Category Archives: Planning

Job Hunting, Motivation, Planning, project management recruitment, Redundancy

Employees facing redundancy – 7 things to think about

It is never a good time to hear that your job has been put under threat of redundancy, most of us have been there at some point in our career and just when you think you are doing a great job the news hits. One thing to remember is that this could be the change you need to make a positive move forward – how long have you been thinking that you would like a change / more money / progression / a boss who really appreciates all the hard work? By being forced out into the cold you have to take action and this is a perfect time to really take stock of your career to move into a new challenge.

Some things to assist you in your transition are listed below:

It is not your fault – it is easy to take things personally when you are faced with redundancy. However, no matter how good you are in your job there are always other factors that management need to take into consideration for the good of the business and as such departments are removed. Especially when it comes to project management, how many projects are still realising their benefits? Are the right people running them? How can we improve outcomes and cut costs?
Take stock of your skill-set – performing a skills audit and writing a list of your accomplishments to date will help you re-evaluate your position, feeling kicked to the curb means you lose sight of you as a professional and running through your achievements and abilities will help you get back on track mentally.
Make a plan – take a good look at how you can tackle your circumstances, research the market for roles which meet your abilities and create a spreadsheet to list job boards and start noting down roles to apply for. Remember now is time to look for something which will meet your expectations in terms of progressing, whether it be in seniority, money, potential for progression and/or training.
Work on your CV – make sure you use your list from your skills audit and also look at the job descriptions, what are they asking for? If you have done these things have you articulated them in your CV?
Keep motivated – remember it is not you; the business has to make changes for whatever reason. Now it is time for you to demonstrate to others how good you are, harsh but recruiters and employers do not like to hear and see candidates down in the dumps.
Keep up momentum – your plan should have clearly marked out sections to tackle such as xx hours on job adverts, xx hours searching company websites for direct applications to employers and also other routes such as looking for opportunities which aren’t advertised. Keep to it – make sure you set aside a good few hours a day and really work on each application; applying for everything rarely works but a good tailored application to fewer roles really does harvest results.
Seek help – if you are finding you are yielding little results from your approach it may be time to seek help, your CV is a first port of call. Get a free CV review, talk to others about their approach to finding a role and see if you are missing anything.

Once you have been notified of your redundancy payout you should look to structure how to use it effectively, after covering your mortgage and bills for a number of months you should look to see if you need any additional training, a professionally written CV and careers advice on applying for positions and interviewing can be a very effective investment too.

guest blogger, Planning, Training

3 Things Businesses Need In Abundance

Guest Blogger Leave a comment

The business world is a tough one to survive in. It is no surprise that phrases such as ‘dog eat dog’ and ‘it’s tough at the top’ are used on a day to day basis when talking about business because they really do describe the way it is in today’s corporate landscape. Therefore, in order to make it in such an environment, a business and its workforce need to display certain characteristics that will take it above and beyond to supersede the competition.

A great business idea and plan of action are both imperative to succeeding as a company, but the venture is still likely to fall short if there is no real passion and motivation driving it. Here are three personal attributes that any business needs to display if they don’t want to be left standing still.

Creativity

Even the most basic business in society need to be forward thinking in their approach and therefore needs to be constantly coming up with new creative ideas. In a world that is littered with competition at every turn, it is important to stand out in as many ways as possible and being creative is going to help you do just that. New ideas are what drive a company forward and keep it always evolving. If you have a great deal of business creativity then the chances are you are likely to be the ones setting the trend rather than struggling to try and copy it.

Encourage creativity in the work place by allowing employees to share and develop any ideas they have. Arrange regular meetings between departments so that different areas of the company can interact and bounce ideas off one another, but most of all you should promote an environment that allows room for any idea to flourish; no matter how good or bad it seems. You could even send your employees on some creativity training courses in order to get the most out of them.

Dedication

Most of the big companies that are the front runners in business today would not be there if it wasn’t for the hard work and dedication of their valued employees. If you have people that are willing to put their all in for the benefit of the company then turning a good idea into a great one is a real possibility.

Success1

Creating a dedicated workforce is no mean feat, but it is no coincidence that some of the most successful companies in the world are also the best ones to work for. A list was recently released stating which corporations had the highest job satisfaction rate and search engine giants Google and technology overlords Apple both featured highly. Feeling valued as an employee, enjoying what they do and a good pay structure were all cited by the people surveyed and are all sure to breed dedication amongst employees.

