The top courses to help you get hired May 2016

The top courses to help you get hired May 2016 by Michael Cheary Looking to learn something new? May the course be with you… Just because the summer’s almost here, it doesn’t mean that absolutely everyone needs to give learning a break. Why not use the longer days to enhance your career, or simply build your expertise in an area you can really get passionate about?To narrow down your options, here are three of the hottest courses you can find on reed.co.uk this May:  Digital MarketingIf you’re interested in getting into the marketing industry, this qualification is for you.Not only does it cover core digital marketing essentials, like SEO (search engine optimisation, obvs), social media, analytics and CRM strategies, it’s also fully available online â€" meaning you can study at the times that suit you best.There are no prerequisites needed to get started, making it the perfect option for anyone with little previous experience in digital marketing. And, once qualified, you’ll be qualified to apply for jobs rang ing from Digital Marketing Assistant, Content Marketer and SEO Executive.Just be prepared to get technical with your language. Knowing the ROI from your BAU B2B activity will be a distinct advantage.N.B. People with an aversion to acronyms need not apply…What do I need? An enthusiasm and willingness to learn.How long will it last? Varies, depending on whether studying part-time or full-time.Perfect for: People who get passionate about PPC.Professional Diploma in Digital MarketingCognitive Behavioural TherapySpeaking of acronyms, why not give CBT a try?CBT, which stands for Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, is a type of therapy which helps people overcome their issues by transforming their negative mindset into a positive one.Generally used to treat anxiety and depression, the principles of CBT can be applied to a range of different situations, with thousands of people all over the world suffering from mental and physical health problems also benefiting from this type of counselling.Thi s fully certified CBT course covers all the basics to help you get started, as well as looking at key modules on theory, introducing change, and counselling skills.And the best part? All this month the course is being offered at a massive 94% off the regular retail price, meaning the whole certification is available for less than £20.Because you can’t put a price on positivity. Oh, wait…What do I need? There are no formal pre-requisites.How long will it last? Around 60 hours of part-time study.Perfect for: People who think, therefore they are.CBT CertificationDog TrainingThink you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? Think again…This comprehensive Dog Training Diploma course provides everything you need to help train and understand your four legged friend. So whether you’ve got a Spaniel with separation anxiety, an overeager German Shepherd, or a Golden Retriever who just won’t bring things back, this course is here to help.There are eight separate modules to complete, ra nging from the dog training basics, through to reward, reinforcement and calming signals. They even provide advice for anyone looking to turn their new skills into a lucrative new business.At the very least, you’ll get a great insight into the inner-workings of your canine companion. And, let’s face it, who doesn’t want to know what their dog really thinks about all day?Our guess? Squirrels. Always squirrels.What do I need? It would probably help if you’re a dog person…How long will it last? Around 150 hours.Perfect for: People who think fetch is fun.Dog Training DiplomaNot sure which course is right for you? View all available courses. Find a job What Where Search JobsSign up for more Career AdviceSign up for moreCareer Advice Please enter a valid email addressmessage hereBy clicking Submit you agree to the Features

