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Avoiding those back to work blues

When you have experienced the ecstasy of switching on your ‘Out of Office’ notice – thoughts of what will be waiting for you when you return after that long awaited holiday seem a long way off.

Hopefully, as you switched on the out of office, you also switched off your business email and social media accounts and committed to taking a proper break from all work related activities. You’ve made sure you are not joining the two in three people who report that they worked whilst on holiday!

With proper preparation you can set off on you holiday, recharge your batteries and avoid those back to work blues and worries of mounting emails, incomplete tasks or important meetings scheduled for when you return. Here’s some tips that might help.

1. Start with a positive mind-set

Holidays give us time to think about issues that we often put to the back of our minds when we are at work. Careers, relationships, workload and other deep seated issues come to the surface when are away from the day to day hustle and bustle. After the dream of taking early retirement, not going back or a finding a new job on some exotic island gives way to reality, some people will start to dread the thought of going back to work. This can lead to a spiral of negativity which can cancel out all the benefits of the amazing holiday you had and will inevitably be noticed by colleagues. Moods are contagious, so don’t take a bad one into work!

When you are thinking about your first day back at work, instead of focusing on the negative (your full inbox or a daunting customer meeting), think about those elements within your role that you enjoy. Focus your mind on the things you are looking forward to about returning to work.

Take time on holiday to read a book or listen to a podcast about the advantages of a positive mind-set. You might find you learn new life skills that make a big difference.

2. Accept that you will return to a full inbox

Before you return to work, accept that your email inbox will be bulging and there will be lots to catch up on. However, you can reduce the immediate pressure by setting your email expectations within your “Out of Office” message. Make it clear when you will be returning to the office and maybe think about adding an extra day to give you a buffer on day one of your return.
On day one, avoid scheduling lots of meetings and calls, instead, schedule time in your calendar to work through your inbox. Start by focusing on the emails which you know are a priority or have been sent by key colleagues and clients.

3. Help yourself to quickly re-adjust back to work

The steps above will improve your mood as you prepare to return to work after your break. However, there are also some more practical steps which you can take to help you get ready for the first day back. Before you leave for your holiday, make sure you have everything in place that you will need for work when you return. Clothes, uniform, work bag and even ingredients for lunches can be pre-prepared to avoid any last minute panics. A little advance organisation will help ease you into you work routine.

4. Personalise your workspace

According to the Association for Psychological Science, creating a tidy and more personal workspace can improve your mood. Try adding simple touches such as a treasured photograph (maybe a snap of your recent holiday) or plants which will give you an instant lift.

5. Think about how you can make useful changes

Holidays give you time to think and sometimes thoughts can turn to everything that you would like to change about your job. Rather than dwelling on everything you feel is wrong about the organisation, spend some time working out how you could improve things for yourself and your employer.

Fix a meeting with your line manager and make positive suggestions about your own area of work (not what you would do to change everything about the place!) and how it would help you to be even more productive. You might be surprised about the influence you gain on wider issues when you suggest changes you can personally make that affect your own role.

Do you have deeper issues? – make a plan

The steps above can be quick solutions to ensure your return to work is more bearable in the short-term. However, they are unlikely to solve bigger issues that might cause you to dread going back to work. During your holiday, try to establish exactly what it is which is making you feel so down about returning to work. By identifying the bigger problems, it will make it much easier to create a plan of action to solve them. What parts of your job are making you dread going back to work? Maybe you no longer feel challenged and don’t feel valued. Perhaps a lack of support from your boss has seen you turned down for a promotion. Maybe you can’t see a clear career path with your current employer. Perhaps you are struggling with an increasing workload that causes a high levels of stress.

If you haven’t previously made your manager aware of the problems, they can’t know that you need help. They won’t be able to put measures in place to help put things right. The first step is to have an open and honest conversation with your manager. When you meet, discuss the ways in which you can work together to address the issues you are struggling with. Resolve to deal with things when you get back from your holiday and you can spend the rest of your time away knowing you have a plan. Then you can get on with your your well-deserved break!

