Happy New Year

Hi All

We hope you've been enjoying the time away from work, whatever it is you've been doing for the holidays.

Team Mole have been very busy over Christmas and we're looking forward to launching some exciting new features in the New Year.

Have a great time over New Years and we'll be in touch soon

Happy New Year!


The Mole
TheCareerMole.com
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Happy Holidays

Team Mole is heading out of the door shortly. As the year draws to an end everyone at TheCareerMole would like to wish you a Merry Christmas. Thank you for all support and encouragement during the last 6 months.

We have been busy actioning your feedback and are very excited about the changes we will be implementing on TheCareerMole.com.

Watch this space for the year of The Mole is almost upon us.

Happy Holidays and have a Great New Year!

The Mole

TheCareerMole - Looking forward to Festivities & the New Year!

The Festive Season is in full flow and the New Year is just around the corner. Thinking about making changes to your work / life balance in the New Year? Perhaps a new job for the New Year? A promotion at work? Or a bonus to pay for all those presents?

Whatever your plans for the New Year, here are the top five reasons to use TheCareerMole.com to get ahead in 2008:

1. Be an ambassador. As a Mole in your company receive notifications when job hunters targeting your company contact you. If you think they have what it takes to be successful you can refer and recruit them into your company. Start the New Year off with an ‘employee referral bonus’ from your boss.
2. Find jobs. Find out about the truth about jobs and discover new internally advertised jobs using Moles in your target companies, and boost your chances of success by applying via Mole Referral.
3. Research companies of interest. Found a job you’re interested in? Dig into the company’s profile to find out more about what the company does, who they compete with, and what’s being written about them in the news.
4. Meet, great, network! Mole Profiles allow you to research who’s who at your own company and beyond. Gone are the days when you had to know someone to get ahead. Now you can find someone and simply introduce yourself; or be discovered by new opportunities on TheCareerMole.com. We call it, Everyone’s ‘Unfair Advantage’!
5. The Mole is for Life – not just for Christmas! Do all of this without ever leaving our site; gain recognition for recruiting candidates for your company and take a step closer to your promotion; speak to moles and make job hunting less painful, and stay in touch with your colleagues. TheCareerMole membership is your unfair advantage at every stage of your career.

2008 is the year of you and The Mole so spread the word about TheCareerMole over Christmas; login and refresh your profile and start the New Year with a bang.

The Mole

TheCareerMole.com

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Time to hit the slopes?

Are you thinking about organising a ski trip skiing this season?
Already dreading the inevitable logistical headache?
Then our friends at 20Days can help:

SnowDays 2008, Val d’Isere, France, 8th-15th March 2008

Do you miss the days of arriving in a ski resort and knowing that loads of your mates will be there? Partying hard every night, skiing hard every day, having long, lazy lunches in the sunshine? Well SnowDays takes care of all that.

With accommodation from £150 up to £750, (all in the centre of Val) there is something to suit every budget and bank balance, so no more arguments over where to go, what to do and who should take charge of the booking. You can simply book independently with us and tell all your mates to do the same – it couldn’t be easier! No minimum or maximum number of people, no chasing others for their deposits or final payments, and no worrying over whether you’ll have a good time – trust us, it will be awesome!

SnowDays can also organise independent chalets for individual groups from 4 to 40 so visit www.20Days.co.uk to get things started.


The Mole

Do The Green Thing

Everyone wants to be green but sometimes it doesnt seem that easy to do. Well, Do The Green Thing is a great website, The Mole likes it a lot. Check out www.DoTheGreenThing.com

Every month Do The Green Thing has a different Green Thing to do. All you have to do is do it.
With festive season fast approaching and everyone hitting the shops hard we can all Do December’s Green Thing. Buy an old thing, not a new thing. Easy!

Get involved.

The Mole
www.TheCareerMole.com

Employment prospects in 2008 highest for 14 years

In an article from Milkround.com's Mike Barnard, Graduates can look forward to a bumper year for getting a job in 2008.

Citing the 17th annual UPS Europe Business Monitor, well over a third of UK
business leaders say they plan to increase their workforce over the next 12
months.

The 38 percent who said they do is the highest figure since the first
business monitor in 1993, and two percent up on last year's results.

Another 46 percent plan to keep their workforce about the same, adding up to
84 percent of senior UK executives predicting stable or growing employment next
year.

This is very promising news for TheCareerMole.com graduates who may have been feeling a little anxious in light of the recent turbulence in the economic climate.

Jim Barber, MD of UPS UK and Ireland, comments "UK businesses seem to be open to the opportunities presented by world trade, overwhelmingly seeing globalisation
as a benefit to their business and bucking the European trend of identifying
global competition as the biggest challenge to business growth."

Encouraging news on the employment outlook in 2008.

The Mole
TheCareerMole.com

Are you the street dancing champ?

Not unless you go by the name of 'Christopher' and scored a whopping 184,662. The Mole has been speaking to people that know this great man. By all accounts being the first ever 'Mole Travolta' Friday champion is Christophers single biggest achievement in life so far.

"If he achieves nothing else, i'll be the proudest Mum alive" - Christopher's mum on Friday afternoon after hearing the news.

Christopher is also a Mole on TheCareerMole.com and can be contacted directly for career advice, street dancing tips and referrals.

The Mole
TheCareerMole.com
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Why unhappy workers drink more, smoke and eat fast food

As if you needed to be told... but being in a job that you don't like can really have an effect on your life outside of work. More incentive to make sure you don't get stuck in job that makes you miserable. This article from GMTV this morning... explains the risks

Workers are twice as likely to have sex with their partner, smoke and drink less, and avoid fast food if they have a good day in the office, according to a new report today.Two-thirds of parents spend quality time with their children after an enjoyable day at work, a survey of more than 400 workers by online recruiters jobsite.co.uk also found. Researchers questioned commuters at 20 railway stations across Britain and found people were healthier and less stressed if they enjoyed their job.One in three of those polled admitted they turned to drink after a bad day at work, while more than one in 10 smoked more. Around half the workers said they have a bad day in the office at least once a week, with many admitting it had a negative impact on their health and home life. Consider your options

Cheryl Morgan, Jobsite's career counsellor, said: "Most jobs bring with them their own stresses and strains but this experiment really hits home the impact of having a good and bad day at work." Close to a quarter of UK workers are currently unhappy with their current job, and we are urging people to make sure they are happy at work because there are repercussions on their diet, well-being and happiness.

