It's official - we're in a recession - The King says so

So the UK is officially in a recession says Mervyn King in his speech yesterday to business leaders in Leeds. I don't think any one will disagree with the man. Still after 16 years of good times, for many this will be their first recession. If you've been unfortunate enough to have lost your job already, or are worried you may be next take a look at this list of Top 25 recession proof jobs....

What a crazy few weeks!

Wow. It's been a while since we last posted on our blog (sorry about that!), and what a crazy few weeks it's been! In the UK we've seen Northern Rock, Lloyds TSB/ HBOS and RBS nationalised, US power houses AIG, Merrill Lynch and Lehmans, huge bail out packages on both sides of the Atlantic, global interest rate cut, crashing stock markets and all round bewilderment with a little bit of panic thrown in.

If you're job is on the line, or has already gone, now is as good a time as any to think about new beginnings, may be a completely new career or the same thing in a different sector. With any change the best way to make the move is to learn from someone who has already done it. So reach out, ask your friends, and their friends, for some help. And if you don't know anyone whose been there, done that - why not try contacting Mole and see if they can help.

Job Alert: Cancer Research UK - Corporate Business Development Group Team Manager

We are very excited to be working with Cancer Research UK - the world’s leading charity dedicated to cancer research - to help them attract ad recruit talent.

Cancer Research are a unique charity, spending in excess of £320m a year on funding research into the causes, treatment and prevention of cancer.

They have a new position available for a Group Team Manager in the Corporate Supporter Development team. You will be responsible for the management and development of the account teams and their portfolios to deliver and develop income and added value through long-term sustainable partnerships. Your role will also involve you in contributing towards the strategic development of corporate partnerships as a whole. As well as working on partnership delivery, development and retention strategy, including engagement of the wider organisation, you will also be focused on the management and development of either team managers and/or account managers, towards the delivery of agreed objectives.

The Person

In addition to significant corporate partnership experience in an account management and new business development role, ideally with other charity and/or external/corporate experience, you will demonstrate a proven track record in people and performance management. You will also come with comprehensive knowledge of the corporate fundraising portfolio (such as: employee fundraising, cause related marketing, affinity marketing, sponsorship). Possessing excellent interpersonal skills, you will have a real ability to convey complex ideas succinctly and persuasively and be skilled at coaching, training and motivating direct reports.

How to Apply

All applications should be made via www.TheCareerMole.com‘s website. Register/ Login as a candidate, search for 'Cancer Research' jobs and apply.

The online application process involves attaching your CV and introducing yourself to a Cancer Research employee via TheCareerMole.com.

Closing date: 12th September 2008

Has your career hit a glass ceilling?

There was a lot in the news yesterday about the number of Women (or lack of) in top jobs in the UK. The fifth annual Sex and Power report shows a drop in the number of women attaining the top jobs in Britain. They hold just 11% of FTSE 100 directorships and account for only 19.3% of MPs.

We thought it would be interesting to hear from our readers, what their thoughts were about the 'Glass Ceiling' at their work. Do you feel that it is harder for women to get promoted? Are there woman at top jobs in your industry/ company? Is it getting harder rather than easier?

It would be great to hear from the future leaders of industry i.e. you guys. Is the glass ceiling just at senior levels or do women find it harder to get promoted at all levels?

Let us know via mail to the.mole@thecareermole.com or submitting a comment below.

To read the full article on 'Glass Ceilings' go to this Guardian Article

The Online Recruiter: ‘TheCareerMole.com’ made it out of the Dragon’s Den, just!

The Online Recruiter: ‘TheCareerMole.com’ made it out of the Dragon’s Den, just!

Users send in support...very amusing

Here are a couple of cuttings that we have been sent by our users that we thought you might find amusing...

Dragons' Den

For those in the UK, TheCareerMole.com will be featuring on Dragons' Den on BBC 2 today (Monday 1st Sept, 9pm).

We haven't been on TV before so we are excited and petrified all at the same time. The whole experience was superb. Incredibly well organized, the day was run with military efficiency and before you had chance to absorb what was going on, you were at the foot of the stairs waiting for your turn to go in front of the Dragons…To find out what happened you’ll have to watch Dragons’ Den on 1st September, 9pm on BBC 2.

Let us know what you think about the show - Send your comments to the.mole@thecareermole.com.

Ollie

Is it possible to get a job in 7 days? Day 3 to 5 – “Project Easy Money”

Last time, in the challenge to get a job in a week, we heard that Jim had put together his CV overnight and that I was hoping he had made a horrendous mistake in his CV in his rush to get it done. Only so that I wouldn’t lose the bet you understand.

It was already day 3. That meant, according the schedule scribbled down in the pub a few days before, he should have been attending interviews today. This gave me hope. I had no doubt, that following his show of lack of will power over the weekend, he would be putting in some hard fought time watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy. “You have new mail”…….it was from Jim.

“I thought I owed it to you to have an update;

With my first two interviews in years falling on the same day I knew that today was going to be tough! Yes that’s right, two interviews. The first interview, at 10, was with a small aid agency and the second, at 3, with a better known, larger cancer charity.

As you know, my ability to either lie or step up my game to anything approaching professionalism is arguable. Consequently, any interview that isn't a general chit chat about love, life and the world is bound to scupper me. Roll on 10 a.m., and thankfully they ask a lot of common sense questions (who knew I had common sense?) about what I'd do in this or that given situation. The two people I interviewed with were only a little older than me and so it was pretty easy to get on with them. One hour later, and having confirmed that the job was in zone 1 and paid a decent wage, I left feeling pretty good.

Owing to my confidence with interview 1, and having been able to refine my interview technique, I was able to trot out pretty much the same stuff but in a more condensed manner in interview 2. Fortunately there were 3 people interviewing me so I could say a lot of things and make out like I was still answering the same question. Another good interview – but option 1 seemed to be the one for me.”

He claimed that he would crack on with some more applications, but I wasn’t so sure. I had seen this cocky tone before. This was only confirmed when he called later on to apologies for the likelihood of him taking our money. He did however admit that I was still in the running, though he claims he was Red Rum and I was a three legged arthritic pony. Still – I was sure that was just him being cocky.

Apparently not!

End of Day 4 and the first job offer was in. From the very first interview! Perhaps he was lying? Perhaps I was stuck in a horrible dream. He showed me the offer letter. I put on a brave face; “You still have to get hold of the contract, review it and get it signed and back to them. The system and process will mean you won’t be able to work on Monday”. Jim replied, “Not if turn up at the office, request they print it off and sign it there and then. If you want things to happen, you need to go and get it done”. I think I hated him. He was just sitting there grinning. It was inevitable. I could see in his eyes that he was going to wrap this one up. Not even taking up the required time. I was going to have to pay him - He didn't even need 5 days to get the job.

He sat back, had a drink of chocolate milk and said. “I wonder if I can get a pay rise”.

Do video CVs really work?

So i've been reading a lot about video CVs being the next big thing. I'm not sure this is true. Or certainly, i don't think it will be true for the English audiences for a very long time to come.

Maybe it's down to the Great British personality but being natural and comfortable talking to camera is a strange and difficult experience for most. Start talking about your strengths and all the good interview speak normally saved for 1-2-1 sessions with the interviewer and things will probably get harder. Talking to an interviewer in the flesh is more natural and candidates will be able to get themselves across better.

So, will a video CV help you get an interview? No - not least because most recruiters are not ready to receive and view video CVs. A classic example of it not working is here.

Will the Great British public be producing their own video CVs? You tell me.
Do you have a video CV?
What has the reaction been?
Has it helped you get an interview / job offer?

