The top companies hiring in October 2013

The top companies hiring in October 2013 by Michael Cheary Looking for a job in October? Youre in luck. There are now more vacancies on reed.co.uk than at any time in the last five years.Thats right. Over the last month weve hit the 160,000 job barrier. Weve also expanded in a range of different industries, with significant rises for jobs in Construction, Education, Motoring Automotive and Security Safety.Ready to find your dream career? Here are just a few of the top companies hiring this month:EDF EnergyEDF Energy are the UKs leading generator of low carbon electricity, generating around one fifth of the nations electricity. Not only do they supply electricity and gas to nearly 5.5 million homes and businesses, they also employ somewhere in the region of 15,000 people.Theyre currently looking to employ staff in roles ranging from Search and Social Media through to Project Management, HR and Engineering. If youre interested in developing your career, and want to work for one of the UKs biggest companies, apply to day. Locations: Throughout the UKView all jobs with EDF now MenkindFeatured in the Sunday Times Fast Track 100 group of the fastest growing private companies for two years running, Menkind is a niche multi-channel gift and gadget retailer, and is found in many of the busiest high-streets and shopping centres around the UK.As one of the top gift-buying destinations for the Christmas period, their latest recruitment drive is mainly concentrating on filling a range of seasonal vacancies to cope with demand. Perfect for those looking for a fun and fast-paced environment, especially if you like getting to grips with the latest gadgets.Technophobes/Scrooges need not apply.Locations: Throughout the UK.View all jobs with Menkind now TwitterSpend all your time on Twitter? Why not work for them?With 200 million active users, Twitter now plays an enormously powerful part in the way many of us stay up-to-date with the things we care about.Based in Dublin and London, they are recruiting for a wi de range of different roles and in a variety of different sectors, including Sales, Accountancy, IT, Human Resources, Media, Marketing and more. Perfect, so long as you can write everything in 140 charLocations: London and Dublin. View all jobs with Twitter now Virgin ActiveHeaded by the billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson, Virgin Active run health clubs/gyms in 118 UK locations. Over 1.1 million people across the world make up their membership, and they pride themselves on their key values: challenging the norm, having fun, excellent customer service, value for money and innovation.If youre a fitness fanatic looking for a challenging and rewarding career in a friendly environment, this may be the perfect opportunity for you. So whether youre looking for work as a Personal Trainer, Childrens Activities Assistant, Chef, Sales Consultant or Spa Assistant, apply now.And yes, membership is complimentary Live happily ever active.Locations: Throughout the UK.View all jobs with Virgin Active now Your MoveWith over 320 branches across the UK, YOUR MOVE is not only one of the most familiar names in estate agency, they are also the single biggest estate agency brand and the largest lettings agent in the UK.Theyre on the lookout for Lettings Negotiators, Branch Managers, Property Consultants, and a variety of other roles. Passion for property? Its your moveLocations: Throughout the UK.View all jobs with YOUR MOVE now Find a job What Where Search JobsSign up for more Career AdviceSign up for moreCareer Advice Please enter a valid email addressmessage hereBy clicking Submit you agree to the terms and conditions applicable to our service and acknowledge that your personal data will be used in accordance with our privacy policy and you will receive emails and communications about jobs and career related topics. Features

Diversity is the key to success for Social Media Recruitment (INFOGRAPHIC)

Diversity is the key to success for Social Media Recruitment (INFOGRAPHIC) Half of the world is on social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter. More organizations are using social media to target and hire candidates. It can be a most valuable tool to find the right talent for the right designation for your small business to grow. So, if you think Social Media Recruiting can work for your small business? You’re right, it can! You don’t have to be a large organization to effectively use social media to find and hire perfect employees. It’s quick to set-up, easy to use, and best of all, it’s free. Here is some information on why you should use social media for recruitment. Make sure to read them all! Infographic courtesy of:  http://www.searchresultsmedia.com/social-media-recruitment-infographic/ Author Bio: Rakesh Desai, CEO and co-founder of Search Result Media, is passionately engaged in the company’s major activities. Currently, He looks after company’s growth through technology investments, new product lines and strategic partnerships. He possesses a huge experience of Digital Marketing, Social Media Recruitment, Staffing Solutions and his core strength lies in sketching out fruitful business strategies.

