Continuous Professional Development, or CPD, is the process of undertaking training to develop skills. It may include training completed internally, or outwith the workplace. CPD enables you to gain skills that might help with future jobs or help you improve in your current role. It is crucial to update your professional skills regularly to continuously improve both in your role and in your future career. According to statistics by Gallup and Workhuman, over half of upskilled workers did so to help them perform their job more effectively.

These are some of the benefits of continuous professional development.

A Leader Within Your Field

We all want to be the best we can be in our jobs, and by dedicating time and effort to your CPD, you will always stay ahead of the curve. Even if you can spend 30 minutes daily on continuous professional development, you will be ahead of most, which shows the importance of continuous professional development.

Greater Success

If you want to progress your career and enjoy more success, continuous professional development can help you achieve this. With CIPD, you can gain new skills that will allow you to move into a better job or perhaps even a complete career change. New skills are one of the benefits of continuous professional and personal development.

Attractive CV

When you are dedicated to continuous professional development, your CV will look better and you will become more attractive to potential employers. Employers like to recruit candidates with the desire to improve themselves and their skillset. A CV that gets responses from employers reflects the importance of CPD>

Increase Confidence

We all know that to perform well in our jobs, we must be confident in our abilities. When you acquire more skills and knowledge, your confidence will also increase and you will feel more able to perform well in your job. An increase in confidence may make you more likely to want to seek out better opportunities and enhance your career prospects.

Career Change

If you are fed up with your current career, you may need a career change. When you focus on continuous development, you can acquire skills that will help you switch to a new career. Many skills can be transferable to other careers.

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There are two main types of interviews: formal and informal interview. If a recruiter invites you to an informal interview, you would expect it to be a more relaxed approach rather than a structured panel interview. According to a survey by the recruitment agency Hays, only 18% of candidates feel that an interview consisting of three rounds is acceptable, and only 6% will wait over a week for an interview decision. An informal process is preferable to candidates, but if you are invited for one, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t prepare for your interview. It is just as crucial to prepare for an informal interview. as it is for a formal interview.

Reasons for an Informal Interview

There are many reasons why an employer might choose an informal interview instead of a more formal process. These include:

Culture Fit 

It can be easier to determine if the interviewee is the right cultural fit through a relaxed conversation instead of a structured interview process. Relaxed conversations tend to flow easier, and therefore, can enhance the insight obtained from the interview.

Build Relationships

Formal interviews tend to be more practiced than informal interviews, therefore it can be more challenging to build a genuine relationship between the interviewer and interviewee. Connections are important when hiring a new person into the business, especially if the interviewer will be their direct manager.

How to Prepare for an Informal Interview

There is a tendency for candidates to think that an informal interview means that they don’t need to prepare. Although you can expect a more relaxed approach, you should still prepare for the interview. These are some ways to get ready for your informal interview.

Informal Interview Dress Code

The suggestion of an informal interview doesn’t give you the credence to wear your favourite jogging bottoms to the interview, as comfortable as it might feel. An informal interview still requires professional dress. Although there is may be no standard informal interview dress code, you should dress as you would for a formal interview. It will show the interviewer that you are taking the interview process seriously.

What to Say in an Informal Interview

Although you don’t want to look like you are stalking your interviewer, you might want to spend some time researching the interviewers so that you can build some rapport with them. You might be able to find some information on LinkedIn by searching for the interviewers. If you can find some common ground, this would be worth mentioning during your interview.

Relax and Enjoy

The prospect of an informal interview can feel less daunting than a formal interview, and although you need to prepare for it, you can also relax. Although maintaining professionalism is paramount, you can view this interview more like a conversation than an interview. In this way, you can enjoy it more. Informal interview questions and answers may differ from a formal interview, in that they are likely to be less structured than a formal interview, making it easier to have a relaxed chat.

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It is common to experience anxiety at some point in your life. In fact, around 37% of women and 30% of men experience high levels of anxiety. However, high levels of anxiety can affect important parts of your life, such as your ability to gain employment. If you experience high anxiety during interviews and are continuously being rejected for your jobs, it may that the two are related. Feeling anxious about job interview is common, so you are definitely not alone.

