What are the UKs Most Attractive Employers in 2014

What are the UKs Most Attractive Employers in 2014 Following on from last years results, LinkedIn has  unveiled this years top 20 in-demand employers. With more than 332 million members on LinkedIn worldwide, the data is gathered from its 17 million members in the UK. The BBC climbed two places to make its first appearance in the top five, while Burberry entered the top ten for the first time, and Harrods made its debut in the top 20.  John Lewis is making ground on competitors, jumping from 5th to 2nd. Over  half of the top ten are UK-based companies, the UK home to 13 of the top 20 in total. 2014s Emerging UK trends: High-end and luxury retailers that dominate the InDemand rankings. John Lewis climbed three places to overtake  Apple, while Marks and Spencer (9th, up one place), Burberry (12th, up two places), and Harrods (16th, new entry in the top 20)  all climbed upwards. Construction services firm Carillion (17th, up two places) and natural resources and engineering consultancy AMEC (14th, up six places) both improved on 2013’s debut appearances in the top 20, pointing to growing confidence in the sector The BBC (5th, up two places) moved into the top five for the first time, while ITV (11th, non-mover) saw its progress up the rankings abruptly halted after climbing seven places to close the gap on its broadcasting rival in 2013 Here is the full list of the  20 Most in-demand Employers among UK LinkedIn members: Google (-) John Lewis (+3) Apple (-1) BP (-1) BBC (+2) Shell (-2) Microsoft (-1) Unilever (+1) Marks and Spencer (+1) Burberry (+2) ITV (-) ASOS.com (+1) Amazon (+5) AMEC (+6) BAE Systems (+1) Harrods (NE) Carillion (+2) Rolls-Royce (NE) Goldman Sachs (-2) British Airways (-6) For a full list of all the companies in the LinkedIn inDemand rankings, view this page:  https://www.linkedin.com/indemand/uk/2014.

The Enormous Benefits Of Learning Online

The Enormous Benefits Of Learning Online Have you ever thought about improving your education? There are millions of people all around the world that would love to be able to improve their education, obtain a certificate, and get a better paying job. There are numerous ways to gained additional knowledge, but some methods are better than others. For instance, partaking in free online courses can definitely be a good choice. Learning from the comfort of your own home will give you the ability to save money and work on your schedule. Below, you will learn about the enormous benefits associated with learning online. No Boundaries First and foremost, you should realize that it will be possible to learn almost anything online. If you sign up for classes at a local community college or vocational school, it is highly likely you will be restricted. The schools close to you may not offer the classes that are desired. This will force you to move elsewhere or make adjustments to your preferences. Of course, you can always avoid this problem by getting an education online. The Internet is filled with a wealth of knowledge and the courses available will be enormously diverse. Just search around a little and you’ll be able to find a website that offers the classes you prefer!   Be it a masters of social work, or a masters in business administration, there is an online class for you! In Your Free Time A lot of people would love to go back to school, but they simple do not have the time. Working a full-time job or two part-time jobs can make it enormously difficult to find time to hit the books. It is possible to avoid this dilemma by taking free online courses. Educating yourself at home will make it possible to work in your spare time. You’ll be able to login to your computer and visit the educational website at any time of the day or night. This will allow you to progress at your own pace, until you finally complete your courses and accomplish your goals. This type of freedom will not be available through traditional forms of schooling. More Comfort Some people absolutely hate getting up bright and early in the morning to head to school. Plus, getting dressed and making sure you look professional can be very tedious. When you decide to get an education online, you will never have to worry about this problem. In all likelihood, your teacher will not be able to see you. And even if they can, they won’t be able to tell whether or not you just got out of bed. Therefore, you will be able to get an education online in the most comfortable manner possible. In fact, you’ll be able to keep your pajamas on, while still learning about your respective field. More Affordable Believe it or not, getting an education online can actually be much more affordable than the alternative. Universities and colleges are forced to pay more overhead costs. Digital universities tend to be much less costly to run and this allows them to offer their services for a discounted price. Plus, you’ll always be able to shop around more extensively online. So, if you put in enough effort, you’ll be able to save money by learning a new skill online. In some cases, you might even be able to take a course for free! Free online courses will provide you with the education you desire, without draining your bank account! No Babysitter While everyone desires to earn a higher degree, it is can be out of reach from some. However, with free online courses, you can improve your life for the better. One of these biggest benefits of online learning for parents, who want to get a degree, is there will be not need to hire a babysitter. Not only will this help you focus your attention on your studies, instead of worrying about your children’s safety, but it will also save you a lot of money. If you have a partner that is willing to share the responsibilities, they can take care of the children, while you study. Learn At Your Own Pace Many students, who attend colleges, have difficulty keeping up with the classwork. Everyone is different in how they take in new information, so it is not unusual to see a few students fall in between the cracks. However, with online learning this will never be an issue. You can study at your own pace, allowing more flexibility in your classwork and studies. No Parking Tickets Most universities offer limited student parking, increasing the difficulty of avoiding a parking ticket. University police are always hard at work, looking for students that park in restricted areas. A parking ticket can cost anywhere from $25 to $40, depending on where you park. Hopefully, you do not park in front of a fire hydrant or cross walk, because if you do this may potentially mean that the monetary penalty will be double the cost. With online learning, you will never need to search for a legal parking spot or worry about getting a parking ticket. Image credit Main

