Love Your Job - Helping you to love your job or to find a job you do love.
Welcome to the May edition of Love your Job and a special welcome to the 23 new subscribers. I hope you have found the ten part series: how to get a job you'll love useful, and would be really pleased if you asked others to subscribe so they can access it too!
I've got two interesting articles for you this month - one on bullying, and another on The insider secrets to the hidden job market Whilst the bullying article is short, it does include some reasons why people may bully others. Not as an excuse but to raise awareness. Bullying could be attributable to some organisational change. The Insider Secrets article provides an alternative method to getting a job. There are career companies out there who will charge clients thousands of pounds for their consultancy service. I know what they are like, I worked with one for a while. When they talk about how they have access to the unadvertised job market, they are talking about contacting companies direct, so have these hints from me from as my little gift, and let me know how you get on. I have previously only discussed this with my job search clients, but as over the past week or so I have been contacted by a couple of people who have visited career consultancy companies so thought this would be a good time to share this information more widely.
April has been almost as busy for me as March, but I thrive when busy and achieve far more than when I have a lot of spare time. However I haven't had much thinking time so my personal time has suffered. I'm trying really hard to have one day a week when I don't think of my business at all, Saturdays are usually spent with at least one client. I intend this weekend to take time to sit in the garden and look at the cows and just wait and see what pops into my head!
As with last month there are details on what Denise did last month and a quote for you to ponder on. I've had a few emails on the list of things I've done, all positive. I've been told it makes me more real and gives them a push to get on with stuff. So I hope you find it interesting. Finally, and as a last minute addition, I've provided a link to my new student leaflet - if you know any students unsure what to do next do suggest they read my leaflet and I'd be delighted to have a chat with them.
Until next month,
Denise x
I've been reading about bullying recently. Some of the data is very thought provoking. Back in 2003 a survey of over 300 city workers conducted by the BBC found that 1 in 3 had been on the receiving end of bullying. A larger survey conducted by Hoel and Cooper (2000) found that 1 in 10 respondents had been the victim of bullying in the 6 months prior to the survey. Bullying is mainly undertaken by managers but we can also be bullied by colleagues, subordinates and clients. When I read about the environmental influences for bullying you can understand why the incidents are rising. You may like to see how many relate to your company.
- a high level of competition
- radical change
- a climate of insecurity e.g. threat of redundancy
- strong macho style of management
- hierarchical structures
- low levels of staff participation or consultation
- excessive work demands
- a lack of procedures to tackle bullying and harassment issues
When an organisation is going through change and a manager is under pressure you can see how they could become impatient and frustrated. With stretching targets a manager may overly control others, and someone who is concerned for their job can become overly critical of others.
So what can we do - we mustn't let bullying go unnoticed. we need to challenge people who bully and encourage those who are bullied to tell someone who can do something.
Insider secrets to the hidden job market
There are different ways to get a job. You can be reactive or proactive
Reactive approaches include
- Apply to job ads
- Contact agencies
- Research job search interviews
Proactive approaches are where you contact the company direct. It is not an easy option, you need to undertake intensive preparation work on understanding yourself, and write a carefully researched letter where you can identify how your skills, qualities and abilities can be of value to a company.
When people talk of targeting a company directly what they often mean is to send a copy of their CV with a standard covering letter, hoping that there will be some interest. However, you stand a high chance of rejection with this approach.
The proactive letter will highlight a few specific achievements that make the reader want to find out more. Of course there will still be rejection letters, but with careful preparation and specific targeting you can reach a success rate, (where you get a request for more information) of up to 40%. I did! Although do expect a response rate of 4%, so you do not build your hopes prematurely.
The whole purpose of job search is to secure a job, and to do this you need to be interviewed, and to be interviewed you need to get seen by someone capable of making recruitment decisions. Of course, with the reactive approaches you will get seen, but the competition will be strong.
Some people will write on a mail shot basis to every company and agency they can think of, but being indiscriminate can be both costly and wasteful. In this case, letters may not be carefully targeted, both to the person and in the information the letter conveys and you waste not only your time, but the time of the person receiving it, and the price of a stamp as well. There is also the effect on your self-esteem, the constant letters of rejection or no response at all do not help you remain positive and upbeat in your job search phase.
When you apply direct you need to choose the right person to contact. Who in the company would be interested in you? If you have a background as a production manager, will you get the most useful reply from the Human Resources department who wait till they are told about a vacancy before doing anything or the Production Director who can foresee the need for a production manager due to forthcoming changes in his department?
If you are more senior, a letter to the managing director may mean that you are invited to attend for an informal chat to discuss possibilities that he is only just considering, and means you are ahead of the queue.
- Undertook 31 client sessions on career discovery, career management and job search, phew!
- Continued to work with some students at my local university, helping them to develop study skills
- Spoke to The Internet Marketing Group about managing conflict
- Wrote 13 entries on my blog
- One day of assessing for the Civil Service Fast Stream - helping to recruit fast track graduates
- One day of assessing with UK Trade and Industry, working as part of a team of 5 on an assessment centre
- Cleared out over 8000 spam newsletter subscribers - a big job! but my newsletter should now only get to those who want it
- Produced a full colour leaflet to distribute to the 6th form of a local school
- Finalised my end of year accounts, met with my accountant and submitted my tax return on line
- Had a photographer visit for a new photo for the website
- Went to a bush meat evening and ate Kangaroo, Ostrich, Guinea Fowl and Crocodile
- Performed in 2 Mummers Plays to celebrate St George's Day. I play the Queen of Sheba.
- I can run (well jog!) for 10 minutes, non stop!
- Went dancing to see The Levellers and 3 Daft Monkeys
- Still no time to work on my book, but I have scheduled some time in May
Are you reading my blog? I'm making regular entries on anything relating to careers. Why not have a peak http://www.amazingpeople.co.uk/blog/
I've also been adding links so you can access past issues of the newsletter via the resources page, so if you are a new subscriber and would like to see previous editions, visit here >>
How do I figure out what to do with my life?
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Making the right decisions at any time can be difficult, but having to make decisions that can have a significant impact on life ahead can be scary. · Are you unsure whether to go to University and what to study? · Do you want to find a career that’s a good fit with your abilities and interests? |
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To download my new leaflet and to read more >>
In April I was featured in The
Gloucestershire Echo. Each week they have a nearly full page
spread on a different job. You can read the article here:
http://snipurl.com/1g201
The article tells something of my
education and career history and also discusses a couple of my typical
career coaching cl
ients, the recent graduate who has yet to start on a
career path and the mid career crisis person.
The following week one of my photographs was included in the Weekend Supplement to The Gloucestershire Echo. I took a photo at Painswick Rococo Gardens with a different view on a familiar picture.
| Keep away from people who try
to belittle our ambitions. Small people always do that, but the
really great people make you feel that you, too, can somehow
become great. Mark Twain |
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Get in touch. For a confidential chat about how we could work together email or call me on 01684 772 888
Amazing People - Tewkesbury, GL20 8HL - Career Counselling and Guidance - Assessments - Job Search Support - Assessment and Development specialist: denise@amazingpeople.co.uk
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