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Forties People Blog
Recruitment Provider of Mature Office Personnel - London, UK
Wednesday, 12 September 2012
Unemployment Figures September 2012
Latest unemployment figures were released today 12th September
The unemployment rate in the UK dropped by 0.1 percentage points to 8.1% in the
three months to July.
But, there is a more complex picture beyond the headline good news. The number of people out of work for a
year or more was 904,000; the highest for 16 years, while the number in
part-time work was 8.12m, the highest since records started in 1992. A lot of
people who are working part time are doing so because they cannot find any
other work. .
With business confidence still at rock bottom, it's a rare employer
who's seeking to ramp up headcount right now.
posted by Forties People @ 13:18
Monday, 10 September 2012
Age doesn't matter
Just minutes away from the office the GB team went on a celebration tour of the City and West End ending up at Buckingham Palace. My team said how about we go and take a look so off we went to find at some points the crowds where 40 people deep. It got me think as the athlete's went past, it doesn't matter your age its your skills that count. How true is that in life and something Forties People have been saying for the last 20 years. Labels: Age, Ageism, Interview, Law, London, office recruitment, recruitment
posted by Forties People @ 18:15
Monday, 23 July 2007
How to shine at your next job interview (And thank goodness for Google)
Hey, well done you.
You’ve got the interview you wanted. Now how do you make the most of it?
Remember this before you set-off: It is estimated that 30% of an employer’s opinion of a candidate is formed within the first 30 seconds of the interview – ouch!
But follow this checklist and you will substantially improve your chances of success.
1: Do your research. Learn as much as you can about the requirements of the role you seek. Read up on the company. Learn a bit about the sector in which the company operates so you can drop in a few industry jargon words and thus set yourself up to ask some intelligent questions of your own about the organisation. Thank goodness for Google. It’s a massive help with this research. If you don’t have internet access get yourself down to the library and do some swotting.
2: Show respect for your interviewer and the company by dressing smartly – and get there in good time, but not too early.
While you are waiting you could visualise the worst-case panic scenario and imagine how you would cope with it. (Then if it happens you will handle it.)
3: Smiling is contagious. And when you introduce yourself do it clearly, accompanied by a firm confident handshake.
4: Breathe deeply and slowly and silently. Sit up straight and don’t cross your legs or arms. Keep your hands and jaw relaxed and speak slowly.
5: Regular eye contact with the interviewer is important.
6: When asked a question it’s important not to just come out with the very first thing that comes into your head. Take the time to think and give a considered response.
7: Answer clearly and concisely; keep it simple and stick to the point of the question. Be enthusiastic all the way through and never interrupt.
8: Try and relax. A relaxed candidate is a confident candidate. You are only being interviewed by another member of the human race, after all.
But if you do start to panic just pause. Take a moment to tell yourself silently that you can get through this successfully and carry on when you are ready. The interviewer probably won’t even notice.
9: NEVER discuss salaries, benefit packages or holidays on the first interview but don’t be afraid to ask other relevant questions at the end.
After the interview:
Welcome to the waiting game. And if that letter drops onto the doormat offering you the job, make sure you get the full offer in writing including all benefits BEFORE you resign from a current job.
If you are unhappy with any aspect of the letter, don’t be afraid to ask questions before you sign and return it.
And if you are rejected?
At least you know that you did your best. You will not always be successful, no matter how good you are or what qualifications and experience you have. Often ‘personality-fit’ plays a part in selection.
If you get a rejection notification always contact the recruitment agency or the client to ask for feedback. You need to know what went wrong and you need honest answers to that question. Criticism may hurt but you can learn and benefit from it in the future. Keeping a positive attitude is the key.
The US Department of Labour reckons that almost 50% of job seekers get their jobs through referrals – which means they got inside help!
A job interview is a long way removed from being a popularity contest. If you are the right person for the job you’ll get it. If not, you won’t. It’s just business.
Every rejection is just a step on the road to finding another job.
Any Workshop readers with job-related questions and challenges can contact Forties People on: 0207 329 4044 , 01923 212444 or via email for free help and advice.
Workshop Thought For The Week:
‘I am exhausted if I don’t work’
Pablo PicassoLabels: Article, HamHigh, Interview, Workshop
posted by Forties People @ 13:17
Friday, 13 July 2007
The Anti-Ageism Law - What does it really mean to you?
Over recent years we’ve seen too many job-seeking age discrimination victims break down in tears in our offices as they tell us their sorry tales of woe at job interviews.
“When they saw how old I was I just knew the interview was effectively over – despite the fact that I knew my qualifications and experience could have been a real asset to that company” – was a typical experience.
