Some
useful links
 Making
decisions
Recruitment
sites
Careers
advice
Learning
new skills
Working
from home
Help
with CVs & interviews
Making decisions
www.businessballs.com/problemsolving.htm
Though this site has an odd
name that could be read more than one way, it has a great deal of
helpful information and techniques for solving problems and making
decisions. Not just for business, for life and careers
generally.
www.mindtools.com/pages/main/newMN_TED.htm
This very useful site has
half-a-dozen techniques for making decisions, amongst lots of other
valuable ideas for managing your career.
www.decisionmaking.org/worksheet.pdf
This is a downloadable
worksheet which leads you through the process of making up your mind
about something complex. It's based on the SM-14
Creative Decision Making process described by Norman W Edmund at www.decisionmaking.org/
Work your way through this and you might not need me (what am I
saying ...!)
Recruitment
sites
Online recruitment is now
preferred by many companies. Most sites have advice on
choosing and managing your career. If you register your CV and what
you're looking for then many will let you know about suitable
vacancies and will allow employers to search for you.
www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCP/customers/index.html
This is the official
governmental site, with good search tools (try Jobs and Skills) and
helpful information. Gives a useful overview.
www.careerjet.co.uk
Here's a good
idea. Careerjet trawls recruitment sites around the
world and gives you a direct link to all the jobs they offer. This
means you may not have to look at any other sites, so the search box
above is a good place to start looking for vacancies.
http://www.jobs.ac.uk/
This lets you search jobs in
science, research, academic & related employment in the UK &
abroad. You can subscribe to Jobs
by Email for vacancies in universities, FE colleges, research
institutions, commercial & public sector bodies, schools &
charities.
http://jobs.guardian.co.uk/
Probably the best for arts,
creative, media, HR & training, marketing and charity jobs.
http://www.reed.co.uk/
Reed claims to be the UK's
biggest job site, and it certainly still has many thousands of jobs
on offer, even during the current recession. They have a
useful section on jobs in Europe and across the rest of the world.
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/
Not the biggest, but good
search facilities and can keep you and potential employers
up to date.
www.cwjobs.co.uk
CWJobs specialises in IT jobs
throughout the UK, including opportunities in contract work.
http://workways.org.uk
This provides information,
advice and practical assistance to help people with learning and
work where mental health may be an issue for them.
There's a lot of specialised and valuable help and support for
employers, carers and others.
http://content.monster.co.uk/
Monster is a large
online agency and the site has many jobs and a monster amount of
good advice. The facility to search locally is particularly
useful. Unfortunately, their database was hacked in January
2009, so check before you give them your
details. Their advice is still sound.
Best job sites in the UK, US, Canada, Australia &
internationally
Best job sites for medical jobs, health care jobs & pharmaceutical jobs
Careers
advice
http://careersadvice.direct.gov.uk/
This is the government site
for free advice on careers and learning, so it's worth exploring
before you think about paying for help (yes, even
mine!). There are a couple of Useful tools
on the site: Assess your skills and interests will help you think
through what you really want from a job and will suggest possible
roles, while Career Values Tool will help you see
whether a particular job would suit the way you prefer to
work. Doing these would be good preparation for working
with me because it would help you to get your thoughts in order.
www.direct.gov.uk/en/YoungPeople/Workandcareers/Gettingyourfirstjob/index
Another government site, this
time with helpful advice and information for young people.
www.connexions-direct.com
This is also aimed at 13 - 19
year olds, to offer them all the information and advice they need to
make the decisions and choices in their life, so it covers more than
careers & jobs.
CV writing services by Bradley CVs
A professional
written CV / resume can dramatically improve your chances of
securing the job interview you want. The site also has FREE advice on writing
your CV / resume, tips on job hunting and interviews, plus
sample CVs / resumes, cover letters and links to 100,000+ job
vacancies.
www.prospects.ac.uk
This site is aimed at
graduates, but is useful even if you don't have a degree. One
of the best parts is at jobs and work/explore job sectors.
This leads you to a huge database of nearly thirty sectors.
For each one there's current information on job roles, entry and
progression, typical employers, opportunities, future trends and
much else. Under Job roles you'll find details of
the job description and activities, the pay and conditions, the
entry requirements, training and career development, typical
employers and vacancies, and so on. This is very useful for
trying to decide whether you actually want to choose a particular
role.
