Category Archives: No

A bit of fun, Careers Advice, Halloween, News, No

Scary times when looking for a job?

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It’s Halloween – a time for pumpkins, ghosts & ghouls, witches and skeletons to make an appearance. Keeping to the All Hallows theme I see some striking resemblances to the various elements of looking for a job.

  • Pumpkins – we all like an expertly carved pumpkin displayed in the window with a candle shining bright for all to see. Think about your CV and if you were to display it on the likes of job websites etc. is what you have on display scary or intriguing? If it is intriguing enough to take a closer look then you are on the right tracks, if it is garish and scary you may just frighten off potential employers.
  • Skeletons – do you have skeletons in your closet? If you are applying for security cleared jobs or even roles which may take a dim view on your past – are you prepared to have your background interrogated or are you setting yourself up to fail? Think about the roles you are applying for and make choices based on what will work for you – do your homework.
  • Ghosts – often translucent, and to the trained eye your CV is the same – make sure you back up your statements in your CV to ensure you are not being overlooked. Also ghosts often appear and disappear like a number of pieces of information on CVs, don’t swap around information too much as you may scare off a recruiter who will do a comparison of different versions of your CV and will have their suspicion raised.
  • Witches – often seen huddling around a cauldron deciding on ingredients (applications) going into the spell which will win over their prey (hiring managers).
  • Spiders – or web crawlers work over your CV in databases and on job boards as they search for keywords to index you for searches by employers. Make sure you are using terminology common to your profession but don’t just list a load of keywords – contextualise them in the remits for the roles. The spiders do still work just as effectively.
  • Trick or treat – knocking on the doors of the prosperous (employers) for treats (jobs), not a great deal of effort goes into direct applications / speculative approaches to businesses but it is still the leading route to success.
  • Bobbing for apples – similar to applying for jobs, leaning into a big barrel and trying your best to catch an apple in your teeth; in competition with several others but who will get it first?
  • Zombies – make sure you are alert and articulate when speaking with HR / recruiters especially when it is you calling them to ask how your application is coming along / has it been received or you have questions.
  • Werewolves – Always treat everyone you meet as you would expect to be greeted, don’t change from human to grumpy wolf when speaking to receptionists / secretaries. Not only is it rude and disrespectful, you don’t actually know who you are speaking with – they may be the MD just picking up the phone or sat in reception!!
  • Cobwebs – clear out the cobwebs from your CV; refreshing and updating your CV periodically is excellent practice.
  • Lightening – don’t wait to apply for a role, get to work immediately on tweaking your CV and submit it ASAP. Job shortlists can often be met within a few hours of a job advert being posted online.

Wishing you all a Happy, Safe and Joyful All Hallows Eve – remember a good costume to intrigue and attract others to talk to you is the best way to gain success but keep it real, no one likes to take off a mask to reveal something even more scary underneath!!

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We had some fun in the office carving our own pumpkins (see below) – this has become a bit of a tradition as I was challenged to create a themed one last year which yielded a donation to a local children’s hospice and even though we did not have a bet on this year, a donation was made again to the hospice – thanks Steve!!

 

Happy work environment, News, No, Training

Hotel GB – an experiment

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Last week Channel 4 presented us with a weeklong show called Hotel GB which essentially was a hotel set up taking on 14 trainees from all different walks of life who had previously had difficulty in securing jobs, Gordon Ramsay and Mary Portas took the joint general manager roles and worked with the trainees to run the hotel. The aim of the show was to demonstrate that people often overlooked for jobs could be nurtured into successful candidates moving forward and instil some confidence back into the individuals with the hope of infusing some self worth and purpose too. To add some incentive to the show a competition was set for each team to go into contest and secure the biggest turnover and tips – customers from celebrities to service industry executives were invited to dine, engage in services, have events and stay at the hotel, they only had to pay for services if they were happy and all proceeds are being distributed to charities.

The program was not only entertaining, it also proved to be a great way of showcasing individuals who for whatever reasons had not been given opportunities to flourish in the work environment. A good number of the trainees demonstrated fantastic skills and determination to succeed and although a few struggled with the stress of being thrown in at the deep end – with the encouragement of all the team leaders they harvested success.

At the end of the show one lucky trainee from each team was offered a job with each Co General Manager Mary and Gordon. However what the trainees weren’t aware of was that hoteliers and leaders in the service industry were customers too and each trainee was offered a job at the end.

What a fantastic way to demonstrate to employers and employees alike that with a little effort, and some empowerment that even those with no work experience really can succeed.

As the media reports high volumes of unemployment for under skilled young people this program really facilitated some hope for all currently struggling to get their foot on the first rung of a career and really inspired the trainees.

It would be wonderful if other organisations embraced such opportunities to take on trainees from underprivileged backgrounds – reminding people as a whole that sometimes being given a sense of worth and encouragement that they can actually do it and turn their lives around.

The show also played a key reminder to everyone that we all had to start out working somewhere and didn’t just drop into high flying professional positions, but with hard work and determination we can achieve a whole lot more.

 

Friday Snippet, Networking, News, No, Project Management Events

Free Project Management Event – Friday snippet

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Project Challenge Expo 2012 is a bi-annual show for Programme, Project, Process and Resource professionals. Now housed at London’s Olympia Exhibition Centre – the show offers a range of presentations and a number of stands; exhibitors include software, training, recruitment, process, and membership bodies. For those who are keen to keep abreast of new methods and learn something through seminars – this is a must. It is one of very few free shows which is focussed on project management and is perfect for some networking too.


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I shall be there – taking in a couple of presentations and checking out the new software on the market; feel free to come say hello and have a coffee with me!

 

Networking, News, No, Project Management Events, Risk Management

Free Risk Management event – Every CIO’s Guide to Managing Risk

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Hub Events are next week offering an opportunity for IT professionals in senior roles or IT service management, or who are involved in IT or software projects to join in a risk management seminar.

The free 2 hour seminar promises “to take an objective look at the risks associated with IT applications and software projects, and offers practical guidance on how you can reduce risks and maximise your chances of delivering business benefits.

It will provide you with an essential guide to the core principles of good risk mitigation for IT transformation programmes.”

When: 20 September 2012, 2pm – 4:30pm Manchester

Where: Manchester – Double Tree by Hilton

How to book: click here

Case study examples will show how market leaders:

  • maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of application portfolios
  • manage the risk of legacy IT systems
  • reliably deliver the desired business outcome from software projects
  • ensure value for money from software development budgets;
  • realise the benefits of adopting an agile approach to enhancing and developing software.

“Practical sessions allow participants to gain a good understanding of how these principles can be applied in their own organisation. Attendees will go away from this event equipped with the know-how to address the key risks to IT systems performance and visibly improve the value IT delivers to their organisation.”

This should be an interesting event and a good opportunity for networking with likeminded professionals in the IT field around Manchester. I shall be there and I am particularly looking forward to the interactive sessions which I feel tend to be the most beneficial parts of such events.