Location, Location, Location (of Your Recruitment Business)

Location, Location, Location (of Your Recruitment Business) The business rates bill for offices in the city (of London) will rise by £1.4bn, or 33% over the next five years. The British chancellor Phillip Hammond has since announced some relief for those hardest hit by rate rises, but many recruitment businesses will not be able to claim any compensation at all. So, what are the options for recruitment business owners in London? Down-sizing There are many of us who on the face of it are stuck in a hole â€" we need to be centrally located because we interview however many candidates and need to be able to visit our clients at the drop of a hat. But, have you thought about the option of reducing your office space and moving your back-office further out where rent and rates are cheaper? Furthermore, you might even consider buying an office for the admin team, rather than renting and turning a negative into a positive. Clearly this isnt an option for most in central London, but it just might be further out. Virtual working Many recruitment businesses who dont need to interview a high volume of candidates face to face or can do this via Skype operate from a small office in London and work from home. Clearly, if you fall into this bracket, then serious consideration needs to be given to closing your office and just commuting in. Perhaps you retain the services of a virtual office and have some sort of hot desk set-up? According to two virtual office firms based in central London, many are doing this already. Some are going further and rather than moving into rental space are taking virtual office space to give them the flexibility to upsize and downsize quickly. They are also giving themselves time to see how the rental market rate reacts to the rate increases over time. Indeed, both virtual office firms are at full capacity and have no vacant offices to rent. Stay For those that cannot or don’t wish to pursue any of the above options and fall outside of the parameters to gain relief, there may be one further option â€" patience. I am not a property expert but logic dictates that if many businesses (remember these rate hikes affect everyone) have to move their operation outside of central London, then rent prices will have to drop. Perhaps not in the short-term as landlords try their hardest not to drop their rents. They will likely sweeten new deals by offering more flexibility around free rent periods and concessions around fit- outs etc. However, in time, it seems likely that rents will drop as businesses who can operate slightly further out will do so. Locations in central London that might have once been seen as fashionable are now a hive of activity. For instance, many businesses have moved their offices to Farringdon and the north east of Tottenham Court Road is somewhere being talked about as the new place to be and where rental prices are more competitive. So, if you think you lack options and are going to be stuck with exorbitant office costs going forwards, dont despair! Review your options carefully and hold a while before signing any deals on a new office or if you need to move now, negotiate hard. About the author: David Morel is the CEO/Founder of Tiger Recruitment, one of London’s leading secretarial/administrative recruitment agencies. David founded Tiger in 2001 and has written extensively in the press and wider media advising both employers and job seekers on best recruitment practice.

On the Job by Anita Bruzzese How to Consistently Come Up With Better Ideas

On the Job by Anita Bruzzese How to Consistently Come Up With Better Ideas No matter how talented a team may be, sooner or later they mayfall into a rut. Ideas seem stale. Solutions are the same old, same old. Its not as if everyone has given up, but rather that approaches seem less inspired. The challenge for leaders: finding a way to jump-start the team and then keep it from falling back into that rut. But how do youtake such action quickly and effectively without jeopardizing customer satisfaction or a competitive edge? Take Action Bernhard Schroeder, director at the Lavin Entrepreneurship Center at San Diego State University, often challenges his students to come up with better solutions to problems. Hes also worked with companies like Amazon and Nike and mentored various startup founders. Schroeder says to keep teams continuallythinking up fresh ideas, company leaders must send a strong and consistent message to team members that their continuous growth is a priority. As part of that effort, team members must learn to neutralize any weakness and make it a strength, Schroeder says. For example, Schroeder recalls a young man who had superstar potential but couldnt communicate well. I told him, I love you on the project management side, but your communications suck. I told him I was sending him to a six-week Dale Carnegie course and you know why? Because I wanted him to know that he was a potential superstar and he wasnt done learning, he says. Nancy Andreasen, a neuroscientist and neuropsychiatrist, finds in her research that the most creative people are polymaths people who have broad interests in many fields. Shes also determined that high IQs did not predict high levels of creative achievement later in life. However, those with creative ideas do work much harder than the average people and thats usually because they love their work, she says. In her research, Andreasen explains that she was always curious about what made some people better at coming up with creative ideas or solutions and says she found that such people are better at recognizing relationships, making associations and connections and seeing things in an original way seeing things that others cannot see. Start With a Growth Mindset Other research from the Harvard Business Review finds that creativity is 20% inherited inclination and 80% learned behavior. Schroeder believes that any team can turn out better ideas, as long as the right techniques are put in place to spur them to greatness. The key: having team members with a growth mindset. We must believe that we can learn and grow our intelligence beyond what we were born with, he says. We need to assemble diverse teams of people who think different but all agree on the problem at hand and strive to solve it together. In a new book, Simply Brilliant: Powerful Techniques to Unlock Your Creativity and Spark New ideas, Schroeder suggests one of the biggest obstacles to teams churning out better ideas consistently is that they often dont know what problem theyre trying to solve. Why not? Because teams simply fail to ask the right question (read more here)

