Fish4

Top Tips for School Leavers from Channel 4's Fairy Jobmother

Are you a school leaver on the hunt for a job?

Watch Hayley's top CV and interview tips for school leavers

To find a new job, search and apply on Fish4jobs 

 

Hayley's Top Tips for Graduates

Are you a Graduate starting out? Watch Hayley's top CV and interview tips to get your career on track and get the job you want. 

To find a new job, search and apply on Fish4jobs 

 

Top Tips for landing a fabulous job

By Nisa Chitakasem, Co-Founder of Position Ignition, the UK’s leading Career Change company, helping you with the next step in your career…

Nisa Chitakasem, created Position Ignition to help support professionals through their career challenges. She has co-authored a range of ebooks to help people through various career challenges including: How to Get the Job You Want, How to Ace the Interview and the really popular 125 LinkedIn Job Search Tips.

For most of us, work takes up a significant part of our everyday lives. The Office of National Statistics reports that 29.19 million of us are employed and it’s important that each and every one of us is in a career we enjoy, since we spend so much time in the workplace and so much time thinking and talking about work even when we’re not there.

How often do you find yourself saying about your job “I’m bored”, “I just fell into it” or “We all have mortgages to pay” or “Is it 5 o’clock yet?” What would it feel like to wake up in the morning and actually feel excited about going to work? What would it be like to enjoy your work so much that you forget to clock-watch and it’s a pleasant surprise when 5pm comes round? Although there haven’t been many recent studies, one suggests that as many as 4 out of 5 people are unhappy in their jobs. For those who find some aspects of their working life enjoyable, it isn’t salary or the love for the work that makes them happy. Instead friendly, supportive colleagues and a great manager are the primary factors contributing to happiness at work.

So how do you find a job that will keep you positive and motivated and ultimately leave you experiencing long-term job satisfaction? You are the only person in control of your future career – here are a few tips on how you can gain clarity on what you really want.

• Do you know your values? And are these reflected in your current role? If not, seriously consider aligning your next job with your principles—if you believe in what you’re doing, you’ll get a lot more out of it.

• Define your skills and capabilities, and think about how you are using them. Are there are any which are not being used and thus you find yourself feeling frustrated. If you can’t find a way to utilise them in your present career, start researching alternative careers that match up with your abilities and play to your strengths.

• Challenge yourself. Staying stagnant is the quickest and easiest route to boredom. Don’t be scared of the idea of shifting between organisations, careers, sectors, industries—such transitions have been made innumerable times before and there’s no reason why you can’t do it, if you’re smart about planning your path and putting the effort in.

• Network. Think about existing contacts who could help you. Have you been longing for a career in sales? Who do you know that works in this industry and who can they potentially introduce you to?

• Don’t hold back from having ambition. Too often ambitious women are portrayed negatively, but there is no rhyme or reason for this. Do you care about getting clear on where you want to be or do you care about what others think? Are you going to let other people’s opinions keep you in a job you don’t like? Employers and prospective employers want to have people working for them who demonstrate an appetite for personal growth and when it comes to career progression, it’s these people’s opinions that count.

• Go for it! You and you alone can make it happen.

 

To find a fabulous new job, search and apply on Fish4jobs today 

 

Get your career on track with the Fish4jobs & Daily Mirror Roadshow 2013

For the third year in a row, Fish4jobs and the Daily Mirror are hitting the road in our double decker bus for our annual career roadshow. We’ll be visiting Cardiff, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool offering job seekers invaluable career advice, local jobs, training and apprenticeships.

Dates & locations
We'll be in the following locations each day from 10am - 4pm: 

Sunday 9th June - St David’s Shopping Centre, Cardiff
Monday 10th June & Tuesday 11th June - Centenary Square, Birmingham
Wednesday 12th June & Thursday 13th June - Albert Square, Manchester
Friday 14th June & Saturday 15th June - Liverpool One Shopping Centre


Why local job seekers should attend

The Fish4jobs and Daily Mirror team will be on hand delivering: 

Career workshops - Sign up for one of our career workshops on the top deck for topics including: CV and interview workshops and older and younger job seekers. To secure a place, visit the relevant location page below. Places will book up fast so book ahead to avoid disappointment. 

Local jobs - Job seekers can meet local employers and recruiters to find out about local vacancies and apply directly.

Career advice - Meet the Fish4jobs and Daily Mirror team and receive CV tips and templates, interview advice, bespoke CV and job seeking advice for older and younger job seekers.

