Simply Hired UK Blog

Businesses Should Go Green to Keep Job Seekers Keen!

Companies across the UK are becoming more eco-friendly in order to limit cost and energy wastage, but at SimplyHired.co.uk, we’ve found a hidden benefit for businesses going green: talented candidates! 

The City quarter in London regularly takes part in switching off lights and computers on World Earth Day, and others are increasingly using solutions and processes on a regular basis to go green. Surprisingly, these efforts are spilling into the hiring zone: In a poll on SimplyHired.co.uk, job seekers voted finding a job that is eco-friendly as highly important (34%). 

Paradoxically, 75% of job seekers haven’t actually worked in a company where their position is sympathetic to green – there seems to be a conflict here between what job seekers want and what they can get, and this needs to be resolved. 

Finding a green-friendly job is not easy, but they are out there and it’s a matter of asking your future employer to see what is in place and what can be achieved by the company. SimplyHired.co.uk has compiled a list of tips to help you find a job that’s green-friendly and resolve this disjoint at the same time:

• Put it in your CV - If being in an eco-friendly company is important to you, why not mention it in your CV? It doesn’t need to be aggressively said – it could be helpful to just show skills you have picked up in your personal interest section and be a good conversational point for your employer at the interview stage.

• Presenting your interest at the interview stage – Keeping your passion related to your job is crucial in showing you are a fit for your position. Employers who may not be doing all they can do not necessarily want to be ambushed by someone who thinks they know better. Be humble, share your interest and see where the conversation leads - it could be that your enthusiasm is well received and they take your advice on board! 

• Starting your own green strategy – so you’ve passed the interview stage and landed your job, now what? If your position isn’t green, there are many ways to practice being eco-friendly, from introducing a recycling box at work to printing on both sides of paper. Regardless of what it is, communicate your ideas to your manager and HR to make sure they are on board and to help encourage others too.

Good Luck in your green endeavours, and don’t forget to share your ideas in the comments below! 

How Do You Start From Scratch In A New Industry Or Job Role?

Guest post by Tony Wilmot, founder of Staffbay.com 

There comes a point in many people’s careers when they decide that a change is needed. This need to change direction shouldn’t be taken lightly. To start from scratch in a new industry or job role takes drive and motivation. 

Think about your strengths

Firstly, write down all of your professional and personal strengths from being organised to being self-motivated. In addition, write down the things you enjoy doing, perhaps you like working with numbers or people? It may be that your next career move becomes obvious because of the attributes you already have. Ask people you know about their jobs, and what attributes you need in certain careers. Contacts can be a great source of knowledge.

Where do you want to be?

If you haven’t already, decide what you want from your career. It may sound simple, but there are a lot of people who describe themselves as “being in limbo” and not knowing what their next career move is. Do some research into your desired profession; do you need additional training or qualifications? Speak to people in the profession you are most interested in to get their honest opinion about what it’s like to work in that industry. Ask them about the positives and negatives to get a good rounded view. 

Gain experience

Voluntary work experience or temporary work is a great way of gaining experience in the area you want to move into and also testing if it’s right for you. Speak to people you know in that industry who might be able to give you some work experience or put you in touch with someone who is looking for a new member of staff. If you don’t know anyone in that industry start networking, research events pertinent to your industry and make a point of speaking to people about your intentions. 

Finally, start the job hunting process

By now you will have a few solid contacts in the industry you would like to move into. If you haven’t already, rewrite your CV to reflect your new aspiration or create a more tailored online profile that will really help sell yourself. Don’t forget to utilise the Internet, use sites such as www.SimplyHired.co.uk and www.staffbay.com to contact the employers you want to work for. 

Ultimately, stay focused on what you want in your new career. A career change will not happen overnight but all the hard work you put in will be worth it eventually. 

SimplyHired’s Dos And Don’ts For Handling Work On Your Time Off

Before the days of smartphones, it was easy to tell your employers that you were going on holiday and had no Internet access. These days, you have to be living in a cave if your phone doesn’t have a web connection! 

So what should you do when you’re on holiday and your colleagues know that you can receive emails? It’s a tricky situation, in an easy world the answer would be, you’re on holiday so you shouldn’t work. In the real world unfortunately, emergencies crop up and a colleague might have no one else to ask for help.

The following dos and don’ts will help you determine what you should do when you are on holiday, when your phone keeps buzzing with emails!

