Posts tagged jobs

Since its launch in 1997, Google Search has changed the world we live in. By no means the first search engine (that honour goes to the Aliweb, released in 1993), it was the first to become ingrained in our culture, as people up and down the country began to “Google”.

Today Google search is regarded by most internet users as the go-to search engine for our entire web browsing needs.

Traditionally search engines were used to search for things or companies. However now it is possible to search for anyone with an online identity. Have a Facebook, Twitter or MySpace account? If yes, then you could become a search result on Google. And supposedly this is what companies now do to find out information about potential employees. You can get so much information about someone just through looking at their social media accounts, some of which may not show you in the best light. My Facebook profile for instance contains 1,565 photos of me. Of these photos I would say that 75% are of me as drunk as a skunk, another 20% are from my travels and the final 5% show be making a fool of myself at various events.

That’s me below at a staff party a few years ago. I’m the one ‘dressed’ as a mummy!

Now that’s not a great first impression for an employer!

Because let’s face it, when you apply for a job, the company looks at your covering letter, CV and then jumps on google to find out all the juicy bits. I would say that nowadays almost every applicant for a white-collar job has been looked up online.

Therefore I have spent the day cleaning up my online social identity, to present myself to the outside world in a respectable manner. I’ve insured my personality, personal photos and experiences are preserved online, but I have selected who can see what on all my online profiles.

I then decided to Google myself, by typing in my name followed by things my CV links to me. For instance, my name followed by ‘Column Idol’, my name followed by ‘UK’ or my name and ‘Essex Graduate’. Sure enough I was there! On page 1 of my search. I discovered some interesting things about myself! For example, I once did a live interview for BBC radio Northampton back in July, and the recording was posted online for all to hear. Upon reading the description of the radio show I learnt that on the same show Jane McDonald spoke about her latest tour, and there was a cheese tasting from the St Giles Cheese shop.  

This now probably gives me the credentials to appear on ‘I’m A Celebrity’, right?

So in summary, any job hunter out there, make sure you tidy up your online appearance. It’s just as important as wearing deodorant and having shiny shoes at your interview. And if you haven’t made to the interview stage yet, then this could be why.

Take Care

x

Now Valentine’s Day is out of the way I can venture back onto the web, safe in the knowledge that I won’t have to read any more mushy and clichéd love messages on twitter or Facebook, or better still the classic “I’m single but I don’t care” type message – clearly you don’t enjoy being alone because you feel the need to tell the world you’re single on supposedly the most romantic day of the year. Issues much?

Moving on.

I spent Valentine ’s Day job hunting (alone), with the sweet sound of my radio keeping me company. Whilst going about my business as normal the radio presenter introduced his topic of the day – the rising unemployment of young people in the UK.

The gist of the feature was that unemployment levels among the 18-25 bracket has increased to a record high and that the government is doing very little to combat this issue – a point which I agree with. But one caller to the show, who was clearly from an older generation, felt the blame lie elsewhere. The lady in question implied that most young people in this country don’t want to work! I’m very sorry Miss, but that simply is not the case.

There is no lack of ambition from my generation.  The lady in question referred the London riots as evidence that the young people of today are mindless idiots’ intent on causing disruption and fighting the system. Well first things first. This was a small minority of idiotic youths jumping on the bandwagon. There was an incident that sparked the whole affair and a handful of people had a right to feel aggrieved, but most of the rioters were unaware of the original issue and so they seemingly joined in just for the sheer hell of it. But I stress – this was a minority!

The majority of young people in this country are either working hard to build a better future for themselves or making the best out of the options they have available to them at present in the hope that thing will get better.

From my own personal experience I’m pleased to say that all my friends from uni have found jobs or are still in education, hoping to get the qualification to help them achieve their career goals. Of those working, not all have found their dream careers, but they are working. They all have a desire to work, and they live in the real world, like the majority of young people in Briton today. I have only ever come across one young person in the last year who has given be a negative impression of young Brits. A young lad on the site I was working on said to me, “this working for your rent is hard work. I’m better off on the dole”.

I was shocked – and I would just like to point out that this fella was not someone I’d socialise with and he has about as much personality and ambition as a salmon. But this is my sole negative dealing with a young person in Britain in the past 12 month. Most have career ambitions or a least have a desire to work to earn a living and build a life and a future.

But that said, I do feel that many young people are going about finding employment the wrong way because they simply don’t have the right knowledge when it comes to getting a job.

