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7 Tips for Job Searching

If you are hunting for a new job at the moment you may be forgiven for feeling a little downhearted at the process. With many more applicants than vacancies it can be a tough and challenging process. Here are a few tips to help you in your job search.

Job search tip 1. Look at the upside – a new job can be the gateway into a whole new life. You may be changing location, improving your income and making a whole new bunch of friends. It may be the catalyst to exercise more, change your lifestyle and renew your outlook on life. So don’t think of applications as a chore, instead see them as a ticket to something new and exciting, with much better odds of success than any lottery.

Job search tip 2. Don’t take it personally – if you are unsuccessful, recruiters are not rejecting you as an individual. Most likely they have never met you or never will. It’s more constructive to think that someone else was better suited and move on. It can be a numbers game, the more applications you make, the more likely you are to be successful.

Job search tip 3. Treat each application as brand new. The recruiter doesn’t need to know that this is the thirty fifth application you have made this month. Approach each one as a new opportunity with enthusiasm and positive energy. Someone will be successful and it’s most likely that they will be enthusiastic as well as qualified for the position.

Job search tip 4. Get in state. Are you trying to write at the kitchen table surrounded by noise and distractions? Find a place where you won’t be disturbed, and perhaps play some quite background music. Then get excited about the opportunity, imagine yourself in the role and say to yourself or out loud – I can do this, I can get this job! Then complete your application in one sitting if you can. Leave it a while then return to edit and polish it up.

Job search tip 5. Give yourself the best chance. I recently heard of a part time book keeper’s job which attracted over 2000 applicants. The employer was a small firm and did not have the manpower to deal with that level of applicants. The first cut was made with anyone who made a spelling or basic grammar error. These may have been typos or mistakes resulting from a lack of care yet disqualified over 50% of applicants at the first stage. Make sure you give yourself the best chance by checking and double checking your application for errors.

Job search tip 6. Don’t sell yourself short. Typically the better paid the job, the fewer the applicants. People discount themselves by sticking to what they think they are worth or just below. As time passes there is a tendency to apply for less well-paid jobs until you are competing at minimum wage. Then ironically, you may be unsuccessful for being over qualified.

Job search tip 7. Never give up, never give up. At times finding a new job can seem like a long and hopeless task. Don’t fall into this trap, instead stay positive and optimistic. There are new ways of using your social media networks as well as other groups to tap into opportunities. Have you put the word out that you are available for something new? Each day brings a fresh start and with optimism and perseverance good times are just around the corner.

Good luck and please share your successes with others in our community by leaving a comment below:

Why do we use the term Piggy Bank?

What is the history of the Piggy Bank?

The Financial Fairy Tales Piggy Bank imageToday’s Piggy Banks can trace their origins to Europe in the Middle Ages. At the time, metal was both expensive and hard to find so families used clay to create their household pots and jars. Typically the type of clay they chose to make these house wares was an orange clay called “pygg”.

Whenever a household had coins to save, they put them in a pygg jar. Eventually, these pygg jars became known as pygg banks over time.

Later, in the eighteenth century, craftsmen were frequently asked to create pygg banks. Misunderstanding the request, the potters crafted banks in the shape of pigs and painted them likewise. These pig banks soon became popular, and  today piggy banks (shaped as pigs) are found around the world throughout many different cultures.

Compulsory Maths Study Post 16 – Just Doesn’t Add Up

Carol Vorderman, the government’s new weapon against poor arithmetic, has said children should be made to study maths until they leave school at 18.

The Government asked the TV presenter to review maths teaching standards in England, and her findings – published today – call for ‘major alterations’ to how the subject is taught.

Carol says 22 per cent of pupils aged 16-19 are ‘functionally innumerate’, with no basic grasp of maths and arithmetic, and that it is ‘unacceptable’ that just 15 per cent of pupils take maths after their GCSEs at 16.

She says that when the full-time education age raises to 18 by 2015, all pupils should have compulsory maths lesson until they leave school.

She writes: ‘Employers complain at the low level of new employees’ mathematical competence and now many hold numeracy courses,’ claiming that the ‘failed system’ that lets students give up all maths at 16 ‘is against common practice in most industrialised nations and there is an urgent need for change’.

She also claims that children should be taught personal finance to stop them falling into debt when they are older, stating: ‘Without major alterations in maths education quickly, we risk our future prosperity.’
Carol insists her plans will not make maths harder or lessons more gruelling, but will instead make the teaching ‘better’ and the ‘subject matter more suitable.’

Education Secretary Michael Gove said Carol’s report ‘will help.’

At the Financial Fairy Tales we applaud the support for personal finance to be taught in schools, but compulsory maths – just doesn’t add up.

How many times as an adult have you used calculus or trigonometry? Those are topics in the pre-16 GCSE curriculum, so goodness knows what theoretical content would be taught post 16. Of course higher studies of Maths are essential for some careers such as engineers or computer programmers, but making it compulsory for all is a mistake.

Better to make the teaching and learning of maths more relevant and more fun. That way both results and take up rates will improve.

What If All Jobs Paid The Same?

Imagine a future where all jobs paid the same fixed salary.
No this isn’t a new left wing manifesto, just something to think about.
So if all jobs pay the same, would you want to be the Chief Executive or the Cleaner? Would you go for satisfaction, power, making a  difference or a stress free life?
Without doubt there would still be teachers and nurses, even the majority of premier league footballers would still want to play but would there be a shortage of less desirable or dangerous jobs?
Take away the ability to attract workers with more pay, employers would have to develop non financial incentives, would that make businesses a more enjoyable place to be?
How would you encourage your children into a future career? Would professions such as doctors and lawyers still have their status or perhaps doing what they love would be of the utmost importance.
So if all jobs paid the same – what would you do and why and what would you advise your kids? I welcome your thoughts below

Debt: Reality vs Perception

Source: Payplan – IVA and Free Debt Management Plan provider.