Interview Anxiety Symptoms

Most people will experience anxiety about a job interview, and interviewers will expect a level of nervousness, and will account for this. However, if you are suffering from severe interview anxiety, it can portray itself in ways that could affect the outcome. These are some signs that anxiety is affecting your interview.

Ability to concentrate

If you are unable to focus on what the interviewer is saying and struggling to decide how to respond, it may be an indication that your anxiety levels are extremely high. Although interviewers will have a degree of sympathy about interview nerves, this may come across as disinterest or lack of preparation. Severe interview anxiety can cause you to lose your train of thought, which can make it difficult to be succinct during an interview.

Oversharing

Nervous interviewees may end up sharing too much during an interview due to anxiety. For instance, going off on a tangent about issues which are unrelated to the job or the question. As you would expect, this could be a red flag to interviewers. Oversharing is one of the most common interview anxiety symptoms.

Fidgeting

Constantly playing with your hair or moving on your chair are signs of anxiety which may be off-putting to someone at the other side of the desk. It shows them that you are feeling anxious about job interview and may make them uncomfortable too.

The good news is that no matter how challenging your interview anxiety may be, there are ways to overcome it so that your interviews can be more fruitful.

How to Reduce Interview Anxiety

Plenty of Preparation

The more prepared you are, the easier the interview will be. Make sure you have adequate knowledge of the company and the role you are being interviewed for. Take time to practice the answers to common questions you may be asked. It is also worth asking someone to do a mock interview with you. This can also include the practical side of the interview, including eye contact and body language. You are less likely to display interview anxiety symptoms if you are prepared for the interview and are equipped with plenty of knowledge.

Avoid Stimulants

You should not try and overcompensate a lack of sleep by downing gallons of coffee or energy drinks. These stimulants will only make your anxiety worse. It would be much better to have green tea before an interview so that you are feeling calmer and will help you learn how to deal with interview anxiety.

Slow Down

An interview is really just a conversation. It is a conversation where you are getting to know each other. It is important to be professional but also to consider this. The interviewees want you to perform well, as much as you do. Slow down, relax and the conversation will be more likely to flow.  You will also be less likely to display interview anxiety symptoms.

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Redundancies are a last resort for businesses and are usually a consequence of downsizing, financial issues or a company takeover. When employees are notified of a redundancy, they will feel all kinds of emotions, including stress, worry and anxiety. They might worry about paying their bills or finding another job. According to Statisa, there were about 112,000 redundancies in the UK within a three month period to November 2024. This was compared with 99,000 for the three months previous. When employees are facing redundancy, it is important to support them as much as possible. These are some ways you can support your employees facing redundancy, in addition to the usual redundancy process you would follow.

Financial Advice

The main concern employees will have is their finances. They may have a family to feed or live on their own with no support in paying bills. Naturally, this is a huge worry to have, especially if the redundancy news comes out of nowhere. If your employee is concerned about money throughout the redundancy process, you might want to offer them the support of a financial professional to help guide them through their finances and how they can support themselves until they find new employment.

Days Off

Employees facing redundancy may require redundancy time off for interviews. To support employees, you can offer flexibility for these purposes, allowing them to actively look for new roles. Employees will be keen to secure a new role before they finish up, so they don’t end up in financial trouble. You can discuss this throughout the redundancy consultation and advise on the options.

Alternative Options

You should always suggest alternative employment options for those facing redundancy, even if they might not be an exact fit. For instance, if you are downsizing the accounts department, but there is a vacancy for an administrator, you should suggest this option to the employee during the redundancy process. They are not under any obligation to accept it, and would usually still need to go through an interview process to check if their skill set matches the job profile.

Job Seeking Support

There are all kinds of job seeking support services you can use to help employees facing redundancy. These include CV writing services UK and interview guidance. You can use external CV writing services near Glasgow for this, if you don’t have the capability inhouse.

Counselling

If possible, you should suggest or offer counselling services during the redundancy consultation to those that might be extremely worried or stressed about finding a new job. It will be particularly difficult for those employees that have been in the job for a significant time. It is not always easy to find a new job, particularly for older employees who might not have long left in the workplace.

