My son James married the love of his life Marie couple of weeks ago. They wanted a special day designed by them at a cost they could afford with the special people around them they wanted to attend – a normal wedding then?

They achieved it with an intimate party of guests (family and best friends), married in the historic City of York (their preferred location) arriving and departing in an art-deco antique coach (charabanc). They made their own invitations, friends and family made the cake, bouquets, table decorations with other friends called in to provide professional photography and entertainment. They were married by a member of our family too – so real family affair.

They achieved their wish of walking down the ancient ‘Shambles’ in York for a stunning photo shoot followed by a meal with guest choice of food at their favourite award winning Gastropub in North Yorkshire in a picturesque snowy scene.

The memories will be all the sweeter I believe for them not following the herd but following their own desire and  the personal involvement in really making every aspect of this very special day.

How much can we all benefit in life with satisfaction by being hands-on rather than delegating.

Heart felt wishes for a long and joyful marriage.

‘In this tough employment market, it might be that prospective employees go to any lengths to get the job.  This includes lying on the CV or application form.

The CV is a sales document for the person, so everyone wants to make their achievements as positive as possible – it is when this exaggeration becomes an outright lie.  This act of wilful dishonesty must be dealt with quickly and decisively.  There is no room for considering whether they are ok at the job now, it would only set up a precedent and send a message that you as an employer are willing to accept dishonesty in your employees.

Prevention

A thorough selection process should help prevent the fraudster obtaining any position, ensure that you ask questions that directly relate to past experience and qualifications, this is a good technique in any case as past performance is the best indicator of future performance.

Check identity and ask for certificates and memberships to photocopy for your records.  Checking identity and eligibility to work in the United Kingdom is a legal must in any case.

Chase references, make it standard practice to say you will approach the last two employers as references, which will cut down on those employees who may wish to hide what happened in their last employer.  Make sure that you ask specific questions in the reference request e.g. reason for leaving.

On an application form, or a separate form if you only use CVs, get a declaration from the candidates to confirm the truth of their application.

Don’t rely on recruitment agencies to do your checks for you, they might not be done as thoroughly as needed.

Remedy

Firstly write to the employee and give them notice that you are rescinding the contract employment, stating the reasons and the date on which this comes into effect.

If the employee is under 12 months service, it is a case of instant dismissal, if over 12 months service, you will need to follow the dismissal procedures either the ACAS guidelines or what you have in your employee handbook

You can also pursue the ex-employee for repayment of all salaries; however this measure might be more trouble in management time and expense to chase.

I hope this helps, I am happy to advise further if needed.

www.breathingspacehr.co.uk http://www.breathingspacehr.co.uk/blog/

‘Around 900 workers could lose their jobs every day as austerity measures and the hike in VAT take their toll.

Research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development predicts there will be 1.625million jobs axed from both the private and the public sector over the next five years.

The figures will spark fear among thousands of workers who escaped the axe during the recession, that they will not survive a second time.’

Read more of the Daily Mail article here

How best to secure a new role I have in recent blogs referred to the need to have the best marketing tools at your disposal such as:

• Your elevator statement
• CV – Resume
• Making the best use of Agencies & head hunters
• Application technique’s
• Interview techniques
• Negotiation and questioning skills.

I would also strongly suggest in the current market not to leave the job searching to just the advertised posts. Use all the tools available such as:

• Market & Sector reports
• The Web for Company & Market information
• Local & national press reports
• Local and regional Government reports
• Use of a decent Company and market database.

I work through all this information with my clients but look at my website where I refer to Alert Data, here I can provide for my clients excellent and relevant information to put them ahead of the game in market research for that next role.

http://www.downsfield.co.uk/information.html

When care is pressing you down a bit

Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit

Life is queer with its twists and turns
As every one of us sometimes learns
And many a failure turns about
When he (she) might have won had he stuck it out:
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow –
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out –
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you can never tell how close you are
It may be near when it seems so far:
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit –
It’s when things seem worst that you must not QUIT.”

“Author unknown”
Acknowledgement: Steve Hennel

The publicity always shows the negative side perhaps not helped by their often lame management and too strong unions which have had an undue influence on working practices.

But now the public sector is facing an half a million job losses those now seeking work in the private sector must come out from behind the defensive shield and demonstrate to the private employers the skills they have and how they too can be model employees in the private sector.

Adjustments will be required to working attitudes, over-sensitive management practices, working hour’s, annual leave. But it does not mean they cannot become new assets to the sector bringing skills, knowledge and attitude and respect for others sometimes missing in the commercial world.

How to start? – start with a clean sheet – create a new CV which promotes your skills to the private sector read, listen and learn a new language of commerce. Devise a marketing strategy that best fits your skills and the market place.

I was listening to a broadcast about the opportunities in the private sector for employees made redundant from the public sector. Nothing particularly new in the content, it basically confirmed the approach I have used with my Public Sector clients over the past 11 years.

I would be useful to restate them:

The C.V.

