Day 1

Congratulations on taking a positive step to

ensure the future success of your career.

One can view the search for a new job as an

unwelcome and unpleasant ‘chore’, or as

a moment of great opportunity in your life.

To make the most of this opportunity,

it is essential to start by finding the

answer to one important question.

“Which way is going to be best for you?”

Don’t miss this golden opportunity,

- review ALL your options.

Recent research shows that very few individuals

have a clear idea where their careers are going.

Nearly 50% of those with no plan, feel

dissatisfied at work. Conversely nearly 90%

of those who know where they’re going

feel positive about what they are

doing with their life and their career.

“PROPER DIRECTION” is the first key to job

satisfaction and career success.

Most executives know that they should plan

their careers. They realise that those

who plan are more successful, but they

still fail to plan properly. When put

on the spot, they agree that they

would never run their business like this.

Planning your career properly is a difficult

business, which is probably why so many

talented and very able managers and

executives fail to realise their career potential.

Yet on a daily business, you are probably

seeing people in senior positions,

where you know you could do a much

better job, if only you had the opportunity.

The reasons are quite understandable.

• · How can you be totally objective about yourself?
• · Is your core expertise and experience centred around job hunting?
• · When did you last conduct a search campaign?

If a long time ago, you will be rusty

in terms of relevant experience and skill.

If you only moved recently, it looks

like something went wrong.

You have to start somewhere, so here are a few tips to help you.

1. Start with some research, take stock of your resources:

• · Look at your strengths and weaknesses
• · Consider what you enjoy doing.
• · Detail your skills and abilities.
• · Review your psychometric profile and what it reveals about you.
• · List your experience.
• · Write down your major achievements.
• · Make a note of your educational and academic achievements.

2. Ask yourself who you know who

has a job you’d really like to have?

3. Consider what it would

take to do a job like that?

4. Think about the sort of environment

in which you would really like to work.

Only when you have made a

comprehensive list of everything that

you have to offer a potential employer

should you start to even think

about the job you’d like.

So, for today as your first step,

just work on your list.

Many people find it difficult to

make a complete inventory of

all they have to offer. As a result

they leave out important parts of

their personal history and end up

under-valuing and under-selling

themselves. Typically, too modest,

self effacing and very understated.

You may find that a friendly chat

with a Career professional of real

benefit. It will ensure that you make

the most of your current opportunity

both in terms of getting the right

job and of maximising the ongoing

rewards you get.

Start making your list now or feel free

to discuss how we may be able to help you.

7 Day Guide to Job Success

Day 2

Target the Right Job and Achieve Greater

Job Satisfaction and Reward.

People who don’t know where they’re going never

arrive at their destination.

Do you recall that we mentioned that the

90% of people who know where their

careers are going, feel satisfied in their jobs?

The most vital aspect of any job hunt is to be clear

about the direction you want your career to take.

Knowing where you’re going can cut job-hunting

time by as much as 50%. Think of the effort you

will save and the disappointments you will avoid.

Our contacts in the Executive Search and Selection

business tell us that it is easier both to interview

How can you get the right opportunities to find you?

Most senior level candidates limit their job search, just pushing themselves out into the job market as would any conventional job hunter.

The tools to make connections expand your network and find the right roles have changed dramatically from the days when you typically had a phone, The Royal Mail and the classified ads to work with.

Now there are effective resources that allow you to create awareness and attract opportunities to come to you on a global scale, provided you apply yourself and learn how to use them properly.

Who you know, or can reach by way of networking has always been cited as one of the best ways to get into positions you really want.

With the new social media tools, you have the opportunity to expand your reach on an exponential basis if you understand the real value of what you will usually have dismissed as more distant, less influential, weaker contacts.

These “weaker ties” have now become extremely important and valuable to your career prospects.

Use of new social media now gives you the capability to create unprecedented numbers of ”weak ties” or links, which most job seekers ignore. So why are these weak ties now so important?

Research has shown that having weak ties, (less well known people that are not so close to you) is what will really expand your ability to reach out and find solutions.

If you talk to people who are close to you to find a job, there will be significant overlap in terms of common contacts and social groups. They are too similar to you. They will know about the same openings and overlap with other people that you and they know. On the other hand, it is the remote acquaintances are far more useful as their greater separation from you, actually means that they will reach into different groups on your behalf.

If you know how to promote your brand to this much wider audience, you can create more openings and opportunities for you to take your career forward.

So the new priorities are;

1. Use these new tools and

2. Give real emphasis and value to the weaker ties you have

Good luck with your campaign!

Connaught Executive Ltd, Dauntsey House Fredericks Place London EC2R 8AB, UNITED KINGDOM

A recent survey from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) identified that half (52%) of organisations believe the competition for talent has increased. So too has the shift of skills from the UK to the East, which – accompanied by a strong desire to grow – means organisations are looking for sustainable ways to manage talent.

This year’s CIPD Talent Management Conference will offer delegates best practice examples of talent management initiatives from organisations such as, Capgemini, Cranfield School of Management, Siemens Plc and Aviva. There will be an opportunity to gain practical advice on creating a sustainable talent strategy, to drive organisational growth and manage top talent – stressing the importance of placing the right people in the right place at the right time.

Highlight sessions include:

• Talent Planning – designing and implementing a strategic workforce plan which meets the current and future needs of the organisation
• Managing Talent in an Age Diverse Workforce – the development opportunities most appealing to the younger generation, the effects of the default retirement age (DRA) and managing the transfer of knowledge at all stages of the lifecycle
• Global Talent Challenges; Local Solutions – looking at the global challenges of monitoring, measuring and moving talent and the issues associated with overcoming immigration cap restrictions

Claire McCartney, Resourcing and Talent Planning Adviser, CIPD, says: “Coming out of the recession and surviving the crawl back to growth will only happen if organisations make long-term competitiveness a key objective. Shortages of specialist skills and talent in the UK workforce indicate that organisations need to develop from within as well as establish a strong employer brand. Otherwise organisations could run the risk of an unwelcomed halt to progress. The increasingly global marketplace also means that UK organisations are forced to compete in a much wider area, creating the need for ever more innovative talent management strategies.”

For further information on the speakers and conference visit www.cipd.co.uk/cande/talent