Apprenticeships - Hear from the National Apprenticeship Service and find out about local apprenticeship vacancies from the UK’s largest provider of apprenticeships.

Training - Find out how training can enhance your career prospects and if you’re eligible for free training with learndirect.

 

Cardiff - Sunday 9th June, St David’s Shopping Centre, 10am - 4pm

Career workshops
Sign up for one of our career workshops held on the top deck of the bus. Places will fill up fast, so book ahead to avoid disappointment. To book your place, click on the 'Register now' link: 

Time	Topic	Booking
10.30am	Top CV mistakes & how to avoid them	Register now
11.30am	Younger job seekers: How to sell yourself to employers	Register now
2.30pm	Common interview questions & how to answer them	Register now
3.30pm	Mature job seekers: Making your experience count	Register now

Local employers
Job seekers can meet local employers and recruitment agencies and find out more about their vacancies.

Birmingham, Mon 10th June & Tues 11th June, Centenary Square, 10am - 4pm

Career workshops
Sign up for one of our career workshops held on the top deck of the bus. Places will fill up fast, so book ahead to avoid disappointment. To book your place, click on the 'Register now' link: 

Time	Topic	Booking
10.30am	Top CV mistakes & how to avoid them	Register now
11.30am	Younger job seekers: How to sell yourself to employers	Register now
2.30pm	Common interview questions & how to answer them	Register now
3.30pm	Mature job seekers: Making your experience count	Register now

Local employers
Job seekers can meet local employers and recruitment agencies and find out more about their vacancies.

 

Manchester, Wed 12th June & Thurs 13th June, Albert Square, 10am - 4pm

Career workshops
Sign up for one of our career workshops held on the top deck of the bus. Places will fill up fast, so book ahead to avoid disappointment. To book your place, click on the 'Register now' link: 

Time	Topic	Booking
10.30am	Top CV mistakes & how to avoid them	Register now
11.30am	Younger job seekers: How to sell yourself to employers	Register now
2.30pm	Common interview questions & how to answer them	Register now
3.30pm	Mature job seekers: Making your experience count	Register now

Local employers
Job seekers can meet local employers and recruitment agencies and find out more about their vacancies.

 

Liverpool, Fri 14th June & Sat 15th June, Liverpool One (opposite John Lewis), 10am - 4pm

Career workshops
Sign up for one of our career workshops held on the top deck of the bus. Places will fill up fast, so book ahead to avoid disappointment. To book your place, click on the 'Register now' link: 

Time	Topic	Booking
10.30am	Top CV mistakes & how to avoid them	Register now
11.30am	Younger job seekers: How to sell yourself to employers	Register now
2.30pm	Common interview questions & how to answer them	Register now
3.30pm	Mature job seekers: Making your experience count	Register now

Local employers
Job seekers can meet local employers and recruitment agencies and find out more about their vacancies.

 

To find out more, email: roadshow@fish4.co.uk or call: 020 8600 7000. 

10 Ways to Find Your Career Passion

Nisa Chitakasem

Nisa Chitakasem is Founder of Position Ignition, the UK's leading Career Consulting Company and co-author of their eBook 100 Essential Career Change Tips. Nisa co-founded Position Ignition.com to provide career consulting to people looking for guidance and support through their career change, new career direction, job search and career development.

You have lost interest in your current career and you want to switch to one you do feel passionate about. But what if you don’t actually know what your career passion is? The key to finding it and identifying potential careers that fit around it is to tune into your true self.

 

Join a Club

Just as there were plenty of clubs and societies to join at your school or university, there are also many such groups out there in the ‘real’ world now we’re grown up. In fact, there’s a club or group for every activity or interest area you can think of so there is plenty of scope for experimenting with different clubs to find something you’re passionate about. The majority of these groups are open to all ages. To find out what’s on offer in your area, check the local print and online press, look at notice boards in the supermarket or library, or ask neighbours and nearby friends.

 

Stop Being Passive

Perhaps your passive interests could be turned into active passions. It could be that you’ve been fascinated by a certain subject or issue for a long time, but you’ve never involved yourself in any actual activities to do with it. Consider doing so, because it really could inspire you in coming up with new career ideas. For instance, if you love history but have only ever read about it in books, try volunteering at a historical museum or interviewing veterans about the War. This will give you a taste of what it’s like to involve yourself deeper in a subject you‘re interested in.

