The top companies hiring in August 2014

The top companies hiring in August 2014 by Michael Cheary The English summer is well and truly upon us…With it comes longer days, friendlier colleagues and even (shock, horror) a little bit of sun. And rain. That too. Also, possibly clouds. But mostly, sun*.For those happy with their current jobs, there’s almost no better time of year. But if you’re still struggling in a job that’s not right for you, your highlight of the month may well be no more than the return of the Great British Bake Off (sorry Mary). If so, it may be time to find something new.To help you start loving Mondays, here are some of the top companies hiring this August on reed.co.uk:Kellogg’sLooking to kick-start your career? Just grab a spoon…Founded as the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company on February 19, 1906, Kellogg’s is a name synonymous with breakfast. Their brands, including the likes of Rice Krispies, Special K, Nutri-Grain and Crunchy Nut, have become a vital part of the morning ritual for millions worldwide. Also, pos sibly lunch/dinner (if you’re that way inclined).They’re looking for Digital Content and Project Managers, Analytic Managers and Auditors to be part of their phenomenal growth plans over the next 12 months, and add to their 30,000 employees worldwide.Kellogg’s careers. They’re grrrrreat. Just ask Tony… (see also: snap, crackle and pop, possibly)Locations: Manchester.View all jobs with Kellogg’s now »Met PoliceWith some 55,000 officers and staff, covering a distance of over 620 square miles combined, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) is one of the capital’s largest employers. 7.2 million people rely on them every day to help make the streets of London a safer place to live, work and travel.Their current recruitment drive is focused on hiring Police Constables, Special Constables and Digital Forensic Specialists. If you want a career that really makes a difference to peoples everyday lives, apply today.Locations: London.View all jobs with Met Police now »OcadoOcado is an online supermarket, and the largest online food retailer. What’s more, it’s also been named the best online supermarket in the UK by Which? readers every year since 2010. Not bad going for a business that’s only just over 10 years old.They’re looking for Delivery Drivers and Customer Service Executives to join the team. Benefits include an excellent personal pension plan, incentive bonuses, and discounts on Dell products, theme parks and theatre tickets. Not to mention staff discount on all Ocado products, which could come in handy if you have a habit of overspending online.Ocado â€" Shopping (and careers) made easy.Locations: Throughout the UK.View all jobs with Ocado now »SercoYou hate Mondays because you hate your job. You should work for Serco…One of the world’s leading service companies, Serco has been delivering essential public services for more than 40 years. They have more than more than 40,000 employees working on behalf of a range of government and pri vate clients in over 30 countries worldwide.Serco deliver services that matter to millions of people around the world, including improving patient care with their health service, rehabilitating offenders in their prisons, providing safe travel on their transport systems and helping young people develop in their schools, to name just a few.They have hundreds of vacancies across a number of different and diverse industries, ranging from Leisure Assistants and Aerobics Instructors through to Drivers, Developers and Duty Managers. If you are interested in these, or almost any other position you can think of, start your search with Serco…Locations: Throughout the UK.View all jobs with Serco now »Virgin ActiveHeaded by the billionaire entrepreneur and international jetsetter-type person Richard Branson, Virgin Active run health clubs/gyms in 118 UK locations. They have over 1.1 million members worldwide, each of them trusting the Virgin Active teams to help them challenge the norm, pro vide excellent customer service and facilitate a fitter and healthier lifestyle.If you’re a fitness fanatic looking for a challenging and rewarding career in a friendly environment, this may be the perfect opportunity for you.And yes, membership is complimentary Live happily ever active.Locations: Throughout the UK.View all jobs with Virgin Active now »*reed.co.uk would like to point out that it was mostly sunny at time of writing. For a more up to date weather forecast, please consult Met Office or look out of window in local area.  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