Is it time to look for a new job?

Have already tried talking to your boss about the issues you’re facing but feel as if nothing will change? Perhaps it might be time to follow your instincts and consider finding a new position.
Spend some time during your holiday thinking about the type of job you would like to find and your career goals. Think about the network of contacts you already have that could help you – this will give you something positive to focus on and a plan of action for kicking off your job search when you return.

It’s important to remember that most people will experience some degree of back-to-work blues as they think about returning to work after a great holiday. These feelings can creep in before they’ve even packed their suitcase. Resolve to take some practical steps, make a plan and enjoy your break!

If you’d like to know more about how the team at First Base can help you when you are considering your next career move, call 01453 755330 or email tricia.hay@first-base.co.uk

5 ways to stay motivated during your job search

You’ve researched endless job listings, tailored your CV and personal profile, attended career fairs, updated your LinkedIn profile, sent in your job applications and met with a few potential employers. When you are searching for the right job, there can be good days and not so good days. Sometimes it can seem as if you are not making much progress. Maybe the job offers you have received are not quite right for you, maybe you are still waiting to get some feedback following an interview or you might have just missed out on a job offer after being shortlisted.

How do you stay positive and focussed on your end goal of finding the right job for you? We got the First Base team together and came up with 5 things you can do to stay motivated while you search for your dream job.

Remember that the situation you are in is temporary, it won’t last forever and soon enough you’ll find the role you’ve been searching for. It can sometimes seem as if you’ll always be in this situation, but this isn’t the case, you will find something.

1. Start your day off on the right note

The way that you start your day often defines how the rest of it will go. After a good night’s rest to recharge your batteries, set an alarm so that you can make the most of the higher levels of productivity that you will have in the mornings. Try to establish a daily routine including start times, job search sessions and breaks so that you can quickly settle into a routine. Make sure you prepare well for interviews and keep up to date with what employers are really looking for.

2. Set yourself some daily goals

Every morning, think about what you want to achieve that day and list your goals and actions in a ‘To do’ list on paper or using the reminder feature on a smart phone These can then be checked off and provides you with a structure to keep you on track towards your end goal of securing your job. Remember, you don’t need to stick to these slavishly, if something isn’t working then adapt it and reprioritise the actions you need to take.

 3. Stay Positive

If you encounter a setback, remember that some of the reasons could be beyond your control. You are not alone, a lot of people are seeking new job opportunities and there will inevitably be some rejections. If you get a rejection it is often because someone else that applied is considered to be a better fit. Keep in mind that when you do get the job offer you want, someone else will have received a rejection.

If you receive a rejection try to turn this situation to your advantage by asking for feedback. This will help you to identify the things that you need to work on in time for your next application. If you are having a particularly quiet day in terms of positive responses, it could be that you need to alter your strategy. Think back to your most recent successes and ultimately remember that the right job is out there for you and keep going.

4. Make the most of your support networks

If the search becomes slightly overwhelming, take some time off with your family and friends who will be able to support you and offer advice on how to move forward. Friends who are also going through the same thing will also be able to share tips with you or could perhaps put in a word for you if their organisation is hiring. If you are working with a recruitment consultant, ask for their honest feedback and advice.

Check out our advice on building your personal network to boost your career opportunities.

5. Work smarter!

Register with a recruitment agency and take advantage of all the help and advice available to you from your consultant. We can help you with your CV and put you forward for opportunities where we feel there would be a good fit. When we introduce you to an employer there is much higher chance that they will interview you. Call us, register on line or pop in to meet us, you can be sure of a warm welcome!

Remember starting the search is a challenge but maintaining a high level of motivation throughout the search will mean the difference between securing a job sooner rather than later.  Staying positive and motivated are the best qualities to keep you going and it will be worth it once you come to start your first day in your new job!

