This is crap.  This article will look at some of the common misconceptions that people have about their local job centre.

My local job centre won’t have any jobs for me

Not true. 

It may have been the case years ago that job centres had an abundance of certain types of jobs, but more niche, professional or unique job roles weren’t covered (because employees weren’t getting a good selection of candidates from the job centres).

This is no longer the case.  Job centres across the country have a huge selection of jobs in a wide breadth of industries.  What’s more, job centres can substantially help your local job search simply because they offer a great place for local employees to reach local candidates.

Job centre employees don’t care about placing me

Not true.

Look at it this way - people working in job centres do so because they want to help people find jobs - recruitment consultants on the other hand is a very sales orientated job.  Recruitment consultants make more money if they place candidates - they have a financial incentive to do so, which in some cases can lead to inappropraite placements.

Job centre employees on the other hand have no ulterior motive - they place the right candidates with the right jobs.

The job centre will recommend crap jobs

Well, it’s all relative.

The job centre is there to get people working and sometimes that means offering jobs to candidates that may seem like a step back in their careers.  That’s not the fault of the job centre - that’s just life.

I’m not saying you need to take these jobs - I firmly believe people should make their own decisions when choosing the right job for them, but I also fully support the job centre’s process of offering suitable jobs to candidates.

It’s not always about the financial side of things and every job doesn’t need to be a step up in the career ladder - being unemployed takes its toll on your motivation, confidence and at times, your mental health.  Even a low paid job that is a step back from what you were doing before gets you out working regularly - that’s better than sitting on your backside all day feeling sorry for yourself, although it might not seem it at the time.

I don’t think people should necessarily jump at the chance of an entry level position just because they are unemployed - but in certain cases, any job is good for an individual to get them back on the right track.

Good luck!

Keep your head

When interviewing, one of the worst mistakes you can make is to lose your composure - some interview questions can be difficult and even at times uncomfortable, so the best thing you can do is to keep your wits about you. 

Preparing for your interview in advance is a good way to avoid losing control of the situation on the day - but even if you are caught off guard, don’t worry!  Most interviewers will be happy for you to take a minute to compose yourself if you lose track of your thoughts.  Don’t take too long though!

Don’t argue - discuss!

The worst mistake an interviewee can make is to get into an arguement with the interviewers.  Even if you don’t full agree with a point being put across, you should debate it - put forward a logical arguement to the contrary - certainly don’t argue.  Don’t tell the interviewer they are wrong or just end the discussion in a stubborn outrage!

Many interviewers will choose to put forward illogical arguments just to test how you react to them - your test is how you convey your answer, not the answer itself.

Turn off your mobile phone!

If you really didn’t think of this, well…

Be patient!

You may be on your lunch break and need to get back to your current job or you might have an appointment to go to.  Either way, an interviewer doesn’t want to see a candidate who looks like they want to just get out of there.

If you have time constraints, then let your interviewer know beforehand - if the interview does run over time they should respect that.  If not, then politely bring up your aforementioned arrangement and perhaps offer to schedule a second interview to discuss things in more detail.

This can actually work to your benefit - it shows you are assertive and considerate of possibly competing interviews and it opens the door to further communication at a later date.

Good luck!

Easy to influence:
It may surprise you but many people are easy to influence an unconsciously those who are being influenced by the exterior ideas will eventually end up imitating them, if you don’t think this is possible all you need to think about is that millions upon millions of people who start smoking or consuming drugs just because of social pressures in fact, teenagers are the easiest people to influence which is why there are several TV campaigns which target them in order to keep them from falling in the destructive path of drugs, alcohol and violence.

Those who are easy to influence will end up following career decisions others have made for them in other words, if a popular person decides to study business then all of his or her followers will end up signing up to a business class, it sounds pathetic but it happens. Don’t let yourself become a follower be a leader.

