Reality Time

It was that day today when reality hits home and you remember vividly what work was like. Not only does it remind you about the things you were dealing with at work. Not only does it remind you about the people you worked with and you think about how they are getting on. Not only does it remind you about the fact that you used to get a wage.

What on earth is he rambling on about? Has he gone mad finally? 

No, of course not. But today was my first time for signing on at the Job Centre. A remarkable building that says it's a Job Centre but it doesn't actually have a job for you. Admittedly the Direct.Gov website might have one!!!

I had to fill out my form telling them what actions I had been taking to find work in my profession. And guess what - only a cursory look at it and sign here Mr Williamson and you will get your money into your account probably Monday!!!

It was just another reminder for me that no matter how much work I am doing to find a job, I need to do more. More job board reviews, more calls to recruiters, more reviews of businesses through Linked In and more discussions with people that can help and support me in this search.

The weeks go by so quickly and all of a sudden we're nearly at the end of another week and nothing has come through yet. Not for the lack of trying but I just have to do more. I told you before, this job searching lark is a full time job and more.

(c) Iain Williamson 2012

Hit rates

It seems to have been a day where recruiters have been emailing me their "regret" letters. So it's been a bit of a "bad" day in that respect and it got me thinking about my CV and its contents and wondering if I need to change its contents. Of course, not to tell lies about my experience or achievements, but to try to get a bigger hit rate in terms of being invited to interview.

I have some experience of writing CV's for others but find it difficult to be self critical. I hear myself saying the same things that clients say to me when I talk to them. "I can't write about myself so need you to do it for me" they say.

And now I'm having to consider how do I sell myself? What is my brand? What are my achievements? Where and how have I added value? How do I hit that target more often and get more interviews?

I don't want to continually change my CV for every role that I apply for - that seems like a route to disaster. I know from professional experience of interviewing candidates who clearly have been talking to the wrong CV at interview because they can't remember what they wrote.

But I think I can possibly have two CVs - one for applying to permanent roles and one for interim roles. That seems like a potential option. They are two different targets and therefore can be addressed differently.

For an interim role, it feels like the idea would be describe in more details the achievements in my roles and make them live for the recruiter.

For a permanent role, it still needs achievements but there also needs to be a reflection of the businesses where I have operated and the commercial knowledge I have acquired.

Plus in these days of the social media, recruiters can also look at your on-line presence. So I will need to look at my Linked In profile and make sure it reflects me well.

So I have decided to seek silk on this matter and talk to some trusted colleagues and ask their opinion. Apologies if I don't speak to you direct but you can always leave a comment here if you should wish or email me directly.

(c) Iain Williamson 2012

Is it a full time job?

The weekend is over and I ask myself, and you dear reader, why did I do nothing on my job search over the weekend.

Well it's simple. I treat my job hunting exactly like a job. That is, I work hard on finding a job during the week and then relax at the weekend. Simple really.

And when I do have a job, I try to forget about the trials and tribulations of work at the weekend and spend time with things that I would want to do - maybe a bit of golf, or some football on TV, but more likely being told by my better half what things need fixing round the house!!!!

It is so easy to feel guilty when you are job hunting to think that you cannot miss a second because that job you need becomes so all encompassing and your only focus. I totally get that but I also think that you need to be realistic about matters.

Jobs are not placed on internet boards every second of every day and at weekends you will not find recruiters in the office. So the logic is have some down time and then feel refreshed for the week ahead. Do something you want to do and try to forget about your employment situation.

I had a relaxing weekend ahead of my return to my job search and now I'm back into it with a vengeance.

Sunshine Day

I thought I'd continue the weather theme. Today has been much brighter in my job search and I have been re-energised after a great meeting with a down to earth recruiter this morning. It was a very refreshing difference to meet somebody who was not full of promises that would probably not be delivered. Yes she was candid about the current job market for HR professionals like me but she could see that I would be a real asset to any business.

It is sometimes easy to be pulled in by the promises of lots of available jobs and we can market you easily and then very soon we will have you in a role. Sorry folks there are some of them out there but, in my experience, they are few and far between. Recruiters come in for lots of criticism so I'm not going to add to their troubles.

I have learnt from previous job search exercises that I need to talk to as many of them as possible so that I can give myself the best chance of finding a role. It is clear that I know lots of people but recruiters know more people and, significantly, they also know the people who make the job decisions. So I have to use them.

This afternoon and yesterday afternoon, I've been talking to more recruiters and there are therefore a few more irons in the fire. It's not that I want to impersonalise them but I need to keep me on their radar as much as possible. I've developed a rota for me to contact them so that they can't or won't forget me!!!!!

