Over the last year I have introduced hundreds of job seekers who have faced redundancy to the power of social networking.  My favourite business tool is LinkedIn and my lectures on networking revolve around its functions and the successes it has had to aid business and careers.

I was sent a link to a video spoof on LinkedIn touting it as a job search tool by a savvy delegate looking for my reaction.

Apart from the fact that it is a simplistic (and not entirely accurate) view of LinkedIn, it does raise some interesting thoughts:

• If you play on Facebook and LinkedIn at work all day you'll get yourself in trouble. If you wait until you get laid off to create your accounts and try to network, you'll seem desperate. However, if you keep track of all your professional associations over time, you'll build up a large group of leads to tap into when you need to job hunt again.
• The links do nothing on their own…it's what you do with them!  It's up to the user to reach out, generate connections and develop relationships.  LinkedIn is making it very easy to gently nudge people in the direction of networking.
• This video is misleading as LinkedIn never claims to find you a job. That really isn't the point of it. LinkedIn benefits people who are genuinely interested in networking for business reasons and for establishing contacts with industry people who may be able to help you with your business endeavours and/or ideas.
• LinkedIn is not an end in itself, but – if your connections, recommendations and of course your CV are up to it – it'll help you find out about open positions and land the job you're looking for.

For more information on using online and offline networks to make connections to power your career, keep an eye on our regular blogs at www.recrion.co.uk or come along on 4 February 2010 to the Back to Business Club in Peterborough where Katherine Wiid,  Career Management Expert will be talking about "Networking – the railroad that runs beneath your career".

My cold, snowy Friday afternoon brightened considerably when this email popped into my Inbox from David, who received careers and training advice from Recrion at the end of 2009 through the R2R scheme.

He has followed his dream of becoming a tennis coach using the £1200 training fund:

Hi Katherine

I thought I would let you know that I successfully passed the tennis course that you helped arrange for me on being made redundant.

The course was great and I got some really good experience and feedback. Passing it just makes me more determined to succeed and I will be looking to take the next level, to get full "Coach" status, in April. With this Level 2 accreditation I am able to coach group sessions and in schools so I feel that when my temporary assignment comes to an end in April I do have a second string to my bow.

I really appreciate your help in getting me the funding for the course.  Warmest regards David

If you are at risk of redundancy and would like FREE advice on your CV and job search plus access to a training course of your choice, please visit www.recrion.co.uk/free or contact Katherine Wiid on 01780 484910.

Job search etiquette has been the topic of conversation on a Career Change LinkedIn Group I belong to.   “Is your Cover Letter an Ineffective and Obsolete Tradition?” received 78 reponses (several heated) in the space of a couple of weeks.

What do you think is happening to your cover letters?

According to research carried out via a LinkedIn poll of hiring managers, HR staff and recruiters:

• HR staff don't forward cover letters to hiring managers
• Hiring managers spend an average of 15 seconds making an interview/non interview decision – you can't read both a CV and a cover letter in 15 seconds!
• HR and Hiring managers admit that 80% read the CV first and that 66% don't even get cover letters
• The majority of hiring managers related that they have denied interviews to candidates because of information on their cover letter even though they are qualified by their CV
• Job Boards and Applicant Tracking Systems don't keyword search cover letters, only CVs
• 96% of candidates either customise a cover letter sent with a virtually static CV, or don't customise anything at all. Only 4% send a customised CV!

If this research is the view of the majority of HR and hiring managers this means that:

• Cover letters are rarely part of the hiring decision
• When considered, they work against the candidate more often than for the candidate
• The cover letter effectively decreases candidates’ interview chances
• Candidates can increase their chances by spending time heavily customising their CVs, and ignoring cover letters.

The most obvious conclusion to draw from the above research would be:
If you want your letter read, don't attach a CV.  And visa versa, if you want to submit a CV, don't waste your time with a cover letter!

Now this is where the debate on LinkedIn got really interesting.

A few diehards said that despite the research:

“ I would still spend the time to customize a cover letter and include it. Why not give yourself some extra marketing muscle? After all, that's what it is: a marketing document”.

“I would send a short, succinct, and clear cover letter identifying the top 5 criteria the company was seeking, and concentrate on just those.”

