Yearly Archives: 2020
Posted on December 20, 2020 at 8:28 pm
It is always important to try and
get the balance right between home and work life. If you tip the balance too
much over to work then you will often find that your home life suffers because
you cannot spend enough time with your family or you are too tired when you do.
If you tip the balance in favour of home too much then you may not work as much
as you need to and therefore not earn as much as you need to. It is unlikely
you will get a promotion or pay rise if you do not even put yourself out for
work I.e. working overtime when asked on some occasions.
This years has meant that lots of
people home / work life have at times blended in to one. It may be that you
have had to work from home and also tried to look after your child whilst
taking work calls. This has not been easy for many people but as everyone was
in the same situation, it didn’t matter. If possible, try and put aside time
for work and then time for home life. If you are still working from home then
why not set up a desk in a corner of the room or a space room so you have a
dedicated work area.
Posted in News
Posted on November 16, 2020 at 1:36 pm
For many people, the prospect of
staying in the same role with the same company for years is not an attractive
one but gaining promotion either within the current department or changing to a
different one often brings a fresh outlook.
It is important to be proactive in
your approach to promotion and make it clear to your employer that you are
interested in any opportunities that would be available to you. A meeting with
your line manager to discuss your ambitions and ask about any further training
that you could undertake to make promotion more likely is advisable because if
your employer is not able to offer you promotion either because a position is not
available, or they are unwilling to consider you it may be necessary to seek
alternative employment that offers better progression prospects.
Many companies have mentoring
programs running where a junior employee is mentored by a more senior member of
staff. This is useful as the mentor can act as an advocate in any promotion bid
and can offer valuable career guidance and training.
Evidence of any achievements that
have been made during employment, especially if they have benefitted the
company should be kept and provided to support any promotion bid.
Posted in recruitment
Posted on October 23, 2020 at 10:27 am
At the moment unemployment is
rising rapidly so it is important to give yourself the best possible chance when
you are applying for a job. One of the first requirements is usually to fill in
an application form and possibly submit a CV so it is important that your CV is
up to date and relevant to the job you want to get.
Updating a CV need not be onerous
if it is done regularly and should certainly be updated after any new training
is undertaken or any new experience is gained. It is wise to tailor the CV to
the role you are applying for it may even be worth having slightly different
copies depending on the jobs. It is however always important to be truthful in
a CV as employers could check your qualifications and training record with
previous employers.
If you want to maximise your chances
of getting a job you could send your current CV out to potential employers with
a covering letter stating that you would be interested to hear of any vacancies
in their company. This is a good way to get yourself known to business owners
and may result in them keeping your details on file.
Recruitment firms are typically
happy to receive copies of your CV to keep on file and should a suitable job
come available they may forward it to a potential employer.
Posted in recruitment
Posted on September 5, 2020 at 12:12 pm
Job hunting can be a nightmare at
the best of times but at present it is even harder than usual. Many businesses
are not looking to take additional staff members on at present as the future is
still very much unknown and they are worried about if they will have enough
work to keep the staff they currently have busy.
If you are in apposition where you
need to look for employment but don’t know how or where to start, then do not
stress, there is help out there. You may have to apply for more jobs that
previous and you may have to expect it to take longer to find a vacancy but
there are still jobs outs there. Depending on your age, younger people can go
to careers advisors that are often based in schools or colleges or may have
their own offices. These advisors should not charge a fee and will offer
impartial advice on what you need to do get employment and where you can look
to start to apply for positions.
If you are an older person looking
for employment, then the Job centre can offer a similar service. They will
usually ask you to take a questionnaire to find out what skills, experience and
qualifications you have so they can advise you on what may suit you best.
Posted in recruitment
Posted on August 18, 2020 at 1:46 pm
When we are
younger, it is often drilled into us that we need to know what we want to do
when we are older. From the age of when you have to choose your GCSE subjects
you may already be limiting your choices as certain careers require you to have
very specific qualifications.
It can be
hard to try and change your career choice once you have already entered the
world of employment especially if you have a number of financial commitments
that you need to uphold.
Teaching is
one career that has changed over the years and more and more of them are
leaving the profession within a few years of starting.
If you are
sure that a career move is right for you then you need to assess whether you
need to do any additional training or qualifications. When attending an interview,
you may find that you are up against people that already have experience or
qualifications in that sector so the more you can do to further yourself the
better. Finding jobs that are similar to what you already do may help your
chances of landing them, but you need to be sure that it is a move in to the
career you think you will be happy in otherwise you will be doing it all again
in the near future.
