Part-time pastimes earn Brits £249 million per month

Part-time pastimes earn Brits £249 million per month by Michael Cheary Three quarters of Brits pursue after-work hobbiesPhotography is named the most popular hobby in the UKMore than one-in-five earn over £151 a month from post-work interestsWinding down after work is a thing of the past, as new research from reed.co.uk has found three quarters of Brits (77 per cent) have a part-time hobby as well as a full-time job. It seems the UK’s strong working ethos doesn’t stop once people clock off for the day, as on average, talented Brits earn a collective £249 million a month from after-work interests.Cameras, controllers and Mary Berrys cupcakesThe research reveals we are a nation of “Professional Hobbyists” with photography snapping up the top spot as the most popular after-work vocation (12 per cent), closely followed by gaming with over one in 10 (11 per cent)   turning their habit into a handy earner. Baking takes the third spot, with one in 10 Brits (10 per cent) spending their spare time creating cupcakes to rival th ose of Mary Berry.Professional Hobbyists take home over £50 a month on average, with one in five (21 per cent) bagging themselves a minimum of £151 a month â€" adding up to over £1,800 a year.Crafting 9-to-5A hobby is a commitment that’s not taken lightly with one in six (16 per cent) investing over 10 hours a week to their craft. Almost a third of people (29 per cent) spend time on a hobby to lift their mood, whilst over a quarter (27 per cent) happily give up their evenings to pursue an interests that they are passionate about.The study found that having a hobby can also have a positive impact on an individual’s day job. One in three Brits (29 per cent) say having interests outside of work act as a positive distraction after a busy day and helps them to remain calm and relaxed in the workplace. Whilst one in five (22 per cent) find having a hobby makes them more interesting to colleagues and gives them talking points at the watercooler.  An additional one in six Brits (17 per cent) believes the skills developed through part-time passions have supported their day job.Our survey saysSo, accoring to our latest research, the nations post-work passtimes are:Top five most popular hobbies:Photography (12 per cent)Gaming (11 per cent)Baking (10 per cent)Drawing / Painting (8 per cent)Creative writing (6 per cent)Lynn Cahillane, Communications Manager at  reed.co.uk, said: It’s great to see how driven UK workers are today. Putting your spare time to good use is a fantastic way to build on your existing skill set as well as maintain your appeal to employers. The passion you display for your professional hobby could give you the edge over other candidates to land you your next job.Commenting on her part-time pastime, Hayleigh Dalton of Handmade by Hayleigh; said: During the day I work in fashion buying and in the evenings I run a card business, where I hand craft individual cards using stamps. I find making them a great way to wind down after work, even thoug h I have had a huge amount of Christmas orders recently so I’ve been kept pretty busy. I’ve found making the most of my evenings has helped me move away from that living for the weekend mentality and improve my mood both in work and out.Find a job What Where Search JobsSign up for more Career AdviceSign up for moreCareer Advice Please enter a valid email addressmessage hereBy clicking Submit you agree to the terms and conditions applicable to our service and acknowledge that your personal data will be used in accordance with our privacy policy and you will receive emails and communications about jobs and career related topics. Features

