After 6 months of unemployment the Job Centre pledges to place you in a job or provide meaningful training which will further your career prospects. With this day soon approaching I will soon be subject to this pledge. For many, I imagine, this will make the big difference and help them find work.
Me, I am dreading it.
It has all the hallmarks of another fight with the Job Centre as they either try to place me, or train me in something utterly irrelevant and pointless. For the most part the pledge is for simple untrained workers, so till training, construction work or telesales training may be the approach taken. I will not pretend I know everything but its going to be interesting to see what basic training is suggested to me and I am offered. I have already learnt in my Masters all about marketing, admin, negotiation, presentation, report writing and computer usage. I know how to do data entry and have had experience answering telephones. Just what will they try and teach me..its going to be interesting to see.
It got me thinking. In an ideal world, what skills would I be given. What keeps appearing on job applications? Being able to code in HTML has come up a few times, QuarkX - a program used in sales, or perhaps best of all Adobe Creative Suite, which has appeared many times as desirable.
If I was provided training in any of those it could make a big difference to the success of my job applications. I just cannot help but worry that in reality I will given a skill I will never use again, but there is nothing wrong in hoping.
Thursday, 25 March 2010
Monday, 22 March 2010
A little lost
Another day drifts slowly past which has been utterly uneventful on the job side of things. It has now been a week since my last succesful communication with a company. I have applied for many jobs, some of which are quite realistic but have heard nothing.
It has me confused. My C.V now includes experience, my covering letter draws upon it, but my success rate has dropped. Perhaps I am now going for more jobs believing I have skills and experience but in reality this is not how the companies see it. Or maybe some big internet wormhole has been eating my emails.
I am used to rejections, the odd agency phone call and interviewing only ultimately to be disappointed. Nothing is unusual. It makes little sense, and I am not sure what can be done to rectify it. Maybe companies are becoming increasingly tired of writing rejections so now just ignore unsuccesful applications, or maybe I have been wrong about the jobs I thought looked realistic. Its hard to know for sure, but at least in my approach I will keep plugging away and spend a little more time on my jobs.
It has me confused. My C.V now includes experience, my covering letter draws upon it, but my success rate has dropped. Perhaps I am now going for more jobs believing I have skills and experience but in reality this is not how the companies see it. Or maybe some big internet wormhole has been eating my emails.
I am used to rejections, the odd agency phone call and interviewing only ultimately to be disappointed. Nothing is unusual. It makes little sense, and I am not sure what can be done to rectify it. Maybe companies are becoming increasingly tired of writing rejections so now just ignore unsuccesful applications, or maybe I have been wrong about the jobs I thought looked realistic. Its hard to know for sure, but at least in my approach I will keep plugging away and spend a little more time on my jobs.
Thursday, 18 March 2010
Money well spent....
A few weeks back, maybe longer, I reviewed a number of job sites. At the time I ranked job centre plus at 3/5, a really useful resource for job hunting.
Since then it has never stopped falling in value. As I eluded to then, it is soon to be replaced by the direct gov simple search. Since then as if to make the transition seem a good thing the job centre search has been erratic and useless.
In the past month I am yet to find a single position using it. The frustrating thing though is I have to conduct several different searches to actually work this out. It is just a broken waste of space. Some examples of its failings.
- A search asking for jobs no further than 40 miles outside Southampton, offers jobs in glasgow, east riding of yorkshire and northampton
- A keyword search of marketing returns english lecturer, kitchen fitter and cleaner
- I am yet to find a way to actually turn up marketing executive roles without use of the keyword
Since I am being forced into visiting the job centre weekly anyway I am very tempted to give up and let the job centre "find" jobs for me in itermittent weeks. Not that their own internal search function seems to be any better.
What is most distressing in all this is that Job Centre Plus is planning to replace the above with direct gov job search. A search for marketing will warrant the following choices of which you can pick 3:
e-marketing
farm sales and marketing
marketing and public relations
marketing for non profit organisations
marketing manager
selling
telesales
It would be fair to assume that this is because these are the jobs that are available, after all there are more marketing jobs in sectors other than charities and farms. Wrong. Selecting marketing and pr, marketing for non profit, and marketing manager will return 90% sales and account manager jobs, with not a single job in any of the 3 selected options. It does not even state none of the above were found, these are apparently relevant jobs.
