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Blog & News
Our blog is filled with expert insights, practical advice, and industry updates to support you at every stage of the hiring journey. You’ll also find updates on what’s happening behind the scenes at Michelle Denny Recruitment Consultancy – from trade shows and industry events to radio features, podcasts, and our sustainability initiatives. Plus, get to know the people behind our brand with team profiles and insights into how we work.
For candidates, we cover everything from CV writing tips and interview techniques to career advice and job market trends. For clients, we provide guidance on hiring best practices, onboarding strategies, market insights, and talent retention to help you build high-performing teams.
Looking for specific guidance? Contact us below...
Hiring Apprentices in East Anglia | A Practical Guide for SME Owners
Why Hiring Apprentices in East Anglia Makes Commercial Sense for SMEs For many SME owners, hiring apprentices in East Anglia can feel like something designed for larger organisations. In reality, they can be one of the most effective long-term recruitment strategies available to smaller businesses. An apprentice isn’t simply a trainee. They’re a developing asset, someone you shape around your processes, your culture, and your way of working. The real advantages for owner-led
Feb 161 min read
East Anglia Workforce Statistics – A Reality Check for Our Businesses
If you run a business in East Anglia, chances are recruitment feels more complicated than it did a few years ago. That isn’t down to sentiment or shifting attitudes, it’s the result of clear, structural changes in the local labour market. When we look at the data, a consistent picture emerges. One that has real implications for how our businesses plan, grow and protect continuity. Here are five workforce statistics that matter right now and what they mean in practical terms.
Jan 263 min read
Recruitment for SME Owners - When Hiring Feels Personal (and Why That’s Not a Bad Thing)
If you run a small or medium-sized business, recruitment rarely feels like a straightforward decision. It isn’t just a process to follow or a box to tick. It’s a decision that affects your team, your time and, often, your own workload. When headcount is lean and everyone plays a key role, bringing someone new in can feel surprisingly personal. That’s normal - and it’s something many SME owners are feeling more acutely right now. For many business owners, recruitment for SME o
Jan 222 min read
Why hiring feels harder than it used to – and what you can do about it.
If you’ve recruited before, you may be finding that recruitment doesn’t quite feel the same anymore – even when the role itself is a good one. Roles are taking longer to fill. Shortlists feel thinner. Candidates are more cautious, quieter, and less likely to make quick moves. Even well-run hiring processes can feel heavier than they used to. You’re not imagining it – hiring has changed. But it hasn’t stopped working. Why hiring feels harder in today’s market Many good candid
Jan 172 min read
What the Budget means for your local business.
We’re really looking forward to hosting the first of our 2026 Diss Networking Breakfast on Thursday 29 January at Diss Golf Club , bringing together local business owners, managers and team leaders for an open, friendly conversation about the recent Budget. Local business networking breakfast in Diss discussing what the UK Budget means for local businesses Now that a little time has passed since the announcements, many businesses are starting to see how things are actually
Jan 151 min read
The quiet candidates every employer is missing right now
If you are advertising roles, receiving applications, and still feeling that none of them are quite right, you are not alone. Many of the strongest candidates in today’s market are not actively job hunting. They are not refreshing job boards. They are not sending out CVs. And yet, they are often open to the right conversation. These are the quiet candidates employers miss. Who are quiet candidates? Quiet candidates are typically experienced, capable and settled on the surface
Jan 112 min read
How to attract better candidates without increasing salary
For many businesses, recruitment conversations eventually come back to the same point: “We’d get better candidates if we could pay more.” Sometimes that’s true. The market moves, salaries shift and benchmarking highlights a genuine gap. But often, salary is only one part of the decision people make when they choose a job. Candidates look at the whole picture: how it feels to work in your team, whether they will be trusted, if they can grow, and whether work fits sensibly arou
Jan 63 min read
Recruitment myths that quietly reappear at this time of year.
