I have to confess that I’m fairly indifferent when it comes to my personal Facebook page. I’m not an avid poster of personal news and I can go weeks without checking it out (I’m currently on a 90 day Facebook detox). Whether you are an avid user, or like me, fairly indifferent, what most people don’t realise is that your Facebook page is an important tool during your job search strategy.

According to CareerBuilder’s annual social media recruitment study in 2015, the number of employers taking to social media to research applicants has risen to 52% (this is just the average, with the figure rising to 90% or more in the tech. sector). This figure is continuing to increase across all sectors and will probably become standard recruitment operating procedures.  Likewise Recruiters also use social media to assess candidates and headhunt talent. [Read more…]

I’m sure many of you have had the experience of recruiters ignoring you, or the relationship turning stone cold. In fact this experience is not uncommon amongst many jobseekers. So the question you have to ask yourself:

Are recruiters a waste of time? [Read more…]

Automation is Voldermort: the terrifying force nobody is willing to name – Jerry Michalski, Founder of Rex, The Relationship Economy Expedition

Experts all agree on one thing, that robotics and artificial intelligence will permeate wide segments of daily life by 2025 – Al, Robotics and the Future of Jobs, Pew Research Centre.

What they don’t agree on is how this technology is going to impact on jobs. In the Pew Research Centre report, half of the experts envisaged a future in which this technology will have displaced significant numbers of both white and blue colour workers.  The other half, expect that technology will simply mean a change in the type of jobs performed by humans.

What the report does not cover is the impact of outsourcing and offshoring and the on-demand workforce. The trend of outsourcing and the on-demand workforce is happening right now. [Read more…]

1.  It is not about you, it is about them

As a job hunter, your resume and your responses to the selection criteria are actually not about YOU.  Yes, you heard me – they are not about YOU – they are about what you can offer THEM (the employer and agency).  Once you understand this vital principle, then you can start creating a document that meets their needs and the best way to do this, is to simply mirror their requirements, right down to the language they use.  It is all about creating the linkage between what THEY require and what YOU can offer.

The best way to achieve this, create a T-Account. Simply draw a line down the middle of the page and one side, list the employer needs and other the other side of the line, list all your hard and soft skills that prove you can do the job.  This exercise will help you to pin point what you can offer the employer. [Read more…]

How to future-proof your career

The world of work is changing rapidly during the past decade due to increased globalisation, the proliferation of online social media and technological advances.  

‘Change is the law of life.  And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future’. John F. Kennedy, 35^th President of the United States

Combine these changes (the online revolution, new technology such robotic technology and global outsourcing) with the fact that competition for senior jobs can be INTENSE, it is no longer viable as a professional, manager or executive to only work on job prospects when you decide you want, or need a new job. [Read more…]