Additional Meetings

You should be following a redundancy process which is in line with the employment law, but also be prepared to offer additional meetings to those who might need it. Some employees will require more support than others.

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During your job search, you should utilise as many resources as possible. Over 50% of job seekers will use job boards, with some of the most popular being Indeed, Monster, Total Jobs, and CV Library. To achieve success with job boards, it is important to be strategic in your approach. Here are some methods of how to use online job boards effectively.

Identify the Best Job Board

Job boards will vary in their main specialisms, with some being specific and others more general. You should identify the best job board to suit your target jobs before you get started. For example, if you are looking for a role within engineering, you might choose The Engineer Jobs or JustEngineers. The most used job boards UK include Indeed and Total Jobs, and these are less specialist. If you are looking for freelance work, your best options would be job boards such as UpWork and PeoplePerHour.

Filter Your Search

Job boards allow you to target your search based on the type of work you are looking for, location, and specific keywords. You can use the job search function to filter roles to ensure they tick all the boxes, making it easier to find the right options based on your career desires. There are job boards advantages and disadvantages but one advantage is being able to search using your own criteria.

Use Job Alerts

When you are looking at how to use job boards, you can set up job alerts for the job boards based on your ideal criteria. You will receive an email when any jobs match your criteria, ensuring you won’t miss any opportunities. Some jobs are urgent, and without using job alerts, you might find they are filled before you’ve even had a chance to view them.

Track Applications

You should always try to track your applications. Keep track of the jobs using a spreadsheet with the date of application, company name, and date applied. You may also want to store the job specs so that if you receive an interview invite, you have all the information you need to hand in. It can look unprofessional if you keep applying for the same role or if employers contact you and you do not remember the job. Tracking applications is an example of how to use online job boards efficiently.

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The workplace landscape has changed since the COVID-19 pandemic, with 16% of the UK population now working remotely and 28% working on a hybrid model. London has the highest level of hybrid employees; with as many as 4 in 10 working on this model. Self-employed workers are more likely to work from home than employed workers. However, many workers don’t particularly enjoy working from home, as it can often feel that they spend most of their lives at home, which is why co-working spaces have become increasingly popular.  There are many benefits of community spaces.

What are co-working spaces?

Co-working spaces are shared office spaces where various people share the same spaces. Similar to general office spaces, co-working spaces generally offer amenities such as a kitchen and meeting rooms. Some even provide coffee shops. The main difference is that everyone in the space is doing their own thing; and not working for the same company, and as such, they need to pay to use the space by themselves. This can usually be done on a monthly/weekly or pay-as-you-go basis. The popularity of co-working spaces is continuing to increase, with over two million people currently using these spaces, with the number expected to rise over the years to follow. Like anything, there are pros and cons of coworking spaces. However, these are some of the benefits of coworking spaces.

Reduce Isolation

When you work from home, you are unlikely to see anyone during the day and may spend your entire week predominantly at home. Although there may be some comfort in this, it can also lead to isolation. Before you know it, you might stop going out completely; which is not a healthy way to live. When you work in a coworking space, you have a reason to get up and dressed, and you will also mix with other people, even if you are not collaborating directly with them. You can search for 'coworking space near me' to find the local options available to you.

Increase Productivity

There are lots of distractions when you work from home. You are more likely to watch TV, do the washing, and generally stop focusing on your work. You may have children or a pet running around that crave your attention. These distractions can cause your productivity to decline. When you work in a coworking space, you have fewer distractions and therefore are more likely to be productive. You can give your work complete focus. Increased productivity is just one of the benefits of community spaces.

Collaborate

You are not likely to ask clients to your home to discuss projects, but you may invite them to a co-working space. A coworking space function can, therefore, increase your ability to collaborate and can push you from your comfort zone.

Routine

Maintaining a routine when you work from home, especially if you don’t have set hours to work, can be rather challenging. Just as you would with any other place of work, the simple act of getting ready and travelling to the office at a specific time can allow you to maintain a routine, while also having a higher degree of flexibility. Many people find the routine one of the most important benefits of coworking spaces.