Check out our website for current job listings and resources to help you with your job search, call 01453 755330 or email tricia.hay@first-base.co.uk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Attending a careers fair over Summer? Make sure you follow up

Going along to a careers fair can be a great way to meet and get introduced to businesses and recruiters that may be able to help in your job search. They just give you a job, right ?

Wrong. Having ran and taken part in many events over the past 22 years I can count on two hands the number of people that made a (really good) lasting impression.

While career fairs serve up great introductions to companies, recruiters, and career paths you may choose to follow, it’s still up to you to create the right first impression which could take you closer to landing that dream job.

Whether you’re looking for your first job, to change career or develop your network in your current role, being prepared and asking the right questions is key.

Make sure you take along your cv and or/business cards and show genuine interest in the people in attendance.  You cannot learn about a business or engage with someone that may be able to help you if you don’t fully engage with them. I see so many people who are brazen about continuing to look around the room for more interesting people – whilst still in conversation ! …….and we all know those who rush in, survey the room, barge in to conversations, take a call and rush out.

Put some real time aside and be present. Make eye contact and ask questions. Ask what the business does, what their ambitions for the future are or who their competitors are. No one expects you know all of this.. but they will appreciate your wanting to learn.

Then, follow up.

After the event, take time to connect with people online and to drop them a quick note to say thank you for their time.

So what do you say to make yourself memorable? Use these super easy tips to craft a perfect career fair follow up email.

Open your message in a courteous and professional manner: For example “Dear… “ or “Hi… “ If you felt you got on particularly well with your new contact. You don’t want to sound flippant or too casual by using “Hey….” Or “Yo….” (Is that old hat?)

At this stage you are trying to impress and show you have taken on advice or gained some really useful insight into what they do and how they could help you. If in doubt, it’s always better to err on the side of formality. “Dear Ms./Mrs/Mr…..”.

Be professional and keep it simple.

Try this template to follow up with anyone you’d like to show interest in and remember that you should follow up quickly. It’ll take a little time for recruiters to go through their email when they get back from an event but make sure you’re top of mind and in their in box waiting for them (send a follow up within 24 hours). I promise this set you apart from a high percentage of attendees who just went along for the freebies.

“Dear Mr/Ms/Mrs Green” / “Hi Lucy”

“Thank you so much for your time at [name of event, and location] this morning/this afternoon/yesterday/last week”.

“I was really interested to hear more about the work you do/marketing/sales/your new product [make it personal where you can] and would highly appreciate it if you’d think of me when you’re next looking to recruit/meet with candidates/hold an open day” [again, make this relevant to the conversation you had on the day].

“I’d love to stay in touch and would be really interested in talking more about the opportunities you have/may have on offer in the future”.

Thank you again for your time.

Kind regards/Yours sincerely

Tricia Hay

Keep it light and remind them that you were present and interested.

No need for war and peace here. Keep it simple and to the point (recruiters whether internal or external have very busy in boxes). Thank the recruiter for their time and express an interest in keeping in contact with them. As a final tip, don’t forget to attach your cv if you didn’t give them a copy at the career fair.

If you’d like further help in putting a follow up together, please feel free to contact my team and I at enquiries@first-base.co.uk

What do employers want?

We have worked with clients ranging from SME’s to Partnerships, Global Corporations, Charities and the Public Sector.

We’ve spent time with recruiting managers, HR directors, CEO’s and business owners. We’ve recruited for short term temporary contracts, part time admin roles to senior management position. When it comes to the people organisations want to hire, the story tends to be the same. All employers want the same things. They all want the ‘best’ candidates to apply, they all want to attract ‘great’ people. Good people shouldn’t be hard to find but you might be surprised how rare it is for candidates to see things from the employers point of view.

Initiative

You see this in job specifications all the time – we want people who can use their initiative.

It’s reasonable to expect some good induction and training when you’re new.  That doesn’t mean you can’t be considering early on how you can do things a bit better, do a bit of creative problem solving or deal with unusual situations on your own initiative. Don’t overdo it and take care about going beyond your authority, however, most employers would love to have people turn up the initiative dial a bit.

