How a Recruitment Agency Can Help You Land Your Dream Job

How a Recruitment Agency Can Help You Land Your Dream Job You have done all the hard work and have a degree to prove it, but taking those first steps on your career ladder can be daunting! Even if you have prepared yourself fully you are likely to face some rejection whilst finding your first career related job. One of the best ways of landing your dream job is to utilise the skills of a recruitment agency. What is a recruitment agency? There are various types of recruitment agency ranging from ones that deal with a wide variety of jobs in a number of areas to agencies that are quite specialist with a narrow job field. It is probably best to find a recruitment agency that specialises in your industry as they will have more knowledge of your specialised area and are more likely to access relevant jobs first. The recruitment agency will invite you in for a meeting. It is important to treat this meeting professionally â€" almost like an interview. Dress smartly and have certificates or other evidence such as show reels to hand. You may be required to complete aptitude tests so your skill levels can be fully assessed. This means you can be matched more accurately to the jobs that match your skill set. If you can show the recruiter you have prepared and mean business then they are far more likely to remember you and put you forward for higher profile jobs! What else can a recruitment agency provide? A recruitment agency will be able to provide guidance on things such as CV writing and interview skills. It is amazing how often people make silly mistakes in their CV so having an experienced recruiter looking over it can really help. They might suggest relevant keywords to include or spot punctuation mistakes. Either way, if you are serious about getting a job you need to take their recommendations on board and make changes. Why is it important to find the right agency? Finding the right company to work for is equally as important as finding the right position. If you are using a recruitment agency then they will build a relationship with you and start to recognise companies and positions that would fit with your skills and personality. Many recruitment agencies now try to build long term relationships with clients and candidates meaning it is even more important to be receptive to the recruitment agency you have chosen. If a long term relationship is gained then it is likely you will recommend the recruitment agency to others, use them if you wish to change jobs and dependent on your position you may use them to recruit new staff at the company you are with. What next? After your initial meetings with the agency the hard work of finding relevant positions is up to the agency. Rather than you having to trawl through job sites they will bring the relevant jobs to you meaning you save on time and resources. These can then be used on activities that will increase your job prospects whether that may be voluntary work in your chosen sector or preparing answers for the most common interview questions. It is a good feeling to know that you have support. A good recruitment agency will provide a supportive network to you and talk you through roles that may be suitable for you. This means you are fully briefed and can prepare properly for interviews. However, don’t just rely on the information provided by the recruitment agency. Do your own research and check out things such as the company website, blog and their social media sites. Formulate articulate questions to ask at the end of the interview and show within these that you have done your own, independent research. This will impress employers as they can see you have used your own initiative and taken an interest in them. It also shows that you are prepared and organised which are qualities all employers look for. Feedback: The recruitment agency will often provide feedback to you if you were unsuccessful at an interview. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn where you can improve and where your interview strengths and weaknesses fall. Rather than take the information as criticism use it to improve your performance at the next interview. Key strengths can be built upon and any weaknesses can be investigated and worked on. For example it may be that doing a night course will give you an extra qualification that is recommended or it may be that you just need to provide a stronger example to illustrate your skills. Your recruitment agency can help you with these areas and suggest ways to improve your performance. It is no wonder that so many people are turning to recruitment agencies to help them land their dream job. After all, if the stress and time are taken out of the job search it leaves you with more time to perfect your CV, job applications and interview technique. If you would like further details on how a recruitment agency can support you then do not hesitate to contact us at  Charter Selection. We specialise in HR, sales and marketing and finance and are a leading recruiter within these key areas.

How to Say No Without Damaging Your Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

How to Say No Without Damaging Your Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Everyone who wants a strong brand must learn how to say no without damaging their brand. Branding success for both businesses and individuals involves more than just attracting and building a loyal following; it also requires retaining your followers loyaltyeven when you have to say no. You cant turn your brand on or off like a light switch. Your brand is always watching. Whether youre an author, an employee, a job hunter, or a Fortune 500 corporation, your brand is always being judged on the basis of how consistent your everyday behavior is with the messages and impressions you offer in your social marketing. No is an inevitable universal part of branding Your brand is especially vulnerable at emotionally-charged moments, like when you have to say no to another person. No usually results in feelings of rejection and failure. This often occurs when a prospective client or employers needs (like hiring the least-expensive, best-qualified individual) intersect with a coach, consultant, or job hunters psychological insecurities and self-image (i.e., Dont they think Im good enough?). In hiring and sales situations, both parties must remember that the stakes are higher than just the specific issue, long-term branding consequences are involved. For example: Hiring.   A rude recruiter can do lasting damage to their firms brand when they reject an applicant. Yet, interview branding is a 2-way street: how a job hunter responds to a job offer can burn a bridge as easily as it can create a lifelong networking contact. Both brands are on trial during a no sale interview. Managing. Great marketing and big ads cannot compensate for employee horror stories or broken promises. But, an employees brand takes a hit when they turn down opportunities for advancement or new responsibilities. Vendors. The business/vendor interface is also a brand building or brand-unraveling situation. The subtlest interactions are significant. Last Sunday night, for example, I emailed a publisher and asked for a couple of review copies. Monday afternoon, I received an e-mail confirmation. On Thursday, the books arrived! (Wow! This is unheard of!)   This week, Im sending a proposal to them. Clients. Saying no to prospective clients is difficult, but sometimes has to be done because the fit isnt right at the time.   Yet, if a coach says no the wrong way, theyre eliminating the possibility of a future relationship. Say no the right way, and the door remains open and referrals may result. How clients turn down proposals is equally critical. Joint ventures. How do you turn down invitations for joint marketing projects effects how they view your brand the same way their requests to your invitations becomes an element of their brand. Interviews. During the past 10 years, Ive interviewed over500 authors who have, in many cases, written books that have created famous, lasting brands. Many of my guests have been at the peak of their careers, but treated me as if I was Ed McMahon visiting from Publishers Clearing House. Others, often, first-time authors, werent as gracious. In either case, their behavior influenced their brand. Many said no, but in a way that enhanced their brand. Many said yes, but diminished their brand. Referrals. As you become more successful, building your brand through social media and writing a book, youre going to be networking with other experts in your field. Some are going to be better known than you, and vice versa. As you start out, pay particular attention to differing ways youre treated when you ask for a pre-publication quote, so that youll be more sensitive to the way you respond to requests from next generation of authors asking you for help. How to say no in a brand-sensitive way The problem of clashing perspectives is compounded by a widespread lack of training in saying no in a way that doesnt damage a firm or individuals brand. Although theres a tsunami of advice about using social media to expert brand brands, theres relatively little about saying no without doing damage to the other partys feelingsor your own brand. Here are a couple of guidelines, however: Awareness. Remind yourself that your brand is everything you do, your everyday behavior as much as your book. Your brand is always on trial. Dont write the perfect book about customer service, then act impatient when a caller has a problem opening your PDF or your book gets lost in the mail. Always act from a long-term perspective. Empathy. Adopt a Golden Rule approach: learn how to say no the way youd like to receive the bad news. Before you say no, put yourself in the recipients shoes. Anticipate and respect their reactions. Guidelines. Finally, look for ways to replace subjectivity with objectivity. Establish easily-understood policies or measurable standards that will help quantify your decisions. Your brand will be judged as much by your ability to say no as by the qualify of your expertise and the professionalism of your delivery. Saying no is an inevitable part of doing business. Learn how to say no in a way that builds, instead of damages, your brand. Author: Roger C. Parker is an author, book coach, designer, consultant who works with authors, marketers, business professionals to achieve success with brand-building books practical marketing strategy. He helps create successful marketing materials that look great get results, and can turn any complex marketing or writing task into baby steps. Visit his blog to learn more or ask a question.