3 Ways To Successfully Make Money From Your Home

3 Ways To Successfully Make Money From Your Home If you’re sat in your home, worrying about your financial situation, the answer could be right in front of you. The bricks and mortar that you are currently sat in could provide you with some much needed additional income. You could use this money to pay for a long overdue holiday or to pay off any debts you have accumulated. So instead of trying to save a few pennies here and there on your utility bills, take a look at these three ways your home could make you money fast. Rent out your drive If you live in a city centre location and have an empty drive, you could be sitting on a goldmine. Renting out your spare or empty driveway can make it more functional and get you some cash. Business people who commute are always looking for safe places to leave their car during their working hours. You could also rent out the space to people travelling abroad if you live near to an airport. Sites such as justpark.com make it easy for you to advertise your drive and gives you a chance to prepare for your visitors. The drive will be paid for in advance and all you need to do it make sure it’s clear for when they arrive. It’s a simple way of making money for hardly any effort. Look into Equity Release You can unlock the value of your home with a which equity release. Fill in some details about your property online and you will be given a calculation on any potential funds you may not have been aware of. This will usually depend upon your age and the price of your property, but it is definitely something to look into. You could potentially be sitting on top of some funds that could make your life altogether easier. Get a lodger If you have a spare room that could be utilised, why not get a lodger? There is a government scheme in place that will allow you to rent a spare room and earn yourself some money. You can charge your tenant up to £350 per month without having to fill in loads of tax forms. You will have to ensure that the room is suitable to live in and have some furniture included. Again, you can rent this out to people who commute for work and need somewhere to stay during the week. It’s easy money that will put your spare room to better use and you may even make a new friend. Remember to interview everybody before offering accommodation in your home and sort out a payment plan before they move in. This will ensure you get suitable lodgers who pay on time and won’t take advantage of you. These tips are just a handful of ways you can make money from your home. Always use a reputable website when advertising your home or driveway. Also, never type personal details into websites that don’t seem to be legitimate. Become stress-free and happier about your financial standing by getting your home to help you out. Image Source

Get to Know Your Worth... With Tech - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Get to Know Your Worth... With Tech - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career this is businessman doing his work during a coffee-break You may recall a time, not too long ago, when we talked about showing your worth for the betterment of your career. Yet and still, in order to do that, it is necessary to know and understand what youre worth in the grand scheme of things. This hasnt always been easy. However, there is a good chance that tech is coming to the rescue. At TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2016, I was introduced to Woo,  the first platform that lets tech talent (mostly tech builders and programmers at this time, but soon to include biz dev marketing) gauge their market value. Needless to say, a service such as this is beneficial to both employees  and employers due to its setup as a tool to match the correct person with the correct business. Data supports this type of dual-pronged approach to job matching for example: According to a 2015 CareerBuilder Survey, nearly half (48 percent) of CEOs reported that their companies have lost money because their recruitment process is inefficient, and 60 percent say the inability to find enough qualified candidates is preventing the company from reaching their full potential. The process for the candidate begins  by setting your expectations such as location, company size, company type, salary, and the like. After that, you enter your skills and experience. And since we all know how important setting expectations actually is, it should come as no surprise that being honest in what you can and cannot do are important steps to completing this information. Furthermore, if you happen to be only testing out the market, or even looking for a job and dont want others to know, candidates are left anonymous. If a company is interested in reaching out to you, they have select  which expectations that they can meet. The more boxes they can check, the better chance they have of 1) displaying how much they want the job applicant, and 2) wooing the candidate from wherever their time is spent at the present. Once again, you have to reveal your information to the potential employer upon receipt of an offer. If you dont want to move forward in the process, you can decline without your identity being revealed. If you do, you can share your full profile. Potential employers understand that this is part of the process already. The value of this tool, especially in the environment of a publication like this, is very clear. When it comes to anyones career, understanding where you fit and fair wages for your expertise is significant. Matching the right person to the right job promotes happiness, better work and a company culture that is second to none. It is likely that Woo is the first of a number of tech products that will offer this type of service and were all destined to be better for it. So, feel free to sign up or even contact them here.