Ownership

Employers and managers are looking for people with a can-do attitude, who can be relied on to get the job done. They want people who will take ownership of their work. In all sectors, managers are busy and have conflicting multiple priorities to deal with. Having employees they can trust is really important.

If you want to stand out, make sure you can demonstrate that you take ownership of a job and that you are the one who gets things done.

Communication  

Another thing you’ll see on most job specs is the requirement for good communications skills.  It’s not just about speaking clearly or good grammar – it’s about communicating appropriately for the situation. Understanding which communication channel is the right one for the situation is increasingly important in a technological, social media-driven world.

Energy

Most people want to come to work to be energised by the people around them. Managers avoid negative people because they know that over time it drains everyone around them and it reflects poorly on their company brand.  Don’t be the person who people avoid!

The fundamentals

Turn up on time, be courteous, say ‘thank you’ and ‘please’. Don’t be a moaner, present yourself well, respect colleagues, be trustworthy and be authentic. Everybody can spot a colleague who goes a bit overboard with initiative, ownership, communication and energy!

If you’d like to know more about how the team at First Base can help you with your next career move call 01453 755330 or email tricia.hay@first-base.co.uk

 

Let your best people know you appreciate them

Which members of your team do you spend most of your time with?

For many managers, the natural thing to do is to delegate tasks to the best people and let them get on with the job.  The perceived wisdom is that this frees up time to spend more time with the poorer performers who need the most help and support. This might seem to be the obvious approach, but it can also be the wrong thing to do.

Often the only time a manger realises there is something wrong is when one of their best people comes in with their resignation and says that they have accepted a senior role with another company. We get to hear many reasons from employees about why they want to resign from their current job. Most often they tell us that they liked working at their present company but never felt appreciated or involved. They will say that they were left to get on with their job, seldom told they were valued and never asked their opinions about decisions being made about their department.

Encourage people doing the right things

Some managers think their job is to be on the lookout for employees making mistakes. In reality, business performance improves when you catch people doing the right things and praise them for it.

It’s no secret that genuine praise makes people feel good. Pride, pleasure and increased feelings of self-esteem are all common reactions to being paid a compliment or receiving positive feedback. This is because being praised triggers the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that helps control the reward and pleasure centres of the brain. As well as making us feel good, dopamine can also contribute to innovative thinking and creative problem-solving at work.

These positive effects, however, are relatively short-lived, and for praise to have an enduring impact on employee engagement, it needs to be offered regularly.

Freedom and involvement

Top performers do want the freedom to get on with their job and definitely don’t want to be micro-managed; but that doesn’t mean they should be taken for granted or ignored.

Do delegate responsibility to your best people and give them the freedom to accomplish their tasks, but don’t ignore them.  Meet them one to one regularly to discuss progress, their ideas, their issues and their plans, and help them to overcome any difficulties that get in the way of them from achieving even more.  Share some of the bigger business or departmental challenges with them and ask their opinions.

Deal with under performers effectively

You do have to spend time with the junior members and weaker performers in your team.  They need coaching and support, but don’t let this get out of balance.  Devote time and support to a poor performer, agree on an improvement plan with them, and monitor their progress.  Discuss the plan and their performance with your line manager and / or HR manager, and if they fail to improve or consistently under perform, then they should go.  No manager can afford to have consistent under performers draining their time and pulling down the team’s performance.

Aim for a balanced approach.  Spend time with every member of the team, get to know their interests, frustrations, ambitions and job-related issues.  A good manager understands their team both as a group and as individuals.  Every employee has different motivations, likes, dislikes, hopes and fears, and as a manager, you should know what motivates every person in your office.  Why do they come to work?  Every individual wants to be listened to and appreciated.

Praise and encouragement are great for weaker staff when they make improvements, but they are also important for the top performers who can often say they feel taken for granted and unappreciated.  Make sure that your best people know how much you value them.