From Unemployed Teacher To Education Entrepreneur - VocationVillage

From Unemployed Teacher To Education Entrepreneur - VocationVillage Lindsay Barron was an unemployed teacher who was first challenged by the stress of substitute teaching and then by temp firms where she was told, “You have no skills.” Lindsay decided to shape her own career destiny by launching The Whole Child Learning Company, which provides enrichment services for young children (age 2-5) in child care centers, preschools and other venues. Read my interview below about Lindsay’s journey to successful education entrepreneurship.Lindsay, what type of career did you have before you launched your business?I was a Title 1 Preschool Teacher in Roanoke City Public Schools.    This was my first job out of college and I taught for 3 years until my husband accepted a new position with his company that required us to relocate. I absolutely loved teaching preschool and hated to leave my job, but we believed that his career needed to take precedence as his earning potential in his field was greater and we thought that I could teach anywhere.Describe the circumstances of your job loss, how long you looked for a job, and how your job search went.I resigned my position when we moved to Pennsylvania (in 1996). I had several months to prepare and I applied for certification in Pennsylvania and sent in for all the required clearances, fully expecting to have all my paperwork in order in time for the summer hiring season in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, the required FBI clearance did not come back until late September so my application was considered incomplete and I was ineligible to be hired. Even if I had a complete application, I doubt that I would have gotten a job because the area where I lived (Chester County Pennsylvania) and some of the surrounding counties had a very competitive hiring environment. These districts paid very well and teachers did not leave their jobs willingly â€" there was a recession going on at that time, although not as serious as our current recession.I began substitute teaching, which I found very stressful. I was still hopeful of landing a position for the next academic year and substitute teaching can be a great way to get to know principals and develop a good reputation. I was always anxious to do a good job and make a good impression; however, you never knew what you would face each day when you walked into a strange classroom and if you would have a good day or a horrible day. Little things are not in your control. For example, a teacher might leave needed materials under a pile of papers, making them impossible to find, and then you look incompetent. I became discouraged with the substitute teaching route and decided to try temp work. This was even more discouraging because when I took the typing test and other evaluations I was informed, You have no skills. At this point I began thinking about doing something on my own working with young children.Please tell us more about The Whole Child Learning Company. We have four programs: GiggleBytes computer classes, Little Amigos Spanish classes, BusyBodies  movement fitness and health, and Great Minds. The first three programs are full service specialty instruction that child care centers do not have the expertise, staff , or budget to offer themselves. The classes provide a convenience for busy working parents who don’t want to add another activity in the evenings or on weekends. Great Minds, our newest program, is an in home customized tutoring service for children age 4 to college aged. We have expanded through franchising and have 35 franchises in various states.How did you survive financially while you started your business?We were fortunate that our business model is very low overhead. As a home based business, we do not require a retail location, or even commercial office space. Our classes are offered on site in existing locations of child care centers, preschools and private schools.? Start up costs were relatively low as it was mo stly just the cost of a computer and software, and the model also allowed us to begin generating revenue as soon as classes were started in a location. In the beginning, I would get schools started and teach them myself. Then, as we found additional locations to offer our services I would hire a teacher to replace myself and I would develop a new schedule of 5-7 locations, then hire another teacher, etc. We were aggressive about marketing our program to the venues that could offer our services and we focused on our quality.   We were very motivated, especially after my husband, Matt, quit his job and we decided to move to Texas for both of us to pursue our business full time. It was very much a feeling of sink or swim. We were relying totally on ourselves and we had burned our bridges so failure was not an option.    