"There is always a job right for you. If a good day at work is a rarity and a bad day is happening all too often, it's time to take some action."We spend the majority of our time at work and being in a job where you're unhappy will negatively affect the limited spare time that you do get. There's a job out there that deserves you more."

Psychologist David Moxon, who was part of the research team, said: "Unhappiness at work can have a huge impact on your home life and there is evidence to suggest that ongoing unhappiness at work can be detrimental to both the physical and mental health and well-being of workers."Anyone who is currently unhappy should think about their options and consider changing jobs to improve their happiness, health and well-being."

The perfect ... industry

Don't settle for a job you don't love. Find the perfect industry to stimulate your mind and nurture your talents - and you'll never look back

This article from the guardian careers section sums up the Moles thoughts very well. Always seek advice - why not ask a Mole, someone who really knows what it is like to the job that you want. Network; it really is a great way to find opportunities, particularly as many aren't advertised. Most importantly - it's never too late to change. Life is too short to do a job you hate. You have the power, and the now the tools, the help you change your career.

1. Seek careers advice. “Our career paths are rarely fluke,” says Rebecca Tee, a careers expert objective outsider can help us evaluate those decisions and determine what we want from our working lives.” If you have graduated within the last five years, your university or college careers service is an invaluable source of reference material and information on graduate opportunities as well as job vacancies. Or speak directly to people doing the job you want to do.

2. Start networking. As the chief executive of the Association of Graduate Recruiters, Carl Gilleard is a firm believer in the power of networking. “Seek advice from those who are knowledgeable about the industries you’re interested in and make use of any existing networks you have such as peers, friends or via online networking sites, such as http://www.thecareermole.com/. Contact professional bodies as they often employ information officers or training advisers and may have a local branch you can join. Short courses and events like career or trade fairs are also a great way to meet people.”

3. Get some work experience. Work experience won’t make you rich but it will give you an invaluable insight into a working environment. Look for schemes such as those offered at Publicis Blueprint, one of the UK’s leading customer publishing agencies, where mentors are assigned to offer advice and training. “Work experience gives you an idea of what to expect before you commit to full-time employment,” explains Blueprint managing director Alastair Young. “It also shows a level of determination and allows you to develop employability skills that are very desirable to potential employers.”

4. It’s never too late. Embarking on a new career isn’t just for recent graduates. Unexpected events later in life can upset your career progression — don’t view this as a crisis, see it as an opportunity to get the job you always wanted. Similarly, if you’re feeling stagnant, greater opportunities for studying and retraining as an adult should encourage you to take the leap.
The onus is on pinpointing the things you love doing and building those interests into your working life.

How to ... Be Happy

As it's Monday and you might be feeling a bit down after a great weekend, The Mole thought you might like some advice about staying happy at work. TheCareerMole.com can help you find the right job for you; but once you are there you have to make sure you stay happy. This article from the The Times , provides some helpful tips to keep you going....

Finding a job that you like is clearly important to your workplace happiness, but it isn’t always easy – and even when you do there will still be times that you’re not happy. Obviously the best way to cheer yourself up is to turn Super Trouper up to 11 and dance around the room for five minutes, but if you don't have an Abba-friendly workplace you might like to try these suggestions instead.

1. Keep things in perspective. “Your work experience is a very big part of your life, but it’s not your whole life,” says Michael Chambers, the managing director of Bacs, the payment processing house. Remind yourself of the positive things in other parts of your life.

2. Recognise the possibility of happiness. “We very often fail to recognise the rich sources of pleasure and meaning that are right in front of us at work,” writes Tal Ben-Shahar in Happier (McGraw-Hill, £12.99). “To turn a possibility [for happiness] into a reality, we first need to realise that the possibility exists.”

3. Change your focus. If the daily grind is getting you down, look at the big picture and remind yourself why you took the job – for example, that you share your organisation’s goal of reducing poverty or that gaining experience at this firm will help you to land your dream job. On the flip side, if it’s the big picture that is getting you down – say, you feel that helping your company to get richer isn’t your goal in life – try concentrating on individual tasks that you can do well. Don’t underestimate the satisfaction that can be gained from getting little things done, whether that is finally clearing out your inbox or resolving an irritating administrative problem.

4. Surround yourself with happy people... even if that means making other people happy to do it, says Marc Woods, a motivational speaker. “People react well to you helping them, and being around happy people does rub off.” He also suggests finding a mentor who enjoys his or her job and can offer support dealing with your emotional state as well as with technical issues. And steer clear of moaners: just as positive people will help to keep your mood up, colleagues who spend their days complaining will inevitably bring you down.

5. Accept reality. Look for the opportunities that change will create rather than focusing entirely on the immediate negatives. “I had bone cancer and had a leg amputated at 17,” Woods says. “I could have said ‘woe is me’, but instead I sat down and thought ‘right, this how it is now, what can I do with it?’ (In his case that turned out to include winning four Paralympic gold medals).

6. Do the best you can. “If you know that you have done your job as well as you can, it can give you a sense of wellbeing even if things don’t work out quite as you’d hoped,” Woods says. “Take pride in doing your job well.”

7. Balance. Overwork and stress frequently lead to anxiety and unhappiness. Make sure that you have enough time to yourself for exercise, a social and family life and relaxation, Chambers says. Keeping a balance will also help out in those inevitable times when you are required to work longer or harder than usual.

8. Take a break. If everything is getting too much, get away from the environment that is making you unhappy, Chambers suggests. “Take a moment on your own to go for a walk or ask

9. Take control. If something at work is making you unhappy, don’t wait for someone else to solve the problem – fix it yourself. “Take personal responsibility for things that don’t quite work or could be done better,” Woods says. “Managers like proactive people, so you could get a promotion, but at the very least it will improve your own job and help you to be happy.”

