Apps aid productivity

I use a few apps on my Android phone to help me organise and speed up what I need to do. Here are my three favourites.

Swype keyboard. Type Fast, Swype Faster buff.ly/11yU0h9. After a few days using this you won't want to go back to poking keys.
— @not9to5 (@not9to5) March 25, 2013

COL Reminder - buff.ly/10Bo1Ox Never forget anything ever again. With the donate version you get 4 levels of reminder priority.
— @not9to5 (@not9to5) March 25, 2013

Llama knows where you are and automatically alters your phone's profile etc according to your needs. Indispensible.buff.ly/10BpXqk
— @not9to5 (@not9to5) March 25, 2013

What apps do you use? Can you recommend some more?

March 4 - 8 2013

It's National Careers week.
That means lots of additional information on the internet.
If you are looking for guidance try starting here.

Good luck

New year and your big lists

We have just a couple of steps left in the preparation stages.

Take your lists and for every word on them look up some alternatives.

This Thesaurus site is a good place to start.

Look up 

Write down all the synonyms you can find for the words on your lists and in a different colour write down some antonyms as well.

This will be your last list and probably the biggest as you will hopefully find a couple of words for every one you wrote on the previous lists.

For example if you wrote Writing  you will get these synonyms:

autograph, calligraphy, chirography, cuneiform,  hand, handwriting, hieroglyphics, longhand,  manuscript, print, scrawl, scribble, script,shorthand Some of them link to further words you could add. The next step is the last one in the preparation plan.

Too much information?

People all over the world have started to take leaps into the unknown and work differently, work for themselves, work for their own goals.

Here a few of the blogs we've seen about taking the plunge.

• Sarah and Anna are embarking on what they term a series of 'work experiments'.
• One woman had to leave work to have a child but found a way to make money
• Laura believes there is work only you can do
• Being a nonconformist

It's a lot to take in.

There are more blogs on the web than you could ever read. Some are beautifully designed and written with care and passion. Others are chucked up and thrown together, full of spelling and grammatical errors. (We hope we are in the first category, we try to be). Everyone has some advice to dispense. It's up to you to read it, assess it in context, synthesise the information and take what you need and can use from it.

It may help you to distill the essence that really engages you by recording or writing down the advice you like, maybe on record cards, perhaps in a mind map, or a spreadsheet.

How do you evaluate the information you find on the web? Is it easier than taking ideas from books and newspapers?

Networking for job hunt success

Who do you know

Networking is often called the most successful technique used in job hunting, above the use of websites to find openings. Networking can mean many things though, from mentioning to a relative stranger that you are looking for a particular type of work through to becoming a well known expert in your field. If you've never use this skill in your job hunt now is the time to learn how, if you have tried it before you can brush up your knowledge a bit. If you are an excellent networker maybe you would like to leave some tips for us in the comments section below.


There is a lot of advice on the web about using social networking sites, and professional networks. If you are seeking work employers may well look for you on receipt of your application so it does well to be in control of what they will find.


One of the biggest and most popular professional networking sites is LinkedIn and, despite some recent bad press, a lot of advice sites still recommend using it to build your personal profile, assess your own expertise and to show off your knowledge and achievements. You might start your LinkedIn journey by uploading a CV. Then build your network by finding people you already know. Don't forget, other people are there to increase their networks too so don't be afraid to approach anyone. Don't discount anyone, for all you know they may have a brother in law looking for someone just like you! Here are more tips about using the site. 

Link up

The biggest social network site is Facebook, it has over 500million users. It is however, most commonly use for social things, and therefore can include photos and information about nights out that might not tally with your professional image. When you start a job search it makes good sense to go over your Facebook profile and make sure there is nothing incriminating, embarrassing or negative about you, including tags on other people's pictures and comments. Log out and search for yourself to see what comes up. There have been some high profile cases of staff being caught out making inappropriate comments about work and losing their jobs over it. In the USA some companies have demanded access to employees' Facebook accounts in order to check for unsuitable posts. I would venture that if you are asked for this you really need to consider whether the company is a good fit to your aspirations, and whether you can work under such scrutiny. On the positive side though, you can use it to show your extracurricular activities such as volunteering, creative projects and enthusiasm for your field. You could even express your excitement and positive response to job interviews (just be discreet about it - e.g. don't mention the company name, you never know who might be after the same job).


Google+, a fairly recent addition to the social network sphere, is also becoming a useful site to use in your job search. With this you create circles of friends and acquaintances, so you can keep work more separated from friends.


Twitter is also a good place to network. It is used by a lot of specialist recruiters, employment agencies and career advisers (including us - @not9to5). Companies from all areas also have presences on there so you should be able to learn a bit about their culture and news, they may even advertise jobs. Again you can use Twitter to express your creativity, ask questions, demonstrate your knowledge and skills and reach out to people you might not otherwise be able to connect with. Just be sure to know the line between demonstration and flat out self promotion. Remember the need for discretion and to build  a positive personal identity. Use hashtags to find information and to make your news findable.


