Given we have been in lockdown since January and are only now hoping to emerge, recruitment has dealt with the dip in business confidence and endless uncertainty remarkably well.

Right now, the accountancy job market is active. It’s moving fast, employers know the skills they want, and those in search of a new role have - in the main - made up their mind to move quickly.

It was March when the Prime Minister laid down the most significant restrictions on British people in living memory. Businesses closed. I learned the word furlough. Zoom became a verb. And we were told we “must stay at home” for the first time.

It is well known that work is good for mental well-being, but inadequate working conditions and an unsupportive environment can have a significantly negative impact on our psychological health, hindering our ability to perform well and remain productive.

Remote working started for many as a way to get through the pandemic. It has fast developed into an expected benefit and, for some, become a necessary lifestyle change.

After more than 20 years providing advice and support to accountancy professionals, I am all too aware of the negative reputation the recruitment industry often endures.

It is obvious that the world of work is changing but, in truth, it has been changing for some time.

At the start of 2020, the number of people working in the UK reached a record high of just over 32.5 million.

Right now, January seems as though it was a lifetime ago. The major concern business had was Brexit, something now seemingly forgotten in the face of a bigger challenge; one reaching much further than the workplace.

Starting a new job is exciting, but it can also be scary and sometimes a little confusing at the same time - and that’s before you add a global pandemic and the prospect of working from home.

While the majority of recruitment is on hold until the coronavirus crisis plays out, the search to find new employment continues for a growing number of people. 

The increasing impact of the coronavirus reaches far and wide and, while it has not stopped the recruitment industry entirely, it has certainly changed the way we are working.