Part 2 - Top 10 Job Hunting Mistakes to Avoid

Last time, in our series on the Top 10 Job Hunting Mistakes to Avoid we discussed the importance of understanding the personality of the interviewer and making sure you respond during the interview using the appropriate language, familiarity and personality.

The second Job hunting mistake we should all avoid making is No.2. Not Keeping track of your accomplishments. I bet most of you will have had to work late trying to write your annual performance review. Scratching your head trying to think of what you did in Q2 last year is always difficult. Similar, if you've just been approached about a very interesting career opportunity and need to quickly turn your CV around you can save yourself valuable time simply by having a reminder of what you've worked on over the last year.

There is no 'right' way to do this. The key is coming up with a system that requires very little effort on your part to record your accomplishments in a safe place.

My preference was to use Outlook and create a 'Performance Review' folder where I'd keep emails reminding me of all my achievements including stakeholder sign-off emails, positive feedback about work I'd lead, and significant documents could all be found quickly in one place.

Having an organised filing system can help job your memory too. One tip is to have a folder for each year in your Documents folder and group all your work for each project in a new folder.

Every time you start a new role, whether it be with the same company or a new one, you should try and make a note to update your CV. This may be asking a lot as we all lead busy lives, and the last thing most people want to do after researching, applying and interviewing for their new job is to re-visit their CV again! At the very least, do yourself a favour and keep your folders, files and emails organised and grouped so you can quickly refresh your memory about all those accomplishments as you need to.

What's next in the Top 10 series?

1. Not understanding the character of your interviewer
2. Not keeping track of your accomplishments
3. Leaving on a bad note
4. Not networking
5. Only using the Internet for research
6. Writing a generic cover letter
7. Not targeting your CVto the position
8. Not paying attention/ being empathetic in an interview
9. Not being prepared
10. Not coming across well on the telephone interview

No.3. Leaving on a bad note; why you should never be tempted to have the last word!

Oliver

Is it possible to get a job in 7 days? Day 1 and 2 – “Project Easy Money”

So the challenge to find a job in a week has been set. Lets see what Jim did with his time on Day 1 and 2...

Reality sank in. It was the morning after the night before. The bet had been made, rules agreed and the challenge was on. On the back of a napkin I find a small contract dictating the rules, and the signatures of all those present the evening before who had placed the bet. There was no way out of it now; this (I was assured) was a legally binding napkin.

Early on a bright and breezy Saturday morning Jim was already on the case – and he was in a jovial mood. The phone rang and woke me up.

“I figure you deserve an update on 'Project Easy Money'. So far it's not looking good...for you. After a ropey start I have already pulled together a CV and covering letter. Admittedly, my confident /arrogant estimate of 20 minutes for each was shot out of the water but it’s results that count in this competition…”

He had even decided to get a jump on the plan for Sunday by doing a little reading and research on the sector, opportunities and openings.

It all seemed too good to be true, so I probed a little further as a good HR/ recruitment professional should do. “So, you’ve written your CV in one morning; Is it tailored towards each of the companies / roles you are going to apply to? How long is it? Does it reflect you personality? Have you taken out any jargon?”

“Yes” Jim responded.

A simple and confident answer! I could only assume that he was playing it down a little and had either a) been up all night working on it b) he was nowhere near as prepared as he claimed to be or, most likely c) both.

My confidence about wining our little wager started to wane but received a welcome boost on Sunday when the next update arrived.

Paraphrased a little, Jim told me late on Sunday evening. “What with the 10k in the morning, German F1 at lunch and lazing around in the afternoon, Sunday's work was postponed until late evening. Fortunately a Knocked Up and Austin Powers double bill helped me get some decent computer time in. The first emails went out late this evening.”

Again, as a professional, I was a little concerned. Had he really put enough thought into this? Who and what had he applied for? He wasn’t divulging much information at all.

I was having a morale dilemma now. He is my friend; of course I wanted him to get a job. On the other hand, I was hoping perhaps he made a horrendous mistake in the rush to get his CV out. Perhaps he had accidentally put a link to his Facebook profile which contained a naked picture of himself; maybe he had forgotten to remove the skill stating that he was able to say his ABCs backward in less than five seconds or eat 45 eggs in two minutes (all real examples of CV mistakes I’ve seen!).

It was too late in any case. The wheels were well and truly in motion; he seemed to have made a huge amount of progress since Friday. Dedication can clearly get your along way. Not much I could do now but sit back and wait for the dice to roll.

Would he get any feedback from his applications? Will he be invited to interview? Stay tuned for the next installment...

Is it possible to get a job in a week? A friend of mine thought so!

Is it possible to get a job in a week? A friend of mine thought so. We put him to the test to see if he could go from writing a CV to a signed employment contract in just seven days. Can simply being persistent, bold and active get you through companies' recruitment processes more quickly, or will he get beaten by the system? I had a wager on the system winning – not that I doubted his abilities. We will follow the story over the next few weeks and see what he does and what the secret to job hunting might be.

“A job in week? No problem. This is going to be easy!”. Never one to be short of self-belief, Jim had a few gulps of beer and finished off his crisps. “I’ve been out of work for a while, not because I can't get a job, but because I haven't really tried to get a job”. We laughed and retorted "Pah! £100 quid says you can get a job in 7 days!"

Everyone agreed it was about time Jim got a job, even Jim. So sure of his employability, Jim even let us set criteria for the job. A few moments later, it was agreed. He would apply for a job in the charity sector, working at head office in a full time job, paid at least 20k a year in London's Zone 1 - and he wasn’t allowed to use contacts that he already knew. I should add that he had never worked in the charity sector before. Success would be measured by a signed employment contract by 8pm on the following Friday, back in the same pub.

Now, Jim is a talented and smart chap. It wasn’t that we didn’t think he could get a job. We just didn’t believe that the recruitment systems and processes would enable it to happen that quickly. So, the challenge was on.

Can you get a job in week? From writing the CV, finding the jobs, applying, interviewing and then processing the paperwork? The wager was placed, hands shoook, and Jim armed with a brief plan scribbled on the back of a napkin, grinned and announced “This is going to be easy!”... We all laughed again. ... Easy money, surely?

Watch this space for the first installment of Jim's epic challenge.

1 man; 7 days; 1 job offer; £100s on the table.

Top 10 Job Hunting Mistakes: Not understanding your interviewer

In the first of the series, we explore the importance of judging your interviewers character (though this can be applied to any relationship, both at work and at home) and how that affects the answers that you give.

This post is inspired by a great book by James Borg called ‘The Art of Influencing People’. The book is well worth a read and goes into detail about how to interact with different personalities in many different scenarios to get the best results.

It struck me that exploring and understanding the personality of your interviewer could be key to your success. You spend your whole life (subconsciously) assessing people’s characters, and then changing the way you behave to suit the person and situation. Often however, this goes out of the window as soon as you are in an interview situation. You can get a good idea about the interviewer’s personality and style when they greet you or when walking to the interview room. Being able to work out their personality type will help you respond appropriately and win them over – as personality defines attitudes, perceptions and beliefs.

Although there is a huge amount of research into personalities, in order to keep this advice practical, I will group people into four types from which you decide how to deal with the various types. People can largely be grouped into:

1. Senser
2. Intuiter
3. Thinker
4. Feeler

The first two, Senser and Intuiter, relate to how your interviewer will ‘take in’ information. The Senser will like facts. When taking in information, they tend to be practical, observant and skilful in remembering facts and processing them i.e. they are methodical. The Intuiter pays attention to the vision of what could be. They rely on imagination and are constantly on the lookout for new ideas and stimulating projects. They like new and different experiences.