5 Career tips women should run from

5 Career tips women should run from Theres a huge market for telling women how to be happier. Maybe its because women read more than men. Or maybe its the discrepancy that women know when they are overweight and men dont. Or the discrepancy that most men think they are good parents and most women think they need to be better parents. The list goes on and on, in a glass-half-empty kind of way. In general, I think the strength of women is that they see things more clearly. Yes, its a glass-half-empty world for women, compared to men, but women should leverage their stronger grip on reality. So heres my contribution to women and clarity. I am debunking five totally annoying pieces of advice I hear people give women all the time. 1. Take a look at the lists of best companies for women to work for This is an advertising ploy, not a plan for you to run your life. Every single time theres a list like this, women write to me from the companies on the list to tell me how much they suck for women. But its not like I need those emails. I can just look at senior management, which is almost always all men, and see that corporate careers are set up for a one kind of life: very focused, no other interests, except, maybe, oneself. And this is not all that appealing to most women. So you can forget the lists. The bar is so low to get on the lists that which company is on and which company is off is statistically irrelevant to women planning their careers. 2. Get a book deal that lets you write about men you admire Yes, it is exciting to get a book deal, but why do women spend years writing books that fawn over the men they work with? Here are some books by women I admire, and I cant get over that they spent years researching and reporting on men doing what, in fact, these women would probably like to be doing themselves. Why not just dump the book idea and do the cool jobs you write about instead of pretending youre not interested in that? If you want to get paid to write about men, aspire to be Mary Gaitskill. 3. Marry a stay-at-home dad to give you more space to grow your career Based on my own experience and some research I dont believe men are happy in this role. Please, stay-at-home dads, do not write to me to say youre happy. I understand that there are exceptions to this rule, and also that all those exceptions happen to be blogging. But on balance, I find that stay-at-home dads are actually talking about some other project they are doing that is either a) BS and then they are in denial that they are totally lost or b) not BS and then they are not stay-at-home dads but rather dads with flexible work schedules. Meanwhile, no matter how much money a woman makes, most women try to find a guy who earns more than she does. So whether or not its good for your career is a moot point; be true to yourself and admit you dont want a stay-at-home husband. 4. Join an all-women networking group Women are less connected in the world than men are. Men do not drop out of work during their highest earning potential years to take care of kids. So they have better connections. And, in my own work experience, men have been extremely helpful. So why would you go to a group that self-selects for people with fewer connections? There are a million ways to slice the world for networking potential by location, by interest, by experience, by goals. Why would you do it by sex? More importantly, its clear that women are not particularly supportive of each other. Everyone is competitive, but there are more problems between two women than between two men or between a man and a woman. I would like to tell you that this is outdated research and that with the post-feminist generation women are not so back-stabbing to each other. But its not true. Anne Manci?s research at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater finds that the culture in the top ranks is still disturbingly slanted toward women taking down the best women. (Thanks for the link, Kristine.) 5. Dont cry at work Newsflash. Women cry a lot and men dont. So lets just stop telling women to be men at work. No point. People who do best in their careers are people who are their true selves. And, I have first-hand research on this topic, because I have cried at all levels of my career. To be fair, I cry mostly when I have PMS. But whatever. PMS is just your body telling your brain that you need to start crying about the stuff that youve been ignoring all month. Heres the big secret about crying though. Men who are secure with themselves and their position in the world actually deal with women crying just fine. So any guy at work who cannot deal with you crying needs to get some therapy in order to be more self-assured. You, on the other hand, are doing just fine with those workplace tears.