10. Be honest with yourself. Are you unhappy because you are in the wrong job? “Listen to your unhappiness,” Chambers says. “Can you resolve it in the current environment or is it a signal that it’s time to move on?” If you’ve done all you can to improve your mood and you’re still unhappy at work, it’s probably time to find something new. “Many [people]... are enslaved by their jobs, not because they have no choice, but because they have made a choice that made them unhappy,” Dr Ben-Shahar writes.

Friday Night Mole - Dance Off Time

Help The Mole warm up for the Friday night out. Throw some shapes and post yours scores to have the dubious honour of becoming our first ever 'Mole Travolta' Friday champion. Oh yes - what an honour, and it could be yours.

Why should i develop my business network?

Hello All

As if we needed to be reminded about the power and value of social networks like Facebook and business networks like TheCareerMole.com we came across this great article about business social networking that summarises it all perfectly.

Make sure your Mole Profile is up-to-date and doing you justice and you can make new connections with talented candidates you can refer. You can also meet other Moles and discover new friends and opportunities by adding them to your 'Mole Network'. Login, invite your friends to join and see which of your friends and colleagues are already using TheCareerMole.com.

TheCareerMole.com
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Halloween Party – Friday 2nd November in Chelsea

After much demand from last year’s party goers, our good buddies at 20 Days has once again teamed up with the lovely people from Corona to bring you ‘Trick or Treat: The Sequel’ (a bit like Scream 2 but with better clothes) Check out the pics from last year to see what you could be missing.....

Tickets are on sale now and are being sold Easyjet style i.e. the first 20 are only £5, next 20 are £10 and so on and so on ‘til you’re going to have to sell your granny in order to buy one so get in there quick as they’re already going like hotcakes!

To buy yours (and for more info) go to click here

Mole's Eye View - Management Consulting

What is management consultancy? It's a good question. I have been working as a consultant for nearly 5 years and still find it hard to explain. When people think of management consultancy they think of big bonuses and telling companies how they should be run. As ever, neither is really true, in particular the former. Before you stop being interested, you still can get paid well as a consultant, but you are expected to work for it.

One of the best (and worst) things about working in management consultancy is that you don't know where or what you might be doing in a few weeks or months, or where you might be working. You get paid for being flexible; and flexibility doesn't suit everyone. I have been lucky enough to have worked in the UK and the US as well as some small bits of work in Asia. Interesting, but that still doesn’t really tell you what I do. Everyone who works in management consultancy does something different, so you have to be very careful about choosing the right path; it can be anything from strategy, change management, human performance, project management, outsourcing and many will do IT implementation.

I have tended to work on more strategic type projects; that means looking at things such as how a market will grow, which products are expected to be popular and how the business can support it. It might also mean looking at new regulations and trying to figure out what effect it's going to have on people businesses. Having said all that, as a consultant you have to be flexible and learn quickly. You may end up doing something which you aren’t experienced in that will really stretch you. So if you don't like being outside of your comfort zone and stretching yourself (I pretty much always am!), then perhaps this might not be for you!

If you like working with clients, in fact, spending most of your time in their offices, then it could be for you. But remember, it's not as glamorous as it all sounds. There are plenty of very late nights, and travelling around can get quite boring. Make sure you speak to someone before you join a consultancy as it can really vary from company to company, role to role.

Do I enjoy it? Yes; it's a great place to learn, work with intelligent and challenging people and get the chance to get high levels of responsibility very early on in your career.

Decent Spoof?

So here we are again, at the start of another glorious weekend of Rugby. Can the English pull off the unthinkable and actually win the World Cup? Will they get destroyed by S. Africa? Can TheCareerMole play the drums?

All big, big questions. And we only have the answer to one of them... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf0TpatzRGk

Allez les blancs!

The Mole
TheCareerMole.com
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Employee Referral 2.0

Hello All

This post is a little more serious than most but, If you've got a few minutes to spare, why not read our employee referral White paper. "Employee Referral Schemes: A Strategic Recruiting Imperative" lays down our vision for employee referral schemes and what has to change in order for everyone - candidates, employees and employers - to fully realise the potential benefits of employee referral.

Your thoughts and comments are welcome.

Regards

The Mole

TheCareerMole.com
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Something you want to share?

TheCareerMole.com is all about providing honest, unbiased insight into careers, companies, industries and jobs. If you fancy yourself as a bit of a writer and would like to give us a warts and all lowdown on where you work, please get in touch.

Or if you’ve got a bite size story to tell about funny or embarrassing work goings-on, bad interview experiences, stories of idiotic work collegues or just old fashioned rants. Write to us, you will remain anonymous, and might feature in the new Mole's Eye View section in our newsletters.

Regards


The Mole
TheCareerMole.com
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I Turned Up at the Wrong Interview!

This is an old story now, but The Mole saw it again and it really is a classic. If it can make the Mole laugh out load, it can't fail. Enjoy!

Guy Kewney, a white, bearded technology expert was astonished to see himself appear on screen as a black man with an apparent French accent. The BBC were interviewing "Experts" on the Apple Corps vs Apple Computers legal case. The producer mistakenly ushered Guy Goma to the News 24 studio after hearing his first name but perhaps believing "Kewney" to be a mispronunciation...

Watch the Interview...

The Vegemite Tales

Hello All,

20Days.co.uk, one of The Mole's Lifestyle Partners has great parties, events and activities you and your friends can get involved with, including the Vegemite Tales..

THE VEGEMITE TALES, THE CULT HIT COMEDY ABOUT LIVING IN LONDON

20 Days presents the Vegemite Tales, Thursday 27th September, 8pm
The what? – I hear you ask. It’s a hilarious play (featuring hottie, Stu
from Neighbours ladies!) about Aussies communal living in London, and 20 Days is
organising a massive group trip to go and see it in Leicester Square on Thursday
20th September. Tickets only £25 each (plus boring old booking fee). BOOK
NOW

You may have heard of it already: Five Antipodeans share a house in
Acton... Or is it Hammersmith? Anyway, it’s been described in the press as an
Australian version of Friends, or Men Behaving Badly, depending on what papers
you read. You don’t need to have travelled across the world to “get it”: if
you’ve ever shared a flat, moved from home to live in a big city or just wonder
why your snot turns black in London we know you’re going to enjoy this
show.

