Employment Series Archives - Flourishing Crown

Young People and Career

May 24, 2021 by Flourishing Crown

Back in March and April 2021, we worked with very worthwhile organisations. These organisations were Inspiring the Future, Barking and Dagenham College, and I am Inspired.

Inspiring the Future works with young people from all over the world supporting them with their career and future. In March and April, we had the chance to participate in two Zoom sections (for the UK Inspiring the Future and Ghana Inspiring the Future). We got the opportunity to interact and be inspired by both the young people and other professionals. It was a great learning and finding out about different sectors and industries.

We had the pleasure to speak to students from Barking and Dagenham College during career week. Barking and Dagenham College is based in East London (UK) and caters to students from 16 years old and above. They offer a wide range of courses from level 1 to level 4 (foundation degree/professional qualification).

I Am Inspired is a great organisation to support. This organisation work with, support and encourages young people to go after their goals and dreams. They work with young people to get on to different career paths, including starting their own business. We must say that these young people (including 10, 11+ years old) incredible and very inspiring to both their peers and adult alike.

To get involved or to find out more, click on the organisational name.

How to Search for a Job with Recruitment Sites

May 24, 2021 by Flourishing Crown

Apologies for the further delay, but we were having technical issues with uploading pictures from different recruitment websites. These pictures were supposed to explain step by step how to do an effective job search. We managed to upload one photo out of the pack and decided to go ahead with the post as it was an important picture we were able to upload.

There are many recruitment website applicants can use for job search. There are generic sites like Indeed, Reed, Totaljobs, Simplyhired, Jobisjob, Trovit, cv-library, Jobrapido, the Guardian job, Jobsite etc. Then there are more specific jobs for certain sectors such as; local council job website (for local civil service jobs), TES (Time Education Supplement- education jobs), Trac jobs (for health jobs), Retailchoice (for retail jobs), etc. When using any generic recruitment search, it is best to search for jobs directly from the employers. Employers pay a premium for their adverts and will consider all applications during the recruitment stages. This option is always in the “advance” search or the “more” search. The rest of the adverts are agencies that paid to have multiple adverts. Please see the example below with the Indeed website. We used other websites to show variety but was unable to upload.

When you see a job advert you want to apply to, check the Person Specification (PS) first before checking the Job Description (JD). The PS inform you of what skills, qualities and qualification that are important for the role. Remember, you don’t have to have all the skills and qualities, but the more you match, the better chance you will have of securing that all-important interview. The only section of the PS you must have is the qualification and or registrations. If you do not match the essential qualifications and/or registration, DO NOT apply. Your application or CV will not be shortlisted even if you matched the rest of the PS 100%. For example, in the health sector- all clinicians must have the correct qualifications associated with their profession and be registered with the appropriate regulating bodies. Gas Engineer, Accountants, Solicitors, etc., need to have the qualification and be registered. The reasons for this are for insurance purposes and accountability.

Reference:

https://uk.indeed.com/advanced_search?

How to Write a Winning CV

May 24, 2021 by Flourishing Crown

This post is to help our British readers and customers write a winning CV to help them land the (dream) Job. This first presentation explains what a CV is and why it is important. It gives a brief description of the three main types of CV. The next presentation explains how to draft a winning chronological CV/combination CV. In the reference section, there are links and examples of how to write a Functional CV.

What is a CV

Writing a winning CV

Reference:

isc Professionals: https://www.interview-skills.co.uk/free-information/successful-cv-writing/different-types-of-cvs

Employment Series- Cover Letter/Personal Statement/ Supporting Statement

May 2, 2021 by Flourishing Crown

Personal Statement/Supporting Statement and Cover Letter

State at the start why you are applying for the position (if it is in a form of a cover letter).

The cover letter/personal statement is you trying to explain how you got the essential skills from the Person Specification (PS). Assign a paragraph to each heading or subheading of the PS. Give an example of where and how you gain the skills. These skills do not exclusive have to be from employment, but volunteering and education. Remember that education gives you vital skills, not just a qualification.

Include a confidentiality and diversity paragraph. Employers’ love this, especially in a very diverse city like London or people-orientated role/sector such as health, education, transport, etc.

Include a paragraph about why you want to work for the company (researching the company is a must first place to start is their values, mission and vision statements. Glassdoor will give you additional insights from employees that can be very valuable. Reviews about the company can tell you customers and clients’ experiences).

The statement can secure an applicant for an interview. Employers sometimes use a recruitment system software that will focus on the personal statement to narrow down applicants for shortlisting. They will do this based on how well applicants match the essential criteria on the PS. Applicants don’t need to match all the criteria on each heading or subheading (except for the qualification). The more criteria matched, the stronger the application and the likelihood the applicant will be shortlisted for an interview. Try to use the terminologies from the PS; these will be easier to recognise if a company uses software to narrow down their applicants. Companies will never reveal their shortlisting techniques (i.e., human or machine), so it is best to use the same terminologies from the PS and the industry (i.e., in the health sector: diagnosed, referrals, care plan, etc.)

A cover letter needs to end with a “Yours Faithfully” (UK version) or “Yours Truly” (US version) if “Dear Sir or Madam” was used to address the receiver. “Yours Sincerely” (UK version) or “Sincerely Yours” (US version) if a person’s name (i.e., Dear Mr Smith) is used. Remember before the closing with “Yours…. “, inform the receiver that you expect to hear the outcome of your application.

Reference:

Photo by Hello I’m Nik on Unsplash

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

How To Have A Successful Job Interview

April 26, 2021April 26, 2021 by Flourishing Crown

Sorry about the delay in the employment series. A lot was happening behind the scene both professionally and personally. This is the only time we will post outside of Mondays so that this series is out within the time frame we set. Enjoy.

Some suggestions of interview questions to ask:

Can you give a brief break down of the day to day activities of my role?

Are there any opportunities for growth, training and progression in my role or within the company?

Can you tell me more about the team I’ll be working in?

What is the turnover of staff within the company or within my role?

What are the challenges do you expect an employee to face in this position?

How will you measure the post holder success?

What do you expect the post holder to achieve in their first 6 months to a year?

Can you describe the working culture?

Reference:

Photo by Max van den Oetelaar on Unsplash

Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash