What do you do when they ask for references during your job interview? First of all, do a little happy dance (in your head, of course) because you’ve just gotten a buying signal from your interviewer. Asking for your references indicates definite interest. However, you’re not home free yet. Always assume your references will be checked.

Do you realize how important good references are to your chances of receiving a job offer? Some people believe that hiring managers and recruiters never bother to call references, but they do. (Recruiters are especially vigilant about checking references, because our reputation depends on our delivering quality candidates–so we gather as much information as we possibly can.)

References are not an afterthought. They are a major player in your job interview process. Your references are another area where you can set yourself apart from other candidates and shine. That can be critical in a competitive job market. Read the full story

Popularity: 9%

Recruitment consultants can be your best friend or most dreaded foe, however love them or hate them; it is now accepted and normal practice to use the services of a recruitment consultancy to help you with your job search. This is because keeping your career on track is a full time job in itself.

The role of the recruitment consultancy

By allowing professionals to handle your job search you can use your energy and time in doing your current job to the best of your ability.

A good recruitment consultancy knows the relevant marketplace well and can quickly assess your skills and match your aspirations to available opportunities. The services of a recruitment consultancy should be fast, effective and efficient. The relationship you have with your consultancy is a vital key in your future success and there are ways to make the relationship work for you. Read the full story

Popularity: 22%

Increasingly organisations are using computerised methods to process CVs so you may find that your paper CV is converted to an electronic version by scanning or you may be asked to submit an electronic version by e-mail or via an organisation’s web based system.

For organisations handling a large number of CVs – large corporations or recruitment companies – electronic systems offer a huge cost and time saving. CV management systems can scan 30,000 CVs in as little as 6 seconds!

Many people think that with the advancement of scanning, CV management systems, and keyword searching on the Internet that you must develop a different CV from the one you have prepared to send to contacts via traditional methods. This is not true! You are not creating a different CV, you are merely altering the presentation format for the Internet. Read the full story

Popularity: 26%

Why wait for a job advertisement to appear or a recruiter to call when you could be proactively seeking out opportunities to target companies by preparing a carefully researched mailshot.

The first step is to identify the criteria that will help you locate the right companies and industries to fit with your ideal work preferences. You need to consider the marketplace as widely as possible. In broadening your job search the chances of success can be increased greatly.

Research is an essential part of the job search process. You need to satisfy yourself that the opportunities you explore are matched to your needs and aspirations and that you are armed with as much information as possible when attending interviews. Read the full story

Popularity: 13%

E-mail has now developed into a mainstream form of communication and it’s hard to imagine how we managed without it. Recruiters will normally ask for you to e-mail a CV rather than fax as e-mail often provides superior speed and quality of transmission.

If you don’t already have an account, you will find it useful to set up an e-mail account whilst you are looking for a new job as it offers you the opportunity to send and receive messages from recruiters, network contacts, companies and other people you will be dealing with.

The best thing with web based e-mail is that you can access it from anywhere, be it an Internet cafe or your own PC.

There are a number of free e-mail services available via the internet. They are free because they are supported by advertising. This type of e-mail account is independent from that provided by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) which is often only accessible via a PC with the ISP’s software installed. Read the full story

Popularity: 18%

There are so many acronyms that you may come across when looking through job adverts. Sometimes adverts are so full of them that you may be left wondering what it is they are looking for.

To help you with your quest we thought it would be use full to post some of the most common below:

AAE According to Age and Experience ACA Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants ACCA Associate of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants B2B Business to Business B2C Business to Customer/Consumer B2E Business to Education B2G Business to Government CAA Civil Aviation Authority CAD Computer Aided Design CAM Computer Aided Manufacturing CEO Chief Executive Officer C or Circa Around/Approximately CIMA Chartered Institute of Management Accountants CIM Chartered Institute of Marketing CIPD Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development CIPS Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply Read the full story

Popularity: 12%