But how many of us stop and ask ourselves what the consequence would be of not making those changes? 

You know where you are today so if you’re thinking of change then there are aspects to your life which are not fulfilling you. Perhaps you’ve been a stay at home mum and now it’s time to return to work? Maybe you’re job hunting because you’ve been made redundant and you’re thinking of a change in career? What is the life you lose if you don’t take a chance on change?

Ask yourself the following questions

What will be the result if I do nothing?

Financial hardship? Unfulfilled in your job? Lack of self expression? Poor work- life balance?

Will I be happy with that?

Are you happy to continue on this path if you do nothing to change? Will it lead to happiness?

What changes do I need to make to improve my life?

Do you need retraining? Update your CV? Take on some volunteer work? Have a personal makeover?

If I make those changes what sort of life will I achieve for myself?

Greater financial security? Fulfilled in your chosen career path? Better work- life balance?

So instead of asking yourself “What if I change?” try asking yourself “What if I don’t change?”

Can you afford not to take the chance on change?

By following some good housekeeping rules you can avoid the phishers and scammers and learn how to spot potential fraud.

We found this great article on Careerealism .com and it’s well worth clicking through and following their sage advice.

 http://www.careerealism.com/5-tips-safe-online-job-search/

“Wonderful” you say “Really looking forward to it”. Then you put the phone down and feel sick.

 Being interviewed by more than one person can be problematic. The worst case scenario is that not all panel members are singing from the same hymn sheet. Internal politics may come into play with the appointment of a new team member, noses may be put out of joint and reporting lines fought over. 

There is not much you can do about the politics of the situation but plenty you can do to give yourself an edge and  influence the outcome in your favour.

Get the names of all those who will be interviewing you along with their titles.

Go to the company website and look them up. If they don’t appear by name there, does it say anything about the departments they work for? Has there been a new product launch? A new technological innovation? Google them to find out as much personal background information as you can. That way you will start to build up a picture of your interviewers, their triumphs and challenges before you face them.

When you arrive for the interview have a friendly word with the Receptionist.

Smile. You then create the right impression from the start and that will help you relax.

Enter the room and smile and extend your hand to each panel member.

Give a firm handshake and look each person in the eye. You will be under constant scrutiny so take a deep breath and relax. Create an open and welcoming stance. If your hands tend to shake when you’re nervous then cross them in your lap.

Answer questions by firstly looking at the person who has addressed the question to you but include all other panel members in eye contact.

You then bring everyone into the conversation and avoid ignoring the person who is not asking as many questions as the others.

Don’t be put off or discouraged if one particular panel member seems abrupt or even downright rude.

You do not know what their agenda is or whether there is any personal animosity between panel members. Perhaps they are simply having a bad day. It’s unprofessional but it happens. Do not get angry. Do not allow them to fluster you. A good response to a difficult or even downright rude question fired at you is “Let me take a moment to consider that point.” Think carefully, look them in the eye and calmly, with a smile, answer them. Not only have you shown you cannot be intimidated, but you also think carefully before you commit yourself. In addition you will have gained the respect of the other panel members.

When asking questions, try to ask a question of each of your interviewers.

Do your homework beforehand and make them relevant.

Ask if any panel member has any concerns so you can address them immediately and put right any misunderstandings or any matter that is unclear.

And always, always ask for the job at the end of the interview. They are unlikely to say yes on the spot, after all they will need to compare notes, but asking for the job shows you are serious and excited about joining their organisation.

Don’t bring up the subject of salary in a first interview. You should be expressing your desire and suitability for the position at first interview rather than chasing the money.

However, it may be that the interviewer mentions salary by way of confirming that you are both on common ground. If the salary range is as you understand it then fine you’re both on the same page. It is when there is a marked difference that problems set in. Imagine you are sitting in the interview and it transpires that the salary is at a lower level than you were led to expect. What should you do? I would always recommend that you state there and then that there is a difference. It is important to understand how the difference has arisen. It may be that the “salary” is actually a “package”  and car, health care and bonus have been added in rather than calculated separately. This may not present a problem to you but it is worth noting that “salary” is generally not considered to include these and with an eye to the future you would be better off having the higher figure as part of your contracted pay when negotiating future remuneration rather than made up of perks.

What is more common is that you have sailed through the interview process and now it is time to get down to cold, hard cash. You know the salary is, say, £10,000 between the top and the bottom of the range. If you are going through a  recruitment consultant it is in the consultants interest that you get the highest salary offer possible as they earn commission on that salary. A good consultant will fight your corner salary wise. The problem arises where the company is using more than one recruitment agency and there is a dash on behalf of competing consultants to get their candidate hired and they may just be tempted to do so by offering their good candidate at a lower price than the rival good candidate. You will be in a position then of negotiating not just with the company but with the consultant as well. My advice would be that unless you are desperate for the job, hold out for the top end of the salary range as clearly the company is prepared to pay that much. No recruitment agency posts a salary range without first having the advertisement approved by the client. You may also like to consider whether you want to continue to work with a recruiter who undervalues you in the market place.

If you are dealing directly with the client and they offer the lower end of the range this will be a negotiation on their part. They will give you all sorts of reasons why you do not warrant the higher level. At this point remember that if they are offering the job to you then clearly you are their preferred candidate and have ticked the majority of their boxes so why are they trying to get you cheap? If the company is also using a recruitment consultant then remind them in the nicest possible way with a pleasant smile on your face that in employing you they are already saving on a considerable recruiting fee and can therefore afford to pay you more than their first offer. If you are going for any sort of sales job, customer facing position or dealing with company money in any way then point out that in your new position you will be expected to do your best to maximise profits and add value to the company. In doing so you may have to negotiate hard on behalf of the company and that would be only what the company would expect so why wouldn’t you negotiate just as enthusiastically on your own behalf?

 If you have one or two reservations about the position hold out for the maximum. That way if the job is not a complete bed of roses then at least you will be rewarded properly.

In the end it will always come down to how much you want the job but don’t sell yourself short. Although you may feel you really need the job, the lower salary level may not seem such a great deal to you once you have your feet under the table. It is always harder to negotiate your salary up and you may wish you had had more confidence in yourself  in the first place.

Your personal brand says who you are and what you stand for. Millions of pounds are spent by companies persuading you to buy their product. You are doing the same by investing in your brand, that is, persuading an employer to buy you. Be your own personal Agent. This need not be an expensive or onerous prospect. It is investing in your visibility and your marketability and, as they say in the ads, “because you’re worth it.”

Living Online

Do you have an online presence, and if so, what is it saying about you?

Do you have a professional email address? Your funny, suggestive nickname account does not speak professional employee. Get a new one for job search purposes.

What about your myspace and Facebook pages? If you don’t have a page then sign up. It’s free and you can include as much or as little information as you choose. If you have a page, delete all inappropriate feeds, comments and groups. If you don’t want a potential employer looking at your page make sure your permissions are set accordingly. Plenty of employers search candidates on social networking sites. Which leads on to pictures. What is your picture on Facebook saying about you? Make it a positive message. It is worth having some shots done by a professional  photographer. It wont cost the earth and they will capture you in your best light. You can then use them across your online sites.

Sign up to LinkedIn. Increasingly employers are looking to LinkedIn for potential candidates.  Again, it is free to create an account.  Post your picture on the site and your CV. Update your site, join groups and discussions and search for people you know to link with. Use the CV tips on the confidence hub to create a CV that sells you and what skills and experience you can bring to an organisation. You don not need to spend money on a professional CV service. You can do it very effectively yourself .

Life Long Learning

What are you doing to improve yourself and your prospects? We are moving into an age where a job is not for life. More of us are deciding to have career switch and look in different areas, areas that interest us. What interests you? Why don’t you do something about it? Learn a new skill and put it on your CV. Talk about it on your networking sites. The main purpose for learning Spanish or taking an advanced driving course is because you want to do it and it will make your life more enjoyable. The by product is that it also makes you look good on paper. You are someone who looks to the future and personal development is important to you.

In fact, you are just the sort of person they need.

Perhaps you have convinced yourself that it is in fact a yawning black hole into which all your previous experience, your strengths and skills will simply be swallowed up and you along with it. How can you possibly apply for jobs when the gap is so obvious? Who is even going to consider you? 

Then someone in a recruitment agency, or at the job centre, or a well meaning friend insists that the answer to your prayers is the functional CV. You can simply hide the gap and pretend it’s not there. List all your achievements without having to reveal those tricky time lines. The reader will be bowled over by your accomplishments and immediately ask you in for interview. Wrong!

Imagine you are a time pressed employer sifting through a stack of CV’s, reading the first few lines and making a quick decision between the “yes” pile and the “no” bin. You pick up a functional CV and can’t make head or tail of where this person is now, what they’re doing or when they did it. You haven’t got time to put the words in front of you into any sort of context so in the bin it goes.

There is a strong feeling amongst recruiters and hiring managers that by using a functional CV format you are hiding something. The suspicion is that something is the truth. What other reason would there be for not using a chronological CV? Are you ashamed of your work history? If you don’t feel confident in your career choices why should they?

Today’s workplace and working environment is changing. Very few of us will have a job for life and we will all be working far longer than our parents did. The current recession and difficulties in the job market means there will be many who are changing career paths and who will have gaps as a consequence. You will not be alone.

Make sure your CV is in chronological order. Don’t be ashamed of the gaps, explain them. You haven’t been sitting there doing nothing for six months have you? Show how resilient and determined you are and what a great asset you will be to any organisation.

