What is the point of Education?

This post from Bnet UK for me sums up exactly what I feel about our Education system in this country.

My Son has just embarked on his education and I am really getting involved to try and understand more about the process and why so many of my friends kids who are just leaving school, have no real motivation for work.

I can only talk about the kids I know and it amazes me how many of them have no real understanding of what society and the workplace expects from them, it's all about what society can do for them.

The education system is not purely to blame for this, parents contribute hugely, as we want to give our children everything and expect nothing in return except maybe a hug.

I agree with the article which says lets move from the current 3R's to 5R's which are: responsibility, reasoning, relationships, right and wrong. Maybe then we would get value from our education system.

Click here to read the post.

Print your own Newspaper

I love this new start up that allows anyone to print their own 12 page Newspaper.

The Newspaper Club is a great example of our industry using the benefits of the web on paper.

This article from the BBC explains more about the company, and some of the uses of printing your own newspaper.

Personally I would love my community to create it's own newspaper that deals with local issues. I think they will get a huge demand from couples getting married who want to create a newspaper with pictures and stories directly from the guests. What a great keepsake.

Good luck guys, I hope this is a great success.

Job Market Recovers Further?

Reuters reports that the labour market is slowly starting to recover, with the biggest increase in job vacancies in two-and-a-half years and a rise in permanent placements last month, a survey of recruitment agencies showed on Wednesday.

Read the whole article here and let me know if you agree with what is being reported.

What to do if you don't have the exact skills an employer needs?

I was talking to an advertiser about maximising their job advert and getting them to think about the skills they must have versus desired skills.

This got me thinking that if you are a candidate, how or even should you challenge the "must have" skills the advertiser is seeking?

The world, technology, business, processes etc are changing so fast these days that surely it is better to employ someone who can learn and adapt to new skills than someone who has the exact skills today but hasn't shown an ongoing ability to learn and adapt easily.

As a candidate you need to demonstrate that you can pick up skills quickly using specific examples, whilst highlighting other really important qualities like understanding the latest business processes and creating market demand.

You need to be mindful that the potential Employer has put a lot of thought and effort into what skills they think they need, so challenge this carefully and positively through demonstrating your past success, your ability to learn and your desire to succeed.

oZZle upgrades location fields

oZZle has just got even better!

We have made the location fields even more relevant to the searches you perform.

For Job Seekers this means that you can now:

1. Search for Jobs within "x" miles of any town/city or County giving you more accurate results for your Job Search.
2. Specify on your new job alerts that you only want to be notified about jobs within "x" miles of your town or county. You will get more appropriate jobs sent to you. This is obviously dependant on what information you have entered into your jobs via email section within your account.

For Recruiters this means that you can now:

1. Post your vacancy to display from as little as one town/city/county up to a maximum of five Counties enabling you to be as specific or as general as you need.
2. Search for Job Seekers within "x" miles of any town/city or county. The closest to your location will be displayed first to make the results more relevant.
3. You can now be notified about new Job Seekers registering within "x" miles of your specified town/city or county. Again this makes your notifications a lot more relevant.

As with any changes, these can take some time to getting used to. We welcome your feedback, so please let us know what you think.

Is there light?

This came in from the "Recruitment Consultant"

Permanent recruitment set to improve as employers offer hope

Despite a static labour market employers have told the latest REC survey their hiring intentions are showing signs of recovery.

REC director of research Roger Tweedy, said: “It is encouraging that employer confidence is slowly but surely starting to manifest itself in terms of hiring intentions. However, it is very early days and a number of employers are still making redundancies or cutting working hours. Regular data on how employers are reacting to subtle changes in the jobs market is essential and will help recruiters to plan ahead over the coming months.”

One in ten employers has hinted they will raise permanent staff levels over the next three months, with another 16 per cent expecting their permanent staff to rise in the next 12 months.

Five per cent of employers expect to increase their temporary workforce in the next three months, 72 per cent expect to maintain the same level of agency staff over the next 12 months.

Jobs Outlook is based on a monthly sample survey of 600 employers undertaken by an independent market research company on behalf of the REC. It is designed to complement the REC’s Report on Jobs published in conjunction with KPMG, which tracks the actual number of placements on a monthly basis.

Innovative marketing of Print

My friend sent me this link to the Sun Newspaper's new advertising campaign.... it's brilliant.

Why new business is important!

I came across this article by Tim Worstall about why it is important that more new businesses need to be started to really help us out of this recession. Whilst I agree with most of what Tim says I disagree with his solution.

As Tim says "we should turn our attention not to the old and large companies, but to the small and new. Yes I agree.

But Tim then goes on " The thousands upon thousands of regulations and laws that state that you may do this, you must fill out that form, you may not do that, do not proceed without authorisation.

Get rid of that and we'll have more small firms created, more expanding, and thus a lower rate of unemployment. All at no cost: you see, sometimes, there really are free lunches."

