How to make yourself available for temporary work

How to make yourself available for temporary work by Michael Cheary Need work now?If you’re looking for something that starts straight away, temporary work could be the ideal solution. And with over 20,000 recruiters looking for temporary staff on reed.co.uk right now, there’s really never been a better time to get going.Never tried temping and want to learn more? Here’s what you need to know:What is temporary work?Temporary work can include anything from one day’s work, through to a year’s contract covering a leave period, for example.However, although temporary assignments can differ in duration, they often have one thing in common employers are usually looking for you to start right away.So, how can you let recruiters know that you’re available immediately?  We’re glad you asked, as we’ve introduced a brand new way to let recruiters know you’re available.How can I let recruiters know I’m available for temporary work?There are three simple ways you can indicate your availability: 1)  Update your prof ileWhen you sign in to your reed.co.uk profile, you’ll be asked to indicate your availability. You can either choose to make yourself available straight away or choose to do so at a later date.2)  Update your availability settings You can also edit your availability at any time throughout that seven day window via the availability settings section. You can update your settings whenever you like: the more you do, the better your chances of being hired.3)  Visit this page Alternatively, follow this link if you’re ready to make yourself available right now.How can I let recruiters know what hours I want to work?Saying you’re available doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be available for every hour offered.We give you a wide range of options to tell recruiters exactly when you’re available, from mornings, afternoons, evenings and nights through to weekends or shift work only.What’s more, you can easily change your availability at any time. So if you’ve found something tha t works for you, you simply need to update your status.How will my CV stand out to recruiters?Your profile will appear with an ‘Availability Confirmed’ badge next to it when recruiters search our CV database, allowing you to instantly stand out as being ready to work.Recruiters can also see when you last set yourself as available, just in case you forgot to update your settings but you don’t want to miss out on a role.What are the benefits of temping?Aside from allowing you to find a job fast, temping has a number of benefits you may not previously have considered. Whether it’s the flexibility to fit your work around your schedule and suit your lifestyle, the experience and contacts you gain from a position within the right industry, or just the freedom to do something out of your comfort zone on a short-term basis, temping can be an extremely valuable asset for your career.And of course, there’s always the chance that your temporary position will lead to something more pe rmanent, making it the perfect first step to bigger and better things.So what are you waiting for? If you’re ready to work right now, set yourself as available today.Looking for temporary work? View all available temporary jobs now.Short-term gains: the truth about tempingFive tips for going from temp to permHow temporary work can lead to something permanentFind a job What Where Search JobsSign up for more Career AdviceSign up for moreCareer Advice Please enter a valid email addressmessage hereBy clicking Submit you agree to the terms and conditions applicable to our service and acknowledge that your personal data will be used in accordance with our privacy policy and you will receive emails and communications about jobs and career related topics. Career Development Temporary jobs

