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We all need to take time off work whether it be for medical reasons, vacations with the family or just to use your holiday entitlement up. Most jobs require some if not all of your work to be passed on to other people in your absence. This can put added pressure of your co-workers, so it is important to try and make it as easy for them as possible.

You may just need to set up an out of office email and divert your calls to someone else, but if there is something that is likely to crop up while you are away it is important to inform someone else who can take responsibility for it in your absence.

If you need someone to actually do your work on a daily basis then it is vital that you have some times with them prior to going on leave to ensure they understand what needs to be done. Sometimes it is helpful to create a list of tasks or to give those notes on your clients that they can look in to should they need to.

Always allow enough time to train your replacement and make sure that you have got up to date with all our work so that you are not leaving them in the deep end straight away.  

If you own a business and are in need of extra staff but do not want to spend hundreds or even thousands on recruiting cost then there are some ways in which you can find the right candidate on a smaller budget. You may need to put in more time and accept that you may need to do a lot more interviews to find the right candidate. If you use an agency they will often do much of the preliminary searching and vetting for you, so you will only be sent candidates that are suitable. If you advertise the job yourself and vet the CV’s etc, then you will have to work your way through often a large number of them to find the people that you would like to interview. Agencies can save you a lot of time but they do come at a cost.
Social media sites are a great way to find potential employees. Advertising jobs on your own social media profile and your website is free and can attract a large number of candidates. Also using Social media sites such as LinkedIn allows you to find people within your industry that you can target. Creating a simple ad and putting in in the local paper is still a great way to get CV’s rolling in and can cost as little as thirty to fifty pounds.
Always be sure to keep CV’s of previous candidates on file as they may not have been suited to the position they originally applied for but you may have a vacancy open up that they would be suited to.

If you are thinking about going back into education as a mature student you may think about doing an Open University course. The Open University offer a wide range of courses which can be done in sections and split over a number of years for those who cannot commit to it full time. Once you have completed one course you can then go on to complete another course towards you degree.
Funding study can be expensive and often puts many people off, but you may be eligible for a student loan which will cover your tuition fees. These loans often do not need to be paid back for a number of years after you have completed the course and usually not until you are earning above a certain amount. It is often based on a percentage, so the more you earn the quicker you will pay the loan off.
Completing an Open University course or a course at college or university can help improve your job prospects and allow you to apply for positions that you may not previously have had the qualifications for. It can help you get in to a job that you enjoy and also earn more money in the long run.

Looking for a job can be tough and you may have to apply for many before you are asked to attend an interview. Once you have landed the opportunity of a job interview, you need to ensure you do the best you can in order to boost your chances of getting a job offer.

The first thing you may want to consider when preparing for an interview is what you are going to wear. You should always dress smartly and make sure that your hair is tidy and you have clean finger nails. Think about any jewellery you are wearing, if it is not discreet then you may wish to cover it up or remove it. Same goes for tattoos, many people chose to cover their tattoos when attending an interview.

Do plenty of research in to company that you are hoping to work for. Find out the history of the company and the management structure. You may want to make a note of any questions that you want to ask them based on your research.

Ensure you arrive in plenty of time for your interview, it is better to be early than late. Plan your route before you set off and be sure to find somewhere you can park for long enough.

As part of the employment process, you may be asked for references from previous employment. People often find this hard if their current employer doesn’t know that they are job hunting or if they have not had many successful jobs previously. A person cannot give you a bad reference but they can refuse to give one.

You will need to provide a reference or references from people who can confirm the skills and qualifications that you have that are applicable to the job you are applying for. If possible, it is good to have your list of reference ready when you start applying so you don’t have to rush round afterwards trying to get them.

Former bosses and co-workers can often give reference in terms of professional ones and friends, neighbours and people you may have volunteered with should be able to give you a personal one. Make sure that you pick someone that is reliable and will complete the reference on time. Some company policies state that they will not give out references, only confirm your employment and job title.

If someone agrees to give you a reference, then try to make it as easy for them as possible. Give them an updated copy of your CV and state the types of job roles you are applying for.

