Over the next few weeks many students across England will receive their GCSE or A Level results. This year has been very much disrupted due to Covid-19 and the lock down so students have not been able to take the exams they usually do. Lots of the grades will be based on mock exams and course work which may work well for those studies who struggle in exam situations.

The number of people applying for jobs over the next few months is set to rise but with many people losing their jobs during lockdown, there may be higher competition than normal. Some students will have already decided that once they have completed their exams, they want to go into employment rather than carry on with their education. For the students who were hoping on going to university or college, their results may have changed their plans. If they have not got the grades they needed, then they will have to go through clearing to get a placement.

If they cannot find a placement that suits them then they may decide to go straight into employment instead or defer university until they can re-sit their exams.

If you are looking for a change in career then you may wish to consider accounting. Accounting can be a very diverse job and it often pays well too.

As a junior accountant you can expect to earn in the region of £20000 and once you are qualified upwards of £35000 per annum. You may also be able to earn bonuses and commission depending on who you work for. Chartered accountants do far more than just bookkeeping. They are able offer services which may include financial reporting, taxation, auditing, forensic accounting, corporate finance, business recovery and insolvency, or accounting systems and processes. You will need to undertake an AAT course as a starter, which some firms will pay to put you through. There are different levels of the AAT course to do. If you have no experience or previous qualifications then you will need to do the foundation course. If you have some experience or qualifications then you may be able to go straight on to the advanced course. Once you have gained this qualification you are much more likely to be accepted for an accountancy role within a firm. If you want to set up your own accountancy firm then you will need to ensure that you are fully trained and have the correct level of insurance.

As an employee you may thing that your employer has got it easy and that they don’t have much to complain about, but for many employers, this is simply not the case. There is a lot of responsibility for employers and now more than ever. It is there job to ensure that the work places is a safe environment to work in and that every has the breaks, pay, protective equipment etc that they are are entitled to. There are a lot of legislations and laws that must be adhered to and all of this is on top of trying to run a business and turn a profit.

Many employees think that being an employer is easy and that they have a great time bossing everyone about but this is simply not the case. Any good employer will know the difficulties between keeping your employees happy but also ensuring that work gets completed on time and to standard whilst still making a profit. Being an employer is a very careful balancing act and you constantly need to be in touch with what is happening within the business without micro managing. You will need to carry out reviews with your staff and ensure they are happy in your workplace.

For many women going back to work after having a baby can be quite a challenge. The cost of childcare can be astronomical and unless the job you are in is well paid you may well ask yourself whether it is worthwhile working for a small amount whilst paying someone else to look after your child.

An ideal solution to this dilemma is to find a way to work from home so that you can be at home with your young child and also earn a wage. Perhaps you have a skill that could be adapted to enable you to work in this way such as secretarial skills or marketing. These jobs could be carried out at home on a computer with meetings organised to coordinate work via online conference calls.

There may be a hobby that you have that can be used to earn a wage from such as sewing, baking or playing an instrument. Many people would be interested in employing someone to make or alter clothes or make celebration cakes and as long as you advertise your business well this type of business can be a success. If you are a musician, you could promote yourself as a music tutor teaching both children and adults to play a musical instrument.

When you retire from a chosen career such as teaching or nursing life can feel very different. The days of rushing out to work in the morning or working shifts are not missed but the companionship of work colleagues and the structure to your day often is something that many retirees comment on and want to change.

Finding a job that is suitable for someone who is retired can be problematic as some employers do not offer part time roles and it may be that you do not want to spend all your time at work at this stage in your life. It is wise to seek out a job that is as stress free as possible such as a retail position. Some more forward-thinking companies encourage older people to apply for roles as they have seen the benefits of a more mature approach to working.

Call centre roles are another possibility for retirees as most of the work will be carried out seated while some companies allow employees to work from home.

If you enjoy working with children, then a job as a teaching assistant or childcare worker can be a good solution as often children respond well to older people in the community.

Often when people first start up their own business, they must do a lot of the work themselves. Once the business starts to grow, there may come a time when they need to look to either employee someone or use a sub contractor to work with them.  This could be for anything from marketing through to managing all the accounts and doing the books etc.

As a business owner it can be extremely daunting taking someone on to work with you if you have never done it before. You are having to let someone else into your business and therefore you need to be able to trust them and know that you can rely on them to do a good job.

It may be that they will be customer facing, so what they say or do will have a big effect on your reputation. Ideally you may want to find someone that you already know or have worked with before, but this may not always be possible. When you come to choose what type of person to take on you need to have a clear idea of what responsibilities you will be giving them. Take some time to interview them properly and never skimp on getting references.

If you have a job where you work from home then you will probably already know the issues that surround it. Everyone has the opinion that working from hoe must be great as you can lazy about and watch tv, making cups of tea when you want to, but the fact is, if you do this then you will probably not get your work done. When working from home you need to set yourself strict working hours and try and stick to them. Giving yourself a start time, a few breaks in the day and a finish time. If you have to take time out of work to go food shopping etc. then you should try and make this time up another day or in an evening to allow you to stay on top of everything. 

Not only do you have the issues of organising your working hours, but also you may miss the interaction with others. Try and make sure that you have some time away from work, whether it be an hour a day for lunch or time in the evening when you can get out of the house for a bit and meet up with family and friends. 

Many people get into IT roles starting off in a junior position such as a Junior IT technician or support role. Over time as you gain more experience you should be able to progress up the ranks to move into a more senior or management role.

You may have a lot of experience in IT but you also need to gain management experience. This may include how to manage a team, meeting with prospective and existing clients and liaising with suppliers. You may be able to go on courses or complete a management NVQ whilst working to gain these skills.

Always make sure that your company is aware that you would like to progress into a management role. It may seem obvious to you, but many bosses won’t necessarily assume that you want to move out of your current position unless you tell them and therefore may not consider you should a vacancy come up.

It may be that you outgrow the company that you currently work for and in order to progress you need to move to a different company. This can be hard if you like who you work for but sometimes it is essential if you want to progress.

As an employer you may find the whole recruitment process quite stressful let alone costly.

It is thought that on average it can cost a business around four to five thousand pounds to fill a vacancy.

When advertising a job, you may be inundated with CV’s which someone will need to go through in order to shortlist applicants that you want to invite in for interviews. All of this takes time and often means a member of staff can’t do the job they normally do as all their time is taken up with this. You may have to do more multiple rounds of interviews to find the applicants, meaning more admin time. If you decide to use an agency, they can take a lot of the hassle away from you by doing all the advertising for the position, filtering through CV’s that are sent in and then pre assessing people that you wish to attend an interview to find out if they are really suitable.

Agencies usually make their money from employers by charging a set fee for their service which is usually based on a percentage of the annual salary being offered to the successful applicate. Often you can ask more than one agency to look for a candidate for you and will only pay the one that fills the vacancy.   

If you are considering going it alone and setting up your own business, there is a lot you need to think about. It can be a worrying time and knowing where and how you can get advice and help is essential.

You will want to know that you have all the legal requirements covered as well as your business strategy and marketing in place before you start as otherwise your business can fail before it has even begun.

In the UK, there is a very supportive environment for start-ups, with a flourishing wealth of networks, groups and organisations for all types and style of new businesses. There are many places you can go for help and advice and much of it is free, so before you go forking out a lot of money on a business advisor, see what information you can find yourself.

When looking into legal requirements you may need the help of a solicitor. If you are selling goods or services, then you will often need contracts or legal documents that must be displayed or accessible to your customer.

When it comes to finances, you may want to look after this yourself if you expect your turnover to be small or you may want to use an accountant to manage it for you.