Tag Archives: Advice

Careers Advice, Change, guest blogger, Job Hunting

How To Avoid A Career Plateau And Grab A Promotion

This recession has been going on for a while now and getting a job is tough, never mind trying to progress in a successful career. For this reason, many people are finding that making progress in a job is hard; but it’s certainly not impossible.

If you are ambitious, hard working and a little bit optimistic there are plenty of opportunities out there, and improving your job prospects in 2013 is easier than you might think. All you need to do is work smart and be a little bit strategic. Try a few of the tips below and you will find your career on the up in no time.

It’s All About Networking

Being the best at your job is not sufficient on its own – you also need to be the best connected. Networking is all about knowing the right people and being open to job opportunities when they arise. In fact, being well connected can often get you a job even when you don’t necessarily feel like you are the best qualified.

Networking can be done online, and you should of course set up a LinkedIn profile and connect with all of your peers and clients. But you should also make the effort to go to conferences; either with your company or on your own if necessary. Let your boss know that you are going to the main conferences and you might even find that he comes along with you.

going up

Training To Improve Yourself

Most people are put off taking further training courses because they can be very expensive. The truth is though, that education is one of the best long term investments you can make, particularly if everyone around you is reluctant to do likewise.

Taking a training course, or even hiring a personal tutor, will help you to be better at what you do. It will also show your superiors that you are dedicated to your profession and that you are willing to invest in yourself.

Do Some Volunteer Work

Anything that sets you apart from the crowd is a good thing and since most people don’t want to spend their time working for free, doing so might help to boost your career.

If you have all the right qualifications but you lack experience, then consider volunteering for work experience in a company you would like to work for. You never know who might be paying attention, and working for free demonstrates a great deal of determination and dedication.

Often, work experience will lead to a real job, but if not, it provides experience and sets you apart from the crowd at the same time.

Ask To Be Promoted

Whilst you are busy doing work experience, training and lots of networking, you should also make sure that your boss knows that you exist and that you have big ambitions. Be open and let your boss know that you want to succeed.

You don’t have to ask for a promotion right now, but let it be known that you want more responsibility and that you want to progress. Once again, this will set you apart and means that you will be the first person your boss thinks of when an opportunity comes along.

Whilst you’re at it, ask for feedback on your current performance and find out if there is any way that you could make yourself a better employee. Regularly assess yourself and ask for more feedback so that you are always getting better and more valuable.

Guest post curtesy of the guys over here at uk Tutors.

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.

On the 1^st day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me a Killer CV

On the 2^nd day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me Two Referees

On the 3^rd day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me Three Networks

On the 4^th day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me 4 calling cards

On the 5^th day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me 5 golden rules

On the 6^th day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me 6 Key achievements

On the 7th day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me the 7 deadly sins of job hunting

On the 8th day of Christmas The CV righter gave to me 8 mistakes of applications

On the 9^th day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me 9 pages too long

On the 10^th day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me 10 years in detail

On the 11^th day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me 11 ways to keep motivated

on the 12^th day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me a 12 stage plan

12 days of Christmas, Motivation, No, Seasons Greetings

On the 11th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Nicola Caswell-Thorp Leave a comment

On the 11^th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

….11 Pipers Piping! For our penultimate twist we have gone for: On the 11^th day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me 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.

This is a subject often comes up, both now in my CV writing capacity and previously when I was recruiting, candidates do find it hard to keep motivated when looking for a new role so here is a list to help you along your way:

Keep it fresh – try different aspects of job hunting, from job boards to networking and identifying roles which aren’t necessarily advertised.
Set aside an hour a day – don’t turn job hunting into a daily trawl, if you are currently in employment then you needn’t put all your spare time into finding a role if you set up jobs by email and google alerts.
Ask a friend – speak to your peers and find out what they do when looking for work, you may learn something new.
Chase up – follow up your applications to understand how they are being received.
Ask for feedback – not only from recruiters but from your peers, find out if the methods you are using and the CV itself is clear and says all the right things.
Take a holiday – this doesn’t necessarily mean pack your bags and jump on a plane, taking a break from looking at new roles can really help you come back with a fresh outlook.
Get out – go to networking events, seminars, training sessions, etc there are plenty of free events around so attend and see what is new in your field.
Research companies rather than jobs – looking into businesses you would like to work for can yield more success. Look out for changes in an organisation and make speculative applications based on these before they decide to advertise the role!
Grow thick skin – I know rejection after rejection can be hard but you need to take on board the fact that you are one of many applying for these roles so this time you weren’t lucky but next time you might be.

10. Go above and beyond – join in group discussions on LinkedIn and Twitter, get yourself noticed, you’ll be surprised where this gets you.

11. Write about it – create a blog talking through the pitfalls of finding a new job, don’t focus on the negatives and keep it upbeat. You could help others, let off steam and may get some assistance along the way!

On the 1^st day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me a Killer CV

On the 2^nd day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me Two Referees

On the 3^rd day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me Three Networks

On the 4^th day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me 4 calling cards

On the 5^th day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me 5 golden rules

On the 6^th day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me 6 Key achievements

On the 7th day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me the 7 deadly sins of job hunting

On the 8th day of Christmas The CV righter gave to me 8 mistakes of applications

On the 9^th day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me 9 pages too long

On the 10^th day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me 10 years in detail

On the 11^th day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me 11 ways to keep motivated

12 days of Christmas, Careers Advice, CV Writing, Job Applications, Job Hunting, No, Project Management Careers Advice, Project management CV, Seasons Greetings

On the 8th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Nicola Caswell-Thorp Leave a comment

On the 8^th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

…8 Maids A-milking! Well all sorts could be read into that, but we’ll go for: On the 8^th day of Christmas the CV righter gave to me 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.

A popular article is “What’s the worst that can happen? 8 gaffs when applying for roles” – which talks through some very valid points which I have seen over the years in my recruitment capacity; although they seem obvious these mistakes are still made by eager candidates.

The key to making a successful job application is not to rush – yes there are deadlines but if you have planned and researched from the outset then you will be in a position to start making applications, rather than deciding off the cuff to just start applying one day.

Make sure your CV is up to date – I’ve lost count of applications from candidates who sent in CVs which hadn’t been updated since securing a new role 3 years ago. Or worst still, an updated CV which has a garbled one line about the current role which tells us nothing and doesn’t follow the format of the previous roles so it is obvious they have rushed something to make the application. It does not create a good impression and if anything, says a lot about how you work and where you are willing to put in effort. Not good for a project person – not good for anyone but really, for a project professional!!!

Research your field and understand the basics such as skill-sets required, salary bandings (and where you sit), recruitment agencies specific to your needs, job boards yielding your types of roles and get networking in the right circles.

Putting that extra bit of effort in can be the difference between securing interviews with the lucky few or being discarded with the hundreds of competitors also looking for a new job.

On the 1^st day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me a Killer CV

On the 2^nd day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me Two Referees

On the 3^rd day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me Three Networks

On the 4^th day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me 4 calling cards

On the 5^th day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me 5 golden rules

On the 6^th day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me 6 Key achievements

On the 7th day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me the 7 deadly sins of job hunting

On the 8th day of Christmas The