Well I know this can feel like a difficult decision, but this is likely to be the only time in your life when your financial responsibilities are such that you can take advantage of this opportunity. I know the temptation of work and a salary can often feel like the way to go, but sometimes the decision you are making can be a job versus a career, so you have to ask yourself “what am I looking for?” Of course you are likely to get a job that pays to the level you need to start with as most of us do, but is that the field you want to be in? And more importantly will it show any future employer in that field how that job has contributed to your determination to get into that field of work. More often that not it doesn’t.

Please consider the placement offered where it is a key contributor or learning experience in the ultimate industry or career where you wish to succeed. Don’t see it as if you are working for free, see it as not having to pay for your learning and what an opportunity it is to help you achieve your goals of 2 and 3 years time rather than your immediate desire to earn money.

Therefore the answer to the question is, Yes you always take a placement over a permanent job offer unless the job offer is already in your field of expertise and therefore you don’t need the placement. As clearly if the job offer is in your field of expertise you are actually getting paid to learn and do what you want to do, unfortunately for the majority of us there are not enough of those out there, but those that are that fortunate, take the opportunity offered and Well done for getting it. Therefore if you are taking a placement because any job you are being considered for isn’t in the area you wish, then be enthusiastic about it as this is the starting point on your road to success and the money will come later on.

There is one other area of caution I would air at this point and that is please ensure what is being called “A Placement” is actually a placement. This is not an opportunity for a company to abuse a worker and get work for free. There should be clear guidelines as to the period of work , ie 3 months, 6 months 1 year and it should also be explicit about what you will be learning in that time and more importantly you should be able to see before you go in, how this learning will position you at what level in the world of work at the end of the period. If you can answer these questions then there is no doubt the placement will be of value and it is what we would consider to be a true placement. Take it, you will have time enough later on to make choices which are financially based when you cannot afford to be without a job, so embrace the time you have now and the learning others are offering without chasing the money just yet.

Good luck.

http://www.therecruitmentqueen.com

How long is a reasonable time or what is considered to be acceptable to be out of work? And more importantly is it out of choice or not and does that make a difference? This is an issue that faces many of us today as more are being made redundant and the stigma sometimes attached as well as the dent in our confidence can mean we are out of work longer than we anticipated. It really is all about how we handle this period of time, be it 2 months, 6 months a year or longer and our own confidence in communication, which can either put this in a positive or a negative light for any future employer.

Being out of work needs to be embraced and the time needs to be utilised effectively as well as being used for job hunting. So do you have a structured day while you are out of work? If not make it structured as it is important you are able to talk about your achievements while you have been out of work as this will make it seem like a choice that is being maximised. This might mean regular exercise, regular volunteering, or studying of some sort around your job hunting.

Long periods of time out of work need to be explained through what you have been doing but also the fact that you are being very specific in your approach to job hunting. Therefore you know what you want to do and there are only a certain number of opportunities which meet that criteria. You are sending the message out to any future employer that it is important to you to have the right job rather than any job. Now this might not always be the case but those of us which have the confidence to communicate in this way, feel empowered and that message is received by a future employer in a positive light, demonstrating attributes of determination, confidence and ability to adapt to what is throw to you as well as being focused in what you want to do. Now who wouldn’t employ that???

If you are making the statement,”I’ve been out of work for a while and I am worried I won’t get another job”, the chances are that will be felt by others whereas if that thought is removed and you concentrate on what you have been doing with the time then a positive message will be received. We know candidates who have taken 2 years out and got another job, because they made us and the employer believe it was “their” time and something they wanted to do but for all we know maybe they couldn’t get a job in that time. Who knows? But all I do know is that they believed they would get a job regardless of that gap and they didn’t see it as an issue so they succeeded. Don’t let your thoughts be self fulling or if they are make sure they are going to get you a job.

The rules are:

Be structured with your out of work day
Concentrate on what you achieve in that time
Have fixed appointments – be it exercise, volunteering, or learning
Give a couple of hours a day to job hunting and be very specific about what you want

If you follow this and embrace and utilise this time, no matter how long you have been out of work, it will be irrelevant, because remember you haven’t been out of work, you have been so busy contributing to these other areas and it is important for you to only apply for the right job and not any job!! Send this message and you will be recruited.

