Archive for the ‘Employment’ Category

Recruitment agencies

Wednesday, January 25th, 2012

I’ve been dealing with a lot of recruitment agencies recently, because of my ongoing hunt for a part-time shop job. I’ve had very mixed experiences, which has made me realise that it’s really, really important to deal with decent ones. The bad ones drive me crazy.

It shouldn’t be complicated, really. There are companies out there who want to employ decent workers, and people who want to be employed by decent companies. But, somehow, a lot of recruiters manage to make their role as middleman into some strange unhelpful role that doesn’t solve anything.

I’m someone who generally prefers to communicate by email than by phone – I guess it goes with my personality and life choices, seeing as I work with computers – and it really frustrates me when I provide all my details in writing, in an easy format, then they call me anyway and ask me all the same questions. Sometimes it’s just not convenient to talk – and I get the feeling they’re not listening anyway. I’m just lucky I’m not jobhunting while in other employment.

There are some good recruiting agents, though. The best ones are those who listen to what you want and read your CV and preferences properly before contacting you for further information. And, in short, who just act like human beings instead of gatekeepers. A lot of the time, the job might not even be a good one. Recruitment should always be a two-sided process. I don’t want to be expected to impress a company unless it’s also prepared to try to impress me and deliver a good role. Otherwise, why would I go and work there? It just wastes everyone’s time if someone is recruited, then gets disappointed and leaves. So, yes, in summary – I am going to keep a note of the good recruiters I’ve encountered and ignore the rest.

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Car production booming

Sunday, January 22nd, 2012

I read recently that more cars were built in the UK in 2011 than 2010, despite the difficult financial climate. That’s great news… especially for people like me, who love cars. It’s not as if they wouldn’t be available if they were made anywhere else, but it’s nice to know that there are more homegrown products of any kind, really.

A total of 1.3 million cars was built in UK factories in 2011, according to the Society Of Motor Manufacturers And Traders (SMMT) – with engine production going up to 2.5 million. In fact, vehicle manufacturing went up by 4 per cent worldwide, showing that prospects are good everywhere for the motor industry.

I don’t actually have a car at the moment, but I may get one – especially if I manage to get a part-time job that requires a bit of a commute. I’m not really keen on public transport. I know it’s better for the environment, and means you don’t have the stress of maintaining a car… but it can be really unreliable… and whenever I use it regularly, I seem to catch colds all the time.

It’s not actually very cheap to use public transport, either. If there are two or three of us travelling together, it’s often just as cheap (if not cheaper) to club together for a taxi than to get the bus. How ridiculous is that?

I’m not keen on cycling, either. My friends say it’s because I’m not keen on any exercise at all, but it’s not that – it’s just cycling in particular that I don’t like. Most of the year the weather is awful, which takes a lot of enjoyment out of any outdoor activity – and it can be dangerous, too, cycling on the roads. That’s probably mostly because of inconsiderate or reckless car drivers, but there’s no point in placing blame – it doesn’t change the actual problem.

So… yes. When the time comes, I think I’ll continue to support the car industry. Hopefully, one day, the motor gods will smile on me and I’ll be able to afford a sports car.

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Mobile broadband and freedom

Monday, January 9th, 2012

Apparently, ICT regulator Ofcom has said that 4G licences will be auctioned to operators later this year, which means that mobile broadband will become more widespread. The idea is to ensure that at least 98 per cent of the UK population will be able to access the internet via phone handsets, if they have the inclination and the right equipment.

I think it’s a great move forward, as demand for mobile data can only get bigger. I’m lucky at present because I work from home most of the time and can choose how I spend my time and access the internet on my computer whenever I want. But if I got a standard job again – or a part-time job, or did contracts that required me to work in-house for another company – I would really miss being able to check things out on the internet whenever I want to. Having reliable access to mobile broadband would be a big help.

By that, I don’t mean that I would skive off work to use it – but it’s good to know the option is there, for tea breaks and so on. It always seems strange to me that some companies are draconian about use of phones and the internet, yet still allow staff to chat to each other in person about non-work things, or take cigarette breaks! But I suppose the latter is now becoming much rarer, too. I don’t smoke myself, as I don’t like it – but I have quite a few friends who do, and I don’t think the odd five minutes here and there really hurts anyone. If I manage to get a part time job, I’d hope it’s the kind of place that’d let me use my phone at my own discretion. Otherwise, I suppose I’d use it on the bus there and back!