Whats Missing During the Job Search Mutual Respect

Whats Missing During the Job Search Mutual Respect By now, most job seekers know some of the ways to apply for jobs. Conventional job boards like Monster, Dice and CareerBuilder, and job aggregators like Indeed and Simply Hired are a start as are corporate careers websites and using LinkedIn. These all should supplement, not be, your primary job search tools. These days many job leads come from through family, friends, and through local networking contacts. Others may come from a few selected recruiters and agencies you know and trust â€" all can be considered part of the ‘hidden job market’. These are jobs that don’t necessary get posted to websites contacts rely on people they know and trust to fill these openings. So far, so good Recruiters must keep candidates updated: However from my experience as a job support group facilitator, many recruiters don’t keep applicants updated on their candidacy for different positions they’ve applied to or have followed up on. As background, there are different types of recruiters â€" many rely on a company’s VMS (Vendor Management System). Through a VMS, a job lead is sent from a company into the VMS database. From there, all vendors/recruiters that use that VMS can email that specific job to contacts these recruiters have in their own databases. In my cases, a person may receive that same job multiple times if they’re on different vendors’ database. Other leads come from ‘preferred’ recruiters who work only with a specific company or companies. Less competition but it’s still not ideal. No matter how you find out about a job, you apply for it and wait to hear next steps. But how often do you hear back? You may get a ‘thanks for applying’ email but nothing else, not even a ‘rejection email’. Why cant recruiters keep candidates updated? Reasons may vary: a recruiter/vendor may not know themselves about the status of a job, or they don’t want to share bad news with you. More likely they’re either too busy to follow-up or it’s a combination of all of these. As job seekers, you always should follow-up every two weeks or so (preferably by phone) with these recruiters and request an update on your candidacy. If you don’t hear back after two or three attempts it’s time to focus your job search energies with other recruiters and their agencies. When you receive good news: Let’s assume you get some good news â€" the recruiter has set up a phone screen (first step in the interview process). Once you interview ends, as a final question it’s not inappropriate to ask when a decision will be made to fill the position and when and who you should follow-up with. You’ll probably also send a ‘thanks for speaking with me’ email or hand-written letter. And then the waiting begins Days, weeks and maybe months go by and you don’t get any feedback on how the interview went: Has the position been filled? Has it been put on hold? Or has the hiring manager decided they want to interview others? As the job seeker you don’t know which (if any of these) is the case; in many cases, neither does the recruiting or agency. When you receive feedback: Let’s assume you get feedback (good or bad): Bad news the recruiter and/or hiring manager tells you the position has been filled. In that case, you thank everyone for their time. Good news the manager wants to meet with you in person. Assuming the good news: you’re meeting in-person with someone from the company.   Again as one of your final questions, you ask about follow-up and next steps. You hope all went well but you never know….Again the waiting begins. More cases than not, you won’t hear back either way. This scenario plays itself out too often and it shows a lack of respect for everyone, differently, when it comes to job search. My time is just as valuable to me as it is to a recruiting or hiring manager. I’m interviewing the company as well to see if it makes sense for me to work there. There may be some valid reasons for not supplying certain types of feedback. Also rejection whether it comes from a hiring manager or a recruiter isn’t something most people feel comfortable sharing. But I have more respect for those who are honest and willing to at least thank me for taking the time to interview with them. Job search is no different than buying a home or making any similar large purchase â€" you have a buyer and a seller and the economic times determine which side has the edge. But it doesn’t have to be this way nor should it. It’s no wonder that many job seekers feel frustrated, even a bit betrayed by this process. I’d love to hear from recruiters/HR professionals to share their thoughts and feedback with job seekers. Maybe I’m missing something as a job support group facilitator.

