HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE

Well I like everyone else has made a New Year’s Resolution. That being said, I want to encourage all of you unemployed at the moment to consider what your options are! If you’ve been unemployed for a long while, why are you still unemployed?

Consider this;

• Are your goals realistic?
• Have you got the experience and qualifications for the position you are applying for?
• Is your confidence suffering from too many rejections?
• Do you ask for feedback to help you correct any flaws?
• Do you write the perfect personal statement?
• Is your CV relevant to the position you are applying for?

We all blame others at one time or another for our misfortunes, but we should also take ownership of our own mistakes or flaws. Make 2012 the year we all take responsibility for ourselves and make the necessary things happen to achieve our goals.

Firstly, decide what it is you really want to do.
Create an Action Plan
Decide whether you need added qualifications to achieve your goal
Consider the time it would take to achieve them
Have you got the time?
Are your aims realistic?

To achieve our goals, we need to take stock of what is needed to do that whether it be confidence building, personal development training, being realistic and taking ownership of our strength and weaknesses and last but not least consider our economic climate.

In the present economic climate with many organisations in both the public and private sector undergoing internal restructuring, many individuals are finding themselves joining the unemployment queue. As confidence is taking a battering and many of you are making the regular trawl through vacancies making applications, don’t let the number of non replies get you down.

Consider the criteria in the job descriptions and think of how you meet them. Are you giving live examples of how you can use transferrable skills when you don’t have the exact skill be asked of you?  Remember when considering the criteria, you should state where, when and how you meet them.

Your personal statement should reflect what is being asked of you, without putting in irrelevant information.

I am currently speaking with employers to provide  you with tips on what they are looking for from prospective employees and will post these as soon as I have this information (see Employers Advice page).

If however you have any questions regarding CVs and Personal Statements, don’t be afraid to ask!

My name is Bernadette Urrutia, currently I am an Employment & Training officer for Poplar HARCA which is a registered social landlord based in Tower Hamlets in London.

My role encompasses all aspects of employment covering pre-employment training, advice & guidance, CV building, interview techniques and developing and delivering training courses.

Through the employmentguru.co.uk portal I am going to help you help yourself get into a position to get the job that you want. There are certain aspects of my job that enable me to advise freely on what you can do in terms of education and training and also in interview techniques and CV building, but like all businesses I do have added content and services that are paid for should you so wish.

The Employment Guru portal will offer a variety of training courses and aids and tips not only supplied by myself, but other industry experts and potential employers. The site will give you an insight into a multitude of professions with candid and frank advice from those best suited to give it, the employers themselves.

I hope that the Employment Guru helps you get the skills and confidence you may well need to get you back into the workplace, I understand that it’s not always the academics that hold us back, but personal circumstances too!