If you’re one of the 2.5 million people currently out of work in the UK then you’re probably all too aware of how frustrating it is to be job hunting during the tail end of a recession. There’s no denying that this is a challenging time to be looking for work and you may feel that you’ve already tried everything to change your circumstances for the better.
There are a number of obvious things you can do to improve your chances of getting a job, such as creating a winning CV, practicing your interview skills or registering with recruitment agencies plus online job sites. If you’ve tried all of those without success then it may be time to consider a new approach says Dave Snow, Academic Director at Home Learning College. Here are his top five tips:
1) Take the initiative
Don’t wait for jobs to be advertised! Estimates suggest that around 80% of vacancies are never publicised, and those that are can attract hundreds of applications, so you need to find ways of leapfrogging the competition. Create a list of companies that might have relevant positions and send your CV and a covering letter directly to the HR manager or other senior contact outlining your skills and experience.
This is only the first step, so don’t be disheartened if there’s no response or you get a message saying your details will be kept on file. Check if the company has a blog, Twitter profile, Facebook page or media centre on the website where you can keep an eye out for good news – such as financial results or new clients and partnerships – that may indicate the business could be recruiting. Use these announcements as opportunities to get back in touch and show that you are genuinely interested in the organisation.
Many people would say they’re good listeners, but are they really? Mindtools’ research suggests that we’re not very good at all. Apparently we only remember about 25-50% of what we hear. 
So if you’re in an important 30 minute meeting with your boss or with a client, you might only remember 7.5-15 minutes of the conversation.
Yet listening is one of our most important skills. We use it to:
- Obtain information that might be useful to us;
- Empathise and understand others;
- Enjoy the company of our friends, family and colleagues;
- Learn from other people.
Listening is essential
So, if you forget or don’t manage to hear the most important points made in a discussion, particularly in a business context, this could make the difference between success and failure. You need to listen in order to be able to gain information from other people, to empathise, to understand them, to learn, but also to communicate and persuade them. That’s why the process of negotiation starts with having an open-minded attitude, as well as an ability to use ‘active listening’.
Continue reading “Negotiation and Active Listening Skills” »
Knowing when is a good time to change jobs or follow a different career path could help you find a more secure and prosperous future. 
It could also put you in a position that’s streets ahead of others looking for the same career development and job opportunities, enabling you to react more quickly and proactively seek and engage with your next life-changing career move.
All industries work in economic cycles. Some businesses can thrive during a recession, but most companies operate best when their markets and sales are growing. That’s usually when they need to hire people to allow them to fulfil a need. So should you wait for the better times, given that we’re currently still in a recession? Not necessarily. Much depends on your skills and the experience you’ve gained over the course of your career. Indeed, there may well be a demand for someone with your skills and experience, perhaps even in a market sector you’ve not worked in before.
Read the news
By reading the news online or in your favourite newspaper, and by keeping yourself informed by listening or watching current affairs programmes on TV and radio you may be able to better analyse when the time is right to move on. Let’s also not forget Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook and the many other social networks that allow you to join and participate in, or follow, industry-specific discussions.
Continue reading “Is Now a Good Time to Change Job?” »
You can get swamped by the amount of information and advice that’s available in books and websites about how to create the perfect CV, but there’s comparatively little to help you when it comes to writing that all-winning CV cover letter. It’s a must have if you wish to boost you application, helping you to secure a job interview and the next step in your career. So here are some tips:
Always write a CV cover letter
Everything has become a little less formal with email now the main medium for making job applications, but employers still want to receive cover letters from candidates. Leaving one out could spoil your chance of gaining the job you really want, so you should only ever not include one if you are explicitly told to do so.
CV cover letters are a chance to impress
Remembering that they are your first chance to impress a recruiter will put you in good stead. So write it in a way that expresses why you are the best candidate for a particular position, giving examples from your past employment that highlight the specific skills and experience required by the employer for the advertised post. You will increase your chances if you write your CV cover letter in a targeted way, generic ones will not stand out. Continue reading “Writing the Perfect CV Cover Letter” »
Managing your boss is not as difficult as it may seem and ‘managing upwards’ has become an accepted term in today’s corporate workplace. No matter what your position in a company, you need to be able to communicate well with your superior and focus on the things that matter to him or her. This is essential to career development success, as well as ensuring that your working relationships are effective.
Whether your boss is easy or difficult to engage with, here are some tips that should help you to manage upwards:
- Understand your boss’ objectives and how they fit into the company’s overall goals. Don’t be afraid to be inquisitive and ask questions about these.
- If your boss isn’t in overall control of the company, but in turn has a superior, try to find out what this higher-up’s priorities are, so that you can understand what motivates your boss, what puts them under pressure, and what drives their objectives.
- Keep your boss informed about details of day to day issues. He or she may not be close to these and could rely on you for crucial information but be conscious of how much information he or she actually needs.
- Don’t ask your boss to give detailed guidance on absolutely everything. It’s a manager’s role to make decisions, but if you come up with options to choose between, it saves time and reflects well on you.
- When presenting ideas, ask yourself how these will improve the company’s bottom line and how they fit in with your manager’s objectives. If they don’t match up, then reconsider and adjust them until they’re a good fit. Continue reading “How To Manage Your Boss Effectively” »
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