“As a long-time hirer-turned coach (Heather Goodwin), I *know* that cover letters are not only not read, they rarely make it to the hiring director's desk. But the content of the letter isn't necessarily what a HR officer or recruiting manager is looking for.  A cover letter is an indication of good manners – something sadly missing from many applicants' kit-bags these days. I like to see that someone has bothered to send a cover letter. It's an indication of respect. It's a *politeness*, not just an adjunct to a CV. It says: please let me introduce myself, and thank you for considering me".

The debate continues!  Which camp do you sit in?

For coaching on CV and job search skills contact Recrion, People and Career Management Specialists on 01780 484910 www.recrion.co.uk

A number of my clients that are facing a career transition are senior managers and executives.  When working with them to prepare for job interviews, I often ask them to differentiate between leadership and management skills.

“Why?” you might ask.

Leadership skills can demonstrate much more about you than just task based activities.

Let me demonstrate this statement by listing some of the qualities that some of the leaders of our day such as Sir Richard Branson, Barack Obama and others share:

• They have learned to simplify appropriately so that people know what they are supposed to do and why it is fun and important to do it.
• They have learned to listen extraordinarily well with genuine interest and respect. Then they (mostly) act on what they have heard, especially if they heard it from a 'junior' member of the team.
• They practise and develop very good memories.
• They engender a sustained sense of enthusiasm and make people feel they are important.
• They are overwhelmingly positive, optimistic and future-focused.
• They are very persistent. Very persistent indeed.

These “values based” qualities are compelling and important to get across in an interview.

Do you share any of these skills?  The best way of demonstrating them is through story telling.  Here's a link to a previous blog I wrote about interview skills for senior executives -  A good leadership story has the power to engage hearts and minds.

Recrion is a People and Career Management Specialist that works with groups and individuals to differentiate themselves in the job market.  Visit www.recrion.co.uk or call 01780 484910 for more information on how we can help you.

2010 has arrived and the icy weather has kept the state of the economy and level of job losses off the front pages.

The big freeze in terms of pay cuts, job losses and cutbacks are continuing however and not just in the public sector.  As a business owner or HR professional it is a challenging time in which to make employee related decisions.  I found the latest CIPD barometer predicting employment trends for 2010 extremely useful to plan for my own business needs in the next 6 months.

Click here for your FREE HR Trends and Prospects 2010 Report.

One of the points raised in the report was that many employers aren't taking advantage of government backed support when making redundancies.  There are some very helpful schemes available to help "at risk" employees access training and careers advice to prepare them for the job market – visit www.recrion.co.uk/free for more information or call 01780 484910 to speak to a Career's Advisor.

Gordon Brown announced a Graduate Guarantee scheme in autumn 2009 in an attempt in the economic meltdown to get the thousands of newly qualified and unemployed graduates some form of meaningful employment and work experience.

Graduates who have been unemployed for 6 months have access through the Jobcentre, and useful websites such as Directgov and Graduate Talent Pool to apply for internships with employers.

A number of our clients do not have an internship scheme and are unsure of the legal ramifications of employing graduates in this way.  They have a number of questions around

• the business benefits of running a good internship scheme
• whether or not internships should always be paid positions
• how interns should be recruited
• employment contracts.

The CIPD has recently published a comprehensive guideline with practical suggestions on how to tackle these issues.

Click here for your FREE copy of "Internships that Work"

For more information on employment related government funding, please contact Recrion, People and Career Management Specialist who are actively facilitating Response to Redundancy schemes in the East of England.

Visit www.recrion.co.uk/free or call 01780 484910.

Following the success of the R2R scheme in the East of England, Recrion has responded to requests from managers and graduates facing redundancy in the East Midlands to provide them with career coaching and practical job search support.

Recrion has partnered with Triangle Business Services who has been awarded a contract by the Department for Work and Pensions to provide Jobsearch Seminars and 1-on-1 mentoring and support for professional and managerial candidates becoming unemployed due to the current recession.

Our service is part of the government’s response to the economic downturn and is targeted principally at Professional or Executive jobseekers in receipt of Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) who have become recently unemployed.