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Back to work and other things…

Wednesday, January 4th, 2012

Wow, it’s now 2012. Only three years until 2015, the year featured in Back To The Future Part II. THREE YEARS. It’s amazing. No sign of flying skateboards or cars yet, but some other stuff they showed, like voice-controlled televisions, might be less of a wild prediction!

I was busy seeing people over Christmas and New Year and really enjoyed it, but it’s nice to have a quiet existence again. The festive season definitely has a shelf life, as far as I’m concerned. Once you’ve caught up and celebrated with everyone, you can’t help feeling a bit worn out and antisocial.

From Christmas Day onwards, I had a great time on my own searching for sales deals online. There are so many things you can buy at better prices. It’s not worth trudging out into the cold weather and crowded shops. I got myself quite a few things, but I’m particularly pleased with my new Plantronics CS60 headset. I’m always getting new stuff from my home office – it’s one of my guilty pleasures. For some people it’s buying clothes and for others it’s too much chocolate… but for me it’s electronic accessories!

I wouldn’t mind getting myself a new desk and chair too, at some point, and generally restyling my work space – but it’s important not to do too many things at once. I need to make sure I concentrate on my work. I’m still hunting for a part time job too, but had a bit of a hiatus over Christmas because it’s hardly a prime time for interviews. So it’s full steam ahead now we’re past New Year…

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The trials of jobhunting

Saturday, December 10th, 2011

As previously discussed, I’m seeking a part-time shop job, so I can get some retail experience for when I branch out into the electronics retail game to go along with my computer programming.

It’s hard going, though. I don’t mean in terms of tough manual labour or major stress, but simply the monotony of it. The same patterns repeat themselves again and again.

I’ve posted my CV on job websites, to make sure employers can find it. It’s optimised with lots of keywords that recruiters would search for, including a clear statement of what I’m looking for. I’ve also signed up for jobs-by-email, so that I get advertisements sent to me every day featuring whatever is new out there. They come every day – lots of them! They say that times are tough, but there are jobs out there.

The main problem is filtering through to find the ones worth applying for. I haven’t wanted to narrow down my criteria too much, in case I miss something good, but that means I get sent quite a few things that look dodgy or aren’t right for me.

But nevertheless, I trawl through them and make a list of the decent ones – then look at them in more detail, one by one. If they still seem worthwhile, I apply using my CV and a covering letter… though some ask you to complete an application form. Copy-and-paste comes in handy, at that point!

Then I wait. But the responses haven’t been too great so far. It’s awkward because a lot of them are handled by recruitment agencies – and there aren’t many good ones out there. Many of them act as a barrier to getting a job, instead of making it easier! They often don’t have time to deal with all the applications they get, so they don’t bother responding. Or, worse, it turns out the job details were wrong, or were just being used as bait to get more people signed on to their books.

Sigh. I think I’m going to tick the ‘direct employers only’ box next time I go through the websites.

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Alternative career choices

Saturday, December 3rd, 2011

I often find myself thinking about what I might have done if I hadn’t gone into computer programming. I’m also aware that I’m still pretty young, so could change careers several times in the future, if I wanted to!

I wonder whether I’d have survived in a challenging environment, doing physically difficult work. I might have done, but I think I prefer having the comfort of a cosy office and regular cups of tea!

Some people do some crazily scary things, though, like police and security work. If I’d been more serious about my karate, I could maybe have been a bodyguard for a famous person. That could be fun, getting to see a lot of behind-the-scenes action and being witness to all kinds of weird secrets.

Then there are some jobs that you don’t see much of, but they’re really important, like subsea engineering. It’s part of so many different areas – like underwater mining, wind power, marine biology and geology… and so on.

I think I’d be most interested in the biology and geology part. I think it’s fascinating that there are parts of the sea that no one has ever seen, despite the fact we’ve explored space! There are deep sea life forms that look like aliens that don’t even have names. Also, a massive 71 per cent of the Earth’s surface is water, meaning that us land lubbers only exist on the 29 per cent of dry stuff. That’s so weird.

A lot of oil and gas stuff goes on in a subsea environment, allowing workers to drill down and access energy to keep us all ticking over. There are massive systems that have taken decades to develop. It’s all just awesome to think about.

