Being a contractor has several benefits - you can pick and choose the work you do, and who its for! On the other hand you do lose job security and the benefits that go along with it.

Remember you’re paid for the days you work, if you don’t work - maybe because of sickness or holiday, you won’t get paid.

You’ll also need to pay for the benefits that a company would provide, such as healthcare and training. It does however allow you to set your own training budget and commitments!

In the current climate it’s wise to stay where you are - the job market is beginning to flood in some sectors as businesses such as banks close, and in others companies arn’t hiring to save on costs or see where the market goes.

We’ll come back to contracting over the next few weeks!

“Mistake a job offer for a prank. “I phoned an applicant and said ‘It’s Dan Hawes here, I’d like to talk to you about a job’. She thought it was a wind-up. I said ‘no, no – I’ve got your CV in front of me and you’re suitable for a job’. She said ‘stop taking the …’ I spent 20 minutes trying to convince her but she still thought it was someone playing a trick so I just left it.”

See the full article here, or “What not to do when motivating people!” here.

Points I’d also recommend:

• Don’t say you’re an expert - it back fires every time.
• Don’t lie - if you don’t know the answer in an interview, don’t try to ‘blag’ it.
• Spell checking - it takes one click and five minutes, it also stops you’re CV being the first in the Bin!
• Read the job advert - and don’t go off on a tangent in your covering letter!
• Don’t leave the “Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet” in the sample CV template you downloaded.

Top tip of all - a generic, downloaded template looks exactly like it is - a generic downloaded template. Taking the time to personalise the CV and Covering letter to a job will make the world of difference.

Telephone interviews are both good and bad, it’s easier to talk to an interviewer over the telephone for a lot of people, but it also gives you more chance to relax to much and for things to go wrong.

Initial interviews by telephone often tend to be HR led, they’re checking that you have the basic social interaction skills for a role, and that you are confidant and keen. These kind of interviews are very easy to pass, if you follow some of the tips below.

• Be organised, at the time you’ve been give for the call make sure you’re somewhere quiet and where you are free to talk. (Not answering, or asking them to call back isn’t going to look good!)
• Have a pen and paper to take notes. (See what I need below!)
• Be confident, answer and talk authoritatively.
• Do you homework - just like any interview, know what the employer is about, and what they are looking for.
• Don’t relax to much - it’s still an interview! It’s easy to slip into a very casual mode when dealing with a phone call.

Remember - all interviews are a two way process, have some relevant questions in mind and ask them!

What do I need?

It’s not obvious what is needed for a telephone interview - it’s not just a simple telephone call!

Get the following items ready in advance:

• Pen and Paper (to take notes, for anything you need to ask, the interviewers name etc)
• A copy of your CV. (You’ll remember it better if its in front of you.)
• A copy of the job advertisement if you have it.
  
• Any supporting information you need about the company, including copies of emails and letters you have been sent.

Again - make sure you’re somewhere quiet, where you will not be distracted - before the call is due!

More information

• Target Jobs - Telephone Interviews made easy
• Career Builder - 10 Tips for Telephone Interviews
• Seltek Consultants - Preparing for a telephone interview
• CV Tips.com - Phone Interview Tips

If you’re looking for work in this sector, they have both Graduate and experienced positions with several major players in the industry - an industry that seems to be bucking the trend and expanding!

Share your experiences, and let us know how you find them!

For many jobs, failing the Aptitude or Psychometric test isn’t the end of the interview or assessment - it just means you need to do better in other areas. In most assessment day style events, when you are being marked on several sections over several tasks a fail in one area can be rectified by a good score in another.

If it’s a set piece of the assessment, then unfortunately it does come to just trying again next time - it’s not always such a bad thing:

• You’ll be motivated to prepare harder next time!
• You’ve got a great answer to any interview questions where you need to show motivation, a desire to suceed etc.

Have a look at our psychometrc testing tips and keep on trying!

Remember - the key to getting better at these kind of tests is practice, not just for getting answers right, but also for working out what methods allow you to work better under pressure!

Our top tip for Literacy Testing is to write out the letters of the alphabet along the top of the first page of the answer booklet. You’ll be able to see which letter is in which position when asked, meaning you can work quickly and accurately!

Try it now - what is the 11th letter of the alphabet?

Now write out the letters and try it again!

This kind of question tests your abilities in numeracy and literacy, but it also it testing your ability to work under pressure!

If you have any good examples of your own, tips or experiences of Psychometric and Apitude Testing then please send them in!

What can you do to ensure that you don’t end up out of work now, or in the future? These tactics sound a little harsh, but you need to ensure your job before thinking about anything else.

Specialize

If you’re the expert in a particular area, you’re a more important employee than a genarlist. Not that general skills are bad by any means, but being the only one who can carry out a certain role, gurantees you’ll be the only one doing it - regardless of the job market.

This will also enhance your chances of a new job, as you’ll be an asset not just a labour cost.

Have a ‘Plan B’

Make sure you’ve got more than just your core skills, either be skilled in another area - or have a wider range of skills than other around you. This means you’re likely to be ahead of the pack when it comes to being employed, and more likely to be staying if times get tough. It’s all about “more bang for your buck”…or your employers buck in this case!

Having other skills means you open more doors for yourself, and will give you more oppurtunities now and in the future.

So what can I do to get more?

- Never say no to training, even if it means more work - and is outside of your core area.

- Proactively train, in your core area - to specialise, and outside of it. A few hours week outside of work, is a small sacrifice to make!

- Look skills others don’t have, that give you “one step ahead” - if your workplace needs a First Aider, get a First Aid certificate, if your workplace need a Health and Safety representative, get the skills you need. You’ll be the one staying!

• Tell me about yourself.
• What are your strengths?
• Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
• Are you a team player?
• Tell me about your achievements?
  
• Tell us about a time you took dealt with a conflict?
• What’s your biggest weakness?
• What have your achievements been to date?
• Why do you want to leave your current employer?
• Do you have any questions?

See what some other people said:

• Bussiness Pundit - 10 Worst Interview Questions
• Secrets of the Job Hunt - Top 10 Interview Questions
• CollegeGrad - 10 Tough Interview Questions

“Give us an example of when you worked in a team?”

“Show an example of when you dealt with a difficult customer?”

The question isn’t as simple as it seems however - it’s also testing your ability to talk, and to draw on  pertinent experience from your past.

In answering the question:

• Make sure your example is relavent, and that it shows the skills you are being questioned on.
• Explain the background to the example, and talk through it stage by stage in a logical order.
• Show other skills besides the one focussed on by the question

Avoid:

• Simple answers such as “I used teamwork at University.” It shows very little about your experience!
• Digressing to much from the question!

Example

“Give an example of when you worked in a team?”

“During my time at University I worked on several projects as part of a larger group, sometimes physically seperated. In my final year I led a team that created a new Widget for my design module, as part of a team of five.”

I know how to operate computers, especially the Internet. I have worked with at least ten different models of copiers and understand the importance of the collating function button.

http://www.diaryofgirlfriday.com/2005/12/14/girl-friday-wins-the-hearts-of-hr-recruiters

There’s some other examples of covering letters here.