We all heard on the news yesterday that unemployment has gone down by 5000 this month, but what difference does that make to me, or you? Overall unemployment has a high figure in the millions, £2.51million as of last night but is the market really changing for me?

And the answer is no, you can’t really feel this difference. You are still in a world if you are job hunting, where you are competing with the rest of the 2.51 million, so forget what the news is saying and just think about your world. I had the most humbling experience last week of listening and watching Molly Hughes (One of the youngest to climb Mount Everest at the age of 21 years) talk about some of the attributes you need as an individual to succeed at this challenge. My question to you is what is your “Mount Everest?” It could well be finding the job you want. Do you have the 4 attributes she talks about?

Determination
Preparation
Resilience
Desire

Without the desire being there you are unlikely to deal with the knock backs, the desire will reaffirm your resilience and determination. Accept that job hunting is difficult in todays world, but fix it as a challenge or as a race for those of you who are sporty and can relate to this and imagine the picture of your success at the end. If you don’t know what that success looks like then your desire won’t be so strong either. So do you know what you want in your job search, why you want that job, where you need to go to find it and then what you need to do? If you don’t know the answers to these questions do some soul searching and find them.

If you are more likely to get a job 100 miles away, then move!!. We allow obstacles to come in our way and don’t think about how we can overcome them. Do you need to go to an area where there is less competition? Is this a daunting prospect? Maybe it is. But be honest with yourself do you really want that job badly as if you don’t in today’s world if you are not the person doing whatever it takes then you are unlikely to get it? And know this, there is someone who does want that job badly, more than you, there is someone who is willing to do whatever it takes. If you know you are that person well keep your goal in mind, reassert your determination and go and get that job.

There are huge market opportunities, remember the unemployment figure is how many are out of work, but ignore this look at the number in work, now how much easier does it feel to be part of this figure? Read more about Mollie’s inspirational story and you will absolutely feel you can conquer the world. http://www.molliehughes.co.uk/everest.html

Charlie Ryan MREC Cert. RP
The Recruitment Queen

Well as you know we are all about ensuring you differentiate yourself, but bless Adam!

So there is desire and there is desperation and the latter is being demonstrated here, which is such a shame, as I understand what Adam really was hoping to achieve, something different to those employers out there.

It is important to differentiate yourself but within the bounds of professionalism and expectation. Now the media world does allow you to be a bit whacky, but I suppose the biggest issue here is that Adam has not shown us his understanding of this world as a first class honours media graduate.

He has completely ignored and overlooked the fact of subliminal messages and sent out the wrong subliminal messages to his audience.   As for the jobs he is “overqualified” for, his demeanor and confidence would scare these employers who would sense that he feels he is destined for greatness, whether he is or he isn’t remains to be seen.

There is one thing Adam hasn’t done and that is phoned companies, he has relied on email by the looks of that inbox on his video!

So Adam has ruled himself out of general jobs and he hasn’t ruled himself into the market he wants to attract either.

You need to stand out but in better more conservative ways unless you know “Whacky” is going to get you there. So for example, stick with Arial font as the font has a better subconscious interpretation (conservative approach), but make a phone call before you send your cv (differentiation but in a professional way).

Don’t allow that inbox of Adam’s to be a copy of yours, only apply for what you know is right, and you will only know that once you phone up to investigate. Stop relying on your computer as your communication and marketing tool, it isn’t!!

Come and listen on our free webinars and put your questions to The Recruitment Queen.  http://therecruitmentqueen.com/youre-central-london/ and book on our free webinar; https://uk.bookingbug.com/home/w1131194

The straight answer to this is NO. I know it seems harsh, but a degree, good or otherwise is a small part of what you have to offer, it is the rest of you, which counts.

For some jobs a degree will be the minimum criteria and in some cases it will have to be a degree in a certain subject with a certain grade. But this is not the case for most of the time now, as companies are looking for people that have a certain level of academia, but more importantly have the practical approach with great interpersonal skills to be able to handle challenging and unexpected situations.

I am sure you will all agree with me when you look at your degree, that knowing how you should approach something and being faced with a situation where you have to act, there are so many other variables which come into play that a text book just cannot provide for you. So it is all about practice and experience.

Some companies will want you to have a good degree and they are able to offer you training on top of this, but it will not remove the emphasis on your interpersonal skills, which they will be assessing at interview. So the degree on paper may get you the interview in some cases, but it will not get you the job.

