One Stop Jobs

So you have applied for a job and had a call or a letter inviting you to attend an interview, so what do you do next? Firstly you need to make sure that you can attend the interview and make any arrangement such as child care, time off your current job etc. Once this is in place you need to know exactly how you are going to get to and from the interview, especially if you don’t drive. If you are going to be going by train, then ideally you should have a backup plan in case the trains are cancelled or delayed.

The next thing to consider is the actual interview its self. Have a read through your CV and cover letter and highlight any areas which you think they may question you on such as a gap in employment or an additional qualification you gained and also any parts that you want to expand upon with them. Make a note of any questions you may need to ask such as working hours, salary etc and perhaps have it all typed up for you to take in with you.

When choosing what to wear, always go slightly over dressed rather than under dressed. Even if you are applying for a job where you will be dressed in overalls, still turn up for the interview in smart dress.

Over the past few decades there has been so many technological advances that certain jobs seem to be at risk of decline and possibly extinction in the near future.

Company owners are quick to realise that if they can automate a process by machinery or computers then they can save on salaries and make more profit in the long run. For this reason many jobs in manufacturing for example have started to be harder to find as they simply are not required as much as previously.

Although it is inevitable that this will happen over the next decade or so, it is important to remember that sometimes automated processes simply cannot replace a human being and in certain situations it may not be right to try and go this way.

Book publishing is another industry that has seen a massive decline over the past few years. Since the release of e-readers and phone / tablets that allow you to buy and download digital books, not as many people are buying physical books so there is less demand for them. Over time if this does not change then publishing may become a thing of the past.

 

 

If you are considering a career in the tourism industry then you may think that a job as a holiday rep would be fun. Many people have the idea that the job of a holiday rep is just to lazy around in the sun, meet and greet and then spend the rest of the day exploring the sights, but this is far from the truth.

The job of a holiday rep is to ensure that the people who have travelled with your company enjoy their holiday and that there are no issues. If there are issues then it is your responsibility to try and sort them out.

Firstly you will need to hold welcome meetings, possibly even a few times a day depending on when people arrive. You will need to be aware of what trips you offer as a company and also try and upsell these to the holiday makers, often you will receive commission for this. As well as trips, you may be expected to try and sell car hire. You will often have to work shifts with other reps and many companies like to have someone on call at all times should something go wrong for one of the guests.

If you have recently taken up a new job role or gone to work for another company you may not necessarily be happy with your latest chose of employment, but should you wait a while before you hand your notice in? In many cases, problems at work can often be solved by discussing them with your manager, but you may worry about doing this so early on in to a job. When you first start a job, most people are given a review after the first week, month or possibly three months. This is the perfect opportunity to air your concerns but if you simply cannot wait that long then arrange a one on one meeting with your superior to discuss your issues in detail.

If you do not feel that the situation can be resolved, then you may consider looking for a new job. Leaving a job after only a few weeks or months does not look great on a CV but as long as it doesn’t happen often and you can fairly explain your reasons why, then it’s probably not going to be too much of an issue. You may find that you have to wait until the end of the month to get paid when you leave a job and if you have to work a month in hand in your new post, it could be a while before you have a steady income coming in.

 

A job reference is essentially a letter or verbal confirmation that you attended a place of work for a certain period. Many references also include more specific details about the job role you did and your performance. The idea of a reference is to give the prospective employer an idea of what kind of worker you are; are you reliable, conscientious etc..  Many people worry about giving out details for their current employer as a reference until they have handed their notice in, but if you tell the interviewer that you would prefer for them not to be contacted until you have handed in your notice they will understand. Often employers will state that if the references so not match up to the information you have given them they can revoke the job offer with no notice period.  An employer is under no legal obligation to give you a reference but most will. They can detail information such as disciplinary details, attendance etc, but all the information they give has to be accurate, fair and true.

You can give more than one previous employer as a reference or if you have had no previous employment you may be able to give details or a teacher or lecturer that could be contacted instead.

 

Looking for a job can be a daunting time, especially if you have found yourself out of work and need something quickly. You may not be able to wait weeks or months for the ideal job to come up so therefore you may need to go for something that would not normally be your first choice.

When applying for jobs, always consider the good and bad points. If the job is miles away from where you live, make sure you know how you will get there and ideally wok out the cost each day.

Although you may need to find a job quickly, job satisfaction can have a massive knock on effect on job performance and therefore can make a huge difference in how well you complete tasks within your job. If you have little or no motivation for the job then your work is likely to be incomplete or not done to your best ability and this is not good for any business. It can also make your colleagues feel less content in their role if they constantly hear you moan about yours, so ideally only accept a job that you think you can be happy in or on the understanding that it is only short term.

 

There may come a time during your employment that you decide that it’s time to have a career change. There are many reasons for people deciding to have a career change; sometimes it’s due to wanting a job with different hours or that they can earn more money or it may be that you feel you get no satisfaction out of your current position. For some, this is very risky and it may mean giving up a job to go in to the unknown. You may even to have to return to some sort of education to train for a new career. If this is the case it then you will have to check how this will impact you in terms of your financial situation and check that you can still afford to support yourself. If you are going back in to education, not only may you have to fund the cost of the course yourself but you may not have enough time to still work and train or possibly have to substantially reduce your hours. This can have a massive effect on the household income and often is enough to put many people off. If you can cope with this and know it is only going to be short term then you may decide that its worth the stress because you will be better off in the long run.

 

 

Many parents have to work to afford to pay the bills. Often both parents need to work in order to raise enough money to live on and if they have young children, this often means that they need to put them into childcare.

Childcare can be expensive with some nurseries charging between £40-£50 per day per child. If you have two children at nursery then you will be looking to pay £100 per day in a 5 day week total. £500 a week!

This is an enormous amount of money for anyone to pay and it often more than the average salary. When looking into work, you need to take this in to consideration. Many parents will try and find a job where they can work part time or finish early to cut down on the childcare costs. Also some parents are able to get help from the government for childcare in the form of tax credits. All parents are given 15 hours funded childcare when their child reaches the age of three and this is due to increase this September to 30 hours but for children under that age, you will need to be on a low income to get any help.