Infinity Recruitment

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  • Who to include as references when applying for a job

    When applying for jobs you may want to include a list of people that can be contacted should they require a reference? You may want to add this to your CV or you may want to wait to be asked for them.

    People often worry about giving a current employer as a reference when applying for a job as they may not have made their employer aware that they are looking for another position. Most employers understand this and are happy to accept references from a previous employer rather than a current one.

    If you need to give other references then you may want to as a tutor or a teacher (if you have recently come out of education). Another person you may want to ask would be a colleague that has worked closely with you for a period of time.

    Often the job advertisement will detail how many references you need and the types of people you may want to consider obtaining one from.

    If you are struggling to get references because of not having worked for a long time then you need to think of other professional people that can vouch for you as a person and your work ethic.

  • Working as an equality and diversity officer

    The role of an equality and diversity office can be very challenging but also very rewarding. The main role of the job is to aim to reduce workplace discrimination on the grounds of age, disability, gender, race, religion and sexual orientation. Some Equality officers may choose to specialise in one or more of these areas whilst others are more general.
    Over the past few decades equality has become more and more recognised in the work place. You should not be discriminated again because of your sex or religion for example. This means that pay should be equal as well as working rights etc. This is something that the government has worked on for many years and recently some great changes have happened which may this even more important and ensure that businesses comply.
    As an Equality officer you will probably undertake tasks such as training, record keeping, reporting and liaising with other organisations to sort out issues that arise. You will need to be organised and open minded and have excellent communication skills. You need to ensure that what you say to people is correct, so keeping up to date with old and new legislations is vital.

  • How may Brexit affect foreign workers in the UK?

    If you run a business that employers workers from outside of the UK but within the EU then you may be on tender hooks at the moment, unsure of how and when the Brexit deal will affect you.

    Many businesses are currently feeling very vulnerable and not only from a workforce planning perspective, but the impact this will have from an administrative point of view. Lots of people from the EU are currently employed in the UK mostly in jobs in the agricultural, health care or services industry. If they were suddenly not allowed to work here, this could cause a massive disruption for them and their employers. Currently, people who are citizens of a country within the EU are allowed to work throughout the EU unrestricted. Following Brexit, it may be that this is not the case and a lot more restrictions are put in place making it harder to fill these job vacancies. It may be that the new laws that come in to place after the UK leaves the EU only affects people who are currently not working here (anyone new looking to work in the UK). But no one knows the full effect this will have until a deal can be reached.

  • How to lay out your CV when applying for jobs

    When it comes to applying for jobs, your Cv is a very important part of the process. Regarding of what qualifications or experience you have, a good CV can be the difference between being called in for an interview and not. It is worth investing some time in to ensuring your CV is the best that it can be before you send it out. There are some examples of CVā€™s on the internet and templates you can use, but not all of them are all that good. Below are a few tips to consider when writing your CV.

    Ideally there should be about 4 sections to a CV to make sure that you get the important information in but to not make it too long.

    Firstly you need to put who you are, this is your name, address, date of birth and contact details. You may be surprised how many people forget to put this information on and miss out on an interview because of it. Next list your qualifications and education ā€“ You don’t necessarily have to go in to this in too much detail unless it is related to the job you are applying for.

    Your current and previous employment should be the next section and should detail the company you worked for, your job title and time worked there. It is advisable to bullet point the most relevant skills and responsibilities you had there under each one.

    Lastly you should add a closing paragraph which explains a little bit about who you are and your hobbies etc.

  • Turing yourself into a desirable employee

    When looking for work, there is often an amount of competition around the jobs that you are applying for and if you cannot show why you are the better candidate then you will most likely miss out on the job.
    The first thing a potential employer usually sees is your CV and covering letter. They can often very quickly make a judgement on the type of person you are just from this so it is vital that you portray yourself in the right way. There are a number of good CV templates available online that you can use to help you get started with a CV. If you have had gaps in your employment then this may be obvious from the dates of other jobs. You need to think about the reasons why you were unemployed during that time and have an answer ready should you get called in for an interview.
    Your covering letter should be personal to the job you are applying for. It should mention the position that you want to be employed in and talk briefly about why you think you would be suitable for the job. You can make reference to your CV but a covering letter should be no more than 3 or 4 paragraphs long and give the employer a reason as to why they may want to ask you in for an interview.