So remember, excellent interpersonal skills being demonstrated by you through all stages of your job hunting are going to be the decider as to whether or not a company takes you on.

Where companies do mention as part of the criteria that they are looking for a degree, it is worth phoning up to challenge them and using this opportunity to show how great you are even if you don’t quite meet the academia criteria. You have differentiated yourself from the rest and this already strikes a positive chord with them even if you haven’t met all of the other criteria. So you can often find a way in just be innovative.

So be proud of your degree but understand the role it plays in your job hunting. Remember you were YOU before you were a “Graduate” therefore the emphasis should be on what do YOU have to offer regardless of the degree.

Good luck, let the degree play it’s part but don’t let it take over.

Then you start, it has all come true or has it? The training is as you hoped, or close enough and now you are a few weeks in or maybe longer and something isn’t right, it just is nowhere near what you thought. So this is the time to now reflect on you. Question yourself as to how this has come about, how did you perceive the position to be something it isn’t? Go back to the original job spec you had and think about the selection process, do you feel now that maybe you read something into the position that wasn’t there? Or is the job you are doing just so different that you cannot understand how this is the job at the end of that process.

Now you need to decide what to do. Is it so vastly different that a) you are not enjoying it, b) you can’t do it and have no interest in learning, c) this just isn’t the journey you want for your career? Your next course of action will depend on whether you answered a, b or c. Just because you are not enjoying something it may still be a key contributor to your next opportunity and may be worth staying to get the learning and deliver what is required, even if it isn’t what you thought. If you answered b or c you need to sit down with your manager and the job specification and get an understanding of why it is so different and at what point is it likely to become the job you applied for. This meeting might establish that everyone goes through this process before the job becomes a reality and therefore you need to get some timescales, so you know how long you are likely to be doing something you are not totally happy with.

If the job is never going to become what you want, but you know you need to stay until you have secured another opportunity then don’t give your manager any reason to doubt your commitment even though you have had that meeting, unless you are in a position to resign without a job to go to.

Many many jobs are not what we thought when we start, for so many reasons. Your perception and theirs differs based on previous experience and knowledge and sometimes neither party really heed what is being said at the interview as we are convinced we know what the job involves. Take care too when coming to this decision as there are elements you will not enjoy about most roles you undertake, however if those elements make up more than 40% of the work you are doing then you probably are not in the right role for you. The time you take to re-evaluate is important here, as you want to understand how you went form that desire, excitement and anticipation to disappointment, once you understand this your next round of interviews will work more effectively for you, as you will question accordingly to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

Remember this happens to all of us at some point and it is just how you handle it which makes a difference. The learning experience alone means it very rarely happens for a second time resulting in you being in the job you really want!

FaceBook, LinkedIn and Twitter are the most popular social media networks in the English-speaking world, and as such form powerful tools, you can use in your job search. The number of users on these sites is staggering:

• FaceBook: 500 million users
• LinkedIn: 150 million users
• Twitter: 75 million users

As a job hunter, you can take advantage of this exposure by creating and maintaining a professional, stylish profile that showcases your skills and talent. However, if your current social media profiles are  full of unsuitable material, make sure your privacy settings don’t allow just anyone (especially potential employers) to see what you got up to at the weekend after one too many drinks. This is a really important subject for anyone looking who’s looking for a job, as your social media profiles may give away to a potential employer more than your CV ever could when it comes to them formulating an opinion of you. Don’t forget they may check you out on Facebook or Twitter, before you’ve even received a call! So make sure you don’t get ruled out of the process before you’ve even had a chance to shine.

LinkedIn is probably the best and in some cases most important network to join for job hunters, as it’s a professional network as opposed to a social network. It has been known for some employers to ignore the CV’s of those who are not on LinkedIn, as they take it as a sign of someone who’s not switched on to the current digital business world.

As the focus on LinkedIn is the professional profile and company-company links, you have the opportunity to connect with people in different companies and make important professional contacts that are not available on other sites. You can also update your status each time you adjust your profile, which will send an update to all of your contacts and let them know about your latest work experience, or projects. This can facilitate getting the word out that you are an experienced and well-connected professional in search of new career opportunities.