If you are applying on line for a job, whether through job boards or an employers or recruiters website, it is likely that a computer will scan your application, store your CV on a database and use the keywords in a CV to select candidates for interview.

More and more jobs require you to apply online or fill out an online application form and it is essential that your CV is fit for purpose.

Is Your CV Scanner Friendly?

Your CV should be on one side of white or cream A4 paper in a clear font, ideally font size 10 or 12.

Don’t include a lot of italics and underlining. Use bold for headers. Keeping things simple will not confuse the scanner.

Print out a new copy each time if you are sending a paper copy of your CV and use an A4 envelope as some scanners have problems reading a fold in the paper.

Do not staple your CV together.

Keywords Are Important

The key to keywords is to identify what the employer is looking for and include them in your CV.

Take a highlighter and mark the qualities and skills mentioned within the job advertisement or job description. For instance, “team leader”, “delivering revenues”, “relationship building”. Make sure you include them with relevance to your current position and experience. Be as specific as possible.

Your CV Must Be Compelling

Your CV may be one of many that are viewed by an employer or recruiter. It is essential that you get your skills and experience across to the reader immediately. Every word counts (even more so if it is a machine doing the reading) so make those words compelling.

Do remember that if the reader is opening your CV on a computer, the whole of your CV will not be visible to them so the first few paragraphs must contain enough information of interest to persuade them to scroll down.

It is not a list of every job you have ever done since your paper round.

A CV is not a list of your duties at work.

And it is not your wish list for the perfect job.

The purpose of your CV is to get you an interview. Although it’s about  you, it’s all about them. In other words, in two pages it has to clearly show the employer what’s in it for them by hiring you.

What do I mean by that? Ask yourself the question, “Why is a company or organisation in business?”

The answer is to make money. Show them the money. Even charities need money coming in to enable them to carry out their charitable aims. Show the employer how you made money for your last company. Did you organise a successful fundraising dinner? Did you open up a new market and win new business? By how much?

Or did you save your last employer money?  Were you able to negotiate better deals with suppliers? Save the company money on the tax bill? Perhaps you reorganised the transport department or production line and made time and efficiency savings? That is all still money on the bottom line and in today’s cost cutting world, very important to any employer.

Put yourself in their shoes. Does your CV clearly point to the benefits of hiring you over anyone else? What can you do for the employer?  Get a friend to look over your CV and ask them what they think are the benefits of hiring you. If they’re not sure, you need to go back to the drawing board.

It is tempting to feel that this is solely down to age.

Step back. Do you know how many others applied for the job or anything about their qualifications and experience? Don’t automatically assume that any rejection is down to age.

Having said that, we do live in a society where we appear to worship youth and yet the population as a whole is ageing. Companies hire people they like and they like people for different reasons. It is not so much the age of a candidate which an employer is concerned about but issues surrounding age and how that fits with their existing team so any questions alluding to age in an interview are best dealt with head on.

Technology

A commonly held stereotype is that older does not mean wiser as far as technology is concerned. Introduce your competency early on into the conversation, highlighting your industry knowledge of current technology trends and solutions. Any areas that you feel need working on, update your skills on an industry course. Even if you’re halfway through a learning course when you interview, the fact that you can demonstrate an eagerness to learn will be to your advantage.

 Experience

 Experience is on your side. Identify his business needs, listen to the challenges that exist within his organisation and paint a picture for the interviewer of how your experience can benefit his particular business and solve his particular problems. Use examples and for-instance’s of similar problems you’ve encountered in your working life and how you resolved them to illustrate just how beneficial having you on board will be.

Use Your Network

An advantage of having a few years under your belt is your network. Personal recommendations win hands down with employers every time. Phone your contacts, don’t email. The personal approach is far more effective, it is immediate and your contacts will be pleased to help you. If every one of your contacts gives you three names of possible hiring opportunities, and they in turn gave you another three names, you get the picture of how effective this approach can be.

Overqualified Or Too Senior?

 Emphasise that you know what to expect from the job, so any additional training and the time and cost associated with that training will be kept to a minimum. If you’re applying for a job that is not as senior as your last position, explain how you can bring all the benefit of your skills and experience to the position without the need to have the responsibilities associated with a more senior role.

Close To Retirement

If you’re planning to work until you’re 75 and let’s face it that is an increasing reality for many of us, then say so. Emphasise how much you enjoy work and the challenges it brings. If you play sport or enjoy physical activity such as running you can also slip in just how much you enjoy these challenges too. This deals with any concerns over your fitness and health.

Problems Adapting To Change

Illustrate how you have adapted and embraced change in your previous roles. Show how you are open to new ideas and new ways of working.

Ambition

Speak about your ambition both in terms of the role you are applying for and how that fits in with the overall ambition for your career. Show how forward thinking you are.

 If you sell your experience correctly it can be a great asset.