HOW TO Discover Your Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

HOW TO Discover Your Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career It’s important to have a personal brand. It differentiates you from everyone else, which is what employers and clients are seeking. But, what if you’re still not sure what your personal brand is? Too many people rush into creating a personal brand without first discovering who they are, what they can offer and what they want to do for the rest of their life. Discovering your brand is important because it allows you to visualize your career path and goals all-in-one. Some important questions to ask yourself: What is your mission? Who will you serve? What’s your vision for the future? What are your key attributes? What are your personality traits? What are your strengths? What motivates you? What are your goals? What is your definition of success? What do you want to be remembered for? What impact do you want to have on people? Pay attention to what others say about you because this is also part of your personal brand. Do co-workers describe you as creative? Intelligent? Incorporate these characteristics into your brand identity accordingly. Your personal brand should reflect your interests and passions. You want to set yourself apart by finding your “niche” â€" or the position you’re best suited for. Your niche should be a specific subject or field you’re interested in and can offer expertise and advice about. If you’re not yet an expert in this field or subject, now’s the time to acquire those skills or further your education. Whether you like it or not, your personal brand is how others will see you. Ideally, once you’ve discovered your brand, sooner or later, your name will be associated with those traits. Author: Heather R. Huhman is a career expert and founder president of Come Recommended, an exclusive online community connecting the best internship and entry-level job candidates with the best employers. She is also the author of #ENTRYLEVELtweet: Taking Your Career from Classroom to Cubicle (2010), national entry-level careers columnist for Examiner.com and blogs about career advice at HeatherHuhman.com.