*Sigh*
The site may be bright, its future certainly isn't.
Since then it has never stopped falling in value. As I eluded to then, it is soon to be replaced by the direct gov simple search. Since then as if to make the transition seem a good thing the job centre search has been erratic and useless.
In the past month I am yet to find a single position using it. The frustrating thing though is I have to conduct several different searches to actually work this out. It is just a broken waste of space. Some examples of its failings.
- A search asking for jobs no further than 40 miles outside Southampton, offers jobs in glasgow, east riding of yorkshire and northampton
- A keyword search of marketing returns english lecturer, kitchen fitter and cleaner
- I am yet to find a way to actually turn up marketing executive roles without use of the keyword
Since I am being forced into visiting the job centre weekly anyway I am very tempted to give up and let the job centre "find" jobs for me in itermittent weeks. Not that their own internal search function seems to be any better.
What is most distressing in all this is that Job Centre Plus is planning to replace the above with direct gov job search. A search for marketing will warrant the following choices of which you can pick 3:
e-marketing
farm sales and marketing
marketing and public relations
marketing for non profit organisations
marketing manager
selling
telesales
It would be fair to assume that this is because these are the jobs that are available, after all there are more marketing jobs in sectors other than charities and farms. Wrong. Selecting marketing and pr, marketing for non profit, and marketing manager will return 90% sales and account manager jobs, with not a single job in any of the 3 selected options. It does not even state none of the above were found, these are apparently relevant jobs.
*Sigh*
The site may be bright, its future certainly isn't.
Wednesday, 17 March 2010
An update on the positive
Although I am yet to find a full time paying job, 2010 has not actually been a bad year for me. The end of 2009 was just one failed job application after another. I spent way too long wasting time and watching as the days went past.
2010 and I joined the Solent Credit Union. I discovered an organisation with massive potential and a few people keen to drive growth, but mostly floundering as a large fish in a small pond. My work there has included delivering a marketing strategy which I was amused to hear many members of the board have not actually read. Nonetheless the Marketing team has and we have set some realisable goals and deadlines which will take the organisation forward. Perhaps the most important of these is the decision that we need a premises, something we are now taking steps to doing with a meeting scheduled on Friday with the manager of the East Street Centre. I have enjoyed my various tasks and challenges with the SCU and can now see the potential should the chance arise to pursue marketing in the not for profit sector. There has been tentative talk of putting together a funding proposal which would allow me to stay in the role with the SCU.
February also gave me the chance to interview with an awesome organisation called Fubra. I felt I had put myself across well and had a very real chance of scoring the marketing executive role. In reality it was the same old story, with an experienced candidate beating me to the post. Fubra did however make me a trial job offer, the chance to become a copy writer for their portfolio of sites. This has mostly involved writing short news/blog articles on the relevant sites with each earning me £5. The trial involved writing four blogs and I completed it earlier this week. Given it takes me under half an hour usually it's not a bad little bonus. Not to mention I can now add the skill of copy writing to my C.V and provide examples of my work.
March and I have finally got round to learning to drive. I have only had one lesson and it has proved a daunting experience, although fun. Hopefully, I will not take too long to pick up the basics and thus lessen the dent in my savings.
The future holds more driving lessons, the continuation of implementing my strategy at the SCU and now I am officially a writer for Fubra I could if I chose to write a larger article for a bigger pay out. Short of the lack of a job, the future actually looks pretty bright!
2010 and I joined the Solent Credit Union. I discovered an organisation with massive potential and a few people keen to drive growth, but mostly floundering as a large fish in a small pond. My work there has included delivering a marketing strategy which I was amused to hear many members of the board have not actually read. Nonetheless the Marketing team has and we have set some realisable goals and deadlines which will take the organisation forward. Perhaps the most important of these is the decision that we need a premises, something we are now taking steps to doing with a meeting scheduled on Friday with the manager of the East Street Centre. I have enjoyed my various tasks and challenges with the SCU and can now see the potential should the chance arise to pursue marketing in the not for profit sector. There has been tentative talk of putting together a funding proposal which would allow me to stay in the role with the SCU.
