Tag Archives: Careers Advice

Business Services, Redundancy, The CV Righter

Employers dealing with redundancies

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Unfortunately we are faced with redundancies all the time and it is hard to break the news to otherwise unsuspecting employees – what adds to the difficulty is when you have people who have worked for you for over 10 years and have no idea how to approach writing a CV or how to go about applying for roles.

At The CV Righter we are accustomed to dealing with such situations and have a tailored service which can help the transition of your employees back out into the world of job hunting.  We are always open to creating a bespoke service to our clients but one framework we used as a starting point is suggested below:

  • Assessing the situation as an outsider, gathering information about the people requiring the service. By understanding everyone’s position we can then look at the most effective solutions.
  • Dealing with large numbers – sometimes there may be a workforce of 40+ who need assistance – in this instance we look at breaking down the sessions for smaller groups and ideally all to be done over one or two days to ensure we are not dragging out the process.
  • Small seminars where we address the candidates in a less formal approach to give time for questions to be answered and individual feedback on CVs.
  • Running through a workshop on how to construct an effective CV whilst providing examples of good and bad CVs to be able to really help the candidates understand what is required in the current marketplace.
  • Handouts of CV templates and CV writing documents to back up all the workshop discussions.
  • Talking through how to apply for roles and where to look – giving effective recruiter inside information on how to find those roles and what to do once you have found them.

Having a wealth of experience in recruitment and also having worked on the Job Centre Plus framework to provide careers assistance with the unemployed for hundreds of candidates we are experienced in dealing with those who are lacking motivation and confidence and we have worked with factory operatives, management, professional services and all industries.

Get in touch today to see how we can help you with your redundancy transition – we are happy to negotiate costs to meet your budgets and we care about the people who need our help, as much as you do!

Careers Advice, Project Management Training, Software

5 less known development & analytical software skills which will slingshot your hireability

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Individuality is important. With that in mind, it is understandable why you wouldn’t want to make a habit of following trends, but if you want to be popular in the world of software development and analytics, you have to be able to supply what’s in demand.  When I say popular I really mean, ‘employable’ and, although experience counts for a lot in the IT industry, when it comes to new fields of technology having the right skills will put you right in the frame.

If you are considering which new skills you may need to add to your portfolio, it is worthwhile spending some time considering the technological driving forces that are likely to define the IT world over the next few years.  These trends will be instrumental in shaping your training plan and ensuring you’re able to fully utilise your new skills.

As a software professional in today’s world, your skills will have to be usable on both what the industry has inherited and, what it aspires to build.  Over the last few years, things like social media, cloud computing and big data have made a strong entry into industries which in turn, changes the game for people with a more ‘traditional’ skill set.  Generally, social media and cloud computing can be developed using broadly traditional tools such as PHP, PERL, Python, JAVA, C++ etc. so other than the paradigm shift in application interaction points and scale, they are created in using the old code type just in new places.

Big Data and Analytics

GlobalKnowledge Research report that Cloud Computing, Big Data and Data Analytics are amongst the biggest strategic targets for the technology sector and that this will undoubtedly create demand for jobs in these fields.  Unfortunately, ITBusinessEdge rather gloomily predict that although this may lead to as many as 4.4 million jobs in these fields by 2015, current training and employment trends suggest that only one third of them will be filled.

Pessimism aside, what are the jobs in Big Data & Analytics and what can you do about filing them?

EMC, Teradata & Hadoop

The major players in the emerging markets are using some new and proprietary products to provide the scalable environment that define the big data revolution.  EMC, Teradata and Hadoop are a few of the names establishing themselves as having a serious part to play in this emerging market and they are ideal for new implementations.

Traditionally, the providers of existing data platforms such as Oracle, SQL and DB/2 have been left wanting in these developments but take heart because these skills are still increasing in demand.

 SQL

SQL skills were still cited as required for 8 out of 10 of the top IT job categories by the E-Skills Council in their 2012 report.  In fact jobs requiring SQL and SQL Server skills have typically constituted around 20 % of IT jobs advertised in the UK each quarter since 2010.

Programming

And, as a nod in the direction towards these legacy skills, products such as Lingual by Concurrent Inc has been developed to allow native SQL queries to be used on the Hadoop platform.

SPSS

IBM, although not exactly hitting the mark with their DB/2 offering in the past, look determined to ensure they will have a hand to play with Netezza and their SPSS analytics application. IBM bought the SPSS application a few years back and after a time of looking lost in the wilderness, the application may be a key player in their ‘Smarter Planet’ initiative.

On its own, SPSS has had a 30 year pedigree in data analytics and has become a de facto standard for statistical analysis across social science and academic environments.  The social media data boom and big data analysis requirements will bring SPSS into a more commercial frame as correlation and statistical reporting becomes the next big thing.

Though there are no current formal certifications as yet for data analytics, EMC, Datameer, IBM and CISCO are all setting up programmes help customers and developers alike.

So it looks like the old dogs will indeed be learning new tricks and the legacy skills in SQL and analytical tools like SPSS, will have an important part to play throughout the Big Data revolution.  Don’t neglect them.  They will serve you well through the coming years.

