On The Spot - November 2008
Welcome to this month’s edition of “On the Spot”
SPOTlight on: November
So the clocks have gone back, the firework displays have all burned out and, unless we‘re very lucky, winter is just around the corner. It’s my guess that on these darker evenings, Domino clients may be huddled around the TV, the computer screen or possibly the saloon bar of the Dog and Duck.
Is there a more productive way to fill at least some of your spare time? Agreed, all work and no play does indeed lend a certain lack of lustre to any Jack or Jill, but an hour two per week honing your skills and knowledge is time well spent. In fact, in the current straitened era, it might be the best investment you could make.
If you’re interested in a particular job sector, how about doing some reading around the subject? Trade and professional journals are often available on line, in newsagents and even in your local reference library (an oft neglected resource). Familiarise yourself with the movers, the shakers and the hot topics of the day and thus ensure that your applications will be polished to a high shine and that you yourself will sparkle at interview. For those whose degree was in a technical or scientific area, there is also the imperative of remaining up to date with the subject. Interviewers are always inquisitive about this if you have had a gap year or some time out of the education loop. Allay their fears by keeping a weather eye on the latest developments in academic or professional circles.
A natural progression from more passive pursuits like reading is (gulp) action. Why not boost both your brain and your CV and while away at least some of these chilly nights by taking a short course? If you lack a specific skill that might enhance your job prospects, be it a language or a computer package, then your local adult education centre is a useful point of contact. And if dragging yourself out of the house into drear December is a step too far, there are self learning manuals (HTML For Dummies anyone?) and e learning packages available for virtually any topic you care to name.
We’ve talked before in these columns about using your leisure hours as effectively as possible and, if you are on the long and sometimes lonely job seeking trail, it really is important to keep your gears well oiled. Otherwise you risk being overtaken by faster, sleeker models.
Applying Yourself?
Apart from the above, November is the time of year when applications are in full swing. Maybe you’re going for jobs or internships next summer or looking to start graduate employment asap? Quite likely you’re considering another course to start in autumn 09. In all these cases, the maxim about early birds and worms holds true. Some graduate schemes and placement programmes have cut off dates within the next few weeks. The most popular master’s courses will already be filling up and the deadline for primary teacher training is early December – with would-be secondary teachers advised not to drag their feet either.
Don’t be eliminated in the first sift. Typical errors include a lack of knowledge about the area for which you are applying, poorly expressed or clichéd wording and avoidable mistakes in grammar, punctuation and spelling. Domino’s advisers are on hand to offer support and advice. We can’t and won‘t write your form for you, but we can go through it with the proverbial toothcomb and help you to stand out from the crowd.
This Month’s Nugget Of Information
Facebookers beware. It seems that in this electronic age, recruiters are taking the whole process of scrutinising jobseekers’ backgrounds a couple of steps further. Some employers have always done a little astute checking of CVs, but now the whole process has taken on a new dimension. Merely by logging on to social networking sites, it’s quick and easy to find out what apparently sober and besuited candidates get up to their spare time. Reports in the press indicate that this has led to a number of potential job offers being withdrawn. So those oh-so-amusing photos of your flatwarming party and that highly colourful account of the holiday in Ibiza (you know who you are), should be removed instantly if you want the good impression you made at interview to stick.
Dear Aggie: our agony aunt has the answers.
Zodiac Sign of the month - Scorpio
Apologies, dear Librans, somehow you have been squeezed out in the month between Virgo and Scorpio. But the sign of the scales is reputedly well balanced and equable, so I know that you will forgive the omission. Meantime, this next query really does have a potential sting in its tail.
I’ve been offered a trainee management job with a small company. It seems OK but I have just been called for interview with one of the national graduate schemes. Should I keep stalling the first set of employers until I hear whether I’ve been successful with the larger firm?
This happens more often than you would think and is always tricky. Let’s look at the logistics first. Is the interview part of a longer process – assessment days, second interviews, medicals etc. and how long will this take? A bit of discreet digging with the graduate recruitment department should unearth the answers to this and also provide a firm indication of when you would be expected to take up post. In addition, being pragmatic, your statistical chances of getting safely through the whole procedure are relatively slim – not that this is a reason to throw in the towel.
If it looks as if decisions could be made fairly quickly, you are perfectly entitled to query the terms and conditions offered by the original firm and to negotiate perhaps a better salary or more training, benefits and so forth. Nothing is set in stone until you have actually signed the contract as a verbal agreement is not binding.
Nonetheless, stall for too long and you run the risk of losing your bird in the hand for the possibly faint prospect of two in the bush.
If push comes to shove, only you can decide whether it is best to
a) take the first post and maybe leave it a few months later. If this happens try to keep things amicable and professional. But who knows – you may prefer it there! The corporate life is not for everyone and there is a theory that small enterprises offer more early responsibility – and can lead to a move to a bigger set up at a later stage in your career.
or
b) be honest with the people who made the original offer. Test the water first, but something along the lines of “I’d love to work here, but I do want to go for the interview with X and Co” might be the best policy.
Good luck in whatever role you take up and pat yourself on the back for being so marketable.