• Create a document that sells yours skills and achievements.
• Do not create a document which is a specification of the job or jobs you have undertaken.
• List your skills, either technical or management and relate to the successful application of these at work
• Paint a scenario for your achievements, what the problem was – how you dealt with it – and the outcome.
• Use everyday language if can put down measures of success, more people seen, more projects completed, money saved. Put it terms which a business could relate to.
• If your job has one of those titles which would only be understood in public service put down a market equivalent
• Brevity is more important when applying to the market, there will be less use of application forms and again this should be completed in style which matches the organisations style.

Where to apply.

• Research the market on the web, find the recruitment agencies with the best fit for your skill or profession.
• Devise an action plan of research, contact and marketing build in reward period you will burn out without them.
• Contact a career coach specialist or manager to improve your skills.
• Practice your CV and interview skills on friends and family
• Build your own strong contact network to exploit
• Devise methods that work with the web and email, the recruitment industry has probably change since you last used it.

At home

• Don’t get side tracked into too many domestic tasks getting the next job is a job!
• Plan your day a mixture of work and reward
• Keep or make contact with people, friends etc
• Create a marketing and contact plan

For you

• Keep a positive attitude think what skills you have to offer
• Realise it’s a middle distance race not a sprint, it will take time
• Be prepared for knock backs
• Look at ways to improve your skills.

I’d be interested to know if you use my advice, did it work for you? What are your thoughts?

It has been a refreshing change; they have not been influenced by celebrity status as we are all told teenagers are! They were interested however when I mentioned I had been to a talk by Brad Sugars the Millionaire business man. Yes they liked the sound of the trappings of success but had Yorkshire realism and their feet on the ground. Interestingly Mr Sugars did mention that you needed a wide range of business experiences from which to build your success in stages – not a quick fix!

Anyway back to the students, they did grasp the need to build a career based on experience and learning. They also felt it was important to do something they enjoyed, at this stage in their lives hobbies, family responsibilities and part-time working as well as their skills learnt at school influenced their career choice.

Unlike more senior of us they put enjoyment higher on the agenda, why not? It is very easy to get into a career rut or work for an employer who does not provide you with job and career satisfaction. So why not learn from the younger generation – yes have a career –progress but if you enjoy what you do just think how much better you would perform.

Out of those ideas there might have been one or two good ideas per month and of those a quarter might have reach a product trial and one or two a year to a fully developed new product or product extension

Boy didn’t we need him? We had sales, finance, operations  professionals  but we needed someone who could think the unthinkable (I hate the term out of box) because it’s really in the box thinking we needed to make our offering stand out from the rest – our USP.

So we had a guy who was frustrating, difficult ran off at tangents; but a big but! He was whole heartily behind the organisation and aspired to see it succeed and occasionally showed his frustration at the slow pace of the slower more logical and less pragmatic amongst us.

I wish I had been coaching then because I would have helped the team value the contribution of  Howard was making.

In your team make space of the free thinker, cherish their contribution, put structures in place to allow the free thinker room to operate and develop the team capable of examining and auditing the ideas.

We all need a ‘Howard’ in our teams.

As a coach we often refer to the two states as the inner and outer game (reference to Tim Gallwey). You could use a visit to the Doctor for example,

“Doctor I have this mild complaint,” then just before you go,”By the way could you have a look at etc. etc.”

Coaching can be a bit like that; the initial symptom or reason for the coaching might not be the main cause of the dysfunction of the client.  The initial or ‘outer’ problem is usually not the main problem.

Probing by the coach through the coaching sessions and the rapport built up with the client can usually reach the main cause of the reason for the need for coaching, the inner problem.

At that point the client often feels the over whelming wellbeing release of describing the problem that has been well hidden up to now. At that point the Kleenex tissues are often needed!

Once you have deconstructed the situation you can now rebuild with the client the positives to move forward.

What has been you experience either as a coach or coachee?

His total commitment and dedication to his end goal is admirable, and not simply because he’s my son!

This area of work is highly competitive and although he had given his time freely to help achieve his aim; volunteering at Sea Life in every available holiday and also at Chessington Zoo, he is more than aware that for every zoo position advertised there will be hundreds of applicants. He needed to make himself somehow different or do something to break the “Need experience but how do you get experience if you haven’t got a job” scenario.

So he came up with a plan! For his 18th birthday this year he asked to go work in South Africa. He had researched a conservation project that trained him in Game Reserve ranger skills and then onto a rehabilitation centre that looks after sick, injured and orphaned animals. Before he left for his 6 week adventure he wrote to every animal  centre in the UK and set up a Facebook page so that prospective employers could track his progress and get an insight into his adventures – take a look http://www.facebook.com/Dannysafricanadventure2010

I’ve watched and opened the letters he has had whilst he’s been away, and yes there’s been the usual rejections but he also has 2 interviews in London and Longleat (the biggest safari park in the UK) have written to ask him to get in touch with them on his return.

Sometimes you have to think outside the box, put yourself forward, show willing and dedication to your cause and who knows where it might lead?