A lot has changed in the world of job hunting since the advent of the internet, and whilst it’s certainly easier to search & apply for jobs, it can feel very much like you’re firing off hundreds of applications with very little response.

Gone are the days when you would simply pick up a local newspaper and call through, now your CV and covering letter really are key; if these aren’t effective, you simply won’t get through to interview.

That’s made even harder when you consider that some firms use sifting or filtering software to score your CV and submissions, and as such ideal candidates can fall foul of using the wrong language.

To truly get the best out of your searching then, it’s important to be targeted and strategic in your search; apply for the jobs you’re best qualified for, and be specific – with examples – as to how you meet the person specification. This is truly what employers are looking to see, especially if you’re not quite an exact fit for the role – show them how you could be.

There’s absolutely no point wasting time submitting applications ‘on the off-chance’ if you don’t put in this extra time, you’ll simply fall foul of either a software, or manual, sifting process.

If you’re in field sales, delivery or customer relations, you may find you spend a lot of your time on the road travelling to meet or deliver to clients. As someone in a field-based role, personally I find it a relatively enjoyable part of my job, but I love driving.

However recently studies have begun to emerge which suggest that there may be health implications to spending a lot of time on the road. A number of articles in publications from the New York Post to Web MD and the Daily Mail have highlighted the negative effects.

In particular, one noticeable impact is a decline in IQ. This is because driving is (or at least can be) sedentary in both the mental and physical sense, and causes stress and fatigue. All of these factors contribute to a decline in brain function, particularly in people from middle age onwards.

In addition, we’ve all heard reports about the other impacts of sedentary lifestyles and stress – it’s widely accepted that these contribute to obesity, insomnia and a generally lower feeling of wellbeing, all of which puts considerable strain on your heart. And that’s before you couple it with the fact that regular road users are more likely to smoke.

If you are looking for work you may find that you are offered night shifts. For some people, night shifts are the perfect option. It can fit in with their lifestyle and you often get a few days off in the week which some people prefer.

There are some downsides to working nights are often these are more for people that have to do it on a long-term basis. Shift working can be very anti-social. You may find that you are at work when everyone else is off work and that you have to sleep during the day. If you have a partner or children it may be that you get little time to spend with them as the days you are off they may be at school or work. It takes a while for your body clock to adjust to night shifts and you often find that on your days off, you struggle to change your sleeping pattern.

Night shift work is often better paid than working the same job in the day, you may find you do not have to contend with rush hour traffic and that you can get more work done if there are not many other people about.

If you are in need of work quickly then you may decide to go and work for a temping agency. There are a huge number of agencies around some of them are based online others will have offices that you can visit. When signing p to an agency it is important to find out what fees they will charge. Many temping agencies will not charge you a fee to be on their books but they may take a cut of your salary. This is often a percentage and some agencies can take quite a bit. You should also find out if you need to have any special equipment or work wear such as steel toe capped boots as the agency may often to sell you these and take it from your wages but they are often not the cheapest way to buy them.

The advantages of working for an agency means that you may have work every day of the week and can start earning money very quickly without having to go through the whole recruitment process such as interviews. Most agencies will need to speak to you and have a look through your CV before they can offer you work. This is so they can establish your skills and qualifications to find suitable job opportunities for you. You will need to be available at short notice as they may call you on the day that you need to go and work, so having your own transport is preferable.

If you are in the process of looking for a job then you may need to make sure it fits around other commitments you may have such as childcare. Part-time work can vary greatly. It may be that the working hours are for full days but only a few days a week or you may be required to work shorter days throughout the whole week or the majority of it. Depending on what the job is, you may be able to choose the hours you work to allow you to fit it in around your other commitments.

If you find a full-time vacancy that you feel would be perfect for you then you could always apply and ask them whether they would consider offering a part-time role. Some companies may accept this especially if it’s only on a short-term basis or they may even consider hiring two part-time people to cover the role.

It is important to remember that when you are part-time you will only be entitled to holiday pay that has been accrued based on the time you have worked. You may also need to work a longer probationary period.

If you are currently in a part-time role but feel that you want to take on more work, before leaving and looking for a full-time position, speak to your current employer and ask them if they would consider taking you on full time.