How Jobcentre Plus can help your career

How Jobcentre Plus can help your career by Michael Cheary Unfortunately, jobseeking isn’t always easy.No matter how prepared you are for interviews, and how polished your CV is, finding the perfect fit for you can often take time. Add to that the potential pressure of being out of work and not bringing in a regular income, and the process can seem even more stressful.Luckily, there is an organisation out there which is specifically set up to help out: Jobcentre Plus. Here’s everything you need to know to get started:What is Jobcentre Plus?Jobcentre Plus is a brand used by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to help UK jobseekers enter or re-enter the workforceFirst introduced in October 2001, it was initially formed as a government executive agency, bringing the Employment Service and Benefits Agency into one organisation.All Jobcentre Plus sites are now run by the DWP, but still function in the same way: providing assistance for people in the community who are actively looking for work.Who is Jobcentre Plus for?Jobcentre Plus is for anyone struggling to find a new job.You do have to be of working age, and also show that you are actively looking (and applying) for jobs.If you’re claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) you will need to visit your nearest office every two weeks. However, you do not need to be claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance to visit Jobcentre Plus, and anyone looking for new opportunities in their area is welcome.How can it help me?By offering personalised support and advice while you’re searching for a job.Their advisers will provide information on jobs in your area, any apprentice schemes available to you and any training schemes which may suit your career plans. Additionally, their Universal Jobmatch service will help you search for new positions, and make your CV visible to employers.Jobcentre Plus is also the place to find out what social security benefits are available to help make your job search easier, and what you’re entitled to claim.How do I get sta rted?The easiest way to see what your local Jobcentre Plus can offer is by getting in touch with them directly.Call your local office and book an appointment to speak to one of their advisers. During the appointment they’ll interview you about your employment history, and learn more about what it is you look for in a role.During this first interview they’ll also be able to talk to you about how to claim benefits such as JSA, or anything else which can ease the financial burden while you’re job hunting.How do I find my nearest office?It’s easy to find your nearest Jobcentre Plus office.Simply call the Jobcentre Plus phone line on 0345 696 9234 (Welsh Language: 0345 606 7890). Operating hours are Monday to Friday, between 8am and 6pm.Alternatively, you could use the local office search tool, available on the gov.uk site.Find a job What Where Search JobsSign up for more Career AdviceSign up for moreCareer Advice Please enter a valid email addressmessage hereBy clicking Su bmit you agree to the terms and conditions applicable to our service and acknowledge that your personal data will be used in accordance with our privacy policy and you will receive emails and communications about jobs and career related topics. Career Development Getting Started How to start looking for work

5 Steps to Take On A Veterinary Assistant Career

5 Steps to Take On A Veterinary Assistant Career Are you undecided on what career path to take? Have you given being a veterinary assistant a thought? Well, being a vet assistant can be quite rewarding, and it doesn’t need much to be one. It is true that there are many who have discouraged you from being a vet, and perhaps they have told you all sorts of things to paint this career in a bad light. But there are many benefits that a vet gets. If you are determined on becoming a vet assistant, then read on to find out how to become one. Get a high school diploma The moment you think of working as an assistant veterinary, you should prepare yourself to get a high school diploma. This is because a high school diploma is a minimum requirement to get into the field of veterinary. Among the topics, you need to take serious include biology, chemistry as well as geometry. Go for a certificate It is not enough to just have a high school diploma for any prospective vet assistant. After getting your diploma, you should start thinking of enrolling in a certificate program. Note that this is not a qualification, but what it does is set you apart from everyone else, thus increasing your chance of landing a job. A certificate will enable one know how to deal with both big and small animals with various conditions. While taking your certificate program, go for courses like surgical preparation, sterilization techniques, sanitation as well as animal care. Find employment opportunities Now that you have enough academic qualifications, it is time to start looking for a job opportunity. This is important as you will be able to implement what you have learned from books into real-life application. Again, the vet or vet technician will teach you how to handle the various aspects of being a vet assistant. You will also notice that being in the field attending to the various illnesses that animals have is not all there is in veterinary. You will also learn about office policies and regulations. Get an associate’s degree If you want a way to advance your career as a veterinary assistant, then you need to take a further step and enroll for an associate’s degree in veterinary technology. With this degree, you will learn how to perform some things in the laboratory as well as how to conduct diagnostic tests. Be familiar with animals Being a veterinary means being close to animals. This implies that if you want to be successful as a vet assistant, then you have to be close to animals most of your time. Also, you can be staying close to professionals who have been practicing veterinary duties for long. These people will teach you many things that you might never be able to learn in class. Being a professional in veterinary services can be prestigious. However, getting through all the steps can be intimidating, especially the class part. As you plan to start your journey as a veterinary assistant, go through the steps highlighted in this post first.