It was scary but we were totally focused. We used credit cards to see us through until we were able to replace our former income within a few months.How does your curre nt income compare to your previous income?Everyone knows that teachers don’t do the job for the money â€" the pay is relatively low compared to other professional fields. I definitely make more money as an education entrepreneur than I would as a public school teacher but I’m still able to work with children and be a positive influence in their lives.What skills and previous experience were you able to bring to your business that is helping you to succeed?My professional background as an educator definitely helped me relate to the Directors of the child care centers. I was also able to develop quality curricula and programs and parents really recognize the benefit of this.What is the best part about running your business?I love the fact that our business has a positive influence on people’s lives. The children who participate in our classes benefit from quality programs and learning important skills and concepts. The teachers whoteach our classes benefit from a position that i s a great lifestyle fit for the right person. All of our teaching positions are part time because of the nature of the preschool day â€" the kids nap for two hours in the middle of every day. We usually hire teachers who have left the public school system, often after they have children themselves and they want to work part time and be paid well for their time but still want to be able to pick the kids up from school or be home when they get off the bus. Our franchisees benefit from the opportunity to become entrepreneurs and build their own businesses. They can develop incomes that exceed the average income for most public school teachers and they can have more freedom and control over their time.What is the most challenging part about running your company?The franchisee/franchisor relationship can be challenging. The franchisor has a mentoring role as well as something of an authority figure role. Additionally it is important to serve the needs of your franchisees. Although the fr anchisor tells the franchisee what to do and how to do it, the franchisee is also, in a sense, a client or customer as they have purchased a business, so it can be a balancing act.What new skills did you need to learn to be a successful entrepreneur?I had to learn to do sales. As a teacher I never anticipated or wanted to do any kind of sales. I can remember sitting in my car outside child care centers working up my courage to go in and speak with the director. I’m really a fairly shy person and sales were very uncomfortable for me, but it was necessary and I learned to do it, and even enjoy it. The feeling of completing a successful sales call and establishing new business is fantastic!? I also had to learn to delegate and to be an effective supervisor or boss â€" these are skills that I’m still working on!What career advice do you have for job searchers who may be considering an entrepreneurial path?Do lots of research. Research your market and especially your competitors. Don ’t let competition scare you off of a good idea â€" if someone else is successful running a business then there is usually room for someone else who can do it better or at a lower price. You have to be careful to fully understand your costs so that you don’t put yourself into a situation where you can’t make a profit. When you start a business, your passion, enthusiasm and commitment can give you an edge in providing excellent service which can help develop loyal customers or clients. Expect to work hard in your start up phase. Starting a business is like having a newborn â€" it is 24/7 and all consuming in the beginning.Anything else you would like to share?I would not accept a salaried job now even if I were offered one, and neither would Matt. We are really excited about the future of the company! Last year through the economic downturn we saw a decline in franchise sales, which was not surprising and reflected the overall trend in franchising nationwide among all kinds of franchised businesses. However, our revenue from class tuition did not decrease. While almost nothing is truly a “recession proof” business, parents seem to be willing to reduce costs in other areas in order to provide educational opportunities for their children. We are making some changes to our structure to make our franchise more accessible including selling our four separate programs as stand alone franchises rather than a bundled package. The cost for a single program unit will be lower than our current model and franchisees can have the option of adding an additional program for flexibility in their markets. With many new teachers unable to find jobs and other experienced teachers taking early retirement packages, we believe this will result in lots of new territories being established. It is a great opportunity for those teachers.Thank you, Lindsay!To read more about Lindsay’s company, please visit  WholeChild.com.