 

Revisit Your Childhood

What did you enjoy doing as a child that you no longer do? A major reason for giving up childhood hobbies is no longer having the time for them once we go off to university or start full-time work. But if we can combine our old passions with our work, we get the best of both worlds, so think back to your childhood activities and reflect on how they could translate to grown-up careers.

 

Get Feedback

The people in our life know more about our passions than we realise. When we get passionate about something, our appearance and attitude both change. Our face lights up and our body language is more positive. The people who know us really well—such as close friends, immediate family and long-term colleagues—notice these changes. Over time they’ll also start noticing what triggers the changes. So if you don’t know, ask them. It might sound silly to have to ask someone else what you like, but if you ask, “what do you think I’d really enjoy doing as a career?” it sounds very natural.

 

Seek Professional Guidance

Feedback from a career coach or guide can be just as valuable as that from our personal contacts. A career professional worth their salt will ask you pertinent questions and listen to the answers, before giving you constructive feedback. They  will discuss your whole life with you, which helps you to recall any hobbies, strengths and interests from different stages in your life that you may have forgotten about. To find a decent career professional, ask people you know who’ve recently made a career transition if they used a good guide as part of the process.

 

Do Voluntary Work

If you’ve found something you enjoy doing in your spare time but you’re wondering if you could turn it into a career and stick at it for the long haul, try it out in a work context. Look for volunteering opportunities around your chosen activity or interest and volunteer frequently over a substantial period of time so you get a taste of what it’d be like as a regular full-time job. Other ways to gain work experience in a new field is to work shadow someone who’s already in the profession you’re considering or to do pro bono work for your friends and family.

 

Return to School

There may be something you’ve always wanted to study at college or university but couldn’t. Now could be the ideal time to do a weekend course or evening class in the subject that interested you in the first place and see where it takes you. Get in touch with your local further education college to find out what it has to offer or consider distance learning.

 

Experiment at Work

Try doing different things in your current job. Your present line of work may not excite you but in most workplaces there’s always the opportunity to switch up your tasks and duties.  Speak to your boss about doing different types of work on a temporary basis or for just a few hours a week. If you enjoy the change, you may be able to pursue a new position within your current company where you’re doing this new kind of work all the time. There are many benefits to finding a new job in your old company in this way.

 

What kind of work do you do? Have you ever thought of changing careers? Feel free to leave your comments nd questions below. 

To find a new job, search and apply on Fish4jobs

Fish4jobs and Daily Mirror 2012 Jobs Roadshow Round up

Highlights

• 4,000+ jobseekers had their CVs reviewed by the Fish4jobs team
• 6,500+ jobseekers received CV advice
• 4,500+ jobseekers received interview tips
• 1,000+ jobseekers received advice on changing careers

8 days, 8 cities, 790 miles! 

From Bromley to Glasgow, via Cardiff, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle, this year’s Jobs Roadshow with our free CV clinic was a huge success. We handed out over 1,500 CV templates and provided bespoke CV advice to 300 recent graduates, 250 school leavers, 250 mature jobseekers and 200 work returners, which was great because helping people find work and make themselves more employable was the aim of our Roadshow. 

Along with our in-house team of CV experts we also had Channel 4’s Fairy Jobmother Hayley Taylor with us in Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester, to meet jobseekers and provide one-to-one career consultations with the winners of our Facebook competition and others. 

"It was very helpful. She gave me lots of advice on what roles to go for and helped me with interview techniques and CV writing. CV writing has really changed in 25 years and she recommended changes I should make. Everyone from Fish4jobs was also very helpful and I will defnitely be applying for a job on Fish4jobs today", said one of the winners. 

For one job seeker in particular, his one-to-one career consultation with Hayley was a precursor to getting a job.

  

Our jobs Roadshow provided employers who had roles to fill across sectors including sales, customer service, driving, engineering and administration, the opportunity to bring their jobs to our job fair at each stop we made on the bus. It’s was great to have so many prestigious employers on the road with us including British Gas, nPower, TalkTalk, Barclays, National Express, Manchester United and the Army. 

In addition, we also had Learn Direct with us, who were on hand providing information about Government-funded courses available to the unemployed including employment and IT skills, and Lifetime Fitness who had apprenticeship programs available for 16-24 year olds.

 

We’ve had some really positive feedback which has really made the Roadshow worthwhile.

If you attended our Jobs Roadshow 2012, we’d love to hear about your experience so feel free to leave your comments below.