The Benefits Of An Office Dog

The Benefits Of An Office Dog For years, the workplace has been viewed as a serious place; business only with no frills. Perhaps nothing is a better example of this mindset than the absence of pets around the office. Other than a veterinarian, who really benefits from having a dog trotting around, hanging out by the copier or napping under somebodys desk? It turns out that a lot of people benefit from it. Medical science is now putting some numbers behind the longtime assertions of pet owners that their animals make them happy. Specifically, the presence of a pet has been shown lower cholesterol, decrease blood pressure, and decrease feelings of loneliness. Having a dog hanging around the office can be helpful in other ways too. They can provide a nice security benefit  if your canine has a temperament thats friendly with the nice people and defensive with the bad ones. A workplace dog can also be a great icebreaker. If a first-time customer comes in and doesnt quite feel at ease in the new environment, theres nothing better to roll out the welcome mat than a wagging tail and a pair of puppy dog eyes. So theres no question that its a good idea to have a dog around your place of business. Its just a question of preparing for it so that things go smoothly. Planning For The Dogs Health Its very important to watch out for your four-legged friends health at work. Make sure to prevent the dog from accessing any area where poisonous substances might be stored, used, or even spilled. Dogs like to sniff and taste interesting things, and sometimes they can smell and taste good even though they are potentially deadly. Track the dogs vaccinations, and keep an eye out for chronic illnesses, too. Your dog at home is around you every day, and your whole family is probably in tune to anything out of the ordinary. But if everybody just sees the dog a few minutes a day at work, serious illnesses can be missed. Everything from common respiratory ailments to bone cancer in dogs can go unnoticed if we dont see the dog daily, so make sure someone volunteers to tend to the dogs food, health, and so forth.   Keep an eye on your dogs health, and if your dog doesnt seem to be doing well with his current food, try feeding your dog a different food.   Better yet, finding suitable dog insurance and what this should cover will help protect them throughout their lifetime. Making A Home Or Taking Them Home Dogs are great  stress relievers for us, but only if theyre happy themselves. We work 40 or so hours a week, but if the office dog truly lives there, its his or her home for 168 hours a week. In a workplace thats not staffed 24/7, your dog will get lonely. Add in holidays and occasional closures for bad weather and other things, and your office dog can quickly be badly neglected. Provide things in the workplace that will keep your dog happy while everyone is there. Make sure theres a bed, maybe a couple of favorite toys, and a quiet place for a midday nap. And have a plan for those prolonged empty hours. A dog at home is alone for ten or so hours per day, so if you exceed that level at work, something needs to be done differently. Have a dogsitting schedule. Ask employees to volunteer to take the dog home each night, and make sure that food and water are taken care of when no one will be around. Be Able To Take The Dog Away While most workplaces with dogs on site are populated by animal lovers, not every customer or client may agree. And certain conditions like many autism-spectrum disorders create anxiety around things like overzealous dogs. There are also still plenty of people who will sneeze at the mere sight of a dog. Make sure your dogs presence doesnt backfire. Dont allow it in carpeted areas where allergens can flourish. Have a room or other space where the dog can go if customers dont want it around. And install hypoallergenic filters in your heating and cooling to keep pet dander from circulating throughout the building. A dog in the workplace is no longer a novelty. Its an economically sound management decision that can be beneficial to everyone. Just make sure its beneficial to more than just the dog lovers. Keep things pleasant for your customers, vendors, employees, and the dog itself. Image credit.

Send Your Resume Along With Email to the Hiring Manager

Send Your Resume Along With Email to the Hiring ManagerIf you have been advised that you have a chance of getting a job, then you need to start sending your resume along with an email to the hiring manager along with resume cover letter. If you are on the look out for a job, then you need to keep in mind that you have the right to make a first impression on the hiring manager by sending him the right resume along with email to the hiring manager along with resume cover letter.You should make sure that you have sent the important email attachments and send the resume along with email. The advantage of sending resume along with email is that it has the chance to be read by the hiring manager and hence it provides an opportunity to generate an impulse for him to call you for a formal interview. This will give you an opportunity to market yourself properly to him.If you have sent the right resume along with an email to the hiring manager along with resume cover letter, then he will recei ve your resume and hence be in a position to go through your resume and decide whether he would like to call you for an interview. You need to do something to build your credibility for the interview. This is what professional resume writers use to get employers interested to know more about you. It can build your credibility to the hiring manager if you write it professionally.The resume that you write should be skillfully crafted and contain all the facts related to your work history and education. A typical resume contains many gaps in the resume such as, you need to fill them up with a new resume along with an email to the hiring manager along with resume cover letter. Apart from this, there is another big gap that would be able to persuade the hiring manager to call you for an interview.The prospective employer would like to know more about you and therefore will be on the look out for you in his queries. The prospective employer also wants to know what he should do to get the job. In this way you could gain the confidence of the prospective employer and also win the job.The resume along with email that you write would help the prospective employer gets his job done. The prospective employer would get attracted to your resume because of your impressive resume. When he sees your resume, he will be in a position to call you for an interview.When you feel that you have the talent for writing a resume and when you have written a quality resume, you would be in a position to create a nice look in the resume to give a professional look to it. By adding professional pictures to your resume, you would be able to stand out from the rest of the other resumes that were given by other job seekers.It is a simple fact that the employer would love to interview you because of your resume. However, you need to put your best foot forward when you create your resume and also write your resume using email.