Five Essential Steps to a Great Job - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Five Essential Steps to a Great Job - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career There are five essential steps to a great job, provided one is willing to do some hard work; shortcuts reduce chances. The following tips are for those who want to stay in the same field. For those who want to change fields or who have no idea what they want to do in the future, there are other steps; and for those career changers, most of these steps are still applicable. The five steps are: Self-appraisal Development of marketing collateral Identification of employment opportunities Project management Interview preparation Self-appraisal People who find themselves in transition and are ready to go back to work have a good opportunity to do a self-appraisal. The exercise will pivot the skills and personal attributes that they want to use and sell to a future employer. There are a number of such self-appraisal tests that have been around for a long time and have proved worthwhileâ€"or example, Myersâ€"Briggs, DiSC, Keirsey Temperament Sorterâ€"II, Career Insights, and StrengthsFinder. Development of marketing collateral The first things every job seeker must have are an outstanding résumé and an exceptional LinkedIn profile. Notice that I said outstanding and not good or very good. The reason is that because of the vast supply of mostly mediocre résumés and profiles, only outstanding marketing collateral is competitive. My strongest opinion is to have these documents created professionally by a certified and recommended party. Why, you ask? (a) Because you are in fierce competition with others who are also very good at what they do. (b) Because writing a résumé and a LinkedIn profile is part of a profession that requires rigorous training, top skills, longtime experience, and full understanding of the requirements of applicant tracking systemsâ€"the software that most medium-size and large companies use to parse résumés. And (c) because poor marketing collateral generates no traction and wastes time. Once a résumé and LinkedIn profile have been done, they’ll still need periodic tweaking. Make sure they contain the right keywords. You can research keywords via Google AdWords and check out your competition’s keywords via LinkedIn. Next, develop your value proposition by answering to the following four questions. What do you do? Who are your customers? What benefits do your customers perceive that you provide? What do you offer that is unique or that is the kind of service your customers can’t get anywhere else? The next step is the development of your personal brand. Personal brand is the impression you make, what you are known for, and what people say about you. A brand is not a logo, a tagline, or a product; it’s a relationship. People tend to relate to others they know, trust, and like. Personal branding consists of perception, reputation, influence, and image. When creating your personal brand, you have to be able to answer the following three questions. Who are you? What do you do? and, Why does it matter? You should routinely Google yourself, set up Google Alerts with your name, and brand your e-mail signature. Now’s the time to start your personal marketing. First, define your objective and goal. Consider the type of job, determine the title, and list what’s important based on your values, such as recognition, money, job security, promotion, belonging, purpose, and commitment. Next, identify a specific audience. For example, you should target companies, employers, industries, locations, commuting distance, home office, and title. At all times, you have to differentiate yourself by targeting your audience with your message. Determine the best venue. Periodically measure your results and make adjustments accordingly. The last step is to advertise and promote yourself. Use social media such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. You have to relentlessly increase the number of connections on each social medium. To become visible, you have to participate in group discussions and answer questions. Such actions validate that you are an expert, and they differentiate you from the crowd. Make sure you have a professionally produced picture. Fill out your profiles on social media completely. LinkedIn makes it very easy to publish articles available to be read by a large audience. And last, participate in job search networking groups. Identification of employment opportunities Of course, that’s the ultimate goal, but where? There are several places. For example, a search on the LinkedIn tab called Jobsâ€"by job title. Via an indeed.com search on title. Via SIC or NAICS code number (government industry classifications) on onetonline.org. Local libraries have various databases, but the most effective way is participation in various job search networking groups. Clearly, you must continually explore and research opportunities. A good source is by working with your local reference librarian. By participating in various LinkedIn groups, you can submit questions, and hopefully, people would be willing to help. Read job-search-relevant articles because they can provide clues. Focus on a dozen or so target companies, and follow their employment sections. Create a list of key people to contact primarily at your target companies. Project management Your job search could be protracted over several months. The amount of information available is quickly expanding to the point that a serious job seeker needs to start closely managing a job search project. At a minimum, a constantly updated spreadsheet will do. Some use a customer relationship management tool. A couple of the more popular ones are JibberJobber and CareerShift. Interview preparation This is an absolute must because in the end, there will be only one winner getting the job offer. Prepare for being asked Tell me about yourself. Develop a minimum of 15 SARB or STAR or PAR or CAR answers. These are answers to interview questions in a format by which you start with the background situation, followed by the action you took, and ending with the result and the benefit to the employer. Best is to practice with someone who could guide and critique. An added value would be to record the practice session to see yourself in action. Research the company to the max. Appear extremely knowledgeable about the company you are interviewing with. Cultural fit with the organization is of utmost importance. And even though you cannot change the way they perceive you based on the impression you make, you can certainly influence that impression by showing them your interest in and deep knowledge about them. Thorough preparation can pay off very handsomely. But even that’s not the end. The company is in control of the process until they extend an offer, and at that point, control moves over to you. This is when you must continue learning about the company and its true culture, so that you can negotiate the compensation package. Most companies expect and are prepared to negotiate. Are you?

