oZZle's Blog

Job Market Recovers Further?

2010-02-03T09:28:00.003Z

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?

2010-01-27T10:57:00.002Z

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

2010-01-18T11:35:00.005Z

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?

2009-12-07T10:30:00.003Z

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

2009-11-25T09:03:00.003Z

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

Why new business is important!

2009-11-09T11:15:00.005Z

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

2009-11-06T09:37:00.003Z

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

2009-10-30T09:24:00.006Z

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

See all his others here

Postive signs that our industry jobs market is improving

2009-10-01T11:12:00.005Z

As a Job Board where both Employers and Recruitment Agencies post their latest jobs, we are a great barometer for what is going on in the jobs market in our industry.

We have seen a dramatic increase in activity in the last seven days. There have been 16 new jobs posted by 12 different employers in the industry. This indicates a wide spread of skills required across many different companies and geographies.

Couple this with the positive things we are hearing from a number of Recruitment Agencies. They are also seeing an increase in the number of vacancies they are looking to fill and posting onto our Job Board.

Lets hope this trend continues into October, November and beyond and that our industry continues to see more good news than bad.

View and apply for these latest jobs now!

Is your receptionist holding your business back?

2009-09-23T12:37:00.004Z

I have recently found Seth Godwin's blog. What a find! I was reading a post he wrote "understanding business development" which was wholly thought provoking but point 9 in his list received the most discussion in our office.

Everyone is keen to develop their business but how many great business opportunities are lost at your reception?

He asks us to talk to our own receptionists and take a test. Call your own company pretending to be from a respected organisation and describe a fantastic business partnership opportunity and ask who you can speak to who can help. If you're not immediately transferred to the head of business development/sales then you have failed.

As there are only three of us in our office we couldn't try it out but I would urge all of you who work in a medium/large organisation or even a small one with a receptionist to try this out.

It's not so much the Dragon's Den but the Dragon's Gatekeeper.

You can read Seth's full post here.

I would love to hear any results of this excercise.

Shift Happens 4.0

2009-09-18T07:55:00.004Z

I posted the original of this a while ago and thanks to Matt Alder at Digital Recruiting, here is the latest version. Once again, it's mind blowing!

Move your sales activity online.

2009-09-16T11:27:00.002Z

There will always be a place for print, but the channel it is sold through is changing!

The major change we have seen in recent years is that print used to be the primary form of communication now it is just one part of a mix.

It has been researched and proven that the average print seller is a 40 plus male who is "just about" internet savvy, but the average print buyer is a marketing-led female, aged between 20-30 who tweets.

For print businesses to survive it is necessary to sell more print online where it has a much wider audience. One in three companies now prefer to purchase their print through the internet just as they enjoy buying consumer goods through Amazon. The industry will still produce from the presses but needs to connect and understand buyers and why they go online.

Here are some ideas to use the internet and social media.

Our Sales Lead Generator enables you to build your profile online and showcase your expertise free of charge to an audience of over 60, 000 people every month and growing. Create your profile here!
Build/ redesign a website that enables you to sell online and make the transaction easy.
Investigate the many social media tools and how they can help you connect with online buyers. Social Media is like a town, twitter are the conversations that happen in the street, blogs are the community newspapers, flickr is your art gallery, facebook, is your coffee shop and your website is the shop.

Consider how much you are investing in conventional sales eg. salaries, NI, cars, mobile phones etc. In comparison internet sales/marketing may be the way forward.

How long should your CV be?

2009-09-09T09:27:00.004Z

In the last week I have spoken to three people asking us how long their CV should be.

My answer has been "it depends" as there are different standards for different job levels.

Here are some general guidelines:

Graduate/Entry level: 1 to 2 pages
Professional: 1 to 2 pages
Executive 2 pages

You will notice that my guidelines never include 3 pages. It can be difficult enough to get a recruiter/manager to read 1-2 pages never mind a third. A CV should be concise. There is a fine line between detailed statements and too much information. What you have to do is tell the reader the most amount of information in the least amount of words.

As always there are exceptions to the rule, for example, if you are an experienced Sales professional, then it would be okay to have a third page dedicated to your accomplishments as long as these are specific and measurable.

Consider two pages the standard across the board and adjust as necessary.

First Class Training for Creatives

2009-09-07T12:49:00.004Z

Something new from oZZle - Training

We've teamed up with Academy Class to offer a range of training packages from Adobe, Autodesk, Quark and Apple to help you master all aspects of print and web design.

The instructors have first hand experience in using Flash, Dreamweaver, Coldfusion, Flex Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, Acrobat, AutoCAD, 3ds Max, Maya, Final Cut pro, Motion, Logic and more and can provide your training onsite or at the training facilities in Central London, Manchester, Glasgow, Leeds and Devon.

Find out more and visit our oZZle training site here.

The great British workforce!

2009-09-01T08:16:00.004Z

BT is planning to bring 2000 call centre jobs back from India to the UK. Hoorah for the British workforce .... or so you would think.

Unions have warned employees would be forced to change their working hours to fit in with India which is 4.5 hours ahead. Workers would be expected to work until 11pm and work Saturdays and Sundays. The Unions have said it is unfair to expect employees with families to adopt these working hours.

Surely there are families who would welcome the weekend and late working hours so that their partners could look after the children.

For me this is exactly what is wrong with the attitude of the British workforce or could it be the Unions just stirring trouble again.

