Archive for August, 2009

More Construction Jobs?

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

Two interesting pieces of news in the last few days indicate that the end of the recession in the building industry could be in sight, and that more construction jobs could be on the way.

The first notable story was the increase in new lending that mortgage brokers are reporting around the UK.  According to the BBC, mortgage approvals have reached a seventeen month high, with 38181 new loans being approved during July.  In addition to this increase in mortgage lending, increased confidence in business circles is also indicating that the country could well be on its way out of the recession – some correspondents are suggesting that economic output could grow through the summer to effectively end the recession (successive quarters of negative economic growth) when the latest figures are reported at the end of September.

These developments are fantastic news for the beleaguered building industry.  Over the past couple of years, a lack of available funding for purchasers has led to many major building projects being closed down or left incomplete, but now, with increasing confidence returning, many developers are taking their projects out of mothballs in order to rush them through to completion.

Thanks to relatively good pay deals being offered on many of the current crop of construction jobs as employers seek to get the best staff possible to work on their projects both in the UK and overseas means that many skilled workers will be able to return to the industry more quickly than expected.

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Returning to Work after having Children?

Friday, August 21st, 2009

Perhaps as a result of the recession, more and more women are choosing to return to work after taking a career break to raise their children.  Of course, the workplace has changed a great deal in the last ten years or so, and many women who have taken a longer than expected break from employment often find that they lack the standard IT skills expected by employers.

There are many highly qualified women who find themselves in a position where they are unable to return to office life at the same level they had previously, and instead of regaining roles within management, they are often relegated to junior roles with little chance of advancement.

Of course there are some women who do not want to return to a position of high stress and responsibility, however this is one of the greatest scandals in the modern workplace, and it not only robs women of the chance to return to work at the same level they were employed previously but also means that employers, who often bemoan the standards of staff available straight from school are wasting the talents of their staff rather than making the most of them.

If you are considering going back to work after a long career break, it is important to familiarise yourself with the kind of office software that is currently in use.  The de-facto standard in the office is currently Microsoft Office 2007, although many larger companies are still using the 2003 edition.  Beyond this, it is more or less expected that staff will be familiar with email and the web.

Taking a short office software course is more about confidence and competence than certification, and it is worth undergoing so that it can be added to your CV.  Courses are often available in local community centres, and do not always cost anything.

Another thing that is important to check when returning to work is that any professional qualifications are up to date and that any licence held is still valid.  People working in the health industry or law who are returning after several years away will need to read up on any recent developments in their industry such as new legislation or drugs that have been recently introduced.

Legislation applies to many different jobs from the automotive industry through to teaching, and it is important to check what changes have come in during any absence.

Some industries such as SEO or Web design can change enormously over a comparatively short period of time, and as such it is vitally important to catch up with the latest information.  Reading popular blogs in the run up to your return to work, and keeping track on industry news via services like Sphinn will provide plenty of insight into any changes that you need to be aware of.

The main thing to remember when returning to work after a long break is that while it may be hard to get back into the swing, the msot important thing is to be confident about your abilities.  Too many people who are comoing back into employment do so with fear, and this is often one of the main reasons why they are not given the respect that they should have.  People who are afraid to ask for a job that suits them will all too often find that they are not given the opportunity they need to get one.

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looking for a job in SEO

Sunday, August 16th, 2009

Search Engine Optimisation is one of the fastest growing areas of the online marketing mix.  Businesses all over the world who are facing a reduction in their marketing budgets are looking at natural search strategies to complement their PPC activity, and this has led to a boom in the number of SEO Jobs that are currently available.

We see an awful lot of SEO related jobs advertised through Jobatwit, although this is in part due to the way that this site is marketed through social media channels – we are likely to be viewed by an audience of web savvy Internet marketers, and as such, provide the ideal place for SEO Companies to advertise for new staff.

While there is a perception in many areas that an experienced SEO professional is able to command an enormous salary, this is only partly true.  Some of the top guys in the industry who run their own agency may well be able to pull in more than a million a year through conference work, their own campaigns and affiliate work, and contracts with other companies to provide consultancy advice, on the whole, the kind of salary that a regular SEO professional will be able to command is roughly in line with any other IT professional – somewhere between £25 to £50K per year.

