Career Services from Measurability

 I am a Career Doctor for the Sunday Tribune – Question & Answer below.I am considering a career change as I cannot continue with the daily commute to and from work. This daily commute is affecting my family and personal situation. Even though I enjoy my job I want to find alternative employment close to where I live and I would like some advice on how to go about this?Commuting and traffic congestion is now one of the key reasons for people changing jobs in the current market. As you outlined this situation puts a strain on the individual and the family but more importantly driving with frustration and reduced concentration can be very dangerous.To resolve this issue there are two options available. The first option is to explore alternative solutions within your existing company. Commuting is a huge issue facing most organisations and their staff. As a result many organisations are exploring alternative such as remote working, reduced working week or flexi-time to help resolve the problem. If you have not already done so, I recommend that you talk to you existing employer about this problem and explore the possibility of resolving this.If there is no resolution internally then the only other option is to seek alternative employment. The immediate focus should be to identify a similar role within your new geographical requirements. You can use typical strategies like job boards, paper advertisements but also research your chose region to identify networking and direct or application opportunities.

For professional career advice contact us – Measurability.

Interview preparation is about much more that what you say. Many jobseekers practice interview questions for days before an interview. Ok this plays an important part but too often interviewee fail at interview for other reasons. Good verbal communications will help your cause BUT good non-verbal communications will often secure the deal.

To back this point I noted the results of a survey carried out by Peninsula – a UK law firm. This survey researched employers in the UK and identified the most popular reasons why they rejected applicants who had applied for positions at their company. I have outlined the top 10 reasons below.

1. 26% rejected because of improper dress.

2. 19% rejected because of lateness

3. 15% rejected as they were too money focused.

4. 11% rejected because they were cynical towards colleagues past or future.

5. 9% rejected because of poor handshake.

6. 7% rejected because they lacked direction and career ambition.

7. 5% rejected because of poor eye contact.

8. 4% rejected because of lack of research into the company.

9. 3% rejected because they mumbled.

10. 1% rejected for being a know-all

There are a number of key strategies to find that dream job.- Recruitment Agencies- Direct Applications

- Networking

- Speculative Applications

 This post will provide with information about Direct Applications. Basically this involves Newspapers and Online Job Boards.

NEWSPAPERS – The two key national newspapers are the Irish Independent Jobs and Careers supplement (I am a career doctor) and The Irish Times on a Friday. If you are outside Dublin you can consider regional newspapers such as The Examiner in Cork. If you read the Sunday papers you might consider the Sunday Tribune.

JOBBOARDS – There are a few general sites including EmployIreland, RecruitIreland, Monster, Jobs.ie and IrishJobs. Equally there are role specific JobBoards including AdminJobs.ie, SalesJobs.ie, ComputerJobs.ie and RetailJobs365.ie. Eirjobs will provide a useful resource for new job announcements.

Remember: You are not job hunting if you are not covering these job resources.

For additional support why not consider CAREER COACHING - contact us.

Whether you are beginning your job search in 2008 or you are actively hunting but struggling to reach you career goal – there are two important points to consider.

Recruitment Log

It is essential to keep a record of your job hunting activity. By this I mean a little black book. A recruitment log will benefit you job search in a number of ways.

- It will provide a record so you can analyse what is working and what is not. I regularly meet career coaching clients who are not getting the results they want. Most do not keep records and when we analyse their activity they are relying on one strategy. Information from you log will help focus your activity.
- It will make your job hunting more professional. You will easily know what companies you have approached reducing the possibility of applying to the same position twice.
- It will prove a valuable source for when you are back hunting again. It will be a resource of recruitment consultants you have worked with or industry contacts.

If you keep doing what you are doing you will keep getting the same results.

Great if you are getting positive results. Your recruitment log will help you identify what is working but more importantly what is not. There are many ways to source a job and you must embrace all strategies. There are reactive strategies such as recruitment agencies and direct application like papers and job boards. Most jobseekers will gravitate towards these strategies as they are easier. If they are not working you can approach them differently or look at proactive strategies. Proactive strategies include networking and speculative approaches to companies. Remember 50% of jobs are never advertised so proactive strategies will help you unearth these gems!!

I have been traveling quite a bit with work which will explain the lack of activity on the Blog (excuses!!). I am back for the moment but may go missing again before Christmas and it won’t be to shop. I am working on a project for the education sector at various locations around the country which means I have been staying in a number of hotels. This leads me onto this quick topic.

I have always believed in the power of a smile and this was emphasised while staying in hotels in the last few weeks. Let’s just say a few smiles sorted out a few issues. A smile has the power to change feelings, thought and emotions. Smiles are contagious like yawns and when you smile the world smiles back. I don’t think there is enough smiling going on. Let’s just say the reduction in smiling could have something to do with the increased demand for botox.

It is possible to smile your way to interview. Ok that statement is a bit of an exaggeration but it certainly does help. Many jobseekers take their interview so serious that they forget to smile. Body language makes up 55% of all communication and mastering it is essential for interview success but a simple smile is one of the key tools. When you attend an interview do not forget to smile and perhaps read this poem in the waiting room.

SMILING

Smiling is infectious; you catch it like the flu.

When someone smiled at me today I started smiling too.

I passed around the corner, and someone saw my grin.

When he smiled I realised, I’d passed it on to him.

I thought about that smile, then I realised its worth.

A single smile just like mine could travel round the earth.

So, if you feel a smile begin, don’t leave it undetected.

Let’s start an epidemic quick, and get the world infected!

Paul Mullan founded and manages Measurability. He is a consultant with 13 years career coaching, recruitment and assessment experience in the UK & Ireland. Paul compliments his expertise by tapping into a talented pool of associates with hr, recruitment, occupational psychology and career coaching backgrounds.

Paul has worked with many organisations in a variety of sectors helping them recruit, assess and select the right candidate. He has designed recruitment processes, analysed job requirements, managed recruitment projects and helped oganisations implement psychometric assessment solutions. Paul previously worked with Saville & Holdsworth and was a founder and former Director of Eden Recruitment Limited.

Paul helps jobseekers to achieve career, life & business goals using an innovative approach in a one-one and workshop format. He is unique because he has experienced jobs, recruitment and careers as an employer – hiring staff, as a jobseeker – looking for work, as a recruitment consultant – finding jobs for others and as an assessment/hr consultant – helping company’s design recruitment processes, interview, assess and hire the right people. Paul is a Career Doctor with the Irish Independent for their Thursday Jobs & Careers supplement and The Sunday Tribune, regularly posts career articles on www.recruitireland.ie , www.salesjobs.ie and www.eirjobs.com and comments on jobs, careers and work life balance topics in the media and national radio.

Paul studied in Liverpool and qualified with a Degree in Business Studies from John Moore’s University and has since been awarded a Diploma in Business & Life Coaching. He has extensive training with Saville & Holdsworth including psychometric testing (Level A & B), competency based interviewing, job analysis and competency design and assessment center design.

Measurability is a professional, well established consultancy offering tailored solutions to meet our client needs. Our service is underpinned by psychometric assessment to help organisations recruit and develop the best but also to help individual’s achieve career satisfaction and success