February also gave me the chance to interview with an awesome organisation called Fubra. I felt I had put myself across well and had a very real chance of scoring the marketing executive role. In reality it was the same old story, with an experienced candidate beating me to the post. Fubra did however make me a trial job offer, the chance to become a copy writer for their portfolio of sites. This has mostly involved writing short news/blog articles on the relevant sites with each earning me £5. The trial involved writing four blogs and I completed it earlier this week. Given it takes me under half an hour usually it's not a bad little bonus. Not to mention I can now add the skill of copy writing to my C.V and provide examples of my work.
March and I have finally got round to learning to drive. I have only had one lesson and it has proved a daunting experience, although fun. Hopefully, I will not take too long to pick up the basics and thus lessen the dent in my savings.
The future holds more driving lessons, the continuation of implementing my strategy at the SCU and now I am officially a writer for Fubra I could if I chose to write a larger article for a bigger pay out. Short of the lack of a job, the future actually looks pretty bright!
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Making the effort
One of the most time consuming part of job hunting is regularly updating your profiles on the bazillion sites you have chose to upload them on. The fact is as a job hunter you may as well put yourself out there in as many places as you possibly can. There are numerous job sites, some even seem to have the exact same jobs.
It has been suggested that it is good practice to update profiles/C.V's every few days as it puts you to the top of employers listings in a search. I tried this at first but for one thing just slightly editing my C.V to generate hits did not seem to work and for another I felt there were better uses of my time.
In the last few days though, I have been given good reason to update my C.V. It has taken me around an hour and a half jumping around the various sites and updating and uploading my C.V. The sites suggest that the purpose of this is to get employers to find you. As of yet I have never actually been directly contacted by an agency, employer or job I actually want. I have had to find the jobs. Nonetheless since I have nothing to lose, when I do have reason to update it still seems worth taking the time and making the effort. After all, all I need is one break, if it comes direct from an employer then the choice certainly becomes justified.
The amazing thing is that because there are so many sites I find new ones every now and then to upload and use. Hopefully one will prove to be the diamond in the rough and have not only good jobs but employers looking for people like me
It has been suggested that it is good practice to update profiles/C.V's every few days as it puts you to the top of employers listings in a search. I tried this at first but for one thing just slightly editing my C.V to generate hits did not seem to work and for another I felt there were better uses of my time.
In the last few days though, I have been given good reason to update my C.V. It has taken me around an hour and a half jumping around the various sites and updating and uploading my C.V. The sites suggest that the purpose of this is to get employers to find you. As of yet I have never actually been directly contacted by an agency, employer or job I actually want. I have had to find the jobs. Nonetheless since I have nothing to lose, when I do have reason to update it still seems worth taking the time and making the effort. After all, all I need is one break, if it comes direct from an employer then the choice certainly becomes justified.
The amazing thing is that because there are so many sites I find new ones every now and then to upload and use. Hopefully one will prove to be the diamond in the rough and have not only good jobs but employers looking for people like me
Friday, 12 March 2010
Getting off the fence
I am both lucky and cursed in that I have already chosen a career direction. In one sense it is good to have a target and in another it's bad to be so limited.
For many people deciding on which career path they wish take can be the hardest part of the job seeking process. At each stage of our lives we are forced to make (fairly) uninformed decisions about what we want to do next.
Yesterday I applied for a job entirely in P.R. It was a departure for me and my knowledge of what was involved and what was required was not as strong as when I apply for marketing jobs. I therefore decided to use My Job Search which has an extensive database of job descriptions and roles.
Within each is a list of the skills and interests required as well as an interview with someone in that job which helps to provide further insight into what the role involves and helps build a better picture of just what the job is about. It was particularly useful in aiding me in writing my covering letter as I drew upon the skills I knew the company would be interested in.
Particularly if you are one of those people who are still sitting on the fence, unsure exactly about what to do then I strongly advise you to take a look at it. Also if you are applying for a position you know little about it is worth reading the relevant job page before submitting an application. Below is a screenshot, which gives a good idea of just how many job descriptions are available:
Once you have decided which role best suits you, you can then use the search function to search for those jobs and the site will search 514 different job databases for you. The site has a simple search function whereby you can input a job and location. As with most job sites you will have to pick out the sales jobs claiming to be marketing and sift through a lot of irrelevant positions. A salary checker is also available which can allow you to hone your search and thus provide a higher level of positions which are likely to be of interest to you.