4 Reasons Your Employee is a Potential Flight Risk

4 Reasons Your Employee is a Potential Flight Risk Whenever we experience change in our lives, it can cause us to take stock of our life choices. Whether you’ve had some changes in family circumstances, been through a reorganization at work or moved to a new house, it can result in you reassessing your employment situation. As an HR professional, you know that it’s inevitable that some employees will consider moving on to pastures new. Sometimes you need to accept this as part of the employee lifecycle. But in other situations, you can be more proactive. You can recognize that employees will consider other opportunities and take steps to limit the ones within our control â€" and avoid the pains associated with replacing them. My preference is certainly to be more proactive where possible, and research released by Qualtrics at the end of 2017 helps to explain why. The study found that almost  one-fifth of UK employees are planning a move  in the next two years, whereas these figures stand at just over one in ten in the US. This suggests that, comparatively, the UK has a serious problem when it comes to employee retention which needs to be addressed. Helpfully, the study also outlined some major indicators which can highlight whether employees may become a flight risk. These included: 1. Short tenure Employees that have been in their position for less time are more likely to move on according to the report. Are your recruitment processes bringing in people who fit in with the existing company culture? And don’t forget to look at how you engage with new starters. We’ve carried out research before which shows that employees are far more likely to remain within a company if they have a  structured onboarding programme. By making sure employees have everything they need to succeed when joining an organization, you can help build up the loyalty and trust that will keep attrition rates low. 2. Low pay or seniority It shouldn’t come as a surprise that people are happier in their job when they’re earning more money. It also shouldn’t be a shock that people will look outside their organization if they think they can advance their career faster elsewhere. So, having clear career progression plans in place for employees is essential if you want staff to stick around. 3. Stress The Qualtrics study showed that the majority of potential leavers feel stressed most of the time. It may well fall on managers to support their staff to overcome these work-related issues, but the HR department can also help here by highlighting the tell-tale signs that someone is experiencing problems. These can often be displayed in certain behaviors, such as persistent lateness or high instances of absence. 4. Work-life balance If your organization is perceived to be an employer who is supportive of the work-life balance, you’re more likely to have happier workers. Interestingly, the Qualtrics study showed that employees emailing outside of contracted hours could provide an indication of flight risk. It found that two-thirds of potential leavers email at weekends, and 25% all the time. Interestingly, 50% of loyal workers never check emails at the weekend. A recent study from the University of Surrey found that employers should do more to ensure employees don’t feel  pressured by technology  to work outside of their contracted hours. This is especially important in the ‘always on’ society we live in. But the flexibility granted by the digital world can lead to more productive employees and provide them with greater job satisfaction. Taking steps to reduce flight risk  The key for employers is to have systems in place to help create a balance to allow employees to work on their own terms but also to engage and monitor behavior. These systems should span across onboarding new starters, progression planning and employee wellbeing, as well as identifying potential problems in workers’ personal lives. But organizations don’t have to stop there. With the right kind of HR reporting and data, you can help your business to predict where the flight risks might be within their organization and address the issues in advance. This kind of predictive analytics can help businesses retain key talent and keep things running smoothly within the organization. About the author:  Richard Shinton is a Product Manager specialising in all things Business Intelligence with over 20 years of experience. The first 19 years with NGA UK and Ireland were spent building a successful Business Intelligence Support team centered around high levels of customer service. He has taken that experience and knowledge and brought it to bear in the ever-changing and fast-paced world of BI and Analytics.

Finding a Graduate Job with Nationwide - Banking Analyst

Finding a Graduate Job with Nationwide - Banking Analyst “Most of us go through university hoping that our ideal career will just hit us in the face and it just doesn’t work like that.” Andre has been very active with the Students Union at his university and has held an elected post. Now (at the time of writing) he is employed with Nationwide as a Banking Analyst. Being an active guy, even in his last year at university, there was no way he would get away with not giving me an interview, and I am glad he has agreed to share his experience. Faizan (Interviewer):   You’ve been busy through the year with the Students Unions activities and university modules, assignments etc. When did you start looking for a job? Andre:  Because I ran for a Students’ Union Sabbatical Position at the end of February and then had dissertation deadlines, I only started updating my CV and applying for jobs over Easter. Faizan:    Wow, you typify what I’ve always said, it’s never too late to begin. Good stuff.   So, how did you find out about this job? And what’s the assessment/interview procedure like in the Banking industry? Any tips for future students? Andre:  Through  Milkround. The process was a standard CV + Covering Letter, Online Testing, Phone Interview,   Face-To-Face Interview and Final phone interview with line manager. Tips wise, I found it really helpful to write down everything extra-curricular I’d done so that whenever I was asked skills-based questions, I could easily refer to something I’d done. Faizan:  Yes, Milkround is a pretty good website. On that note, I would advise students to look at other job boards as well, e.g.:  Prospects, Gradcracker, etc. What would you advise students at university, with respect to choosing a career, extra-curricular activities and using the Careers Service? Andre:  Most of us go through university hoping that our ideal career will just hit us in the face and it just doesn’t work like that. You need to be proactive and really research potential areas of employment, and also try and find case studies of those that have also attained jobs recently in that market. Extra-curricular activities are a bit of a double-edged sword. As someone that has been involved in a lot for the sheer enjoyment of it, I’d personally be quite annoyed if someone got involved purely for CV building reasons. However, if you do genuinely want to get involved, then make the most of it. As for me, it really helped being able to talk about situations outside of my academic career. You also need to be able to know when to apply which extra-curricular activities, take a look at what you’ve done, and try to identify the skills involved with it. The Careers Service helped me a little with finalising my CV.   I’d also been to one or two sessions in the past and found them very helpful, the onus is really on the student to make the most of the Careers Service. It’s never too late to start looking and don’t just apply for the snazzy graduate schemes. With the graduate market as it is, it’s going to be much easier to change jobs later if you’ve already got a job and experience than if you’re unemployed. Another thing that really helped me was choosing an area which I already had a lot of knowledge in. When I was asked for opinions on certain things at my interview, I could easily reference things that I’d seen in the news, read or done myself. Above all, the graduate jobs market is a buyers market right now with an oversupply of recent graduates and also graduates from years gone, which means that students really need to sell themselves. Just because you have a 2:1 from a good university doesn’t mean you’ve got the job; in reality, it only really means that you’ve hit the minimum requirement. From that point it’s all up to you to show what you can add to your prospective employers’ business. Faizan:  Thanks for giving us this interview. I wish you good luck for your future! (The following interview was conducted by the author during the time he was contracted for writing for  UOL Careers Blog, where the interview appears in original) 2