The team at First Base can help you to recruit and retain great people. If you would like to know more about why candidates and employers tell us that First Base is their first choice call 01453 755330 or email tricia.hay@first-base.co.uk

 

Why good candidates turn down your job offer

The UK’s unemployment rate edged lower to 3.9% in first quarter of 2019. The employment rate hit a record high – and it is creating issues for employers seeking to recruit good people.

We have experienced some great companies having their job offers turned down by exceptional candidates in recent months. Good candidates are getting multiple job offers and we notice more and more are being given a counter offer when they announce to their current employer that they are leaving.

So why are some companies struggling to recruit?

  1. The role is not well defined

There is an increased need to properly and accurately describe the actual role you are recruiting for to candidates. Outline the role as it really is today or you risk losing a new recruit in the first few months. Don’t just highlight the best parts of the job or how it might look in the future – and don’t hire for part time when what you really have is a full time job. A new recruit hired part time being pressured to work extra hours isn’t a great motivator.

  1. Offering the right rate for the job

It’s a job seekers market right now and failing to offer at least the market rate is unlikely to attract the best candidates.

  1. Providing personal development opportunities

Every good candidate wants to know what opportunities there are for development. Failing to provide a personal development and progression plan is a big switch off for many good people.

  1. Company values

There is a whole new generation of talent who want to be paid well for a job well done AND to know that their personal values are aligned with those of their employer. Social issues and community awareness are high on their agenda.

  1. Making time for recruitment

At First Base we can help and support organisations to save time and money, Never the less, there remains a requirement for the right amount of time and attention to be allocated internally to ensure interviews are effective and that candidates get the best impression.

  1. A long recruitment process

Being decisive is becoming really important. Some organisations simply take too long to make a recruitment decision and then lose the candidate to a more switched on company.

  1. Health and wellbeing

It’s would be difficult to miss how big this is right now. Organisations need to be serious about wellbeing at work, not just because it is expected but because it is the right thing to do. The more an organisation shows it really cares, the more attractive it is an employer.

  1. Knowing what’s great about you as an organisation to work for

Every job and every company has things that are great about them.  In order to stand out from other potential employer’s, an organisation needs to know who they are trying to attract and what will motivated them to want to work with them.

We work closely with our clients to make sure they are in the best position to recruit. Working with hundreds of top employer has given us a lot of experience about what attracts (or turns off) good people. If you would like to know more about we can help you to find the right people call 01453 755330 or email tricia.hay@first-base.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

Writing a personal profile for your CV

A candidate recently asked whether she should write an introductory paragraph or personal profile at the beginning of her CV. Great question we thought, so here’s our view.

Whilst a cover letter tailored to the specific job you are applying for will do a lot of the talking for you, a short well written personal profile really helps your chances of standing out. A personal profile is a short paragraph that sits at the top of your CV. Its aim is to effectively and concisely sum up who you are and your skills and strengths relevant to the job role and career aims.  It is similar to a cover letter; the main difference is you will be selling yourself (the main purpose of your CV) in four or five sentences rather than a full page. A good personal profile added to your CV will grab the recruiter’s attention.

And grabbing the recruiter’s attention is vital. Many roles are in competitive fields and can attract dozens if not hundreds of CV’s – and that means you need to provide a short sharp reason for them to read on beyond the first few lines. You risk a recruiter flicking past your CV unless they spot reasons to put you forward pretty quickly. Help your recruiter to help you!

Your profile provides an ideal way to grab the recruiter’s attention and continue reading your CV because you are telling them in the first few sentences why they should consider hiring you. A personal profile can be useful if you are uploading your CV to a job board such as CV-Library. It provides you with an opportunity to outline your career objectives and can help put your CV into context. It also helps recruiters to match you with the right job for you and gives them some direction as to what sort of working culture would be the right fit for you.