What’s On magazine called it “AWESOME!” and we think it’s hilarious – but
more importantly for the ladies, hot Stu from Neighbours is in it! Whatever else
you’re planning, you’re unlikely to have more fun in a darkened room this
summer. To quote last week’s Evening Standard: “It’s high time for the West End
to wake up and smell the Vegemite... Best enjoyed with flatmates and
beer.”

Oh, and they PROMISE no shrimps or cork-hats!

So why not get your flatmates together for the evening!

Enjoy!

The Mole
TheCareerMole.com
Everyone's 'Unfair Advantage!'

What's going on?

Hello All,

The Mole has been super busy over the last few weeks and a lot has been happening, which we here at Mole HQ are very excited about. We're been working hard on some great new features to improve the site and make it even faster and easier to use. We are also in several discussions with potential partners that will bring a number of benefits to our members...

It's fantastic to see and hear from members that how useful it has been for them to speak to Moles about their company and what it's really like to work there. We will shortly be starting up a testimonials section so if you've found TheCareerMole useful and would like to contribute please get in touch.

In the meantime, good luck with your job applications

The Mole
TheCareerMole.com
...Everyone's 'unfair advantage!'

The Great Mole Hunt: T-2

There's only two more days to go until the Great Mole Hunt competition closes.... have all your friends signed up? It's worth chasing them so you're in it to win the Champneys break!

Good luck

The Mole
TheCareerMole.com
Meet. Refer. Progress.

Mole in one

The Mole is hitting the golf course this bank holiday (If the weather forecast comes true!), so time for some 'practice'...

http://www.fingertime.com/moleinone.php

Good luck!

The Mole
http://www.thecareermole.com/
...Everyone's unfair advantage!

...9 Days till 2 nights of luxury!

Hello All

We are T-8 days till the Great Mole Hunt comes to an end and we know who the lucky person is who has won 2 nights for them and a friend including body massage and facials each (!) at a Champney resort of your choice!

Have you entered?

Could it be you?



There's still time to enter the competition. Check here for details on how to enter

Good luck - soon you could be looking this relaxed...!

The Mole

TheCareerMole.com

...Everyone's unfair advantage!

Job Alert - Perl Developers & Online Sales Execs wanted!

We have a growing number of employers using MoleResourcing.com and TheCareerMole.com to manage their recruitment needs, and more are joining us each week which means regular new job postings for you or your friends to consider.

Two we’d like to throw the spot light on now are:


Perl developer for LOVEFiLM:

… the UK and Europe’s leading online DVD rental and film download business, and is the 3rd most visited UK site in entertainment and the
movies market, currently shipping over 500k DVDs per week – that’s more items handled than amazon UK. In the last 2 years LOVEFiLM have launched successful services in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Germany.

The Ideal Candidate:

…should have experience developing large, structured, Perl
applications within a team, preferably working with large, varied datasets within MySQL/similar.

Salary : £ 30,001 - 40,000.

Login and go to Vacancies for full job details and read LOVEFiLM’s company profile on the Target Companies page.

Online Media Sales Executive for emedia:

...One of the largest email publishers within the UK and provides online direct marketing solutions to the business community. Specialising in permission-based email marketing, we serve clients by using our direct response email bulletins to acquire them new business, generate leads, and increase their brand awareness, website traffic and more. emedia currently has a turnover in excess of £5m; a 30% growth since 2005 and employs over 60 people.

The Ideal Candidate:

...should have a strong track record in selling media advertising space via telephone; a robust record of exceeding individual revenue targets and daily call rates and the intellect and ambition to take on more responsibility as the company grows.

Login and go to Vacancies for full job details and read emedia’s company profile on the Target Companies page.

If you, or someone you know might be the Ideal Candidate for either of these jobs, forward this on and tell them all about TheCareerMole.com

Cheers

The Mole
TheCareerMole.com
...Everyone's unfair advantage!

20Days.co.uk - Mole Lifestyle Partner

We're pleased to announce our first Mole Lifestyle Partner is 20Days.co.uk!

20 Days is a free-to-join members club that helps those in their 20s and 30s make the most of only having 20(+) days holiday a year.

20 Days organises a veritable pick 'n' mix bag of holidays, trips, events and parties from learning to kite surf in Egypt, heli-skiing in Canada and partying in Ibiza; to days out to the polo, Henley Regatta and Ascot races, wine tasting, girly golf lessons and surfing in Cornwall.

In short, they take away all the organisational hassle and make sure you have a great time with like-minded people. Check out their site now and make the most of your 20 days (+) holidays.

Enjoy


The Mole
TheCareerMole.com
...Everyone's unfair advantage!

Mole Lifestyle Partners

Hello Everyone!

After a long hard week the importance of being in the right job couldnt be more apparent to us all. TheCareerMole.com is a powerful tool for motivated professionals to manage and progress their careers, whether you are job hunting or looking to climb the ladder at your company.

All work and no play makes for poor chat though which is why we're launching the 'Mole Lifestyle Partners'. TheCareerMolewill be partnering with a select number of companies that offer our members something different and help them to improve their work / life balance.

The first member of this distinguished club is 20days.co.uk, a free-to-join members club that helps those in their 20s and 30s make the most of only having 20(+) days holiday a year. To find out more about what 20Days can offer you click here, or visit their website.

Enjoy the weekend!

Cheers

The Mole
TheCareerMole.com
...Everyone's unfair advantage!

Heard it on the Grapevine...

TheCareerMole.com was featured in an article by Widget Finn in Grapevine Magazine. The Grapevine brokers news and opinion between senior HR professionals.

The article was a comprehensive assessment of the benefits of employee referral schemes, TheCareerMole process and how we are helping employers to maximise their referral volumes.

Keep your eyes peeled for more Mole news

Regards


The Mole
TheCareerMole.com
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New vacancies posted

Hello All

As TheCareerMole.com continues to grow as a result of the media coverage we've received and you, telling your friends (thank you!), the focus at Mole HQ is now firmly on onboarding employer members to the site. The response we've had has been excellent and is keeping us all very busy.

We have a number of employers from a range of industries starting to use TheCareerMole.com and MoleResourcing.com so check in regularly and keep an eye on the Vacancies page. You might find a new challenge for you or a friend.

