If you are considering a career change, having a look at trends can help you find something both interesting and lucrative. This technique can be applied to both employment and self-employment.

How many people wish they had predicted the boom in running in the late 70s, followed by the surge in interest in fitness in the 80s? And how many of those who jumped on the bandwagon early became very rich as a result?

Amongst the headlines on the UK TV, was the disturbing prediction that if things don’t change, by 2050, 50% of adults in the UK will be obese. And the government is failing to reach its targets as far as prevention is concerned. This means that half of today’s children and those who will be born in the next 20 years or so will be obese – if steps aren’t taken to prevent this.

What does this mean in terms of careers? Apart from the need for specialist medical professionals, there will be many opportunities for those interested in health, fitness and nutrition. And particularly those who specialize in educating children and their parents. A trend like this isn’t going to go away overnight and so even young people attracted by a career in fitness, health or nutrition could find a niche in which their skills will be in demand for their entire working lives.

Personal development is another area which has increased in popularity recently and there is no sign of a let-up. Consider the popularity of the film The Secret and its many spin offs. If you have any secret which will enable people to improve their lives, you can find a way to sell it. And just what is a “secret”? Simply put, it’s insider knowledge, and if you have sound knowledge in any area which can enable people to achieve their goals, you have the potential to develop a lucrative career.

Other current trends concern the environment – consider the emphasis on recycling and climate change. With advances in technology, there are many ways in which people can find employment or business opportunities by providing information about current issues and so it isn’t always necessary to be directly employed in the field.

If you are thinking about a career change, you can become aware of what is going on by checking out the news, but you may have to look no further than your own current interests. We can help you work with your interests to find that perfect job.

Lynn Tulip Career Management Consultant M. 07801 689801 S. margot121 W. http://www.assessment4potential.com

A New Year and a one time **free** offer especially for you – personality profiling with the new PURE system.

Do you want to know how you can you improve your relationships, develop great communication skills and understand people better?

Using the PURE System, you can identify your personality type and recognise your strengths and weaknesses and those of the people around you. This will help you improve your communication skills both at home and in the workplace, deal with problems and conflict more successfully [and acknowledge your own weaknesses so that you can avoid irritating other people unnecessarily!]

We all have personality [we would be lost without it!] and everyone is unique and different yet there are always some people you get on with better than others, some you can work with without any problems and others that can drive you mad just by their actions.

How do you get to understand more about yourself and others?

It’s easy. Personality tests (psychometrics) are helpful for managing people and for understanding yourself. And you should also consider using personality and aptitude tests if you are recruiting or developing people. We can help you at work, at home and with families and friends.

While personality tests are very useful in showing you how you act and react to certain situations and also at showing you how you feel about yourself, taken once they can only ever really tell you how you feel about yourself at the moment in time in which you took the test. Understanding different personality types in business is essential for recruiting, negotiating, selling, customer care, employer-employee relationships and even choosing career paths.

For one month only, you can have the opportunity to take the PURE Personality Types Diagnostic Test completely **FREE**. Contact me, requesting the access codes to PURE in the ‘Enquiry Box’

*Prices range from £10.00 from 1^st February 2008

Lynn Tulip Career Management Consultant M. 07801 689801 S. margot121 W. http://www.assessment4potential.com

 

So, you’ve found an ad for the ideal position at XYZ Inc. With your skills and qualifications, you fit the bill perfectly. But XYZ requires an online application—and that means (you think), you fill out a cookie-cutter application that distills your skills so that it appears you’re one-of-a-million applicants, not one-in-a-million. And then—when you click “send”—your application swirls away into the black hole of electronic waste.

Should you or shouldn’t you use an online application? And if you do submit your CV online, how can you get it the attention it deserves?

If You Want the Job…Follow Directions

Employers say that online applications won’t go away. More and more employers want candidates to find job openings on company web sites or Internet job boards; they require online applications; they prefer to communicate with potential recruits via e-mail.

Hiring with the aid of technology is a time and money-saving proposition for businesses. It has maximised efficiency in the candidate selection process.