Enhance Your Family Life with Your Corporate Career

Enhance Your Family Life with Your Corporate Career When I was raising my three boys during my career in Corporate America, some days I thought I would crack. Too many opposing demands pulled at my arms and legs until I felt like I was drawn and quartered by horses. I struggled to cram as much as possible into every moment so I could prioritize my family but stay dedicated to my work. Thankfully, I learned to enhance my family life by utilizing the companies where I worked. I gained tips along the way that made the whole endeavor feasible. Tip #1: Scout out and use the resources your company offers. An advantage of working at a large corporation is the employee benefits. The problem is your company may not advertise all of what’s available. It’s your job to research, ask questions, and make yourself familiar with policies and procedures that can help your personal life. Your supervisor may not know, fully support, or even want you to know about the benefits and policies. Sometimes your boss just doesn’t want to deal with the paperwork or effort it takes to monitor your use of the benefits. For example, my job required multi-day business travel. I discovered by reading the fine print in the benefits manual and probing Human Resources that my company would reimburse me for the extra expense of quality overnight childcare. This was particularly valuable to me when I was a single parent and, later, when my partner was out of town on business too. Another time I unearthed a policy that provided employees with free access to excellent nursing care facilities for children with colds who weren’t allowed at daycare. But no one told me about either of these perks. I had to find out for myself and education my bosses. You should know all the ins and outs of family sick leave. You don’t want to wind up using your vacation when a family member is ill or pretending that you are the one who has the flu and go in fake-coughing the next day. The same goes for parental leaveâ€"if availableâ€"take the maximum you and your spouse can to cover those early days of infant care with less stress and more bonding time. If your company offers work-at-home, flex time, or every other Friday off optionsâ€"take them! I used those Fridays to cook a good dinner, go on a school field trip, pick the kids up early so they didn’t have to go to daycare, or just to chill my brain so I could be a better partner and parent. Don’t be afraid to draw on your benefits, such as your full earned vacation. I watched people at work, men especially, brag about how much unused vacation time they’d built upâ€"a macho move to demonstrate their dedication to the job. Likewise, don’t work weekends unless it’s a crisis. You might be able to say at the coffee pot on Monday, “I worked all Saturday and Sunday to push the new Fantastica Project ahead.” Meanwhile, you missed your daughter’s first home run. Most corporations have gyms on site. I highly recommend working out at lunch which leaves the mornings and evenings open for your family timeâ€"no rushing off to the gym and missing breakfast or dinner with your loved ones. I included my workouts on my calendar and my employees complimented me on role-modeling exercise and health. Tip #2: Blend your work into your family life Take advantage of the “Bring Your Child to Work” Day program that many corporations organize. This fulfills two important holes that often plague working parents: 1) your kids don’t know what you do all day at your job and 2) rarely seeing your kids during a weekday. I always found it a blast to commute to work with one of my boys, have him visit my office, go to the cafeteria at noon together, and chat about the day on the way home. I brought my family on business trips when possible. It requires another adult, so I took my mother along to watch the kids while I worked if my husband couldn’t get away. My family enjoyed the hotel room, pool, and local sights, and then I had the evenings with them. It made being away from home much more enjoyable and had the added benefit that my kids learned about business life on the road. I always paid for their way, of course, but it saves some expenses when you all stay in the same room or utilize the company rental car. If there was a company event that they could attend, I took my kids so they could experience the corporate world. My companies helped us all have fun, too. I took my family to company picnics, to the company bowling alley, and to the old-fashioned company playground. I bought Disneyland tickets through the Employee Discount services and the kids bragged, “Mom’s company paid for Disneyland!” We got free tickets to museumsâ€"many organizations have corporate memberships that employees can utilize. Educational opportunities abound for families of corporations. Each of my boys applied for and received a small college scholarship. One of my sons was an intern at my workâ€"often companies will look more favorably at employee’s children for internships, since many of them like to hire the offspring of employees for full-time positions. One company I worked for provided driver training for 16-year-old children of employees and all my boys attended when the time came for them to get their licenses. Corporations often give time off for volunteering in the community. I used that benefit to speak at my children’s schools, help in the classroom, work in the Career Center at their high school, or do a community activity like a creek clean-up where my kids could also participate after school. Some of the best company fringe benefits, I must admit, are those that give you a little time for yourself. My rationale is that a happy mother and wife is a good mother and wife, so I always checked out yoga, mindfulness classes, book clubs, and masseuses available at work. I practiced with the on-site physical therapist and obtained correct ergonomic equipment such as a comfortable chair, sit-stand desk, and larger computer screen. I’d find myself much more productive and relaxed when I greeted my partner and kids in the evening if I’d spent a small amount of time taking care of myself that day. Tip #3: Consider working at the same corporation as your spouse/partner. Did you know that many companies favor the “company couple”? It’s true, though my first experience with it didn’t bode well. My husband and I were both laid off on the same daya terrifying experience when you have bills to pay and a family to support. We vowed never to be a company couple again, but as the years went by, I saw the pluses outweighed the risk and I wish we’d tried it again. I sat in development committees where it was said, “Well, if we are going to move Marsha, we need to find a job for her husband Eric in the same location.” This is extremely convenient when trying to balance career changes and relocations. You also understand each other’s jobs better, often attend the same functions, get equal paid vacation, and can both enjoy and capitalize on the company’s many benefits. You can manage your company to boost your family life. I hope these three tips will help get you across the finish lineâ€"proud of your career, your lasting marriage, and happy children sent off as contributing members of society. This guest post was authored by Lucinda Jackson Lucinda Jackson spent almost fifty years at three universities and four Fortune 500 companies where she experienced and witnessed the unequal treatment of women. This spurred her to write about how to change that dynamic and how to help women find their power in the workplace and in life in Just A Girl. After growing up in California, Oregon, and Washington, she received her PhD in science in Illinois and continued speaking and serving on boards of academic, nonprofit, and industry organizations worldwide. She loves her fantastic women friends, reading, exercise, and helping others. After Peace Corps volunteerism in Palau and teaching science in Mexico, Jackson and her husband returned recently to their home near San Francisco. They are immensely proud of their three liberated sons who are scattered around the globe.