So if your are still sitting on the fence, My Job Search can be an excellent resource for you. It is in particular this database of career descriptions which makes it stand out from the other job search sites.
For many people deciding on which career path they wish take can be the hardest part of the job seeking process. At each stage of our lives we are forced to make (fairly) uninformed decisions about what we want to do next.
Yesterday I applied for a job entirely in P.R. It was a departure for me and my knowledge of what was involved and what was required was not as strong as when I apply for marketing jobs. I therefore decided to use My Job Search which has an extensive database of job descriptions and roles.
Within each is a list of the skills and interests required as well as an interview with someone in that job which helps to provide further insight into what the role involves and helps build a better picture of just what the job is about. It was particularly useful in aiding me in writing my covering letter as I drew upon the skills I knew the company would be interested in.
Particularly if you are one of those people who are still sitting on the fence, unsure exactly about what to do then I strongly advise you to take a look at it. Also if you are applying for a position you know little about it is worth reading the relevant job page before submitting an application. Below is a screenshot, which gives a good idea of just how many job descriptions are available:
Once you have decided which role best suits you, you can then use the search function to search for those jobs and the site will search 514 different job databases for you. The site has a simple search function whereby you can input a job and location. As with most job sites you will have to pick out the sales jobs claiming to be marketing and sift through a lot of irrelevant positions. A salary checker is also available which can allow you to hone your search and thus provide a higher level of positions which are likely to be of interest to you.
So if your are still sitting on the fence, My Job Search can be an excellent resource for you. It is in particular this database of career descriptions which makes it stand out from the other job search sites.
Thursday, 11 March 2010
The Job Centre- There to help?
I am becoming increasingly frustrated with the Job Centre and in particular their insistence that after 13 weeks of job searching in alternate weeks to signing on I have to sit with an advisor, look at jobs I could find myself and then leave.
You may remember I had requested that these end given their utter pointlessness. At the time the guy was very understanding and said after three weeks he would ask his superior.
The answer was of course no.
What is more the jobs he keeps showing me never actually involve even the smallest element of marketing, instead being mostly admin based. As I explained applying for a permanent admin job is just not realistic. But on Tuesday my advisor wanted to give it another go. This gave me a chance to really vent my frustration at the whole job centre process.
We have now been in an economic downturn for nearly 2 years and yet the job centre has made no attempt to adopt its practices to graduates/unemployed professionals and even experienced managers. They all get the same experience as someone with 3 kids, no education and 20 years of life. I think we really have gone to far down the equal opportunity and fairness path. Because when it comes to the job centre, we are not all equal and should therefore be treated differently. I regularly bring a list of between 6-10 jobs I have applied for. I search every few days and am also volunteering and copywriting. Being bought in to the job centre every other week to look at jobs I am not going to apply for is basically laughable.
The way that the job centre works they would sooner see me working in a low paying admin job I could have done straight out of school, rather than volunteering, gaining experience and trying to realise my potential. These things in fact gain me no extra credit, if anything they are viewed as a distraction.
If necessary i will have the same argument with the advisors each week and win. If they think that I spent £6k to study a Marketing Masters just to spend my life in a basic admin job they are sadly, sadly mistaken. If they ever actually decide they have an interest in helping me I will welcome it. Until then I will attend each Monday meeting, ready for another fight.
You may remember I had requested that these end given their utter pointlessness. At the time the guy was very understanding and said after three weeks he would ask his superior.
The answer was of course no.
What is more the jobs he keeps showing me never actually involve even the smallest element of marketing, instead being mostly admin based. As I explained applying for a permanent admin job is just not realistic. But on Tuesday my advisor wanted to give it another go. This gave me a chance to really vent my frustration at the whole job centre process.
We have now been in an economic downturn for nearly 2 years and yet the job centre has made no attempt to adopt its practices to graduates/unemployed professionals and even experienced managers. They all get the same experience as someone with 3 kids, no education and 20 years of life. I think we really have gone to far down the equal opportunity and fairness path. Because when it comes to the job centre, we are not all equal and should therefore be treated differently. I regularly bring a list of between 6-10 jobs I have applied for. I search every few days and am also volunteering and copywriting. Being bought in to the job centre every other week to look at jobs I am not going to apply for is basically laughable.