Employers might not directly advertise on a social network site, but you may find connections to people who can point you towards suitable openings.It is also worth doing some web searches to find out if your field has a dedicated networking site. Another good idea is to produce a business card with your email and your Twitter, LinkedIn or other profile information so you can network in the real world as well.

Here is a free ebook that includes advice for shy people as well as some interesting statistics - for example they claim that 80% of successful job hunts result from networking. It reframes the concept of networking in a way that will help introverts to get out there and find their own networks, as well as to understand what they can offer to an existing network.


But if you're not ready to take the plunge into organised networks online, try using your email instead.

The Future

Technology moves on apace and the future could take any number of different shapes, make sure you keep your presence up to date, even if you are in full time work, it's worth it, you never know when you or your employer might decide it's time for a change.


As with so much on the web, the majority of advice is aimed at people looking for regular, commonplace jobs. For those looking for something out of the ordinary, you may have to be a bit more creative. A lot of it is also American so make sure you don't just blindly follow advice: consider its appropriateness to your own culture, whether that be the world of banking or a more bohemian, artistic realm.


N.B. As always, we offer this as advice and recommend you do your homework before you take any single piece of information as gospel and certainly before paying for any services. Don't forget, no link is an island, when you get to another site have a click about to see what else is there.

Are you considering quitting?

When thinking about leaving a job there are a few things to consider. Many of which probably run through your mind night and day. But there are a few things you may not have thought through, and some you don't know how to resolve.

Get your wings

First up, are you sure leaving is the right option? Think clearly about your job. Are there any ways to make your current job more enjoyable or to change your role in ways that benefit both you and your company? That's not always possible in a small company or a huge company with clearly defined departments so maybe it is time to weigh up the risks?


Perhaps you can use your current job to fund a future change in your life. Maybe you can find some time outside work to prepare yourself for a change. You can prepare a home office space ready for when you make the change. At the very least you can dream.


If you are feeling that leaving is the best option, make sure you have considered what quitting would really mean for you. Then when you've made the decision think about how to approach your boss.


If it's just the office and commute you want to quit, here are some tops home based jobs (from the USA).


Take a leaf out of the books of people who have already made the switch, even under difficult circumstances.




Finally, on a personal note, my biggest regret is that many years ago I thought my job was going nowhere and applied for some other jobs. I was offered a job in a company that wasn't really in my industry, but paying a bit more so I accepted. I told me boss and he was a bit upset that I was leaving, and told me had hoped I would stay and move through the company. I hated the new job and a few months later a former colleague moved from my old company and I subsequently learned my old boss had been hoping I would take on that role. My new boss was a bully and was later done for embezzlement. I ended up with smashed confidence and phobia of new jobs! I just wish I had talked to my boss before quitting, he might have been able to help me prepare for taking on that other role. So don't be shy, approach your boss or a sympathetic senior colleague before you start sending applications out.


And don't forget, no link is an island. If you  clicked one of our links, look around that site for more info and advice.

CVs and cover letters

There are literally hundreds of sites across the web offering advice on how to present your CV or cover letter.Here are some that we have found that offer some key insights.


Your cover letter should be the place you lay out your personal brand.

The basics that your CV (called a resume in the USA) should include are fairly straightforward. But there are essential items that are important to include, particularly anything the job advert or specification mentions, and there are key mistakes to avoid.

Modern CVs though, need to be creative and stand out from hundreds of others so how can you ensure the HR staff or manager chooses your CV for the INTERVIEW pile?

If you want to start afresh, think about how you can rewrite

Whether you include your online links in your resume or not, employers may look for you on various social websites so be sure your profiles won't embarrass you. If your brand has a great online presence perhaps recruiters will come to you.

Your CV has to stand out.

Does your CV and cover letter stand out? If they were separated in someone's file would they be able to find the different pages and easily identify them? It's not usually advisable to make your CV look outlandish, but consider something that will tie all the pages together. If you have a well defined online presence, is there a theme you can apply to your stationary that will help tie it all together? It could be as simply a a plain blue line along the bottom of every page, or having your Twitter handle at the top. Think of something personal to you, but you might a want to avoid rainbows and kittens unless you are planning to work in a field they relate to.

The world of work

If you saw our post What Is a Good Job you might already be aware that University is not the only route to a career. If you have made the decision not to go to Uni this site has lots of tips and advice.


What are your reasons for applying to the jobs you find? Is pay a primary attraction? See what other people say in this article.

Are you interested in the reasearch that is done into work and employment? There's lots of information at the Work Foundation.


Finally have you planned your pension?

After redundancy

Just a quick post with a few links specifically for people facing or recently made redundant.

• New Life Network offers links and advice.
• Redundancy Help had information and advice about how redundancy actually happens.
• Check how the UK compares to other nations for .

Have you found any other sites that help at this difficult stage?

Interview skills

There are lots of tips on how to conduct yourself in a job interview. Here are just some of the ones we found online.

• First up do your homework.
• Be properly prepared.
• Make sure you take all you need with you.
• Here recruiters offer some advice.
• What to say when asked 'tell me about yourself?'
• What questions will you ask? Prepare a list of things you need to know at interview and in any calls before or after.
• After the interview consider following up with your interviewer.

