Posts Tagged ‘job’

Job Searching Across The Globe

There is most certainly no rule that states that you have to look for a job in the same old city or town that you have lived in your whole life - by all means there is a wide world out there ready to invite you over…

You can apply for a job in the next city, in the next country or on the other side of the world.  It’s up to you to make the first step.  In a recession you may find that the jobs in your area are totally depleted and there has never been a better time to make the move.

Below are a few tips your should keep in mind when looking or a new job across the country, or abroad, to make the whole process a little easier;

Focus

The world is pretty big - the Internet can help you get a job almost anywhere in the world, but perhaps before you get too deep in a search you should focus your ideas and search to more of a specific place.

To help you trim down your options you should think about the cost of living in different countries and cities, interesting places and places where you have family and friends for example.  These factors will help you make a stronger decision.

Also think about the professional factors involved - which cities have the best prospects, is there any demand, what is the pay like?

Clarity

Be clear to your potential employers about your reasons for wanting to leave your current home town - explain your reasons clearly and honestly as they will most likely be attractive selling points.

Your reasons for leaving might show that you are strong and willing to take risks.

Phone Interview

Be prepared and ready for the possibility of a telephone interview - you probably won’t be able to get out to the new city or country for an interview and so you will have to work even harder over the telephone where you can’t win people over with your winner smile or smart dress sense.

Make sure you conduct the phone interview in a quite place and try and make sure you are relaxed throughout - try not to conduct the interview using your mobile phone as you can never guarantee quality of sound, and when speaking remember to smile as it will come over in your tone.

Flexibility

When looking to take a job in a new city or country you should remember that your best chance of doing so is by remaining flexible - this means you should think about working around your potential employers schedule when it comes to organising telephone calls and remember that you will probably have to pay for your own travel expenses, etc…You will have to be flexible to get what you want.

Moving?

Are you thinking about looking abroad for work?  Perhaps another city?  Let us know…

Jobs - Not Every Job Is The Best Job

Especially in a recession jobs can be great things to have - economic downturns such as these make us appreciate just how special having a job can be.  The main thing to remember though is that just because you have a job it doesn’t mean that it is necessarily a good job.

There are a few signs to keep your eyes open for when either starting out at a new job or even in a job you’ve been in for years - it is all right to understand that not every path you go down is going to be a correct one and once you come to terms with the fact that you are actually in a pretty lame job then you can go about looking for a new one.

Word Of Mouth

You should listen to people if they are warning you off working for the company you got a job with - so many times people hear from friends that they either heard of people working there or had worked there themselves and the whole process was a nightmare.

You might not want to listen to everyone that gives you advice but it’s a good idea to keep the warnings in mind - if you get into the job and have your fears reinforced then you can always leave.

Professional?

There is nothing more important than the boss taking control by leading by example - professionalism is one of the most important aspects of the workplace and if anyone has any hope of maintaining a professional attitude the boss needs to do so too.

If you find that the boss is the least professional person in the office then you can be sure that no one else is going to be professional either.  This will mean that the attitude to work will be unprofessional and you will find that your workload will be unpredictable and heavy.

Money

You should be aware of the money worries of your company - the company that you work for should be able to be in a position to look after the employees they have working for them…if they don’t then it’s time to bail!

There is nothing worse than getting a cheque at the end of the month only to have it bounce with little hope of getting paid at all.  If a company isn’t in a position to even pay you then the situation isn’t going to get much better in the future - you should keep your eyes open for any signs that the company might be struggling to pay the bills and if they are then you should look for another job fast!

In A Lame Job?

Are you stuck in a job that isn’t doing anything for you?  Are you draining yourself everyday going to work in a dodgy job?  Let us know your experiences by leaving a comment…

Job Scams

You would hope that job scams would be pretty simple to identify - in reality they can be truly dodgy, after all they were thought up by con artists who are used to getting the most out of any situation.