There's a lot more good stuff on the site and it's worth a visit.
www.laterlife.com
This is
designed specifically for people who're determined to stay alive and
enjoying even if they've clocked up a few years, and it's helpful
and interesting whether you're still working or have retired.
Everything for the over-50s.
www.careeradvice.org.uk
This is a useful site which
'does what it says on the tin' from a fresh perspective , and has a
handy section on how to get and profit from career
training. There's also a good flowchart to help you
decide whether a new job might be better than your present one.
Learning
new skills
Learning a fresh set of
skills and knowledge is often the best way out of an unhappy job, or
the loss of a happy one. I don't believe that you're ever too
old to learn (though you can persuade yourself that you are) and I
know successful learners in their seventies. Research says
that older learners may be slower but are better at embedding new
learning into their existing experience. It
also says that learning may be both exciting and scary, but it's a
very good way to stay young. If you don't already have a first
degree then you may be able to get grants to help with course
fees. Start by contacting your local authority, and
local colleges, to see what they can offer you.
www.learndirect.co.uk
There are walk-in Learn
Direct centres all over the country, where you can have free
internet access to do online courses and get support and
advice. The web site lets you search for online courses in a
huge range of subjects and at all levels up to a university
degree. Courses usually have a reasonable cost and
may be free, can be done at your own pace to fit in with the rest of
your life, and even with your work. Even if it's many years
since you last did any formal learning, you can get the help and
support to become a successful learner. Free advice on
all aspects of learning from a government careers adviser by calling
0800 100 900.
www.skillstrainingukltd.co.uk
This organisation trains
adults in Language,
Literacy, Numeracy, Communication and other skills to help them find
work and develop their careers. Its motto is "Developing
Skills Realizing Potential", and it does excellent work in
giving people that vital boost.
www.support4learning.co.uk
The
links on this site will help you to choose, finance and support your
education, training, lifelong learning, career planning and
jobsearch.
www.open.ac.uk
The Open University makes
online learning enjoyable and effective by using innovative
materials and qualified subject tutors. It's a good way to
study for a new professional qualification in later life - anything
from a Certificate in Health and Social Care to a Masters
Degree. You don't have to
study for a full degree but can take only the modules that are
useful for you, and you can spread your learning over years if that
suits you best. You can get financial help if you're
unemployed or receiving certain benefits.
www.foresttrailacademy.com
This US
Academy offers General Education Diploma Classes Online and GED
Programs that give people the added confidence they need to move
forward in the working world internationally.
Working
from home
It is possible to work
successfully from home, but you need to make careful and informed
choices. There are lots of scams out there, and anything that
seems too good to be true probably is. Luckily for you,
there's good advice available from several sites.
www.homeworking.com
This is a UK site full of
helpful information about finding work at home and making sure you
don't get ripped off. There's also a good forum where people
exchange ideas and help one another. There are case studies of
people who've made it as homeworkers so that you can see what's
worked for others. A good place to find sensible, practical
information and advice.
www.homeworkinguk.com
This is an enormous directory
of resources, advice and support for homeworkers in the UK.
It's particularly helpful on the warning signs of scams, and it also
has lots of potential opportunities - including many teleworking
jobs. The list of "Top Tips" is a very good guide to
getting started without getting stopped.
www.familyfriendlyworking.co.uk
This aims to help, advise and
support mothers with children who want to work from home, and it's
written by a very successful working mother. The site provides
accurately-targeted help for the special needs and
circumstances of mothers working from home, and it's easy to find
masses of useful and encouraging information and resources.
www.freelancers.net
This site has
been helping freelancers to find work, and clients to find
freelancers, since 1999. You can get a free listing on
their database.
Help with
CVs & interviews
I often do help people with all the
paperwork and face to face parts of getting a job, but you might
prefer to work with specialists. Here's some useful ones to
explore.
CV writing services by Bradley CVs
Is your CV/resume letting
you down? A professional
written CV / resume can dramatically improve your chances of
securing the job interview you want and Bradley CVs are long-established. Plus FREE advice on writing
your CV / resume, tips on job hunting and interviews, plus
sample CVs / resumes, cover letters and links to 100,000+ job
vacancies.
Alec's FREE CV writing, resume writing, interview questions & job search tips
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