Tips For Writing Cover Letters - Hire Imaging

Tips For Writing Cover Letters - Hire Imaging Cover Letters: Why? Cover letters are read carefully by those with the power to make, or influence, the hiring decision. The higher up the professional ladder you climb, the more important cover letters and career search letters become. For the candidate who must demonstrate written communication skills in the execution of daily duties (and thats really any of us), these letters become a valuable medium for demonstrating significant career expertise. Cover Letters: 25 Tips Here are 25 tips and tricks that will make sure your cover letters get noticed. Use customized stationery with your name, address, and phone number on top. Match your stationery to that of your résumé it shows class and professionalism. Customize the cover letter. Address it to a specific individual. Be sure that you have the proper spelling of the persons name, his or her title, and the company name. If you dont wish to customize each letter and prefer to use a form letter, use the salutation, Dear Hiring Manager. (Do not use Dear Sir. The hiring manager may be a woman). The cover letter is more informal than the résumé and must begin to build rapport. Be enthusiastic, energetic, and motivating. The cover letter must introduce you and your value to a potential employer. Be sure to date the cover letter. An effective cover letter should be easy to read, have larger typeface than the résumé (12-point type is a good size), and be short four to five short paragraphs will usually do the job. Keep the cover letter to one page. If you are compelled to use two pages, be sure that your name appears on the second page. The first paragraph should ignite interest in your candidacy and spark enthusiasm from the reader. Why is the reader reading this letter? What can you do for him or her? The second paragraph must promote your value. What are your skills, abilities, qualifications, and credentials that would meet the readers needs and job requirements? The third paragraph notes specific accomplishments, achievements, and educational experience that would expressly support the second paragraph. Quantify these accomplishments if possible. The fourth paragraph must generate future action. Ask for an interview or tell the reader that you will be calling in a week or so to follow up. The fifth paragraph should be a short one, closing the letter and showing appreciation. Demonstrate specific problem-solving skills in the letter, supported by specific examples. Unless asked to do so, dont discuss salary in a cover letter. If salary history or requirements are asked for, provide a modest window, and mention that it is negotiable (if it is). Be sure that the letter has a professional appearance. Be sure that there are no spelling, typographical, or grammatical errors. Be sure to keep the letter short and to the point. Dont ramble. Do not lie or exaggerate. Everything you say in a cover letter and résumé must be supported in the eventual interview. Be careful not to use the pronoun I excessively. Tie together what the target company is doing and what their needs might be. To come full circle, explain how you fit into their strategy and can close potential gaps in meeting their objectives. Avoid negative and controversial subject matter. The purpose of a cover letter and résumé is to put your best foot forward. This material (job-hopping, prior termination, etc.) can be tactfully addressed in the interview. If you are faxing the cover letter and résumé, you do not need to send a fax transmittal form as long as your fax number is included in the heading along with your telephone number. To close the letter, use Sincerely, Sincerely yours, Respectfully, or Very truly yours. Be sure to sign the letter. Cover Letters: More Tips More Cover Letter Tips