The way that the job centre works they would sooner see me working in a low paying admin job I could have done straight out of school, rather than volunteering, gaining experience and trying to realise my potential. These things in fact gain me no extra credit, if anything they are viewed as a distraction.
If necessary i will have the same argument with the advisors each week and win. If they think that I spent £6k to study a Marketing Masters just to spend my life in a basic admin job they are sadly, sadly mistaken. If they ever actually decide they have an interest in helping me I will welcome it. Until then I will attend each Monday meeting, ready for another fight.
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Post Mortem
You have left the room leaving your smiling interviewer behind. The exit is approaching as you manage to put one foot in front of another. Your mind is focused, focused on carrying out an immediate post mortem.
At least you do when things have gone badly. Yesterday was a blip really. A blip of confidence, a blip on practiced interview technique, a blip on exiting an interview with your head held high.
Finding the place was easier than expected. I did in fact arrive just under an hour early. Fortunately there was a cafe nearby which I could wait at. I had a cappucino and read newspapers. Waiting, waiting...
I have found the longer you have to wait for something the more nerves get to poke their head in and scream at you. Travelling does not count as waiting so much as when you are sitting in a nearby place which serves no other purpose to you than to be a place to pass time. Also this is probably a personal thing but the cappucino really didnt help. It made me mouth dryer, leaving a lingering unpleasant feeling.*
Heading to reception I was then sent upstairs, where I had to wait again. I read the book I had with me, except I didn't actually read if you know what I mean.
Ushered into the tiniest office I have ever been in I was then cross-examined by the C.E.O and my potential future boss. I was thrown immediately on to the back foot when I saw that on the desk lay the doomed covering letter, the covering letter written to convince GJS I was needy. (See Crossed Wires)
I stammered, stuttered, repeated myself. I tried too hard. The room was hot despite a fan. It was an unpleasant experience and when I left I felt as if I had escaped.
The immediate feeling afterwards was one of lethargy. I tore to pieces my answers, looked for things I had got right(which were few and far between), and thought about what I should have said. But I did so with little convinction. It took several hours after the actual event for me to recover, it was quite unusual, as was in fact, going to pieces in the interview.
The post mortem revealed a mess, one of my worst performances so far but as for the reasons it found none. The questions were no harder than others I have undertaken, the atmosphere less harsh than many, the interviewers kind and supportive. The frustrating thing is that the company are committed to providing feedback on candidates who failed to get the role. In my case the feedback is mostly wasted. Its the equivalent of carrying out analysis purely on an anomaly and its frustrating that such a good opportunity has been wasted.
At least you do when things have gone badly. Yesterday was a blip really. A blip of confidence, a blip on practiced interview technique, a blip on exiting an interview with your head held high.
Finding the place was easier than expected. I did in fact arrive just under an hour early. Fortunately there was a cafe nearby which I could wait at. I had a cappucino and read newspapers. Waiting, waiting...
I have found the longer you have to wait for something the more nerves get to poke their head in and scream at you. Travelling does not count as waiting so much as when you are sitting in a nearby place which serves no other purpose to you than to be a place to pass time. Also this is probably a personal thing but the cappucino really didnt help. It made me mouth dryer, leaving a lingering unpleasant feeling.*
Heading to reception I was then sent upstairs, where I had to wait again. I read the book I had with me, except I didn't actually read if you know what I mean.
Ushered into the tiniest office I have ever been in I was then cross-examined by the C.E.O and my potential future boss. I was thrown immediately on to the back foot when I saw that on the desk lay the doomed covering letter, the covering letter written to convince GJS I was needy. (See Crossed Wires)
I stammered, stuttered, repeated myself. I tried too hard. The room was hot despite a fan. It was an unpleasant experience and when I left I felt as if I had escaped.
The immediate feeling afterwards was one of lethargy. I tore to pieces my answers, looked for things I had got right(which were few and far between), and thought about what I should have said. But I did so with little convinction. It took several hours after the actual event for me to recover, it was quite unusual, as was in fact, going to pieces in the interview.