Setting your own goals:
An easy way to avoid being influenced by someone else’s opinion is to set your own goals, take some time to decide where you want to be in line in what will make you happy, don’t take into account what other people are doing, set yourself for success by doing your own research and making a good decision accordingly.

Having a strong will and enduring the path:
After you have decided what you want to do with your life it is now time to take action in order to make things happen, don’t look left or right always focus on what you have in front of you and do everything it takes to overcome the many obstacles that will come your way, cheer yourself up and never consider quitting even if the going gets tough.

Dreams, they are very nice to have however, there is a big difference between the dream world and the real world because the reality of such rewards requires a strong character, determination, human touch, hard work and the ambition of taking on new responsibilities regardless of how difficult they might be or how much pressure they may put on you. Let’s take a look at each and every one of his characteristics and requirements to make it easy for you to decide whether or not you see yourself as a boss.

Strong character:
This is one of the most basic characteristics you should meet if you want to succeed in business or anything in life. A true leader will always stand strong against people who want to sway them to act in a way that goes against the things they stand for, if you want to become a boss or someone who manages a lot of people that you need to be able to let your voice be heard clearly and to deal with clients and business partners who may not follow your code of ethics.

Determination:
A very important characteristic which is found in successful people is their will strength and their determination, without saving yourself clear goals you are very likely to not get very far in life however, something that is just as important is to have the determination to achieve any goal that you set for yourself whether it is big or small, and set at a long-term or short-term, not being easily distracted from your number one goal is something that you must master, if you let yourself be constantly distracted by anything that crosses your path then you will have a real problem achieving business goals.

Human Touch:
It has been said that most of the employees who start to work for someone or for a company in particular will form a concept of the job within the first few weeks, some are even able to form an image of how their lives will be while working for this company/person within the first few days after being hired. Those will decide to quit a job are for the most part quitting their bosses, not the job itself. If you want to become a manager or have a high position on a company that you will have to develop your human relations skills because a loosing workers due to a lack of knowledge of how to treat a human being is something that will hurt your career and your business bottom line.

Hard work is obviously required if you want to advance and get all the benefits that come with the added responsibility however this is something that you must go after by yourself, no one will impose a higher position on you if you don’t want it. Sure, it is very nice to want to have a great car, a beautiful house, a big bank account but you should ask yourself: do you really have what it takes in order to make your dreams come true?

Here are some questions to start off with and some notes on how to answer them…

• Why do you want to work for our company?

This is a common question - try not to kiss too much ass when answering it.  They basically want to know if you’ve done your homework.

• Where do you see youself in 5 years?

This is aimed at finding out how long term an employee you may be.  For low level positions they may ask this if you are over qualified but that can be a good thing - many companies will be happy to recruit qualified staff willing to work their way up.

• What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Fairly straightforward - try and relate your answers to the job you are applying for.

• Why should we recruit you?

A tough question - this is essentially your “elevator pitch” - sell them - tell them why you’d make a good employee.

• Do you prefer working in a team or individually?

Very role specific - judge your answer based on how you are likely to be expected to work within the company.

• Why did you leave your last job?

Check out this article: Reasons for leaving your job.

• What are your salary expectations?

Check out this article:  What are your salary expectations?

• Describe how you feel you can contribute to our company.

Similar to the question about why they should recruit you - sell them!

Good luck!

The reason you see these “fake jobs” at job hunting sites is because they work very well with the prospects who visit these sites who are genuinely interested in a good career opportunity.  Recently there has been an increase in “business opportunities” at these sites which promise to make you this much money in almost no time.  This is often a red flag which should tell you this particular “job” is not real and you should stay away from it.’

I had a recent experience with a friend who told me there was a great business opportunity at a job oriented website which involved making money with rebates.  My friend was really excited about the idea because the website which had a huge sales letter promised people they would make a six figure income within their first year, and when  you are looking for a job such flashy claims can turn things in your head upside down.  The fact is that the idea is legit, but the website wanted to charge people about $200 dollars for extra advice in order to receive specific information about the business/career.