4 Reasons You Are in Sales and its a Good Thing!

4 Reasons You Are in Sales and it’s a Good Thing! A firefighter, a professor, a computer repair technician and a lawyer are having dinner together. Which one is the salesperson? None, right? One is in the business of saving lives; another teaches; one fixes stuff; and the last one keeps people out of jail. They’re not in sales. Or are they? The fact is that every job is a sales job. Even yours. What do you think the firefighter is doing when he visits an elementary school classroom to talk about the dangers of playing with matches or setting off fireworks? He’s selling children on staying safe. What skills does the professor use when she tries to convince her students to power down their phones and take notes during her lectures? Sales skills. If a computer tech does a good job and treats his clientsâ€"who usually come to him in distressâ€"with kindness and patience, will those customers choose him again next time they need service? If so, he’s made a sale. And the lawyer spends all day selling juries on finding her clients “not guilty” and judges on ruling in their favor. No matter what kind of job you can think of, it’s got a sales component, at least unofficially. That means your job is, in part, a sales job. If you’re like most people who haven’t chosen sales as a career, your reaction is probably something like, “Ick.” Sales does have a bad reputation. But the fact is that we are surrounded by salespeople who are ethical and honest. Most salespeople do not practice the dishonest, manipulative, pushy brand of sales that created that bad rep. You don’t have to sell that way when you make those unofficial sales at work that you inevitably make, even though your job title doesn’t say anything about “sales.” Most of today’s sales professionals practice “consultative” sales. That means they try to sell only what their clients need. They look for products and services that will solve a problem for the client or make the client happy. They don’t pressure or trick or lie to their clients. Instead, they figure out how they can get what they wantâ€"the saleâ€"while giving the client what he or she wants and needs. They know that nobody likes to be sold. But they also know that everybody likes to buy. So they figure out what each person they meet really wants to buy. That’s what they sell. For people who aren’t sales professionalsâ€"but have lots of opportunities to make unofficial sales at workâ€"the same strategy can work. But going from a mindset of “ick” to one that embraces selling as the most-effective way to get a raise, a promotion, a thumbs-up for your business on social media or another contract from someone you already work with might not be easy. So ease into it. Here are four points that could help you embrace your inner salesperson: Realize that you already know how to sell. In fact, you’ve known how since you were a kid. Children seem to innately understand how to get what they want from their parents. They figure out at a young age that being nice and helpfulâ€"not demanding and stomping their feetâ€"will get them that special toy or a later bedtime. They also know that they need to ask for what they want, because Mom and Dad aren’t going to volunteer it. Those strategies can still work for you. Follow the Golden Rule when you ask for anything: Treat people as you would like them to treat you. Be kind. Don’t push. Ask nicely. Not only do you already know how to sell, you already do it every day. Every time you encourage your child to pick up his toys, your partner to pick up the dry cleaning or a co-worker to pick up the slack, you’re selling. Every time they do what you asked, you’ve made a “sale.” It doesn’t matter that the transaction did not involve money. Think of selling as a way to help people. Everybody wants something. Once you identify the person who can help you get what you want, figure out not how you can “sell” that person, but what you have that can help that person. A professional who sells gutter shields, for example, has a product that can solve a huge problem for a homeowner with clogged gutters. A non-salesperson who asks the boss for a big raise can offer to take on more responsibility in exchange for more money. A saleâ€"official or unofficialâ€"should create a win for the “seller” and a win for the “buyer” so both of you get what you need. You could be a superstar. If you bring in business, even though that’s not your official job, youll get noticed. Opportunities to do that are everywhere: Whenever you work with clients, find out what else they need. Ask what else you can do to help. Then, figure out if your company has a product or service that would fill that need, and offer it. Before you say “goodbye” to a client after a satisfying work experience, ask that customer to refer your company to friends and colleagues, and to write a positive social media review. Be a walking commercial for your company, on and off the job. Employees who tell positive stories about their workplace spread goodwill not only for the business but for themselves. The people who notice your pride in your company are more likely to contact you when they need its services than those who observe an employee bad-mouthing the boss. Making a “sale” can and should be a positive experience for both you and the person you’re “selling.”   There’s really nothing “icky” at all about trying to strike a deal that benefits everyone involved. This guest post was authored by Dr. Cindy McGovern. Dr. Cindy McGovern, known as the “First Lady of Sales,” speaks and consults internationally on sales, interpersonal communication and leadership. She is the author of Every Job is a Sales Job: How to Use the Art of Selling to Win at Work. Dr. Cindy is the CEO of Orange Leaf Consulting, a sales management and consulting firm. For more information, please visit, www.drcindy.com and connect with her on Twitter, @1stladyofsales and LinkedIn.