Another advantage LinkedIn offers is exposure to higher level positions, such as mid- to upper level management and sales positions, higher paying positions overall, and connections with companies at a higher level. However, ensure you utilise all your social media networks. There are many connections through these sites that can lead to gainful, satisfying employment.

Lets take them one at a time, so we have the winner, Ricky Martin. A worthy winner considering what he was up against, but really setting up a recruitment agency, how will it differ? Anyone who’s in recruitment knows if they’re any good, they don’t need Lord Sugar’s money to do it, as it’s not an expensive industry to setup in. So the question is, can Ricky really manage recruiters or is he the recruiter himself? There is a big difference as many recruiters have found out to their detriment, so we’ll have to wait and see. Another question is, has Ricky really changed during this process? We all remember just how full of himself he was for the majority of this process… as the classic recruiter he knew what they wanted to hear, but does it matter I suppose is the bigger question?

Nick – what a shame, why couldn’t he have answered Karen’s question in a more competent way. “how do you know it will work?” And Nick’s answer “… Well me and my friends would use it…” Honestly what about the stats the figures, the research to back it up? Was this a moment of nerves in the boardroom, could he really not have demonstrated his competency on the spot? Don’t assume everyone knows what you’re talking about and how effective something will be and why, make sure you know your stuff and demonstrate clearly why you! This is where Nick let himself down in the interviews and the boardroom. His concept was excellent, if complicated but there wasn’t the research conviction needed. And as nice a guy as he was, that can only get you so far.

Tom – now here’s a confusing character who I feel we never actually got to know. Remember people like to know who is coming into their business. With Tom you didn’t really know who he was, there was a formality about him and the only informality we saw was the drunk moment of British wine sparkling. Making sure you get your personality and passion across, and be true to yourself as well as letting your professional friendly side come out. As far as Tom’s idea goes, I’m on the fence, other people’s money…. It was a bit of a gambling business really and he didn’t explain it particularly well, again his own knowledge allowed him to understand it, but not deliver it articulately ensuring others understood it quickly. Just because you know something don’t assume others get it as quickly. Practice delivering it to someone outside your industry and do they get it? If not, think about how you are going to explain what you do effectively. Think about getting a succinct 1 minute explanation of what you do!

Jade – well here is the tricky comment, honestly no figures, no costs, how did she make it to the final? Was it the token woman? And is that why she had such an easy ride in that final boardroom meeting? I don’t really know what to say except there are so many of you out there who would have produced something so much better and delivered. She had to rely on knowing very little and she still got to this point through being fairly dogmatic and vocal! So don’t hide what you’ve got about you, get out there and sell it, after all Jade only had belief so imagine if you have belief and you can do the job, what can you achieve?

All in all an entertaining 12 weeks but as always some awful interviewers especially in Claude, who if he really interviewed anyone outside this process who had any sense of self respect they would leave the interview. You should not be interrupted and disrespected in an interview, it does not get the best out of anyone. All it determines is that someone can handle confrontation, but you don’t get the other areas which need to be considered. I look forward to the day when someone says, “Thank you for your time but I don’t want the job if the interview is like this as it’s not the sort of culture I would want to be involved in”… I can live in hope.

Well, companies and recruitment agencies both like to feel you’ve made an effort even if they don’t get a chance to read it fully. Where you are applying to a company direct they’ll be pleased to read words which they associate with their organisation and subconsciously, they will be more positive about your application. Aside from applications to the public sector, which require a very different set of rules, use as few words as possible and make those words count. Make them appropriate, relevant and engaging.

Recruitment agencies are a bit different again, as they very rarely read covering letters, now I would say never but no doubt there are a few out there who would disagree. In general, for agencies, screening has to be fast, so they’re skimming through your CV to see if you have what they want and they won’t read the covering letter, they just don’t have the time.

So my advice to you… Always tailor your application and or covering letter to a company direct, but make it concise, short and sweet. Don’t spend too much time tailoring for agencies as it’s the CV they want to see however make sure it is a CV they’ll want to see!!

Public sector recruitment, again if it is direct to the organisation or public sector body make sure you tailor your application or covering letter and this time rather than being short and sweet, make it much longer. These organisations like to see you have gone to a lot of effort. However if it’s an agency recruiting for the organisation then the agency rules above still apply.

Good luck with your application, spend your time where it counts and where those reading will appreciate it.