You need to keep your eyes open and stay aware - the best way to know what you’re dealing with is by looking through our list and knowing what to look for;

Hold Tight

If you are being asked for money then the odds are the job offer is a scam!  What real job will ask you for money?  Some scams will ask you to pay money into an offshore bank account and wait for the money to start rolling in…if money is being asked for then it is probably a scam!

Too Good To Be True

If the job offer sounds too good to be true, then it probably is!  If you are receiving emails claiming that you can make money by doing practically nothing then they probably aren’t true!  Some jobs will say that you don’t need to send in CVs and won’t specify job duties for example.  Don’t trust them.

A real job, paying real money, will be looking for a qualified employee with references, a CV and an education.

Home Working

If a job tells you that you can become rich without leaving your house then it is probably a scam!  Scams like these appear like adverts on sites and are basically out to get your bank details and any other details they can have off you.

The “work from home” line is the hook - once the scam has interested you then they have a much stronger opportunity to get hold of your information.

Email

Email scams are all over the place and they will often crop up in your inbox.  If you are asked if you want to earn lots of money by working at home then the odds are you’re being conned.

Make sure not to click on anything on the email as this will tell the scammer that the email address is in use and you won’t be able to stop getting the mail!

Luxuries

Scammers often know that they can grab your interest by throwing in some luxuries to spark your interest.  This is a strong tool for the scammer to use that sucks you in despite your better judgement.  If you are offered cars, holidays and private jets then you should definitely think twice.

Too Late?

If you have realised that you are being scammed too late then there is very little that you can do but hope that you won’t lose too much.  If you are being scammed you could lose anything from your identity to large amounts of money.

Get in touch with the banks and the authorities and see how you can counteract the scam - keep your fingers crossed that you haven’t lost too much!

Scammed?

Commuting?  How To Cut Costs…

Let’s face it, fuel prices aren’t exactly sensible and let’s not even talk about train ticket prices.  It’s becoming more and more expensive to find your way to work and it’s about time you started to figure out how to save money getting there.

While some kinder employer have taken it upon themselves to help their employees out, others are leaving employees out in the cold when it comes to commuting - read on to discover how you can save the pennies…

Friends

It may sound a bit like your school days but it’s a good idea to travel to work with mates - ask around and if there’s someone at your office that lives near you then you should talk about giving each other lifts to work, perhaps one week on, one week off!

Not only will you be saving mega bucks this way, you’ll also probably make a good friend by getting to know a co-worker better.  However, you might also not get on at all which won’t be a good step.  You’ll still be saving money though so it’ll be worth it.

Share

If you know of some cost cutting techniques when it comes to your daily commute to work then you should think about holding a meeting with your co-workers.  In this meeting you can share your ideas and then get ideas from them in return.  If you started with two good ideas you could leave with 10!

Apart from helping yourself get some tips you’ll also be helping your fellow workers and they’ll be grateful for the opportunity - after all we’re all in the same boat.

Your Company

You won’t know without asking - your company might have a commute scheme in place.  They might be able to offer you discounts on public transport or they might know of current car pool schemes in place in your area.

Compressed Work Week

You should think about approaching your employer to negotiate the possibility of a compressed workweek - this is where you only work for four days a week instead of five, but each working day is 10 hours long instead of 8.

Although this longer day doesn’t sound too inviting, you will be cutting your travel costs by a fifth and you’ll be getting an extra day off work - who doesn’t love a three-day weekend?

Telecommuting

If a compressed workweek doesn’t seem inviting for your employer perhaps they might be more interested in telecommuting.  This is where you spend more time working remotely, generally from home, to save money on commuting.

Although this sounds good to you, your boss may not go for it as people have been known to slack off when they work from home - try and convince them with a strong plan!

Costing The Earth?

Are you finding your daily commute to expensive?  Have you found ways to cut away at the costs?  Let us know…

CV Writing - What To Keep In Mind

It’s that time of the year once again when the University year comes to an end and poor old students are thrown out into the real world with the sole task of looking for a job - it’s not an easy time for everyone…

Recessions aren’t exactly the most exciting periods of time to start searching for a job - you’re up against tons of people for a tiny amount of positions.  Do the math…not everyone’s going to be successful.

