If Policeman get younger, who gets older?


Being out of the office on audit is like relaxing in a warm bath of Birds custard with Claudia Schiffer dropping slivers of mango into your mouth - bliss. No phone calls, no e-mails, no aggro from staff, just the expectancy of the client which isn't pressure as far as I'm concerned, it's a series of achievable targets and deadlines.

I can't say that auditing is fun, to be honest if you ask anybody involved in auditing and they'll tell you that since the Enron fiasco you'll find that we are having our collective nuts squeezed harder than before, but I've moaned about the form filling before and there's no point going back over that again. What is good though is the experience of a different working culture, observing different mindsets, different sets of goals and different styles of management.

The client where I'm working this week are the number two in the world in their chosen environment and they have a client portfolio which is mind boggling when you look at the names of the companies and organisations involved. I can guarantee that if you are flying in any sort of aircraft, be it commercial or private, you will be reliant upon this company's product at some point during your journey, whether domestic, international or long haul and in any continent.

Anyway what has struck me during this years audit is the fact that the I.T staff aren't all whizz kid graduates anymore they are men (and some women) in their thirties, forties and fifties - one of them is actually 65. Now obviously clients, and their staff, are going to get older the more years you act for them but even the new recruits this year are all forty plus.

Having done some research into the matter I was struck with a sense of deja vu, even the online sites that are devoted to giving graduates advice are all saying the same thing, experience,experience, experience. It's the traditional Catch-22 scenario, employers want experience and so are going for people they don't need to spend time and money re-training in commercial practice rather than theory which is what they get with a lot of graduates. Interestingly one of the sites I looked at suggests that students find any job they can so that it shows a prospective employer they can actually work.

What has also come through loud and clear this week is that good employees will get their reward. I know this is obvious and has been discussed before but one rather heartwarming story came through during a review of employee files. One prospective member of staff applied for a job and said that he was willing to take a salary below what was being offered because he felt that having taken a 'late gap year' as he put it (he's in his forties) he felt he should earn the going rate rather than simply pitching up and taking it. His c.v and references were spectacular and he had one of those personality reports that Guardian readers used to love in the 90's. Anyway, two years down the line and his salary is now 50% more than when he started and is 15% more than the market rate, all down to hard work and being the right person in the right job for this employer.

Sometimes it's not just custard and Ms Schiffer that makes it all worthwhile, seeing something good happen does it for me.