The government could do more, and reforming education would be a start. I’ve been on forums for graduates and school leavers and it’s shocking how many people do not know how to approach a company about a job. They don’t have a CV and they have no idea what a covering letter is.

To combat this, the government should introduce a compulsory lesson in career development. Just before kids take their options in year 9 they should have to develop a career plan and be given lessons in how to build up employability skills. The same could be said for finance. Most young people (and adults!) don’t have a clear understanding of credit, and so when they are of an age to take out a loan or apply for a credit card, they do so with no idea of the implication of negative credit. There are other options out there but without education people aren’t aware of them, and so they eventually get into financial trouble which could easily have been avoided.

But these lessons can’t be run in a half-arsed manner like sex ed classes, where for an 1hour kids are taught how to put a condom on a cucumber – which quickly descends into… ’what happens if I stick it over my head’ or ‘look I’ve made a balloon’.

No, this would not work! The lessons need structure and they have to be reinforced with practical experience with professional. Drop bloody textiles if you have to! After all who’s ever needed to sew a flower onto a t-shirt? Make ‘employability 101’ an interactive lesson focused on practical experience, thus giving kids knowledge that they can carry forward into later life.

So in response to the lady of the radio;

It was you’re generation that caused this rapid rising in unemployment in Britain, along with the increasing cost of living and university fees. It was your generation that elected the past governments that got us into this mess. And it was your generation that during the economic boom in the 90’s decided to spend all yours, and the countries money, on crap we didn’t need which in turn built a nation secured on debt.

It is now my generations’ responsibility to save our economy. It is my generation who will become the ‘lost’ generation for no fault of our own. And it is my generation that is going to be working until we are in our 70’s to pay for your lovely state pensions.

So before you start talking about my generation, I think you should look at who caused these problems in the first place.

“Hi, I’m Matthew and welcome to my video CV. I have decided to produce this video because, as I’m sure you’re aware, communications has changed. The pen and paper method is now just one approach available for reaching a target audience, therefore it is important that potential employees, like myself, are media savvy and understand the power of multimedia in the market place.”

This was the intro to my video CV. I had to make this video as part of my interview with a graduate internship recruitment agency. The interview itself went well. There were of course the pretty standard question asked by recruitment agencies, although what I liked was the fact that the questions focused on what I wanted to achieve. Helen (the interviewer) seemed to like me. She implied that her agency could find me a job in the near future, given my skills and personality. But unlike most interviews, rather than a handshake and a, “we’ll be in touch”, she said, “now are you ready to do you’re video?”

I’ll be honest, I’m not sure this was for me to begin with. Sure I don’t mind being on camera, and I was confident in my pitch. Plus I’ve done pitches and presentation in the past, to uni lecturers and most recently to the editor of The Sun newspaper, so I wasn’t particularly nervous. My issue was that I’ve seen many of these video CV’s in the past and most have been pants! Many are unprofessional, unrehearsed and the applicants look scruffy.

“Hi my names, errrr, John, and I want to be aaaaa, errrr, (nervous laugh), a… ”

But this felt different. This company had a room made for this sort of thing. A good quality camera sat proudly on a tripod, facing a tall stool which was carefully placed in front of a multi-coloured backdrop. The room was nice and quiet, and perfectly lit for this type of video. A good start - professional.  

I chose to stand. Why? At the time I felt that the stool might affect my posture and voice, so by standing I could hold myself up straight and project clearly.

“Ok Matt when I give the thumbs up you may start”

(Thumbs up)

“Hi, I’m Matthew and welcome to my video CV…”

It went well and I got it done in the first take (the only person to do so all week apparently).

After that came the handshakes and goodbyes. Finished. I then got an email on my way home saying that my video profile was available for companies to view on the agencies website, along with my normal CV, and it would be sent to potential employers who the agency felt would suite my needs and vice versa.

I’m yet to hear anything, but it’s only been 48 hours. And when I do I’ll let you known.

But I think this video idea could actually work. It must be freshening for a HR officer, sitting at his/her desk for the eighth hour in a row whilst drinking their tenth cup of coffee, to receive one of these videos. It must beat the generic CV and covering letter, with overused phrase like, ‘I possess excellent communication skills’ or ‘I am a hardworking and determined graduate’.

