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What are your Weaknesses?

This month will be the first in a series of posts dedicated to interview techniques. There are some questions that pop up in almost any interview. 'What are your Weaknesses?' is one of them. It's a ridiculous question, but for some reason interviewers love to ask it. Before I give you the platinum answer let me just vent a little about why this question makes my skin crawl: It's a trick question. This is what it's really asking: Are you humble? Are you TOO humble? Do you lack confidence? Are you an arrogant bozo? It's like some kind of Freudian dream…

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May 1, 2017

Careers Advice

Recruitment Trends 2017

Employers and job-seekers alike need to be aware of the most recent recruitment trends. Employers need this information in order to stay relevant and focused on the best hiring practices; job-seekers find this information valuable in order to remain tuned in to wha t they can expect when applying for a job. Therefore, this month’s article discusses a few of the most interesting recruitment trends that have been steadily becoming more and more popular from the beginning of this year. Anonymous Applications: Better known as ‘blind interviewing’, this trend is a direct result of business operations that encourage diversity. Firms…

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March 1, 2017

Applying for a Job

Top 3 Reasons You’re Not Getting the Job

1. You’re over/under-qualified. This is the number one factor that determines whether you get to interview stage or not. It’s no surprise that if you’re under-qualified you don’t have a chance. If the job listing asks for five years experience in an office and you have three, don’t bother applying. It’s tempting to say ‘but I have three years experience, surely this is enough’. Granted, asking for this much experience for a relatively low-skilled office job is a bit much. I see ads like this all the time where the requirements are truly out of reach for the average job-seeker. I find it…

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February 28, 2017

Careers Advice

Starting Your Own Online Business

Hi folks! Well, this month’s blog is fashionably late as I was busy getting married to a wonderful man. Hence, January’s blog post is actually being posted on the first day of February! Our wedding was on the 24th of January and I have been in slumber-honeymoon mode ever since. Back to normality now, however. Posts will be on the 25th of each month as it was before Christmas, so you can expect the February installment on the 25th. It is actually part of the process of getting married that inspired this particular blog. I made my own wedding bouquet and…

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January 1, 2017

Careers Advice

What is the Most Fulfilling Job?

Sometimes it’s essential to step back from the pressures of having to find work and consider the possibility that you might actually get to do a job you love. Sources all vary, but there are a number of jobs that continuously crop up on the lists of most satisfying jobs. It is interesting to note also that a lot of these jobs aren’t anywhere near the top pay bracket. Forbes has articles about the best jobs which are well-paid but I’m more interested in finding out the job which promises the most fulfilment even on an average pay scale. And here it…

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December 1, 2016

Careers Advice

The Changing Face of Employment

Post-recession employment has changed drastically. Entry level positions have higher expectations, starting salaries can be very low, and the general requirements posted in standard job advertisements have become much more thorough and complicated. If we think of job candidates in terms of supply and demand, the recession created an upheaval in the balance. Pre-recession, candidate supply was roughly equal to candidate demand. Post-recession, however, candidate supply far outweighs candidate demand. As a result, employers became spoiled for choice. Pre-recession, you could expect between ten to twenty applicants for one position; lower for a specialised role. Post-recession, it isn’t uncommon to have over fifty…

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November 1, 2016

Applying for a Job

The Benefits of Using Recruitment Agencies

Last month’s post listed the benefits of approaching employers directly when applying for a job. The findings were clear: the second point in the post asserted that targeting employers is quite simply the best way to find a job. This is true if we consider the high percentage of unadvertised jobs. Recruitment agencies can generally only access jobs which are advertised on the open market. Therefore, using their services means that the job applicant is only applying for at most 40% of the actual jobs available. This seems to be a dreary forecast for this post. However, it must be…

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October 30, 2016

Careers Advice

Part-Time or Full-Time Employment?

This post examines the pros and cons of deciding whether to work part-time or full-time. The job market and other factors quite often make the decision for us; factors such as family responsibilities, household income or extenuating circumstances. However, most people will have to make the decision between part-time and full-time work at some point. This article doesn’t discuss the advantages for employers hiring part-time or full-time workers; this will be discussed in a later post. The pros and cons of part-time employment will be outlined first, then the pros of full-time employment. To conclude, I will provide some sound advice that will target specific living…

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September 30, 2016

Interview Tips

Number One Interview Tip

Congratulations, you’ve landed an interview! Well done on getting this far. Landing an interview is a confidence-booster for any job applicant. It says that you have the right credentials to complete the tasks outlined in the job description. Now for the final hurdle: convincing the interviewer/interview panel that you will be pleasant to work with, have some initiative and passion, and will fit in comfortably with the team that already exists. Many recruitment bloggers will try to give a top five or top ten list of the best tips for conducting a successful interview. However, some of the points that crop up…

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August 30, 2016

Careers Advice

Top Five Reasons You’re Still Unemployed

I hate to be the bearer of bad news; the teller of hard truths, but sometimes being cruel can be the kindest thing. This post aims to help people who have been unemployed for a substantial period of time by highlighting some very significant reasons why your job-search isn’t going well. You’ve sent out a thick pile of CVs, trudged up the town handing them out, spent the last of your Jobseeker’s Allowance on a new suit and alas; still no call to interview. Or, if you got the interview, you didn’t get the job. The tips laid below hope…

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July 30, 2016