One of my connections on Linked-In said to me earlier this week that she felt that the the traditional recruiter route is dying out but she did agree with me that for now we had to use them for our job search. She had found roles via Linked In which was interesting to me so I plan to look at that option in more detail. 

I haven't seen the weather forecast for tomorrow but I know that it is Saturday and as always it never rains on a golf course so an early morning tee time for me. 

And that reminds me, I need to tell people at the golf club that I'm on the look out for a role. It's not about begging but as I already know it will do my job search no harm. A friend of a friend and all that.

If you wish to leave any comments please feel free to do so. I will be posting again after the weekend. 

Thanks

(c) Iain Williamson 2012

Foggy Thursday and Its Resolution

It was foggy this morning when I woke up and had my breakfast. That almost describes my job hunting day today. There are literally hundreds of places to look for roles and it's difficult to work out a routine to make sure I cover them all in the best most time efficient way. 

Task Number One in this Job Search is to find a way to do that because when I'm sitting at the PC there's nothing worse than just wading through one job board after another after another. Does anybody have the answer?

And the frustration is that without doubt I know I can do many of the roles that are there but often they don't fit my needs. Either they are too low in terms of experience level, or maybe salary is too low or ...... well you know. 

It's that old conundrum. I know that at the end of the day this will be a numbers game. The more applications I make the more I will be likely to get interviews and therefore, by default, be likely to be offered roles. 

But why apply for a role where the recruiter sees immediately that I have far too much experience? How do I convince a recruiter that because I have applied for a role then that means that I take on board the Ts and C's of that role? Yes - told you it was a conundrum.

Its all about rejection and there's nothing more hurtful than a rejection. I'd like to think that through my career I have consistently provided a high level of HR professionalism to whichever business I was working with at the time. And through my Linked In profile, where I have some very positive recommendations from both work colleagues and Senior Level Executives including COOs and CEOs,  I believe it shows I deliver on the projects I have been hired to complete. Just need to convince recruiters, agency and business.

To resolve Task Number One, I will make a list of my favourite job boards and review them daily, and then have a secondary list which I will review on an every-other-day basis. Of course, because each job board has its vacancies dated, I will not need to review a full week at a time. So hopefully that will reduce the drudgery and the foggy nature of this exercise.

Come back soon for my next update in my job search.

(C) Iain Williamson 2012

Back On The Job Trail

It was a huge disappointment when my last interim role as HR Manager at The Webb Group ended rather abruptly when the business was unfortunate enough to be placed in administration. Of course, I hadn't prepared my job search so I'm in a position now where I need to get on the treadmill of job search.

I thought I would relaunch my blog and give myself an opportunity to share with you all the ups and downs of a job search. The grind of email alerts, the phone calls returned and not returned, etc.

So watch out for daily updates on how things are going - for better or worse.

One thing I want to say is that my thoughts are with the folks at The Webb Group who find themselves in the job market. There were lots of great people there with great skills and competences and if you need any referrals to them then please don't hesitate to ask. It will do you and them no harm.

A full list of my contacts can be found at my Linked in Profile as follows:- http://uk.linkedin.com/in/iainwilliamsonfcipd

If you want a to speak to one of them then I can refer you - all at no cost to you, apart from the old saying that one good turn deserves another.

Come back tomorrow for my latest views.

The World Cup and all that - Team working.

So now England lose the vote for the World Cup in 2018 and don't forget nobody ever votes for England (sorry the United Kingdom) when it is Eurovision.

No this is not just another blog from a bleating Scotland supporter because I would have liked the UK to have been chosen as hosts - the whole economy would have been boosted and the morale of the country would have been raised rather than seeing the sad faces all over our TV screens.

For me one of the most valuable lessons from the project was that even with apparently an unbeatable bid team - Prince William, David Cameron, David Beckham et al - there was an unsuccessful outcome. Of course, you can question the voting system and the integrity of FIFA members but the real issue for me was that despite the presence of highly talented individuals there was not enough there to get the anticipated outcome.

Today in the press, there are all sorts of suggestions that this Calvary came to the party far too late and their influencing was never going to be successful. Russia and the others had been planning and working on the FIFA members over a much longer period.

Yes team work is important but people need to know the purpose and the strategy so that the effort can be sustained and be be successful. And for the people that are listening to you, your staff and your customers, they want to see and hear that you are committed to what you are saying.

More importantly, because my better half hails from Russia, I am delighted for that country anyway. Maybe she can get me tickets!!! Do you want me to ask for you?

(c) Iain Williamson 3.12.10