That's all for now

Regards

The Mole
TheCareerMole.com
Everyone's unfair advantage!

Hot! Hot! Hot!

Phew! It is boiling! Even though The Mole doesn't cope well with heat like this (fur and all - not a good combo), what a welcome change from the last few weeks!

The weather isn't the only thing hotting up either; TheCareerMole member count is growing rapidly - we're now just short of 1000 member in 8 weeks, which is fantastic. Thanks for your support so far; please keep spreading the word amongst your friends, family and colleagues. Everyone benefits from TheCareerMole.com!

Even more exciting; we are also in the process of onboarding a number of employers members on to MoleResourcing.com. Since our press launch 8 weeks ago we have been contacted by employers from banks to construction to media companies so watch this space for announcements and new vacancies being posted.

Have a great weekend - lets hope the weather sticks!

The Mole
TheCareerMole.com
..Everyone's 'unfair advantage'!

P.S. Don't forget to you've only got 29 days left to tell your friends and enter the Champneys Mole Hunt competition!

WANTED: Candidates AND Moles

UPDATE: Due to popular demand we've expanded the competition so that you can enter by getting your friends, family and colleagues to register as candidates or Moles. You've got 4 weeks left to enter as many times as you can by getting your friends to register on TheCareerMole.com (details below), so what are you waiting for!?

Good luck!

Today the much anticipated Great Mole Hunt of 2007 begins! TheCareerMole.com needs you: All you have to do is refer your friends to TheCareerMole.com . Invite them to register as a Mole or candidates; each time someone registers and says you referred them, you'll be entered for The Great Mole Hunt prize draw.

REWARD: TheCareerMole.com is all about referral rewards and we've got a fantastic reward for one lucky TheCareerMole.com member. The Great Mole Hunt Reward, kindly provided courtesy of Champneys Health Resorts is:

• 2 night midweek break for 2 people at either Champneys Henlow, Champneys Forest Mere or Champneys Springs


• A Champneys body massage AND relaxing facial per person


• All meals for 2 people


• Unlimited use of facilities (swimming pool with whirlpool, sauna / steam, gymnasium and complete programme of exercise and relaxation classess)

So what are you waiting for - start referring your friends to TheCareerMole.com now - soon you could be relaxing in style and recharging your batteries at a Champneys Resort.

To be eligible and enter the prize draw you must:

1. Be an existing TheCareerMole.com member yourself


2. Refer your friends; get them to register as Moles or candidates on TheCareerMole.com
   Ensure they enter your full name when they register e.g:

Enter as many times as you like - just make sure each friend you refer enters your name when they register! Terms & Conditions apply.

As Moles your friends can start earning employee referral rewards from their employers for referring talented candidates, and they can also enter the Mole Hunt competition themselves by getting their friends and colleagues to register as Moles or candidates - Everyone wins, so what are you waiting for?

You can enter as many times as you want - just get more of your friends to register. You've got until August 31st to enter.

Good Luck!


The Mole
TheCareerMole.com
Meet. Refer. Progress.

Onwards and upwards

Hello All - Hope you had good weekends. The Mole i feeling extremely upbeat today; the week ended well with thelondonpaper article which had a massive impact. Thanks to everyone that continues to show their support for TheCareerMole.com. We are receiving some really nice comments from members who appreciate what The Mole is doing - keep them coming!

Th forecast for this week looks set to improve - fingers crossed the much needed sunshine and drier weather is on its way. There's plenty going on at Mole HQ too so watch this space for more news.

Cheers


The Mole
TheCareerMole.com
Everyone's unfair advantage

P.S. Dont forget about the Great Mole Hunt - the winner of the luxury Champneys competition will be drawn on 31st August. Increase your chances of winning by entering multiple times!

thelondonpaper

Hi All

For those of you in London there's a really good article about TheCareerMole.com in 'thelondonpaper' today. Check it out on your way home

The Mole
TheCareerMole.com
...Everyone's unfair advantage!

Tell your boss

We want to partner with your employer and help them maximise the number of candidates they recruit via referral.

Employers and recruitment agencies can register on MoleResourcing.com: take control of company Moles, post jobs, track referred candidates and deactivate Moles if they are not recruiting. TheCareerMole.com and MoleResourcing.com provide a forum with the tools and controls employers, employees and candidates need to get the most out of employee referral schemes and make recruitment more efficient.

If you refer your boss or HR department to TheCareerMole.com and they engage with us, we’ll reward your with a referral bonus. You’ll also be helping your company recruit the best candidates for less, which will make you look good too.

Spread the word!


The Mole
TheCareerMole.com
Everyone's unfair advantage

Win! Win! Win! Everyone's unfair advantage

What miserable weather! Get over the doom and gloom and enter our competition to win a luxury break at a Champneys Health Resort.

Whatever you're doing this weekend, tell your friends about TheCareerMole.com and make sure that when they sign up they enter your name in the 'referred by' field on the register form! You can enter the competition as many times as you like so tell everyone!

If any of the 20+ people per hour joining TheCareerMole.com are your friends and they have stated you referred them, you are already entered in to the competition - good luck! - it will be drawn on August 31st so watch this space.

Thanks


The Mole
TheCareerMole.com
Meet. Refer. Progress.

Find us on Facebook

If your a Facebook user tell your friends about the benefits of TheCareerMole by joining our groups.

Search for TheCareerMole.com and join our two groups:

1. Employee Referral Programs? Great – but I don’t know anyone to refer!
2. TheCareerMole.com

The more people we can tell about TheCareerMole the more candidates there will be for Moles to refer, and the more Moles there will be for candidates to contact! Everyone wins!

Thanks

The Mole

Referrals net employees £16 billion bonus

Hello All - We've just completed some research on the size of the referral recruitment industry and we've found bosses are rewarding employees who refer friends and family for vacancies with a bonus that totals a whopping £16 billion.

TheCareerMole.com is unlocking the power of referral schemes for employers, employees and candidates. With the average cash windfall to be expected for successful referrals approx. £3,495 with some taking home as much as £15,000, for senior jobs there's no better time to get involved with referrals.

Join TheCareerMole.com today and get involved in the referral boom.

Happy Moling!


