing products. The role comes with excellent benefits and OTE of £70k. You would be selling via specification to Architects, Consultants, Local Authorities and M&E Contractors

Our Construction & Building Industry Job in Focus feature takes a detailed look at some of the fantastic sales & marketing construction and building materials job vacancies currently on our books. 

Job in Focus is also promoted on our website. www.pinnacleconsulting.co.uk

Job Title: National Specification Manager

Job Ref: J8175

Product: Heating & Plumbing

Location: National

Salary: £55k

Supplier of heating and plumbing products. Selling to Architects, Consultants, Local authorities, M&E Contractors. 

Package: £45K - £55K with £70K OTE - Company Car, Mobile, Laptop, Pension. 

Employer: A leading name within the heating a plumbing sector, part of a larger group with sustained funding and fantastic growth potential. Suppliers of high performance products. 

Job Description: A fantastic opportunity to generate business via specification across the UK. You will look to create and develop relationships with architects, local authorities, M&E Contractors and consultants while marketing the full range of heating and plumbing products. 

Area: Field based role covering nationally. Candidates can live anywhere on patch ideally in a central or well connected location i.e. Birmingham, Nottingham, Leeds, Manchester, London, Oxford, Bristol. 

Person: We are seeking a dynamic sales professional within the heating and plumbing sector with proven specification sales experience with local authorities and architects. Ideally you will have some exposure to working with healthcare projects although not essential. 

For further information or to discuss your career options contact Luke Rootham on 01480 405225 or apply online.

Search for more building products sales jobs >>>

UK Construction Week: Let's show the UK how great the Construction Industry is!

Next week is the return of one of the success stories of the last couple of years - UK Construction Week.

It is now the UK's largest construction trade event and takes place at the Birmingham NEC from 18 – 20 October 2016.  It takes us back to the days when a late Autumn trade show (Interbuild) was a cornerstone of the industry.

The event unites over 650 exhibitors with an audience of over 24,000 trade visitors and includes a massive nine shows all under one roof: Timber Expo, Build Show, Civils Expo, Plant & Machinery Live, Energy 2016, Smart Buildings 2016, Surface & Materials Show and HVAC 2016 running from 18-20 October and Grand Designs Live which is open to the trade on 19-20 October.

As well as lots of companies to see, there are seminars, award ceremonies, opportunities to network, gain business advice and lots of entertainment too!

Make sure you attend and support the industry. As well as keeping updated on your sector's innovation and competition, exhibitions are an excellent opportunity to become better in your current job or start researching the market for a potential new employer.

UK Construction Week is FREE to attend. Venue: NEC,  Birmingham - Halls 2, 3, 3A, 4 & 5. Opening Times: Tues 18th October: 10:00 - 17.00 | Wed 19th October: 10:00 – 17:00 | Thurs 20th October: 10:00 – 17:00

More on the exhibition.
http://www.ukconstructionweek.com/

Construction product sales increase for 14th consecutive quarter

Despite post-Brexit uncertainty, sales of construction products increased for the 14th consecutive quarter in the third quarter of the year, according to the Construction Product Association (CPA). We all should be pretty proud of that achievement, all of us: manufacturers, merchants and distributors, architects, consultants, contractors, builders and installers, and yes, even us recruiters!

In the first study after the EU referendum, the latest State of Trade Survey shows construction product sentiment improved between June and September, suggesting "activity remained resilient following initial uncertainty in the run-up to, and immediately after, the EU referendum in June," says Rebecca Larkin, CPA senior economist.

According to the report, half (50 per cent) of light side firms reported an increase in construction product sales with more than a quarter (26 per cent) of heavy side firms on balance also seeing growth in the third quarter of 2016 compared with the previous three months, although this was lower than the balance of 52 per cent recorded in quarter two.

On an annual basis, heavy side and light side firms said sales rose by 68 per cent and 60 per cent on balance, respectively, with almost half of heavy side manufacturers (45 per cent on balance) anticipating a rise in sales in quarter four.

According to the survey, almost two-thirds (67 per cent) of light side firms expected an increase in product sales in the next quarter, compared to a zero balance in quarter two with 42 per cent of heavy side firms and 40 per cent of light side firms anticipated an increase in export sales over the next year.

Annual cost increases were reported by 57 per cent of heavy side manufacturers and 56 per cent of those on the light side.

“In contrast to pre-referendum pessimism evident in manufacturers’ forward-looking views in last quarter’s survey, expectations for near-term sales turned markedly higher in quarter three," says Larkin.

“Interestingly, the sharp depreciation in Sterling does not appear to have translated into an increase in export sales in our sector.

"Instead, the effect of the weak currency has been manifested in rising costs for imported raw materials and higher fuel bills, adding to the existing inflationary pressures on wages created by skills shortages. Nevertheless, manufacturers anticipated a pickup in overseas sales over the next 12 months.”

Looking for a new sales job in the construction sector? www.pinnacleconsulting.co.uk