Case Closed A Former Los Angeles Superior Court Judge turns Author

Case Closed â€" A Former Los Angeles Superior Court Judge turns Author The following is a guest post by Leora Krygier.  Her bio follows.   I was a Juvenile Court judge for more than twenty years. It was the best job I ever had and not only because people addressed me as “your honor,” (which, in full disclosure, I have to admit was pretty awesome) but because it gave me the ability to affect teens and families who were in crisis. It also helped make me a better writer. I loved being eyeball to eyeball with kids, listening to their stories and finding the right solutions for those individuals, their families and the community. I liked being the middleman, not an advocate for either side, but taking in the information and the circumstances and then extrapolating the meaningful core from arguments, trying to come up with a constructive, win-win solution for all. The Journey Begins While I worked my day job, I started writing novels â€" grabbing a few minutes here and there during a recess, as well as writing in the early mornings and late nights. I’d always wanted to be a writer, and although law school was a good training ground for writing briefs and for honing language and accuracy, I found myself most connecting with the “Background” section of a legal brief much more than the legal arguments that ensued because that’s where the heart of the “story” lived.   I think I started writing novels because the elements of story, character and humanity that I wanted to explore more deeply were missing from my work life. I was lucky enough to publish my first three books while I was a working girl. Keep Her is the first novel I wrote post-court and with the leisure of more writing time. Life Lessons I learned some very important lessons on the bench. One of those lessons was that there is never one absolute truth to any situation. The truth is colored with bias, conjecture, subjective memory, perception and a whole lot more. In one case, for example, a witness’ view of a car accident as to who was at fault and whether the light was red, completely contradicted another, who saw the light as yellow. In another case, one security guard’s testimony about what who he saw shoplifting didn’t at all match the testimony of a second security guard, both only a few feet away from the theft. Understanding this part of human nature made me a better judge and a better writer. As a writer, I use the fact that we each see ourselves, the world and the important events in our life in differing ways. This is what makes for interesting, multi-layered and flawed characters. Also, as a judge, it was important to hear and weigh “both sides of the story.” This too contributed to my journey as a writer. A story can be told from so many points of view, depending on who is telling it and at what point in time they are telling it. I’m sure that this influenced me to write novels that often include different points of view as well as multiple “voices.” Reinvention Being a judge was a unique opportunity. I saw people at their very worst but also at their very best. It gave me great insight and empathy for people, their situations and the stories they shared with me. Now that I’m no longer a judge, but a full-time author, there’s something even more awesome for me to experience â€" to be able to reinvent that time of my life on the bench into my own stories. About  Leora Krygier Im the author of When She Sleeps (Toby Press) a New York Public Library Selection for Best Books for the Teen Age. Im also a former Los Angeles Juvenile Court judge, and the author of Juvenile Court A Judges Guide for Young Adults and their Parents (Scarecrow Press) But besides all that, Ive lived in the heart of Paris and in a teeny apartment overlooking the town of Saint Tropez in the South of France. I now live in Los Angeles with my amazing husband, David. I love the beach, dogs, chocolate, hiking the Santa Monica Mountain trails, and making my friends stop for me when I see a photograph I absolutely have to take. (In full disclosure, they usually dont stop and end up one block ahead of me, but thats okay) I loved writing Keep Her. Maddie is a little bit like me (sometimes) But her journey took some unexpected turns, and thats the fun of it. Image credits: Main.   Writing.  

Be Certified In Resume Writing

Be Certified In Resume WritingBecoming certified in resume writing can be a difficult process. You may have a great idea of what you want to convey to a potential employer, but you don't know how to do it effectively. Here are a few things to keep in mind when you're trying to become certified in resume writing.-You should always keep your resume as brief as possible. You never want to go overboard and make your resume too long or too boring. Instead, you should go for an appealing, unique, and engaging cover letter that really shows what makes you so special.-Don't give your resume a title. Instead, use keywords or short phrases to describe who you are and why you are so qualified for the job. Use your skills and achievements to support your cover letter.-When you are finished with your resume, you should be able to apply it to different positions and resumes. This will help make your resume stand out from all the others. Simply keeping your resume examples as you go through the hir ing process will keep you on your toes and ready to apply to any job that you come across.-When you are becoming certified in resume writing, remember to choose a style that is appropriate for the job you are applying for. You don't want to write a resume that has everything in caps lock, or that reads like it was written by a robot. Your goal is to write a resume that is professional and adds value to the company or individual that is interviewing you.-You want to add a personal touch to your resume. Of course, you want to create a resume that will make an individual hire you based on your qualifications, skills, and experience, but you also want to make yourself stand out from the crowd. With resume examples that include your first name, your last name, and an interesting story about yourself, you can create an attention grabbing resume that will send you packing.-Resume examples that feature your own voice will make you sound more professional than if you wrote them by someone el se. By giving yourself the opportunity to express yourself using your own words, you make yourself seem like a human being. Even if you are writing resume examples, you can still add your own personality and ideas to make it yours.Resume examples can show you the best ways to create a resume that catches the eye of any hiring manager. By doing it right, you can get on the next round of interviews and add the needed experience and training to your resume. Make sure that you stay focused and avoid a mistake that will make you cringe in the interview room.

