Guest Contributor

10 Reasons You Should be Blogging

September 5, 2013 by Guest Contributor

No experience is necessary to become a blogger. So, if you enjoy writing and have a lot to say – what are you waiting for? It could open up a lot of doors…

Here are 10 reasons why you should enter the blogosphere.

1. You can use it as your new CV

Your blog can act as your CV to showcase what you can do by highlighting your skills and capabilities. You never know who might be looking at it – perhaps a potential employer or recruiter? [Read more…] about 10 Reasons You Should be Blogging

What Skills are Needed to Become a Plumber?

August 29, 2013 by Guest Contributor

To become a plumber you may not need any previous experience or academic qualifications, but there will be certain skills you need to demonstrate.

Some courses and apprenticeships may require a number of GCSEs, whereas others are open to everyone. Despite the lack of need for formal qualifications, plumbing isn’t for everyone so you need to evaluate your suitability based on your own individual skill-set.

Note: The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification awarded in a specified subject, generally taken in a number of subjects by students aged 14–16 in secondary education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Physical

It may not seem like a particularly physically demanding job at first, but plumbers need to have some dexterity and flexibility. Small confined spaces underneath sinks and round the back of appliances means that you might end up stuck in an uncomfortable position for some length of time.

While it may be awkward, you will still need to be able to do the job in hand. It’s also likely that you’ll need to climb ladders or steps and lift heavy items, so a reasonable level of fitness is essential.

Academic

It may not be necessary to have 10 GCSEs and 4 A Levels to become a plumber, but there are some basic skills you will need, particularly in mathematics.

You’ll probably have to do some arithmetic and use statistics for certain projects but it’s also possible that physics will come into play with fluid movements and pressure. But often tables and standard sizes are available so you probably won’t need to do the calculations yourself.

If you left school without any qualifications in these areas, you may get the chance to show your natural abilities and develop your knowledge on plumbing courses.

Personal

As a plumber, most of your work will be [Read more…] about What Skills are Needed to Become a Plumber?

UK Employment Stats on the Rise… but

August 28, 2013 by Guest Contributor

August finally saw some excellent news for UK job seekers as unemployment figures fell by 4,000 in the three months to June. The bad news, however, is that the ONS are still reporting that 2.51 million people remain out of work.

The number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance in July fell more sharply, however, with 29,000 fewer claimants. Overall, the number of people in employment has risen to 29.78 million and compared with the same time last year, an extra 307,000 people are now working.

This is excellent news for employers as it means that businesses across the UK are expanding and growing at a healthy rate. As well as this, Companies House reports that there are still over 3,000,000 businesses in the UK and only 2,486 were liquidated in July. So, if you’re just starting your business the outlook appears broadly positive- although there’s still a lot of hard work to do!

If you are hiring and firing at present, however, you need to consider the skill of your workforce. With over 2.5 million people unemployed in the UK, it is clear that there are a number of skilled workers who remain out of work.

For this reason, when you are offering positions you should consider the skills of each applicant. This is true no matter what your business and skilled members of staff will always enhance your workforce.

Be sure to question applicants about any previous experiences in your line of trade. Although experience isn’t always required, it is often desirable and you need to consider how much time it will take to train any new and untrained staff!

As well as this, consider how you market your positions. As was stated earlier, there are 2.51 million people out of work and this means that you have a talent pool of over 2 million people! Obviously, this is hypothetical and you’ll never get this many applicants but, if you’re only getting a few for your positions then you may need to widen your search. Consider advertisements in local newspapers to appeal to a wider audience.

It may not be possible to recruit the ideal candidate and you may have to ‘train somebody up’ for the position. This is an incredibly time consuming task and can take a lengthy period of time.

For this reason you should consider using cloud based talent management software like the one offered by Cornerstone On Demand. Software such as this can help you manage your clients throughout their time with the company so you don’t need to be a HR expert.

To summarise, over 2.5 million people remain unemployed in the UK. So, if you’re hiring and firing then you have to make sure that you consider all of your options. The right candidates are out there, you just have to make sure that you find them!

Image courtesy of Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

How Safe is Your Business from Media Sabotage?

August 27, 2013 by Guest Contributor

Every year at least one politician or businessman has their career torpedoed by an interview nightmare. Just last week Labour immigration spokesman Chris Bryant ducked out of several interviews after fearing the repercussions from his ‘botched immigration speech’.

Jeremy Paxman is an English journalist, broadcaster and author. He has worked for the BBC since 1977, and is known for his forthright and abrasive interviewing style, particularly when interrogating (ahem, I mean interviewing) politicians. Unfortunately for them, multitudes of politicians and businessmen have had their careers sabotaged by one of Paxman’s now infamous tirades. I mean, doesn’t everyone in England remember this Michael Howard clip?

That clip is now 6 years old, and people are still talking about it! This just goes to show the importance of media management and media training, whatever your business.

The simple fact of the matter is that every year at least one politician or businessman has their career torpedoed by an interview nightmare. Just last week Labour immigration spokesman Chris Bryant ducked out of several interviews after fearing the repercussions from his ‘botched immigration speech’.

Media training and management are undoubtedly vital if you’re dealing with the media and it is incredibly important that you know how to respond calmly under pressure; especially in a crisis situation. [Read more…] about How Safe is Your Business from Media Sabotage?

The Claptrap Behind the Minimum Wage Debate

August 10, 2013 by Guest Contributor

By Bill Bonner

Can Money Buy You Happiness?

Not that we care especially about money. We are more interested in what it represents… and how it helps us understand the world we live in.

