STAR's delighted to introduce you to Rory Broughal and Jamie Bailey, who join the team in Maidenhead as Recruitment Consultants.

Rory and Jamie initially joined STAR in October 2009, as part of our Resourcer Program. As good people are the crux of our success, we invest time in their consultancy training; as the program progresses, employees learn about our culture, our methodology, our vision and values, and hone the skills they need to recognise winning qualities in others. Having successfully graduated the Resourcer Program, Rory and Jamie have been working as Consultants since January.

Jamie moved to recruitment from IT in search of diversity, new challenges, and more direct contact with people. He's already demonstrated a canny knack for matching people with roles, strengthened by the time he dedicates to talking with people to understand their goals, expectations, and strengths. He believes his most valuable traits are his professionalism, understanding, and humour; his weakness - perfectionism, which is fine by us.  

Graduate Rory's personable approach stems from his customer service background. He thrives in people-facing roles, to the gratitude of his candidates who value his honest approach and enthusiasm. He considers his biggest weakness to also be his most vital strength; whilst his people skills pay dividends for his candidates, he's just as disappointed as them if they don't achieve their goal.

Congratulations to both Jamie and Rory; we wish them all the best in their new positions.

STAR employees share many common traits, two of which are socialising, and sport. Chairman Tim Webster, Recruitment Manager Stewart Musselle, and Consultants David Alexander and Richard Morris regularly play for the STAR 'Allstars' against 10 teams of friends and colleagues from businesses in Bath and the surrounding area, in the 'Prostar' football league.

To theirs, and others' surprise, the STAR team rose from underdog to victor, beating their opponents 3-0 in the final; they won a trophy and team football strip, which they will donate to Julian House, a Bath-based charity that provides the city's homeless men and women with support, some of whom play regularly in the 'Prostar' league.

Congratulations boys, we're very proud of you!

We're delighted, but also sad to announce that the Contract Resourcing Division's Sales Force Coordinator Ellie Risoe is leaving the STAR team in February to immigrate to Australia; she's made a huge impact during her time here, and it was critical to us that Ellie's successor was as diligent and proactive, accommodating and likeable as she is. And we think we've hit the nail on the head with Carly Hill.

Carly has worked for STAR as an Account Delivery Executive for just over one year. Anyone who joins the team must show an affinity with STAR's visions and values from the onset, and Carly demonstrates unity, fire and a winning attitude in abundance. Combined with her already comprehensive understanding of our systems and processes, and good client relationships, Carly is the ideal person for the job. She's been working with Ellie for the past month, and now assumes the role under Ellie's supervision.

Whilst we'll miss Ellie immensely, we're absolutely thrilled for her; best of luck Ellie and congratulations Carly!

We're absolutely delighted to announce that Lucy O'Neill, joint owner of STAR and Director of Business Development, has given birth to a baby girl.

Erin Kate O'Neill entered the world at 17.02pm on the 8^th December, weighing in at 8lbs 6ozs.

Both mother and daughter are doing very well.

We'd like to extend our warmest congratulations to Lucy and Paul, and cannot wait to meet Erin in the near future.

We're delighted to announce that Sarah Rumball has joined STAR's support team, as a Financial Controller.

The search for a Financial Controller has been a lengthily one. STAR promises to find its clients not only the best people in the industry, but the best suited to their culture, and this rigorous approach to recruitment applies to internal STARs as well. With knowledge, ingenuity, and motivation given attributes, employees must also demonstrate behaviours compatible with STAR's vision and values too.  

Sarah manages our accounts; she's responsible for budgets and forecasting, and making sure the finance department's systems and processes are ship shape, and efficient. She brings over 12 years of accounting experience to the position, accumulated with small, through to large companies, generating multi-million pound turnovers.

 "The opportunity to embrace innovation is one of the benefits of working with a team that values flexibility," says Sarah. "I'm focused on strengthening and future proofing STAR's already robust methodologies, by applying learnings from the larger companies I've worked with."

Sarah's already at home in STAR's personable culture, and inspiring her colleagues with her drive and enthusiasm. "I'm excited about the opportunity to really make my mark, and a real difference to the business," commented Sarah.

This latest appointment is part of STAR's ongoing commitment to maintaining a strong, supportive infrastructure that enables its contract sales force, and recruitment team, to reach its full potential.

We look forward to working with Sarah and wish her all the best in her new role.

Whilst I'm sure most of you have engaged with consultants from our recruitment team, it's more than likely that on the whole, you've had little interaction with STAR's support team. Usually we're a shy group, working away quietly in the Bath office on the logistical side of things - paying expenses, booking flights and hotels, handling queries, and in my case, looking after all facets of STAR's brand.

Over the last month, I've spoken to a number of candidates, and gained a fantastic insight into their perception of STAR, how that aligns with their experience, and their thoughts on the changes that have taken place, and strategies we've introduced, over the last 6 months or so.

I'm hugely thankful to those candidates who've already volunteered their time to talk, but I'm really keen to speak with anyone who has a spare 15 minutes or so to discuss their thoughts, feelings, and experiences of STAR.

The aim of the project is simple - to help us get a better understanding of what you're thinking, what works for you, and what doesn't. The information will be collected, collated and used by me only, and will of course remain confidential, unless you request otherwise. We'll use your feedback to help guide our brand strategies, and systems and processes, so that as much as possible, everything we do reflects what you want.