Almost every older person that came to us believed that employers generally discriminated against older workers and a study by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) believed that 1 in 5 jobseekers had been discouraged from applying for a position because it contained an age restriction.
Now, following years of active campaigning and lobbying by agencies like Forties People, the Age Legislation Act hit the statute books last autumn – and not before time as those in the know reckon ageism in employment has been costing the state £31 billion a year.
But what does it all mean to you and is it really going to help?
Well the new law outlaws age discrimination in employment and vocational training.
Age must no longer feature in any recruitment procedure. Interviewers must only ask job-related questions and any work-related tests must not discriminate against older people.
The law covers both private and public sectors and includes all workers (young and old) including self-employed, contract workers, the police and members of trade organizations; people who apply for work and in some cases people who have left work. (Members of the regular armed forces, full-time and part-time reservists and unpaid volunteers are not covered by the regulations)
Plus there is now a national default retirement age of 65. That means employers can no longer force anyone to retire before then (This can only be overruled in cases where there is a genuine occupational requirement)
From April 2007 an employer must now give an employee who’s approaching 65 no less than six months’ notice of their intended retirement date.
The idea here is that people will be able to plan better for their retirement and be confident that ‘retirement’ is not being used to cover unfair dismissal. (Before this employers only had to give four weeks’ notice)
Now all employees will have the right to request to work beyond 65 and employers will now have a duty to consider, although not necessarily accept, such a request.
What happens in practice here is the employee meets with the employer to discuss the request - and there is a right of appeal process in place if the outcome of the meeting is unsatisfactory to the employee.
The government has made it very clear that it wants employers to work with the spirit of the law, not just the letter. At Forties People and agencies like ours, we are trying to help older people find jobs and get back to work if they want to but we don’t refuse to register anyone because of their age – young or old.
It’s really quite simple in our view. It’s all about finding the right person for the job and it shouldn’t matter whether that person is seventeen or seventy.
Older people often have an advantage in terms of suitability because they often have more life and work experience than younger candidates.
Any Workshop readers with job-related questions and challenges can contact Forties People on: 0207 329 4044 or 01923 212444 or via email for free help and advice.
Workshop Thought
“The true way to render ourselves happy is to love our work and find in it our pleasure.”
Francoise De Motteville
Taken from a article written in the Hampstead & Highgate Express © 2007Labels: Ageism, Article, HamHigh, Law, Workshop
posted by Forties People @ 14:09
Friday, 6 July 2007
The Workshop
Let’s face it.
Work can either be satisfying, fulfilling and fun or it can be a long, miserable, mind-numbing slog – it’s all a question of attitude.
What we want to do with this new series of articles is to help point Ham & High readers in the direction of the ‘satisfying, fulfilling and fun’ bit.
You might just be out of work right now, or you might be looking for a better job, or perhaps a completely new career in a brand new sector.
But whatever you are searching for in the work arena you need to be thinking about how you can work smarter to achieve your aims in 2007 and beyond.
And we can help.
Forties People has been campaigning for more than a decade on behalf of people who have faced discrimination in the jobs market – and at last things have started to improve. (It’s about time. The fact is that today over a third of the UK working population is aged 45 or over – and many of those older people who have lost jobs have struggled in the past to find new ones.)
We’ll discuss in more detail in a future column how the recently introduced Age Legislation Act could affect you. …..and we’re talking about people of ALL ages, not just older staff.
It’s fundamentally a good law and a positive step forward but it’s certainly not the end of age discrimination in the workplace. The Government will have to find ways of monitoring and policing this new Act because we know there are still large numbers of organisations out there who have still not woken up to this new dawn.
We believe that age is completely irrelevant, but whatever your ambition there are plenty of ‘Do’s’ and ‘Don’ts’ to be aware of along the road to finding a better job. We’ll help you with hints and tips on how to play the jobs market; how to present yourself in the best possible light at an interview; how to put together a meaningful CV…and much more.
Of course, as a well-known agency in London and Watford areas we deal with many companies looking for staff – and I will be keeping you up to date with all the latest news from the client side of the fence too.
The Workshop intends to be an interactive column; two way traffic.
We want to hear from you about your experiences, challenges, frustrations and triumphs in the hunt for a better way of life at work.
Have you been the victim of discrimination? Are you struggling to find the right job? Do you need some expert help?
Contact The Workshop via Forties People on: 0207 329 4044 or 01923 212444 or via email
Taken from a article written in the Hampstead & Highgate Express © 2007Labels: Article, HamHigh, Workshop
posted by Forties People @ 07:51
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