The second two, Thinker and Feeler, relate to how your interviewer will make decisions. The Thinker relies on intellectual processes to make decisions – based on logic. They will decide impersonally. They might be oblivious to the feelings of other people. For a Feeler, logic may not play a significant part and instead they will rely on emotion. Decisions will be made on personal values and what pleases them - they tend to show a lot of empathy.

Your interviewer is likely to be a combination of the Senser / Intuiter and Thinker / Feeler. The way you should communicate with them should change depending on these combinations.

If they are a Senser – Thinker they will want facts, stability and will make practical decisions:

• Tell them what can be achieved in the short term
• Use facts/ data if you have it
• Conduct yourself in a detached, business like manner
• Don’t waffle in your answers – be concise

If they are a Senser – Feeler they will want verifiable facts, believes in loyalty and trust and being friendly and helpful:

• Use all your natural empathy and conduct things on a personal basis where appropriate (i.e. talking about personal life etc)
• Try and find a shared interest
• Listen intently to what they say and do not interrupt
• Answer questions in a methodical manner

If they are an Intuiter- Feeler they will decide if they like you based on weighing up personal values. They are enthusiastic and value personal relationships, teamwork, cooperation and new ideas:

• Ask a lot of questions and listen carefully
• Show your natural friendliness
• Don’t inundate this person with detail
• Highlight the things that will be new/ may change if you were to work there

If they are an Intuiter – Thinker they will make decisions based on impersonal analysis. They like to analyse and look for logic. They look at the big picture and focus on the long term:

• Concentrate on business and leave ‘personal’ conversation (if there is any) till the end
• Let them have their own time to speak
• Accept that this person may bombard you with criticism. They are just trying to judge your competence. Don’t take it personally
• Be logical and emphasis cause and effect what you have achieved in the past
• Be punctual and well organised

If you use the above as a guide and tailor your answers based on their character you will go a long way to winning the person over. After all, that’s what you (subconsciously) do every day of your life.

Remember however, you still need to be yourself. You have to fit the style of the company too. Don’t simply act as you think they want you to – you are the one who is going to have to work there. Make sure you are a good fit to the company as well.

Good luck!

P.S. Watch out for the next post in the series Top 10 Job Hunting Mistakes to avoid... 'No.2 Not keeping track of your accomplishments.'

The Top 10 Job Hunting Mistakes to Avoid...

There are many factors that affect you getting the job that you want (or you think you deserve). Some of these factors are totally out of your control; economic factors, decision making process, timing. It’s really not worth worrying about these things too much, so don’t. Rather, concentrate on getting the things that are in your control perfected. Below you will find a list of the most common mistakes from our experience (some obvious, some not so obvious) that people make which sabotage their job hunting success.

Over the coming weeks we will expand on each of the points below. The aim is not to tell you what you are doing wrong – but to provide you with practical advice, looking into factors such as; the characteristics of different interviewers and how to behave with them; the importance of expressions and language in telephone interviews; using the right body language and how to make networking work for you.

1.Not understanding the character of your interviewer
2.Not keeping track of your accomplishments
3.Leaving on a bad note
4.Not networking
5.Only using the Internet for research
6.Writing a generic cover letter
7.Not targeting your résumé to the position
8.Not paying attention/ being empathetic in an interview
9.Not being prepared
10.Not coming across well on the telephone interview

Over the next few blog posts we will go into detail on these points helping you to boost your job hunting success.

Read No.1 Not understanding the character of your interviewer now

Watch the movie - How TheCareerMole.com Works

Check out our new movie - How TheCareerMole.com works for a cool animated take on what we do.

Hope you find it useful.

Ollie

What Makes a Good Boss?

I have had some pretty bad managers in my time and so was interested to read this article on what makes a good manager. The points of view come mostly from HR professionals, so it would be interesting to hear the views from people on the ground as to what you think makes a good manager. Does your manager have to tell good jokes? Perhaps take you out to celebrate successes? Everyone is different so let us know your thoughts.

Work parties - what happens when people don't follow the rules?

The Times Online today has an article about what not to do at work parties if you don't want to sabotage your career: Dont have bad breath, dont get drunk, pace yourself and dont embarrass yourself on the dancefloor. Not exactly rocket science. I am a firm believer in learning from other people's mistakes.

So, what is the worst thing to have happened at your work parties? Add your comments but please be kind and remove real names.

How many of these stats do you know?

I found this video on Alex Hen's excellent Digital Recruiting blog. Check it out - some great facts and stats about Gen Y and the world we live and work in.

Office Jargon

Even when you do find that perfect job, there is always one thing that everyone complains about at some point in their career - office jargon. Some of it is so obscure its not clear where it comes from, and in many cases, what it actually means. This article on the BBC describes people's most hated jargon.

Management speak - don't you just hate it? Emphatically yes, judging by readers' responses to writer Lucy Kellaway's campaign against office jargon (see link). Here, we list 50 of the best, worst examples.

1. "When I worked for Verizon, I found the phrase going forward to be more sinister than annoying. When used by my boss - sorry, "team leader" - it was understood to mean that the topic of conversation was at an end and not be discussed again."
Nima Nassefat, Vancouver, Canada

2. "My employers (top half of FTSE 100) recently informed staff that we are no longer allowed to use the phrase brain storm because it might have negative connotations associated with fits. We must now take idea showers. I think that says it all really."
Anonymous, England

3. At my old company (a US multinational), anyone involved with a particular product was encouraged to be a product evangelist. And software users these days, so we hear, want to be platform atheists so that their computers will run programs from any manufacturer."
Philip Lattimore, Thailand

4. "Incentivise is the one that does it for me."
Karl Thomas, Perth, Scotland

5. "My favourite which I hear from the managers at the bank I work for is let's touch base about that offline. I think it means have a private chat but I am still not sure."
Gemma, Wolverhampton, England

6. "Have you ever heard the term loop back which means go back to an associate and deal with them?"
Scott Reed, Lakeland, Florida, US

7-8. "We used to collect the jargon used in a list and award the person with the most at the end of the year. The winner was a client manager with the classic you can't turn a tanker around with a speed boat change. What? Second was we need a holistic, cradle-to-grave approach, whatever that is."
Turner, Manchester

9. "Until recently I had to suffer working for a manager who used phrases such as the idiotic I've got you in my radar in her speech, letters and e-mails. Once, when I mentioned problems with the phone system, she screamed 'NO! You don't have problems, you have challenges'. At which point I almost lost the will to live."
Stephen Gradwick, Liverpool

10. "You can add challenge to the list. Problems are no longer considered problems, they have morphed into challenges."
Irene MacIntyre, Courtenay, B

11. "Business speak even supersedes itself and does so with silliness, the shorthand for quick win is now low hanging fruit."
Paul, Formby, UK

12. "And looking under the bonnet."
Eve Russell, Edinburgh

13-14. "The business-speak that I abhor is pre-prepare and forward planning. Is there any other kind of preparedness or planning?"
Edward Creswick, Exeter

15-16. "The one that really gets me is pre-plan - there is no such thing. Either you plan or you don't. The new one which has got my goat is conversate, widely used to describe a conversation. I just wish people could learn to 'think outside the box' although when they put us in cubes what do they expect?"
Malcolm, Houston

17. "I work in one of those humble call centres for a bank. Apparently, what we're doing at the moment is sprinkling our magic along the way. It's a call centre, not Hogwarts."
Caroline Garlick, Ayrshire

18. "A pet hate is the utterly pointless expression in this space. So instead of the perfectly adequate 'how can I help?' it's 'how can I help in this space?' Or the classic I heard on Friday, 'How can we help our customers in this space going forward?' I think I may have caught this expression at source, as I've yet to hear it said outside my own working environment. So I'm on a personal crusade to stamp it out before it starts infecting other City institutions. Wish me luck in this space."
Colin, London