LinkedIn Tells You the Skills You Need and Offers Free Learning

LinkedIn Tells You the Skills You Need and Offers Free Learning According to our data, job applications spike on LinkedIn in October. So chances are you or someone you know is thinking about landing a new gig. That’s why today, we’re revealing the Top Skills of 2016 â€" our annual list of the skills employers need most in candidates. We break it down globally and in 14 countries (click through the SlideShare to view the Top Skills of 2016 across all countries): The Global Top Skills of 2016 list reveals several trends about the global job market: Demand for marketers is slowing: While marketing skills like marketing campaign management, SEO/SEM, and channel marketing were in high demand in 2015, things have changed. This year, SEO/SEM dropped five spots from #4 to #9 and marketing campaign management dropped completely off the list. Demand for marketing skills is slowing because the supply of people with marketing skills has caught up with employers’ demand for people with marketing skills. Data and cloud reign supreme: I smell a dynasty in the making! Cloud and distributed computing has remained in the #1 spot for the past two years and is the Top Skill on almost every list â€" including France, Germany, India, Ireland, Singapore, the U.S., and Spain. Following closely on its heels is statistical analysis and data mining, which came in #2 last year, and #1 in 2014. These skills are in such high demand because they’re at the cutting edge of technology. Employers need employees with cloud and distributed computing, statistical analysis and data mining skills to stay competitive. Show me, don’t tell me: For the first time ever, data presentation, which is visualizing data, makes the list with the #8 spot. With statistical analysis and data mining holding strong again this year at #2, employers need employees who can organize data so it’s easy for people to understand. User interface design is the new black: User interface design (#5), which is designing the part of products that people interact with, is increasingly in-demand among employers. It ranked #14 in 2014, #10 last year, and #5 this year (second largest jump on this year’s Global Top Skills of 2016 list). Data has become central to many products, which has created a need for people with user interface design skills who can make those products easy for customers to use. If you have any of these skills, make sure you let employers know. A simple way to do this is by adding the skills to your LinkedIn profile. In addition to showcasing your professional brand, you’ll also show up higher in recruiters’ search results. If you don’t have these skills, now is the perfect time to learn. Join us next week for the Week of Learning. It’s dedicated to helping you get a better job â€" whether you’re looking for a promotion, or searching for a new gig. LinkedIn Learning’s 5,000+ courses will be free, including the courses that can teach you the Top Skills of 2016. There are more than  6 million open jobs posted on LinkedIn. So once you’ve learned the Top Skills of 2016, be sure to check out  LinkedIn Jobs. Top Skills Methodology There are thousands of skills that members can add to their profiles, so we grouped these skills into several dozen categories. For example, skills like “Android” and “iOS” would fit into the “Mobile Development” category. Then we looked at all of the hiring and recruiting activity that happened on LinkedIn between Jan. 1 and Sept. 1, equaling billions of data points, and identified the skill categories that belonged to members who were more likely to start new jobs and receive interest from recruiters. Skill categories that did not meet a specific threshold for membership were excluded from our analysis. The up and down arrows reflect changes in the skill rankings compared to last year’s list.

Atlanta, Georgia The Hidden Cultural Gem of America

