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Friday, November 25th, 2011
New Year – New career. With the year 2012 on the horizon, many individuals face the reality of a new year with a new career. With unemployment on the up, and many more redundancies forecast, now is the time to prepare for such an eventuality by assessing what the market place has to offer in the way of the best providers of Outplacement Services. This is where you must analyse what these companies can offer but more importantly what you need to succeed in your job search. To start the process, there are 6 key areas to be addressed before you select a suitable provider.
Accreditation: Make sure that the Outplacement Company has a Code of Practice and, like The Career Management Organisation Ltd, (TCMO) is a member of a recognised professional body such as the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Transparency: All reputable Outplacement Companies will offer a free, no obligation consultation prior to any commitment on your behalf. Take the opportunity to find out if they can meet your specific needs and if necessary ask for a follow up, free meeting to be re-assured.
People : Outplacement and Career Management is all about people. You must have the trust and belief in an individual or a team to deliver on your behalf. So before you commit, ask to meet the consultant or associate you will work with during the process. TCMO will not only invite you to meet their team, an invitation to see the operation is also included.
Technology : Compare the on-line offerings before you go-ahead. Are they relevant to you, accessible 24/7, or are there restrictions. Also, make sure that technology does not replace the human element. If it does, think carefully.
Services: What precisely does the Outplacement Company offer you? Having taken advantage of the free consultation, does there proposal (in writing) match your expectations. There proposal should represent “an investment in your career”. It should be tailored to you as an individual and not an “off the shelf” programme applicable to all and sundry.
Cost: How much do you want to invest in your career ? If your company is paying for the service, you may have little choice, but if you are funding the process, make sure that you get value for money. Also, insist on a cooling off period similar to that offered by TCMO. In addition, do they offer payment terms to suit your budget and your current financial circumstances? This will give you peace of mind should the initial investment be substantial.
Always take the opportunity to compare like for like, however, I would suggest that people are the key to best practice. When you leave your free consultation ask yourself this question : Did you feel that the consultant(s) had a “passion” for what they offered
Tuesday, November 15th, 2011
Redundancy is never a pleasant process to go through at any time in your career. Whether it’s voluntary or compulsory, it’s a very unsettling and stressful period. We hear the negative news that goes along with redundancy every day so when you couple this with the constant reports on rising unemployment figures, it is important you know your rights and start to plan for your next career move.
My first piece of advice to give to any individual facing redundancy is to seek career advice on every level. I would suggest this starts with your line manager as you need to know the full process. How much notice have they given you, what will be your hours or work for your remaining time with your employer, do you qualify for any redundancy packages, what about any pensions or benefits and will they provide you with any support in finding your next position? Don’t ever be embarrassed or uncomfortable about asking these questions, you need to be clear on your timescales and income as this will have an impact on every other aspect of your life.
Next step is to seek advice on your financial affairs and this could be with a financial adviser or your partner, family or friend. Take the time to sit down with a blank piece of paper and write down all of your monthly expenses. This should include everything from your mortgage to the cost of a pint down your local pub. Be completely honest and don’t leave a anything out as you need to know the minimum income you will need per month.
In my opinion, the most important advice to seek when facing redundancy is career advice. This will come from everyone in your life but I urge you to shop around and seek professional career advice. The Career Management Organisation is a Scottish based company operating across the UK, who specialise in helping individuals through redundancy and successfully guide them through a journey to success. They take the time to get to know, your current situation and what you’re looking for in your next career move.
They give you all of the advice and support you need throughout your job search and even take care of the hard work we all dread like drafting your new CV and Cover Letter. They understand the pressures both emotionally and financially throughout this period in your life so assign a dedicated team to work with you to secure the short term job to keep income coming in whilst you work with them to achieve the long term career goals. To arrange a free consultation to find out how they can help you.
Redundancy need not be the most difficult period in your life, with the relevant career advice and support you can use this as the opportunity to achieve the future you have always wanted.
Monday, November 7th, 2011
If you are looking for good quality advice on career coaching for teenagers read on…. you could be a teenagers yourself looking to get a step ahead of your parents, friends or teachers! Or you may be a forward thinking parent seeking real life advice….
This quick read should enable you to talk about what it is, why do it, where to find it and how to make it a success.
Why seek out Career Coaching?
Whether it’s for you or someone else you have to buy into it before you start.