19. "The one phrase that inspires a rage in me is from the get-go."
Andy, Herts

20. "'Going forward' is only half the phrase that gets up my nose - all politicians seem to use the phrase go forward together. 'We must... we shall... let us now... go forward together'. It gives me a terrible mental image of the whole country linking arms and goose-stepping in unison, with the politicians out in front doing a straight-armed salute. Is it just me?"
Frances Smith, Toronto, Canada

21. "I am a financial journalist and am on a mission to remove words and phrases such as 360-degree thinking from existence."
Richard, London

22. "The latest that's stuck in my head is we are still optimistic things will feed through the sales and delivery pipeline (ie: we actually haven't sold anything to anyone yet but maybe we will one day)."
Alexander, Southampton

23. "I worked in PR for many years and often heard the most ludicrous phrases uttered by CEOs and marketing managers. One of the best was, we'd better not let the grass grow too long on this one. To this day it still echoes in my ears and I giggle to myself whenever I think about it. I can't help but think insecure business people use such phrases to cover up their inability for proper articulation."
Leon Reilly, Ealing, London

24. "Need to get all my ducks in a row now - before the five-year-olds wake up."
Mark Dixon, Bridgend

25. "Australians have started to use auspice as a verb. Instead of saying, 'under the auspices of...', some people now say things like, it was auspiced by..."
Martin Pooley, Marrickville, Australia

26. "My favourite: we've got our fingers down the throat of the organisation of that nodule. Translation = Er, no, WE sorted out the problems to cover your backside."
Theo de Bray, Kettering, UK

27. "The health service in Wales is filled with managers who use this type of language as a substitute for original thought. At meetings we play health-speak bingo; counting the key words lightens the tedium of meetings - including, most recently, my door is open on this issue. What does that mean?"
Edwin Pottle, Llandudno

28-29. "The business phrase I find most irritating is close of play, which is only slightly worse than actioning something."
Ellie, London

30. "Here in the US we have the cringe-worthy and also in addition. Then there's the ever-eloquent 'where are we at?' So far, I haven't noticed the UK's at the end of the day prefacing much over here; thank heavens for small mercies."
Eithne B, Chicago, US

31. "The expression that drives me nuts is 110%, usually said to express passion/commitment/support by people who are not very good at maths. This has created something of a cliche-inflation, where people are now saying 120%, 200%, or if you are really REALLY committed, 500%. I remember once the then-chancellor Gordon Brown saying he was 101% behind Tony Blair, to which people reacted 'What? Only 101?'"
Ricardo Molina, London, UK

32. "My least favourite business-speak term is not enough bandwidth. When an employee used this term to refuse an additional assignment, I realised I was completely 'out of the loop'."
April, Berkeley, US

33. "I once had a boss who said, 'You can't have your cake and eat it, so you have to step up to the plate and face the music.' It was in that moment I knew I had to resign before somebody got badly hurt by a pencil."
Tim, Durban

34. "Capture your colleagues - make sure everyone attends that risk management workshop (compulsory common sense training for idiots)."
Anglowelsh, UK

35-37. "We too used to have daily paradigm shifts, now we have stakeholders who must come to the party or be left out, or whatever."
Barry Hicks, Cape Town, RSA

38. "I have taken to playing buzzword bingo when in meetings. It certainly makes it more entertaining when I am feeding it back (or should that be cascading) at work."
Ian Everett, Bolton

39. "In my work environment it's all cascading at the moment. What they really mean is to communicate or disseminate information, usually downwards. What they don't seem to appreciate is that it sounds like we're being wee'd on. Which we usually are."
LMD, London

40. "At a large media company where I once worked, the head of human resources - itself a weaselly neologism for personnel - told us that she would be cascading down new information to staff. What she meant was she was going to send them a memo. It was one of the reasons I resigned - that, and the fact that the chief exec persisted on referring to the company as a really cool train set."
Andrew, London

41. "Working for an American corporation, this year's favourite word seems to be granularity, meaning detail. As in 'down to that level of granularity'."
Chris Daniel, Anaco, Venezuela

42. "On the wall of our office we have a large signed certificate, signed by all the senior management team, in which they solemnly promise to leverage their talents, display and inspire 'unyielding integrity', and lots of other pretentious buzz-phrases like that. Clueless, the lot of them."
Chris K, Cheltenham UK

43. "After a reduction in workforce, my university department sent this notice out to confused campus customers: 'Thank you for your note. We are assessing and mitigating immediate impacts, and developing a high-level overview to help frame the conversation with our customers and key stakeholders. We intend to start that process within the week. In the meantime, please continue to raise specific concerns or questions about projects with my office via the Transition Support Center..."
Charles R, Seattle, Washington, US

44. "I was told I'd be living the values from now on by my employers at a conference the other week. Here's some modern language for them - meh. A shame as I strongly believe in much of what my employers aim to do. I refuse to adopt the voluntary sectors' client title of 'service user'. How is someone who won't so much as open the door to me using my service? Another case of using four syllables where one would do."
Upscaled Blue-Sky thinker, Cardiff

45. "Business talk 2.0 is maddening, meaningless, patronising and I despise it."
Doug, London

46. "Lately I've come across the strategic staircase. What on earth is this? I'll tell you; it's office speak for a bit of a plan for the future. It's not moving on but moving up. How strategic can a staircase really be? A lot I suppose, if you want to get to the top without climbing over all your colleagues."
Peter Walters, Cheadle Hulme, UK

47. "When a stock market is down why must we be told it is in negative territory?"
Phil Linehan, Mexico City, Mexico

48. "The particular phrase I love to hate is drill down, which handily can be used either as an adverb/verb combo or as a compound noun, ie: 'the next level drill-down', sometimes even in the same sentence - a nice bit of multi-tasking."
B, London

49. "Thanks for the impactful article; I especially appreciated the level of granularity. A high altitude view often misses the siloed thinking typical of most businesses. Absent any scheme for incentivitising clear speech, however, I'm afraid we're stuck with biz-speak."
Timothy Denton, New York

50. "It wouldn't do the pinstripers any harm to crack a smile and say what they really felt once in a while instead of trotting out such clinical platitudes. Of course a group of them may need to workshop it first: Wouldn't want to wrongside the demographic."
Trick Cyclist, Tripoli, Libya

How do I get the right job for me? Top tools for your job search

As a student, recent graduate or young professional changing jobs and moving to a new company is always daunting. Making the right decision and applying to the right job and right company for you is vital, after all, you spend most of your life at work so it better be something you enjoy.

There are plenty of job boards and recruitment consultants promoting their vacancies but how do you get underneath the job description and sales pitch to the real career information and insights you need to make an informed career decision?

To help, here is what we think are the top tools (in no order) that will boost your chances of making informed careers decisions:

1. Corporate Websites - while there is obviously a lot of marketing content here corporate careers websites continue to improve. This should be your first port of call to understand the company's culture, industry and operations. There are often very good case studies and tips about the recruitment process. You can access the orporate websites for all the companies on TheCareerMole via the Target Companies section when you login.

2. Vault.com - each company has a forum where past and present employees can sound off about their company. Some useful insights but take with a pinch of salt as some contributors clearly have a grudge to bear...