The post mortem revealed a mess, one of my worst performances so far but as for the reasons it found none. The questions were no harder than others I have undertaken, the atmosphere less harsh than many, the interviewers kind and supportive. The frustrating thing is that the company are committed to providing feedback on candidates who failed to get the role. In my case the feedback is mostly wasted. Its the equivalent of carrying out analysis purely on an anomaly and its frustrating that such a good opportunity has been wasted.
Friday, 5 March 2010
Crossed Wires
I think a misunderstanding has just cost me potentially 5 different roles. You may remember a week or so ago that I posted about the never ending internships, my hope that as they were designed for people just like me I would get one and the desire to hear back.
I heard back. The rejections began to start arriving. One company provided feedback and thus started the cascade. After exchanging emails several times with GJS I recieved detailed feedback on my covering letter and then it dawned on me and suddenly it made sense why I was being rejected and why another department in the same company had picked up my C.V and offered me an interview. It was down to the purpose of the covering letter. The following was the description on the GJS site:
If you are interested in finding out more about this exciting opportunity please register with the GJS website, or simply log in and attach your CV with along with a covering letter explaining how you think you will benefit from this experience.
I clearly read too much into this. Misread the intention and tailored my covering letter to convince someone at GJS I needed this internship and would struggle without it.
In actuality I was not meant to do this. I was meant to write your standard covering letter explaining why you are good for the company and the role. This meant I had intentionally undersold myself, played down what I had done up to now and painted myself as an individual in desperate need of some experience.
It may surprise you to know this is not what most companies are after. I wrote for the wrong target audience and for the totally wrong purpose and although I have learned of my mistake and can ensure I do not make it in future, I cannot help but feel for the outstanding applications it's just a case of waiting for the rejections to roll in.
I heard back. The rejections began to start arriving. One company provided feedback and thus started the cascade. After exchanging emails several times with GJS I recieved detailed feedback on my covering letter and then it dawned on me and suddenly it made sense why I was being rejected and why another department in the same company had picked up my C.V and offered me an interview. It was down to the purpose of the covering letter. The following was the description on the GJS site:
If you are interested in finding out more about this exciting opportunity please register with the GJS website, or simply log in and attach your CV with along with a covering letter explaining how you think you will benefit from this experience.
I clearly read too much into this. Misread the intention and tailored my covering letter to convince someone at GJS I needed this internship and would struggle without it.
In actuality I was not meant to do this. I was meant to write your standard covering letter explaining why you are good for the company and the role. This meant I had intentionally undersold myself, played down what I had done up to now and painted myself as an individual in desperate need of some experience.
It may surprise you to know this is not what most companies are after. I wrote for the wrong target audience and for the totally wrong purpose and although I have learned of my mistake and can ensure I do not make it in future, I cannot help but feel for the outstanding applications it's just a case of waiting for the rejections to roll in.
Thursday, 4 March 2010
Waiting..
As I have alluded to before, most of job hunting is waiting. Waiting for the right opportunities to appear, waiting to hear initially, waiting to hear after interview. Right now most of my time is taken up by waiting. I have about 6 job applications out in the field and 1 interview next week.
That was strange. I was called by a representative from a company I had applied to via graduate jobs south internships. They were not ringing to tell me I was succesful in applying for the internship. Nope, they wished to offer me the chance to interview for another internship which involved extremely similar duties just in a different part of the office. I was also informed that I had been unsuccesful in applying for the other internship and that GJS would be in touch with me soon. That was on Monday, maybe I am missing something. Not that it matters I know now and have another opportunity to prepare for.
I am also waiting for another article idea to be approved in my part time copywriting capacity, the company usually get back to me pretty quickly and its been over 24 hours. What is more is I have to only suggest blog posts until I complete trial so am intentionally only submitting one at a go.
I guess last week was so busy that in comparison this week seems like I am just watching the tumbleweed roll past. In other news I finally get to meet my Marketing team tonight for the SCU. Fingers crossed it all goes well. As for the day, guess I'll just spend it waiting.....
That was strange. I was called by a representative from a company I had applied to via graduate jobs south internships. They were not ringing to tell me I was succesful in applying for the internship. Nope, they wished to offer me the chance to interview for another internship which involved extremely similar duties just in a different part of the office. I was also informed that I had been unsuccesful in applying for the other internship and that GJS would be in touch with me soon. That was on Monday, maybe I am missing something. Not that it matters I know now and have another opportunity to prepare for.