Experience is everything for an aspiring SEO.  Many of the larger agencies in the UK such as Latitude, Big Mouth Media and ICrossing offer entry level positions and internships for students, and these are the ideal entry into the industry for people who are keen to learn.

There is an argument that the best people in SEO are self taught, and this is quite true.  People who take the time to learn what works and what doesn’t by trialling new things are generally more entrepreneurial and innovative than those who learn the ropes from an established SEO.

It is also important not to rest on your laurels.  Algorithms change all the time, and it is vitally important to keep track of the techniques that work best.

Important skills include some level of web development – php or asp, a knowledge of HTML and web standards, commercial awareness, a willingness to learn, and the ability to extract information from abstract data provided by various different analytics software such as Yahoo Analytics, CoreMetrics or Google Analytics.

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Want to Work In Travel?

Friday, August 14th, 2009

The travel industry is one of the largest and most diverse areas that you could choose, and offers people a wide range of different opportunities.

People come to work in travel and hospitality for many reasons, but one of the main ones is the opportunity to travel themselves.  Most companies will offer subsidised travel packages for their staff, and this is a great way of seeing the world for less.

Popular entry points into the world of travel include working in an agency.  Some of the larger companies such as Gold Medal or Kuoni are well known for their training schemes, which give staff a good grounding to move on into other areas.  These larger companies will often take on inexperienced staff at a junior level before giving them access to the various different industry qualifications that smaller specialist companies require.

Pay is notoriously low at a junior level in the travel industry, however as most staff will tell you, the fringe benefits are often well worth having.  Hotel staff will usually share in the tips that are paid, and cabin crew on aircraft will get the chance to break their journey in various destinations.

In many cases, the most important thing for staff to have is passion.  This is especially the case with tour operator staff and travel agents.  You will need an innate knowledge of the destinations that you are covering, and be able to communicate.

Skills that employers are looking for include the ability to sell, to be enthusiastic – particularly important for holiday resort reps – a genuine passion for customer service, and the ability to handle pressure well.

Many jobs in the travel industry tend to be seasonal, so it is important to have some contingency planning for the off season – very few resort staff will earn enough to rest completely during the winter, although good staff will often have the opportunity to transfer to other resorts around the world.

Airlines tend to recruit all year round, and many staff will work their way up from the no-frills carriers to better known airlines such as Emirates or British Airways.  Cabin crew can expect fairly tough hours, and little rest.

With so many different choices and roles to choose from, from basic seasonal work in hotels, through to working as a pilot, salaries can range from minimum wage up to several hundred thousand pounds per year, and the range of opportunities is diverse and fulfilling.  Travel is an industry that many people develop a real affinity with thanks to the fact that they are generally helping people to have a good time and get more out of life.

If working in travel appeals to you, why not register now with job@twit, and add your CV to our website so that it can be seen by thousands of potential employers.

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Quick Tips for Interview Success

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

Getting an interview for a new job is only one step in the process, and for many people, the actual interview itself is a really stressful event.  It’s pretty easy to get carried away with nerves, and ruin your chances of getting a job, so check out our quick tips for improving your interview skills.

Tip 1 – Be On Time

If you are desperately keen to mess up your chances of getting a job, then turn up for your interview late.  I’ve had candidates turn up twenty minutes late for an interview and then not apologised.  They didn’t get the job.  Plan your route to the venue, and gauge how long it takes.  Then set off with enough time to give you fifteen minutes of contingency before the time of the interview.  That will let you relax and prevent any added stress.

Tip 2 – Look Smart

OK, these days you’re probably not going to need to wear a suit for work every day, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t dress appropriately.  Have a shave, definitely shower, and check that your fingernails are clean.  if you turn up looking like you don’t care, the chances are that your interviewer won’t either, and you can kiss good bye to the job.

Tip 3  – Be Prepared

Read through your CV, as many questions will be asked about it.  You really should know the details of the company you have applied to, so visit their website and read up on their board and mission statement.   If you have been asked to prepare a presentation, then do that, and then rehearse it.  I’ve had people turn up and say that they thought that they would just talk.  Not a problem if they knew what they were talking about, but in the event they came across as idiots.

Tip 4 – Be Keen

Ask questions, show interest, give answers that show a bit of thought.  Easy.

Tip 5 – Get Something Out Of It

Honestly, no-one gets every job that they apply for, but it doesn’t mean that it’s a complete loss to you.  Provided you aren’t a complete arse about being rejected, no employer is going to have a problem giving you with  feedback about where you were good and where you weren’t so good.  Take the opportunity of getting advice, and it will help you next time.

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5 Great CV Writing Tips

Sunday, August 9th, 2009

When you’re going through the process of applying for a new job, getting your CV right is incredibly important.  You could be he most able and talented individual in the world, but if your CV doesn’t actually manage to communicate that information, you can kiss goodbye to even getting an interview.

With the job market as competitive as it is now, you need to make so much more effort than ever before to get to interview stage, and while in the past you might have got away with sending the same bloated CV off to hundreds of companies, that simply won’t work any more.  The better the job, the more people will be applying, and the harder it will be to get through the door.

You need to grab the attention of your potential employers immediately, and to do this you need a CV that nt only communicates who you are, but also explains exactly why you are the best candidate for the exact position that you are applying for.

Tip 1 – Tailor your CV to the Job

The chances are, if you’re applying for a job, you will have some relevant experience.  Whether this is from the workplace (which it probably should be), or from out of work activities (which it might well be), you need to highlight this experience as close to the start of the CV as possible.

Tie previous experience and skills into the job you have applied for.  If you are looking for a first job in web design job and your only experience is a hobby site, provide the URL, and talk about what you did to design it.

Tip 2 – Keep it Short

Two sides of A4 tops, and I don’t mean densely packed with 6pt text.  If you’ve structured your CV around the job you’re applying for, the chances are that you will be able to keep it shorter.  Keep job descriptions limited to a set of bullet points with an introductory paragraph if necessary.

Tip 3 – Keep it Relevant

You know that week of work experience in a furniture shop that you did ten years ago or the fact you were a fry chef in McDonalds?  It isn’t going to help you get a job in Web Design.  If you can’t tie in the skills that you used in a particular  position to the job you are applying for, ask yourself whether it is worth including it in the document.

Tip 4 – Keep it Honest

OK, there are always going to be places on your CV where you dress things up a little bit.  Employers know that there is a kind of language that you only see in a CV.  Assisted in the company induction schedule means that you showed a new starter round the office, was responsible for maintaining customer records meant that you did the filing.

A bit of window dressing is fine and expected, it’s like make up.

On the other hand, lying is wrong.  Make stuff up, and you might get in the door, but you’re going to look like a fool during the interview when it comes out that you actually weren’t a surgeon.  Or when you start the job and it turns out that you don’t actually have  a clue what you’re doing.

Tip 5 – Use your Spell Check and proof read.

So, you’re “hard working and have grate atenntion to detail”?  I wouldn’t claim to never make a mistake, or drop the odd howler into something I’ve written, but to be honest, if a CV comes into my inbox with any errors, it’s going straight in the bin.  This document is your shop window, it’s not great if its riddled with errors and makes you look illiterate.

Overall, you shoud treat the CV as an advert to say why you are the right person for the specific job you are applying for, not just any job that you might look at in the future.

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Looking for a job?

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

Despite the recession, and all of the economic woes that we see on the news, the fact is that there are still plenty of great jobs available – provided you are willing to look around.

People are still moving from one company to another, and this results in positions becoming open in many companies even when the company is ostensibly not recruiting for growth.

On the jobatwit blog, we will be providing help and guidance about improving your chances of getting the job you want, and helping you to find jobs that are rewarding both financially and also, and in many ways more importantly, in terms of the levels of satisfaction that they offer.

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