If you'd like to know more about the project, or you'd like to participate, please contact me on carly.edwards@starmedical.co.uk, or call 01225 336 335

Information technology - none of us like it do we...; it's often temperamental, inconsistent, and obtuse, and infuriatingly, we're hugely dependant on it. Over the last few weeks, internal STAR teams in Bath, and Maidenhead, and our representatives out on the road, have been at times hugely frustrated by unavoidable IT problems caused by an external communications company working in the local area. Whilst we've politely, and patiently (well, sort of) persevered with these circumstances, we were determined to future-proof ourselves from similar blips happening again. And, it made sense to make sure we had the best IT package available at the same time.

In a group effort led by Business Support Coordinators Kate Hosker and Alice Budds, with input from Business Support Director Gemma Boyd and even the Chairman himself, Tim Webster, STAR's IT capabilities have been restored, rejuvenated and strengthened. Without boring you with too much technical jargon, our existing IT systems have been upgraded, and have quite literally doubled in capacity.

We always have one eye on the future, making sure that our systems and processes enable all of us to do our jobs as efficiently as possible, with the scalability to adapt as we grow, and the number of contract representatives we support increases.

With planning and innovation in mind, work continues on an exciting IT orientated HR system which will make work easier for all our staff, internal and external, and clients. We'll update you with more details soon...

We'd like to thank everyone for their patience over the last few weeks, and hope that you reap the benefits of the new and improved IT system!

STAR will once more be attending the AfPP's 45^th Congress & Exhibition, which begins today in Harrogate. STAR's Chairman Tim Webster is attending, alongside Account Director Michael Burton, Key Account Manager Jodie Cattermole, and Senior Recruitment Consultant Samantha Wise.

The event is UK's biggest healthcare exhibition; it's visited each year by over 2000 visitors from theatre nurses to operating department practitioners, procurement and decontamination staff, to support workers. The exhibition's purpose is to provide education and training, combined with access to the latest equipment and supplies in perioperative care. Complementing the educational programme are masterclasses, interactive sessions and workshops themed around perioperative care theory and practice.

The event has a long and prestigious heritage, beginning originally with a day-long event visited by 100 delegates in Harrogate's Majestic Hotel; Harrogate became the conference's official home by the 1970s.  The AfPP now boasts approximately 8,000 members nationwide, and works to promote high standards of perioperative care, publishing a wide range of materials offering guidelines, advice, and recommendations for best practice in operating departments.

The event is always a busy but enjoyable experience for STAR, and an exciting opportunity to network with new people. Whether you're proactively job hunting, tentatively stepping into the job market, or just fancy an informal chat, please visit our stand situated in hall C, stand 91.

We hope all visitors enjoy the event, and we look forward to seeing you there!

STAR's looking for exceptional people from across the UK for a series of Hospital Specialist Representative opportunities with a biotech pioneer!

Amgen has initiated the development of many innovative products based on advances in recombinant DNA and molecular biology, and has launched some of the first blockbuster medicines in the biotechnology industry; currently, they have nearly 50 product candidates in development for disease areas ranging from osteoporosis to cancer.

For the second time, Amgen has been named one of The Sunday Times 2009 'Top 100 Companies to Work For' in the UK. Amgen was ranked in the 56^th position among the top 100 mid-sized workplaces!

If you'd like to work for this prestigious company, please call us on 01225 336 335 or email solutions@starmedical.co.uk

Hospital Specialist Representative

UK wide opportunities

Osteoporosis

Competitive Salary

Permanent

Major new product! Major launch!

With your hospital, secondary care, pharma or bio-tech background, you'll have a unique sales opportunity to bring a brand new and much-needed bio-tech product to the market that's been specifically designed to combat post menopausal osteoporosis.

As part of the Bone Business Unit's sales team, you'll plan and execute activities that drive clinical demand, and meet hospital account objectives, working in close liaison with other territory partners. 

You'll analyse and assess accounts to ensure you have a firm grasp of the issues and stakeholders, and produce a plan of action so that account goals and regional brand strategy are met. You'll also execute your own territory strategy with the aim of meeting activities within constraints, share knowledge and best practice, and monitor progress against the business plan. 

Whether you're within a secondary care or hospital setting, or from a pharma or bio-tech background, you'll bring our client experience of pre- and post-product launch in the UK, the ABPI qualification, and market access skills. Any knowledge of co-promote situations would be a real plus. 

If you'd like to join our client's business at this exciting time then please do not hesitate to contact STAR on 01225 336 335 or email your CV to solutions@starmedical.co.uk

STAR is delighted to announce that Senior Recruitment Consultant Samantha Wise is a finalist in the PharmaTimes magazine's Recruiter of the Year awards, to be held on the 15^th October 2009 at the Intercontinental Hotel, Park Lane, London.

As job opportunities are reducing rather than increasing in the industry, top recruiters are worth their weight in gold; PharmaTimes, which host many different awards and events in the pharmaceutical sector, added the award in 2007 to reflect the impact recruitment agencies have on the industry.

Nominations for recruiter of the year are volunteered by candidates and clients; the finalists' skills are then rigorously tested in a number of heats, as directed by the steering committee.

We're very proud that Samantha's talent has been recognised, but not surprised. Samantha settled in at STAR in record time, and we've received glowing feedback from both Samantha's candidates and our clients. Life science graduate Samantha has almost ten years of recruitment experience under her belt, the majority of which has been spent in the healthcare industry.

We hope all attendees enjoy the awards, and wish Samantha the best of luck!