The Workthing+ blog

How Workthing+ can help you

Since the Workthing+ blog started, we’ve attracted many different people at many different stages of life, ranging from new graduates, to people with many years’ experience, to career changers.

All our visitors have one thing in common: they are serious about their career and invested in what they need to do to stay ahead of the jobseeking game.

With so many people involved in our active online community, and with the launch of some major changes to our site (such as the introduction of free trial accounts), I thought I’d take this opportunity to recap who we are, and what we do.

FREE CV template

Hi everyone,

In response to the feedback we had during our workshop, here is an example of a bad CV made good:

           

View the old version      View the new version

Tell us what you think...leave your comments below.

Want to take advantage of a FREE trial account to Workthing+? Click here to find out more.


Nicola Forde
Head of Member Services, Workthing+

FREE sample cover letter

Thanks to everyone for participating in today's online career workshop.

As promised, here's your FREE sample cover letter, telling you exactly how to structure this important document.

We had a fantastic response today, with lots of you asking questions. If you didn't get a chance to have your question read out, why not post it to a network of peers and experts in the Workthing+ Community?

Want to take advantage of a FREE trial account to Workthing+? Click here to find out more.

As mentioned, you can also get a FREE CV review from The Fuller CV. Simply click here to find out more.

Register for our next FREE online career workshop on CVs

Your CV is the first thing a prospective employer sees and is vital in positioning you as the perfect candidate. But where do you start and what is the recruiter really looking for? 

To find out, don’t miss our next online career workshop and hear from our expert about how to: 

• Create an interview-winning CV;
• Write a cover letter that helps you stand out;
• Customise your CV for every application.

The workshop is from 1pm next Wednesday. Don't forget to submit your question to our panel when you register.

FREE online workshop - Mature jobseekers: how to use your experience to your advantage

Do you feel your years of experience are holding you back in your job search?

If so, don’t miss our next online career workshop where we’ll give practical advice on how to succeed in your job search including:

• Structuring your CV;
• The types of roles to consider;
• Keeping up-to-date with technology;
• Key interview tips.

Issue 13 - Shhh...Insider Information from The Career Insider

Q.   

I work in a creative role, and was advised to make a video CV, because they show creativity and originality. I don’t know how to make a video CV, and am worried it won’t look professional. Do you know how to go about this?

P.F., London

Online Career Workshop - How to successfully plan your career path

Thanks to everyone who attended our workshop today and special thanks to Laura and Emma for all of their help and advice. 

Many of you submitted questions that we didn't have time to answer so we will endeavour to provide you with some more answers on the blog tomorrow...watch this space!

In the meantime please feel free to give us your feedback by leaving a comment below.

If you missed the workshop and would like to view the recording please click here. 

Happy Christmas from Workthing+ ... and here's to 2010

In many ways, 2009 has been one of the most challenging years in recent memory for jobseekers. Jobs just haven’t been available in the same numbers that we’ve been used to for the past 10 years.

Earlier this year, we launched Workthing+ in response to the fact that jobseekers were conscious they needed to do even more to stand out. It’s proved to be a huge success, with thousands of members, fantastic feedback, and hundreds of attendees at our online career workshops.

Even though the market has been tough, there are some sectors where employers are finding it really difficult to find good candidates. People in work have simply been less willing to move jobs than in more normal times. As soon as we see real confidence returning to the employment market (hopefully in the second half of 2010), there will be a release of that pent-up demand; a wave of people moving roles and creating vacancies in their wake.

FREE online workshop - How to turn interviews into job offers

Are you getting interviews but not offers?

Don’t miss our next online career workshop where we’ll offer practical advice on how to succeed at job interviews, including:

• preparation and research tips;
• advice on what questions to expect; and
• how to handle tricky questions and salary negotiation.

Some common recruitment myths

Often, searching for jobs seems to be a confusing process for jobseekers. I suppose it’s because, hopefully, people aren’t jobseeking too often and for too long – so they don’t get a chance to figure out the ins and outs of the process.

Here are some common misconceptions that we hear all the time about the recruitment process. It’s not a comprehensive list – it’s not even really a top 10 – just a personal selection based on the misconceptions I’ve heard most often, most recently.

Great response to yesterday’s online career workshop - networking the hidden job market

Thanks to everyone who attended yesterday's free online workshop on how to network and access the hidden job market. 

We had a fantastic turnout and loads of really interesting questions and comments coming in from Workthing+ members, jobseekers, and people just wanting to expand their network to uncover the hidden job market. 

If you missed today’s recording or you’d like to view it again, please click here. 

Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to answer all of your questions and comments so we will be hosting another Workthing+ online workshop for members, this Friday 13th November at 12pm GMT. This event is exclusive to Workthing+ members. 

FREE online workshop - How to network and access the hidden job market

An estimated 80% of jobs are not advertised.

With the majority of jobs never making it onto the public market, it's really important that you develop your networks to help you uncover the hidden job market.

Don’t miss our FREE online career workshop, telling you everything you need to know about how to use networking to help you access hidden jobs. This is taking place today (Wednesday 11th November) at 1pm GMT.

FREE online workshop - Online Reputation Management (ORM)

Around 80% of employers will ‘Google’ you and search for your online presence on Facebook or other websites before meeting you for an interview (source: CIPD).

Do you know the extent of your online presence? Are you happy with what employers might find? 

Don’t miss our FREE online career workshop centred on the topic of online reputation management, taking place today (Wednesday 4th November) at 1pm GMT.

Keep Facebook for your friends

I recently read an article that raised two interesting points: firstly that most employers will look at prospective candidates’ Facebook profiles before interviewing them; and secondly that you should assume your profile will be seen, so you should use it to market yourself.

While the first part of this argument might be true, the fact is that employers won’t be able to see your Facebook profile if you change your security settings to private. You shouldn’t need to use Facebook to market yourself, because you shouldn’t let anyone see it except for those friends you accept within your network.

FREE sample cover letter

Thanks to everyone for participating in today's online career workshop.

As promised, here's your FREE sample cover letter, telling you exactly how to structure this important document.

Don't worry if you missed the discount code at the end of the presentation, tomorrow we'll email it to everyone who attended so you can claim your 15% discount when you subscribe or renew your subscription with Workthing+.

FREE online workshop - CV tips

Want to know how you can create the perfect CV?

Don’t miss our FREE CV advice online career workshop, taking place tomorrow (Tuesday 27th October) at 1pm GMT.

Your CV is the first thing a prospective employer will see and is vital in positioning you as the perfect candidate. But where do you start? What is the recruiter really looking for?

Beat the boredom

When you’re unemployed, there’s one word that you just can’t seem to shake from your head: job.

It can seem like any time spent not searching the internet for jobs is spent perfecting your CV for jobs, applying for jobs, talking about jobs, being interviewed for jobs and generally spending every waking (and sleeping hour) with the thought of jobs firmly lodged in your brain.

As important as it is to find a job, sometimes you just need a break to re-energise and get back on track. Job hunting itself can be a full-time job (as it were), but all jobs require some respite.

Connect your way to your next career

The internet has opened up the job market in ways that didn’t seem possible a few years back. These days you can enjoy access to jobsites filled with industry-specific roles (like GAAPweb.com, totallylegal.com and secsinthecity.com), sites to help with your career management (like Workthing+) as well as online access to recruitment agencies, newspaper adverts and headhunters. You can sign up for RSS feeds and get jobs delivered directly to your email inbox or mobile phone.

These methods allow you to access jobs that are advertised, but how exactly do you go about tapping into jobs that aren't advertised, or the hidden job market?

The hidden job market comprises jobs that are only advertised internally within companies, jobs that come out of speculative applications, and jobs that might not have previously existed until you sourced them. One of the online tools you can use to help you gain access to hidden jobs is the popular business networking site, LinkedIn.

Get your CV seen by the right people

The pivotal document in positioning you for the job you want is undoubtedly your CV.

Looking at your completed CV can evoke feelings of pride and accomplishment for all that you’ve achieved in your professional lifetime. In fact, the broad Latin translation of Curriculum Vitae is ‘course of life’.

For some people, a CV isn’t just a document that represents what you’ve done, it can feel like a document that represents who you are. Just remember that a CV is a factual document rather than a personal autobiography, so keep the tone and content relevant.

Writing a good CV takes time and effort, and once you’ve got it right it can be overwhelmingly tempting to send it out to as many people as you can. However, instead of blindly distributing your CV, you should try to identify where you’d like to send it. This might include generic recruiters and jobsites as well as niche ones, but attempting to send your CV to absolutely everyone in the recruitment industry is just a waste of your time.

Start afresh with a new email address

There are some things about the job hunting process that are really obvious: research companies, write a compelling CV, wear a suit to an interview…the list goes on. Then there are the things that aren’t so obvious, but that are of equal importance.

Setting up a new email address for your job search falls under that category.

I wouldn’t like to guess the number of times that employers have viewed a candidate’s CV and liked it, decided to contact the candidate, and then rapidly reassessed their opinion due to an unprofessional email address that says something to the effect of any one of these examples: