beatredundancyblues.co.uk Coming Soon

Hi Everyone

I am mega busy at the moment creating my beatredundancyblues.co.uk website, it will be very similar to beatredundancyblues.com with all of your favourite information pages but with a blog added for much more interaction with you. This way you can let me know what you like and what you don’t and what other help and support you need in your quest to find employment.

Watch this space for the official launch of beatredundancyblues.co.uk

My web host who hosts beatredundancyblues.com has decided to stop people from using RVSiteBuilder  to build any new website by removing it from their system. As my site is built using this, I now have to get access to my site admin panel through a link. I was informed that eventually the RVSiteBuilder will be dis-continued completely. beatredundancyblues.co.uk was due to be launched at the end of this year but in light of this new challenge, I am creating it now and transferring it’s valuable information over to beatredundancyblues.co.uk. I have to do this manually and re-format it before adding it to the new WordPress.Org site for beatredundancyblues.co.uk

For those of you who are not familiar with beatredundancyblues.com and what is is about, here is an except from it:

This website is designed to give you easy access to a wealth of knowledge, experience and skills needed to survive redundancy and get back into work. No longer do you have to trawl through website after website trying to find the information you want, you can get it all here at the click of a button. Make your job search easier by getting instant access to these sites at the click of a button. Find an area that interests you and get right to it. Click for instant access to Job Sites Click for instant access to Recruitment Sites Click for instant access to Courses Sites

This website is essential for anyone who is: Redundant Unemployed Changing Career Job Hunting Lacking In Direction Wanting Motivation Needing Help Looking For Support

I have to say that using WordPress.org compared to the .com version has been far more challenging than I thought it would be. What experience have you had with the .org version compared to the .com? Have you got any advice or hints and tips on how to get the best out of using the .org version?

On thursday this week, I am going to an awards ceremony by the police to be awarded a Good Citizens Award. I feel honoured and humbled to be getting the award and thought I would let you know.

Write soon

Sandra

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Launch of beatredundancyblues.com

Hi Everyonebeatredundancyblues.com is finally here The launch of beatredundancyblues.com has been greatly anticipated for some time and I am proud to announce that as of now, on Tuesday 26th of March 2013, beatredundancyblues.com is finally launched. beatredundancyblues.com is a content rich site. It is a free resource of information, help and support for anyone who is: Redundant or about to be made redundant Job seeking Currently unemployed Wanting to change careers Lacking inspiration Needing motivation beatredundancyblues.com includes: A free report – 10 Mistakes to Avoid whilst Applying For Work Access to job sites from within the one site Access to recruitment sites from within the one site Access to courses from within the one site Health and wellbeing Interview advice Motivation Inspiration Interview advice Time management Self-employment beatredundancyblues.com is designed and built with you in mind, to help motivate and rejuvenate you back into work. Please take time to browse the site and let me know what you think?

In the meantime, stay positive, Sandra Bellamy.

What’s Holding You Back? – Skills and Experience

Hi Everyone

Now that we have settled into the new year, you will probably have noticed a lot of posts about goal setting and how you need to take action in order to move forward with your life. These posts are an invaluable source of information and inspiration and they are absolutely right, if you want to achieve your desired outcome, you need to take the steps to get there by setting goals and then acting on them but in the next few posts I want us to take a look at what may be holding you back from setting goals in the first place.

Sometimes in order for you to move forward you must reflect on the past and assess the present to see what changes need to be made. If you keep doing the same thing then you will always get the same result. If you are not happy with the result then you need to change what you are doing and there is no time like the present, so what are you waiting for?

Let’s consider some of the things that may be holding you back.

Not having the right skills or experience

There is no easy way to say this, if you haven’t got the right skills and experience for the job role that you desire, in these difficult economic times, you need to either obtain them or learn to convert previous experience and learnt skills into transferable experience and skills and if you can’t do that then you probably won’t get a look in because the competition is so tough.

Do not be fooled by a job advert that states: “Previous experience is not essential as full training will be given for the right candidate.”

If the interviewer can get a person with previous experience who has the correct basic skills, the right attitude for the job and is the right fit for the team, then they will go with them instead of someone with little or no experience. When I was a retail manager I recruited my own staff  and I advertised for the experience and skills that I required and yes I still got applicants applying with little or no relevant experience and as time is money in business, usually I would sift theses applications out on first look as I had a large number of applicants. Of the applicants that were sifted out there may have been some that had the right attitude or were a good fit for the team but because I didn’t put them through to the interview stage I would never know this, so having the right skills and experience is essential.

When I wasn’t working, on the odd occasion I would apply for a job that was out of my sector and one that I had little or no relevant skills or experience in, just as I thought, I would get a reject letter or worse, nothing at all. Upon analysis, the reason I got a rejection letter was because I appeared on paper to have some of the skills and experience that were relative to the job and some transferable skills but obviously not as good a offering as someone who blatantly had the skills and experience in that sector and therefore I wasn’t surprised I was rejected and took it on the chin. When I received no reply whatsoever, it was because on paper there were barely any skills and experience relevant to the role for which I had applied, so why should the employer bother to reply to me when it looked like I had randomly decided to ‘give it a go’. An employer wouldn’t like this attitude and to be honest neither do I and when I became a manager I understood that and if I were to apply for a job now I would always tailor my CV and Cover Letter to the Job specification and that’s why I get responses when a lot of other people don’t, so if you are struggling to get responses, now you know the secret, why not try it for yourself?

If you want to gain the skills and experience to get a job you desire, you need to do voluntary work, work experience and you may need to take a course as well.

To read about what else may be holding you back be sure to read the next post, until then, whatever you do, stay positive.