3. TheCareerMole.com - There is no substitute for talking to directly to real employees who have first-hand experience of the work that potentially interests you. Introduce yourself directly to employees, build relationships, ask all the questions that matter to you and then apply directly to the company, via the employee, once you have found the right job and company for you

4. Careers Advisory Services - lots of resources for current students and graduates to research companies and meet prospective employers during term time. See our list of CAS to find your university

5. Recruitment Consultants - most of us have a story about a cowboy recruiter but there are good ones out there who have first hand experience of their industry and can provide valuable career advice. Best way to find a good one is asking your network who they have used in the past that they were pleased with

6. Target Jobs - a good resource for information on graduate employers with active forums for Q&As

7. TimesOnline's Careeers In... - lots of articles about working in a particular industry

You should use all these tools to help understand which is the right company and job for you, before you apply. When you're ready to apply boost your chances by introducing yourself to real employees on TheCareerMole.com who can help you prepare and understand the company and application process before they refer your application to the recruitment process on your behalf.

Use the comments to let me know what your experience of these sites has been - what worked for you, and what should be added to the list?

Oliver

New Mole Lifestyle Partner

We're very pleased to welcome a new Mole Lifestyle Partner - King & Allen - makers of fine bespoke suits.

King & Allen make suits in the long standing tradition of bespoke tailoring, but with a new unique twist... affordability, helping you look the part for that all important interview or meeting.

King & Allen sell a fully completed bespoke suit for £199 - £349.The tailoring of a custom-made King & Allen suit requires painstaking attention to detail. Only traditional methods are used in the design, fitting and construction of your suit, even down to the hand-stitched button holes and the personal embroidery on the inside pocket.

For more details go to the Lifestyle section

All the best,

Ollie
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TheCareerMole.com
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What not to do in turbulent times

We are indeed in turbulent and uncertain times. People are being shown the door and there's always the worry that you might be next. First things first - don't panic. Now, Emily Ford from the TimesOnline has a few helpful tips to boost your chances of avoiding the chop.

Read te full article here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/career_and_jobs/article4019395.ece

Chin up - it might never happen to you - but if it does, it may not be a bad thing. You'll suddenly have time on your hands. Ponder your future, be positive and perhaps consider a change in direction. Try something you've always wanted to do - and perhaps speaking to a Mole will help get the ball rolling..


Ollie
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TheCareerMole.com
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Feeling tired at work like The Apprentice contenders?

They're down to the final 6 on The Apprentice. The long hours and stress the contestants are under are starting to take their toll on some. Michael Sophocles in particular is looking particularly tired.

If you're struggling to stay awake at work The Guardian's Virginia Matthews has written an interesting story on how you can beat the tiredness, including th doze and don'ts of how to beat office fatigue
· Fresh air and caffeine will help combat tiredness, but if you really need of sleep, the benefits will only be short-term.
· Tired workers can perform monotonous tasks on "remote control", but complex jobs and decision-making may be a chore.
· Get through any demanding tasks early - you'll feel a lot worse by 2pm.
· Don't arrange difficult personal meetings on a day when you feel starved of sleep - you may be irrational and argumentative without realising it.
· Keep to the same bedtime and waking-up time regime as far as possible through the week. The latter is more important in regularising sleep.
· The average adult needs about seven hours' sleep a night; a regular eight-to-nine hours or more can be counter-productive.
· Power napping for 15 minutes can provide an energy boost, but if it's any longer, we drift into deeper sleep and may wake feeling groggy.
· When we wake briefly in the night, the time spent awake can feel endless, but this may be due to a condition called "sleep onset misperception".
· Napping on the job is perfectly acceptable in Japan and Germany, but in the UK, nap rooms are rare.

The Mole

Recruiter Speak

If you are looking for a new job, or have got a new job through a recruitment consultant then you may (as in any industry) come across a fair amount of jargon. I thought this article from ere.net would be useful if you ever wondered what a the recruiter really meant.

This list is by no means definitive, but it is a start…any suggestions or additions are greatly encouraged.

• Sourcing (v) Usage: "I sourced your resume and thought that you might be a great fit…" Definition: The entry of keywords onto a job board.
• Exciting (adj.): Usage: "We've got an exciting opportunity currently available…" Definition: An open headcount that needs to be filled as quickly as possible.
• Prescreen (n) Usage: "I'd like to set up a brief, exploratory prescreen." Definition: The conversation by which recruiters ascertain if they can afford the talent in question.
• Visibility (adj.): Usage: "This role has high visibility to all levels of management throughout the organization." Definition: The phrase most often used to describe a position with the smallest margin for error and highest turnover rate in the company.
• Growth (n): Usage: "This position is really a great growth opportunity." Definition: The naturally occurring phenomenon by which workers find fulfillment doing exactly the same job in a different company.
• Ad-hoc (adj.) Usage: "There will also be some ad-hoc projects required." Definition: A catch-all phrase used by corporations to describe the countless hours of manpower invested in activities unrelated to one's job function, generally evoked at the whim of departmental heads.
• Expectations (n) Usage: "What are your expectations for your next position?" Definition: The test commonly used during the screening process to see whether the candidate is capable of reading a job description and changing tense from third- to first-person.
• Stable (adj.) Usage: "It's a very stable business unit." Definition: When the collective tenure of a department's employees preempt any consideration of change or improvement upon the status quo.
• Reinventing (v) Usage: "We've had challenges in the past, but we're reinventing ourselves and our processes." Definition: A commonly used tactic employed by recruiters to explain recent or forthcoming layoffs (see: derecruit, reorganization, shared services, offshoring, outsourcing, et al).
• Competition (n) Usage: "You've got some pretty stiff competition for this position." Definition: A word used by recruiters to preempt disappointment for the candidate by establishing expectations upfront. Alternative definition: A tactic employed to make an extremely undesirable position appear more enticing.
• Team (n) Usage: "We're looking for a team player." Definition: The intangible qualities associated with a candidate who will not make waves and demonstrates the willingness to accept abuse by supervisors and fellow staff.
• DOE (acr.) see also depending on experience.Usage: "I am unable to provide a salary range for the position as it is DOE." Definition: Whereby a company unable to pay market rate for a position compensates by placing the blame on candidate deficiencies.
• Best practices (n): Usage: "We're a best practices organization." Phrase has not yet been defined. See meaning of life, UFOs.
• Work-life balance (phrase): Usage: "We put a real premium on work-life balance." Definition: The ratio of one's time at home to one's time at work. The smaller the ratio, the more likely the employee is paid on an hourly basis.
• Overtime (n) Usage: "There may be some slight overtime involved." Definition: An institution imposed by corporations to increase shareholder value without increasing headcount by maximizing working hours of employee population, up to and including Saturdays, holidays, and seminal life events.
• Feedback (n) Usage: "I'll provide feedback from my hiring manager as soon as I get it." Definition: Generally construed as a one- or two-word answer by which hiring managers summarily reject top candidates.
• Next steps (phrase) Usage: "We'll be in touch regarding next steps." Definition: A phrase used to put off rejecting marginal candidates for as long as possible until an offer is accepted by a more qualified party.
• References (n) Usage: "We're going to begin checking your references." Definition: The process by which a recruiter contacts previous coworkers of a potential hire from a list provided by the candidate in an attempt to bring objectivity to the hiring process.
• Background check (n) Usage: "You're our final candidate, but I can't extend an offer until your background check clears." Definition: A control imposed by corporations in order to slow recruiters' ability to extend an offer for a period of time that perfectly coincides with a candidate's extension and acceptance of other offers. Alternate definition: An industry whose practitioners continue to thrive despite the Internet's abilities to perform the same functionality at a fraction of the cost.
• Benefits (n) Usage: "We are proud to offer a comprehensive, competitive benefits package to all employees." Definition: A tactic used by corporations to attract full-time employees and entice temporary ones into menial labor.
• Offer letter (n) Usage: "Congratulations on joining our team. I'm sending over an offer letter that contains all the information you're going to need." Definition: A document or set of documents that contains all information relevant to one's employment with a company, denoting the last communication between recruiter and candidate until the candidate becomes eligible for transfer consideration.