It will give the ‘base camp’ for flexible ideas for what you can do, when you do it and how you get there, it doesn’t matter if you are 13 or 18 .. a good plan still works.
Career Coaching can be found in schools or colleges and through friends and colleagues, the best advice will always come from an independent source and don’t be shy, seek out professional help, it may cost but you can always discuss your needs with a potential service provider before you commit, remember a small investment now will repay itself many times over throughout your career.
So, what is it?
Career Coaching should be a set of theoretical advice and practical activities that give the user the knowledge and motivation to plan their short and medium term career future
It should be guided using attitude, personality and interests, not just on academic or technical ability. Be realistic and don’t throw in too many social, economic or geographical boundaries… they are enough hurdles out there already.
How can you measure success in career coaching for teenagers?
In many ways short term, you will see their level of motivation rise in the direction of study or hobby this will then give them a more informed view of a direction. Their appetite for working part time or voluntarily will increase as will their communication skills with advisors.
Longer term you will see longevity in roles and quicker promotion in responsibility as well or job title.
To conclude:-
Professional career coaching will have a long term impact on a teenager’s ability to plan ahead and get a great career. In needn’t be along programme of training, short, punchy and fun works and as we mentioned earlier a small investment will get a return.
Talk to us at TCMO and as ever ‘google’ it, we’d like to think our guidance is honest and real life
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011
Outplacement support is usually provided as a result of an employee leaving their job through redundancy, compromise agreement or some other agreed parting of the ways. This support is extremely valuable at a time when the employee is somewhat vulnerable, especially when redundancy is the reason for moving on. This support can make the transition to a new job a lot easier and stress free.
But how do you know that you are getting the best deal?
Firstly, talk to your company (HR Dept or Line Manager). If they are providing the support via an external Outplacement Company, they will be able to give you details of the level of support being offered. They will also pay the cost direct to the Outplacement Company. However, don’t immediately accept this support without checking out what other Outplacement Companies are offering in the way of support. It may be that another provider is more suitable to your needs. If so, ask your employer to consider the alternative provider. Ask around and see if any of your friends or colleagues can recommend a provider. Once you identify two or three, visit and discuss your needs with what they can provide. Make sure that the Outplacement Company follows a recognised Code of Conduct such as that of the CIPD. Make sure that the consultant(s) are fully trained and competent. Outplacement support is all about people, not the pleasant offices, technology or glossy brochures. A reputable outplacement company such as The Career Management Organisation Ltd (TCMO), will offer at least two, free no obligation meetings to assess your needs and prepare a personalised proposal. TCMO will also invite you to meet their team before you commit. You must have trust and belief in what they can do for you at this stage in your career transition. Take time to make a considered decision. Compare your precise needs to what is proposed and make sure that the costs, location, time constraints and content meet your requirements. This represents an investment in your career and support from a professional team of career managers can prove invaluable at this point of career transition.
It may be that you will fund the Outplacement Support yourself if your company is unwilling to do so. If so, ask them to process the payment for you in order that you may recover the vat element of the cost either through your final salary or other means.
The best deal in Outplacement Support equates to what you require at this time of Career Transition. Compare two or thee companies before deciding and if your preference is not the one put forward by your company, ask them to consider the alternative. It is essential that you capitalise on this opportunity if support is offered by your employer. It may lead to a new challenge, a change of career direction, setting up your own business but also an opportunity to look at your work / life balance.
Industry statistics suggest that effective Outplacement support, such as that provided by TCMO, is proven to reduce the time it takes to settle into a new position by 60%. That must rank as the best deal in Outplacement support! Call 0800 009 3141 to find out.
Monday, September 5th, 2011
Quite simply, Outplacement Support provides employees with a structured transition from one position to another. Redundancy in particular can be very stressful, therefore practical and emotional support is a pre-requisite of effective outplacement support similar to that provided by The Career Management Organisation Ltd (TCMO). Re-structuring, down sizing, change, and cost cutting inevitably results in people losing their jobs. Considerate, caring employers will offer those affected some form of outplacement support.
There is growing belief amongst employees that outplacement support should be a compulsory part of any redundancy situation, even if limited to a basic service of CV preparation, interview training and job search guidance. With spending cuts growing pace in the public sector, employees need reassurance that this type of support will be available. However, employers advocate that this could add to the costs of redundancy so where do you go from here /
There are two options. Where the employer offers outplacement support, the employee must take advantage of the service, even at a time when emotions are running high about losing the job. Where the service is not provided, the employee must take ownership of their own career and search for the appropriate support.