A day in the life of an advertising intern

A day in the life of an advertising intern Charles Oben graduated from Warwick this summer with a 2:1 in French with International Studies. In a previous blog post  Charles revealed how impressed employers were with his  visual CV  and soon after was offered an internship with  Adconion Media Group.  I recently caught up with Charles to find out hows he getting on What does your job involve? I’m a sales intern within the Global Sales Team for Adconion Media Group, a performance driven online advertising network. Adconion, amongst other things, run online display campaigns (those ads you see parading all over the net) and try to get consumers to interact with them. My job is end to end campaign management for these campaigns; set-up, optimization, reporting, invoicing and post-campaign analysis. How much training were you given? Training lasted for the first few weeks and involved a complete introduction into the business; learning about the relationship between ad networks, publishers and clients, understanding all the different roles within the varied stages of campaign management, and learning how to use all of the in house systems. It was a lot to take in initially but an interesting learning process. What does a typical working day look like? Cliché as it may sound, no day is exactly the same as it depends on many things like which campaigns are live and if they’re experiencing any problems, or if we have any campaigns to set up and what type. So things change, but I do have some routine duties: Every morning I pull up the pacing report which tells me how all our campaigns are performing and then I send this off with notes to the relevant delivery managers so they can make changes. On Tuesdays and Thursdays the Global Sales Team has its campaign management meeting where we look at all the campaigns that are currently live and decide what steps need to be taken next. In these meetings I give an overview of each campaign’s performance. Recently, I was given five campaigns to manage and so I’m responsible for all the client communications and sending out weekly reports with the latest stats showing the performance. How much responsibility have you been given? The training wheels are off and I’d say that I’ve been given quite a bit of responsibility, and I’m gradually getting more all the time. I think to be given your own campaigns to manage only after a few weeks of training is an achievement. Obviously I still have much to learn, but I like that I’ve been given the chance to really get stuck in with the work. How closely do you work with other graduates and interns? There are four interns working in sales at the moment, I don’t really work with two of them as they’re in a different department, but one of the interns sits next to me and our responsibilities often overlap. What is the best part of your job? The office culture, without a doubt. Working in advertising is fun and that’s certainly the case in Adconion. Everybody is really warm and friendly, there’s music playing throughout the day, people talking and the table tennis table in the breakout area gets used a lot. We had our own Office Olympics not too long ago and amongst other things, there was an arm wrestling competition and chicken limbo contest. People work hard, but they play hard too. What tips would you give to other students wanting to work in this area? Be likeable, network, and do a lot of stuff, particularly the last two. During my interview, my degree was only mentioned in passing (as it’s not related to advertising) and I was simply asked if I got a 2:1. My interviewers were far more interested in my work experience, all the extracurricular activities I had done and the fact that my CV proved that I was very proactive. I also only found out about the internship through  networking  â€" one of the people I now sit opposite to is the sister to one of my brother’s friends who I met during the Queen’s jubilee. So I certainly think networking is important! * Charles also  blogs  about his experiences as a new grad in the working world.