Tips for Happiness at Work

Following on from yesterdays post regarding leaving your job for a fresh start, I thought it would interesting to consider happiness at work.

You spend the vast majority of your life at work so you need to enjoy it. There are always times when you are going to be a little down, and a few things you would rather be doing; but there are a number of things you should do and remember to ensure you make get the most out of your day. I found this an article on the timesonline that listed things you should be doing when you find yourself a litte down. I have picked out the ones I thought were particularly relevant for me;

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

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.”

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 a colleague to come for a coffee. It will help you to calm down and get a sense of perspective.”

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.”

For the full article visit here

The Grass is Always Greener?

In the last few weeks a fair few of my friends and colleagues have been thinking of moving jobs and making a fresh start. This is partly spurred on by the Credit Crunch; some of them have been worried about losing their jobs (many are working in Banking), whist others have simply been enjoying the good spring weather and would prefer to be spending more time outside than in an office. Very different reasons for thinking of a career change, however, the same principles apply when trying to find a new job.

1. Make sure you really want to find a new job. People often forget how much hard work and frustration can come in finding a new job. You need to ask yourself what your motivation for leaving is – further your career, more money, status, better working hours, better working environment or to do something passionate about. If you choose the first three then hopefully you already enjoy your current job as wherever you move is only likely to be harder work. If it’s the latter three you need to open your mind as the jobs you would be willing to do. There are always ups and downs in jobs and only to often people leave job when they are in a trough, only to regret it when they do leave and miss the good times. Make sure you aren’t leaving simply because you it not enjoyable at the moment and think of the bigger picture.

2. Have you tried to move internally? If you want to further your career or increase you status then the first point of call should be looking internally. By telling you employer that you want to look for a new role internally you are signalling how ambitious and proactive you are. If you are good at your current job, employers would always to try and move you internally and try and move towards your needs if they can. They have invested a lot of money in you, and replacing you can be a very costly business. If they can’t help you, then that is the time to look externally.

3. If you want a big change, be bold. All too often people decide they want a big change, quit their jobs, take a look around for a new one and find something they would be good at, but end up back a job not that different to what they were doing before and go through the same cycle again. If it is type of work that you don’t enjoy, then make sure when you look for a new job you are bold, think laterally and go for something truly different. But remember, if you do this and apply for different jobs you still need to show that your skills are applicable to the job you are applying. You may well get rejections. Don’t take this as a sign that you can’t do that job; you simply need to find an employer who is willing to take transferable skills. If you do get rejected, find out why and use that feedback to adapt your next application.

4.Don’t run from a job, run to a job. It’s a bit of and old saying, but it rings true. Quitting your job without having anything to go to can be very stressful, particularly if you need the income. It is likely to take longer than you think it might too, so make sure you account for that. If you can put up with your job whilst you look for new ones, make sure you do. If you really can’t stand your job and decide to leave before you have somewhere to go, make sure you don’t waste your time off. It’s all too easy to sit at home, put on the TV and watch episodes of 24 for hours. Be disciplined. Plan your day; search for jobs in the morning, amend your CV to personalise it for each employer before lunch etc. Make sure you speak to friends and family and look through your address book and see if you have names of people you have met in the past that may be able to help. It’s not easy to find a job, it takes effort on your part – if you are disciplined and put in the effort , you will reap the rewards.

New Features, New Perks

So some of you may have noticed we've added some new features to the Mole. Check out the scrolling Mole News feed for to keep up to date with what's going on at TheCareerMole.com. You can also tell us what your thinking via the Mole Poll.

Finally, we're very pleased to announce that Virgin Wines have joined us as a Mole Lifestyle Partner. Everyone who registers on TheCareerMole.com will now get a £20 off a crate of wine from VirginWines.com. Check your activation email after registering for more details. Existing member? Watch out for our next newsletter which will contain details of the offer.

It's Friday - the sun is shining - everyone's in a good mood. Whatever you're doing this weekend have a good one!

The Mole

Hello

Hi All

Apologies for the lack of posts over the last week. Things here have been extremely busy. We've all been working hard on some great new features which will be available soon. We've also confirmed an exciting new addition to Mole Lifestyle Partners which we'll be announcing soon so watch this space...

The Mole
www.TheCareerMole.com

COMPETITION - UPDATE! WIN WIN WIN!

Due to popular demand from members outside the UK, we have expanded the prize so everyone around the world can enter.

If the competition winner comes from the UK they can opt for a hand made suit from King & Allen. If that doesn't float your boat - or you live outside of the UK - you can choose £250 GBP worth of vouchers from 20Days.co.uk, Holiday-Chateaus (our Lifestyle Partners), Amazon or Apple online stores who will ship your favourite gadget or gizmo to you, wherever you are.

Entering is simple so long as you can spare 84 seconds:

1. Login to TheCareerMole.com and click on the 'Find Friends button. (You may have to click on Switch to Mole Profile' first)
2. Invite 25+ of your friends, family and workmates who could benefit from knowing about The Mole to join your Mole Friends
3. Write them a little note saying how great you think the site is ;) and click Send
4. Competition Entry. Done. 74.3 seconds!

It's that easy and you stand to get a good return on your 84 seconds so what are you waiting for. Start spreading the word and win!

• The competition will be drawn on the 1st August 2008.
• Enter multiple times - 1 entry for every 25 invites you send using the 'Find Friends' button
• Winners will be notified via their online message centre.
• Online retailers are subject to change and may do so without notice
• TheCareerMole.com is not responsible for any shipping or taxes incurred upon delivery
• A cash alternative is not available - gift vouchers only equivalent to £250 GBP
• Email us for full terms and conditions

Good luck!

The Mole

TheCareerMole.com

Size Matters – How big is your network?

As the Credit Crunch continues, the strength of your business network will become increasingly important as redundancies (think UBS, Citi, Merrill Lynch – Goldman's even) increase and competition for fewer jobs intensifies.


More competition for jobs, means employers have more applications to sort and filter candidates to a level that they can handle at the interview stage. To handle screening and selection workloads employers are involving their employees – the people who know what it takes to be successful at the company – to filter candidate applications.

Boost your chances of interview and job offer by applying for jobs direct via Moles. Don't need a job? Differentiate yourself rom your peers; build your business network – invite peolple to join your Mole Friends network now – it only takes 57.2 seconds. You never know when you might need to call on them for help and support – and vice versa.

Size Matters – Benefits of ‘Mole Friends’:

• Never lose contact details for your valuable business contacts
• Check-up on what your friends and workmates are up to now
• Find people who can help you get ahead in your own business or career
• Send and receive ‘invitations to refer’ & job specs to your Mole Friends
• Differentiate yourself - write and receive endorsements from your network

Find your friends already on TheCareerMole.com and expand your network:

1. Login to Mole Members Area (You may have to 'Switch to Mole Profile')
2. Click on the 'Find Friends' button in the middle of the screen
3. Invite your friends and work mates to join your network
4. Mole Networking. Done (49 seconds flat)

When your friends register they will be automatically added to your 'Mole Friends' making it easier for you to keep 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 network now.

The Mole

FYI 004 - Accept / Reject Candidates

If you have received an 'invite to refer' notification email or text you should login, check out the potential candidate's CV and decide whether to refer them.



To do this simply login to your Mole Profile and click on Message Centre. You should see an email called 'I'd like to introduce myself' from the candidate which looks a little like this:






Click on the link to review their CV and then decide whether to accept / reject their invite based on whether you feel they will be successful at your company. Easy.


If you accept - you can then email them and start getting to know them more before you refer them. If you reject, you will not be able to contact them but new candidates who you can refer will be able to introduce themselves to you.

