December 2008

Well the past few weeks have been busy!

I hope you had the special announcement of my TV appearance - I was just leaving a conference when I picked up a call from a producer working for ITV1, we spoke, he called again the next day and on the Thursday the producer and director came to meet me. The following week I was filming in Manchester. The first day was at Granada studios and when we had lunch I saw Ken and Norris from Coronation Street. Of course, I didn't let on I knew who they were!

I was a bit worried about the filming but really enjoyed it, the producer and film crew were incredibly supportive and encouraging and I felt great. It was also so interesting, seeing the final show and knowing how much filming was done. If you saw the show you would have seen me walk along a shopping centre - 40 minutes of filming resulting in about 3 seconds on the screen and so much didn't make the edit.

The show highlighted some of what I do with clients, helping them to get ready for a job, managing expectations and boosting their confidence. The day after the show I was called by City Talk Radio and was talking on their breakfast show about getting a job in a recession.

This has resulted in a huge increase in subscribers and 27 enquiries in a couple of days. Of course they don't all turn into clients and some people did think I worked for free but I've got some great new job searching clients.

I've also set up a new web site - www.jobsearchsupport.com specifically focused on helping you with job search. You can read more below. In this months issue you can read:

• Article 1: How a CV rewrite and new covering letter can work wonders!
• Featured Service: Job Search Support
• Article 2: With a possibility of job losses, what can you do to make yourself safe?
• What Denise did last month
• In the Blog

I hope you enjoy reading this.  I appreciate with the recession some of you may be concerned about your job and getting a new one. I'm helping a number of people improve their chances of success through specific help. The costs will vary and I make sure to work with a client's budget. Being mindful of financial considerations, my group phone programmes will begin in January. Do get in touch if you want to talk about how I can help.

I look forward to talking to you again next time.

Almost forgot, a huge welcome to the 136 subscribers who have signed up since the last newsletter, really pleased to see you here and hope you enjoy this newsletter.

Kindest regards,

Article 1: How a CV rewrite and new covering letter works wonders!

It's hard to know how good your CV is. it should get you to interview and then your interview skills get you through, but too many people have a CV full of words that don't make sense or which fail to explain clearly what you can do.

When I reviewed Paul's CV as part of the TV programme I was struck by how it included phrases which sounded great but didn't mean anything and failed to give specific examples of what has been achieved. Following on from the TV programme I was contacted by Kim. Her CV didn't do her justice, too many jobs and qualifications all mixed in together - why highlight catering experience when you are a trained legal executive with no intention of a return to catering.

After meeting with Kim and clarifying what she wanted to do I gave her a copy of my CV eBook so she could work on making many of the changes herself. This kept the costs down and meant that she was learning what to do for next time. I then carefully reviewed her revised CV, making changes and looking for ways to make it stand out. She was so happy!

She then sent me details on a job she had just received a reject letter from. I showed her how to use the details in the job ad to structure the letter. She completely revised it and got short listed. She thought it amazing, I knew that by giving the information the company seeks in a way that makes it easy for them to read she would greatly increase her chance of getting through the first shortlist. It's so much easier once you know how.

If you would like to book a CV review or to discuss your job search strategy please get in touch.

Featured Service: Job Search Support

A few days after filming I had a brain wave - why not create a new web site, specifically focused on helping people get a job, so I did!

"Job searching in a recession - if you’ve been made redundant or have yet to find a first job on leaving college or university, you may wonder when you will ever get a job. So many people looking at so few jobs.  So what can you do to make yourself stand out from the crowd?

I want to help ensure you are clear on the job you seek and do everything possible to get the job you want. I'll share the techniques which will make you stand out from the crowd. Some people are lucky, they get extensive support via company provided outplacement, but that’s for the minority. Most people struggle on, picking up how to improve based on rejection.  A tough way to learn. I've helped over a thousand people clarify what it is they want to do, and be successful in job hunting, so let me help you too!".

If you visit www.jobsearchsupport.com you can read about everything that will be coming soon - 10 different phone modules with supporting booklets, or the full job search support programme. If you are interested in any specific module let me know and I'll prioritise based on the feedback I get.

For now you can sign up for a free 5 day programme to crank up your passion for getting a new job - why not pop over and get it now?

Article 2: With a possibility of job losses, what can you do to make yourself safe?

1. Make sure that you do a good job so if some staff are let go they are more likely to keep you.

2. Be visible: It is not just doing a good job but letting other people know you are doing a good job, so don’t hide your achievements away.

3. Be indispensable. Be willing to volunteer for those jobs that others don’t want to do and be flexible in helping out. Create great relationships with your customers, really understand the computer system. Your boss will not want to let you go.

4. Make or save the company money. Look for what you can do to help the company bottom line. Can you save them money? Simplify processes? Negotiate a better deal with suppliers?

5. Have a positive attitude. When just some people are being made redundant, companies will often use this as an excuse to lay off the “difficult ones.”

In the Media

Busiest month yet!

• Radio Gloucestershire Breakfast Show, 30th October
• Radio Gloucestershire Breakfast Show, How Safe is your Job?, 17th November
• ITV1 - The Tonight Programme, How Safe is your Job? featured career coach, 17th November. If you missed it you can still access it for another couple of weeks here. Click on the play button under the Job Centre Plus image.
• Talk Radio (Liverpool), Job Hunting in a Recession, 19th November
• Radio Gloucestershire Breakfast Show, 1st December

What Denise did last month

• Undertook 29 client sessions, ranging from rewriting a CV to taking people through the Gold Programme
• Working with 3 university students who need study skills support
• Attending my first meeting as a member of the communication committee of the Association for Coaching
• Running a seminar at the Institute of Careers Guidance annual conference on "So you want to set up in private practice"
• Wrote 22 entries on my blog
• A couple of gigs - The Oysterband and The Route 66 Show
• Got my personal web site redone

www.denisetaylor.co.uk, thanks Dave

In the Blog

http://www.amazingpeople.co.uk/blog/

You can subscribe to the feed using this link:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/AmazingPeopleBlog

Here's a selection from what was on the Blog in November

• Why you might need a career coach
• If you lose your job - advice from the career coach
• Don’t resign! In a recession you must keep your job!
• The MBTI type of my blog!
• A client question
• Is Fear holding you back
• How to choose an outplacement provider
• Contacting companies to find out more about jobs
• I may be offered redundancy, should I take it?
• Why you need marketing skills when applying for a job
• November newsletter is now available
• What the job searcher can learn from the US election
• Feedback on the Bronze Career Programme