Posted in News
Posted on July 24, 2020 at 10:21 am
If you are
thinking of starting up your own tutoring business and have the appropriate
qualifications and experience you may be wondering whether it is possible to
make a good living from this career or whether it is more of a temporary
occupation. Many parents are eager for their child to make good academic
progress at school but feel unable to support them educationally. These parents
will often seek the help of a private tutor to provide extra lessons and
support for their child so the potential for business is high.
The
outgoings for a business such as tutoring will usually be relatively low as the
internet is a valuable source of excellent quality resources that can be used
to support learning. Using these good quality and up to date resources
alongside current teaching methods will guarantee positive results in terms of
pupil motivation and therefore client satisfaction.
The pricing
structure for your tutoring business will be dependant upon the area in which
you are working and so it is a good move to research what the usual rate is per
hour for that area. For instance, if you are working in the London area you
would be able to charge a higher rate than if you are employed in a more rural
location.
Posted in education
Posted on June 23, 2020 at 8:01 pm
When looking
for a teaching job it is important to consider whether you prefer teaching in a
large primary school or a smaller rural one as the difference between the two
in terms of teaching practice is great.
Although for
some teachers the idea of teaching a class where you may have a wide range of
ages in the same class can be daunting it can be a much more fulfilling
experience as you see children supporting one another across the age range
which leads to a feeling of belonging to a family.
It is common
to have a high level of teacher support by teaching assistants in a smaller
school with the teacher planning the work but it being delivered to some groups
by the teaching assistant. In this way it can really feel as if you are part of
a team working together for the good of the pupils.
The
flexibility that is necessary in a small school is a plus point for a lot of
teachers. For example, if there are only two classes, assembly times can be
changed to accommodate extra activities that may be going on in school as long
as it suits both teachers equally and the same goes for break times too.
Posted in education
Posted on May 13, 2020 at 11:58 am
With the
current unprecedented situation in the UK and the majority of the world due to
the COVID-19 pandemic, many pupils are wondering what is going to happen when
things start to return to normal. Children have been off school now for nearly
7 weeks and many of those that are currently being home schooled should have
been sitting exams this year.
As this is a
situation we have never been in before, n one knows exactly what is going to
happen but they have said it is very unlikely that pupils will have to sit
these exams, instead they will probably be graded based on their work they have
already completed in the classroom.
For some
students this will work out well, as it may be that they excel in the classroom
but really struggle in an exam sitting. But there will always be those children
that the opposite is true. They may not do very well in coursework and in the
class room but somehow just seem to fly through exams. For those students this
may not be the best option for them.
IT is such a
complicated situation, we don’t really know what is best but hopefully no one
will be penalised because of this.
Posted in education
Posted on April 15, 2020 at 3:24 pm
Being self-employed
can be extremely stressful at the best of time but especially at the moment
buti it can also be extremely rewarding and allow you to run your own business
how you wish to but you need to have the right work ethos to be able to do it. Some people can also make a lot of money from
running their own business but you do need to have the motivation, skills and
discipline to make it a success.
Currently lots
of self-employed people are still unable to work so are having to rely on
savings or universal credit to keep them afloat. In June many self-employed
people will be getting a grant that should cover some of their earnings but
this grant will be taxable and will affect tax credits / universal credits. This
is bringing a lot of uncertainty about and people simply do not know what the
future holds for them.
The first
year or so of running your own business is often testing the water and a bit of
trial and error. You will learn a lot in your first 12 months of trading but if
you make changes based on the learning you have done you can often make it a
success. If this is your first year, you may decide to put it on hold until after
this crisis is over or use it as a time to learn and get all your business in
order.
Posted in News
Posted on March 16, 2020 at 10:43 am
For some
teachers supply teaching is only considered if a contracted teaching job can’t
be found or if you need your job to fit in with family commitments but there
are a growing number of teachers in the primary and secondary sector that are
actively seeking supply work as there are a good many benefits to this far more
casual way of working.
An initial
choice will need to be made as to whether you seek work through one of the
teaching agencies or whether you are going to source supply teaching posts
independently. Many local authorities will only accept supply teachers who are
signed up to an agency, but sometimes smaller schools are more flexible in
their approach. Agency work may result in slightly less pay but you may be
guaranteed regular work if you want it.
One of the
main advantages of supply teaching is that you are in control of the days that
you are available for work so for instance it enables you to fit in hobbies or
holidays to suit you and your family. This is a major factor in the growing
popularity of supply teaching as an employment choice as a contracted teaching
job is very inflexible in this regard.
Posted in education
Next Page »