Secrets of the Internal Recruiter David Cherry at McAfee

Secrets of the Internal Recruiter David Cherry at McAfee Today we had a chat with David Cherry, who is a senior international in-house recruiter for McAfee, and an old colleague of mine based in London. He shared very insightful tips for job seekers and his thoughts on the changing career industry, all kept very secret until now! What do you do at McAfee? Currently I’m a Senior Recruitment Business Partner working in the internal Talent Acquisition Team for McAfee, my day is taken up recruiting (across various functions) throughout Southern and Central Europe and our Emerging Markets region. I am also heavily involved in social media using tools like Facebook and Twitter. Tell us about your background My first job was actually as a QA Engineer for a small software company â€" I’ve always been interested in technology and being 19 years old, building servers and programming modems was (at the time) the best thing ever! Unfortunately I was made redundant after 9 months, so I did what every does and uploaded my CV on to Monster’s database â€" this was how I ended up in recruitment and have been working in the industry now for over 10 years, always with a focus on technology, To begin with I joined a small recruitment company in London and began focusing on networking and telecoms recruitment in the UK. Through the relationships I had built I had the opportunity to work for one of my clients (Ochre House) who provide outsourced recruitment and HR solutions, and one of their clients was McAfee, after 3.5 yrs working on site at McAfee I was given the opportunity to move in-house in to a permanent position. What is the job market like in your region (EMEA)? You can get so many different answers to this question depending on who you speak to. Personally I think the job market is increasing and gaining strength every day. At the same time businesses are being more cautious and only recruiting positions which are deemed as critical hires. There are a lot of jobs out there but unfortunately due to the downtown there are even more people looking for those jobs which increases the competition. What’s it like recruiting across so many countries? It’s the most interesting part of my job, I have recruited in at least 30 different countries in my career and whilst it does mean I am incredibly busy every day I really enjoy working with different people, making new contacts and learning about new countries and cultures. What are McAfee typically looking for in a candidate? There’s no silver bullet to this question and every manager and every client I have recruited for will look for something different but being passionate and motivated is a great starting point. What are you 3 best tips for job seekers? Be honest Spell check your CV/resume Be prepared for an interview / have your own questions How important are CVs and cover letters nowadays? CVs are crucial; this is the document that gets you in the door, the document that holds the key to speaking to someone or securing that interview! Covering letters; myself I’m not as interested in these and would tend to go straight to the CV but I do like to see a covering email explaining why someone is applying, their current situation etc Just not something that’s 5 pages long! The more effort a candidate puts in to their application the more effort you will find a company will put into their response. Any horror stories? Several I can think of, but none I can repeat! I did interview someone a few weeks for a customer facing position; I asked a fairly straight forward question What are your main strengths as a communicator? to which I got the reply I’m not very good at communicating â€" Moral of the story think about your answers before speaking. Success stories? I’ve seen many in my current position, the best are when you’re involved in hiring someone at the beginning of their career and then over the next few years you’re able to interview them again and, in some case again. Before you know it they become a manager and you start working with them to help build their own team. What are the social media trends in the career industry? Social media is gaining momentum all the time and there are a lot of different options for an employer to take advantage of. When thinking about a social media strategy you should start thinking about the finish line and what you want to achieve â€" you will then be able to choose the right media and platforms to suit your objectives. Are recruiters, as brokers, threatened by LinkedIn? I would say no, there will always be the need for someone to facilitate, technology and automation can be fantastic and can assist with the speed of a hire but there is a danger to removing the human element and this could just damage your brand as an employer. What is your favourite social media tool? Has to be Twitter â€" it’s one of the most responsive on the market today. You can get your message instantly to wider audience, it has the ability to snowball very quickly. You do, of course have to be careful what you tweet about what goes on the internet, stays on the internet!  You can, of course, follow me on  Twitter. What’s the one thing people can do to help you? Candidates can help themselves by keeping their profile up to date on LinkedIn or any other online media they are using for job hunting. If it’s not there is a huge risk that a recruiter would just overlook the profile and move on to the next. Also in my current role as an internal recruiter I would suggest to approach companies directly there is a big push, particularly with the larger organisation to reduce recruiting costs, which means reducing reliance on external recruitment companies. Final words of wisdom? What did you want to do when you were growing up? Are you doing it? If not, why? David Cherry has over 10 years experience in recruitment focused on head hunting and executive search and works across both sales technical positions in Europe. As part of the internal Talent Acquisition Team at McAfee, David started in a technical recruiting role responsible for engineering and technical support in the UK and Israel. Connect with him at  @DavidCherry4.