We can all use words to make us seem whiter than white. Hollow words mainly. But also what the generic approach doesn’t do is show personality. And personality is key in this day and age! In every walk of life a strong personality and success go hand in hand. Simon Cowell isn’t the biggest media proprietor in the world because he is especially talented. Lady Gaga isn’t the biggest name in pop because she writes the best songs. David Beckham isn’t the most famous Brit on the planet because he kicks a ball around for 90 minutes. No, they all have strong personalities or a unique selling point (USP). The nasty judge. The crazy mysterious girl.  That nice, easy-going fella who walks about in his pants all the time. By having a distinct personality or trait, they each become more marketable and they begin to stand out in their respected industries.

Look at twitter. The people with the most followers are those who put themselves out there for all to see. MySpace launched a thousand bands, getting them record deals all because they set up a strong online identity and with it a BrAND image. The music almost played second fiddle to everything else. Just look at Lily Allen and the way her career went (I actually quite like her music by the way).

What I would suggest to any graduate, who knows what they want to do in life, is get yourself out there and put your personality on show so. Try and stand out from the crowd.

This could be a case of the blind leading the blind – as I too need a new job. But what harm can it do. Try it. And if you have any success let me know.

Take care

x

You’ve got to love a snow day! A day off work! You’re free to enjoy the simply joys of home life. You know the ones; Loose Women (the daytime TV programme – you dirty minded so and so!), Football Manager before lunchtime and a chance to catch up on any housework or that DIY project that’s been on the cards since last year’s snow day.

Bliss.

No commute. No angry bosses. No pressure.

That’s the case for those of you that have a career.

If you’re a graduate like me, struggling to make that first step on the career ladder, then you will have another name for a snow day like today.

We call them Mondays. Or Tuesdays. Wednesdays, Thursday and so on and so forth. Yep, today felt like just another day in domestic bliss. And by bliss I mean boredom.

See, I know my previous entries haven’t really focused on the graduate’s conundrum, for which I am sorry. Instead I seem to have produced a short autobiography, written in the style of a stroppy teenager. I had my reasons. To get my head clear and to properly get to the very heart of my situation I felt like I needed to go backwards to go forwards. Set the scene as it were. After all, every good story has to have a beginning, middle and end. Well now we have reached the middle (hooray!!!).

My life now consists of three things;

• Job/Career-Hunting
• My Part-time Labouring job (a.k.a. a means to pay for a roof over my head and a social life)
• The Gym

The latter two actually act as a release from the first. Job-hunting! The bane of my life.

A thankless task, which makes me feel like a hamster in a ball. Oh did you know that if you leave a hamster in a ball for more than half-an-hour then they start hallucinating - I know it’s mental!

I digress.

Each day I get up at 7; get ready like I would if I was going to work (no suit or tie that would be silly), and plonk myself down in front of my computer for around 8 to start job-hunting. I’ve taken many different approaches to this task and I’m still yet to find the winning formula. Stage 1 is always the same. I spend most of the morning looking at the career section of companies that I’d like to work for, such as the BBC or for dynamic independent PR companies.  Or I go about searching numerous recruitment websites, looking for fresh ads or little gems that I may have missed the previous day. I make a note of the good ones, say 10-15. Then I research the company at bit more (location, history, mission statements, HR managers’ names) and go over the job description again and again. If I like what I see and I feel that I could offer the company something and vice versa then I move on to stage 2. The application. This is where the hard work begins. Now my list is usually down to about 6 companies. Then one by one I tailor my CV to suite the needs of that particular company, cramping my relevant achievement into a little under 2 sides of A4. THEN I produce an original covering letter, explaining in four paragraphs why I am brilliant and your company needs me because I am wittier and generally better than any of the 4,000 other applicants.

However sometimes I have to go to stage 2.5 – the application form. A form so great, that it must take a whole army of suited ladies and gentlemen working in HR departments across the country to get through a single application. That would explain why most companies take 5 weeks to get back to you (that’s if they bother!). As I said a thankless task. Seriously it takes two second to send a generic:

Sorry (INSERT NAME), but this time your application has been unsuccessful.

But no, instead I have to call companies back or if I can’t get through to HR officer just wait. And wait. And wait. All this, after spending 6 hours filling out a crappy form. What a load of tripe! And who comes up with these forms.

Here’s a real example I’ve come across.

‘If a boy told you his name was Pinocchio, and while telling you that his nose began to grow, would this be a paradox? Explain your reasoning.’

Wtf! How does this help a communications officer? Or my favourite… the multiple choice questions.