Millennials are the least engaged generation in the workforce - Debut

Millennials are the least engaged generation in the workforce - Debut Now now, before you start groaning about how someones written another article bashing millennials, hear us out.  Were not saying its millennials  fault that theyre disengaged but we cant say that were not alarmed. Analytics firm Gallup recently conducted a huge report titled  How Millennials Want to Work and Live. Combining and analysing the results of 30 separate studies over 1 million respondents, Gallup came up with one huge takeaway. Only 29% of millennials (defined in this report as being born between 1980 and 1996) are engaged at work. Meaning less than a third of young people are emotionally and behaviorally connected to their job and company. Less than a third of millennials are engaged at work The Gallup report seems to show how millennials are markedly more checked out than other generations in the workplace. Their findings suggest that in comparison to generations prior, they lack energy and passion at work, are indifferent to the job, and show up for their 9-5 just to put in the hours. Indifference is a dangerous thing. The Gallup report also estimates that 21% of millennials have changed their job within the last year. This is more than three times the number of non-millennials. The desire for millennials to job-hop apparently costs the U.S. economy $30.5 billion annually. No small matter. What does this data suggest about millennials? You might be tempted to blame it all on those pesky entitled millennials, slumped at their desk on a Monday morning secretly scrolling their Instagram feeds under the desk. However, we have to question what exactly is turning millennials off their work life. It cant just be because we grew up with cellphones, right? Gallup suggests millennials probably dont  want to change jobs. However, what is more likely is that their companies arent giving them enough reason to stay. The one big difference between millennials and, lets say, baby boomers, is that theyre more likely to jump ship if they feel dissatisfied. Read More:  Latest research reveals record low levels for youth happiness Whats wrong with wanting more for yourself? Whether its a job with purpose, a higher salary or more responsibility, millennials are just going for what they want with more vigour and enthusiasm. Perhaps this may spell the end of job loyalty. But with the economy the way that it is, perhaps we should all be taking a leaf out of a millennials playbook. Download the Debut app and  get Talent-Spotted by amazing graduate employers! Connect with Debut on Facebook and Twitter