On top of that, it also had an SSL (hot linked) logo which indicated the site was secure and a 100% money back guarantee.  There is a problem with all of these claims which are placed on such sites to claim they are legitimate businesses, when it comes to money back guarantees you need to make sure you can get a hold of the people you are dealing with, this site had no contact information other than an email address which is also a red flag.

Real jobs do not charge you an up front fee in order to disclose information which will help you perform your duties, nor real businesses.  If you are in between jobs and are seriously considering starting your own business then it is imperative that you do a complete research about the business you are trying to start, make a good business plan and don’t let other people fool you with false promises and guarantees.  Good working businesses are not sold cheap, so it is obvious that if someone knows of a business which makes them money they will not want to create competition for their own which is another indication that the business idea you are being sold on doesn’t work or may not be legitimate.

Often times we hear that people quit their jobs because their boss was a jerk, the payment was too low or there was just too much work/pressure.  Actually, there is a long list of reasons why people quit their jobs, lets take a look at some of them:

• Your boss demands that you work harder, for longer periods of time in order to pick up the slack of one or more co-workers.
• Your boss is always tense and gives you a hard time.
• Your boss promotes someone who has less experience than you.
• Management shows favoritism among employees.
• Your boss doesn’t explain goals appropriately and when things are done in a different way they reject the work done which may lower your morale or hurt the feelings of those who took their time to prepare it.

As you can see most people quit their jobs because they have problems with management, in other words they quit their management not their jobs.  Being able to manage people requires more than a degree, it takes “people skills” which can keep workers happy and increase their productivity at the same time.  There is nothing worse for an employee than having a boss which is always in a bad mood and may be hard to talk to.  These jobs are too hard for people to hold on to so they decide to move on.

If you are hunting for a job, the best way to determine of the person who is interviewing you could be a good boss is by turning the job interview into a conversation.  Many people will be nervous during the interview but you have to remember that you will be spending most of your time with the person who is talking to you, so if you feel this person is tense or if you have the feeling that people who work at this place may be unhappy, it might be good to drop the position and apply somewhere else.

Another way to find out if management are is good is by asking questions to people who already work at this company, if someone is unhappy because X or Y reason, they are very likely to tell you why.  Remember that if you put yourself in a situation where your boss is a real problem you may be hunting for another job sooner than you expected it, so take your time during the interview and try to get a good idea of the type of person(s) you will be working with, there is nothing better than working with people you can invite to your home or call friends.

Finding the right job is an arduous process – most people end up with more rejection letters than seems natural (if they’re lucky and the recruiter actually takes the time to tell them they didn’t get the job)!  You need to take your job hunting efforts to the next level and source as many channels of promotion as possible.

Naturally, most people are limited in the jobs that they can apply for – either limited due to education and experience (and ambition) or limited to a specific geographic area where they can work (or want to work).  While the former is a complicated issue to address (and best served in another article), the latter is a much simpler barrier to overcome.  Finding jobs in the (regional) area you want to work in isn’t as hard as it may seem at first.

Major job boards – the way to go?

Look at the nature of large UK job sites such as www.s1jobs.co.uk and www.jobsite.co.uk – yes, they have thousands of jobs listed, but they are national businesses – this is the key point.  The reach (and indeed, the pricing structure) of these job boards mean that their primary target areas are major cities where larger employers more inclined to spend a large recruitment advertising budget are based.

All very well if you are job hunting in a major city or are considering moving, but if you are like most of the population you may find yourself outside major metropolitan areas and as such the amount of local jobs posted on these sites may be minimal.

This doesn’t mean that the Internet can’t be a good tool to use when job hunting – it just means that you need to approach the task differently.