5 Mistakes People Make About New Years Resolutions CareerMetis.com

5 Mistakes People Make About New Years Resolutions â€" CareerMetis.com Photo Credit â€" Pexels.comThe beginning of a new year gives us such a tremendous opportunity to draw a line and start fresh. Most people take this opportunity and evaluate their performance, how successful they are, if they improved, how happy they are with themselves and life in general.Because accomplishing your New Year resolution depend a lot on the way you set them and planning, here you have five common mistakes people make about new year resolutions and how to avoid them:1. Setting New Year resolutions under the impulse of the momentevalWhen a year is ending, and a new one begins you are a bit vulnerable because you are either sad, either happy or a bit of both. Whichever the case might be, designing your resolutions in any of those states of mind and under the impulse of the moment is setting you up for failure.evalThink things through and set for yourself doable and desirable Do you want to accomplish the impossible? Good, just don’t allow yourself to get overwhelmed by i t.You see? Feeling overwhelmed and not knowing exactly what you have to do are killing your goals and dreams more often than lack of motivation or willpower.eval5. Lying to yourself regarding the reasons for failing to achieve some of your resolutions from the previous yearsLying to yourself is rarely about finding excuses and more about ignoring the truth in front of you.Take, for example, attributing your failure to your character, thinking that there is something wrong about you when the reality is that the way you have tried was the problem. As long as you believe that you are the problem, you are fighting a lost battle because no matter how much you change, the result would be the same. It is not you who needs to be changed, but the way you are doing things.evalListen, you can’t find solutions for imaginary problems; you can’t solve issues that don’t exist. Therefore, embrace the truth, convenient or not, and march forward with confidence.Now, no matter if the fever of Ne w Year’s resolutions catches you “in time” are not, remind yourself that is never too late to start working on your goals, achieving your dreams, becoming successful.I wish to you all the best, wisdom, confidence, and patience. Happy new year!

Gigs galore - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Gigs galore - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Today?I fly to New York?to do a workshop for a client and over the next 3 months Im also speaking in Reykjavik, Istanbul, Ljubljana and possibly Paris. Woohoo :) Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

Tips to Prepare a Resume That Gets Noticed

Tips to Prepare a Resume That Gets NoticedThe preparation of a resume, in the hands of an effective writer, is an art as well as a science. As a writer of resumes, you have to ensure that every facet of your resume is flawless and presents you in the best possible light. It is not sufficient that you present yourself in the best possible way. Rather, your resume needs to be written keeping the most important criteria in mind.The main problem of a resume is that it gets a bit time consuming and may be very difficult to read. Therefore, you need to make it easy for people to understand and read your resume. In order to do this, here are some tips to follow when preparing a resume.Provide the employers with relevant personal details- Make sure that the employers are provided with information about your career, education, job experience, references, financial status etc. You may also include personal achievements, awards and decorations. The employers will be able to get a clear picture of who you are. They will also be able to get a brief idea about what your profile covers. So, make sure that you are prepared with all these details.Ensure that you select and use keywords- Keywords are quite important when writing a resume. While writing a resume, the aim should be to use relevant keywords. This means that you should be able to select relevant keywords, which are easily identifiable by an employer.Short and to the point - There are two imperative parts to a resume. First, the cover page. The cover page consists of information that you wish to be put across to the employer so that he can read your resume in minutes. This information will include personal details and information about the company, its clients, the position you hold and previous jobs.Professional resume writers always write a resume in such a way that they minimize the content of the cover page. If you want to write a short cover page then, you need to be very careful while drafting it. Even a simple phrase like 'personally,' or 'on behalf of,' or 'acting as' will not do.Make the most of your memorable details- Even if the headline on your resume says 'Executive Assistant,' there is no point in making it too long. Try and include your most important skills, your major achievements, your notable achievements, etc. A concise and very short resume will help you land the job. The employer may not see the whole cover page but at least, he will get the gist of it.Writing a resume is not a cake walk. In order to save yourself from the task of writing a resume, you need to be prepared with the following resume writing skills. By learning these, you will be well on your way to building a positive career.