Sandra Bellamy

C is for Confidence A-Z of Redundancy

Hi Everyone

It’s important whilst redundant, that when applying for jobs and going for interviews, you come across as a confident person.

Confident in:

• Yourself
• Your character
• Your previous job roles
• Your skills
• Your experience
• Your abilities

In interviews, you need to ensure you are displaying open and positive body language:

• No crossed arms
• No fists made
• No stern looks
• No leering

You should:

• Smile – Creates warmth and approachability
• Have arms by your side or on your lap with palms facing upwards – Shows openness and friendliness
• Try to relax as much as possible – Will put the interviewer at ease

When you try to relax, pay close attention to your facial muscles, are they stiff and tight or at ease? What are your shoulders doing, are they hunched over or upright? You need to be constantly thinking about being calm and a good way to feel calm is to picture a time when you felt relaxed, maybe talking to a friend, then think of how your body felt at that moment and try to replicate it. This is hard but with practice can feel more natural and help you to get the job. If you are calm, this should make your interviewer feel calm and therefore you will appeal to them.

Remember when you speak, you are talking to a potential boss, so don’t feel so relaxed that you start talking to your  prospective employer like he is your mate in the pub as this would not be well accepted and you are not likely to get the job.

In interviews:

• Maintain eye-contact but without staring – This can take several practices before getting it right

You have to be confident that your character (personality) will fit the job. For example, if you are a quiet person and don’t like being in crowds, then working in a pub would most likely not suit your personality. If you are a bubbly and chatty person and that’s what the job requires, you need to be confident enough to show this at your interview.

You need to be confident when talking about your previous job roles. Talk up your achievements and don’t mention negatives. If the interviewer asks you questions like – “What was your biggest obstacle in your last role and how did you overcome it?” Then you need to be honest from the employer’s perspective but change the negatives into a positive. For example, if you had a customer who was unhappy with the shoes they had bought but it was more about the comfort of the shoes rather than a manufacturing fault and company policy was not to refund just on a comfort issue as you can’t resell the shoes and the company loses money. You could say that in order to maintain good relations, you decided to exchange the shoes as a gesture of good will. You need to always add a positive outcome – The customer was happy and became a weekly regular.

Whenever you talk about your skills, experience and abilities. You need to talk about them in a positive manner with the interviewer and give examples of when you have used them in your past job roles to good effect and created a positive impact on the businesses you were working for. Then go on to say how you could use those in your new role for which you are being interviewed.

Always remember, if you are confident that you can do the job, then the prospective employer will be confident that you are suitable to work for them.

Stay positive

Sandra

Course you can

Hi Everyone

It makes me feel sad when I hear people say they have applied for many different jobs and they have not even had a reply!

Why?  I ask myself.

Speaking from an ex-recruiters’ perspective, it can be for a number of reasons.

1. A poorly written CV
2. No cover letter or a poorly written one
3. Lack of experience
4. Lack of skills
5. Lack of knowledge

The thing is, you can do something about all of these and if you keep getting the same answer, for example, no answer at all, then it’s time to change what you are doing because it obviously isn’t working.

There are a number of people and places that can help you to write a good CV and cover letter and that is something I can help you with as part of my new redundancy services.

With regards to lack of experience, skills or knowledge, that is something that you need to learn for yourself and what better way to do it, than by going on a course.

This is particularly true if you are attempting a change of career and you are competing in a market with plenty of people who do have those credentials.

By going on a course, you will be able to decide if your new career, is one that you are passionate about and if it’s the right ‘fit’ for you.

A course will also:

• Raise your self-confidence
• Raise your self-esteem
• Give you an idea of what the job may entail
• Make you feel you are doing something worthwhile
• Give you direction
• Give you a sense of purpose
• Enhance your communication skills
• Show you have something ‘current’ to offer a new employer
• Make you feel better
• Give you a sense of fulfilment
• Give you a greater sense of achievement
• Make you realise, you can do it

So search your local college or university prospectus to find out more about various courses.  Many hold open evenings so that you can talk through your options.

Search the web for long-distance courses or other local courses.

Ask at the job centre, what local places hold free courses if you are on JSA.  There are often places that you can go to, to get a free or heavily subsidised course but you need to ask about these.  I have found a fair few in my local area.

Speak to your family, friends and contacts.  They may have gone on a course you didn’t realise they had been on and word of mouth is a good way of hearing about it.

Good luck and let me know how you get on.

Stay positive

Sandra

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Remain Active, Remain Motivated During Redundancy

Hi Everyone.

Whilst you are redundant it is important to keep yourself active by:

• Seeking work: Surf the web, go to the job centre, look in shop windows, buy the paper, talk to your contacts, upload your CV to job sites, contact agencies in your field of expertise, keep looking and never give up.

• Applying for jobs: It may sound stupid but if you keep telling yourself there is no work out there, you will begin to believe it. There are jobs out there but there are more people going for the one vacancy and competition is at an all time high. Tailor your CV and Cover letter to the job for which you are applying, don’t just send out the same one to each employer. Potential employers are only interested in what you can do for them and their company and will soon pick up on anything that seems like it’s not applicable to them, putting you firmly in the rejected pile. Highlight your skills in relation to that specific role.  Do your research, sell your relevant skills and sell yourself.

• Doing voluntary work:  Is a great way of learning new skills, boosting your self confidence and self esteem and is a fantastic addition to your CV. You are more likely to get work if you can prove to a potential employer that you are capable of work.

• Hobbies and interests:  Make sure you pursue these.  It is important not to stagnate and become depressed.

To stay motivated, besides doing the above, you must set yourself realistic goals and tick them off when you have achieved each one. Without goals, you do not know where you are headed and you will never achieve your dreams. 

Remember – Stay positive.

Sandra Bellamy