Employers say they can advertise to a wider, more diverse candidate pool (which means you’ve got more competition than ever before!), find matches for hard-to-fill positions, easily share CVs of qualified candidates with hiring managers, streamline the hiring process, and tighten the timeline between the need for a new employee and the date the employee starts on the job.

Employers add that their company’s own online application system is the fastest way to get your CV into the right hands. Your focus should be on making your application unique; to avoid it being swallowed up in the technology abyss.

Typically, applications submitted online go directly into the employer’s applicant database. Paper CVs are scanned or keyed into the database (where a scanner or data processor may add errors to your CV).

A hiring manager who needs to fill a position enters keywords to search the database and find the applications of the people who are the best fit for the job. Those results become the candidate pool.

Making a Big Splash in the Candidate Pool

Fourteen Key tips to ensure that your bits and bytes bob to the surface iof the candidate pool.

1. Follow directions. Be careful to enter the correct data in the correct field.

2. Ask for advice on completing the application from a company recruiter or someone in the company.

3. Tailor your application information to the position. Don’t copy and paste text from your generic CV.

4. Use key words, buzz words, and industry phraseology. Use the words in the job ad as your model. Employers search on key words when they’re looking for people to fill specific positions.

5. Create a skills-inventory section even if the application doesn’t require it. You might put this in a comments section.

6. Include numbers and statistics if they are available. (Example: Counted five cash drawers daily; responsible for more than £1,000 per 8-hour shift.)

7. Complete all fields—even those that aren’t required.

8. If the company offers an optional assessment test online, take it. (One employer recently admitted that students who don’t take the optional assessment test are automatically screened out.)

9. Make sure your CV can hold its own in a very simple format. Fancy bullets, text, italics, and bold do not convert well in an electronic application.

10. If possible, spellcheck and grammar check your application before submitting it. Have an error-free application because this application serves as the employer’s first impression of you.

11. Include a strong objective. Ask a career counsellor to help you word your objective.

12. Another use for the comment section: use it to demonstrate that you’ve done research on the company and the industry.

13. Use quotes from letters of recommendation in your CV or cover letter.

14. Followup your electronic application with a personal e-mail to the recruiter. A follow-up phone call is acceptable if the ad does not say, “No phone calls.”

As more and more companies tap technology to find new employees quickly and efficiently, you’ll need to find new methods to draw attention to your application. For more ideas, contact us now.

Lynn Tulip Career Management Consultant M. 07801 689801 S. margot121 W. http://www.assessment4potential.com

 

Apply Now!

Don’t wait until the New Year to apply for your perfect job. If you are feeling restless and want to change direction, why not keep an eye out in the ‘appointments’ sections of the media now?

And, when you see something that catches your eye, whether it is the job title, industry sector or company, ask for a full job description to see if it is a role that not meets your expectations but also has room for development. A sound job description is essential if you are to be successful in your new role – [and this can apply if you are being offered promotion too]. The job description will set out the role’s expectations and enable you to work to agreed targets and objectives. That means when it’s time for your review or appraisal, there is something concrete for you [and your boss] to look at and measure up against.

The job description should be confirmed with your offer letter.
5 key things you need to know when you are applying for a new role.

1. Know your title

Make sure the job title reflects the level and value of work you will do. It’s what you do that matters, and having an impressive title can be a distraction.

2. Know the job summary

Understand exactly what the role involves, don’t get to interview – let alone be offered the job – without knowing exactly what you will be doing, with whom, how, where and why. It’s surprising how many people go to interviews without having researched the role.

3. Know the essential functions

There should be around 6 or 7 key roles and responsibilities on a good job description. These should be names the ‘core responsibilities’. These bullet points will then be followed by some detailed statements giving some specific examples of what the post holders does, with whom, how, where and why.

4. Know key working relationships

It’s all well and good understanding what you will do as post holder, but how it fits into the department and team is also very important. Some advance research about the people you will be working with and/or an organisational chart can be useful in preparing for the role.