How To Get Ahead In Your Career

How To Get Ahead In Your Career My younger cousin has always been wise beyond his years, and it’s no surprise that he’s now a senior executive at one of the world’s most respected financial institutions. He recently shared some advice that can help you get ahead in your career and in life. Why I always listen to my younger cousin I remember one of our family visits to Asia when he was just nine years old. He was already giving the rest of us older cousins great advice: the best route to get to the restaurant, the best brand of camera to buy, the pitfalls to avoid in order for us visitors to get around safely. And living with our grandfather, a man of the highest integrity, my cousin couldn’t help but learn to “do the right thing” even when it’s inconvenient. As we would say back in New Jersey, “the kid has his head screwed on straight”. Fast forward to my recent trip to China. Over lunch, I asked my cousin what career advice he gives to the younger people coming up the ranks. After thinking for a moment, he said the following three things. Here’s his best career advice 1. Don’t be a “BMW” â€" which stands for “Bitch, Moan and Whine” “I’m always surprised that so many people come into my office simply to complain. It doesn’t reflect well on them.” I know just what he means. In fact, it’s a real negative as far as your career is concerned. There's downside to being a BMW. Imagine you’re the big boss (and maybe you are) and some of your people treat you like the complaints department. They vent their negative energy on you. Sure, the proverbial buck stops with you. And yes, you have the power to make more decisions than many others do. But you’re not a magician. Yet they seem to expect you to wave your wand and make their problems disappear. You’re amazed at how self-absorbed people can be. Don’t they realize you’re forming impressions about who is an up and coming leader, and who is not? What does that tell you about those people? Among other things, this comes across as having a sense of entitlement. It implies a learned helplessness â€" a lack of recognition that they can and do have the ability to make things happen or at least influence them. And you certainly won’t want to spend extra time with them or recommend them for bigger responsibilities. In fact, this BMW behavior is so prevalent in organizations that another leader I respect has instituted a policy: “no complaining without a solution”. On the other hand, there's significant upside when you're not a BMW. So if you have a complaint, do your homework before you voice it. Have a proposed solution or set of solutions, and use positive words. Taking a glass half full approach will stand you in much better stead. You’ll set yourself apart from others. And you’re more likely to get what you want. 2. Do what you love, love what you do “Life is short. You have to enjoy your work.” I have to agree. What I like best about this piece of advice is that it you can interpret it in several different ways, and one of them is sure to be helpful. You can focus on the first part of the advice and interpret this one as “follow your passion,” which is great advice if you actually know what your passion is. But for those of us who don't know, it’s also somewhat terrifying. As in, “oh no! I’m the only person who doesn’t have a passion!” In that case, you can focus on the second part, which encourages us to find enjoyment and reward in what we are doing. Which doesn’t require knowing what you love, but helps us on the road to finding what we love through experimentation. As you can tell, this is the one that helps me most. And of course, there’s the truism that if you’re doing what you love, you’re going to enjoy what you do. And who can argue with that? Underlying this advice is that you have to take ownership of your career. It’s up to each of us to identify what we love even if means experimenting and kissing lots of frogs to find it. And then it’s about putting ourselves in a position to keep learning and growing. Careers aren’t static “set and forget” endeavors, and it’s up to each of us to take charge. 3. Be like you were in kindergarten “Play nice. Don’t eat other people’s food.” My cousin is talking about being a good human being, and showing respect in our basic human interactions. It’s not rocket science, but it’s amazing how easy it is to forget to do in the stress and busy-ness of adulthood. In fact there’s a great little book called All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten that reminds us of just this point. It’s so tempting to get sucked down into the petty competitions and office politics that tend to pit people against each other. But that kind of “zero sum” thinking leads us onto the “low road”. The reality is that those behaviors and mindsets drag us down. They bring us to the lowest common denominator. They make us less than who we are meant to be as people. This is what leads to waking up one day and not liking ourselves. Instead, take out that “kindergarten playbook” and set a new example. Be kind. Help others. Lighten up and don’t take yourself too seriously. Take the high road. You can be ambitious without going overboard on competing. You can understand the politics of the situation without “playing office politics”. You can rise without putting others down. Look for ways to find mutual benefit. And take on the challenge of being the best person you can be. One thing that’s not on the list I was also interested to note what didn’t make the “top 3” list. In particular, being the best in technical skills. Yes, it’s necessary to have great skills and to be excellent in the technical aspects required for the job. However, that alone is not sufficient, especially beyond the early years. Once you’ve mastered the technicals, it’s time to round out your experience and capabilities to include a broader set of ways to differentiate yourself and add value. For example, how you work with people, how you develop yourself, and taking a more strategic approach to the business. How you can get ahead in your career No matter where we are in our careers, the question is always how can you stand out and get ahead? One way to do that is to take my cousin’s advice. It sounds simple, and in fact it’s pretty straightforward. What’s less simple is to put the advice into action. It’s the sum of lots of small decisions you make moment to moment. It’s what you think and do when you think no one’s looking. So by all means, find that killer app, land that big piece of business, win the coveted award. These are all ways to stand out and get ahead. But while you’re hunting for those big wins, you can set yourself apart by taking my cousin’s principles: Don’t be a BMW â€" be a positive, constructive, solutions-oriented professional. Do what you love and love what you do â€" when you’re energized, you’re in a better position to win. Be like you were in kindergarten â€" play nice and don’t eat other people’s food. Being guided by these bigger principles makes it easier to be your best self, and to do your best. And you’ll like yourself better too. So, which of these principles will you put into action to stand out and get ahead?