How Female Entrepreneurs Can Be Better Fundraisers

How Female Entrepreneurs Can Be Better Fundraisers If you are a  female entrepreneur trying to be better fundraiser for your business, you’ll soon understand how tough it is for women-led ventures to raise funds.  According to research,    female investors only make up 4.4% of the industry. This might explain why their businesses  only get 4.2% of venture capital funding.  At the same time, it’s proven that  male entrepreneurs are 40% more likely  to get funding than female counterparts. Living in a world which is dominated by such staggering odds against you, how do we become better fundraisers against our male counterparts? Below are a few tips that will help you  increase your success. How Female Entrepreneurs Can Be Better Fundraisers 1.  Research   Funds in general never come easy. The majority  of investors dont want to risk breaking out of the norm. They go according to where the stats and strength of the current market are leading them. They also deem it fit to invest in an area their competitors are funding. So before starting your campaigns, make a list of all the investors you believe might be sympathetic to your cause or business. Research properly and plan everything accordingly. Female fundraisers should remember, it always takes a lot of  time  to convince a lead investor. Don’t get impatient if it takes a long time. Once you manage to confirm one investor willing to risk his or her resources on you, it’s smooth sailing from then onwards to get others. 2. Speak in Digits When you’re pitching to potential investors, make sure you have solid numbers on hand. Venture Capitalists, or VCs for short, love to hear numbers. Numbers are what they are comfortable with and numbers are usually where their area of expertise lies. You’ll perk their ears and they’ll begin to notice you once you start talking real numbers and projections. Lay out your long-term plan  and explain your business model in a crisp, clear and concise manner. You might think that you have the upper hand while speaking about your business and future plans. But, if you get a single market statistic or financial stats wrong, the VCs will tear your report apart. Attend your meetings  well prepared, leave no margin for error. Your investors are obviously experts when it comes to finance and where to put their money for the most outcomes. When it comes to your company, you should be prepared to fight off any inquiry. Your investors will analyze every single number and break it down.  3.  Define Your Future Plan Plan your future activities and clearly define them during your pitch. The milestones you have achieved so far and the funding you have already managed to rake in are a huge plus. All of this should also be implied in budgetary terms. You should also have a good exit route planned for your potential investors. State an apparent actuarial management policy and different, realistic options. When it comes to the future, you’ll have to face issues of your femininity as well. There will always be doubts that you will suddenly take a maternity leave or succumb to domestic pressures just when things start to look up.  This might seem outrageous, but female fundraisers  state  these as genuine concerns  investors have. You as a  woman will have to face such issues. Your investors probably have twenty other meetings scheduled on the same day, and as statically proven, most will be men. You have to be convincing enough to make your investors prefer you over others.  4.  Answer the “Why” Crowdfunding campaigns rely heavily on generating an audience and attention through social media. To get investors interested in what you do, it’s imperative that they know  why  you’re doing it. “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it,” says Simon Sinek, speaker and author of Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action. Your mission should be so well defined that no one would think to stop and question you. Your passion will make you stand out in a crowd of a  faceless audience and help you connect with the people. You have to reach them out in such a way that they will relate to you. Always be prepared for any question thrown at you. Have your numbers memorized by heart as people think twice before arguing with facts proven by  numbers. Good luck! Related Post: 4 Ways to Get Startup Capital for Your New Business