CVs - They’re important in case you didn’t know…

So you need to work on your CV - your CV will be your way of getting your personality and experience through to the potential employee through a simple piece of paper.  You have to get it right if you want to be called in for an interview…

You have just a few seconds of browsing time to convince the employer that you’re the right person for the job - this is what you should be keeping in mind when writing your CV.

Be Basic

When you write your CV, the first piece of information on the piece of paper should be your details like your name, email address, phone number, etc…

Make sure you use a permanent address - straight out of university you can find that you will be moving around a lot trying to find affordable accommodation in new cities - use a stable address that you will always be able to get access to.

You should also make sure you don’t put ridiculous email address accounts on your CV - spank21@hotmail.com doesn’t really interest potential employers.  Keep it professional.

Objective

You should include a section devoted to your objectives and skills directly following your personal information.  Remember to keep your writing directly to the point and don’t blah your way through…this will just turn potential employers off…

Style

Choose a style and stick to it - there are three main styles: chronological, functional and combination.

Chronological - emphasis on work experience listed from most recent to least recent.
Functional - a more skills based style.
Combination - more useful for first-time job seekers where you can actually list both experiences and skills rather than choosing one or the other.

Experience

Remember that any experience you have gained over the years is important, no matter what it is.  It can be volunteer experience, academic experience or professional experience - it all shows that you are a hard worker looking for a chance…

These opportunities will also be a good way to highlight any skills that you might have in a sly way - this is a great way to show what you can do through real experiences.

First Job?

Are you looking for your first, real job?  Are you worried with regards to the economic climate?  Leave us a comment and let us know what you’re thinking…

Interview Tips and Advice - Techniques For Being A Winner!

Through a recession it is even more daunting when the thought of job-hunting comes along - there is one job and about 10,000 people after it.  You need to have an edge to take you further than all the rest…

Having a great CV is one thing but once you get to the interview you really don’t want to mess up and give the wrong impression.  Instead you should be following these simple yet effective tips to make sure each interview you attend is a winner!

Ask

Don’t be afraid to ask some of the big questions that you wouldn’t usually ask - one of the most important questions to ask towards the end of an interview is if you have given the interviewers reasons for them to believe that you are not suitable for the role.

If you ask the question and they give you an answer you will be able to talk through their thoughts together and most probably clear up any issues - even more you get a better chance to win them over by tackling their worries.

Job Before Yourself

Don’t rattle on endlessly about yourself, instead you should be talking about the position.  You have been brought in to fill a job and to see if you are able to fill the role perfectly.  You haven’t been brought in because the employer wants to get to know your personal life better.

Involve the job in your answers and how you would fit in given the opportunity.  By doing this you will be able to help the employer visualise you in the position which obviously isn’t a bad thing!  When talking about yourself make it about you in the job not you in the world…

Research

You should never walk into an interview knowing nothing about the job and the company you are applying to.  You should spend a good amount of time looking into what the company does and its place in whichever market it is involved with.

You can then incorporate what you have learnt into the interview allowing the employer to know that you do your homework and you know what you’re talking about.

Accomplishments

You should make a note of five of your main accomplishments from your previous job that you can incorporate into your interview.  You will find that accomplishments transpose well from job to job and an employer will be able to recognise how accomplishments can benefit their business.

Make sure you highlight how your accomplishments managed to aid the business and how they would aid this business if you were hired.  You’ll turn into an attractive investment…

Working Aid?

Are you looking for a job?  Have you had any luck with our interview techniques?  Do you have advice for other interviewees?  Leave us a comment and let us know…

University Leavers - Did you know…

Although you may think that all you have to do to get a job now-a-days is to simply go to uni for three years, get pretty drunk and then pick your degree up at the end of your time there.  I’m afraid that just isn’t the case.