Finally, you can see the status of all your referrals via the 'My Referrals' page.

Good luck with your referrals - don't forget to keep your profile up to date and tell our members about your role, and who you'd like to be contacted by in future

TheCareerMole.com
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Is the Credit Crunch putting your job at risk?

As the credit crunch continues, people have been asking me what I thought it would mean for the recruitment market, in particular the impact on their own job hunt. As ever, this is a tough question that will differ between sectors and job types. As uncertainty about the state of the financial markets persists it will of course translate to uncertainty in the recruitment market. I think I can however, make some general comments on where we see recruitment market going.

At times like these, firms tend to baton down the hatches and even go as far as recruitment freezes. Often this is simply to provide it’s shareholders with the confidence that they are looking to reduce their costs at a time where revenues may be down. Note the redundancies in the financial sector – Citi, Merrills, Morgan Stanley and even Goldmans are laying people off. One thing is clear though, forward looking companies will not want to stop recruiting for too long. Hiring may reduce, but it is certainly not going to go down to zero. Specific sectors in the financial markets are still hiring; people who have been layed off are finding new jobs. Not only will their be positions to fill in the short term, whenever we come out of this downturn (and will come out of it eventually), companies need to have the right skills and numbers of good people to be able to cope with any upturn in business. Rarely is a recruitment freeze the answer to cost cutting – coming out from a downturn like this and retaining and strengthening skills can provide a great competitive advantage. Right now employers may be looking for people with skills in strategic in cost cutting and efficiency gains, that can help organisation become leaner when they most need it.

I think it is fair to say that we are going to seeing more candidates chasing fewer jobs. To be competitive you need to give yourself the best start by preparing as much as possible, network, meet people working at the company and differentiate yourself from the competition. Employers have a different challenge – they must filter even more candidate applications before they find the right candidate. With extra focus on costs, now is not the time to make hire the wrong person. If you’re an employee of one of these hiring companies I’m sure you’ll see the internal ‘employee referral scheme’ being promoted, which that if your participate and refer the right candidate you can earn a little extra from the employee referral reward. Direct-hire strategies like referral schemes are an employers most valuable weapon delivering high quality, pre-screened candidates to the interview process at a greatly reduced cost compared to traditional recruitment methods.

Companies regard their people as their most important asset. Never has this been more true. It is the one thing that will truly provide a competitive advantage. I hope that the current uncertainty is not made worse by pessimistic reports that could see the impact of the credit crunch spread out from the financial markets and prolong this blip any more than is necessary. Employers must not loose sight of their longer term strategic goals when reviewing their current agenda. There are certainly going to be jobs out there, and if you are a good candidate there will still be opportunities

Expensive mistakes! The Top 5 worst financial recruitment mistakes ever?

We always knew that recruiting the wrong person can be an expensive business. Spare a thought for the recruiters who decided to take these 4 guys on board. Between them they racked up losses for their firms of over £5.6bn. I think we can class that as a bad recruitment mistake?

£3.7bn – In pole position, Jerome Kerviel - Société Générale. By far the biggest recruitment mistake. This loss dwarfs any single loss by any of our other entrants in the list. It is alleged that he was making trades way above his authority level since 2007. He was making up losses to offset the gains he was making, which ended up backfiring but it was too late to stop huge losses for the bank. It’s said that he worked alone and didn’t profit personally from what he was doing. The investigation into exactly what happened continues…

£827m – he held the top slot for a few years, Nick Leeson – Barings Bank. The most famous rogue trader in our list, Nick Leeson, brought down one of the grandest names in British banking. Leeson initially made large profits for the bank by dealing in derivatives and futures. But after running up losses, he hid his bad trades in a single account in 1992. These losses grew over several years, forcing him into a series of increasingly desperate but unsuccessful attempts to make the money back. Leeson finally fled in February 1995 after a bet that the Tokyo stock market would rise went badly wrong.

£551m – In it for the long run, Toshihide Iguchi - Daiwa Bank. Toshihide Iguchi, one of its senior US executives, confessed in a 30-page letter that he had lost $1.1bn through unauthorised bond trading. Iguchi ran up the losses over several years. Having risen from the back offices to become a trader in 1984, a lack of segregation within his division meant he could hide his losses from his superiors while he tried, and failed, to trade back to profit. Following his confession, it emerged that he had conducted the cover-up for over a decade

£355m – A lesson in following your gut instinct, John Rusnak – Allied Irish Bank. Betting mainly on the Japanese yen in the mid 90s, Rusnak used fictitious trades to hide his losses over several years. Some outsiders suspected that all was not well, with Goldman Sachs reportedly refusing to do business with Rusnak. But it took until 2002 before routine checks finally uncovered the true nature of the bank's exposure.

This is the first in a regular series of some of the world’s worst recruiting mistakes. For example, some of England’s Football team managers may be in the running, or perhaps some politicians that have caused more harm than good. Let us know of any expensive mistakes you can think of. Write to us at the.mole@thecareermole.com

Welcome Back

Hi Everyone - How was your break?

Hope you made good use of the long weekend. Now we're back in the swing of things with a very busy 4 day week.

Have you logged in recently and checked your messages? Is your Mole Profile or CV up-to-date? It might be time for a spring clean before getting on top of your referrals!

Happy Moling!

The Mole

Happy Easter!

For those that celebrate it - Happy Easter! The Mole hopes you have a great break and come back to work super charged and not too full of eggs!

The Mole

FYI 005 - Dual Profiles; Double the power

Now all members of TheCareerMole.com can access all the benefits of the candidate members area and the Mole members area via their existing login.

All you have to do is login - you'll be shown your default profile. From here simply click on the Switch to Candidate / Mole link

Use your dual profiles to network and make new contacts, help recruit ideal candidates for your company, and keep your CV up to date and maintain all your business contacts in one place.

The Mole

TheCareerMole.com

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KillerStartup? We think so - vote for us!

We have been reviewed on KillerStatups.com. Please visit http://www.killerstartups.com/Web20/TheCareerMolecom---Employee-Referal-Network/ and click on the vote button so we can try and get in the Top 10 Startups.

Thanks!


The Mole
TheCareerMole.com
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The Mole on Jobacle.com

Hi Everyone,

Check out the review of The Mole at http://www.jobacle.com/blog/2008/3/6/company-insiders-help-you-land-jobs.html. Jobacle has some pretty good posts about work related life.

We need your help to keep growing so please keep telling your friends and workmates about The Mole and invite them to join using the Mole Friends feature. You could win a bespoke tailored suit fo your efforts if you send your invites before the 1st May!

The Mole
TheCareerMole.com
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TheCareerMole.com - Join, invite your friends, and get suited and booted for your career!

Register on TheCareerMole.com and invite 25 or more friends to join The Mole via the new, easy to use Mole Friends webmail import. This only takes a minute to do and to say thank you, we’ll enter you in to a prize draw to win a bespoke tailored suit (for him or her), from KingandAllen.co.uk. You’ll be measured up and get to choose from a range of premium fabrics and stylish cuts. Look great, feel great, and earn more referral rewards.

In four quick steps you can invite your girlfriends, boyfriends, family, school mates, uni mates, house mates, work mates and your boss to join TheCareerMole.com. The winner will be drawn on the 1st May so you have two months to invite your friends to join. Once they join, they can enter the prize draw too by inviting their friends to join. As TheCareerMole.com community continues to expand you'll receive more introductions, referral requests and opportunities from your Mole Friends and you can help each other get ahead in your careers.

