Categories: News

Are you wearing a pair of thongs, a grubby pair of shorts and a torn t-shirt??? A seemingly strange question to ask in relation to employment…. yet that is what many people do when applying for jobs. When planning to meet someone important, most people will dress up for the occasion to make a good impression. Just like an important meeting, your resume is the first contact that a potential employer has with you, and you only get one chance to make a positive first impression. I am continually amazed at how many people don’t realise what is at stake when they present a poor quality resume and accompanying cover letter. It is like turning up to meet that VIP we talked about earlier in a pair of thongs, a grubby pair of shorts and a torn t-shirt. And who in their right mind is going to do that? A potential employer is a Very Important Person...

Reports from the Bureau of Statistics last week showed that the number of available job vacancies had increased by around 31,000 last month. Great news you might say, but the reality is that next week we’ll probably find there’s another report out saying the exact opposite. So who and what are we supposed to believe? Uncertainties in local and global markets mean that some employers are reluctant to commit to employing permanent staff. I know of one particular guy who has been trying to find regular work for quite some time. He has good skills, and is outgoing, reliable and hard-working, but he just can’t manage to find work that is regular and ongoing. On Saturday afternoon I was told that his latest job was looking really promising for a permanent appointment, but then by later that night I’d heard that on Friday afternoon he was told...

  Welcome to Employment Helpdesk's new blog.... Each week I’ll be commenting on a range of employment and lifestyle issues, from resumes to job interview preparation, jobsearch strategies, career options, dealing with redundancy and even for those of you approaching the end of your formal working life, preparing for retirement. I’ll also look at some of the simple things you can do to put yourself in the best position to take best advantage of the opportunities that are out there if you know where to look for them. The topic I want to write on this week is "The Biggest Mistake Jobseekers Make". I’ve written more than 2000 job applications over the years, and I've learnt a thing or two along the way, about what works when you’re trying to get a job. With changing and uncertain economic conditions, and recent job losses across a...