I am also waiting for another article idea to be approved in my part time copywriting capacity, the company usually get back to me pretty quickly and its been over 24 hours. What is more is I have to only suggest blog posts until I complete trial so am intentionally only submitting one at a go.
I guess last week was so busy that in comparison this week seems like I am just watching the tumbleweed roll past. In other news I finally get to meet my Marketing team tonight for the SCU. Fingers crossed it all goes well. As for the day, guess I'll just spend it waiting.....
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Who are you?
I have been writing this blog for many months now and have amassed quite a number of posts on various issues all within the same general job seeking area.
At various times people have posted to discuss comments, either here or on facebook where these entries are published as notes.
And I am curious. Who are you reader and why do you read? One of the issues with online writing is you are not sure who your readers are and this is something that greatly interests me.
So I ask you, put a short comment on this with your name and why you read. Let my curiosity be satisfied.
At various times people have posted to discuss comments, either here or on facebook where these entries are published as notes.
And I am curious. Who are you reader and why do you read? One of the issues with online writing is you are not sure who your readers are and this is something that greatly interests me.
So I ask you, put a short comment on this with your name and why you read. Let my curiosity be satisfied.
Monday, 1 March 2010
Advice from a veteran (of many lost battles)
As I strolled out of the interview on Friday, a smile on my face, I realised something. I am becoming a veteran of interviews, all be it for jobs I have failed to get. Analysing my answers and the process of the interview I realised how much I had come on since my first interview early last summer. The mistakes I had made and avoided repeating, the better answers, the preperation experience and the different interview approaches. There are many guides out there on the internet about what not to do and what to do. Below are 10 things I have learned. More will follow each Monday. Aren't you lucky?
As I said, and the title insinuates, I am still unemployed. Some of this advice, goes against what is commonly suggested and other bits support it. You may therefore take the advice with a pinch of salt. Its the equivalent of taking military advice from the French. Ha, see what I did there? Anyway, in no particular order:
1. Relax - One of the hardest things to do in an interview is relax. Sit back, take your time and be attentive. If you cannot answer a question do not panic. If you stay relaxed you present a visage of being calm under pressure. The best feedback I have had from interviews has come from when I have just sat back and been open, honest and treated the interview as more of a conversation than an interrogation.
2. Don't be afraid to ask questions as you go - This is seen as a big no-no in most guides but I have found it works well. So long as they are short and relevant to the point that the interviewer is making they are generally recieved well. It shows that are you being attentive and are genuinely interested. This beats five minutes of silence any day.
3. Avoid negativity - Everything must be shown to have an upside. Don't let your pessimism take over. If the journey was long it gave you more time to prepare. If you don't like admin, say you prefer other tasks. Negativity presents you as a negative person and negative people are not who you want normally.
4. The Journey- Plan, plan, plan! You can usually trust trains, and if they are really late then you cannot be expected to plan for that and won't be penalised. Buses on the other hand it is often better to make sure you can get a later bus and still make it if necessary. Also it does not matter if your journey was total hell, do not tell the interviewer, you can allude to issues just dont spend long on them. The interviewers reason for inviting you was not to hear about your journey.. unless your applying for a quality tester on public transport of course.
5. The Job description - Bring it with you. You do not need to memorise it but be aware of its contents. It is a massive error if you accidentally state you don't like something which is part of the job. If your aware of what is involved you can tailor your answers to the opportunity.
6. Don't prepare answers - Learn about the company, decide on strengths and weaknesses but do not pre prepare regurgiated answers. Its easy to do in a phone interview but questions in face to face rarely come as you expect them and unless you are a brilliant performer you will just look silly.
7. Seem interested - you want to work for the company. Listen with real intent when they explain about the company. Be willing to engage with any points they make and do not be afraid to get on to an off topic discussion. If it is something you can talk about with authority and it interests the interviewer it will only enhance your chances.
