Job search tips

1) Think of finding a job as if it were a full-time job, because it is. Especially if you are claiming unemployment benefit and registered on a government work programme, it is considered that your job seekers allowance is only paying you to look for a job, you are expected to look for jobs and apply all day and if when you go to sign on, you have not applied for enough jobs, you do not get your benefit, which may well make the difference between having food and heating ...or neither …or even a roof over your head.

You may be fortunate and be able to treat your job search as a kind of hobby, but if you do it will take longer, so when next you look for jobs, treat it just like turning up for work.

2.) Think of finding a job or work from home opportunities like a business and make a plan, set goals and record your progress. If you are registered with the job centre, then you will have to do this anyway, and will be given a job search record to fill in which will be inspected each time you sign on, but if this is not the case for you then you may still find a job search record useful.

http://www.careerchoiceguide.com/job-search-log.html

Excel also has an excellent job application log and the benefits of this version along with the Google one is that they are easily shareable.

3) Be your own boss. You may well have the job centre breathing down your neck forcing you to comply with their rules and programmes but try to feel in control of what you are doing. Keeping proper records helps you to see what you are achieving, even if it is at this stage only keeping a very professional job search record.

4.) Find out what you can do to keep up your motivation, check out job clubs that are often held at places like community centres and libraries and spend time with others in the same boat as yourself. Often at job clubs, people help each other to find jobs by passing on leads that they know may be suitable for other members. Maybe do your job search with a friend who is also looking for a job and so encourage each other …

Finding a job is a full-time job. Work through it with a plan and approach it like a job and sooner than you think you may have one.

Valerie Hartland

How to grow your business ~ Increase your site traffic

So, you have a new business, either you are selling your own product or you are an affiliate promoting and selling products as an affiliate. Either way, you need to sell the product, so how do you boost sales? One of the most obvious and first ways to get going is to have a website and build your site views (traffic), the more people see your site and product(s) the more chance you have of sales.

1.) Understand at least the basics of SEO ~ search engine optimisation. The basics of this are to get your site high up on the search engines, and this largely depends on the clever use of certain relevant key words. Statistics show that sites listed on the first page of results on a search engine (e.g. Google) get the most traffic, and so have more chance of making money.



2.) Join internet directories. Some people might wonder if these are even still used at all, especially now that social media such as Facebook is so much a big factor in marketing, but they are still useful. An example of this is that I write on age, employment and disability issues and so to attract business in these fields, I list my blog in directories for these subjects, where people looking for such articles may look. Internet directories can bring you a lot of business.


3.) Publish fresh content regularly: You do not have to write every day but if you let your readers on your blog expect new articles every e.g. Monday and Wednesday then do try to stick to it and then your readers will stick around. Also, provide tools and apps that will help your readers, such as in the case of my blog I provide job search engines and a link to the Facebook page where more jobs are posted. Regularly test your web links on your blog so that you can be sure they are working.



4.) Be sure to remember the nature of blogging, that it is more a community than a contest to get the most readers, bloggers grow their blogs by sharing links, also be sure to build relationships with your customers and give good customer service. Running an online business is not so very different to running a shop, treat your customers well and make them feel welcome, provide rewards for good and new customers. The Japanese say that The Customer is God and here in the UK we say The Customer is always right, this may not be strictly true, but do show that you listen to them.

Valerie Hedges

How to be happy ...or at least happier

Many of us get used to putting up with an awful lot that understandably makes us anything but happy, but human nature makes us all ideally wish to be happy, we are suited to it. To some degree we achieve at least a measure of happiness by accepting things as they are but when times are bad it’s understandable to want them to be better.

However, people who are always looking for happiness like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow rarely find it. Also, there are many times in life that we just must be prepared for the fact that we are not going to get what we want and believe will make us happy ~ such as that friendship that has ended in misunderstanding or a disagreement and no matter what you do or say or send, the onetime friend will not reply to you ..people have free will to make such a choice in situations like this and if that is what they have decided and their mind is made up, you will not change it . Another example of chasing hard to find happiness is situations such as the results of the recent USA Presidential elections and the European Union election in the UK in the Spring, that resulted in a vote for us in the UK to leave the EU. In both cases, these results have been for many deeply unpopular, but the point of democracy is that we have a vote and the majority vote wins, or certainly what appears in the count to be the majority vote. No matter how suspicious it may look, this is democracy and there are very rarely proven grounds for a recount or repeat of the process.