Money establishes a relationship between people. One owes. One is owed. One can buy. One must sell. One employs. Another is employed. [Editor’s Note: Money also makes people more efficient. Imagine how wasteful and polluted the world would be if everyone had unlimited amounts of money.]

You don’t really need much to live. Food, clothing, shelter, a WiFi connection. After you have the basics everything else is no longer about survival. It’s about status: the relationship between you and your fellow men.

It takes more than money to live well. You could live much better than most people live… on little money. Just get a quaint cottage in West Virginia. Plant a nice garden. And learn to cook!

But most people figure they need more money. They want large suburban houses, sleek automobiles, mobile phones and big-screen TVs… not to mention health insurance.

Poverty-Level Pay

You can buy that sort of stuff by getting a job that pays well. But why do so many jobs pay so poorly? [Read more…] about The Claptrap Behind the Minimum Wage Debate

The Internet: An Economic Ecosystem for Exciting Job Growth

August 8, 2013 by Guest Contributor

An enormous amount of money changes hands online every day… The Internet plays host to a huge variety of economic activity, from online purchases to electronic banking. Until recently, the economic impact and potential of the Internet had not been studied much. However, in 2011, a new report from the McKinsey Global Institute revealed just how big a role the Internet plays in economies around the world.

The McKinsey research looked at the impact of the Internet on the G-8 nations of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the UK and US plus some emerging nations, including Brazil, China, South Korea and India.

The findings of the report were surprising. Although it had been clear that online activities contribute economically to most countries’ GDP, the extent of the Internet’s economic value was revealed to be much greater than predicted. The average contribution made by the Internet to a country’s GDP was 3.4 percent. To put this result into perspective, online economic activity now makes up a larger portion of total GDP than the energy sector or agriculture.

Internet Creates Jobs

The other big finding from the McKinsey report is that the economic impact of the Internet is [Read more…] about The Internet: An Economic Ecosystem for Exciting Job Growth

Teaching Teens The Importance Of Workplace Safety

August 7, 2013 by Guest Contributor

When your teen goes off to their first day at work it’s an exciting prospect, inviting feelings of pride and worry similar to that you had when they first went to school. Going off to a summer job can be exciting but it can also be dangerous. Teens should be aware of the risks and cautious on their new job.

ID-10018659 — Even Working with Pets can be Dangerous

Some surveys have established that up to 80% of American teenagers have had at least one job by the time they leave high school. Worryingly, other figures suggest that there is about a 3% annual incidence of non-fatal injuries in American industry overall but some jobs like firefighting and foundry work can have as high as 13% annual incidence of injuries. Fortunately not many teens are firefighters or work in a foundry.

However, other less obviously dangerous jobs are often taken by teenagers including pet and pet supply stores which average 10.3 injuries per 100 workers… which is just under the 10.9 injuries per 100 workers at an Iron Foundry. Equally dangerous is mobile home, travel trailer and camper manufacturing. Even more dangerous are Skiing facilities at 11.5 injuries per 100 workers. You might not think ice manufacturing would be dangerous but the annual injury rate is 11.9%.

Even if your teen just works in a store like Lowes or Home Depot there could be [Read more…] about Teaching Teens The Importance Of Workplace Safety

Dressing for Success at Job Interviews for Men

July 19, 2013 by Guest Contributor

According to psychological studies, when someone gets up to speak to a room full of people, an incredible 75% of the interest they generate in the first few minutes is entirely dependent on whether they look like they are worth listening to.

Put that into an interview situation and your chance of landing that job is well on the way to being decided before you utter a word.

The message is simple, you need to dress for success.

Dress for the Part

One of the best pieces of advice when it comes to deciding what to wear to an interview is to remember to dress for the job that you want not the job you currently have. According to recruitment specialist Essential Personnel, many applicants do not pay enough attention to this simple and maybe sometimes overworked but essentially true, cliché.

Turning up in a pair of jeans for an office job is the quickest way to fail the interview process before you even start. The one exception to this rule might be in the creative arts field where if you wear a suit you might not be considered “artsy” enough.

Here’s a simple test:

Put yourself in the hiring manager’s position. Which of these three guys would you hire?

If you have nothing but looks to go on but which one would you pick?

Think carefully, Why would you pick him? Here are a few things to consider. [Read more…] about Dressing for Success at Job Interviews for Men

What Is Pre Pack Administration and How is it Saving Jobs in the UK?

July 17, 2013 by Guest Contributor

Although there are a number of tools to track unemployment statistics here at home and abroad in the UK, there is no doubt that the current economic climate has caused thousands of workers to lose their jobs. Companies are fighting insolvency at every step of the way, and most are hard-pressed to find a way to continue staffing at their current rates.

One of the most effective ways in which company directors are saving jobs in the UK is through a process known as ‘Pre Pack Administration.’

What Exactly Is Pre Pack Administration?

Now here’s a term we don’t often hear in the United States. Pre Pack Administration as defined by Real Business Rescue, is the process of selling an insolvent (bankrupt) company to a new owner who can carry on business without carrying along the debts of the old company. The company is typically sold to one of the directors or other interested parties because they know the business and are able to pick up trading where the old company left off.

Although there were no provisions made in the Insolvency Act 1986 for Pre Pack Administrations, courts have recognized these new entities which will operate under the leadership of new owners. New owners may elect to keep the name intact or they can choose a new name under which to do business. The real benefit, other than wiping off debt, is [Read more…] about What Is Pre Pack Administration and How is it Saving Jobs in the UK?