Despite what you might think the path after university is just as tough as any other and you need to be aware of what steps you should take to make sure you make the most of your time after university.

You should know that;

Being First Isn’t Necessary

When you see a job advertised on a website you should necessarily act quickly and fill out an online application to make sure you are one of the first to be considered.

There isn’t a little man at the other end waiting for applications to come flooding in like a radio competition waiting to pick a winner.  It is key to take your time and mull over your answer to make sure your application is as good as it should be.

There Is A Hidden Job Market

That’s right, there is a hidden job market.  It’s not a number of stalls in a dodgy back alley that you need a secret password to get in to.  The hidden job market refers to all the jobs that you won’t find on a career site but instead jobs that manage to advertise themselves through friends, family, newspapers or university for example.

One of the best ways to get a job is to simply get your plans out there and hope for someone to bite - if you tell someone you want to work at a hospital, they might know someone that works at the hospital for example.

You Should Know What To Look For

You should spend some time researching your intended field and place of work to see whether you would feel comfortable working there.  If you just go after the almighty pound without looking at the actual work then you will probably spend the rest of your working life unhappy and that isn’t what anyone wants.

Does you employer care about their employees?  Are there any team-building activities?  Is there any sort of emphasis on team building?  Is there any medical insurance provided?  You should be aware of all of this if possible…

You Shouldn’t Start In A Fury

You shouldn’t get straight to work straight from university working all out, every minute of the day, as hard as you can never letting yourself stop for a breathe.  By doing this you’ll just knacker yourself out and after a short time you won’t be good for anyone or anything.

Instead, don’t be scared to pace yourself - don’t go to slow as you might get fired for under working but don’t work to hard that you drive yourself into a stupor.  Find a healthy balance.

Class of ’09?

Have you just finished university this summer and about to step out into the wide world to look for a job?  Are you nervous about starting your career?  Let us know…

Spring - The Jobs That Don’t Need To Worry

Spring is most definitely here - the sun is shining, the barbeques are out and we’re all getting sunburnt once again…but when the weekend is over do you really want to head back to the office to sit in your little cubicle away from the spring atmosphere where you can’t stop worrying about whether you’re going to get fired because of the recession?

Instead why don’t you check out these ideas for some spring time jobs that you should be thinking about if the thought of getting back into that cubicle is just too much to manage…

Florist

Flowers are great things, aren’t they?  They can be beautiful and small great…the spring is a great time for flowers as the weather is perfect for them and as people are walking around they are seeing the flowers blooming all around them and they are even more inclined to take a trip to the florist to buy some flowers for their houses or partners.

Florists will be enjoying a booming service through the spring months so if you want to be around nature while still bringing in the money this is the job for you.  Flowers will not bow down to recession woes…

Housekeeper

As the name suggests, this is the time for spring-cleaning!  When the sun is shining you have an urge to have a clean house - however most people can’t actually be bothered to do it…they’ll want to hire someone else to do it…

If you want a ton of extra work through the spring months then this is what you should be doing.  If anything cleaning can be a great de-stresser and the money can be great.  The thing to remember though is that the demand is there right now!

Fashion Buyer

Spring and fashion go hand in hand…and if you love shopping then perhaps this is your dream job?  Fashion buyers go around buying clothes - most women would kill for a job like this.  In the spring months, jobs like these are in bloom!

Get a job where you spend your time looking for dresses and skirts, belts and boots rather than typing up press releases and calculating finances.

Landscaping Worker

The gardens are going from brown to green as the sun starts to show more and more of it’s bright yellow face.  What better job could you have than being in a position to control how these gardens grow over the next few months - if ever there was a time and need for landscape workers then this would be the season!

Spring Up Your Career?