Good morning - in German! - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Good morning - in German! - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Last week I wrote about the value of touch in the workplace. Basically, Im for handshakes, high fives, pats on the shoulder and even hugs in the workplace as one way of creating and maintaining good workplace relationships and theres science to indicate the importance and value of touches. Gaby from Germany wrote this comment on the post: I once worked for a bank in Germany (well these are two locations in which you would not normally expect personal affection ;-)). The team was large, about 40 people worked in one open space office. It surprised me a lot that every morning, whoever arrived, walked through the whole office and greeted everybody with a handshake and some personal words. It did not matter if the team members came, the bosses from higher up or anybody from another department. It was known everywhere that here you greet everybody personally. For the first week, I found that very strange and a bit intimidating. Also, it cost a lot of time all in all. Yet afterwards, I really enjoyed it. It gave everybody the chance to get to know the colleagues a bit better, to hear what they are off to or to realize that somebody is not in or just returned from a trip or vacation. There was no need to e-mail weekly lists on who is out when. We just knew it. Btw, when I moved on to another job, I sort of missed it. I love it! And in fact, one simple tool we teach people in our speeches and workshops is to greet co-workers with a level-5 good morning. This means a good morning, where you: Make eye contact Add something specific to that person Touch the other person. How do you greet your co-workers? How do you like to be greeted when you come in in the morning? Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

Dont Be a Cream of Wheat® Candidate Beige, Bland, and Boring

Don’t Be a ‘Cream of Wheat ®â€™ Candidate â€" Beige, Bland, and Boring Don’t Be a ‘Cream of Wheat ®â€™ Candidate â€" Beige, Bland, and Boring Are you pursuing a new role within your company to advance your career? Or applying within another company for your next job? Fantastic! Now, are you a “Cream of Wheat ®â€ candidate? Don’t get me wrong. I like Cream of Wheat… but I don’t love it. It’s never my first choice at a buffet and I don’t wake up on Sunday morning and say,“I’m going to make myself a nice bowl of Cream of Wheat.” It’s bland and boring and the texture is unrefined and unappealing to look at. But it fills the empty spaces when you’re hungry. That’s all. How can you avoid being Cream of Wheat when making your next career move? 1. Look Better, Sound Better Phone and video interviews as screening techniques are on the rise. They are quick to implement and low cost for the hiring company. Plus, many positions require great phone skills and a phone interview also lets the hiring manager test your communication abilities and “phone etiquette.” TIPS: On the phone, be in a quiet place, spread your notes out in front of you, stand up for the best voice projection, and smile! Yes, the listener can hear an upbeat tone when you are smiling. Since you can’t read the caller’s body language, give 3 short answers to every question and then stop talking. They will probe further if they want more. Periodically, you may ask, “Would you like me to provide more insight?” SECRET: If they ask you for a SKYPE call or send you a link to a website such as Microsoft Lync, WebEx, or Citrix GoToMeeting, dress for an interview â€" at least above the waist. They’re not trying to trick you, but there is the possibility that these “voice calls” could turn into video calls. 2. Prepare Better Cream of Wheat candidates do the minimum amount of preparation, talk about themselves too much, and don’t show passion for what the hiring manager is asking for in the job description. TIPS: Prior to applying, research the company, division, competitors, industry trends, and the management team’s backgrounds. Go to LinkedIn Discussion Groups to learn and ask questions. SECRET: Take tons of notes and bring a summary to your interview. Hiring managers enjoy seeing your research and organization skills and value that you did detailed research. 3. Interview Better Cream of Wheat candidates leave phone or face-to-face interviewers with the same taste â€" or lack of taste â€" in their mouths. Bland. Blah. Forgettable. They are monotone, lacking passion, unprepared for basic questions, and insecure. This is a competition, folks! Both internally within your company and externally in a new company. TIPS: The minute you know you will have any type of interview, block the time to do 2-3 hours of preparation. Do your web research; make copies of your résumé, the job description, and application; select your interview outfit, and much more. I’ve dedicated two chapters to interview preparation in my book, Cut the Crap, Get a Job! Available here. SECRET: Hiring managers know that interviews are your “best days.” It’s when you are, in theory, the most connected, passionate, and focused that you are going to be. You have done as much preparation as possible, put on your best attire or voice, and your game is ON. It’s downhill from here. So if this day is bland and blah, well, you know the rest. Cream of Wheat has been around for over 100 years. It’s an all-American comfort food. But hiring managers today are not hiring for comfort. They are hiring the best-qualified candidates that can make an impact very quickly. Be a WOW candidate, not a Cream of Wheat candidate!