There is no need to point out that 2010 will be full of challenges since the British economy is not yet officially out of recession.
The good news is that things are looking much better than last year this time and there are some good signs. The labour market is slowly recovering with some key sectors returning to growth, a study by the employment firm Manpower has revealed. According to the survey, the most positive hiring intentions are in finance and business services. Another study by CPI and KPMG shows that businesses overall in London are the most optimistic they have been in the last 18 months.
The New Year is here -- and where is your new job? Take a closer look at these companies from a broad range of industries:
Accord Housing
Industry: Housing
Who they are: Accord is one of the leading housing associations working in the Central England region and they are committed to meeting the needs of all communities. Their customer services range from affordable homes for families, to supported housing for homeless people and many other services in between.
Open positions: Accord has a range of vacancies in housing, care and support.
Amazon
Industry: Retail
Who they are: Amazon.co.uk opened its virtual doors in October 1998 and strives to be the world's most customer-centric company, where people can find and discover anything they might want to buy online. Amazon offers everything from books and electronics to tennis rackets and jewelry and operates sites in the US, the UK, Germany, France, Japan, Canada, and China.
Open positions: Amazon is recruiting new staff nationwide and Europe-wide for jobs in senior management, engineering, management consultancy, recruitment sales and many others.
Barclays
Industry: Banking
Who they are: Barclays provides banking and investment management services to over 20 million people in more than 60 countries. More than 110,000 employees around the globe work to make Barclays one of the top five financial institutions in the world.
Open positions: Barclays offers UK-based career opportunities at every level, from jobs and training for school leavers, to graduate schemes, MBA programmes and roles for experienced professionals.
British Gas
Industry: Gas and Energy
Who they are: British Gas is a part of the Centrica Group. The company supplies gas and electricity to UK residential and business customers, provides central heating and gas appliance installation and maintenance and low carbon and energy efficient products and services.
Open positions: British Gas is seeking employees for a variety of career opportunities whether you are a fully experienced qualified engineer, seeking a trainee position, a contact centre agent or want to work in a heating, sales, installation or green energy role.
Centrica
Industry: Energy
Who they are: Centrica is an integrated energy company operating predominately in the UK and North America. Upstream they source, generate, process, trade and store energy. Downstream they supply gas and electricity to homes and businesses and offer a distinctive range of home energy solutions and low-carbon products and services.
Open positions: You'll find many opportunities and challenges with Centrica in banking and finance, accountancy, IT, management, construction and more.
Claimar Group
Industry: Healthcare
Who they are: Claimar Care is established as one of the UK's foremost suppliers of high calibre care to individuals living in their own homes. Their care services are designed to enhance the lives, dignity and self respect of those who require a little extra help.
Open positions: Claimar Care is hiring care professionals, e.g. community care workers, care co-ordinators and live in carers.
Dell
Industry: Information Technology
Who they are: Dell is a leading technology provider to commercial enterprises around the world. Based in Round Rock, Texas, Dell employs more than 76,500 people worldwide. The company sells personal computers, servers, data storage devices, network switches, software, and computer peripherals. Dell ships about 140,000 systems per day, on average -- that's more than one every second.
Open positions: Dell offers many career paths, e.g. in sales, customer service & support, IT or engineering.
Hertz
Industry: Car Rental
Who they are: Hertz is the world's leading vehicle renting organization, operating from approximately 8,100 locations in 147 countries worldwide. Today, Hertz's Worldwide Reservations Centers handle about 40 million phone calls and deliver 30 million reservations annually.
Open positions: Hertz is looking for new staff nationwide and Europe-wide: Administrators, recruiters, contact centre agents, accountants and many more. For all positions outside of the UK foreign languages are a must.
Hilton International
Industry: Hotels
Who they are: Hilton is a leading global hospitality company, with over 3,000 hotels totalling over 500,000 hotel rooms in 80 countries and territories. The company already has over 100,000 team members worldwide who have access to a wide range of benefits, training and development support.
Open positions: Hilton has a variety of opportunities whether you are a seasoned professional or just starting out in this industry, e.g. in the areas of catering, hospitality, senior management or customer service.
RUSH Hair & Beauty
Industry: Hairdressing
Who they are: The RUSH Hair & Beauty Group has been at the forefront of hairdressing for over 15 years. Their passion for developing a group of salons that offer the highest quality of service and professionalism, as well as cutting edge creativity has led to 49 luxurious salons across London and the South, eight British Hairdressing Awards and two British Hairdressing Business Awards to date.
Open positions: RUSH is recruiting for the following positions in many new RUSH salons across London and the South: Stylists at all levels, apprenticeships, salon managers.