Secrets of the Job Hunt - Something For Everybody, Everywhere

Weeks - actually I think it's more probably months! - ago, I mentioned something called Secrets of the Job Hunt . If you didn't join - and it is free to join! - take the time to look at it again, even if you don't happen to be based in the United States.

In the first place, joining means that you will get e-mails with Pod Cast attachments. The Pod Casts address a lot of issues. Don't be parochial when you listen to them. There are nuggets of information in there that apply to everyone who is looking for a job wherever they happen to be based. Just because you don't happen to live in New York, for example, doesn't mean that there isn't something in that particular Pod Cast for you.

Secondly, there are a lot of blogs there. I was particularly impressed by the one written by Lizandra Vega entitled "Six Unusual Things That Will Blow Your Job Interview" - not least because I've interviewed people who've 'blown it' in one or another of those six ways.

If you look for her page on Secrets of the Job Hunt, you'll also find that she has made a video entitled "Job Interviewing Tips - Appearance, Behaviour and Communication", which is also well worth a visit.

I have to say that I get more impressed with this particular site every time I visit - and never mind that the jobs advertised there are in the USA. The site is 'cross border' and has many things to say that are valuable to everyone.

Geoff - http://www.metlissbarfield.com/

Could be Worse - You Could be Unemployed in France

Quite a lot of France wasn't working today because the retirement age here is going to be raised from 60 to 62. Few of the trains were running, not too many schools were open - and quite a few private businesses were closed.

In the United States the retirement age for everybody is 65 - and a lot of people prefer to keep on working past that age if they possibly can. In England many people complain they have to retire at 65 whether they want to or not.

And a lot of people in all three countries would like to have a job to retire from at whatever age.

The budget wasn't thrilling - a rise in VAT and a downgraded benefit system isn't going to please anybody - but there was a lot in the budget that gave business (and particularly small business) an incentive to hire people, and a lot there, too, that could help people to set up a small business of their own.

And despite the downgraded benefit system, you can still keep a roof over your head if it doesn't cost the state more than £400 a week, and get quite a lot of other assistance.

And your qualifications, if you have any, will allow you to stand on a level playing field with everyone else who has the same qualifications.

• There is no incentive for businesses in France to hire people, and legislation has made it very difficult for anyone to get hired on a permanent basis however good their qualifications.
• Everyone who passes their Baccaleuréate examination in France has an identical qualification to everyone else who passes that examination anywhere in the country - but in fact its value depends upon where a person passes it, so that it is less valuable to people who have studied for it in poor communities.
• Taxation makes it virtually impossible to set up a small business and still earn enough to live.
• There is no such thing as Housing Benefit - if you don't have a job here you can say 'goodbye' to your apartment, or your room, or whatever else you are renting to live in because the state will not pay for it if you cannot pay for it yourself.

There is a lot wrong with Britain - but there's a lot right with it as well. Things could be worse - you could be unemployed in France.

Emily - http://www.therapypartnership.com

Things To Avoid - and Things to Do - At Start-Up

• According to Creditsafe , a lot of companies avoid trading with start-ups that are a less than a year old - which it felt was bad news for people who were fed up of waiting to get a job and had decided to go into business for themselves.

It is bad news - but there are several things that start-ups can do to make themselves instantly more 'acceptable' to established companies whether they are less than a year old or not:

• A website is regarded as a powerful indicator of permanancy and reliability. 12 per cent of established UK businesses will not trade with a company that doesn't have one.


• Land-line telephones are even more important. Over half of established UK businesses will not trade with companies that are only contactable by way of a mobile telephone.


• And 51% of UK businesses won't deal with people who use P.O. addresses.

In the first place you don't need a P.O. box address. A lot of people fall for the idea that a P.O. Box address is more 'business-like'. And maybe it used to be - but it isn't now. So many people are working from home now - like me actually!- that renting a P.O. box is just money thrown away. There's nothing wrong or 'unbusiness-like' about using your home address as your business address.

It doesn't matter if your land-line telephone is in your own name rather than your business name. My land-line telephone is in my name - and that doesn't seem to bother any of my clients. If you are out and about a lot, and there's no-one at home to anwer the telephone - use 'Call Forwarding', so that all calls are forwarded to your mobile telephone.

A website can cost money - but not as much as you might think. Fasthosts offers web hosting for as little as £1.99 a month. That will buy you reasonable space, an easy website builder, and virus and spam protected e-mail. You can also buy and register a .co.uk domain in the same place for £2.95.

And if you don't believe that you can build the website you want with their tools, go to Allwebco Design Corporation where you'll find some cheap - and quite sophisticated stuff - that's easy to buy and very easy to use, and comes with lots of very useful advice.

Pundits can be a little bit nervous and very, very negative. Nervous I can understand - but I don't believe that 'negative' is very useful to anyone.

If you're just starting up, you're bound to be nervous - but you can meet the criteria for acceptance with established UK Companies if you follow a few simple guidelines.

• Use your home address as your business address.


• Use your home telephone number as your business number, and get 'call forwarding'.


• Get a website.


• Get a free blog at Google Blogspot and talk about yourself and what you do.


• Use Facebook , or Naymz , or LinkedIn to advertise yourself and what you do.

And stay positive!

Geoff - http://www.metlissbarfield.com/

And Speaking of Scams... Look Out for This One

I got a post via a Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy Group on LinkedIn today.

Someone in Amsterdam had called a member of the Group in Rhode Island and asked to book ten sessions to work on some issues. The therapist quoted $850 for ten sessions. The 'client' insisted on paying 'up front'. The therapist then received cheques totalling $3,000.

The therapist naturally e-mailed the 'client' to say that he had been overpaid. The 'client' said that it was an error on the part of his US agent, and asked the therapist to bank the cheques, subtract the $850 and send the remainder to his 'travel agent' - and gave full details of where to send the excess cash.

Fortunately, the therapist waited for the cheques to clear before sending any money to the 'travel agent', because the cheques were drawn on a ficticious account, and they all bounced.

The therapist posted on LinkedIn because he felt that the person who targeted him would probably target other therapists also - and I think he is certainly right. Sadly, I can think of a whole lot of other small service providers who might also prove likely to fall victim to this particular 'scam' - and I don't think that small service providers outside of the United States can afford to ignore its existence.

Take warning, folks!

Emily - http://www.therapypartnership.com/

Beware of Vampires and Other Predators

I got a message via Monster France today from someone called Laurent Brouat who has a website at laurentbrouat.com. It was entitled 'The 7 phases of the Job Search' and, being a curious person - and because I'm standing on the edge of a cliff myself - I read all seven of them.

I have to say that I went along with the first five phases of M. Brouat's post - which was beautifully illustrated with a flow sheet, incidentally - because it concentrated on the emotional, mental and physical effects of unemployment that we are all only too well aware of, and described (actually extremely well) the ordinary things that people generally do in order to get a job. Including applying for any job, anywhere, whether your CV is a good fit or not.

So far, so good. I wasn't particularly disturbed by phase six either, because phase six concentrated on the value of networking, and I do believe that networking is a valuable tool - which is why I'm doing such a lot of it myself.

By phase seven, though, I knew I was in fairyland. Such a happy ending to that spreadsheet -but only through the professional help of M. Brouat.

I haven't given you the link to his website (a) because half the time it doesn't work and (b) because I don't believe that you need to pay for professional help to get another job.

There are a lot of people out there preying on the hopes of the unemployed. Don't go there. Agencies are free - and you can do a lot by yourself.

Felt like signing myself 'Disgusted of Reading', but I am (as always) Bill at http://www.therapypartnership.com/