Every year, around this point in the calendar, I start hearing the same familiar recruitment myths resurface. Short video explaining common recruitment myths and what really helps when hiring. They don’t come from bad intentions. In fact, most of them sound perfectly reasonable on the surface. But left unchallenged, they can make hiring harder than it needs to be, and sometimes they lead businesses down paths that simply don’t serve them well. As the owner of Michelle Denny R
Dec 30, 20253 min read
Do you need to actually hire? January hiring strategy: how to start the year with the right people in the right roles
January has a certain energy about it. Diaries open, plans take shape and suddenly the conversations turn to growth, capacity and who is going to deliver it all. For many businesses, that naturally leads to recruitment. But the best results come when hiring is treated as a strategy, not just a reaction to a vacancy. Here are a few thoughtful steps that can help you begin the year with clarity, confidence and a plan that actually works. Start with the business goal, not the va
Dec 27, 20253 min read
The hidden power of the first conversation
In recruitment, we often focus on the formal moments – the interviews, the tasks, the panel discussions. But very often, it’s the very first conversation that quietly shapes everything that follows. It’s rarely polished. Sometimes it’s on the phone, sometimes on Teams, sometimes squeezed in between meetings. But it’s the moment where two humans meet before the process begins to harden into structure. And it holds far more influence than people realise. The power of the first
Dec 16, 20252 min read
December CVs vs January CVs – what we really notice as recruiters
The CVs we see in December vs the ones we see in January There’s a noticeable shift in CVs at this time of year. Not in formatting or qualifications. In mindset . As recruiters, we see it every December and every January. Two very different types of CV land in our inbox, often for the same roles. And the difference matters more than most people realise. December CVs – quieter, considered, intentional December CVs tend to come from people who have taken a breath. They are ofte
Dec 14, 20252 min read
Behind the Scenes: How MDR Prepares Your January Hiring
December often feels like a strange month for recruitment. Workloads lift and dip, people are pulled in every direction, and the natural instinct is to pause anything that feels too big or too energy-draining. Yet for many local businesses, January brings a fresh list of plans and pressures and hiring is often one of them. What most people don’t see is the quiet groundwork that can make January hiring far easier, calmer and more productive. At MDR, much of that preparation ha
Dec 6, 20252 min read
What a good recruitment process feels like for candidates
When you’re busy hiring, it’s easy to focus on the mechanics of recruitment – the advert, the shortlist, the interviews, the offer. But behind every application is a person trying to understand whether your business could be the right next step for them. The reality is that people remember how the process felt every bit as much as what the job offered. And in a close knit area like Norfolk and Suffolk, those impressions travel fast. Working at desk. Here’s what a good recrui
Dec 3, 20252 min read
Five Non-Monetary Employee Benefits That Help You Attract Great Talent
Finding and keeping the right people remains one of the biggest challenges for organisations across Norfolk and Suffolk. While salary will always be important, many candidates place just as much value on the non-monetary benefits that shape their day-to-day experience at work. With many businesses managing tight budgets, practical and meaningful benefits can make a genuine difference to your hiring success. They don’t need to be costly, complicated or corporate. In fact, the
Nov 23, 20252 min read
Why planning your hiring strategy now, gives you a head start
Why planning your hiring strategy now gives you a head start Mid-November often feels like a natural start to the winding-down point before Christmas, but for forward-thinking employers, it’s the perfect time to plan ahead. With competition for talent still holding strong across Norfolk and Suffolk, those who prepare now will be best placed to move quickly in the new year. some books and reminder statement to start your hiring strategy now The hiring landscape UK vacancy leve
Nov 19, 20252 min read
Small gestures, big impact – keeping your team motivation high through December & Christmas.
As we head into the festive season, many workplaces are running on two speeds: flat-out busy or quietly winding down. Either way, December has a habit of testing everyone’s energy and motivation levels. It’s that time when inboxes are full, diaries are packed, and the to-do lists are longer than the days. But it’s also the month when small acts of thoughtfulness can have the biggest impact – a reminder that motivation doesn’t always come from grand gestures or costly rewards
Nov 12, 20252 min read
What Rising Salaries Across Norfolk & Suffolk Mean for Your Next Hire.
The cost of hiring is changing - and not just because of inflation. Across Norfolk and Suffolk, salaries are on the rise as businesses compete for a limited pool of skilled people. In this corner of East Anglia, we’re seeing local pay levels begin to close the gap with national averages - Suffolk’s median annual salary now sits around £33,900 , with Norfolk following a similar upward trend. It’s creating a noticeable shift in the market, one that’s as much about mindset as it
Nov 10, 20252 min read
Why Part-Time Roles Are the Quiet Powerhouse of Local Business
It’s easy to underestimate the value of part-time roles – but in reality, they’re often the secret ingredient that helps local businesses thrive. We’re seeing more skilled professionals choosing to work part-time, and not just for lifestyle reasons. Many want to continue contributing at a high level while balancing other priorities, whether that’s caring responsibilities, portfolio careers, or simply the freedom to shape their week differently. For employers, this presents a
Nov 2, 20252 min read
The Interview Isn’t an Automated Test – It’s a Two-Way Conversation
Halfway through the interview, she thought, 'I think I’m being interviewed by ChatGPT.' Somewhere along the way, interviews turned into interrogations. And we forgot they’re supposed to be conversations. How it feels on both sides We’ve all been there. For candidates, the nerves take over – you rehearse your lines, shake hands, and hope your voice doesn’t wobble. For hiring managers, it’s back-to-back meetings, same questions, same answers, trying to spot the righ
Oct 27, 20252 min read
Speed vs Substance: The Hiring Paradox of 2025
We filled the role in four days – and regretted it for four months - hiring at speed wasn't clever! Speed feels good. It looks efficient. But when it comes to hiring, it can quietly cost you more than you save. The pressure to move quickly Right now, every business feels the squeeze.Deadlines, targets, resignations, workload – all of it pushes hiring managers to move quickly. Add in AI-driven shortlists, alerts that tell you your top candidate “won’t stay available for long,”
Oct 27, 20252 min read
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