Our Jobsearch Seminars are conducted by our qualified and experienced HR and Career Management advisors who will help you and provide support on the following areas:

• Provide constructive feedback on what your CV says about you
• Recognise your skills and unique selling point
• Develop the right CV and covering letter for appropriate jobs
• Understand what hiring managers are looking for in a new recruit
• How to master employer selection techniques and achieve results at interview
• Interview role-play to gain confidence
• How and where to research the right opportunity
• Lessons on how to market and sell yourself in the"hidden" jobs market
• Tips on setting up your own business

All delegates will receive a comprehensive range of job seeking tools to take away and use, and a personalised plan for how to approach your job search.

If you would like to access this service, please contact Katherine Wiid, Director of Recrion, People and Career Management Specialists, on 01780 484910 or email enquiries@recrion.co.uk.

We are writing a series of blogs to highlight relevant funding to businesses and employees in the East of England.  Aside from R2R and the Leadership and Management Fund, a new fund for business in Cambridgeshire and Peterbrough has been announced.

The Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Growth Fund (CPGF) is designed to provide one-off financial support for businesses and social enterprises looking to safeguard or create new jobs as part of their business growth plans.The CPGF entitles eligible beneficiaries to claim back up to 50% of the cost of their agreed business support activity up to a maximum value of £10,000.

It is aimed specifically at SMEs (small and medium sized businesses) in the following sectors:

• Biomedical
• Cleantech
• High Value Manufacturing
• ICT
• Tourism
• Food Processing
• Creative Industries
• Social Enterprise

Information on how to access the scheme is available from Business Link East – it is a "busy" website so we recommend you speak to someone on 08457 17 16 15.

Recrion is a People and Career Management consultancy and works with our clients to develop a deep understanding of the people in their business.  We are actively facilitating relevant publically funded schemes to ensure that our clients have all the support they need during the economic downturn.

Please contact Recrion's Director Katherine Wiid on 01780 484910 with any questions – no matter how simple they may seem! We are happy to help.

After coaching several long serving employees through redundancy, I see a common fear of the unknown, of taking risks and of preferring to remain with the status quo.

However the status quo may no longer exist in today's job market.  Whole markets, industries and job definitions have changed.

The interesting point in the conversation comes when the individual weighs up permanent versus contract or interim work. The majority don't consider contracting or freelancing as a viable avenue to pursue.  Yet this is the very avenue that might lead them to longer term growth and opportunity as they will be learning and absorbing new skills more quickly.

I loved this article by Gino Trapani on "How to Benefit from a Freelancer's Mindset" and I hope this resource will benefit anyone who is currently going through major career change.

In my experience, you have to risk everything sometimes or you risk even more.

Recrion is a People and Career Management Specialist and has supported over 300 employees through redundancy in the last 6 months.

If you would like someone to talk to about the challenges you face, contact Katherine Wiid on 01780 484910.  You might be eligible for training and development funding through the European Social Fund – take a look at www.recrion.co.uk/free.

Over the last 6 months, Recrion's career management team has advised and helped over 300 individuals affected by redundancy to deal with change and gain access to funding schemes such as R2R.

As the year comes to an end, more and more of our clients are requesting funding for management development as reduced workforces put pressure on those at the top to meet targets and work with staff who are suffering from low morale, motivation and performance.

Business and their management teams are going through a very painful process. What they need most is clear leadership from their directors, and strong communication skills in order to get buy-in from their staff.

In October 2008, we responded to our clients requests for funded outplacement support for their employees by actively promoting and facilitating the R2R scheme in the East of England.

We are now pleased to be able to partner with TCHC to help our clients access Leadership funding.

The Leadership & Management programme targets key decision makers within an organisation and provides funding to improve their skills to help them lead their business through challenging times.  Working with TCHC’s advisers Recrion works with businesses to develop training programmes that directly address skills gaps within their organisation.

Leadership and Management is a one off grant to SME’s (5-249 employees) of up to £1,000 to develop key decision makers, senior managers or directors in the East of England. The Leadership and Management programme is funded by the Learning and Skills Council as an extension of the government’s flagship training service, Train to Gain.

If you require more information, please contact Katherine Wiid at Recrion on 01780 484910.