TOP 50 organisations for talented women!

Out on the 7th October The Times' TOP 50 provides insightful information about 50 of the UK's progressive employers. "Women can now research and compare organisations based on their own needs and interests before choosing where to work."

The full List can be found on the 'Where to Work' Website and includes a number of law firms, retail giants and public sector firms.

Top Tips for Unemployed Jobseekers

Looking for a job can be a daunting task and even more so when you feel under pressure as you are not currently working or earning money. It can feel like a bomb slowly ticking away and if it explodes it will take with it all your hard-earned gains.

Being unemployed can be one of most ego-smashing things a person could ever experience. It can be seen as ‘rejection’ and people can end up in a very unhappy place. We at e-recruitment buddy don’t want that to happen to any jobseeker so we decided to bring together some of our top tips to help you through this stage of your career. Prior to actually applying for jobs there are several processes to go through.

ONE: Read this highly practical 4-point-plan. You need space to think, take the time to review your career and start planning! Let the fact that you’ve been made redundant be an ‘opportunity’ rather than the worst thing that can happen. Step back – take stock – don’t fall into a period of ‘desperation’, it wont help your cause.

TWO: The last stage of Janet Davies’ above plan includes having a good quality CV ready for approaching potential employers. Your Curriculum Vitae is a crucial selling/marketing tool when applying for jobs and in today's employer-driven recruitment market it is vital that you take time to prepare it. Clients can literally ‘cherry pick’ the best candidates against their criteria and if your best points are hidden, or even worse not on your CV (!) then you will be rejected. If you need any assistance with this, then our sister company http://www.e-cv-buddy.co.uk/.

THREE: Don’t do it ALONE. Pool upon your family, partner, friends, ex-work colleagues and neighbours!! Talk to them about how you are feeling, get their input on how they see you and discuss your thoughts of what route you want to take your career. Perhaps even get yourself a job-search ‘buddy’ (I would probably choose my hubby), that you speak with at least once a week about what jobs you’ve applied for, what you’ve done in your job search activities and any interviews you have lined up. Your job-search buddy can give you a sense of purpose and achievement.

FOUR: Clean up your online profile before you start applying for jobs. Have you ever googled an employer before an interview? Yes of course - the issue now is that companies are researching potential candidates to gain information about them prior to short-listing for an interview. This can be advantageous but often not – it’s well known & documented that social networking sites, blogs & forums are easily searchable and may throw up something that strikes you off the short-list. Be wary of what you and your friends post online – ‘un-tag’ yourself from any photo’s you think may jeopardise your career!! We know that employers need to use this information with care to avoid any hint of discrimination in their decision-making, but in many cases it wont stop them. Also – get yourself a dedicated job-searching email address - you need to give a professional impression from first contact. An email received from lazybones@hotmail may not be the best approach!

FIVE: Time to start applying for Jobs – before you start … don’t apply for jobs that you don’t actually want or that you don’t have the skills to do. I know that may sound daft but many people believe that catapulting their CV into cyber-space will somehow land on the desk of their next employer – it won’t! Be completely focussed in your job-search; target employers that you want to work for, register with agencies that actually have jobs on their books that match what you are looking for and register with job-boards specific to your industry & skill-set. Always follow-up on applications.

SIX: For more in-depth tips covering everything from LinkedIn to Twitter to aid in your job search, we at e-recruitment buddy recommend that you download a free copy of Andy Headworth’s ‘50 Top Tips for Job Seekers Guide’

Don’t let your job-search be chaotic, stressful, depressing or negative in any way – give it some structure, plan exactly what you are looking for and go for it via every route available to you. Be positive and when you secure a job give yourself a huge pat on the back!!

Dispatches: Struggling Executives in the Recession

Did anyone tune into Channel 4 on Monday evening and watch the ‘not particularly enlightening’ dispatches program? It did predominantly focus on a select number of medium-high earners (60-90k bracket), along with a few Graduates (Adam and Thomas!) and how people are struggling to secure a job in this tough economic climate.

I didn’t particularly learn anything from the program, it just made me shout at the telly and now I want to vent a few of my frustrations in this blog.