How to Negotiate with Ease - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

How to Negotiate with Ease - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Your perspective regarding an activity is what will either derail or advance your achievement. Negotiation seems to frighten people even more than the thought of needing to make a sale. Most people express their fear of losing an opportunity in its entirety or of making a mortal enemy upon attempting to negotiate. These fears stem from having been the victim of hardcore tactics perpetuated by others to get us to change our minds to purchase. The media and some trainers further compound the damage by portraying the same relentless behavior. These are the more damaging reasons as to why sales and negotiation are both feared. But neither outcome of either losing an opportunity or making enemies need to be proven true. Instead, I have found most often that people are appreciative of a dialogue based upon questions and answers. Simple inquiries as to what the other person is thinking will alleviate any need for intimidating sales or radical negotiation techniques. Provided the information gathering process is lively and genuine, you will find what you need to know to negotiate a good conclusion for all parties. Intended clients may not perceive a need for what you are attempting to sell, however, when you put a new perspective on the subject matter, you will often rescue and make the sale. By asking for history of experience or why the thought is negative, you may hear about previous vendors who did not comply with excellent customer service. Another possibility is the previous experience took place long ago and today that service is completely out of date. Your prospect simply needs to be updated on the new information. By taking the time to explore all of the troubling circumstances, you will be able to navigate to a much-improved outcome. Likewise, if you are the buyer and a seller is asking for more than what you believe something is worth, slamming the door shut is only one option. You may ask, “What if” type questions. Consider offering a trade. Give the seller options too. State upfront you are on a modest budget and offer what you have in mind to spend. Quickly add that if they are unable to meet your request, perhaps they might recommend someone else able to meet the requirements. Even when you purchase, in a sense you are the seller too in that you have the opportunity to sell your creative ideas. Keeping options and dialogue open are the keys to successful negotiation. Remember, just as you do not like the thought of losing business, neither does anyone else! Most business people are appreciative of the opportunity handed to them to work out a solution so that everyone wins. When you change your perspective of negotiation from “haggling” to “opening doors of possibility”, you increase the potential for making a sale. The more flexible you become in seeing solutions to a problem from all sides, you will find selling and negotiation easy and very possibly fun. Your personal brand may become, “the one with whom it is easy and fun to work.” Your open attitude is what will encourage repeat business, referrals and testimonials. Achieving these results are what lead to the Smooth Sale! Check out the Summer Sales School roster of online classes. Author: Elinor Stutz, CEO of Smooth Sale, LLC, (800) 704-1499, was honored by Open View Labs with inclusion in their international list of “Top 25 Sales Influencers for 2012.” Elinor authored the International Best-Selling book, “Nice Girls DO Get the Sale: Relationship Building That Gets Results”, Sourcebooks and the best selling career book, “HIRED! How to Use Sales Techniques to Sell Yourself On Interviews”, Career Press. She provides team sales training, private coaching and highly acclaimed inspirational keynotes for conferences. Elinor is available for consultation.

5 lessons learned from watching The Apprentice - Debut

5 lessons learned from watching The Apprentice - Debut The wildly popular BBC reality television series ‘The Apprentice’ has been aired for almost a decade, and has become staple viewing, and a guilty pleasure,for people across up and down the UK and beyond. Who doesn’t get somewhat of a kick out of watching Lord Sugar giving a particularly irritating candidate his extremely harsh opinions of them, point his finger at them and fire them from the competition. As well as being a great source of entertainment, there are also some handy business lessons to be learnt when watching The Apprentice. Here are just a small selection of reasons why you HAVENT been wasting hours of your time sitting on your sofa watching this years series: You should never be ashamed of your ambition Being ambitious and knowing what you see in your future is by no means something to feel you need to hide. Ambition is in fact a very desirable character trait and ones which employers often look for when interviewing candidates within their organisations. Using the right adjectives is very important when you’re trying to describe yourself; you want people to know you mean business, you DON’T want them to think of you as cocky and arrogant. Be honest, but don’t be ridiculous Stating “I want girls. But most of all, I want the power” to anyone just seems like a pretty awful thing to declare. You might want girls and power but it’s better to keep those goals in your head, otherwise you could possibly come across as a bit misogynistic. Don’t be sexist Contestant Mergim Butaja once said “I love working with women, I just want to prove a point that men can sell more than women.” This quote in itself is ridiculous but then Brett Butler-Smythe piped in saying “I generally reckon the task itself is going to be a little bit problematic. Women and fish â€" ‘Oh my God, I’m not touching it. It’s stinking, it’s slimey, it’s this, that and the other These quite frankly offensive and ignorant comments made the two contestants sound rude, sexist and no doubt put their places on the show in jeopardy. We’re in the 21st century, so you would think these insensitive views would have changed by now.   Get with the programme guys. Vegans don’t eat fish This shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone with a brain, but apparently Mergim did not know this, or at least it seemed like he didn’t have a clue as he tried to sell fish to a vegan restaurant who were very perplexed at the situation. You can find love on tinder (apparently) Lord Sugar mentioning tinder is genuinely quite disturbing but we also think he may have confused the app with a dating site and missed the memo about all the hook ups. He was quoted saying: If I wanted to be loved, Id go on Tinder. We get the idea behind the quote Lord Sugar, but maybe stop referencing popular promiscuous apps that are used to for more casual encounters and don’t typically tend to help the majority of its users find love! Connect with Debut on  Facebook,  Twitter,  and  LinkedIn  for more careers insights.

Cover letter secret #2 Write hiring managers - Sterling Career Concepts

Cover letter secret #2 Write hiring managers Cover letter secret #2: Write hiring managers It’s a much better use of your time and effort to have a hiring manager reviewing your résumé rather than a recruiter or human resources assistant. Mailing a letter directly to the hiring manager is smart for several reasons. First, they receive fewer résumés and may take more time in reviewing your credentials. Next, if there is a current hiring need, your background may catch the hiring manager’s attention, and Bingo! You’ve got yourself an interview. Alternatively, even if they aren’t currently hiring, many hiring managers keep a file of strong résumés. True story: I was called for an interview for a position I later accepted after having sent my cover letter and résumé in to a hiring manager without any current needs, but based in my interest in working for that company. When an opportunity became available, my future colleagues reached for that manila folder stuffed with recent résumés and I was called in for an interview, even before HR was asked to source candidates. Knowing the position the best, the hiring manager sourced his own candidates. The bottom line is that HR serves a purpose and is good at what they do, but if you’re taking the time to do a letter writing campaign, invest the extra time to identify the hiring manager and put your résumé in front of the decision maker.

How to Hire a Relevant Ohio Resume Writing Service

How to Hire a Relevant Ohio Resume Writing ServiceFinding the right Ohio online professional resume writing services can be time consuming. You may have tried to hire someone on their own, but the person didn't give you the information that you needed. This can result in a very frustrating and long experience trying to find the right person to handle your job search.To help you get past this, I will give you some tips and hints to finding the right Ohio professional resume writing services. These services are available in a variety of sizes and locations, so it is important to make sure that you are dealing with a company that is reliable and has good experience. It is also important to make sure that the resume writing service you choose is experienced, because a professional resume writer is often required for a job that requires a substantial amount of writing.While looking for resume writing services in Ohio, make sure that you look at their portfolio of work to see what other cl ients have hired them for. Find out if the person who you are dealing with is a good writer or if they have any writing experience. If the person can write papers, great, but if they are new to resume writing then it will be important to know if they have writing experience.The next important aspect of hiring a company is to make sure that they are licensed to do business in Ohio. You may have to do some background research, but you need to ensure that the person you hire is someone that can legally and ethically write your resume. This is also an area where you need to make sure that you are dealing with a reputable and well established company. There are some very shady companies out there that will just take your money and run and you will never hear from them again.When it comes to hiring a company to help you with your professional resume, be sure that you ask them for a few samples of work that they have done before. It is always a good idea to be prepared because it is very e asy to slip up and forget to ask for a sample resume. You should also make sure that you are using the same language when you are writing the resume.If you are hiring someone for resume writing services, you will want to make sure that they are familiar with the type of information that was mentioned in the previous resumes they wrote. If you need to know something that was mentioned in a previous resume, ask the person how they can provide a solution to the problem. If they are not familiar with the company or are hesitant to provide you a solution, don't hire them for the job.You need to make sure that the person that you are dealing with in Ohio is not intimidated by the resume that you have written. Any resume writer would love to work with someone who is not intimidated. An unprepared and untrained resume writer is going to take a lot longer to finish the job than an experienced resume writer.To help you find the right Ohio resume writing services, you should think about the co mpany that you are using. You should be able to get a feel for how they treat you and your resume, as well as how well they can get your resume done. If you want to hire a company in Ohio, make sure that you find a professional, efficient company who can get your resume done quickly and effectively.