There does seem to be quite a few jobs being advertised at the moment but actually getting that job is another matter. It is important if you are in need of employment that you apply for as many job vacancies as possible to give yourself the best chance of landing a job. This will often mean spending time searching every few days and filling in application forms or sending off your CV and covering letters to as many employers as you can.

If you are in the unfortunate position of being made redundant or have had to leave a job due to relocation or have been off work for a while for another reason and need to return you may need support finding a vacancy and going through the application process such as putting your CV together or completing the application forms. Making errors on your CV or application form can cost you an interview, so it is important that you get it right.

With high competition for jobs, you will need to ensure that your CV and covering letters are the best that they can be to compete against other candidates. Experience and qualifications are often the main thing an employer looks for when they make their choice as to who they should invite for an interview.  If you are not as qualified as others, you can still land a good job if you show that you are willing to undertake further training and show other attributes that will be valuable to the company.

If you find yourself unemployed perhaps because you have been made redundant from your job or you have just finished a training course you may wonder whether going self-employed is the right route to take. The skills and knowledge that you have can be used to develop a business of your own and as good tradespeople are difficult to find presently this could be an excellent opportunity to tap into this demand.

There are advantages and disadvantages of being self-employed, but most people report that the biggest headache is cash flow. There will usually be a delay between carrying out a job and getting paid for it which can cause an issue if materials for the job have had to be bought. There are several ways of overcoming this problem, the first being to ask the customer for some of the money up front. This is common practice, and most customers are happy to do this. The second option is to use a business credit card when buying the materials so that you have a period of time to pay for them. By the time you need to pay the balance the customer will probably have paid for your services, and you can clear the balance without incurring any fees.

Looking for a new job can be stressful and for some of us the though of attending an interview can just be too nerve-wracking. So, what can you do to keep calm under pressure and fly through your interview with confidence?

Preparation is key, ensure that you know when your interview is and where it is being held. Look up online how long it should take you to travel there and make sure you allow yourself plenty of time to get there on the day of the interview.

It’s important to do you research before an interview, look into the company and their key objectives as well as their competition and a bit of company background. It can be useful to come up with a couple of relevant questions too, for the end of the interview, to show that you are interested in the company’s future.

Ensure that you dress appropriately for the interview in clothes that you feel comfortable in but are smart and in line with the job you are being interviewed for. 

Prepare some answers for typical interview questions such as ‘What could you bring to this role/company’ and ‘Give us examples of times in the past you’ve dealt with a similar role’.

When going for an interview never underestimate the power of preparation to give you the advantage against the other candidates.

No matter what line of work you are in, whenever you start a new role, it can feel rather daunting. The key is to take it in your stride and keep a realistic view on what you can achieve in the early days of a new career. For your first couple of weeks you can expect to be shadowing people and taking notes. Familiarising yourself with the processes of the work day and the jobs you’ll be expected to do.

Always make sure that you arrive at work on time, dressed appropriately and ready to learn. Take pens and note books with you so that you can take notes as you are watching others work. This will make learning the tasks much easier when the time comes for a handover.

In the first few weeks it can be easy to feel overwhelmed, however you need to remember, Rome wasn’t build in a day! These things take time and as long as you are eager to learn and keep focused you’ll do great at picking up your new role in no time.  So ask lots of questions, take lots of notes and give it time. Your new role could become your dream job.

Recruiting the best person for a role in your company can be a minefield as advertising, interviewing and employing a new employee can be a costly business which you do not want to repeat on a regular basis which is why many companies turn to a recruitment agency to fill their vacancies. Although the recruitment agency will charge a fee for their services it does take away a lot of the stress of finding people who are suitable qualified and experienced.

It is important to be clear with the agency the skills that are required for the role you wish to fill at the outset so that they can use this when they are looking through their database of clients who are on their books. For instance, if it is essential that the potential employee has certain qualifications then this should be communicated to the recruitment agency.

Flexible working hours and remote working have become the norm recently and any forward thinking company will need to embrace this way of working. Being able to offer these options will often result in more applications as employees seek to get a better work life balance with reduced commuting time. The quality of work produced by people given the opportunity to work in this way is often superior as employees’ welfare is often improved.

Due to the events of the last two years the lines between work and home life have become blurred causing many people to experience anxiety and stress. Working from home has become commonplace but this makes it difficult to switch off from work at the end of the day. What can we do then to reset a good work, life balance and protect our mental health and wellbeing?

Having a dedicated work area in the home is a simple way to distinguish work from home. Even if it is just a desk in a corner of the living room walking away from it can feel like leaving work for a while. This is preferable to working on your laptop on the sofa all day as during your downtime in the evening you may not then feel as relaxed.

Prioritising your time should be top of the list so if you have lots of different tasks or deadlines to meet rather than getting overwhelmed write a list of tasks in priority order and work your way through.

Taking breaks for lunch and coffee just as if you are in the office is crucial and may in fact make you more productive. Stepping away from your workstation to stretch your legs or even taking a lunchtime walk are all ways to bring some stress-relieving times into your day.