The key thing is to do what makes you feel confident about yourself and your ability and suitability for the position you are being interviewed for. If that means wearing your lucky socks or favourite lipstick then go ahead and make yourself more confident with whatever tricks you have. 




What tips would you share for job seekers going to an interview?


Finally - a joke about interviews.

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Please note we supply these links for information and hope that as you look at websites you will come to be able to assess which are good sites and which are more dubious. Don't forget there is a lot of free information out there so you should make sure you do plenty of research before you think about paying for anything.

Setting up on your own

Leaving the rat race by setting up on your own is a move that is increasingly appealing to people across Britain, as well as many countries around the world. Increasingly, happiness at work is being valued as much as the other benefits of a job.


When your work, or lack of it, doesn't align with your passions and values it can seem that the obvious way out is to find a way to make your own livelihood. Even if you have never worked before you probably have valuable transferable skills.


The first step to this career path is to find inspiration. Do you have a great idea for a business or an invention that you believe can change people's lives? 


Next you need a plan. This might include making samples, testing them out and costing production, or it may consider what admin, accounting and other paperwork you are going to need on a regular basis, and whether you need to outsource that work. Will you need insurance of any sort? Are there licences or certificates for the sort of work you plan to do? 

Then a business plan is vital. There are lots of sites on the web that give advice and templates for business plans, and most banks offer advice as well in the hope you will go to them for a start up loan.


There is also a lot of advice about the whole process of setting up a business, including advice from BusinessLink and HMRC set up by the government.


This American site can help put you in touch with a mentor in your field and The Guardian offers some advice about finding a mentor.


If you have items for sale one place to market them is a market. Find stalls available in markets around the country at Stallfinder. Also try a blog to market your business, the basics are laid out here but there are lots of advice sites for new bloggers. If you are selling online make sure your social media presence does you justice.


Have a look at the post Starting Your Own Business on this blog for more ideas, and this link for tips on success.


And finally, if you are working from home try this design for making a room divider to keep your office separate from the rest of your home.


Don't forget, there is a lot of free information out there, make sure you do your research before you consider paying someone to help you.

Mental health in the work place

People with mental health issues of all sorts still have to earn a crust. Their treatment at work can have a huge impact on their health and on their motivation and effectiveness in their jobs.


Here are a couple of articles on the different approaches work. The good and the bad.

• Company culture can have a great influence on how staff at all levels treat someone with a mental health issue, this company clearly got it very wrong.
• While this organisation seems to be what everyone would hope for; understanding, supportive and encouraging.

If you want advice for yourself, you employers, your colleagues or your employees this advice on everything from legal positions to practical tips, is a good starting place.

Find out how happy you and your staff are with this survey, then implement some of the ideas that deliver happiness at work.

Where to go when job hunting

The obvious places to look for a job are the big employment websites.

The Guardian Newspaper's Careers section serves a variety of functions for the job hunter, from a search facility and email news on jobs to articles and advice. A high proportion of its content is aimed at graduates and professionals but a lot of the advice is just as applicable to less conventional career paths.

Monster is one of the largest such sites in the world and as such is geared to the most common types of job hunt. It was one of the first such sites, set up in America, but its UK branch is just as extensive. As well as offering job searches and lists of employers, it has a Career Advice section and Career Snapshots giving insight into jobs that are out there. They also publish the Monster Employment Index which is an analysis of what trends in online recruiting have done each month. It also hosts BeKnown a networking app on Facebook.

Similar networks are offered by BranchOut, again on Facebook, and LinkedIn is probably one of the best known networking sites. It is advisable to exercise some caution when sending your CV to any website. Make sure you don't include any personal data, like address or NI number. Never pay for job introductions and try to verify that job offers are authentic via other websites. Be aware of the types of scam you might encounter.

(See also; our post on Online Resumes for more on networking and promoting yourself)

Men at Work

More esoteric jobs though, particularly artisanal or freelance positions will not be suitable for massive job search websites. People looking for such individual employees may well be overwhelmed by large numbers of applicants and so feel that they need to advertise their position to a much smaller audience. This means though that they are harder to find, especially for people looking to move into the sector. Often these adverts will be advertised with professional societies or in trade magazines so it is worth trying to find out what resources are offered in your chosen niche.

Local newspapers are also more likely to have local adverts for jobs in smaller organisations.

Online resumes

LifeHack is a website full of advice on everything from a tidy desk to exercise. In this article they offer tips on creating an online profile for employers to see. You have to scroll down past their advertising and as you will see, this is not the first article they have published on the subject.


This article from The Guardian offers advice how to keep Brand You tidy online so prospective employers see only what you want them to see.

Life Coaches

There are lots of life coaches offering careers guidance and tips on their websites, many offer a free Newsletter as well.
Here are some of the best I have found, in no particular order.

• Carol Ann Rice
• Suzy Greaves 
• Careershifters
• Job Seekers Advice

Find life and career tips to help you stretch your wings