A profile is best included when you are fairly sure what type of job you want or where your skills suit specific sectors. If you aren’t sure then consider leaving it out. A profile that is too broad risks giving the impression you haven’t done your research or that any type of employment will do. Not the best impression to give

Structuring a personal profile

The most important thing to remember is that your statements should around four or five sentences – between 50 and 200 words. Some people like to write in the first person (I am, my skills include…) or the third person (Sales professional seeking, skills include…). It really doesn’t matter as long as you are consistent with your grammatical style.

We suggest dividing your personal profile paragraph into three sections.

If you’re writing a more general personal profile, be sure you include key achievements that make you stand out. For example, if you’re looking for a position within graphic design and you’ve got extensive Photoshop experience working on a major campaign, not only can you claim you have these skills in your personal statement, but you can back them up as well.

Leave out the buzz words

You may well be a highly motivated team player with excellent communications skills and extensive administration experience but these buzz words don’t really provide any evidence (and a recruiters will have read the same words a thousand times).

Try to highlight real, relevant skills and back them up with evidence to make your personal profile strong.

Do

Don’t

Employers and candidates tell us that First Base is their first choice for help with their recruitment requirements and their personal career progression. If you would like to know more about how the First Base team could help you, contact us on 01453 755330 or email tricia.hay@first-base.co.uk

To upload your CV follow this link!

If you want that job – be on time!

Question: When is punctuality important at a job interview?

Answer: Always!

If you want to get off to a good start and earn some positive points at an interview, being punctual is absolutely vital.

“Punctuality is a fundamental business courtesy that demonstrates you can be trusted to deliver as promised” – David Tovey

First Impressions

It should go without saying, but it is never acceptable to be late to an interview. This is such a common standard that some employers will refuse to interview a candidate if they are late. Sadly some candidates still fail to realise that there is a basic requirement to be on time.

Look at it from the potential employers point of view. If the person who apparently is really keen to work for you walks in for an interview 10 minutes late, would you trust them to be on time and be organized throughout their employment with you? The recruitment process also takes up a lot of time for both employment agencies and employers – being late suggests that you are indifferent about the effort they are taking to help you find the job you want.

Have no doubt that potential employers have heard all the excuses:

Sorry I’m late..

“The traffic was terrible”

“The trains were running late”

“I had problems finding your offices”

Use these excuses (or the many similar ones) and all that the interviewer will be thinking is that you are not organised enough to plan your journey. They know what the traffic is like around Gloucestershire, on the roads and motorways. They know how the trains run, they also know about Google Maps and Sat Nav. Remember that they travel the same routes themselves.

“People don’t arrive late, they set out late” – David Tovey

But don’t arrive early

Arriving late is clearly not going to help you get the job you want – but being too early isn’t going to help your cause either. There are people who turn up 30 – 40 minutes early for a job interview and waltz in thinking it’s ok.

Just like when you turn up late, the recruitment manager is thinking.

Late or early – if they are thinking that about you before you have even introduced yourself – what do you think that does to your chances of getting the job offer?

Turning up too early for an interview can also make it awkward for your potential employer. The organisation might only have one meeting room, so if you turn up too early you’ll have to be seated in reception – sometimes next to another person also waiting to go into the interview for the same role as you. That can be uncomfortable for everyone.

A job interview provides the opportunity for you to shine, it’s your chance to make the right impression and the impression you make starts the moment you arrive. Those extra 30-40 minutes will count towards what the potential employer thinks of you.

What should you do?

Plan to arrive around 5 minutes early, not earlier and not later.

If you turn up too early:

When it comes to choosing between two good candidates, it can be the smallest of things that make all the difference. Don’t miss out on your finding your ideal job just because you didn’t turn up on time, it’s totally under your control. Check out our blog “Why didn’t I get the job”.

Employers and candidates tell us that First Base is their first choice for help with their recruitment requirements and their personal career progression. If you would like to know more about how the First Base team could help you, contact us on 01453 755330.