Are You Being Mistreated At Work - CareerAlley

Are You Being Mistreated At Work - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. For many people, their time at work is difficult and often pretty unexciting. That shouldnt really come as much of a surprise, after all, the clue is in the name! However, theres a big difference between working a job that isnt particularly engaging or that you dont really like, and being treated so poorly that every day at work is utterly miserable. Sadly there are plenty of people for whom the latter is a day-to-day reality. Far too many employees are treated in ways that are not only unfair but potentially illegal without realizing that there are things that they can do about it. After all, we all deserve to find a career that we really love. With that in mind, here are some ways in which employers can treat their staff unfairly and how you can fight against it. Workplace discrimination is one of the biggest problems that a lot of people will face in their lives. It can often be enough to make a lot of people want to give up on their careers entirely. Tweet This Discrimination Workplace discrimination is one of the biggest problems that a lot of people will face in their lives. It can often be enough to make a lot of people want to give up on their careers entirely. And thats just when theyre dealing with it from colleagues. Things get a whole lot worse when its coming from your employer. When that happens it can feel as though theres nowhere to go for support but its important to remember that most businesses have HR departments suited to just this kind of situation. And if thats not an option then walking away from that position may well be the best option. Poor working hours Weve all had those days where weve had to put in an extra hour or two at work to make sure that a job gets done. Often its something that most of us are willing to do within reason. The issue arises when you feel like youre constantly being pressured into working unfair hours by your employer. This is especially true if youre not being paid overtime. Discussing this with your employer to try and work it out is essential but if they refuse to see reason, once again walking away might be an option. Unfair termination Finding yourself terminated from your job can be one of the most shocking and frightening things that you will ever go through. This is especially true if you feel as though your employer doesnt really have a good reason for doing so. Researching and understanding wrongful termination laws is one of the most important things you can do. That way you can finally start building a case for unfair dismissal and you can prevent your employer from doing whatever they want. Do you know your rights as an employee? If not, you could unwittingly become the victim of discrimination at work or suffer from having your rights violated. These can have negative effects on the progress of your career and your source of income. Employment Discrimination It can often feel as though there really isnt much point in fighting back against an employer whos treating you unfairly. The kinds of employers who treat you this way rely on you feeling as though theres nothing you can do. They want you to feel like they are so much bigger and more powerful than you that trying to stand up to any of the things theyre doing is pointless. That is simply not the case. The truth is that there are always things that you can do and always people that you can reach out to for support. And while walking away from any job can seem scary, theres always advice out there on how you can start over. What's next? Ready to take action? Choose the right tools to help you build your career. Looking for related topics? Subscribe and make meaningful progress on your career. It’s about time you focused on your career. Get Educated Contact Us Advertise Copyright 2020 CareerAlley. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy + Disclosure home popular resources subscribe search

Writing a Succint Objective Resume

Writing a Succint Objective ResumeWriting a succint objective is the initial stage of the search for your new job. Even if you have very good grades, it will be quite difficult to get through the door of a place without a resume. Most of the employers usually focus on a resume because it shows that an applicant has gone through the things that they want to see in a candidate and they can easily pick up on this from a resume.The first thing that one should do before writing a basic objective resume is to write down his interests, past work experience, education, and other skills that are important for the position that he wants to get. It will help the interviewer if he is able to look at your overall personality.Remember that this will be used as a basis for when he is deciding if you would be suitable for the job or not. Once he is convinced about your personality, the interviewer will be able to judge if you will fit in with the team or not.There are several ways to begin writing a succint objective resume. Here are a few tips on how to write a good objective.Objective must be done in the first paragraph. Remember that you want to tell about the things that you can offer and why you want the job. Good information about yourself and what you can offer in a position should be in the first paragraph.The next paragraph can include your skills, education, and other personal information, so put some time in writing a clear introductory paragraph. It is common for the interviewer to ask you questions about your educational background. If you have to talk about what you learned in school, make sure that the background is specific and factual.Your end of the page is a way for you to give a conclusion or summary of the objective and what you can bring to the job. In this part, it is important to emphasize that you have your objective on paper so that you will not be nervous in the interview.One of the most common things that people do is to keep on repeating their expe rience in a college or school in their resume. This will show that they have something in common with the company. Instead of repeating experiences, it would be better to highlight what you can offer to the company.