Dear All I post on here mostly as a RBSD / MMA person but wanted to offer some non martial arts related advise to people. I have worked in the recruitment field for a number of years and have a high level of experience in assisting people with CV's and also the search for employment. If there is anyone with any work related questions please feel free to post here and I will do as much as I can to help. Or you can PM me more specific questions or email me on craig@iconrec.co.uk Good luck
WOW Thats so handy Sonshu, many people will find this thread so helpful especially those who recently graduated or wanting to move on! Right now I'm looking for jobs in the media industry ( very hard ) and most work is posted on the internet as most people work freelance. My biggest problem is writing cover letters. What would be a decent cover letter in your view? Thank you!
Dear Sonshu I graduated uni about eighteen months ago with a BA combined honours in English and Media. I wanted to take a while off after all that studying to try and write a book and not have to get up in the mornings. I've spent the last few months trying to get a job, but I think my lack of experience is a problem - I'm still doing the same supermarket job I had through college and uni so I've never really had a "proper" job. I was toying with the idea of sending off letters to local radio stations for work experience, particularly in the production side of things. Is this worth doing? Is there any chance it could lead to a permanent position? Thanks for starting this thread
Right - what sort of Media type work do you want to do as I deal with a couple of media and new media type companies in London or a colleague does. The tip for a good covering letter is be factual on any work related achievements you have had or any educational highlights you had. One common thing that comes up out of working in the industry is many people say I am a good team player etc........ Problem is everyone is according to there CV. It is better to give specifics like you take part in team events or from work history you have been working as a team leader in a previous role etc? If you wanted to email anything to me for some guidance you can do so on my work email address craig@iconrec.co.uk or PM me some other parts as I understand you not wanting to go full on with your personal information on a Martial Arts forum so email or PM me.
I would say yes there is a chance as a number of people do get into the media (radio side) industry this way, it saves them money on recruitment agency costs and it attracts people who are really interested in it as they aproached them. One of the things you will need is to ensure your CV really does reflect your interests, I do get many CV's sent to me saying at the top IDEAL POSITION - It then says Sales Manager However the role they have applied for is a IT Support role, which really sends out the wrong signals. The main thing is if its Radio you want to get into (not a major area of my expertise) it is an ideal foot in the door. One problem is you may need to contact a number of stations to get a bite and perhaps the smaller less known ones will be a better starting point. It is worth doing though and I would always suggest backing it up with a call to human resources (or whoever you sent it to) to make sure they got it and also to let them know your keen. Email can be a little easy to forget at times but a conversation sticks in your mind.
Any graduates please feel free to post questions as I will be as honest and helpful as possible? Or any recruiters (hiring managers) please post questions about the agency you use or the terms you are tied to by your agency. Questions about local advertising or perhaps a recruitment and retention issues you may be having? Anyone looking to change career or wanting impartial advice on how to get that next promotion?
i would like to get out of I.T work, its too stressfulll and does not really interest me anymore. the problem though is money, if i took an unskilled job i would half my salary, therefore i need to retrain, but i am not sure what direction to go in ?
Maybe this thread could be made into a seperate off topic section. I for one would find it very useful... and Sonshu Im not looking for a job yet as Im still at uni and Ive got a good few years of study ahead of me but I was wondering would it be alright to e-mail you over my CV and you can have a look and tell me if I need to sort/ remove/add anything, I think its a bit crap as it stands at the minute.
Now that is a tough one to help with as its a discovery point for you and close friends only. Depends on what your good at and you have to decide what you want to do. It could be that perhaps the IT environment your in is just a naff one full of stress OR it could really not be for you. Problem is and worth bearing in mind there are very few people in the world who after 10 years get up and say they love there job. This one is an totally in your ball court idea, when you decide I might be able to give you some pointers but IT has a good wage structure to it and it may mean some life changes on disposable income etc.
Can I throw in some advice too? A few people I know who have considered career changes have first taken evening courses in what they want to do, usually this either decides them for or against pursuing this as a career. So figure out what interests you then see if you can get some skills/experience before taking the plunge and giving up the day job. With regards to IT being stressful, is the company or the people? I've had experience of changing jobs within a company that was the change I needed at the time, and also leaving because I couldn't stand the company any longer (though the people were great) and falling on my feet with a new company that totally suits me. So I would look at your options 1) Stick things out for a steady income (sensible if you have dependents) 2) Create a change in your company by carving out a new role for yourself 3) Change company, maybe even increasing salary at the same time! 4) Jack it all in and become a mushroom farmer