Here are some ways that we can be happier ~

1.) Mix with positive people,

This can be a hard one because we are not going to suddenly dump our friends and family when things are not going well for them and they are down and depressed, but if you are going to find it hard to hang out with positive people because many of your family and friends are going through tough times too , then try to encourage each other with positive things to do ~ as I write, I am listening to free music on my Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet, from my Amazon Prime subscription ….ok, it’s not exactly free, but if you have a Kindle Fire and are already subscribed to Amazon Prime the free albums, books and movies and TV shows are excellent and people like to talk about music, books, movies and so on rather than depressing subjects. So far this morning I have listened to Gene Pitney, Shirley Bassey and Aretha Franklin …



2.) Live for now!!!

This can be very hard when you are wondering how you are going to pay the mortgage or rent at the end of the month, but try to budget and plan things such as bills in such a way that you are as prepared and able to pay them when they are due as you can be and get all the help that you possibly can by applying for any benefits that you may be entitled to. You may not get them, disability benefits are now very difficult to qualify for, but you will not know if you might have been successful if you do not apply.

When times are bad, it’s natural to want them to be better but try not to look too far ahead and wish for things that right now you do not have, as the most likely result of doing this is to put your blood pressure up.

3.) Try to do things you enjoy ~

There is nothing more depressing than an out of work bore who does not talk about anything other than job hunting. Do things that help you to relax and make you happy and that you can talk about with friends and family. Read books, watch movies, listen to music, as much as finances will permit, keep up hobbies and try to keep active, many parks have free tennis courts or you can go for walks with friends and take a picnic to share.


4.) Be thankful for the good things that you do have in your life ~

Valerie Hedges

Career change stress

Often the fear of a career change prevents a person from doing it, but there can be situations where you have no choice, such as if you are claiming a state benefit and are dependent on it and to receive it you must apply for jobs …any job. You may feel a sense of loss, a kind of grief even at the memory of the familiar job you had before, and the future looks bleak and very uncertain.

It often happens that if you are thinking of starting your own business, the support and encouragement that you may have expected from family and close friends does not materialise, but try to understand that they are worried for you and whether you will be able to manage financially. They want you to have the security of a regular paid job  and it is up to you to make a success of your plans and prove to them that you can make it work .

 Sometimes it can be that a new job is not the end of it, there can even be the need for a relocation to take up a new job or sadly losing your home due to financial issues and or the loss of a job.

If you know that your job change could or will need you to relocate, check out the area online before even considering applying for the job and assess whether it will be a practical move for you. Even if you are staying in the same geographic area, changing careers means looking at finances and if you can afford the change or not and  whether it provides benefits that you may have come to count on such as health insurance. 

There are things to consider such as the availability of medical services and accessibility to e.g. a hospital that you may regularly have to attend and whether such services can be provided where you are moving to. Think about transport, do you drive ? and is there  safe, affordable and secure parking at the new home and job, or is there good public transport in the area ?

If you are relocating think carefully about your need to keep in contact with family and them with you, do you have carer responsibilities, children, grandchildren and or elderly parents that you need at least reasonably quick access to? Also, remember that as we age, while it can be done, it is not so easy to make new friends. Moving and starting a new job are two of life’s most stressful experiences, will you be able to cope in an area a long way from your friends?

Think about checking out faith groups and community organisations and or online friendship groups in the new area . Many online groups have meet ups . However, do remember that you are new in a new area and new relationships take time to build , especially in small communities , try not to look lonely and pushy . 

Maybe you will need training, e.g. IT skills, use of software for a new role, customer service or health and safety training, but do try to see this as a positive thing, because you may well be gaining new skills that not only will help you in this new job but in the future, too.

 Whether you are relocating or not, get all the advice you can for a career change, there is plenty online about writing effective CV’s / resumes, searching and applying for jobs, writing covering letters and interview skills.

Preparing as well as you can and doing all you can to lessen the stress that comes with a career change will help a great deal, because whether the change be due to redundancy, health, age or just a fancy for a change, it is stressful…. find and use all the help you can and it can be a very successful change.

  

Images courtesy of Pixabay
Valerie Hartland