I don't believe that bureacracy and regulations stops most entrepreneurs, as they are resourceful enough to get round this.

I am sure there are many factors contributing to why new businesses are not being created and whilst bureacracy may be one of them, I think a major factor is the fear that the media creates is stopping more entrepreneurs from starting up alone. Couple that with the cautious lending of the banks these days as Entrepreneurs by their very nature are not "safe" investments.

If the UK as a whole including government, businesses and individuals can find ways of supporting new businesses only then will we start to see unemployment decreasing.

It would be great to see our industry news full of new business startups and expansions rather than the gloomy news of closures and administrations.

Job Adverts - what they say.... and what they truly mean

Got this from Alasdair Murray's Copywriting Site..... so funny.


JOB ADS. WHAT THEY SAY AND WHAT THEY MEAN

ENTICING VOICE: “Looking for a brighter future?”

OFFICIOUS VOICE: Your desk will be near a window, or the MD’s solarium, we haven’t decided which yet.

ENTICING VOICE: “We’re an innovative company”.

OFFICIOUS VOICE: We were amongst the first to pioneer the introduction of soft toilet paper into the staff toilets, back in 1963.

ENTICING VOICE: “offering an exciting opportunity”

OFFICIOUS VOICE: Seriously. When was the last time you were genuinely “excited” at work, eh? And I’m not talking about that time at the Christmas party when you got pissed on cheap wine and thought it would be a laugh to photocopy your genitals. Yes, you’ll be vaguely excited for the first couple of days, maybe even a week. We all were. But the novelty will soon wear off and you’ll become sad, bitter and twisted like the rest of us.

ENTICING VOICE: “full of challenge and variety”

OFFICIOUS VOICE: You’ll be doing three people’s jobs.

ENTICING VOICE: “in a fast paced environment”

OFFICIOUS VOICE: You’ll be so bloody busy you’ll need to quite literally run round the office, so bring a pair of trainers.

ENTICING VOICE: “It’s a great opportunity to become a key player”

OFFICIOUS VOICE: We all nip down the pub for a couple of hours every lunchtime to drown our sorrows, leaving you on your own to answer the phones.

ENTICING VOICE: “and make a real difference”

OFFICIOUS VOICE: You’d better be good or you’ll be out on your arse quicker than you can say ‘probation period’.

ENTICING VOICE: “So, if you’re a self-starter”

OFFICIOUS VOICE: Seriously, if you are, please tell us what it means because we haven’t got a clue.

ENTICING VOICE: ”and team player”

OFFICIOUS VOICE: We have a company football team. You’re the goalie.

ENTICING VOICE: “with a flexible approach”

OFFICIOUS VOICE: Remember that bit we mentioned about doing three people’s jobs? Good. This is just a reminder. Slippers will do if you haven’t got any trainers

ENTICING VOICE: “and a great deal of tact and sensitivity”

OFFICIOUS VOICE: Did we mention that the boss is an arsehole?

ENTICING VOICE: “we would like to hear from you”

OFFICIOUS VOICE: We’re desperate. The last person who did the job went off on sick leave and never came back.

ENTICING VOICE: “As well as a competitive salary”

OFFICIOUS VOICE: Tell us how much you are being paid at the moment and we might offer you another £500. Don’t lie though. We’ll only find out.

ENTICING VOICE: “we offer a whole range of benefits”

OFFICIOUS VOICE: There’s a drinks machine – with a button for soup. Oh and a canteen, but no one eats in it since the last bout of food poisoning. And no, we don’t do mineral water out of poncey dispensers. Buy your own you tight arse.

ENTICING VOICE: “and modern offices situated in a prestigious location”

OFFICIOUS VOICE: Yes, the offices are lovely… if you can find them! We’re in the middle of some God forsaken industrial wilderness in the Thames Valley, off the ninth roundabout that looks exactly like the other eight you’ll drive past on your way to the interview, as you get hopelessly lost and arrive late, totally stressed out and in a foul mood.

ENTICING VOICE: “So what are you waiting for”?

OFFICIOUS VOICE: Look, we didn’t spend several thousand pounds on a sexy, all-singing, all-dancing ad just so you could read it, think about it and then simply turn the page. Apply! Now!

ENTICING VOICE: “Please send your current CV and salary details”

OFFICIOUS VOICE: Remember, no lying about how much you are currently paid and no boring drivel about how you are an avid train spotter who enjoys socialising with yourself, collecting martial arts videos and reading horror stories. We never read those bits anyway. Though on reflection, maybe we should.

ENTICING VOICE: “and take the first step towards that brighter future ”

OFFICIOUS VOICE: Oh go on then. We’ll throw in a desk lamp.

Funny Job Interview cartoons

Andy Headworth posted his top ten funny interview cartoons. Here is his number one:




See all his others here