The Mole
TheCareerMole.com
Meet. Refer. Progress.
http://www.hrzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=170677&d=1064

First Century

Hello All - Hope you had a good weekend and weren't caught out in the rain too much!

The Mole is currently going from strength to strength: Following last week's great coverage in The Times we now have Moles in over 100 different companies. The breadth and depth of our Mole coverage continues to grow each day meaning candidate members can speak with a relevant Mole; and employees, registering as Moles, are taking an active role in recruiting for their firms. Candidates win; Employers win; Employees win - or everyone's unfair advantage!

We're adding more new members each day now; if you are getting your friends to sign up, make sure they enter you in to the competition to win the Champneys break! Thanks for all your support.

Regards


The Mole
www.TheCareerMole.com
Meet. Refer. Progress.

The Times

We featured today in The Times job section which you can read here:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/career_and_jobs/graduate_management/article2058945.ece

We are getting an increasing amount of very positive press coverage but we wanted to take this opportunity to respond to the concerns expressed by Deloitte. As we get more opportunities to engage with the press and employers through more in depth coverage of TheCareerMole.com, we feel the outcome of all these discussions will ultimately be positive.

We anticipated and share Deloitte’s concerns in this article. As such, we already have controls in place to prevent Moles focusing all of their time on recruiting rather than their day jobs: Moles can only be contacted by one candidate at a time, limiting the time they can spend referring people. Moles are incentivised to refer only the best candidates with the greatest chance of success, positively affecting their ‘Mole Rating’.

Uniquely, Moles are reactive, only logging in when suitable candidates contact them, unlike other sites where the equivalent of Moles, are expected to invest time proactively searching and matching candidates to jobs.

Employers and recruitment agencies can register on MoleResourcing.com: take control of their Moles, post jobs, track referred candidates and deactivate Moles if they are not recruiting.

TheCareerMole.com and MoleResourcing.com provide a forum with the tools and controls employers, employees and candidates need to get the most out of employee referral schemes and make recruitment more efficient.

If your employer has similar concerns to Deloitte please ask them to contact us directly. If our existing controls and processes do not already address their concerns, we will improve the site so it does. We believe TheCareerMole.com and MoleResourcing.com makes the recruitment industry better for everyone and we'd welcome any conversation to explain how and why so please do get in touch with your concerns, feedback and comments.

Thanks


The Mole
http://www.thecareermole.com/
Meet. Refer. Progress.

"There's money in them their referrals!"

We’ve been putting together some figures on exactly how much corporate employee referral schemes pay for a successful referral and the results will be to your liking! From the responses we've had so far the average bonus paid depends on whether you refer a graduate / entry level or an experienced hire.

The averages we have so far are approximately:

- Graduate / Entry level referral bonus = £1,500
- Experienced hire referral bonus = £3,000

Of course these are averages so don't get too excited until you've confirmed the bonus you're eligible for in your company's employee referral policy.

These bonuses are paid to the employee (Mole) direct from their employer as part of their salary. While these are average figures the fact there is a financial reward at all reflects the high value employers place on employee referral.

So what are you waiting for? Join now and get involved!

Happy Moling!


The Mole
http://www.thecareermole.com/

Strength to strength

Hello everyone

We now have Moles who can help candidates make the right decisions about their next job in over 80 companies, across 20 different industries from Accounting and Architecture to Retail and Venture Capital. Each day new moles are joining TheCareerMole.com so keep checking back in to see who might have registered in your industry.

Good luck with your Moling

Regards

The Mole
www.TheCareerMole.com
Network. Refer. Progress.

Today The Daily Telegraph's Job supplement lead with a story about Moles netting cash bonuses for referrals. This is great news for corporate employee referral schemes and our 'Moles' who are eligible to refer candidates to their corporate's recruitment process.

As well as putting the spotlight on TheCareerMole.com, Zubka.com was mentioned so we thought we'd highlight the difference between the two referral offerings.

TheCareerMole.com, together with MoleResourcing.com, are bolt-on platforms for corporates to use to unlock, and maximise the numbers they recruit through their in-house 'employee referral programme'. At the other end of the spectrum, Zubka's 'referrers' are essentially being paid a slice of the traditional recruitment agency fee for matching people they now to job postings on the site.

Company employees - our Moles - register on TheCareerMole.com and, acting as ambassadors for their employer, make themselves available to be contacted by our community of candidates and Moles. Until the Mole receives a notification that they have been contacted by a candidate considering applying to the Moles' company the Mole is free to go about their day job. Their involvement is passive up to this point. This is in stark contrast to the Zubka model whereby their 'referrers' - equivalent to our Mole members - are expected to proactively construct profiles on their friends and then actively match these profiles to the job postings essentially devoting a chunk of their time to being a part time recruitment consultant!

At this point our Mole logs in to the site, reviews the candidate's CV that is waiting for him and screens and assess the candidates suitability to the company he works for based on his first hand experience of the minimum requirements and what it takes to be successful. If the candidate meets or exceeds the requirements an ongoing screening process takes place as the candidate and mole get to know each other. If the candidates decides they do want to apply and work at the Moles' company; and the Mole feels they have a good chance of success, the Mole can then submit the candidate through his company's employee referral scheme. If the candidate is successfully complete the recruitment process they get their dream job, and the Mole is rewarded for his efforts with a bonus - paid directly to him by his employer, not TheCareerMole.com - we just help people who might never have met each other before - introduce themselves to Moles.

If the company you work for has an employee referral programme, then join TheCareerMole.com as a Mole and start earning referral rewards directly from your employer.

Everyday we are adding new Moles and partnering with Employers to maximise the number of candidates they recruit through their corporate employee referral schemes. If you'd like to take your corporate referral volumes to the next level, contact us.

Glasto blues

Welcome back to everyone who has survived the mud fest that is Glastonbury! Whether you've been at a festival, or working extremely hard or just need to sort your work / life balance out - what could be better than winning 2 luxurious nights at a Champneys Health Resort for two people including a body massage and facial!

Click here for details on how to enter now.

Good luck!

The Mole
www.TheCareerMole.com

FYI Series 003 - ‘Mole Networking’

TheCareerMole.com is more than just an employee referral network – it’s also a business networking community. Unlike the current trend for social networking, TheCareerMole.com is designed specifically to stay in touch with business contacts, helping you keep your professional life separate from your social life throughout your career.