Writing a Resume For University Application Template

Writing a Resume For University Application TemplateMaking a resume for university application can be time consuming and a little bit frustrating. There are many different elements that make up a successful and professional resume. While there are many different tips to getting a resume that will land you the job, there are still certain elements that are very important in making a well-written and properly formatted resume. So what are these simple and basic steps to remember when you are designing your own resume?Start out with having your personal information up front. This could include your name, contact information, education, career goals, hobbies, and more. You should also think about how much you are going to use the information on your resume. Would you want a resume that is very detailed and filled with an extensive amount of information? Or do you want a more condensed version where you can list your current employment status, your educational background, and perhaps a br ief summary of your skills?Next, review the previous employers of your current employer. How were they hired? Was it through an interview? What were the results of the interview? This is a great place to start when you are creating your resume for university application.In terms of location, you need to decide what type of environment or position you are interested in. Do you need to have a specific type of career so you look into the location or do you want a general career? If you are looking to work in a high demand environment such as a law firm, you may be able to find more job opportunities in this type of environment. If you are looking for a job at a large company, you may want to look into other options.Now that you have this information in order, you should now go into the next step of building your resume. When youare creating your resume, your first focus should be on ensuring that it is concise, easy to read, and informative. The next step in this process is to ensure t hat the information you are including is current at the same time.After you have finished this first part of the resume, you should now get down to what is called the 'funniness' of the information you are including. Listing your hobbies and passions as well as any accomplishments you have will give the reader a sense of your personality. This is just another way to get the information that is important to you included.Finally, you need to get your resume prepared. Many people who choose to make their own resume for university application will first create their own cover letter. However, the majority of college graduates find that it is easier to hire a cover letter company to create the cover letter and then assign the formatting to them. Many companies are only too happy to do this for you.Once you are done with this step, you can move on to the next step of creating your resume. Take the time to create a resume that is well constructed and informative.

131 MaryLou Kayser - Author Mentor - Jane Jackson Career

131 MaryLou Kayser - Author Mentor - Jane Jackson Career MaryLou Kayser is a special lady who has incredible energy, passion, and dedication to make a difference in the lives of her clients.  Its not uncommon for people to feel smarter, more powerful and excited about who they are and the value they bring to the world after working with MaryLou.She is specifically on a mission to end booklessness for high performing thought leaders who are simply too busy to write their books themselves and value partnering with an expert like MaryLou to get their books done the right way.In an accelerated climate of new challenges, opportunities and constant change, MaryLou is a trusted advisor to individuals and organisations  who understand things are different today and dont want to get left behind.We have an interesting conversation about what it takes to be a success in business and MaryLou shares valuable insights into her fascinating career journey as well as her passion for American Football!Listen to her podcast, Play Your Position, and read her blog for ongoing inspiration!Where to find MaryLou:Website: www.maryloukayser.comTwitter: @maryloukayser

You Dont Need to Confess You are Unemployed

You Dont Need to Confess You are Unemployed When you are introducing yourself to someone new it is not necessary to include the phrase Ive been laid off or something similar within the first few seconds of your elevator pitch. Perhaps it is instinct that is directingyou to confess this information.Perhaps you feel theneed to be honest, or maybe it makes you feel better. No matter the reason, please dont do it, for your own good. Including your employment status in your pitch is irrelevant to what you want in the future. Sharing this information too early neither makes you look more interesting nor talented. It may conjure up other thoughts in the listeners mind that would be distracting from your core message. Thoughts such as: poor thing, this is a terrible time to be unemployedwonder what they did that got them laid offhow are they ever going to find a job right nowwow, it stinks to be you Those distracting thoughts can get in the way of the listener being able to help you. Sure, empathy is a wonderful thing, but thats not the help you want from most people. (Thats why you have friends, family and a support network). The other thing to know is that many employed people are looking for new jobs right now too. They dont start a conversation with someone they dont know by saying I hate my job and Im looking for a new one, or at least they shouldnt. You dont have to be unemployed to be looking fora job or to change careers. There are many factors that lead to someone looking for new work. Especially today, more and more talented people have learned that they should always be prospecting their next job/career move. Certainly they dont confess that up front. Focus instead on why you are great at what you do and what makes you different and memorable. Summarize the value you have you added to organizations you have worked with. Remember, this is a marketing campaign, you want to create a distinct brand and message that will catch attention for the right reasons, you are talented at what you do!