Atlanta, Georgia The Hidden Cultural Gem of America ?When dreaming of the perfect vacation, most people tend to think about warm sunshine basking over wave kissed beaches. While a secluded island bungalow sounds like an amazing spot, a second and less thought about vacation is heading to the city. People tend to think of it more as visiting somewhere they have never been, which is true, but they have chosen to swap sandy beaches for skyscrapers and paved streets. If youve ever been to London, New York, or Los Angeles, then you know just how exciting and wonderful this type of vacation can be. From the city lights to what seems like an endless amount of sights and attractions, vacationing in a metropolis can rival the beach in a number of ways. If youve been planning to go somewhere new, consider booking an Atlantic luxury condo in one of Americas hidden gems: Atlanta, Georgia. A Thriving Locale Atlanta is often considered the capital of the New South with its booming prosperity from companies like Coca Cola and the renowned Holiday Inn. In the past decade this city has become a hub for world class restaurants, cultural attractions, and a nightlife to rival the rest of the U.S.s major cities. Head over to the internationally renowned Georgia Aquarium where you can watch one of the largest fish in the world, whale sharks. This enormous aquarium holds over 100,000 different types of sea creatures, and is fun for both adults and children alike. The city holds a rich tapestry of art, culture, and history that you wont find anywhere else in the world. The Food is Amazing Grab a bite of culture at The Flying Biscuit Cafe where they serve Atlantas favorite, breakfast with a soft buttery biscuit. You could opt for more artisan and organic food at Krog Street Market, which features specialty stalls that serve a wide variety of amazing food alongside a brewery. For a more high-end experience, try the outstanding tapas served at The Iberian Pig in Decatur. The theme of their kitchen is modern Spanish cuisine from cuts of meats to delicacy cheeses. Plus, they can make a mean cocktail. A Piece of History Despite its incredible makeover, Atlanta has held onto its rich history. Visitors can stop by the Altanta History Center to learn all there is to know about the foundations of the area and head over to the Martin Luther King Jr. Historical Site to see the moving tribute to the American icon. The area is home to the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum that honors the 39th president, the historical home of famous author Margaret Mitchell, and the Centennial Olympic Park which held the 1996 Olympics. There are more museums here chronicling the history of both the United States and this historically rich area than nearly any other city has to offer. Coca-Cola It could be argued that there isnt anything quite as American as a bottle of Coca-Cola. Those looking to know more behind the history of the mega-famous soft drink can head over to the interactive World of Coca-Cola museum. Here, you can learn all about the beverage and the culture that surrounds it. More importantly, you can step into the Taste It room to try over 100 versions of Coke from around the world! A Magical Garden One of the truly unique features found here in Atlanta is the Botanical Garden. Open all year round, even in winter, this garden is lit up at night for anyone to come visit. With masterfully crafted hedge and gardening creations, it sure draws a crowd! Come in spring to see hundreds of blooming flowers, the fall for a spook-tacular themed adventure, or winter for a wonderland of lights and snow. Summer is the most popular choice, where the warm weather and break from the hustle and bustle of the city provide the perfect oasis of relaxation and rejuvenation. About the Author Zachary Whatule is an influencer marketing pro with brownboxbranding.com who is passionate about building authentic relationships and helping businesses connect with their ideal online audience. He keeps his finger on the pulse of the ever-evolving digital marketing world by writing on the latest marketing advancements and focuses on developing customized blogger outreach plans based on industry and competition.