Flexible working is on the increase and it can offer a wealth of benefits. If you are working on a rigid schedule and would prefer a more flexible opportunity, the best place to start is to use a CV writing service for your professional CV needs We are a CV writing service near Glasgow, providing online CV writing services for a global audience. At Inspired CVs, we provide a high-quality professional CV writing service with both graphic and traditional options, to help you shine out from other candidates. Contact us today to find out more, or order your new CV here.

As Christmas is quickly approaching, you might be worrying about how you will afford Christmas presents and cope after you’ve overspent during the festive period. Whether you are a student looking for a part-time job, or you are out of work and need something to tide you over, seasonal work can be a good option. Seasonal work is temporary employment that many companies need to cope with busy periods. There is every chance that seasonal work could progress to full-time employment. However, this does not need to be the case if you only want short term employment.

Types of Seasonal Jobs

The retail industry is predicted to reach around £88.3 billion in sales in the UK in 2024. With this in mind, retailers tend to offer the most seasonal jobs. Christmas is the busiest period for most retailers, and it’s all hands on deck to deal with the upsurge in customers. The Christmas period for retailers generally starts in November and will last throughout January as customers take advantage of the sales. Restaurants and bars are also busier during the Christmas season as people enjoy being out more at this time of year, so there are usually jobs in the hospitality sector too. The list of seasonal jobs includes delivery companies such as Amazon and JustEat are busier this time of year, and Royal Mail also recruits mail sorters throughout Christmas. Warehouse jobs tend to be more plentiful at this time of year too.

Find the Right Job

When looking for seasonal roles, the key is to find jobs that start immediately. Ideally, you would want to start by the beginning of December to get the benefits of a pay cheque before Christmas and work throughout December and January. These are some ways for how to find seasonal jobs.

Job Sites

Job sites such as Indeed and Total Jobs offer a range of jobs; where you search for part-time or temporary jobs to find seasonal options. You can refine it to specific industries or leave it blank if you are open to the job type. Platforms such as LinkedIn also have a job page where you can gain more information on how to find seasonal jobs.

Recruitment Agencies

One of the best aspects of using a recruitment agency is that they can find jobs to start immediately. If you register with agencies specifically within the field you want to work in; you will have a better chance of finding temporary work in your desired field. Recruitment agencies will provide you with a list of seasonal jobs available.

Ask Contacts

Contact your network and ask if they have any seasonal work available. You can also change your LinkedIn profile to ‘open to work’ and edit your profile so that recruiters know you are on the market for seasonal jobs Scotland or any other location.

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There is a rising number of older workers within the workplace, with statistics from CIPD revealing that workers over 50 made up over 30% of the workforce in 2020-21, compared with only 21% in the 1990s. There are many reasons for this. Workplaces are more diverse these days, and older workers feel less uncomfortable about staying on longer when they feel fit and able to. The cost of living also makes it more challenging for workers to leave earlier than retirement age. However, workers over 50 are still finding it more challenging to gain new employment; as a result of discrimination or bias. These are some reasons why you should consider older employees in the workplace.

Experience

Older workers can bring a wealth of experience to the job, which would take years to develop in younger workers. Companies that can think outside the box when recruiting, even hiring workers aged 60+, will reap the rewards. A diverse workforce can offer a wide range of ideas and opinions, which is why you should consider older workers in the workplace.

Reliability

One of the benefits of older workers is that they will have usually have more stability. They may have a settled family and no desire to change careers or travel. They can be more reliable for this reason. Younger workers may be looking to start a family, travel, or may decide that they want to change direction. That is not to say that you shouldn’t hire younger workers, but have a good mix of ages within your workplace.

Commitment

Older workers are likely to be more committed to the job, as they won’t want to keep job hopping. With only one in ten workers staying in a job for more than a year; an investment in older workers may give your business more stability.

Calm Attitude

Older workers have more life experience, so they are likely to have a calmer demeanour, making them less volatile in the workplace. Older employees in the workplace may be able to influence and mentor the younger workers, making for a more positive workplace culture.

Productivity

It is thought that businesses with mixed ages are more productive than those that are less diverse, which is why diversity is such an important topic. Greater productivity means more success for a business which is why you should hire older workers.

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