8. HONESTY - Don't lie, don't exaggerate and don't bullshit. It just is not worth it. Take yourself out of the truth and you have left your comfort zone. You may contradict yourself or suggest something out of character. Remember you have probably written a covering letter and they have your C.V. This gives them an idea of what to expect. If you overplay the significance of things you may find yourself lost. Even if you manage to get past this stage, there is the reference and then employment. Don't wreck your long term chances.
9. If your mind goes blank - Admit it. Apologise. Interviewers know that the process can be intimidating and will usually give you time to recompose yourself. Its best if you can avoid it altogether but trying to speak with a blank mind only results in disaster.
10. Be careful blowing your own trumpet - Again this goes against the traditional suggestions. It is usually suggested that you should focus on your own achievements and what you did and not what others did. This is true but taking too much credit for group work only results in you looking like a poor team player. It says to the interviewer that you like to take credit for other people's work. Clearly not a good thing! You do want to give an impression of your skills, competences and generally how awesome you are, but modesty is always respected.
Feel free to disagree but these are 10 of the things I have learned and will continue to practice at all future interviews. As I said more next week
As I said, and the title insinuates, I am still unemployed. Some of this advice, goes against what is commonly suggested and other bits support it. You may therefore take the advice with a pinch of salt. Its the equivalent of taking military advice from the French. Ha, see what I did there? Anyway, in no particular order:
1. Relax - One of the hardest things to do in an interview is relax. Sit back, take your time and be attentive. If you cannot answer a question do not panic. If you stay relaxed you present a visage of being calm under pressure. The best feedback I have had from interviews has come from when I have just sat back and been open, honest and treated the interview as more of a conversation than an interrogation.
2. Don't be afraid to ask questions as you go - This is seen as a big no-no in most guides but I have found it works well. So long as they are short and relevant to the point that the interviewer is making they are generally recieved well. It shows that are you being attentive and are genuinely interested. This beats five minutes of silence any day.
3. Avoid negativity - Everything must be shown to have an upside. Don't let your pessimism take over. If the journey was long it gave you more time to prepare. If you don't like admin, say you prefer other tasks. Negativity presents you as a negative person and negative people are not who you want normally.
4. The Journey- Plan, plan, plan! You can usually trust trains, and if they are really late then you cannot be expected to plan for that and won't be penalised. Buses on the other hand it is often better to make sure you can get a later bus and still make it if necessary. Also it does not matter if your journey was total hell, do not tell the interviewer, you can allude to issues just dont spend long on them. The interviewers reason for inviting you was not to hear about your journey.. unless your applying for a quality tester on public transport of course.
5. The Job description - Bring it with you. You do not need to memorise it but be aware of its contents. It is a massive error if you accidentally state you don't like something which is part of the job. If your aware of what is involved you can tailor your answers to the opportunity.
6. Don't prepare answers - Learn about the company, decide on strengths and weaknesses but do not pre prepare regurgiated answers. Its easy to do in a phone interview but questions in face to face rarely come as you expect them and unless you are a brilliant performer you will just look silly.
7. Seem interested - you want to work for the company. Listen with real intent when they explain about the company. Be willing to engage with any points they make and do not be afraid to get on to an off topic discussion. If it is something you can talk about with authority and it interests the interviewer it will only enhance your chances.
8. HONESTY - Don't lie, don't exaggerate and don't bullshit. It just is not worth it. Take yourself out of the truth and you have left your comfort zone. You may contradict yourself or suggest something out of character. Remember you have probably written a covering letter and they have your C.V. This gives them an idea of what to expect. If you overplay the significance of things you may find yourself lost. Even if you manage to get past this stage, there is the reference and then employment. Don't wreck your long term chances.
9. If your mind goes blank - Admit it. Apologise. Interviewers know that the process can be intimidating and will usually give you time to recompose yourself. Its best if you can avoid it altogether but trying to speak with a blank mind only results in disaster.
10. Be careful blowing your own trumpet - Again this goes against the traditional suggestions. It is usually suggested that you should focus on your own achievements and what you did and not what others did. This is true but taking too much credit for group work only results in you looking like a poor team player. It says to the interviewer that you like to take credit for other people's work. Clearly not a good thing! You do want to give an impression of your skills, competences and generally how awesome you are, but modesty is always respected.
Feel free to disagree but these are 10 of the things I have learned and will continue to practice at all future interviews. As I said more next week
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