Invite your Friends in 4 Quick Steps
1. Register at TheCareerMole.com and login to your mole account and you'll be greated by your summary page which looks like this. Click on 'Find Friends'

2. Choose to import your contacts from Hotmail, GMail, Yahoo, AOL or simply type in individual email addresses. Add a personal message to your friends and click 'Invite'. Easy.

3. Track your responses and see which of your friends have signed up from your summary page

4. Your Mole Friends are also displayed against your profile on the Meet the Moles page. Other members can see who you know in the business world. You can share ideas, referrals and opportunities among your Mole Friends and help each other get ahead.




Get started - Invite your work mates and friends now to get your name in the hat and a chance to win a fantastic bespoke suit.

Thanks and good luck for the 1st of April!

Oliver
--------------------------
Oliver Perry; Co-Founder
TheCareerMole.com
...It's all about who you know. Register and invite your friends to join!

Competitions

Keep an eye out for monthly competitions coming soon. As members of The Mole we will be offering great competition prizes from our Lifestyle Partners and beyond each month.

Following on from the fantastic Champneys weekend for two that was one last year will be a tall order. Fortunately we have some great prizes up our sleeves.

March's competition will be launched shortly so watch this space for details.

The Mole
TheCareerMole.com
...It's all about who you know. Tell your friends about us!

New Site, New Features, New Mole

Thanks to the tremendous interest we have had, The Mole is growing fast. We have heard back from lots of you and continue to make changes based on the feedback. Not only have we changed the look and feel of the site, we’ve also implemented some great new stuff to make it easier for all of our users to: Meet talented people like yourselves, Refer people to your company or get referred to your next job and Progress your career.

Meet – Talented People Like You
It’s now even easier to grow your business network and make contact with people who can help you get ahead in your career.

- Meet Moles doing the job you want
- Stay in touch with friends and colleagues
- Share ideas and opportunities with talented people like you

When you are viewing Mole Profiles as a Mole, simply click on Introduce Yourself, put in an introductory message and start growing your network of valuable business contacts.

Refer – Each Other
Whether you are looking for a new job or looking to find talented people for your company, we have made it simple, fast and fun.

- Get referred to your next job
- Refer great people to your Company
- Rate your colleagues and provide feedback

It’s now quicker and easier to contact people, so expect to receive more friends and referral invites than before. Login, and see the changes we've made to the members area. Update your Mole profile to encourage people to contact you.

Progress – Your Career
Raise your profile and start progressing your career. Get your friends and colleagues to endorse you and your work.

- Be rewarded and raise your own profile
- Apply and get the right job for you
- Be discovered by leading employers

Now everybody has both a Mole and a Candidate profile: so whether you are looking for a new job or looking to make referrals, you can switch to the most appropriate profile and get the most out of TheCareerMole.com.

The Mole 2.0

The second coming is here. TheCareerMole.com has undergone a few significant changes based on all the great feedback and suggestions we have received from our members.

Since launch, TheCareerMole community continues to expand and we're very excited to see lots of Moles being contacted, candidates going through the recruitment process and a growing number of people being offered and accepting jobs.

The new design and features we have released will make it even easier and more fun to Meet, Refer and progress your career - or work improve your work /life balance thanks to our Mole Lifestyle Partners.

There's still a lot going on behind the scenes here. Watch out for our next newsletter with details of the new features, competitions and new university and lifestyle partners that will help you get the most from The Mole.

TheCareerMole.com
Meet. Refer. Progress.
...It's all about who you know...

NEWSFLASH: Facebook / Myspace can damage your career. TheCareerMole doesn't!

Everyone know's the risks of your social life, as documented on Facebook / MySpace etc, being used by recruiters to vet applications. There are numerous documented instances of job offers being revoked or people not even being offered an interview because of their profiles on social networks. A good recruiter will not fall foul to what is essentially discrimination. However, everyone is human, and first impressions count.

New research by Badenoch & Clark suggest that 62 percent of British bosses look at Facebook, MySpace or other social networking sites to determine the suitability of candidates. The report found that almost two-thirds of respondents said the contents influenced a recruitment decision, while a quarter admitted to going back on a decision to hire a candidate because of what they found online.

They say you shoud never mix business and pleasure. In the world of social networks this has never been more true. Which is why TheCareerMole.com is a social networks for business professionals who want to progress their careers, not organise their social lives. Use Facebook for that - but make sure you have your Privacy settings on max. While you're there, add The Mole as a friend (search for T C Mole) and join our groups (search groups for TheCareerMole).


The Mole

We're back!

Hi Everyone

Things have been a little quiet on the Mole blog. All hands are currently on deck working hard on a new design and some great new features that will make The Mole even easier and more fun to use.

Cant wait to hear what you guys think of the new features. We'll also be launching a number of exciting new Mole Lifestyle Partners to join 20days.co.uk, helping you to really improve your work / life balance. As a teaser, we'll be helping you look your best in and out of work, and offer you some interesting healthy options..

Speak soon

The Mole

TheCareerMole.com
Meet. Refer. Progress.
...It's all about who you know... Don't forget to tell your friends and colleagues about us.

Animal Charity Starts Mole Count

Apparently Moles are useful! So much so that they are starting to count you - as seen on the BBC website today. So, you Moles out there, stand up and prepare to be counted.

A conservation charity is calling for thousands of volunteers to take part in a national survey of moles. The People's Trust for Endangered Species says the much-maligned mammal is actually a misunderstood creature which can help gardeners and farmers.
The survey will involve a molehill count because the underground-dwelling animals are rarely seen.

The trust hopes to compile a map of the distribution of the animals to help with future research.
Online survey. Britons have historically had a mixed relationship with the creatures.
Conservationists say farmers would hang moles from gibbets to ward off other moles, and moleskin clothing became so fashionable in the 19th Century that up to 13 million skins were sold a year.

Ways of deterring or terminating moles are a frequent topic of conversation among gardeners.
However, wildlife experts say moles are beneficial because they eat insects and aerate the soil with their tunnels. (Ed: And they make recruitment better for everyone)

The online survey will be taking place until September 2008

20Days - Yahoo Find of the Year 2007

We're very excited to announce that the first Mole Lifestyle Partner - 20 Days.co.uk - has been shortlisted for the Yahoo! Awards - Finds of the Year 2007!

This is great news and reflects the excellent job the team at 20Days do. Make sure you visit their site and check out some cool ways to use your well earned vacation days.

If you have a second, please vote for 20Days by visiting http://uk.promotions.yahoo.com/finds2007/peoples-choice/

Thanks

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

Hello All

The Holidays seem like a distant memory. We are back in the swing of things and really excited about the coming weeks. There will be some significant changes to The Mole that will make applying for jobs and referring candidates even more of a joy.

Watch this space for more news soon.

The Mole
TheCareerMole.com
Meet. Refer. Progress.

Happy New Year

Wherever you are in the world - here's to a happy and successful 2008!

Cheers - English
Slainte - Irish
Prosit - German
Salud - Spanish
Skaal - Danish
Bottoms up - English
Slainte Mhath - Scots Gaelic
Sanitas bona - Latin
Kampai - Japanese
Le'chaim - Hebrew
A votre sante - French
Oogy Wawa - Zulu
Gezuar - Albanian
Yum Bui! - Cantonese
Kippis - Finnish
Na zdraví - Czech
Genbei - Mandarin
Na zdarovya - Russian
Salute - Italian
Gun Bae - Korean
Gesondheid! - Afrikaans
Gia Sas (pronounced Yiassas) - Greek
Sahha - Arabic
Serefe - Turkish
Cin Cin - Italian
Choke Dee Kap - Thai
Gezondheid - Belgian
Proost - Dutch
Budźma - Belarusian
Na Zdravje - Slovenian !

The Mole