Who taught you how to interview? According to recent research from the UK’s leading independent job board, CV-Library, nearly half of UK professionals (47.6%) had to teach themselves about interview processes. A staggering 64.4% also believe that there’s not enough education out there on interview preparation tips. Having surveyed 1,000 UK workers, CV-Library can reveal the top five rules that you need to follow in order to have a successful interview. These interview preparation tips aren’t surprising, however, they are definitely worth considering before every interview. Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library, comments: “It’s concerning to see that many workers…
Author: CareerExperts
When things aren’t going quite the way you’d like them to, it’s often the result of not asking yourself the right questions. Some questions are hard to confront because you’re afraid you won’t get the answer you want, others because you really don’t want to know the answer. But the best things in life don’t come easily, and turning away from life’s toughest questions is a sure path to mediocrity. I believe that Socrates said it best: “The unexamined life isn’t worth living.”Socrates’ observation also applies to business. When Eric Schmidt was CEO of Google, he famously said, “We run…
Agnes Butterworth, Director of Bridgewater Group, likes to take a different approach to managing her team. She feels that giving employees freedom, autonomy and the chance to take ownership of their work allows them to grow and feel fulfilled at work. Do fewer procedures and restrictions lead to happy employees? Maybe it’s time to question the rules in your workplace. I recently read an article about rules that irritate office workers and it really made me sit back and think. Traditional workplace models are all about rules, processes and procedures – but is there a better way? As a business…
It’s rarely easy to breach the topic of salaries with either your current or future employer. Where salaries are concerned, the higher you can get the better! Right? However, if you’re moving to a new company or aiming to take a step up in your current one, it’s important that you know your worth before making any demands. Discovering the UK average salary statistics should help. What are the benefits of knowing your worth? Knowing your stuff when it comes to salaries can: Show off your research and negotiation skills Help you to progress your career Enable you to compare…
Are you keen to take a step up to leadership? Do you already manage your own team? Either way, you should be ticking all of the boxes on our leadership skills list in order to manage people effectively. If you’re a driven individual who wants to make your career a success, you will undoubtedly be working your way towards a leadership role. However being a great leader isn’t easy. There’s a lot to learn and plenty of skills to develop and we’ve pulled together some of the most crucial ones in our leadership skills list. Take a look at our…
Many things in life work better when you have other people alongside you. Think about it, whether it’s a game of football, a night out on the town or doing the washing up, you can get things done quicker, more effectively and have a lot more fun along the way if you’re working in a group or team. The same is true when it comes to a business – teamwork can be instrumental to its success. A strong team needs good team players who are all committed to working hard together to reach a shared goal. This is why employers…
What makes us happy? Happiness is a concept that differs for each of us and it can be hard to pin down. However, when you’re feeling happy you know it and it feels great! Happiness and work don’t always go hand in hand. Many people get stuck doing roles that they don’t enjoy in businesses that aren’t a good fit for them. While we all have our down days, if you’re continuously unhappy at work, you should check out this article. Happy people are more motivated, energised and productive than their unhappy counterparts. Happiness really does have a huge impact…
Are you looking for job searching tips? Look no further than our fantastic infographic that will teach you how to communicate like a pro at every stage of your job search. We know that the way you communicate during your job search has a huge impact on your success. If you’re looking to secure a job offer then you need to impress and communicate well at every stage in the process. Whether you are communicating via your CV, phone, email or in person, you’ll want to do it professionally and effectively. Here’s how! Once you’ve perfected your CV, be sure…
Not every job application requires a cover letter. In fact, many argue that the cover letter is a dying part of the application process. However, for the most part, you will be required to submit a cover letter with your application and tailor it to the role you’re applying for. Not only does this give you a chance to expand on the skills and experiences noted in your CV, it also offers the opportunity to detail why you’re suitable for that particular position. Read on to discover five simple way to tailor your cover letter to the role. 1. Do…
Many jobs can be stressful and all of us have to deal with stress at some point in our lives. However, being able to manage stress is a skill that you can develop and a valuable one at that. If you can manage your emotions and deal with stress, you will not only feel better in yourself but also be more successful in life. Discover how to deal with stress Take a look at the infographic that we’ve created below to discover how to deal with stress. These tips are recommended by emotional intelligence expert Dr. Travis Bradberry.
