Articles

  • Start Planning Now.

    So everyone says that the recession is over, but there doesn't seem to be that many (good) jobs on the market. The fact is that even when a recession is over it takes several months for the recovery to filter through into more jobs. Companies will try and make do with the staff that they have for as long as possible and only when there is no alternative will they actively go and recruit. [click to continue]

  • Don't Panic

    I've had a lot of calls over the last few weeks from people looking for a new job because they've heard rumours that their employers are planning to retrench or that there are financial problems or a big client might not renew a contract. Economic downturns are a fact of life and unless you are very young you have probably been through at least one before and there will be other ones in the future. [click to continue]

  • Take Responsibility!

    Have you ever gone into a pub and told the barman to give you a drink that they think you may like? Or have you ever gone into a shop and asked the shop assistant to sell you something they think would suit you? Of course you haven't as it would be a ridiculous thing to do. [click to continue]

  • Finding a Job Means Using Your Common Sense

    I often hear people say that they can’t find a job for a whole various reasons, the economy, or their age or that they just don’t have any luck. In many cases it usually boils down to the fact that they haven’t been using their common sense. [click to continue]

  • CV Writing Disasters - Lesson 1

    I once worked for a small financial recruitment company in London. It was my first job in permanent recruitment (I had had a short and unhappy stay at an international ‘staffing’ company previously) and my boss was a large, bad tempered Irishman. [click to continue]

  • How Do You Rate on Customer Service?

    It occurred to me recently that there is rarely a day that goes past when we don’t have occasion to bemoan the lack of customer service in the companies that we deal with every day. If it isn’t one of the banks, it is a cell phone company or some department of a municipality or utility that has let us down and frustrated us. [click to continue]

  • The Mystery of the CV.......

    The concept behind the CV is simple isn’t it? It’s not like the Theory of Relativity or long division or trying to explain the offside rule in football to your girlfriend. So if it’s so simple why do CVs come in an infinite number of shapes, sizes and forms?Part of the problem is that there is no single definition of what is the definitive CV. [click to continue]

  • 5 Don'ts of applying by telephone.

    Don’t phone until you are prepared – You wouldn’t go to an interview unless you were well prepared and smartly dressed would you? So why would you pick up the phone and make a call before you had thought out what you are going to say? If there’s a number at the bottom of a job advert it means the person doing the recruitment is going to screen prospective candidates on the telephone. [click to continue]

  • 5 Things to remember when applying by e-mail

    Read the advert – Any e-mail replying to a job advert that starts “I don’t have the degree/experience/industry background you asked for but…….” will be deleted immediately. If they stated that they are looking for someone with a degree in chemical engineering with five years experience in the petrochemical industry then that’s what they are looking for. [click to continue]

  • Career Planning 101 - Part 2

    Any recruitment consultant will tell you that January is the time of the year when candidates are at their most energetic. They’ve had a nice break, had a chance to unwind and have had some time to think about life, the universe and everything. They’ve decided that this year is the one when things are going to change. [click to continue]

  • Career Planning 101 - Part 1

    How many people do you think actively plan their careers? Before you answer think about your own career and how much planning went into it. Can you honestly say that you are where you are because of proactive planning? The chances are that you are like the majority of people in that you did very little active planning into where you are now with your career. [click to continue]