5 Job Search Mistakes and How to Fix Them - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

5 Job Search Mistakes and How to Fix Them - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Most of us have probably experienced a point in our job search when it seems like it’s going nowhere. Regardless of the time and effort you’ve invested in your search, you still feel like nothing has paid off. Especially if your search is taking longer than you anticipated, you’re probably wondering where you went wrong. After the recession, the average length of time it took an individual to secure a job doubled from five weeks to 10 weeks. This is worrisome for many job seekers because this time can definitely cost you in other aspects of your life, such as a lack of steady income. If you’ve found your job search to take longer than you anticipated, there’s a chance you’re making some mistakes holding you back from landing a job. To help you find more clarity in your search, here are some solutions to turn it around for the best: Mistake #1: You aren’t prepared for your search When you lack a strategy for your job search, it’s easy to feel like you’re wandering aimlessly through job boards and postings. Every job seeker needs to have a goal followed up with a plan. If you find yourself randomly applying for jobs and not following up with each application, then you’re lacking the preparation you need for a successful search. Solution: Create a strategy. The key to turning around your job search is beginning with the end in mind. Ask yourself where you want to be in the next six months, upcoming year, and even five years from now. Once you have an idea of where you want to be in the future, search for opportunities that will help you accomplish those goals. As you begin applying for jobs, staying organized is essential. You can start by creating bookmark folders and a spreadsheet to keep track of jobs you’ve applied for and ones you’d like to apply for. You should also begin building a list of contacts who can help you during your search, too. This way, you’ll know exactly who to contact when trying to network your way into a position. Mistake #2: You don’t have examples of your work readily on hand The majority employers will expect you to show them what you’ve accomplished as you apply for jobs and attend interviews. If you don’t have copies of your best work conveniently located, it could definitely set you back during your search. Solution: Create a folder on your desktop for your portfolio. A good way to keep all of your work organized is to create a designated desktop folder for your portfolio. This way you can easily locate samples of your work when you apply for jobs online or an employer requests one. It’s not uncommon to find ourselves sifting through our hard drives to find our best work. By keeping everything centrally located, you’ll be more efficient when applying for jobs. Mistake #3: You attend networking events in groups Although networking events and job fairs are great opportunities to make connections, they can also be counterproductive. A common problem job seekers run into is attending these events in groups. When this happens, you end up doing less networking than you would if you went by yourself because you tend to gravitate towards the people you arrived with. Solution: Go solo or schedule private meetings with employers. As scary as it may sound, consider going to a networking event by yourself. This will force you to step outside of your comfort zone to talk with employers and make connections. Another option is to set up informational interviews with employers. If you’re feeling intimidated by attending a large networking event by yourself, meeting an employer at their office or for coffee can be a much more comfortable setting for conversation. Mistake #4: Not taking responsibility for your search It’s easy to blame outside factors such as the economy or employers for your unsuccessful job search. However, when you have this attitude, you’re actually setting yourself up for failure. Many job seekers don’t take responsibility for their job search because they easily feel discouraged when things don’t go right. This is probably one of the largest setbacks you can create for yourself during your search. Solution: Be proactive. Instead of wallowing in your failures or fears, you need to turn that energy into a positive attitude. For example, if you’ve received interviews but haven’t had any job offers, consider following up with the interviewer to find out where you went wrong. This feedback will help you learn where you need to improve for your next interview. Mistake #5: Being self-absorbed in your job search As you attend networking events, job fairs, or interviews, it’s easy to become self-absorbed. There’s a lot of pressure as a job seeker to sell yourself to employers, however, it’s possible to sell yourself a little too much. Job seekers who are self-absorbed are individuals who only talk about themselves or don’t answer the right questions during interviews. Sure, employers want to learn what you have to offer, but on the same note, they also want to hear your interest in your company. Solution: Step back and evaluate your situation. Job seekers finding themselves focused too much on selling their skills to employers should step away from their search and evaluate their progress. It’s important to take an objective look at your search because it can help you find the roadblocks you’ve been creating for yourself. Start your evaluation by making a list of the positive and negative things you find yourself doing with your search. For example, let’s say you have a flawless resume and cover letter which has landed you numerous interviews. However, prior to the interview you do very little research on the employer. You’ll discover that this mistake in your preparation could be holding you back from landing the job. If you find yourself making some of these mistakes, it’s not too late to turn around your job search. Whether you’ve been on the first for two weeks or two months, searching for a job is a learning process. You’re going to discover what works best for you and what employers want. Just remember to be attentive to your search and be aware of mistakes you could be making. Author Bio Heather Huhman  writes for Glassdoor.com.