Outplacement and Career Management Companies such as TCMO offer free advice during an initial consultation. They adopt a flexible approach tailored to the needs of the individual. The initial free assessment usually takes about an hour at the end of which the employee will have a clear focus on the route ahead. A second consultation, again free of charge, would go into more precise detail after which TCMO would produce a proposal for professional support to meet the specific needs of the individual.
This support can be delivered on a 1:1 confidential basis or in a group situation. Depending on the service, it will cover all aspects of your situation from assessing your next move, preparation of your cv, covering letters, searching and applying for new positions and on going support face to face, telephone and e-mail.
Supporting individuals achieve their potential and assisting organisations navigate through change go hand in hand, so when looking for an outplacement support service choose one that can bridge the gap. TCMO is an innovative career management and outplacement company working throughout the UK to support those who are facing redundancy, seeking promotion, changing career, seeking to increase earning potential. address work life balance or just simply seeking a new challenge. The key to successful outplacement support is down to the consultants who ultimately deliver that support. When assessing the qualities of each provider, concentrate on the people who will actually deliver the support. Do they have a “passion” for what they do? The team at TCMO have that passion! Call them now on 0800 009 3141
Thursday, August 11th, 2011
In the current economy great career advice is hard to find, the job market has never been so competitive. With employers making cut backs and redundancies worldwide, the recruiters and HR decision makers are giving us yet more hoops to jump through before even being invited to interview. Whether this is your first job since leaving school or graduating, or you’re seeking new employment for career progression or redundancy, the basic steps of effective job seeking are the same.
The days of receiving a telephone call out of the blue offering you your dream job are long gone, it’s now up to you to market yourself in the job market and let the leading employers in your industry know that you are available for work and you would be an asset to their company.
You will need a strong CV detailing the skills, qualities and work experience (both paid and voluntary) you have to offer an employer. Always remember that your CV forms the first impression, so do make sure you have listed all of your achievements and responsibilities. Note that you will always be asked to talk through your CV at the initial telephone or formal interview stage so you must comfortable and confident with the content and be able to provide examples or further information when prompted.
Find out which career advice websites are advertising the types of roles you are looking for and ensure you’ve uploaded your CV on to these sites. You should continue to log in to these websites on a daily basis and apply for jobs that you meet the requirements for. You might hesitate about putting your personal details out there which is normal, however this will allow prospective employers and recruitment consultants the opportunity of considering you for any jobs they are unable to advertise and contact you about any suitable roles they might have available to you.
Make time to put in the phone calls and arrange a meeting with recruitment agencies and build this in to your daily routine. The purpose of recruitment consultants is to give career advice, advertise vacancies on behalf of employers and find the best person for that job. With there being so many agencies covering every sector and both permanent and interim roles, it can be hard knowing where to start and how to deal with recruitment consultants. My advice would be to look at which recruiters have been advertising the roles you have seen online and pick up the phone to speak with them. You should be confident and assertive and start the call by asking to speak to the consultant that deals with the type of job you are looking for. The purpose of the call is to introduce yourself and ask for permission to send your CV to that consultant. Key things to mention in the initial call is what type of work you are looking for (i.e full or part time, temporary or permanent) and the type of role you are looking for i.e IT Business Analyst and in which location. Be enthusiastic and don’t go into too much detail at this point as most recruiters will want to read over your CV before deciding whether they can help you or not.
Once you have permission to email your CV to a specific consultant / mailbox, draft a short paragraph reiterating the type of work you are looking for and mention that you would be delighted to drop in to their office to register your details in person, if required. If you don’t hear back from the recruitment consultant straight away, don’t be put off or disheartened by this. Give them a day or two to review your CV and if you still haven’t heard from them, pick up the telephone and chase them up. It should be a polite, friendly call simply confirming receipt of your email asking for initial feedback.
The best career advice I could give any job seeker would be to keep note of all of your activity and follow up on everything you do as this is almost as important as the submission of the application itself. Whether it be creating a spreadsheet to keep track of the job websites you have registered with, submitting an application for a position or even making a telephone call to a recruiter, always keep track on what you have done and when you should follow this up. The more efficient a job seeker you are, the more results you can develop for yourself and control your own success.
Using this great career advice will give you a real head start in a competitive market