After brushing up on these skills or perhaps enrolling in a SQL or SPSS training course, maybe take some time to look at the Hadoop platform in conjunction with EMC’s Greenplumb and IBM’s Netezza and you will be well on your way to becoming indispensable through the Big Data and Analytics revolution.

This article was brought to you by Acuity Training. Acuity is an instructor led, hands-on training company based in Surrey. Acuity offer crystal reports, autocad training and much more.

Careers Advice, guest blogger, Project Management Contractors, Recruitment

You are not ‘contracting’ – you are starting your own business

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At some point during your job hunt, you will ask yourself whether contract positions are worth considering. The promise of high day-rates and more freedom is certainly appealing, but there is much more to contracting than simply doing the same work for more money. There is the additional risk you accept of being out of contract for long periods. You can wave goodbye to paid sick leave and holidays.

You will also need to consider the way you operate. Umbrella companies can leave you with the worst of both worlds: continuing to be taxed as a permanent employee, whilst shouldering the risk of being self-employed. Setting up your own limited company will give you more freedom, but you have to operate as a business or risk being taxed under IR35 legislation.

ContractingIR35 is a tax legislation designed to pick up people who are in so-called ‘disguised employment’. Put simply, if HMRC decide you are actually acting as an employee rather than a business, you will need to pay tax accordingly. This can be more costly than a permanent job as you have to factor in the costs of Employers’ National Insurance. If you are operating outside of IR35, as most contractors are, there is the risk of a considerable tax bill if you’ve accounted incorrectly.

The best way to avoid falling foul of IR35 is to look at contracting for what it really is: you are an entrepreneur running your own small business. Do it right and not only will you avoid tax shocks, you can actually build your business and increase profitability. Here are a few of ideas to get you started:

  • Outsource some routine work. www.sidekicking.co.uk specialise in subcontracting for IT Professionals. They can create dashboards, communication plans – even write up your meetings based on your whiteboard photos. As well as providing you evidence to pass HMRC’s ‘Actual Substitution test’, this will also allow you to work more efficiently – taking on more or higher value contracts;
  • Consider taking on fixed-price pieces of work, or work with additional payments for hitting key milestones. Let’s be honest, you wouldn’t be contracting if you were not confident in your ability to get things done. Fixed-price contracts or contracts with milestone payments can be more lucrative than pure day-rate contracts and will be attractive to the companies you work for as their risk will be greatly reduced;
  • Market your company and build your brand. It is surprising how many contracts are initiated through networks rather than job boards. Build a presence on Linked in and create your own company page. Raise your profile further by writing white papers on areas of expertise and maintaining a blog.  Don’t confine your marketing to the Internet. Business cards are still an important networking tool to use at meetings, conferences and networking events.

So there we have it. What started as a simple job search has resulted in you becoming director of your own limited company, subcontracting work and taking on lucrative fixed-price tenders. What started off as a desire to avoid IR35 has propelled you into running your own small business. Congratulations and best of luck for the future.

 

guest blogger, management advice, Motivation, Negotiation, Observations

Dealing With Conflicts within the Workplace

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It would be great to think that you would always have a harmonious relationship with your work colleagues, but the reality is that relationships can sometimes run into trouble. This probably shouldn’t come as a great surprise, given the circumstances involved.

Unless you happen to be in a very lucky situation, it’s probable that you didn’t actually get to choose your work colleagues. It’s rather more likely that you were forced together and that there was an expectation that you would be productive.

New members of staff

When interviewers are looking at hiring new members of staff, they will frequently consider the work experience of an individual and will be looking to assess their abilities. It’s often more difficult, however, to identify whether someone will really fit in.

In part, that’s because each business will have its own ethos and working environment. It’s not correct to assume that it will be easy for everyone to adapt to the unique demands that are associated with a situation.

But conflicts don’t only occur when someone new joins the organization. In fact, it’s often the case that a level of stress, created by the pressures of working life, can cause a conflict to emerge. When we are under pressure, we may act in haste. We may so, or do, things that we later come to regret.

walking out

Remaining calm

Although it’s clear that the priority should be to keep calm and to avoid encountering such issues, it’s also true to say that it’s incredibly hard to avoid problems. What is critical is that you have a response that you can rely on.

In general terms, your aim should be to remain professional at all times. Although the issue that you have with another individual may make life uncomfortable and you may feel that the other person is acting unreasonably, it’s vitally important that you should avoid responding in a similar manner. That’s only likely to make things worse and it probably won’t be very positive to your career prospects.

Instead, you need to think about how you can handle the situation. It may be that a frank discussion with the other individual is all that’s required, but that may not be appropriate. You’ll need to judge whether that’s likely to make things better, or whether it may simply inflame the situation. You very clearly don’t want to make things worse.

A more realistic approach may involve reporting the situation to a senior manager. In this case, you need to be careful that you provide all of the facts and that you take a fully objective approach. It can be tempting to paint a picture of the behaviour of the other person that is intended to show them in a bad light. It’s usually best to avoid such a temptation.

Instead, explain the problems that you are having and how they are having an impact on the smooth operation of the business. This should ensure that your manager views the situation with the sort of importance that it clearly deserves.

About the author

Keith Barrett writes about workplace mediation and dealing with difficult situations. He believes that most issues can be resolved in a manner that is appropriate for all concerned.