Aim local to work local

This is the key.  If you are trying to promote a local sandwich shop, you don’t take out advertising in national newspapers – you advertise locally.  In the same respect, if you are looking for a plumber or electrician you don’t check The Times (http://www.timesonline.co.uk) – you check the local newspaper.  See where this is going?

You need to adjust your job search strategy to be more in line with your end objective – if you are looking for a job in a small town or local area, then that’s where you need to refine your search to.

Enough chatter now – let’s look at a practical example:

Let’s say you are looking for a job in Solihull.  You’ve done a brief search through major job boards and found a few vacancies posted by large employers who can afford major job board fees.  Do we stop there?  No.  There is a whole untapped market of small to medium businesses and organisations who don’t advertise vacancies nationally, so why not target them too?

A quick Google search for “Solihull” brings us to the local government page for Solihull (http://www.solihull.gov.uk).  And guess what?  All local government websites display civil service job listings for the local area!  Have a look at http://www.solihull.gov.uk/jobs/jobsearch.asp for example (note that all local government sites tend to be different).

Perhaps the local council doesn’t have any jobs that suit you – how about other local businesses?  There are loads of ways of finding smaller recruitment agencies and small businesses that may be recruitment.

For example you could look at a business directory such as The Best Of (http://www.thebestof.co.uk) where you can find out a bit more about the business as well as taking note of contact details for them.  In our example, we could look at The Best Of’s Solihull page (http://www.thebestof.co.uk/Solihull), and browse businesses we’re interested in and find other recruitment agencies.

One last word on your local job search

A key note to remember is that not all businesses have an up to date web presence and a lot who do may only have a few old pages that are frankly, not very pleasant to look at!  But don’t be put off by the lack of gloss and shine – a website doesn’t reflect the quality of service you will receive – it’s just a design!

Generally you will find that recruitment agencies in particular have a good level of candidate service (after all, it’s in their interest to have a wide range of candidates on their books) – but smaller local agencies more often than not will go that extra mile for you.

Best of luck with your job search!

Preparation is the key to any interview and lot’s of people don’t realise this.  You wouldn’t go to pitch a new client without any preparation would you?  Interviewing for a job is just the same.

Here are a few ideas for things you can do to not only prepare for the next day, but also to calm your nerves and allow yourself to be satisfied that you have done everything you can to be ready.

• Check the company website.  Long gone are the days that company information is held in a dusty archive somewhere - get on the Internet and check out their website.  Get familiar with their products and services - their mission statement - their other vacancies even.  These can all be great talking points at the interview and will get your some brownie points!
• Check out company news.  Try something like Google News to search for recent news items about the company - another good talking point for you.
• Get your clothes ready!  Seems simple, but you don’t want to be panicking an hour before the interview because that shirt you were going to were has an unknown stain on it.
• Make notes.  Think about what questions you want answered by the end of the interview.
• Get directions.  Either take a wander to the place of your interview or check out something like Google Maps to plan your route.   Check bus and train times if appropriate as well.  There’s nothing worse than planning a 30 minute journey just for it to take an hour.  And you don’t want to be late!

Good luck!

It’s your first point of contact!

You are making your first impression here, so it is important to to take care when writing your letter.  It is only a letter after all so you don’t need to be telling them your life story (you should be including your CV anyway).

Be formal (business formal) and to the point - chances are that the person reading your letter or email will be very busy.

The basics to cover:

Remember to include:

• Your full name
• Your address
• Your contact details (email and phone)
• Your availability for work or an interview

So some points to note:

• Explain brielf why you are looking for a new job.  Don’t go into much detail if your history is messy though!
• Say something about why you are interested in working for their company.  It doesn’t need to be long - just explain in a way that won’t be in your CV why you think you are suited to a job with their company.
• End politely - thank them for taking the time to read your letter and keeping you in mind for any available positions.

You can easily use the same template letter for all your enquiries (and if you know how, creating a Word template with an Access database of contacts to merge is easy enough) - just be sure to not do anything silly like leave references to other companies in the letter!