One of the job seekers they followed was Matt Webb, ex Marketing Director* of Hamleys, made redundant some months ago. He did seem particularly down-trodden but was still managing to spend 5-6 hours per day searching for a new job, mainly online. He said that he’d applied for c30 jobs over the last few weeks with not one response ? I do have a degree of sympathy from him. However – it is no surprise that he was struggling to maintain his 1k monthly mortgage, 12k per annum private school fees for 7 year old Darcy and all his other bills. I do believe he used the words “to take Darcy out of her school, it would be a nightmare.” I could get shot down in flames for saying this but pleeeaaasssseee give me strength!! You may have been earning shed loads of money but now you don’t, the lifestyle you have/had cannot be maintained – ‘a nightmare’ would be having no roof over your head, no food to eat and having to walk 50 miles in bare feet to get fresh water – OK, a bit extreme, but downsize, get your children to a state school, go & work stacking shelves at night in Asda, get your wife to work for Avon or offer an Ironing service in the local area – do whatever it takes to keep some income rolling. Oh … and give up the fags!!!

With just under 2.5 million people currently unemployed and seeking work, finding a job will be the hardest job you’ve ever had to do!! Keeping an income in whichever way you can and being ahead of the game when applying for jobs – it’s 24/7 with no rest until you’ve secured a new job. It’s a whole new blog post to cover top tips for job-seekers but the number one tip would be to make your CV the best document your possess! For any help regarding this do visit our sister site, http://www.e-cv-buddy.co.uk/

* From our research Matt was officially ‘Head of Marketing’ @ Hamleys, but only appointed in that position following the departure of its marketing director Stella Hartley in August 2008. The press release said “Webb is very new to the company and it is too early to comment on the role. We will announce our marketing roadmap for 2009 and our advertising strategies in the coming months." It was also reported in March 2009 by MarketingWeek that Hamleys had parted company with Matt Webb after just 5months. Odd – as I got the impression he had been there for 12 years?

P.S; If anyone wishes to discuss opportunities with Matt Webb, his LinkedIn profile can be found here; http://www.linkedin.com/in/mattwebb1

Oddest Co-Worker Complaints

I am registered with Talent Revolt – split fee recruiter network – and read with joy this list of ‘co-worker concerns’ in their latest newsletter, taken from a survey conducted by CareerBuilder. I wanted to be able to share this with you on the basis that I am sure you’ve worked with someone who annoys you – whether that be on a daily, weekly or hourly basis!! My pet hate is whistling – cant bear it, I also worked with someone once who used to grind their teeth – aaarrgghh!! Not sure I would make a complaint though.

According to a survey by CareerBuilder where HR managers listed complaints as varied as co-workers being ‘too sun tanned’ to the employee ‘breathing too loudly’! The survey of 2,600 HR managers in the US listed a wide variety of concerns including;

• Employee has big hair.
• Employee eats all the good cookies.
• Employee is so polite, it’s infuriating.
• Employee suspected co-worker is a pimp.
• Employee is trying to poison me.
• Employee’s body is magnetic and keeps de-activating my magnetic access card.
• Employee was annoyed the company didn’t provide a place for naps during break time.
• Employee only wears slippers or socks at work.
• Employee’s aura is wrong.
• Employee smells like road ramps.
• Employee breathes too loudly.
• 8:00 a.m. is too early to get up for work.
• Employee wore pyjamas to work.
• Co-worker reminded the employee too much of Bambi.
• Employee spends too much time caring for stray cats around the building.
• A male employee keeps using the ladies’ room because the men’s room is not as tidy.

Lots of laughs! Read what CareerBuilder have put together as the Top 10 Most Annoying Colleague habits: http://www.careerbuilder.co.uk/Article/CB-207-Workplace-Issues-10-Most-Annoying-Colleague-Habits/

It’s a PIG of an excuse

Has it ever crossed your mind to fake swine flu just as an excuse to not go to work???

You would have to be living on Mars over the last 4 months to have avoided hearing about swine flu. With confirmed cases stretching from New Zealand to Iceland the chances of catching the virus seem high. Now most of us sensible, reliable beings would just hope not to contract it and go by our daily business with extra vigilance when it comes to cleanliness. Sneeze into a tissue, throw it away and clean your hands. Heaven a five year old child can master the basics!

However a recent survey by employment law firm Peninsula Ireland reported that employees have been calling in sick claiming that they are showing signs/symptoms of swine flu, but that bosses are all too aware that they are faking. Whilst most employers are resigned to fact that a small percentage of their workforce will actually contract swine flu, it is also considered as a given that a number of employees will pretend to have caught the virus.