How to Tweak Your Job to Come Home More Energised

How to Tweak Your Job to Come Home More Energised Have you ever come home feeling completely flat and exhausted and on other days buzzing and energised and wondered why that is? What you do, who you see, who you interact with and the feedback you are given within that day could give you all the clues that you need. Once this information is known we can tweak our positions accordingly to include more of the things that satisfy, motivate and energise you. Recording how you feel from 1 to 10 at the end of the day for a couple of weeks and analysing what you did that day could provide a barometer. Here are my top tips on what to look for: Who did you interact with today and how did you interact with them? Was it face to face or over email? Who were you dealing with? Was it internal, external or both? Which people in particular were you dealing with? Some people as we know are drainers and others more inspiring, encouraging and energising. Work out which kind of interaction works best for you, how much of it suits you and with which types of people. All jobs have tricky characters to deal with but can you have more of what makes you feel good? This may be that you need less interaction and more quiet focused time, it could also be that you need more â€" both client interaction and with others internally. Do you need recognition? Is it one of your key values? Who gives you this? If you are not getting it can you highlight this as something that motivates you? An honest conversation with your boss and colleagues on what they and you need and value could be a starting point if everyone is open and willing to share. If not recognise what you need and what is important to you to feel energised. What are your Values? What is important to you? Working out your true values (key 5 or 6 core values) and making sure your work is aligned to those values will result in you being happier, more fulfilled and having work satisfaction. Once you have worked out what yours are go through each of them and indicate whether they are being honoured in your current role then think about how you can tweak your role to be more authentic. Strengths; Identify your strengths. In addition to you identifying yours ask others to identify them too as we are often blind to our own strengths. Once you have done this go through the list and ask yourself which ones do I enjoy. Sometimes we are good at lots of different things but there are a few within that group that you don’t enjoy doing. Also, identify those that you do enjoy using and try and increase the work that allows you to use them. Goals â€" Do you have them? Think through what you want to get involved in and what you would like to achieve. Only you are in complete control of your career and stopping and evaluating where you want to go is key to moving forward it the right direction. Are you learning? Developing? Challenging yourself? Have you been in a role where you are doing the same thing day in day out. Is there room for development or to tweak or change the job in some way. This may be to volunteer internally, to take on an additional project, getting involved with a new client. Stretching and learning and enhancing your skills could be an ideal way to refresh your energy supply. If your current company can finance and support you with this ideal, if not perhaps consider a course outside of work. Look at your job spec â€" or if you don’t have one document what your daily/monthly responsibilities are. Look down the list and recognise which you enjoy doing more than others. Being aware of this is the first step and perhaps if possible do more of the things you love and delegate or set up a system or process that assists you to do the things you don’t like quicker or more efficiently. What gives you a buzz? Think about everything you have done in the last year, all the achievements, highs and lows and think about what energised you the most. Can you involve more of that in your role? Which areas of the business are you interested in? What extra responsibilities could you possibly take on or offer to do. Exercise, sleep, diet and drink. This is often mentioned but adding exercise, decent sleep, a good balanced diet and limiting the alcohol if you are feeling drained can also add to your energy levels. Working out what charges and energises you as a unique individual is the first step to controlling your happiness and energy levels moving forward. Once we are self-aware and knowledgeable on ourselves we can tweak our job accordingly. Whether this be your current role or one outside of it. About the author: Charlotte Billington is a career coach who helps individuals  at a  crossroads. She has recently written a practical exercise book What to do Next?  (available on Amazon) that can assist and guide you through the process  of changing jobs,  understanding and maximising your own potential.

Are You Overqualified for the Job What to Do [Updated] - Career Pivot

Are You Overqualified for the Job What to Do [Updated] - Career Pivot Are you overqualified? The idea for this post came from a Mashable.com post called What to Do When You’re Overqualified for a Job! This is a problem that a lot of baby boomers encounter. Let’s look at it from an employer’s perspective. Are they looking for overqualified workers? Have you ever seen a “help wanted” sign that said I want overqualified workers? Probably not! The Mashable article poses five options on what to do: Be honest Focus on how you can help Modify your resume Offer a commitment Take salary off the table Why are you overqualified? For most baby boomers there are a lot of reasons for being overqualified. 1. I just need a job! The most common reason that we apply for jobs for which we are overqualified is desperation. The reality is companies are looking for people who can grow into a job. I discuss this in my post â€" Perfect Fit for the Position? Expect to Lose! One of the most common errors I see people make when they are desperate is to apply for multiple jobs at the same company. This tells recruiters that you do not know what you want. Therefore, you are kicked out almost immediately. If there are multiple positions that you might fit, find the one that is the closest fit and apply for that one position! You may be overqualified but tailor your resume for that position and follow the instructions in theMashable article. The goal is to have a discussion with someone at the company about the problems they are having and how you might be able to solve their problems. Listen to the most recent episode You may want to take the approach of wanting to “date” to get a job. I wrote about this in the post 3 Ways to Date to Get a Job. 2. There are few jobs in the area where I live that meet my qualifications! I wrote about this in my post Over Sixty and Out of Work â€" Options. If you are finding very few jobs where you are qualified and lots where you are over qualified, you will need to expand the area where you are looking. The good thing is many companies are allowing people to work remotely. I want you to read two posts: #2 Method to Find Companies â€" LinkedIn Advanced Search Finding People Who Look, Taste and Smell Like You Stop looking for jobs and look for companies that are capable of hiring you. You can do this by searching LinkedIn for people who are performing the work you want to do. You may well find people working for companies that have no physical presence in your area. 3. I want to scale back and not work so hard! I have been here. You are either changing careers or just want to take a lower level position with less money. This is a lifestyle decision that will not be apparent in your resume or social media profiles. On paper, you are overqualified. Employers are not interested in hiring people who are overqualified! How do you overcome this? There are three words that you need to remember! Relationships, relationships, and relationships! I wrote about this in my post,Combat Age Discrimination with Strategic Relationships. When you want to scale back in your career, finding these kinds of positionswill not be found by applying online. They need to know who you are, your values and what you stand for! This is when you want to leverage your weak ties. If you are unfamiliar with the concept of weak ties, please read the following posts: Search weak ties Discover the Power of Weak Ties After 50 #1 Method to Find Companies â€" Weak Ties Weak Ties versus Strong Ties in your Job Search Acquiring a position where you are overqualifiedwill only come via a relationship and your weak ties are incredibly valuable. What’s Next? When you are overqualified it is not about dumbing down your qualifications. It is about: Finding ways to solve the employer’s problems. Getting creative and finding ways to “date” to get a job. Leveraging the relationships you have created over the last 20 or 30 or 40 years. Have you experienced being overqualified for positions? What did you do? Marc Miller Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above. Like What You Read? Get Career Pivot Insights! Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast Do You Need Help With ...