Are you looking to get out of the dreary office and finally throw a bit of fun into your life and career or are you too scared to make a move through the recession?  Leave us a comment and let us know…

Re-fill your wallet the easy way…

If you’re feeling the pinch through this recession that we’re fighting through, and you’re worried that your job isn’t going to last very long, you might want to start thinking about how you can earn the extra pennies…

Don’t’ stress out about the recession any longer - you don’t have to worry about money any more…read on to find out the different ways you can fill your wallet again and enjoy the summer sun the way you were supposed to;

Freelancing

There are very few jobs that can’t use freelancers today - and freelancing is very attractive for employers as they don’t have to factor in a heavy monthly salary into their records.  You can skip from job to job in your own time and if you want to spend a week by the beach then that’s up to you…the bad side is there is always the possibility there won’t be any work available, but the risk is part of the game…

Boot Sales

I’m not suggesting you fill your boot with your books, drive down to the local car boot sale and hope for the best - a better option is to sell your books online.  Whether they’re educational, fictional or sci-fi they’ll pull in the pennies and you’ll also declutter your house which is never a bad thing…

Focus Groups

There isn’t enough said about focus groups - imagine if you could get paid to give your opinion…actually, you can!  That’s right, it’s possibly the easiest money you’ll ever make and it’s pretty well paid in most occasions.  You can earn anywhere between £5 and £100 or more depending on the type of group you decide to do.

eBay

You might have thought you’d stay away from online auctioning in the past, but now the times are tight and you’ve got a load of stuff in your basement that could bring you a pretty penny.  Get on eBay and sell it on.  It’s easy to set up an account and all you’ll need to do is take a few pictures and fill out a bit about the item and away you go.  Some people even go to car boot sales looking for bargains and then sell them on for much more online.

Secret Shopper

If you like shopping and you like to pick at the service then you should try and get a job as a secret shopper - all you need to do is go to a shop and discover how the shop works from the customer’s point of view.  Easy!  Start earning money while you shop, it doesn’t get better than that…

Looking for a way to make the pennies?

Have you been struggling through the recession and have been looking for ways to earn a few extra quid?  Have we helped?  Let us know…

Will you still be in a job by the summer?

Let’s be honest - the economic times aren’t exactly reinforcing us with confidence when it comes to employment.  With over 2 million left out in the cold without a job you can’t help but wonder if you were indeed next to face the axe…

But don’t panic just yet - for all you know you don’t have anything to worry about but if you are having a bit of a hysterical attack worrying about your job then read on to discover what signs you should be keeping your eyes peeled for;

Out Of The Loop

If you’re finding that you’re suddenly the last one in the office to find out the latest news then you might be on the way out.  If you’ve stopped being consulted or included in decisions regarding your work then you should start re-printing your CVs.

Struggling Market

Companies that are thriving won’t be keen to take the recession as an opportunity to get rid of employees so if you’re in this position then take a relaxing breath because you are probably safe.  If, on the other hand, your business is struggling to stay afloat through the recession then you had better start making contingency plans.

Smaller Budgets

Before turning to making redundancies, your company may start cutting back on expenses - although this is great news for you because you’ll still be in a job, it’s also bad news because you may be next at the cutting board.  However don’t run to the job centre just yet because a smaller budget doesn’t mean the company will move on to employees next.

Explaining Your Work

If the upper echelons are starting to take a bit of an interest in how you do your work, how far along you are and basically what they would need to know if you were to leave next week then perhaps your job isn’t entirely secure.  If the guys at the top are planning to get rid of you they’ll want to know what has to happen when you vacate your position.

No Work

This is probably the biggest sign that you won’t be one with employment much longer - if your workload goes from heavy to feather in the same week then you can be pretty sure that you aren’t going to be staying with the business much longer.  If anything a lighter workload can mean your business isn’t getting much work thrown their way which means they aren’t going to be able to afford to keep you on - the other possibility is your employers are slowly delegating your jobs to other people…bad times!

No Work All Play?

Are you worried about your job?  Have you noticed a few of these signs at your own job?  The biggest thing to remember is not to panic - whatever happens it’s not the end of the world and recessions don’t last forever!