The difficulty lies in where to draw the line and who to believe, with doctors now asking patients not to visit the surgery in an attempt to reduce the spread of the virus, without an actual swab to confirm someone has swine flu – it is a bandwagon that some less conscientious employees will jump on! Is it a coincidence that the highest jump in cases of Swine Flu came the week that the NHS website went live and you could diagnose yourself without a visit to the doctors?

If you see swine flu as an excuse to call in sick – think again, your employers will be onto you and with many already struggling to keep their heads above water during these tough economic times – if you’ve faked it just to have a few days off, you may face strict disciplinary action & ultimately lose your job! The virus can’t be caught twice so what happens if you really contract the illness – how are going to explain that?

Michelle Heywood

Social Media and Job Hunting

Starting A Job Search: How To Use Social Media To Get A Job

This is a natty little video from Video Jug explaining how to go about using social media when you are job hunting. It explains the process of exploiting social networking/media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to find jobs. The tips are all good ones, cleaning up your profile or at least locking them down. No drunken photos of that Stag Do in Prague. Also add some keywords into your profile, job titles, interests and even clients you have worked with. Treat it like an interactive CV. They mention linkedin as well and its importance in building professional networks.

They also talk about using Twitter to look for jobs and build relationships. The core of the issue is building a strong personal online brand. To do this takes some time, effort and creativity on your part but it is worth pursuing. This is a neat article about it here – building your brand online. Get started on building your brand today. You never know if your dream job is just waiting for you!

And then there were 2 …. It’s the FINAL tonight!!

If you are an avid Apprentice fan then I am sure you have put everything that you would normally do on a Sunday night to one side ready to tune in to watch the delights of Kate and Yasmina battle it out to become Sir Alan’s next Apprentice!

Last weeks interview sessions were by far my favourite viewing of this series – how could Yasmina not know her company accounts can be accessed by anyone, why did James crumble under the pressure and why did Lorraine keep slipping back to her Irish roots!? There were some extremely awkward moments throughout the interviews and I was also shocked to hear James call Jo Brand one of the ‘Ugly Sisters’ on the BBC2’s after-show – if she had actually heard what he’d said I am sure she would have taken the mickey out of him more.

The interviewers this year were the usual - Karen Brady, MD of Birmingham City Football Club, Bordan Tkachuk, CEO of one of Sir Alan’s firms Viglen and Claude Litner, Sir Alan’s former “global trouble-shooter” – and replacing the one that has gone bankrupt (!) was Alan Watts, a city litigator.

If you are currently looking for a job there are some basic lessons to be learnt just from last weeks show;
- James commented that he didn’t think that he’d get to the interview stage and as such made some less than professional comments on his CV/application – which when sat in-front of a panel of interviewers made him look like a joke and let him down big style. Take your application, CV and interview seriously – yes be light hearted when it is appropriate but don’t be a fool.
- Another one lying on their CV – have they never watched the show?? Well, actually maybe as Lee McQueen was the one hired last year after lying on his CV they thought it was a good move? Poor Lorraine could not cover her employment dates (extended by a year!) as a ‘misprint’ – you should always triple-check your CV, get someone else to check it and ensure that every part of what you have written is true and can be backed up! E-recruitment buddy have a CV Writing Service available to candidates so perhaps check out what we can offer you before you apply for jobs.
- References; is it just me or did Debra almost delight in what her previous Manager and work colleagues said about her!? One of them claimed she is ‘'loud, obnoxious and inexperienced, swearing and telling colleagues to F*** off”!! {I am not sure if it is illegal for giving an ex-employee a bad reference? I think you are on ‘dodgy grounds’ and if you don’t have a good word to say about them it is best to just confirm dates of employment, reason for leaving and sickness record, otherwise you could end up in court. Either way give a reference contact as someone who you have had a good relationship with and who isn’t about to ruin your chances of getting the job that you want.

I appreciate this is a TV show, they have to be brutal and rub the candidates up the wrong way, and of course it makes great viewing & gets us all talking. So do you think Kate will triumph to complete her as little miss perfect or will Yasmina storm through?

One last thought – did that interviewer (was it Claude) really not know what an SLA was!??