Career Advice

Not sure many of us saw 2020 panning out the way it has but the most important thing to remember is that there will be a recovery period. We have been very lucky that the States Of Guernsey, its teams, in front and behind the scenes, along with Dr Brink have guided us through this incredibly difficult time. The economic down side to a lockdown  is that some jobs have been lost,  some…

First impressions are incredibly important and none more so than when you are applying for a job. Your first encounter with your future employer starts when you send them your CV and covering letter. Most people think it’s at interview stage and plough lots of time and effort into researching and preparing for this, forgetting the other crucial elements that get you to that stage in the…

What is the exact nature of the Company’s business? Check out their website in advance. How many staff work there, what is the average age of staff, what is the Company culture etc? Has the Company been in the press lately, are there any controversial   announcements or decisions? Google to find out. To find out all of this information try the company web-site which will usually…

Just prior to full lockdown, we were all practicing social/ physical distancing, shaking hands had ceased to be the formal greeting and trying to find hand wash and hand sanitiser was like…well like trying to find hand sanitiser in a pandemic.  Coming out of one I suspect will be similar but this time with more pasta and loo roll available… Getting back to some version of normal will…

I was recently meeting a young school leaver to help give advice.   They had worked for a short time in an office administration role but had not succeeded as they did not like using the telephone to actually ‘speak’ with people as “everyone our age just uses social media, no one uses the phone to speak”. Actually this is a common observation by employers, not…

I received an email from someone asking about their chances of having a complete change in career direction. I think like many people, they have had the time (really had the time!) during lockdown to look at the job they are doing and realised it is not really what they want, or it may be they are faced head on with the loss of their job or the prospect that redundancy might just be around the…

So you have done some of the hard work by compiling your CV and covering letter correctly, being invited to interview and successfully being offered your ‘dream job’. But, there is still work to do, namely handing in your notice. This can be a daunting process for some people, do you do it verbally or in writing? Either way, what are you meant to say? You need to prepare for this…

Determination, communication and a sense of humour – surviving recruitment during lockdown With the exception of a few industries which have always been conducive to remote working, I can’t think of many companies worldwide who have not had to make dramatic changes to continue their business functions where possible; and those folks who have always been working from home were suddenly faced…

With more interviews and meetings than ever currently taking place remotely via Skype, Zoom, GoToMeeting and more, how should you prepare?  For any video interviews/meetings, you need to prepare exactly the same way you would for a face to face interview/meeting, after all, everyone can still see you…  It might be tempting to stay in your adult onesie and comfy slippers all day, but…

If pondering what to do with all your days in lockdown – how about turning that time into a positive and upskilling? There are plenty of free, online courses (digital marketing anyone?) which not only look great on your CV (shows initiative and a proactive mind-set), but also help you get absorbed in a subject you actually like. This would be a benefit to your mental health (keeping…