5. Know the minimum requirements for the job

You need to know what the minimum requirements of the job are so that you can position yourself as the applicant that brings added value. Only when an offer is extended do you have a chance to negotiate your role what it looks like and even increase your pay.

Good luck!

For more help on job search strategies, contact Lynn.

Lynn Tulip Career Management Consultant M. 07801 689801 S. margot121 W. http://www.assessment4potential.com

▪ Going for an interview – and being asked to complete some exercises?

▪ Up for promotion – and you need to prove your worth?

If you have answered yes to either question, then it is more than likely that you will be invited to attend an Assessment or Development Centre. So what’s going to happen? What will you be asked to do? And how can you prepare? We’ll tell you how

The purpose of the selection process is for an employer to choose an appropriate person to fill a vacancy OR to look for the right person for promotion. They will be looking for someone who has the skills, abilities and personal qualities to do the job well. During the selection process a variety of assessment methods can be used; these almost always feature an application form/CV and an interview, but can also include other methods such as group exercises and discussions, presentations and psychometric tests; hence the assessment or development centre.

Bear in mind that the centre will be designed specifically to select a candidate that can perform at the level that is required for the job that is being applied for. So a straightforward assessment or development centre for a specific role, say a team leader’s job that involves interacting with individuals [in meetings or by telephone], meetings in groups and doing various types of written work and preparing reports, might include:

• A personality questionnaire to build a picture about how the candidate will behave and react in real situations

• An in-tray and an analytical exercise [to simulate the written work]

• A meeting with a customer or team member [played by a role-player and simulating meetings with individuals]

• A group negotiation or problem solving meeting [to reflect meetings in groups]

All selection methods are seeking to gather evidence that you have the abilities and qualities to be successful in the job, but different methods are better at measuring particular things. For example, an application form gathers information on your qualifications and work experience, and demonstrates your written communication skills; an interview allows you to demonstrate oral communication skills; psychometric tests measure whether you have specific abilities or appropriate personal qualities in relation to the job specification.

Employers may therefore use a variety of methods to gain an overall view; the greater the variety of situations in which a selector can see you perform, and the greater the number of skills that are being tested, the more accurate and objective the assessment should be. So what are psychometric tests and how do they fit into this process?

Psychometric Tests and Questionnaires

These are structured pencil and paper (or sometimes computer-based) exercises, often in the form of multiple-choice questions. They are designed to assess your specific qualities or abilities. The tests should have been carefully researched and trialled to ensure that they are fair to all people sitting them. Your results are usually compared with how others have done in the tests in the past. There are two main types of psychometric tests:

a) Aptitude, cognitive, ability or intelligence tests aim to assess your intellectual capabilities.

b) Personality questionnaires gather information about how and why you do things in your own particular way. They look at how you react or behave in different situations, and your preferences and attitudes. Questionnaires on interests and values are also available, but are rarely used for selection purposes.

Aptitude, Ability and Intelligence Tests

These test your logical reasoning or thinking performance, and are not tests of general knowledge. They are administered under exam conditions and are strictly timed. A typical test might allow 30 minutes for 30 or more questions.

The questions have definite “right” and “wrong” answers, which you often have to select from a range of alternatives.

As you go through the tests, the questions may become more difficult, and there are usually more questions than you can comfortably complete in the time available. It does not matter if you do not finish the test though you should complete as many questions as possible. Your score is then compared with how other people have done on the test in the past. This group (the “norm group”) could be other students/graduates, current jobholders or a more general group. This enables selectors to assess your reasoning skills in relation to others, and to make judgements about your ability to cope with tasks involved in the job.

The validity of such tests rests on how closely they assess abilities necessary to the job. For this reason there are a variety of tests, for example tests of reasoning with written information (`verbal reasoning’ tests), numbers, charts and graphs (`numerical reasoning’) or abstract figures (`diagrammatic’ or `spatial reasoning’). The tests used should be related to the work tasks involved in the job.

Aptitude tests are sometimes used prior to a first interview, and at this stage there is often a “pass mark” or cut off score, which you have to achieve to continue your application; sometimes they are used in conjunction with other selection methods, so it is your overall performance which is important – the tests do not carry more weight than other elements.