Do you regularly sit there stewing at your desk because your colleague’s run five miles, put the washing on, and food prepped for the week all before they’ve got to work, and you’ve only just managed to scramble out of bed and arrive on time? We feel you. Thankfully, there are more than a few ways to shift the sluggish morning struggle. Here are six great ways to finally become a morning person. 1. Map out your day The easiest way to become a morning person is to map out your day. You don’t have to plan your day down…
New research released by CV-Library this week has revealed that over half of 18-34-year-olds have been helped by their parents when applying for jobs. 57% have admitted to getting their parents’ help with writing their CV. While it’s natural to ask for help and advice from friends and family throughout the recruitment process, are young job seekers becoming over-reliant on their parents? Or are parents getting too involved in the careers of their children? Do ‘helicopter parents’ need to take a step back? The helicopter parent trend has been taking over in recent years. Helicopter parents are those who take…
Talking about salary can be a tricky subject when you’re interviewing for a new role. You’ve attended a couple of interviews, you love the sound or the role and the company and you’re pretty sure they like you too. What’s next? A potential job offer, but how do you make sure that you’re offered the salary you deserve? Discussing your salary doesn’t have to be awkward. If you’re well-prepared and realistic, your salary negotiations should run smoothly and everyone can come out happy. What’s crucial is that you don’t price yourself out of a job offer by asking for too…
As the end of another academic year looms, many graduates are feeling the pressure to get a graduate job lined up. Graduating without a job is a scary prospect for many, especially when you’ve piled up big debts in aid of your future career. If some of your peers already have places on graduate schemes secured and job offers on the table, you may be worrying that you’re already behind. However, juggling dissertation deadlines, exam revision and job searching is a lot to take on. Here’s why there’s no need to worry if you are graduating without a job lined…
Narcissistic. Easily offended. Cocky. Self-indulgent. These aren’t attributes that we’d necessarily like to be told we have. However, a whole generation appears to be labelled with these qualities by their predecessors. That’s right, it’s time to talk about the millennials. Are they as terrible as the press would have you believe? More importantly, what does this mean for bosses who are in charge of managing millennials at work? First things first; what is a millennial? The millennial generation consists of those individuals born in the late ‘80s up until the early ‘00s. Another name you may have heard for this…
Few things are as costly and disruptive as managers who kill morale. Demotivated employees under perform and then walk out the door at the first opportunity. The scariest thing is how prevalent this lack of motivation is. Gallup research shows that 70% of employees consider themselves to be disengaged at work. Organisations know how important it is to have motivated, engaged employees, but most fail to hold managers accountable for making it happen. When they don’t, the bottom line suffers. Research from the University of California found that motivated employees were 31% more productive, had 37% higher sales, and were…
Recruiters read a lot of CVs and they know how to assess whether someone looks good for a role or not relatively quickly. They are essentially CV experts and can shed some light on what not to put in a CV. CV-Library have surveyed over 200 recruiters to find out what their biggest pet peeves are when it comes to CVs. This is what they found: 1. Spelling mistakes It’s obvious that your CV shouldn’t have any spelling or grammatical errors. You may get away with one or two, but more than that and your CV isn’t going to win…
Generally speaking, we don’t like it when people brag about themselves and their achievements. However, effectively promoting yourself at work does have a significant impact on your career progression. If your boss and your colleagues don’t know about the great work you’re doing and how much you are achieving, are you likely to secure a promotion? No! If you can master self-promotion at work, you’ll reap the benefits: Your colleagues will respect you highly People will come to you for your expertise Your boss will reward you Others will recommend and promote you too! So, how do you promote yourself…
Looking for a new role is always a challenge. Searching, CVs, covering letters, interviews and a whole lot of waiting to hear back from employers can be a lot to take on. There’s nothing more frustrating than applying for numerous roles and then either never hearing anything or being knocked back at various stages of the recruitment process. If your job search isn’t going as well as you’d hoped, perhaps it’s time to make some improvements! Here are 5 ways that we know will improve your job search. 1. Showcase your CV online Submitting your CV to job sites like…
With the power of Google at your fingertips, finding graduate jobs to apply for has never been easier. There are thousands of roles advertised online, but which are the best graduate job sites? The most obvious job sites for graduates may not be the best There are a number of well-known job sites that specialise in graduate jobs. These include Graduate Jobs, Milkround, Prospects and Target Jobs. The good news is that you will find a fair few graduate roles on these sites, however the roles that these sites offer are also quite limited. Here’s why: They only list a…