Healthy Eating Can Boost Your Job Search

A research paper published by the USA National Bureau of Economic Research suggests that unemployment tends to lead to a less healthy diet. This is not surprising news, when money is tight people tend to live more cheaply and it is very often less expensive to buy ready made junk food than to cook a fresh meal.

4 Ways To Deal With A Cancelled Holiday

So you have been working hard all year and finally holiday time comes round. You are all set to go away, everything is packed. The kids are in the car, the suitcases in the boot, and you are on the way to the airport. But there’s a problem. The airport is closed. All the flights are cancelled. Familiar story? You’ve seen it on TV a hundred times. Now it’s happening to you.

Wishful Thinking Is No Way to Run A Country

This month’s rise in UK unemployment figures was not unexpected. The first round of public sector redundancies began in August and the consultation period is just ending. We can expect the unemployment figures to rise further. What is less likely to happen however is that the private sector will step in and create jobs, despite government assertions that they will.

Five Interview Tips To Be Treated With Caution

I just saw a website that gives job interview tips to graduates. It listed five key things that interviewees need to do to get the interviewer to ‘adore you’. All five things were to do with body language- maintaining eye contact, smiling, nodding, posture and standing close but not too close. It made me realise how easy it is to mislead people on the internet, even when there was no intention of doing so.

Ethically Dubious Employers

An article in today’s Guardian newspaper highlights the suffering of miners in the Congo who extract the tin and tantalum used in our laptops and mobile phones. The author, Madeleine Bunting, highlights those technology companies which make the greatest effort to avoid using unethically sourced products, and those which don’t.

What's The True Value Of Education?

I grew up at a time when education was not just free- we got paid for it! It’s true. Not only did University students not have to pay for their education, the government gave us grants. We were means tested, everybody got something. Even the very rich got £50 a year.

TITANIUM- The Ultimate in Career Management

I have been helping people with their careers for many years. I have had clients of all ages and at all levels of seniority. What I enjoy about my work is that everybody is unique, we all have different stories to tell. I have also learnt that no two clients have the same needs, that those career companies who offer one-size-fits-all solutions do not really understand  what it is their clients need.

Using Social Media in Your Job Search

I have been taking another look at the world of social media marketing. Those of us who use LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and the rest tend to live in blissful ignorance of the fact there is a whole industry out there dedicated to using these sites as marketing tools. Now,  if companies can use social marketing sites to promote their products, then job seekers should be able to do the same, to promote themselves.

This Is How Yoodoo It

My good friend Mike Southon has just published This Is How Yoodoo It, a collection of sixty articles he wrote for the Financial Times and Daily Telegraph. Mike’s articles feature experts who give practical advice on a wide variety of business and work-related topics. His experts are always interesting and Mike is always generous in his praise of them. And although Mike’s columns are about entrepreneurship, I think that job seekers can learn a lot from him.

Unemployment and Social Breakdown

The sixties saw the birth of the student protest movement. The Vietnam war was the catalyst. Students across the world rioted, most famously in Paris and on American campuses. British students and young people played their part, occupying campuses and university buildings across the country. They stayed in possession of the Hornsey College of Art for most of May and June.

A Lesson For Job Seekers From The World Cup Bid.

The failure of England’s World Cup bid was, according to many commentators, because we were not sufficiently engaged with FIFA. The English were playing football long before FIFA was established and we always stood slightly aloof from the international game, never really taking the trouble to engage with FIFA, let alone taking much interest in what it did (other than to criticise).

Getting Britain Back To Work

We have just launched the Getting Britain Back To Work, job search survey. Why? Because we know that however difficult it may appear, there are  job vacancies out there. Maybe not enough, but certainly some. But, because most people only apply for a job a handful of times in their career, they are not very adept at creating and running a job search campaign. The Getting Britain Back To Work survey aims to change all that.

The essence of a successful Job Search is to target the right jobs, and to communicate what you have to offer in the right way. Too many people waste time and opportunity by applying for jobs for which they are over or under qualified, or by failing to sell themselves effectively. If we can help people to improve the quality and focus of their job applications, then as far as the Career Advice Centre is concerned, it is a job well done.

Try our survey now. It should help you to see what you are missing in your job search campaign, and to make adjustments. And it will help us to understand more about what we, as career professionals, need to do help Britain back to you. You will find the survey by following this link.

Is the Big Freeze Freezing Your Job Search?

Cold weather can be paralyzing. It’s not just that we don’t want to go outdoors in the snow and ice. It even stops us from functioning indoors. For most people the cold weather just makes them want to curl up in front of the fire, or go back to bed.

Even when finding a job is an imperative the cold weather slows us down. It’s much easier to put off that difficult phone call, or postpone writing that letter because you are not in the right mood. But however understandable, lethargy doesn’t help your job search.

The Banker’s Story

Chantelle was a successful investment analyst at a leading American bank based in London. It was stressful work, she regularly felt drained and overburdened but it paid well and she had a good lifestyle.

Her bank decided that, due to the new clampdown on bonuses and the 50% higher rate of Income Tax it was going to relocate her department to Singapore. Chantelle did not want to go. Her kids were doing well at school in London, her husband had a good job and her whole life was in the UK.

Moving From A Public To A Private Sector Job

It seems that the government is hoping that many of those being made redundant from the public sector will find new jobs in the private sector. That may be so. But nobody has focused on the problems that public sector employees will face when applying for private sector jobs, particularly if they have never worked for a commercial company before.

The key difference between public and private sector recruitment processes is that the former is much more transparent. Every job is supposed to be advertised and generally the only way to apply is by filling in an application form. The private sector by contrast relies much more on word of mouth techniques, networking accounts for well over half the jobs awarded by commercial companies.

Also of course the cultures are very different. Expectations in a profit-driven environment are very different from those in a service-focused regime. Applications to private sector companies may well need to stress a very different proposition to those directed at public sector bodies.

It would be useful, I think for those being made redundant from the public sector to receive some sort of induction into private sector recruitment processes. It is just one of the many reasons why ex-public sector employees need to be offered a top quality outplacement service.

Its Anti-Bullying Week

It’s anti bullying week. Although the campaign is aimed primary at young people who are being bullied at school, we shouldn’t forget that bullying is a major workplace issue too.

Although there are laws against harassment when the grounds are clearly discriminatory, for example age, sexuality or ethnic origin, there are no laws against bullying. And even if there was, the very nature of bullying is such that many victims would find it difficult to seek legal redress.

The Piano Tuner’s Story

Eric had been a piano tuner. All his life. He loved the work. He had perfect pitch and he loved hearing piano strings resonating in perfect harmony with each other. He thrilled at gently tweaking a slightly off key string to bring it back to absolute perfection. This unique combination of precise hearing and delicate manual dexterity had led him to become the best known and most highly regarded piano tuner in the whole country. Other piano tuners aspired to be like him. None ever got close.