Tag: career advice

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Recruitment Agencies – A bit Tricky

Get the upper hand with a job recruitment agency

Job hunters will often turn to recruitment agencies to help secure employment and why not, recruitment agencies will search for vacancies on your behalf, give advice on your CV and facilitate between you and the employer, your start date.

There are many good agencies you should sign up to and many agencies that give the recruitment agency sector a bad name and should be avoided, below are some of the reasons why.

Tricks Recruitment Agencies:

Advertise False Vacancies

This is a well-known recruitment trick, by advertising false vacancies, job seekers will register with the agency, and this allows the agency to boast to employers about the high level of potential employees and CVs they have on their database.

Asking for References

The agency will ask for a reference for the “false” vacancy. Remember there is no job, the agency is looking to gain new employer contact details.

Gaining Contact Details

When you supply the agency with the company name you previously worked for, they will ask “who was your line manager, was it Mr “False Name” and the common response is “No, it was Mr “Real Name” The agency now have a new contact for a new business that they will approach.

Finding Employers

Recruitment agencies need to find companies that are recruiting, they will offer the recruitment service and make money by charging a percentage off the employee’s wage. Agencies will often ask you to tell them which companies you have applied to; they now have new companies to contact. Once these companies’ sign up to the recruitment service you will quickly have double the competition for the position, that until you told the recruitment agency they didn’t know about.

The Perfect Job

The phone rings and the agency tell you “I have the perfect job for you but you need to start immediately!” If your working you may be advised to take this perfect job (remember when you take a job the agency gain a percentage of your wage, the more people who take jobs the more money they earn) even when you are employed, they may even tell that this job is so good you should walk out of your present job – burning your bridges and chances of a good reference.

Wage Decrease

Once you are offered a job, you may be told they were not able to secure the rate that you wanted. This is rubbish as they have already had discussions with the company regarding the rate of pay.

They may also tell you “there aren’t many of these jobs about I would take it if I was you” only take the job if you are happy with the wage, the recruitment agency wants you to take the job so they can earn more money, they are not interested in you as a person.

Time is Money

If you fail one or two interviews, the agency will tell you that they will keep looking for work for you, they won’t they will just drop you. They don’t want to spend time looking for work for someone who can’t pass interviews. Really they should give you interview advice to help you pass future job interviews, but they feel …time is money.

Introduction Fee

We all get excited at a prospect of a £500 introduction fee, recruitment agencies will offer you this fee if you introduce them to an employer which leads to a job. You will only receive this payment if you find out about the job and after you continue to ask for your fee.

Like we said at the beginning not all recruitment agencies are like this, just be aware and look for these tell tale signs.

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Why You Need a Positive Job Identity?

How you are perceived in the workplace

In the current fast paced working environment, you can no longer rely on the concept of a job for life, even in traditional industries such as Banking and Teaching due to new technology and global competition.

Your job identity is becoming more important, as the number of job applications for every advertised job and promotion increase and the threat of redundancy looms over many industries.

Your job identity is the identity your employer and colleagues label you with; this could be positive or negative.

What is your Job Identity?

  • The Joker
  • The Worker
  • The Time Keeper
  • The Motivator
  • The Mood Hoover
  • The One Who Gets Things Done
  • The Helper

It is highly important to secure a positive job identity when you first start in a new company, as we all know first impressions count, it can often be hard (but not impossible) to change an employer’s first impression of you.

If you have a positive job identity, you are more likely to gain promotions and work your way up the ladder.

Job Identity by Groups

When starting a job at a new company you will often be quizzed informally by your new colleagues and line managers.

Like in a playground at school, your new colleagues are unconsciously checking if you have common working and personality traits. Often in the workplace, as in the playground groups often form.

Do you fit in with “the naughty kids”, “the moaners”, “the jokers” or “the hard workers”? That is the question!

This may be stereotyping and even prejudicial, but it is a frequent reality in most industries and companies.

You can often “be painted by the same brush” when you’re attached to a certain group, with a certain reputation-this can be positive or negative, choose your group carefully.

Individual Job Identity

Look at your workplace, who is the person who is always is always on time? Which colleague can always be counted on to put their all in to each task? Is there someone who will always drop what they’re doing to help others?

Do you have a “mood hoover” in your workplace, the person who we all try to sneak past, as we know that after five minutes in their company we’ll be convinced that the world is as bad a place to be as they tell us it is, the type of person who can suck the fun out of any task.

Both managers and colleagues can contribute to our job identities, although there may be a distinct difference in how your colleagues and manager see you in your work place.

The joker in the workplace is often loved by the workers, as the joker releases stress and is fun to be with. From a manager’s point of view, they may see the joker as a distracter who spends more time chatting to others than working.

Your job identity is given to you within a couple of months of working in one place, it’s important to ensure this identity is going to be positive. Remember your identity is rarely revealed to your face, but often discussed behind your back – especially negative identities.

Once given these are hard to change, people often play up to other’s perceptions of them, if you’re told that you’re lazy you may start to think ‘Why should I bother?’.“The joker” may feel he has to start each day by telling jokes, and “the worker” may take on too much.

Widening Your Reputation

Your reputation or job identity travels far through formal and more inconspicuous channels as your reputation can quickly pass through your company and even infiltrate other organisations.

You need to consider how you project your work identity in order to understand which of these descriptions your manager would use to describe you:

Candidate 1 “I will give this to X, she can always be relied on.”

Candidate 2 “No, don’t ask X, he spends too much time chatting-we have a short deadline.”

This job identity can be the difference between you moving forward in your career and feeling stuck in a job role that you start to resent.

Starting Your Positive Job Identity

At the beginning of a new role you will encounter a lot of new faces as well as a barrage of questions from colleagues, showing a healthy interest in the new recruit.

At the start it is advisable to keep your answers very general so that you have the opportunity to get to know the company’s ethos and practice as well as your new colleagues’ and manager’s personalities.

Once you know the office politics you are in a better position to word your answers and to give your own opinion to ensure the reinforcement of your positive identity. You have already tackled the job interview with success so it can be assumed that your new employer felt confident that you would fit in well with the current workforce and the company image.

If you discover that you don’t like the company’s work ethics or work politics, you will need to start your job hunting again to find an organisation in line with your working practice ideals.

8 Ways to Increase a Positive Job Identity in the Workplace                       

 Start by building Rapport      

  • People gravitate towards those who are like them, and everyone can find common ground with another person. Fi nd out what your common ground is and use it as an icebreaker.
  • By spending time each day asking people about their lives, enquiring about their children, partners, holidays for example, will show others that you are interested in them as a person and not just their value in the workplace.
  • Listen intently when others are talking, reassuring through positive body language, nodding and reassuring that you are interested. Don’t interrupt and at the end ask questions

Be an Expert

  • People follow authority and experts- you should start by sharing your job expertise. Don’t be embarrassed; people won’t know about your strengths, skills and experiences until you tell them!
  • Know what you want to achieve and let others know. Don’t cover your goal in cotton wool, don’t add pleasantries “I hope this is OK with you” as this can sometime make the message unclear.
  • You need others to see the benefits and possibilities of your ideas and experiences, so be truthful, and if something has not worked tell them and back this up with what you have learnt from the mistake, this will show you as knowledgeable and that you won’t give up.

Do You Want to be Respected or Popular?

  •  One of the most critical mistakes colleagues make at work is the pursuit of popularity rather than respect. In a new job we are concerned with how others see us and can easily dwell on this.
  • Respected employees rather than popular employees will make you more influential and more likely to gain a job promotion. Body language will often give you away unconsciously if you are looking for popularity rather than respect.
  • Avoid feeling pressured to agree with others, instead give your personal opinion using calm and relaxed voice – also smile as this helps others feel you are being helpful rather than just being negative.

Listen to Others

  • We all have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen twice as much as we talk.
  • Write down people’s names and remember their face, so next time you met you can address them by their name, helping to increase rapport.
  • Good listeners gain good reputations- When unsure what someone has said you should feel confident to ask them to repeat themselves.

Be Helpful

  • Be helpful to your colleagues with work and general tasks, invite people out for lunch, hold open doors, if you help people, then they will feel more compelled to help you.
  • When giving suggestions and presenting ideas, explain considering others vantage point, selling what they will get out of it personally not just the benefits to yourself or the company. Plan your timing.
  • Don’t interrupt when someone is busy or when they have other things on their mind, as they will not listen fully to what you are saying, in many situations you need to ensure your first conversation gets through.

Don’t Seek Out Recognition

  • When you have a great idea, especially when you have a brainwave during a meeting, don’t seek out recognition, allow time for it to find you.
  • Don’t get carried away with the pursuit of praise or too excited in highlighting to your manager the creative ideas you have thought up. You need to step back and dissociate yourself from your feelings, leaving your mind free to listen to the details of other colleague’s comments; otherwise you may miss valuable suggestions and your reputation may become one who does not care about other people’s ideas.

Show the Way to your Colleagues

  • When you have a great idea, you may need to get others to come along with you. To do this you need to explain what they will gain from your idea and what they could lose if they miss out
  • Give people clues, show people the way, prompt them and let them work out how your suggestion will work out, they will feel that they are part of the idea and will start to back you up-you will start to gain a reputation as a team member.
  • Don’t be too forceful as this will only work for a small period of time until people start to resent you. People like to feel they have contributed to what they are doing.
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What will my Salary be if i was a…

Average Salary Ranges

One of the biggest factors when choosing a career is the salary, as your salary can often determine your lifestyle.

In reality, you should find a career that matches your personality type, as you will enjoy this line of work and if you enjoy your job you will tend to quickly gain career promotions and a larger salary.

Salary by Sector

Employment King has put together a list of common careers and their salary; this is just an estimate as salaries change depending on the area you work in. Being a trainee, your experience or a level of management also affects the salary you will receive, as does the company you work for.

The list is to be used as a guide if you work in career and you don’t earn the salary we have stated, you may want to look at other job opportunities in your sectors to see if you are being underpaid for your role, unless you are happy in a job or staying at the company long term out ways the disadvantages of being on a low wage now.

Job title                                                    Average UK Wage 

Accountant                                                  £32,000-£38,000

Administrator                                             £17,000-££19,000

Analyst                                                           £32,000-£38,000

Architect                                                       £35,000-£40,000

Barrister                                                        £40,000-£50,000

Business Analyst                                        £35,000-£38,000

Careers advisor                                           £22,000-£28,000

Car/Van delivery driver                          £15,000-£19,000

Dentist                                                             £57,000-£75,000

Design engineer                                           £26,000-£30,000

Designer                                                         £25,000-£30,000

Developer                                                     £34,000-£39,000

Doctor                                                             £50,000-£55,000

Electrician                                                      £25,000-£33,000

Engineer                                                          £30,000-£38,000

Financial controller                                   £40,000-£48,000

GP                                                                      £62,000-£70,000

Graduate                                                          £25,000-£27,000

Graphic designer                                         £20,000-£25,000

HR                                                                      £24,000-£32,000

Lawyer                                                             £45,000-£52,000

Lecturer                                                          £30,000-£35,000

Nurse                                                                £24,000-£28,000

Personal assistant                                       £22,000-£28,000

Pharmacist                                                      £35,000-£40,000

Pilot                                                                     £50,000-£80,000

Quantity surveyor                                         £30,000-£32,000

Receptionist                                                    £15,000-£18,000

Recruitment consultant                             £22,000-£28,000

Researcher                                                      £28,000-£32,000

Sales assistant                                                 £15,000-£18,000

Sales executive                                               £28,000-£32,000

Secretary                                                           £19,000-£28,000

Software developer                                       £34,000-£38,000

Software Engineer                                          £32,000-£34,000

Solicitor                                                              £40,000-£70,000

Teacher                                                                £34,000-£45,000

Teaching assistant                                           £17,000-£21,000

Technician                                                           £26,000-£26,000

Wed Designer                                                     £22,000-£26,000

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The 10 Myths of Employment

10 Top Myths of Employment

1. If you are offered a job you should discontinue your job search.

You should always continue to apply for jobs until you receive an offer of employment in writing. You may be offered a job verbally only to have the offer retracted a few days later due to funding issues or review of the requirement for another employee.

Ensure that you request an offer of employment in writing and continue to job search until you receive it.

2. An employer cannot dismiss you without a valid reason, whilst you are on your probationary period.

This is a common misconception! Your employer is essentially viewing this period as a trial run, monitoring your progress to see if they have picked the right person for the job. Ensure that you have been truthful about your abilities during the application process, if you have been misleading about your capabilities you will often be asked to leave the company.

An employer can dismiss you at any point during your probationary period without a valid reason.

