PR, marcomms, recruitment and all the bits in between

Véritable perle de l’extrême sud, Porto-Vecchio (Corse)

And here's something for our French speaking readers:

Un endroit magique et encore sauvage...

La ville elle-même est très pittoresque et se partage en deux. D’un côté, le port moderne très animé en été est bordé de glaciers et accueille de fréquentes animations musicales. En haut, ce sont les traces d’un passé mouvementé où l’ancienne ville est installée dans une place forte sur des rochers de porphyre rose.

Ville festive par excellence, Porto-Vecchio donne le ton de la saison pour toute la Corse. Une vie culturelle intense, une vie nocturne variée et animée. Le centre ville est charmant et rien ne vaut un perroquet (pastis et menthe) en fin de journée sur la place de l’église.

Les plages sont incroyablement belles et la mer est turquoise…il y a d’abord Palombaggia, la magnifique plage de sable fin encadrée de roches rouges et de dunes blanches, célèbre pour ses pins parasols, qui offre un panorama grandiose sur les îles Cerbicale et se prolonge au sud jusqu’au cap d’Acciaghju. Sinon, optez pour Santa Giulia avec son ponton et son lagon turquoise baignant au pied d’une montagne sur des kilomètres de sable blanc et fin… L’idéal est d’avoir un bateau et de pouvoir se baigner dans les criques, dans une eau transparente.

 

Porto Vecchio, destination absolument recommandée pour vos prochaines vacances...

Life en France

In Paris, going to work is a nice experience. Most days start with a leisurely walk to the nearest boulangerie where you get the chance to choose from an exciting array of pastries.

 

Most people generally stick to the classic croissant or pain au chocolat. After collecting your pastry it’s time to head to the nearest Metro station. As with most cities, taking the Metro in the summer is not the most pleasant of experiences, however things are always a bit more exciting in Paris because you never know what is going to happen during your short journey to the office. On a very regular basis, various activities take place on often crammed carriages, this can involve anything from a small group of musicians playing the accordion and singing whilst someone else walks up and down the train trying to find donations or else general randoms boarding the train to preach about something or other!

In the morning, all the streets of Paris are very active, with lots of big lorries collecting the rubbish or delivering various products to local restaurants and bars. Another big activity is spraying the streets in the morning in order to make them spotless – this can be a tiny bit annoying if you happen to meet one of these spray machines whilst wearing a skirt in a very narrow street – but hey it’s summer so it can be quite refreshing.

Once out of the Metro I arrive at my final destination:

 

Once in my building I take the lift - I love getting in the lift in the morning. First, French men will always insist that women board the lift before them, when entering the lift everyone always says bonjour and when leaving the lift everyone will always wish each other a bon journée. I find this quite pleasant and refreshing - so often back in London I found myself and others nervously trying to avoid eye contact....

When I finally get to my office after dropping all my things I go and fetch a nice strong café and then return to my desk to enjoy it with my croissant!!!

Claire McMenamin (Hanson Search Paris)

The buzz of the Middle East

The sun shines, the beach is on your doorstep and there is always the option of avoiding tax! Recruitment in the Middle East is at its strongest ever. The PR industry is booming and there is a constant demand for international talent. As the industry grows in this part of the globe, more and more PROs (from juniors to CEOs) are moving to join the ever growing expat community. The Middle East provides a great working environment and this is set to continue through the ‘credit crunch’ that has been leashed upon us tax-paying, rain worshippers!

www.easternexplorer.com/feature/living_and_working_in_dubai

Ragini Shah (Hanson Search Middle East)