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Back to work

Thursday, December 1st, 2011

Much as it pains me to say it, the meal I talked about the other week wasn’t much of a success. We all had a great evening and my friends were very nice and flattering and all that, but the food just wasn’t as good as my mum’s. It’s something I’ll have to work on – but I think I’ll mostly stick to what I’m good at!

Like… my computer programming. It’s going pretty well, actually – I get quite a lot of work in, mostly from internet sources.

And also my part-time shop job… once I get one, that is. I’m still looking. It might seem odd, when I’m doing okay with the computer programming, but it would be good to get out of the house a bit more during the daytime – and I really do want to gain some experience in running a retail business, so I can apply it to my own company in the future.

I haven’t discussed that with anyone else yet, even though I’ve thought about it a lot, as I think they’d find it hard to believe that I have plans like that! They’d laugh. Because I keep myself to myself, they all think I won’t amount to much – but I’ll surprise them all (unless they read my blog, in which case it won’t be a surprise).

Once I get a job, I’ll need to set up an answering service for my home-based business. I mostly run it using email and the web, but occasionally people do ask for a phone number so they can call me – and I prefer to give the landline than my mobile. It makes it easier to separate my work life and home life… and I can’t really be answering the phone about my business when I’m at another job, can I?!

I’ve been looking at the BT Response 75. It’s really good value and has some cool features – it’ll be so handy. My room is equipped really well for my business. I have to be compact, so I’ve been quite careful with how I’ve set everything up. When I eventually get around to having my own place, I think I’ll miss it, even though I’ll have more space!

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Hosting a meal

Sunday, November 27th, 2011

To tell you the truth, I’ve been a bit bothered recently about my family and friends’ comments that I don’t get out and socialise enough – and that I spend too much time thinking about computers and stuff like that. I suppose they’re right that it’s important to have balance and concentrate on some artistic areas of life too, not just technical ones!

I’m still looking for a part-time job in a shop – which I think will take a while to become a reality, because, as described in my previous post, I’m what you might call a discerning job hunter! – but in the meantime I’ve decided to surprise them by cooking a meal for a group of us.

Ok, so it’s at my house instead of out and about, but really, I just don’t see the appeal of going out all night to pubs and bars – especially at a weekend. It’s genuinely fun for about 10 minutes… and then you realise that it’s too loud to talk to anyone, so what’s the point?

If you cook a meal at home you can be in control of your surroundings and make sure everyone is enjoying themselves. I have to admit, I’m lucky to have my parents’ kitchen and dining room to use… if I’d moved into my own flat already, it’d probably be small and there wouldn’t be room to feed a group of people! Though I suppose that’s something I should think about when I do start to look for my own place. If I enjoy this cooking thing, I might do it more often.

It’s partly my mum’s idea – I think it concerns her that I don’t have much experience in the kitchen. I even had the luxury of home when I was at university. She’s going to teach me how to cook a few dishes in advance, as a practice session – then I’ll do it for real when everyone comes round next weekend. I’m doing duck spring rolls with a hoi sin dipping sauce to start, then beef chow mein for the main course. I’ll be using my mum’s family recipes, so I can’t tell you their secrets, of course!

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Looking for a part-time job

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011

I’ve started looking for this part-time shop job I want, now – and I’m pleased to find it’s something I can do almost entirely online! I’m not lazy – I just prefer being in my comfort zone, especially doing slightly nerveracking things like jobhunting.

It’s also because I want to make sure I work at a good place – which means research. There are lots of companies out there which don’t take notice of important things like treating staff fairly. I’ve experienced that in the past and really don’t want to repeat it, especially as it won’t really help me to learn anything if I’m just stressed all the time.

So I want to find somewhere that handles employers’ law issues correctly and is keen on employee development and training. It’s amazing what you can find out online – like which businesses have had awards for the way they run their training programmes.

Some people might think it’s strange that I’m being so cautious about a part-time job – and I should just get one as soon as possible – but it’s not as if I’m desperate for one. My reasons for looking for a job are different to most people’s and so I can afford to take the time to choose carefully.

On most job websites you can enter preferences such as the hours you’re looking for, the salary level and the location – which is great because I don’t want to have to travel a long way. Somewhere I can walk to would be ideal. It’s not just about money, but also quality of life. What’s the point of being miserable because you spend ages commuting every day?! I have quite a few friends who do that and it just seems weird to me. Though I suppose not everyone can be quite so picky.

Speaking of jobhunting, it’s that time of day again when I need to go and look through my jobs-by-email updates…

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