3. Most jobs are advertised on job search engines.

The internet is a great and quick way to job search, but employers often avoid using these if they can to avoid hefty advertising fees. You will find more vacancies by looking at Company websites, local newspaper jobs sections and other media, as well as using job search engines.

Use a mixture of job searches to find the largest number of suitable vacancies.

4. Interviewing shall be carried out in a face to face environment.

Recruitment systems have had a dramatic overhaul over the last 10 years; employers now use a wide range of interview styles and find the right member of staff.

Interview formats and mediums vary from one organisation to another- webcam interviews, group interviews, telephone interviews, panel interviews to include a few. Some employers may require the completion of an ICT, Literacy or Numeracy test or you may be asked to carry out a short presentation. This information should be provided in your interview pack – if not then ask!

Employers use a wide range of interviews to ensure you have the essential criteria needed for each individual job role.

5. Employers can give you a bad reference.

Employers can refuse to give you a reference, unless your contract states that they have to, which is often the case in the financial industry. If an employer provides a reference they are legally bound to ensure its accuracy so they will often tread carefully in their wording.

Employers can often highlight areas for development without explicitly saying so, for example praising your ability to keep the organisation informed when you are sick through a number of mediums of communication – it doesn’t take much for a potential future employer to read between the lines with this.

An employer has to give an accurate reference that they can back up if challenged.

6. All employers check if you have a criminal record.

Many application forms require you to disclose whether you have any criminal convictions. However not all companies require the completion of this type of form. Only in certain industries will you require a full Criminal Records Bureau Check, mainly in occupations working with vulnerable people.

Many employers from a wide range of industries will not ask you if you have a criminal record.

7. You need to choose a career for life. 

The job market is constantly changing with new sectors developing all the time.

There are many jobs available today that did not exist 10 years ago. On average people stay in one company for around 3 years and then move on to a better role or company. The days of having a “safe job” or “job for life” have gone.

You need to pick a career that suits your personality type, this way you will work in an industry that you will enjoy.

8. Employers cannot discriminate on job adverts.

In most cases it is unlawful to discriminate negatively or positively against a certain category of people.

However there are lawful exceptions, for example a Women’s Hostel may seek to recruit a female Support Worker due to Safeguarding, although it should specify exemption from The Discrimination Act of 1995 on the job advert.

Companies have to follow equal opportunity regulations, but in some cases employers can legally discriminate on job adverts.

9. You cannot return to education if you’re over 25. I’m always surprised when I hear people say that they think they can’t return to college due to their age, this is often down to the belief that you can’t change your career ideas. If your under 19 yrs old your college course will be funded for you, when over 19 yrs depending if you are claiming benefits you will have to fund the course yourself-you can do this by applying for a student loan or grant. Anyone can return to education at any age.

10. I can’t turn my hobby into a job.

The secret to having a good job and career, is to do something you enjoy – would you like to be paid to do your hobby?

Most of us would say yes, first you need to think about what your hobby would be like if you did as a full time job, would you still enjoy doing it 5 days a week? Also, there tends to be additional duties when a hobby becomes a job -would you still enjoy your hobby with additional responsibilities?

Today there is a wide range of job opportunities and specialist jobs and everyone can turn a hobby into a type of job. Many people also choose to use the internet as a way of making money from their job.

The possibilities are endless; turning your hobby into a job takes time, commitment and passion, but can easily be done.

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How to gain an Interview from a job fair

Gain an interview from a job fair

Job fairs are held throughout the UK, being organised by recruitment and job advertisement companies as well as local councils and public service companies. Job fairs can be held for both general job roles or targeted to a specific sector.

First find out which company/sectors are attending, if even one company for the industry you are interested in is attending, then it is worth going.

Before you go to a job fair ensure you know which career and job role you are interested in. Many people gain career ideas by meeting with a qualified career advisor.

How to prepare for a job fair?

1. First, the impression you make at the job fair counts, often the same person who interviews you for a job position, will also attend the jobs fair. We all know that First impressions count.

2. Research the company you are interested in like you would for an interview. Companies are always impressed if you know something about the company’s history.

3. Check and update your CV, if you’re unsure how good your CV is, have your CV reviewed by professionals. You need to take a targeted CV to the job fair.

4. Dress smart, people make instant presumptions on your appearance.

5. Most importantly, prepare a 60-second introduction you can use with employers. Don’t make it sound too scripted, but it should quickly explain why you are attending the job fair and what you are looking for.