‘My Mole Network’ makes it easy to invite your friends and colleagues to join your own ‘Mole Network’. Once your friends and colleagues join you’ll not only boost your chances of winning the luxury Champneys break; you will never again lose touch with people you’ve worked with at every stage of your career through TheCareerMole.com.

Size Matters – Benefits of expanding your ‘Mole Network’:

• Never lose contact with valuable business contacts
• Send and receive ‘invitations to refer’ & job specs to your Mole Network
• Endorse each other increasing your chances of receiving ‘invites to refer’ from candidates and earning referral rewards!
• Increase your chance of winning the Champneys luxury break!
  

Expand your network and find your friends on TheCareerMole.com already:

1. Login to Mole Members Area
2. Click the 'Expand Network' button in the middle of the screen
3. Invite your friends and colleagues to join your network
4. 'Mole Networking - Done'
   

When your friends register as a Mole they will be automatically added to your 'Mole Network' making it easier for you to stay in touch. You never know when you might need to call on someone in your network for a favour or advice so make sure you can always contact them - add them to your Mole Network now.

If you’re using ‘My Mole Network’ to increase your chances of winning the luxury Champneys break makes sure you ask them to enter your full name on the Referred by field on the registration form!

Regards


The Mole
TheCareerMole.com
Network. Refer. Progress.

My Mole Network - Professional Networking, but better!

Our Mole members can already invite their work colleagues past and present to join their very own 'Mole Network' making it easier than ever before to stay in touch with your colleagues throughout your career.

You can either invite friends using their individual email addresses or import your contacts from Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo accounts.

We all know the benefits of professional networking but it's not the easiest thing to stay on top of. 'My Mole Network' makes it easier:

1. Login as a Mole


2. Click the 'Expand Network' button in the middle of the My Summary page


3. Invite your friends and colleagues to join your network

When your friends register as a Mole they are automatically added to your Mole Network making it easier for you to stay in touch with colleagues and friends for support, advice or just for a chat.

You never know when you might need to call on someone in your network for a favour or advice so make sure you can always contact them - add them to your Mole Network now

Regards

The Mole
www.TheCareerMole.com
Network. Refer. Progress.

FYI Series - 001: Ideal Candidate Profiles

In order to refer candidates as a Mole you must ensure your ideal candidate profile is complete.

To check whether your Ideal Candidate is complete find your Mole Profile on the Meet Our Moles and click on the Ideal Candidate button - you'll see this:

If any of the fields say 'To be completed' you must login and update before you can receive invites to refer and get the most out of TheCareerMole.com.

Benefit of IC Profiles to Moles:

• Once complete you can be contacted by potential candidates who you could potentially refer to your employer


• Reduce the number of unsuitable candidate introductions you receive by enabling The Mole to automatically match certain fields on the Candidate's CV against your Ideal Candidate Profile - if they don’t match the candidate is automatically rejected


• Increase the relevance and suitability of Candidate introductions you receive by adding more detail to your IC Profile and give candidates the information they need to objectively evaluate their chances of success, before they contact you

Benefit of IC Profiles to Candidates:

• Gain an insight into the minimum requirements and skills you must have to be successful at a company, and its individual departments, written by people actually doing the job


• Increase your chances of being accepted by Moles by carefully reading their IC Profile and ensuring you are a good match


• Don’t waste your Contact Credits - only contact Moles who are likely to accept your introduction

Hope that is useful. So in summary: Moles - make sure you login and complete your Ideal Candidate Profile; Candidates make sure you read the Ideal Candidate Profiles before contacting Moles!

Happy Referring!


The Mole
TheCareerMole.com
Network. Refer. Progress. ...Everyone's unfair advantage!

The Great Mole Hunt of 2007

Our aim is to bring the benefits of TheCareerMole.com to as many employees, job hunters and employers as possible. To do this we need your help to launch The Great Mole Hunt of 2007.

Look out for details soon, but there will be some great prizes for introducing your friends, colleagues and employers to TheCareerMole.com. To be in it to win it all you have to do is get your friends to join as a Mole and ensure they enter your full name in the 'Referred by' field on the registration form.

Every time your name is entered by your friends you will be entered in to the prize draw, so the more people you sign up the more chance you have of winning! In the meantime, watch this space for details of the prizes up for grabs!


The Mole
TheCareerMole.com
Network. Refer. Progress.

FYI Series - 002: Meet our Moles

If you haven't done so already, Meet our Moles now. Here you can search through Mole Profiles by industry and sector - You might recognise the profiles of your friends and colleagues…





Meet our Moles is the beating heart of TheCareerMole.com: Every Mole has a Profile which is displayed here and allows candidates to introduce themselves to Moles and gain a balanced insight into the Mole's company and job, before they decide to apply - via employee referral.

In addition to helping candidates make informed career decisions and referring relevant candidates to their employer's recruitment process, Moles can also use Meet our Moles to develop their own professional network with existing workmates and friends, as well as introducing themselves to talented professionals they have not yet had the opportunity to meet.

Start getting the most out of the TheCareerMole.com - join and start developing your own Mole Network with talented professionals.


Enjoy
TheCareerMole.com
Network. Refer. Progress.
...Everyones 'unfair advantage!'

Are you unhappy??

... More coverage today of TheCareerMole.com in The Daily Telegraph; London Metro; Sky News Online & PersonnelToday.com which featured the results of our survey and our 'League of Disillusion' that shows across Britain a quarter of employees, or 7.1m, say their job is not what they expected. Londoners are the most likely to be trapped in jobs compared with the rest of the country, around 1.9 million - 29% - say their job does not live up to expectations.

TheCareerMole.com will fix this by enabling job hunters to speak directly to insiders - Moles - in leading companies, who can help job hunters make informed career decisions about companies and roles, before they apply, via 'Mole Referral'. We call it everyone's unfair advantage!

If your company has an employee referral scheme you can register as a Mole and make a difference to these statistics - and you may be eligible for referral rewards from your employer too!

Regards


The Mole
TheCareerMole.com

What can TheCareerMole.com do for me?