How to Write a Business Consultant Resume

How to Write a Business Consultant ResumeIt can be frustrating when applying for a business consultant position. While your resume is filled with stellar accomplishments, the general public has an unquenchable thirst for detail and the sizzle, the highlights, and the icing on the cake. If you have failed to incorporate the details, be prepared to be passed over time again.When writing a business consultant resume, it's important to have clarity of purpose. Your reason for wanting to work in the field of business consulting, whether you're hoping to get back into the industry after being laid off or simply want to break into the business world. Make sure to include your biggest and best desires in the resume.A business consultant resume is a critical part of being successful in the field. Resumes are important as they show your potential employer your skills and credentials. This is why it's important to write one that shows everything that you have to offer the business.You don't nee d to be someone who does 100% of the work for the business consultant. But it helps if you show your capabilities in some areas such as the following:For example, if you were hired to analyze the needs of a specific client, you should include a list of tasks that you completed during the course of your project, all within the scope of what you were hired to do. You should also list the number of hours that you worked and what type of projects you completed.The skills that you developed by working on the job description are going to give you a leg up when it comes to talking about your other skills. For example, if you completed project management training, your job description mentions this. But when it comes to specific tasks, you need to explain how you grew your capabilities.It's also very important to include skills that are specific to the business consultant, not general qualifications. Some examples of this are additional certifications that you've received or a history of wo rking with a certain business model or company. Whether you did this before or after you received your job offer, it should be clearly stated in your business consultant resume.The skills that you develop will be a major selling point for your prospective employer when you are trying to get hired for a business consultant position. So make sure to list them on your business consultant resume and include other skills that demonstrate your competency.

Is the Unemployment Rate Really 100%

Is the Unemployment Rate Really 100% The May unemployment numbers were just released by the Labor Department, citing the addition of 175,000 jobs and an unemployment rate of 7.6%. But when you are the one who is unemployed, the unemployment rate is 100% and these numbers mean little to your individual progress. Rather than getting caught up in these statistics, focus on what you can do to move your search forward. Here are a few recommendations.Source 5 new contacts and rekindle 5 old relationships on LinkedInMake plans to attend an event at a professional organization within your industry or job function.Check to see if your college or graduate school alumni office has a database for getting in touch with alumni that may be able to help you in your search.Research and contact 3 recruiters in your industry/job function.Participate in an activity that regularly connects you to people (church, gym, kids school, etc.)Spend a few hours in your local library researching companies via their databases.Your job search is unique to you. Forget the unemployment stats that represent everyone from the guy who had a part-time job at McDonalds to  the CEO. Concentrate on your search and dont end up as just a statistic.

Resumes Dont Mean a Thing if They Aint Got That Bling!

Resumes Dont Mean a Thing if They Aint Got That Bling! Earlier this week I presented a workshop on creating compelling resumes to members of NSHMBA and during the presentation I spoke about what I call resume bling.Most resumes I read are as flat as the piece of paper they were written on. Many are created using templates that probably came out with a Microsoft Word package released more than a decade ago and very few use any design elements to draw attention to the most relevant content.Everyone thinks there are certain rules around resumesrules that dictate conformityconformity in content, length, and even font size. But the truth is that conformity has no place in a job search. The goal is to stand out and this is particularly true of resumes.Now, Im not suggesting that a novel design format will mask poor content; accomplishment focused, metrics driven information about the impact you have had on an organization will generally trump design, but design elements that help the reader focus on your core competencies and achievements wil l better market you than a drab resume any day. Here are some design tips that will help improve the professional presentation and readability and add bling to the document to keep your reader engaged.Bolding. This technique can help accentuate key facts, numbers, company names, job titles, or competencies.Shading. Shaded areas tend to be looked at first. Consider putting a success story, key client list, or glowing testimonial in a shaded box for added impact.Charts and Graphs. Want to show an increase in sales or a decrease in time spent on a particular task? Try using a simple table, pie chart, or bar graph to illustrate your point.Images. Are you in a creative field where an image might best convey the value you could add to an organization? Dont wait until they ask to see your portfolio. Consider putting a teaser in the resume to strut your stuff.  Color. Subtle color can be used to add some flair to a document, improve readability, and capture the readers attention.