Example: “ Hello, my name is Dave Smith, I currently work at (Company Name) I am interested in applying for a position as a (job role) within your company, I have 3 years experience working in this field and feel that I would fit in well with your company”

How to act during the job fair.

1. Timing is everything, job fairs can be very busy and when you speak to an employer you want them to listen to your excellent prepared introduction. Wait until the employer is free and head over and introduce yourself.

2. Carry all your documents and CVs in a smart case; remember people judge you on appearances.

3. If an employer is busy talking to an employer on a different stand as they sometimes have inside information regarding the employer you really want a position with. Need careers advice?

4. Shake hands with the employer and be prepared to answer question regarding your skills and experience, like any informal or formal interviews prepare questions to ask the employer.

5. Discuss the application process and ask the employer what type of examples/skills they like to see on the application form. This way you know your application form will be targeted to each individual employer.

6. Finally, thank the employer; shake hands and move on to the next employer’s stand. Need a new CV

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Some of the worst and weirdest jobs in history

Many of us fall into our careers, only to realise that the career we are in does not meet our needs. As a careers coach I meet a large number of clients looking for a new career as they dislike their current or past job roles, feeling they have greater career potential. Many do, I once met a client who cleaned chicken droppings off eggs and is now employed as an accountant.

Discover your potential.

People often tell me about past job roles and I am constantly surprised with the amount of unusual job roles on offer. Throughout history, there have been many strange and horrid job roles people did and I have listed a few for you to read. After this you may change your belief about your current job and how “bad” it is.

The Mud Lark

Mainly young children; a mud lark worked on the banks of the Thames in the Victorian times collecting scrap metal and coal to re-sell. In the Victorian times, the Thames would wash the London sewage out to sea and the Mud Larks, would often gain infections after cutting themselves on the litter. This job worsened in the Winter months.

Whipping boy

Another job for young children; In the 15th century, a prince would have a whipping boy- a boy who would be whipped as punishment for the prince when he was naughty or when he fell behind with his studies.

Knocker up

Before alarm clocks how did you when it was time to get up for work? A Knocker-up would come around in the morning carrying a large pole that he would use to knock on your bedroom window to wake you up. He would stay there until you were awake. But who woke him up?

Potato chip inspector

A more recent role, standing on a production line looking for over-cooked potato chips to dispose of.

Need careers advice?

Dog Food Taster

To carry on with the food theme; a dog food taster will taste dog food and write a review about it. I was told about this role from a colleague and still have my doubts.

The pure collector

“Pure” meaning Poo; The pure collector would find and collect animal faeces off the road and sell it to the leather works. The lucky ones put their collection in carts while others may carry their findings in a sack. The “Tanners” in the leather works would dip hides into a smelly lime solution and soak them with the animal faeces that the pure collectors had amounted over the course of the day. Many of the Tanners lived on the periphery of society as their stench left from their job was unbearable to the people of the town.

Crime Scene Cleaner

If squeamish do not apply-this job can be mentally disturbing, cleaning up after crime scenes; blood, loose remains and decomposing bodies.

Fuller

Similar to the Tanner job role, a fuller would dip wool often used in hat making into urine to get rid of the grease (Lanolin) to stop the wool from falling apart.

Learn the secrets of gaining work.

Snake miler

A dangerous job, collecting venom from snakes to make anti-venom.

Navy (Georgian Times)

We owe a lot to our Navy, but to be in the Navy in Georgian times was one of the worst jobs in history. Due to a lack of volunteers civilians may have found themselves waking up one morning travelling out to sea with the Navy after being banged on the head and smuggled aboard the night before.

To keep discipline, the Navy would hand out server punishment for any slight disobedience.

A Top Man would climb the rigging to the top sales know as sky scrapers, in stormy weather using no safety equipment.

Monkey boys would carry bags of gun powder to the cannons during battle.

Many sailors would die during battle, through cannons, splinters, gun fire, drowning and during on-board ‘life saving’ surgery.

Which careers suit your personality?

As you may well know most of these roles no longer exist. As industry and technology changes so do jobs and careers. Some of the jobs we see today will not be around in the next 10 years, as a job hunter and career-person you need to know what jobs the future holds and which of these jobs will suit your skills and qualities.

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