Is owning your ownname.com useful in a job search

2009-08-27T09:25:00.002Z

More and more jobseekers are looking to improve their online brand as more and more employers use the internet to check out potential hires.

Personal websites can give you an edge over Facebook or Linkedin as everyone can create a page on these sites. Services from the likes of wix.com enable you to create a personal brand at a domain name to match your name. These services are supposedly easy to use as you pick a background template and upload pictures and video next to your CV.

I haven't tried this as yet, it could be another option for the CV of the future, if anyone has any experience with Wix or any other site please let us know.

The perfect team

2009-08-04T10:05:00.003Z

I went to a friends wedding at the weekend. We were all gathered in the church when something struck me... everybody around me had the most awful, out of tune singing voice - including me who was definitely the worst of all.

Yet the full church singing "All things Bright and Beautiful" was absolutely fantastic and so moving.

What struck me was that different voices all singing to the same hymn sheet will deliver perfectly.

You really don't need perfect talent, you need different talents feeding off each other and complementing each other.

Businesses get too hung up on employing clones of their successful employees, when it simply needs the leaders to realise different talents make a successul team.

Interview Success

2009-07-22T11:41:00.004Z

Here is a clip from YouTube about the difference between a really bad interview and a good one. Take five minutes and see how the candidate makes the same information a lot more positive the 2nd time round.

Attitude is everything.

Recession p**s takers?

2009-07-20T14:42:00.003Z

Saw this on Peter Golds Hire Strategies Blog and couldn't resist posting it here.

Next time you want to negotiate on something watch this before you start. This is happening more and more as the recession takes hold.

Are we starting to see signs of a recovery?

2009-07-20T08:06:00.002Z

I am one of the many people in the world who doesn't believe the media hype about starting to see green shoots of recovery, in fact I don't trust anything the media has to say anymore.

It's only now that I am starting to see positive signs in our business that my cynicism is wavering and am starting to believe(hope) in a recovery.

We have seen more new jobs posted in the last two weeks than in any other two week period in the last 10 months. We are getting new enquiries from businesses wanting to enter the Print and Packaging market which is great news for our market. This morning I read that the decline in the Print Industry is slowing and we are doing a lot better than others.

These three things are great news for us and I hope many more of you are starting to see things improve.

How to Wow tips

2009-06-10T10:18:00.002Z

I have just finished reading Francis Cole Jones' "How to Wow" book. It's not normally a book I would have chosen to read but I belong to a book group and this was highly recommended to me.

Her tips can be related to any part of your life and is especially relevant in a Job Search situation as it's all about selling yourself.

Here are some highlights:

1. You is the most persuasive word in the English language. Use it regularly.

2. When you are asked a difficult question in an interview situation, pause, inhale and then speak on exhalation. This gives your voice more authority.

3. When you give people the "because" behind why you are making a request you increase the possibility of co-operation from 60 o 94%.

4. Sit up and forward in your chair at the interview, 55% of your impact comes from what your body is doing whilst you are talking.

5. More people will trust you when they can see your hands. Always keep your hands on the table during the interview and out of your pockets when standing up.

6. Introducing yourself is a presentation! Think about your introduction and be genuine. If you are going to say "Hello, my name is Heidi, I'm pleased to meet you", really sound happy to meet them and sincere.

7. Never underestimate the power of a well worded thank you note, this will make you stand out from the other candidates.

These are just a few of the take-aways that I got. As you can see Frances' ideas can be related to any part of your life.

What makes a Good Boss - Great?

2009-05-26T10:10:00.002Z

I love this clip from the charity Working Families as they took to the streets of London to find out what makes a good boss and more importantly what makes a good boss great.

I think the guy in the final clip has the best answer, when asked what makes a good boss great, he said "his staff".

I will always hold one of my bosses, Keith Thomas in absolute reverence as he inspired me more than any other individual ever has.

Never trust a fire drill in Singapore

2009-05-06T08:10:00.003Z

I was sent this by a customer, I'm not sure if it's true or not but as I have worked in the Far East this kind of behaviour would not surprise me.

THIS IS TRUE AND TOOK PLACE IN SINGAPORE

A fire alarm, in a large office building, rang at 4 p.m. when almost all of the company's 500 employees were at work.

As usual in such circumstances the entire office was evacuated within 3 mins & every employee gathered outside.

Nothing happened for ten minutes or so and there was no evidence of a fire.

Then the firms Security Officer made an announcement ...

"Dear employees, with melting heart I am making this announcement that for many of you will be your last fire evacuation drill. Due to the recession the company are laying off almost fifty percent of staff. When you move back into the building some of you will discover that your swipe passcard will no longer give you access to the office. If you are among those laid off, go home and all your belongings will be couriered to you tomorrow. The management took this approach to save on overloading the email system with layoff notifications and goodbye messages and also to avoid any violent outbursts inside the office. Hope you have a nice career ahead ... please move forward and try your swipe card."

Updated Shift Happens.

2009-05-05T08:47:00.005Z

A few years ago I posted a youtube clip called "Shift Happens", I came across this updated version which is just as captivating.

Is this the Best Job Ever?

2009-04-29T08:44:00.003Z

Tweet, Drink and get paid $10k per month.

A Winery in California is offering you the chance of living rent free, learning about wines and then sharing your experiences with your Twitter network for a fantastic salary of $10k per month.

Would you give up your career in our industry to take on this ideal job or do you think it's marketing gone mad.

Read the full article here.