Which option best describes you:

a) I am a hard-working individual with good interpersonal skills.

b) I am a creative individual with a keen eye for detail.

c) I suck cock for bus fair but then walk anyway because that’s the type of guy I am.

C may be a tad too far, but you get the point. I’m sure there must be a better way to recruit staff. After all anyone can tell you what they think you want to hear. If I wanted to work in design I would pick B. If I wanted to work in customer service I’d pick A. If I wanted to be a gigolo I’d pick C, and by doing so I’d probably get more commission because I’d saved my pimp a bit of money on travel expenses.

Anyway that’s enough ranting for one day – the snow around my house is starting to melt due to the vast amounts of steam coming out of my ears. I’ll carry on my mini rant about job-hunting again another day. Now it’s time to carry on with a bit more job-hunting and tedious application forms.

Take care

x

‘Life’. For the average person in the developed world life can be very predictable. We’re born, we grow, we go to school, we make friends, we go to ‘BIG’ school, we lose friends (but it’s ok because we make new ones), we hit puberty, we experience many firsts, we take exams, we leave school. This procedure is set in stone. As individuals we approach this procedure in different ways, which in turn creates minor variation in the pattern.  For example; some may not finish school. Others will get straight A’s. Or like myself, you may flirt with mediocrity and get by – B’s and C’s. Nothing too flash, but enough to open up a few doors.

Then comes the first real choice! Exciting stuff!

No not really.

Option A) Find a job.

Pros: Money,  independence, fast track to the real world (more on this later)

Cons: Fewer career options, long working life, less job satisfaction (???)

Option B) Go to College/Uni

Pros: Excellent social life, independence, more career options (supposedly)

Cons: Debt, sheltered from the real world, uncertainty

I chose option B. Why? Because I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. To be honest, at 16 I don’t think I was really ready for the real world. Bosses, a mortgage, a wife and children!!!  In fact at 22 I still don’t feel completely ready. Bosses and children scare me, I’m pretty sure you need a good job before you get a mortgage and my love life is as successful as this coalition government.

So B it was. And by and large I feel I’ve made the right choice. This may sound like a cliché, but I really grew as a person at uni, I discovered a lot about myself and I generally did make friends for life.

Then………….. KAPOW! It’s over. Three years at uni over in a-blink-of-an-eye.

“Shit”!

No one prepares you for this! Again I achieved mediocrity. A 2:1 in English.

So where next?

I knew where my talents lied and I had a few rough career plans. I knew I was good with words and people. I knew I wanted a career where I could be creative. I know I wasn’t motived my money but by doing something that I found engaging, which was rewarding and thus allowed me to be happy in the workplace.

PR? Marketing? Journalism? Acting? Event management?

All interesting career options. Each appeals to me for different reasons. But how to go about getting my foot in the door?

Truth is, I don’t think there is a key or a winning formula. Especially not with this recession.

So I come up with option C. GAP-Year.

Genius! And where would I go. Australia of course! Sun, sea, sand and sex. Sorted!

Now don’t get me wrong because I loved my time in Oz. I met family I never knew about, who turned out to be without doubt the most caring and happiest people I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet. I lived on Bondi beach. Nuff’ said. And I had a good job, waiting tables for ‘posh’ Aussies (who by British standards are pretty much like anybody living in Kent or Hertfordshire). Plus I was on $40,000 a year. Wtf!

But the grass isn’t always greener. I choose the coldest and wettest year on record to go Down Under. Speaking of down under - the sex. Getting down to it with a random lady on a bunk bed with 10 other people in the room wasn’t great. Especially when you’ve had too much Jager and the German couple in the next bunk are going at it like rabbits. Robotic rabbits! “Ya, Ya, Ya”.

FML.

What was I doing? I don’t think Marvin Gaye had this in mind when he wrote ‘let’s get it on’.

“Zo, how waz it fur you?”, my German neighbour asked his young lady friend after what can only be described as a solid 3 minutes of repetitive pounding. And I mean repetitive!  Like Meg White’s drummer in any White Stripes song. That repetitive!  

Needless to say, she didn’t stay long after.

So come June 2011 I was back home in the UK. Finally feeling ready for the real world. Ready to meet the ‘The Graduate’s Conundrum - needing experience to get a job, and needing a job to get experience’.

Before I go on I feel I need to take a break, as I’ve sort of missed the point of micro-blogging. Micro being the key word.  So I’ll leave you there. I will post again soon but for now I should get on with job hunting/football manager (after all it is a friend afternoon).

Take care,

x