What we are doing at TheCareerMole.com is very different to the services the recruitment industry currently offers, we're revolutionising the industry! Unsurprisingly some people who have not yet come across employee referral schemes before see this as a big change. Hopefully this post will emphasis what TheCareerMole.com can do for you and your colleagues.

TheCareerMole.com is a utility for forward thinking professionals like you who want to get a step ahead in their career:

Looking for a job? Use TheCareerMole.com and chat with professionals (Moles) from within the companies where you want to work; gain unprecedented access to job opportunities and the insider information you need to make an informed decision about your future career. 'Moles' act as mentors and will support and refer suitable candidates through the job application process.

Not looking to move? Then become a 'Mole' and get a step ahead in your own career; stay in touch and network with your colleagues old and new by inviting them to join your own 'Mole Network' as a trusted business contact. As Moles (employees at your company) choose to make yourself available to be contacted by TheCareerMole.com's talented candidate members who you can recruit via referral into your company. This is your chance to make a direct impact on the quality of employees in your workplace and you could also be eligible for an employee award.
We like to think of it as everyone's 'unfair advantage'. Register now, cut out the middleman and get a step ahead of the rest.

So what do you think?

The Mole
TheCareerMole.com
...Everyone's unfair advantage!

In the press

Today was a good day for TheCareerMole.com. We featured in the Daily Express, The Sun Online, and did a live slot on BBC Radio Jersey. Keep an eye out more of TheCareerMole.com in the press - email us if you see any coverage

Thanks

The Mole
www.TheCareerMole.com
...Everyone's unfair advantage!

Glorious day

Another glorious day here in London and The Mole is very happy. Thanks to everyone who continues to sign up and join TheCareerMole.com. Great to see the community growing every day. As always if you have any questions, feedback or comments let us know.

The team here at Mole HQ are delighted by the interest we've had from some leading employers and are very excited at the opportunity to partner with them to maximise their referral recruitment volumes.

More later

The Mole
www.TheCareerMole.com
...Everyone's 'unfair advantage'

Mole ...Tasty!

More Mole trivia - apparently a staple of Mexican cuisine is the 'mole' sauce. The Mole has never had the pleasure of Juanita's Ready to Serve Mole sauce but i'm sure it must be tasty!





Anyone tried it ?


Thanks to Lucy for sending the picture in; keep them coming!



The Mole

TheCareerMole.com
...Everyone's unfair advantage!

Home Improvements

The Mole has been doing some home improvements upgraded our servers here at Mole HQ. For the most part these changes should be invisible to you but some users may experience a slight break in service. Apologies for any inconvenience caused. A normal, faster service has resumed

Thanks

The Mole
TheCareerMole.com

Meet our Moles

If you haven't done so already, Meet our Moles. Here you can search through Mole Profiles by industry and sector - You might recognise the profiles of your friends and colleagues…

This page is the beating heart of TheCareerMole.com: Every Mole has a Profile which is displayed here and allows candidates to introduce themselves to Moles and gain balanced insight into their company and job, before they decide to apply - via referral.

In addition to helping candidates make informed career decisions and referring relevant candidates to their employer's recruitment process, Moles can also use Meet our Moles to develop their own professional network with existing workmates and friends, as well as introducing themselves to talented professionals they have not yet had the opportunity to meet.

Start getting the most out of the TheCareerMole.com - join and start developing your own Mole Network with talented professionals.

Enjoy

The Mole
...Everyone's unfair advantage

Whack-a-Mole!

Only a few more hours to go to the weekend. If time's dragging for you take a look at this - the classic Whack-a-Mole game!

For the record we do not condone whacking real moles, or our Mole Members!

Have a great weekend

The Mole
TheCareerMole.com
...Everyone's unfair advantage

Launching the 'FYI Series'

Here at Mole HQ we thought it might be useful to start regular posts which focus on key features of TheCareerMole.com to make sure all our members are making full use of the site.

To this aim tomorrow will see the launch of the 'For Your Information (FYI) Series'. If you have any questions about a specific feature, or are confused about something (TheCareerMole.com related!), please email your questions and they could become a future installment of the FYI Series. Either way we'll respond to your question in person.

Keep your eyes peeled tomorrow for 'FYI Series - 001: Ideal Candidate Profiles'!

Have a good evening

The Mole
TheCareerMole.com
...Everyone's unfair advantage!

Friday Fun

Thanks to Chris for sending in this great Mole golf game. Extremely addictive - but hard - The Mole was doing well up until Hole 5 then it all went to pieces.

http://www.fingertime.com/moleinone.php

Special prize to the winner who posts the highest score!

If you come across any more mole related games / trivia send them to us at the.mole@thecareermole.com

Enjoy the weekend!

The Mole

The Mole has been working out!

The Mole has been working out over the cold winter months! The Mole has built up a sweat making sure that TheCareerMole provides you with everything you need to further your career & your business prospects. The site has only been live a few days and already we have seen a huge surge in users.

Please take a look around the site and let The Mole know what you think. Are there any features you would like to see or anything you think would benefit from being changed? What do you think of the networking functionality? Get on the site and expand your business network; You never know when someone in you network will come in handy. The Mole does his best, but sometimes finds it difficult to use the computer because of his poor eyesight and his paddle like front paws - there is always room for improvement so let The Mole know.

Even though The Mole struggles with the keyboard, he is actively going to posting each day. The blog will feature any recruiting/ business news you may be interested in, updates on how TheCareerMole is getting along, interesting Mole facts and lets face it, life isn’t just about work, so The Mole may even throw in some stuff that will keep you amused in any downtime.

Please feel free to send The Mole any amusing Mole facts (any type of Mole), pictures, stories etc that you come across. Check out this Naked Mole Rat – enough said.

Why don't you check out the below.
Mole Network: Develop relationships with some of the world’s best professionals. Invite your friends, colleagues or invite new people directly to your network.
Endorsements: Leave endorsements for people in your network which will be published on the site
Meet Our Moles: Read what others do in their day to day job, find out who is in their networks
Job Hunters: If you are looking for a job, why not contact a Mole who can provide you first hand information of what it is like to work in their company and ultimetly can help you get that dream job.

Register and start benefiting from TheCareerMole network!

Enjoy
The Mole


… Everyone’s unfair advantage