Do request your holiday far in advance, it allows teams to plan for your absence. Planning ahead also ensures that all of your colleagues know your holiday dates and won’t book time off during the same time.

Don’t plan your holiday when you know it is a busy time in the office. Be considerate to your colleagues – you are entitled to a certain amount of holiday each year, but you don’t want to leave your colleagues in the thick of it.

Don’t book off lengthy periods of holiday unless you are willing to do some work during it. You can’t expect to take off extended periods from work and ignore your emails for the entire time. Although it’s a holiday, you should never be completely out of the loop. 

Do set out guidelines to your colleagues, if you are adamant that you do not want to be contacted on holiday, make it clear before you leave. Make sure you have given clear instructions to a colleague who will handle all pressing matters and let them know you’re happy to reply to urgent emails.

Do check your email – you don’t necessarily have to reply to them, but keeping on top of everything when you’re on holiday is never a bad thing. It also means that you don’t waste time at work catching up from the week you have been away. 

Don’t answer unimportant emails, especially ones that a colleague can deal with. If you start replying to all emails, your colleagues may assume that they can contact you throughout your entire holiday. If you receive an email and you are the only person in the thread – consider sending a simple email saying ‘xx will be happy to help you with this query’. 

Do set up your out of office automatic reply on your email. This is your chance to let everyone know the dates that you are away and who can help them with queries until your return.

Don’t forget that a holiday is a holiday! You are entitled to a break!

Job Seeker’s Week in Review

This week in recruitment news...

• The Telegraph reported that more than 10,000 jobs have been left vacant at Jobcentre Plus for three months or more despite the growing number of people claiming unemployment benefits.

• The Guardian highlighted that the best ways to research a prospective employer are to scour websites, assess a company's core values and ask smart questions.

• On our own Simply Hired UK blog we researched your rights when it comes to maternity benefits. 

• The Daily Mirror stated that more people are taking on second jobs to make ends meet.

• Jobsite Insider looked into how job hunts are changing and the importance in changing the way in which you look for new jobs. 

Did we miss anything this week in employment news? Let us know in the comments!

Leaving Your Temporary Job on Good Terms

While temporary work may not be ideal to anyone’s circumstances, it has proved invaluable in helping people find work in a depressed and unproductive job market. As companies have emerged from the recession but remained loathe to create permanent employment positions, many have turned to agency staff to raise their productivity without a vast financial commitment. Given the unpredictable nature of economic boom, recession and recovery, temporary work cannot be underestimated in keeping you from unemployment.

Do Not Burn Your Bridges

If you have undertaken a temporary position but are now ready to move on, make sure that you part on good terms with your employer. Although the job may well have been a stop gap position, and one which affords only a minimal financial return, you can never be sure when the economic climate will change and force you to seek agency work again. Here are a few tips to follow:

• Remember you have chosen to take an agency position, and that this provides a regular wage and keeps you from unemployment. So treat it with the importance of a permanent job, taking care to display punctuality, reliability and an ability to complete tasks on time. You might want to use your manager as a reference in the future!

• When it comes to leaving to pursue permanent employment, be sure to give your employers as much notice as you can. Although some temporary contracts demand you to give a minimum of a weeks notice prior to termination, others do not so make it your duty to work out an amicable and fair notice period.

• Consider composing a thank you note or offering a small parting gift to your colleagues and employers as a way of expressing your gratitude. This helps to ensure an amicable split and also marks you out as a memorable and considerate employee. 

Why you should Leave Amicably

Aside from it being the correct and honorable thing to do, there are practical reasons for leaving your temporary position amicably:  

• A temporary position may well last for several months and beyond, and so must be included in detail on your CV and include reference information. Not performing the role to your best or leaving the position without notice can create an unnecessary black mark on your job history, and cause issues for future applications.

• Regional offices and call centres are organizations that typically require temporary staff frequently, and leaving them on a positive note leaves the door open for you to return at a future date. With job security increasingly uncertain in the current market place, it is important to maintain as many options for future employment as you possibly can.

• You may be fortunate enough to have secured a temporary position in your field of expertise, so do not underestimate the potential for it to become a permanent role in the future. By working hard and investing time and effort into your everyday tasks, you are likely to stay in the minds of your employers and be their first port of call should the job become a long term and contracted position.