Why the job hunt doesn't have to be scary
Whether you’re a recent graduate with minimal experience or a veteran in your field looking for a new venture, the job hunt can be daunting. From financial pressures to candidate competition, there’s an endless amount of fears and pressures that many of us tend to put on ourselves when embarking on the job hunt. It’s important to note, many of these fears are self-made, or a product of overthinking.
Whilst the job hunt is important, it’s nothing to be afraid of – and in the spirit of Halloween, we’ve compiled a list of your biggest job hunt fears and will be offering solutions to overcome all of them!
Fear #1 You need to spend all of your free time on it
From CV creation and sifting through the thousands of job listings to find opportunities that fit your experience, interests and needs, to the application process and multiple interview stages, the job hunt process is not a short one.
Many put off doing these tasks simply because it seems like a heavy workload, and when you look at it like that it’s hard to disagree. A key tip to conquering this is to optimize your search time. Split each task up and set aside block times to complete each one. For example, rather than tell yourself you’ll get it all done on the weekend, set a specific time and date (e.g “I will complete my cover letter for that role on Friday night from 7 to 8 PM.).
Fear #2 You’re not qualified
We’ve all been in the position where we’ve found our dream role, it almost sounds too good to be true when- oh, I need how many years of experience? And experience using every CRM system known to man?
It’s imperative to note that for the most part, job descriptions are idealistic descriptions of the dream candidate for the role in question. Hiring managers won’t expect you to match every single qualification listed. So long as you are selling yourself to the best of your ability, there is a good chance you will be considered.
Fear #3 You’ll never find a role
The job hunt is a marathon, not a sprint. Rather than expecting an instant job offer, be realistic and continue applying for as many suitable roles as possible. Whilst you’re waiting to hear back, why not read educational articles and enrol onto online courses to expand on your existing knowledge to increase your employability.
Not only this, but there are hundreds of thousands of external support and outlets, such as Recruitment companies and career advisors to assist you in your job search (please see resources below). Registering with a recruitment agency is a great way to gain exposure to a plethora of jobs that haven’t even been advertised yet, and they’re willing to do all the heavy lifting for you.
Fear #4 you’ll get ghosted
In recent years, ghosting has become a widespread commonplace practice. With the job market like it is, organisations are inundated with hundreds of CV’s for each role leaving them unable to respond to unsuccessful candidates.
Rather than spending your time feeling disheartened and defeated, why not take this time to reflect on why you might have been unsuccessful? Take a look at your CV, are you selling yourself to the best of your ability? Are all of your key skills and qualifications listed?
You can always give the hiring manager a call or drop them an email to request feedback on why you were unsuccessful on this occasion, and what you can do to improve your chances in the future.
Resources
To register with Hoop, give us a call on 02922 400 519 to discuss our current opportunities. Alternatively, click the link below to register with us:
https://www.hooprecruitment.co.uk/user/registration
For career advice, please see the following:
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/
Mental Health in the Workplace
As we celebrated Mental Health Awareness Day earlier this month, I reflected on how lucky I am to work for a progressive company like Hoop, where there are many initiatives and policies in place to support any employees who are struggling with mental health issues.
This in turn, made me envisage what it would be like if I wasn’t so lucky, working in an environment where my employers did not care for the mental wellbeing of their staff. Unfortunately, this is the reality for 76% of employees, who believe their company should be doing more to support the mental health of their workforce (PeopleScout, 2021).
Whilst employee mental health has recently become a priority to many employers, there is no doubt that a stigma still exists around the discussion of mental health in the workplace. In fact, 44% of employees agree (Business Leader, 2021). But why?
According to a 2021 survey of 500 employers, 48% of employers simply do not have the budget to support their employees’ mental health and therefore neglect the topic altogether. Whilst 30% of employers do not know how to support their employees’ mental health (Business Leader, 2021).
Unbeknownst to many employers, many initiatives to combat mental health in the workplace don’t need a large budget. In fact, one of the initiatives currently being adopted by market giants including Shopify and Buffer is the 4-day work week. Although this initiative may seem like a bad investment monetary-wise at first, it’s actually been proven to increase productivity, eliminating the risk of a significant reduction in profits.
For some companies despite the lack of risk, initiatives like these just aren’t a viable option. For these organisations I would recommend the following free initiatives to prevent employee dissatisfaction and keep employee morale high.
- Remain Flexible – Be mindful that your employees are dealing with a variety of stressors both within and outside of work. If certain deadlines aren’t essential, keep them flexible. Enabling you employee that wiggle room could lift a huge stress of their shoulders.
- Practice Self-Care – Encourage your employees to take plenty of breaks, eat regularly, and ensure they get plenty of rest to avoid over working themselves and burning out.
- Communication is key – Ensure regular check ins with your team. Using kind tones can go a long way and encourage staff to feel comfortable enough to approach you if they were struggling or in need of support.
- Make the office a fun environment – A great way to keep morale high is to introduce fun activities and some healthy competition into the office.
Here at Hoop, our employee’s mental health and wellbeing is our top priority. We’ve implemented many initiatives to try and break the barrier and stigma around mental health in the workplace, including introducing a ‘Hoop Day’ in which employees can take a last-minute paid day off.
If you would like more tips on how to support your employees or how to support your own mental health in the workplace, please see the articles listed in the sources below.
Sources
https://www.peoplescout.com/insights/mental-health-in-the-workplace/
https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/how-support-mental-health-work
https://www.mind.org.uk/workplace/mental-health-at-work/taking-care-of-yourself/tips-for-employees/
My First 3 Months In Recruitment
I have been at Hoop now for 3 months and it has been a rollercoaster from the very beginning. Starting a new job is a scary experience for anyone at the best of times but it was very nerve wracking for me as this is my first professional career job and I knew nothing about recruitment.
Before my interview, I tried to find out as much as I could about recruitment and what I would be doing day to day but google can only do so much. Recruitment to me is finding people jobs which in essence it still is, but there is so much more that goes into it than google cannot prepare you for. The ups and downs of the role is the thing that initially surprised me, in a matter of hours you can go from having the best day to having the worst and the skills it takes to balance your own emotions throughout it all and remain level-headed is something I still need to master.
However, google also doesn’t prepare you for the best things about recruitment. Having the opportunity to speak with candidates, finding more about them not only professionally but also personally and building great relationships. This has been so rewarding and giving them the call telling them that they have been offered a role is an unbeatable feeling, especially since so many have had such hard times during the pandemic.
I strongly believe I wouldn’t have progressed to the level I have without the support that Hoop provides. Whether you have been there for 3 months like myself or 3+ years, all accomplishments are celebrated. For example, I was awarded employee of the month for august which was a lovely surprise but also even the little things are celebrated like my first placement or hitting personal and team goals.
In the professional services team, if you take or fill a job, it’s a good time to celebrate, if you finally find a great candidate, celebrations are a must and even if you just make it through a rough week with your head above water, celebrate. With the up and down nature of recruitment I think the little celebrations keep everyone going more than the big ones, just knowing that your efforts are acknowledged and appreciated when you’re not having the best week can be what you need to get to Friday.
Recruitment to me now is proactively searching for new roles and clients to work with and building a relationship with them to provide them the best service and being a friendly person to speak to for my candidates when they are looking for a new role and need that confidence boost before an interview, or being a person to turn to who is supportive for candidates who sadly faced redundancy especially because of the pandemic and making sure all candidates are placed in a role that makes them happy and allows them to grow. It may not seem too different than “finding people jobs” but the skills, knowledge and compassion that goes into being a good recruiter is far broader than I first imagined, and I have loved learning from the best in my role at Hoop recruitment.