You may get sent some sample questions before you sit the test to give you an idea of what to expect. You should also be given some practice examples at the start of the test session itself.

Personality Questionnaires

How successful you will be in a job depends not only on your abilities, but also on your personal qualities. Interviews and group exercises can be used to assess social skills, but personality questionnaires can further explore the way you tend to react to, or deal with, different situations. They are self-report questionnaires, which means that a profile is drawn up from your responses to a number of questions or statements. These focus on a variety of personality factors such as: how you relate to other people; your work-style; your ability to deal with your own and others’ emotions; your motivations and determination, and your general outlook.

Unlike aptitude tests, there are no “right” or “wrong” answers and questionnaires are usually untimed. The selectors will not be looking for a rigid “typical” personality profile, although certain characteristics will be more or less appropriate for that particular job (e.g. independence, social confidence and persuasiveness are important characteristics for sales work).

From your responses the selector gains information about your style of behaviour – how and why you do things in your own way. You may receive some feedback on the profile which your answers produce, and occasionally it might form the basis for discussion at a subsequent interview.

Questionnaires exploring your interests or values are much less commonly used in selection. These are designed to clarify what fields of work interest you or what factors make-work worthwhile for you. You are more likely to come across them in a careers guidance setting, or in an appraisal/development context in work.

The best way to approach all of these questionnaires is just to answer them as straightforwardly as you can. Guessing what the employer is looking for is difficult and could well be counter-productive – after all, you do not want to be given a job which really does not suit you.

Do you want to know more?

Lynn Tulip Career Management Consultant M. 07801 689801 E. lynn@assessment4potential.com S. margot121 W. http://www.assessment4potential.com

 

Making a fresh start – Pause for Thought

Taking stock and re-evaluating where you are in your career is not a 5-minute exercise and nor is deciding what you want to do next.

Preparation for career change is essential and there has to be a starting point. A period of reflection with or without support is essential; so Assessment4Potential has prepared some questions to help you with your initial thoughts and ideas. Don’t worry if you can’t answer each one in great detail, this is more a case for ‘write down the answer that first springs to mind’. Your gut response when you read the question will be most relevant.

Off you go.

1. In what elements of your career have you been most successful? – And least successful?

2. What aspects of your career have you enjoyed the most? And the least?

3. More specifically, which has been the most satisfying role you have undertaken to date?

4. If you had the benefit of hindsight, what different decisions or choices would you have made in your career or life?

5. How do you feel when you get up to go to work in the morning?

6. What parts of your current job do you enjoy the most? And the least?

7. How much do you enjoy working with others?

8. How do the people you work with regard you?

9. What different views do subordinates; peers and senior managers have about you? How does this make you feel?

10. What impact does your boss have on you?

11. How ambitious are you now?

12. What do you want out of the work you do? Are you getting it?

An additional idea is to make a list of limitations that might affect you and your career in the next few months / years. These might include financial responsibilities and issues, family commitments and care, qualifications, where you live and where you work, ability to be flexible about relocation and hours of work, etc. as this list grows, add notes alongside each constraint about how important it is.

You’ll probably be thinking that there are only three main options – unless you want to be self-employed, downshift or retire.

· New role in the same organisation – internal career development can be an excellent way of moving into a new field and learning new skills. Since this option involves staying in your current organisation, there is no distraction about learning or adapting to new cultures or policies and procedures. You also know who is who.

· Similar role in a new organisation – this is often the best bet, as employers tend to be fairly conservative when assessing who they want to join their company. So if you are already in finance, and your are looking for a financial role you are more likely to succeed than someone from a different discipline with a working knowledge of finances.

· New role in a new organisation – this is perhaps the hardest proposition. It is possible to change career direction and companies at the same time, but you will need to work hard at it and be very convincing and persuasive as to why you are making the move and to your ability to perform in the new role effectively.

For more information:

Lynn Tulip Career Management Consultant M. 07801 689801 E. lynn@assessment4potential.com S. margot121 W. http://www.assessment4potential.com