Determination

With any business venture there are sure to be as many low points as there are high ones, maybe even more. In these situations you need to know that the people in your company are going to be able to pull together and work through the tough times. Many businesses come out of difficult periods stronger and with a better understanding of what it takes to make it in this unforgiving industry and this is much more likely to happen if everybody digs in and shows a little determination.

All businesses would almost definitely fail to get off the ground without determination. When starting your company it can be a very testing time and you will ultimately ask yourself whether this is really what you want to do and if the life of a business owner is really one you are cut out for. However, this is can be the making of a powerful business man. The determination it takes to get back up time and time again in the face of adversity will put anyone in great stead to make it in this ‘dog eat dog’ world.

Chris Mayhew is blogging here on behalf of Now Go Create. This innovative company offers courses on creativity training and brainstorm facilitation to help improve the productivity in your workplace. Creativity is integral to businesses so visit their website today to see what they can do for your company.

Careers Advice, Friday Snippet, Planning, Recruitment, The CV Righter

If I had a crystal ball – looking forward to your next career move

Nicola Caswell-Thorp Leave a comment

Ever wondered what it would be like to be able to look into a crystal ball and see where you will be in 5 or 10 years time? I remember when I was at Uni fresh faced to the world and its offerings, worried about whether I was making the right moves with job applications and cautious about opportunities that seemed too good to be true. The truth is that we have an idea in our minds where we want to be in the future but do we really put together a plan of action.

I have spoken with a great deal of project professionals at varying levels of seniority and all said the same thing – you may have a plan but it is often the case that you deviate due to life or economical changes. However with a strong plan and determination you can succeed in your chosen path with a little effort. The issue tends to lay by those not being clear in articulating what it is they want and not knowing where to go to actually get it.

We offer a service which not only assists you in clearly defining your skill-set to employers, we also advise how and where to go to once you have a strong application. For those out there who really research and put the work in, they are yielding great results and the jobs you could only hope for as you continue using tried and tested (but bulging) resources.

Take time out to let someone who knows the industry well and has a great deal of experience in indentifying opportunities coupled with a wealth of experience in turning CVs into something which works. Having worked with HR staff and senior management in all industries from financial services, IT, engineering to healthcare and digital media to name a few we understand what it is that grabs the attention of employers for the right reason and we also understand how these roles come about so we can advise a backdoor approach which gets you ahead of the competition.

Drop us a line today with your CV and we’ll talk through how we can best help you and we will give you a free CV review to help you understand how your CV is coming across to others.

12 days of Christmas, No, Planning, Seasons Greetings

On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Nicola Caswell-Thorp Leave a comment

On the 12^th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

…12 Drummers Drumming! In our final 12 days of Christmas piece we are going for: on the 12^th day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me a 12 stage plan, 11 ways to keep motivated, 10 years in detail, 9 pages too long, 8 mistakes of applications, 7 deadly sins of job hunting, 6 Key Achievements, 5 Golden Rules, 4 calling cards, 3 networks, 2 referees and a killer CV.

It seemed only fitting to round up the series with a 12 stage plan of finding that next role:

Check your CV – get it professionally reviewed, plenty of organisations will do this for free including The CV Righter.
Make appropriate updates – listen to the feedback given and make sure you address these in your CV.
Make a list – what do you want to achieve? More money, a new challenge, career progression.
Research – look at the roles out there which match your skill-set and start to really understand where your applications will progressed.
Networks – make contact with your networks and let them know you are looking for a new opportunity.
Get your CV out there – place your CV on job websites and register with agencies. Make sure you refresh regularly so you are not going to the bottom of the pile.
Decide who you want to work with – having made a decision about which agencies and job boards work for you, keep to a short list of these and keep in regular contact.
Be clever – set up “jobs by email” and google alerts so you can let the technology do the trawling for you.
Research employers – understand all there is to know about the companies you wish to work for and keep an eye on activity. You may get ahead of all your competitors by anticipating new roles due to changes in the organisation such as new product launches, partnering with other businesses and mergers etc.
Join in professionally related discussions – LinkedIn and Twitter often have lots of discussions; you can get yourself noticed and hear about new roles through such networks.
Review – keep an eye on your applications and see what works and what doesn’t, you may need to revisit point 1 if you are not harvesting interviews.
Keep organised – a simple spreadsheet covering all your applications and endeavours to keep track of everything is a good way to help generate new ideas and see trends for the right jobs for you with specific agencies and job boards.