How to Stop Employers Digging Your Digital Dirt

How to Stop Employers Digging Your Digital Dirt As we all know, the Internet has made information instantly accessible. You can find a customer, business partner, investor or employer quicker than ever before. The flipside is that they are only a few clicks away from finding your entire social life online, for better or worse. A recent survey conducted by the good folks at CareerBuilder UK has revealed that more than half (53%) of employers use social networking sites to research job candidates. Another 12% plan to start using social networking sites for screening. Their preferred methods for looking up candidates are search engines, Facebook, Linkedin, blogs and Twitter. OK, perhaps not much of a shock there. This is more interesting: 43% of employers reported they have found content on social networking sites that caused them not to hire the candidate. The top reasons were that candidates lied about qualifications, showed poor communication skills, made discriminatory comments and posted content about them drinking and using drugs. So there you have it; in addition to working on your actual application you now have to sweep the Internet for digital dust bunnies as well. If employers are doing it, we can assume that current and potential customers will be at it as well. You can see why they do this as a quick and easy way to find out who you really are. After all, they will only want to be associated with people that have ‘clean’ online lives as anything else might damage their business. Here are 10 steps you can take today to check up and clean up your digital dirt: 1. Check your stats What does a simple Google search reveal about you? And more importantly, are you happy with a prospective customer seeing the result? There are a few ways of checking your online personal brand, or reputation if you will. Google is the obvious one, at the very minimum you should check Bing and Yahoo as well. Use variations of your name, search pictures, videos, news as well to really turn every stone. You can also use Personas which is an application that MIT developed, it scours the Internet to get the gist of your online reputation. 2. General clean up Doing a spring cleaning up before any tender process may seem obvious but can actually require quite a bit of effort. Delete any embarrassing photos, comments, links from your online profiles and blog. You can even disable your wall/comments so that no new information can be added by others during your critical job search period. Sever all ties (remove/unfollow/block) to questionable or unreliable people as well as groups and associations that are not congruent with your professional reputation. All the security settings in the world won’t help you if one person decides to share your content with the rest of the world. 3. Facebook The bad news is that Facebook is one of the first ports of call when someone is checking you out. The good news is that you simply change your security settings and they will only be able to see your mug shot or nothing at all. First off you can specify who can find you in a Search, then change who can see what on the Privacy settings page. This should make things secure and you can carry on tagging yourself in pictures and videos with little risk of being seen by an employer. 4. Twitter The bad news is that everyone can follow and see what you do on Twitter. The good news is that you can set up more accounts, there is nothing stopping you from adding as many as you like. So if you do under your own name, make sure your content is clean. If you still want to retweet those risqué links, you had better make use of a nom de plume account. 5. Linkedin I will assume that your Linkedin profile is business friendly as it is a professional network after all. What you could consider is the Groups and Associations you are a member of, whether you want them to be visible on your profile or not. Furthermore, your personal interest field is the only one where you can actually show off some personality so make sure it’s consistent with your personal brand and other communications. 6. Cyber Twins An evil twin on the Internet is not what you need in any situation. What if there is someone out there with your name that is preaching hatred on their blog? If that person is the first to come up when searching Google for your name, you had better be prepared to explain what the score is. So make sure you know this before you get the question, however unlikely it may seem. 7. Blogging activities What have you posted on your own blog and other blogs out there? Think back to when you first started blogging, perhaps you tried out a few topics that aren’t perhaps conducive to your new job? Or maybe you left a comment or two in haste that you really shouldn’t have. Use Google Blog Search to find your blogging footprint, it scours the entire blogosphere on a daily basis. 8. Create positive content The best way to let the good outweigh the bad is to create lots of new content that will eclipse whatever dirt is still left out there. The Internet handles so much new information every day that the old stuff tends to be pushed down the search results and slowly forgotten. This will take a great deal of time and effort but will be worth it. 9. Send in the marines If all else fails and you still have your own digital landfill out there, you might want to call up the professionals. There are a few online services that will seek out your dirt and can annihilate it on the spot. Sites like Reputation Defender and DefendMyName all offer to stay on top of your online reputation for a fee. They will typically identify non-flattering information about you, alert you about it and you can then decide whether to keep or destroy. I believe this option is useful when running for a public office or when you have a few too many skeletons in the closet, however most people will not have this need. 10. Keep it going Google Alerts is a very handy tool for real time alerts about anything, in this case yourself. Punch in your name in inverted commas, set it to send you updates as soon as you are mentioned online. This way you will be able to monitor yours whenever your name is mentioned anywhere on an ongoing basis. What’s your best tip to keep a clean online brand? Please share your experience! Image: Shutterstock

Arcadia Q A Part 2 - Debut

Arcadia Q A Part 2 - Debut A lot of people have completely different video personalities to their physical presence. What advice can you give for students about the video screening? Where have candidates not done too well before at the video stage and why?   Were excited to be using the latest video technology as part of our process and feel its a great way for you to show us your skills and attributes, and most importantly your personality. We’ve carefully selected questions that give you the best opportunity to demonstrate your understanding and suitability to the role, so treat this like a first stage face-to-face interview. It’s important to be aware of your surroundings and to think about appropriate clothing….would you turn up to an interview in your PJs? LOL! Check out our Facebook page where youll find everything you need to know about our roles and theres even more information on our website. Relax, speak clearly and show us your personality! How large and who is in the audience for the assessment centre presentation? It depends on the role, but as a general rule, two people max! We believe this helps you to be more relaxed in what can sometimes be a daunting exercise, we want you to shine and show us the real you! What questions should a student ask their interviewer? We love candidates who are clued up about what we do and having some great questions prepared is the perfect way to show us. Think about what’s going on in the industry, try to be original and most importantly, ask the questions that are important to you. If Arcadia were an animal, what would it be? Definitely a lion! Just like the national animal of England, we have the courage to take risks and lead the way for others to follow. We pride ourselves on being fashion forward! Why should a candidate pick Arcadia over an investment bank or professional services firm? We don’t ask you to leave your style and flair for fashion outside the door in the morning! At Arcadia, we want you to work 9 â€" 5 in a creative environment where you’re surrounded by savvy people who share a passion for our brilliant brands. In return, we’ll help you to work on your wardrobe! You’ll receive your very own discount card and enjoy regular Sample Sales.