Book review Rational Mysticism - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Book review Rational Mysticism - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog John Horgans book Rational Mysticism breaks new ground because it is written by a man who is clearly a sceptic but who seems to want to believe in something beyond rationality yet doesnt want it so much that he forgets to ask the tough questions. And the strong side of this book is precisely the questions. What is mysticism? What are spiritual experiences, what causes them, why should we seek them and what do they signify? Are mystical experiences triggerede by hallucinogenic drugs as reald or valid as those triggered by meditation or prayer? All good questions to which the book offers no one set of answers but rather an examination of many different viewpoints. Each chapter of the book describes Horgans encounter with one aspect of mysticism, eg. drug related experiences, meditations, prayer, etc. Hes talked to many of the prominent people in the field, such as Ken Wilber, Huston Smith, Stanislav Grof and Albert Hofmann, the inventor of LSD. He allows each of these people to present their viewpoints on mysticism while offering his own thinking also. One of the main questions examined in the book is that of the perennial philosophy. Heres a quote from the book: The perennial philosophy holds that the worlds great spiritual traditions, in spite of their obvious differences, express the same fundamental truth about the nature of reality, a truth that can be directly apprehended during a mystical experience. Implicit in the perennial philosophy is the notion that mytical perceptions transcend time, place, culture, and individual identity. Just as a farmer in first-century China and a website designer in twenty-first-century New York City see the same moon when they look skyward, so will they glimpse the same truth in the depths of a mystical vision. Do we each see our own little world in our mystical experiences or do we look at the same world only differently. This difference is crucial because it seems to me, that mystical experiences would somehow be truer and more real, if they were not just individual fantasies but new ways of seeing our world. The book is very well-written, highly entertaining and well researched and I recommend it to anyone interested in a view of mysticism that transcends the cool scepticism of the scientist types and the blind willingess to believe of the new-age generation. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

How to Write a Beginner Writing Resume

How to Write a Beginner Writing ResumeSo you want to learn how to write a beginner resume, right? There are tons of tips for those just starting out on the job market and one of the most important is that you know the basics.Make sure you have good examples of resumes on hand at all times. Your resume will be there when they're interviewing you, so don't skip it when they need it. That's a big mistake that gets people rejected.Make sure you use an editing program to prevent mistakes from being made. Not just edit, but the 'fix' your resume. Don't just send it off in its original form and hope for the best; do it properly first.Make sure you go over everything in your resume. Make sure the dates are correct, the names are correct, and the resumes are all in chronological order. Don't just send it off without making sure everything is in order.If it's a job where you'll be working with an employer, make sure they know you're available. Be certain that your letter is not too long or too short. It should tell them exactly what you do and why they should hire you.Make sure you take a basic understanding of the U.S. tax code and have a very good grasp of how to do your own taxes. This will help you get a better understanding of how the system works and how you can apply for things if you ever need to.Knowing how to make yourself look good to a potential employer is just as important as your resume. Go into the interview armed with this knowledge and you'll stand a much better chance of getting the job.Always remember to keep your ego in check and don't make the final decision on the spot. Always take the time to consider the other candidates before you commit to one particular candidate, especially if it's someone who you really admire.