Your Marketing Plan - How To Create and Use It

Your Marketing Plan - How To Create and Use It Every job seeker needs a personal marketing plan to launch and guide their search! Heres how to create your and use it to accelerate your job search. Like any new product getting ready to hit the market, theres a plan. The plan spells out the benefits of the product, features, who the ideal customer is and geographically, where it will be marketed. So, as a new job seeker, you are a product (or a service). So whats your plan for launching awareness of your expertise and benefits into the marketplace? How you package and disseminate your information is one of the few things you CAN control in your job search. Many job seekers feel like they dont have any control or power during job search, but this plan puts YOU in the drivers seat! You control your messaging, who it goes to and how they get it! Your Plan might include: Unlike a resume, there are no expectations or rules around what should go into your plan. Your marketing plan has 2 purposes: A document for you to use to keep you focused and on track. A resource to share during networking meetings/coffee chats to provide an overview of what you are looking for. Sections of your marketing plan could include: Functions in which you excel Statement of your benefits (summary of qualifications, value proposition or elevator speech) Market preferences (industries, geographic locations, size of company) List of companies you are interested in (target companies) How to Use Your Plan Creating a personal marketing plan is going to help you focus your job search.   It should help eliminate the spray and pray approach to selling.   You have targets! A pro-active job search allows you to target companies BEFORE there is a formal job posting. When you speak with insiders before a job is posted, youll more likely to be top-of-mind when an opening does occur. It is up to you to explain to your specific audience how to use your plan and the information which it contains.   You may decide to send it to people, you may decide to share certain parts of it.   The HOW is dependent on whom you are speaking. Here are some different scenarios: Past co-worker: Ask them for additional job titles they have seen that are similar to what you do What else are they calling what we do out there? Neighbor/family/friend: Ask them to provide you with names of people they know in your target companies Do you know anyone I could speak to at any of these companies?   I am looking for information on what it is like to work there? Someone inside a target company: Ask to have them review your summary of qualifications/elevator speech.   Do you think this background might be of value within your company? and/or Does this sound like something your company might be interested in? Hiring Manager or above: Ask them where they think your background may be of value Where do you think this background might  fit within your company?   Do you know any other companies that might have a need for this type of experience? Your personal marketing plan has to be well crafted and thought out. It has spell out what makes you unique and specifically what skills you bring to the table and what problems you solve for potential employers. Heres one sample: Sample Marketing Plan Account Management You can see more personal marketing plans samples here.

Dont give up on your dream career taking one small step at a time - Hallie Crawford

Don’t give up on your dream career â€" taking one small step at a time I had a great time speaking at Agnes Scott last week. Over 50 alumnae from Agnes Scott attended the event, and the level of energy, participation and learning was great! Participants left with very specific advice on how to create their business cards and how to develop a networking strategy. One woman who attended the event wants to start a company creating her own greeting cards, but has no money to get started. She came to the presentation very frustrated and ready to give up on her dream career. She had no ideas or thoughts of how to get started. In the presentation we talked about specific networking strategies she could take. We also talked about how she could start working in a specific industry to get her foot in door, or at least to learn how to get started in that industry. When the woman from Agnes Scott left the event, you could tell she was more hopeful and glad to have specific action steps to get her moving. Dream big! Don’t forget though, sometimes it takes small steps to reach your dreams. Here’s your action step this week: Just take action! Make a list of action steps you will commit to in the next 3 weeks to begin your path to your dream career. They can be small steps, and one small step per week is ok. You don’t have to move mountains all at once. If you begin to take steps towards developing greater career fulfillment, the effect will snowball. You will feel better knowing you are doing something about it. If you are unsure about what career path is right for you contact us for a complimentary consultation to learn more about our career coaching services. Here’s to having a career you love! Career Transition Advice