There are two different types of skills you can present in the workplace; soft skills and hard skills. Hard skills represent your technical abilities, whereas soft skills relate to characteristics and attitude. Soft skills can be transferable to any role, whereas hard skills are not as fluid. When it comes to soft skills v hard skills, both are equally important. These are some of the most useful soft skills that employers seek in candidates when making hiring decisions.

Communication

When you are interviewed for a role, the employer will be paying close attention to your communication skills. In fact, this is the main objective during an initial screening call. They want to ensure you speak clearly, listen and understand information. They also want assurance that you will bring a positive and enthusiastic attitude to the company. Written communication skills are also important, as in most roles you will be corresponding with customers and colleagues via email. There are few (if any!) roles where good communication skills are non-essential, so these soft skills can be transferable to any job. If you want to understand how to improve soft skills and communication skills, they key is to practice. Practicing your communication skills and seeking feedback will help you improve.

Reliability

If you are a reliable person, you are highly likely to achieve success in your life. Reliability is one of the soft skills examples that employers seek and these include having a good attendance record, turning up to work on time, attending meetings and achieving deadlines. Employers need to be able to count on you, which is why reliability is one of the top soft skills employers look for.

Organisation

Employers expect you to be able to organise your own calendar and workload efficiently, they don’t want to have to keep reminding you to do things. Strong organisational skills include the ability to prioritise your own workload, meet deadlines and ensure you attend meetings. Organisational skills are soft skills examples that employers look on favourably and these are highly transferable to any role.

Creativity

There is always an element of creativity required in any job - even if it is not specifically a creative role. Employers expect you to be able to bring ideas to the table and think outside the box. After all, they hire you to improve their business. Creativity can come in many forms. For example, the ability to improve processes to make them more efficient or to help the business to drive sales. Creativity can often be the most useful soft skills for employers looking to grow their business.

Teamwork

Within any role, it is important that you are able to work on your own initiative, while also being a team player. A team player will help out others when they need it and will communicate well with others to reach a common goal. A collaborative approach will help the business deliver results. Therefore, it is is one of the top soft skills employers look for.

The soft skills examples you have acquired should be prominent on your CV so they attract the attention of recruiters. At Inspired CVs, we provide top rated CV writing services near Glasgow and offer online appointments CV services across the globe. You can order yours here or contact us to find out more.

There are many reasons why an employee might be fired from a job. It might be that the culture fit isn’t right, the performance has been unsatisfactory, or in some cases, you might not even find out the reason for being fired. You might fail your probation which feels the same as being fired. It can be difficult to deal with being fired. You are likely to question yourself, and may even start to develop imposter syndrome in future jobs. If you feel that you have been dismissed unfairly, you may consider taking your employer to a tribunal. These are some ways to deal with what to do when you get fired.

Understand the Reasons

If you are unexpectedly fired from your job, it is understandable that you would want to get to the root of the decision. If you don’t know why you have been fired, it can really affect your self confidence. It is much better to know. Ask your manager to share the reasons so you can learn from it, if they have not done so. It may be that you have done nothing wrong, but the role is no longer required. If there is a reason, you can learn from the feedback for future jobs. How to deal with being fired unfairly is a different issue altogether. If you feel that the reasons are unjust, you should seek legal advice.

Allow Your Feelings

When you lose your job, it means a huge upheaval in your life, and this can feel both upsetting and worrying. There can be many psychological effects of being fired. Instead of feeling like you need to just be positive and get on with it, allow yourself to wallow in pity if you need to. It is important not to try and disguise your feelings, but instead, allow yourself to feel how you feel. Of course, you don’t want to reach a point where you are feeling down for long periods but allow your feelings and practice self care. Take a break from social media so you can focus on your own life and not others. The psychological effects of being fired are different for each individual, go at your own pace.

Set Goals

The next stage of the process is to consider your goals and what you want to achieve going forward. These can be both personal and professional goals. Small steps will take you to your goal. For instance, set a goal to apply for five jobs each day and slowly but surely, you will start to get responses. A personal goal of running for a few miles each day, will soon add up. Goals are important to keep us on the right path. How do you respond to being fired is important for your future wellbeing.

Stay Healthy

When you are feeling low, it can be easy to slip into an unhealthy rot, where you are staying up late, eating badly and not exercising. It is perfectly understandable to do this, but it won’t achieve anything. Do your best to maintain healthy habits, such as walking, and eating healthy meals. You will feel better and more productive to carry on with your job search, even if you are unsure what to do when you get fired unexpectedly.

If you have lost a job and you are finding it difficult to secure a job interview, you may need a professional CV to help you. At Inspired CVs, we provide the best CV writing services for candidates in any industry. Contact us today to find out more or buy your CV here. If you are looking for CV writing services open now, we operate on a 24 hour basis.

The number of temporary workers has fallen in the UK in the last year, with 1.44 million compared to 1.67 million in the previous year. Businesses utilise temporary workers for all kinds of reasons. They may want to test the waters before making a permanent hire, or they may just need temporary cover for a specific project or to cover holidays. If you are temping with a company, and interested in turning it into a permanent role, there is no guarantee you will get a full time job. However, there are some steps you can take to enhance your potential if you want to learn how to turn your temporary job into a permanent one.

Show Your Interest

Let your manager know that although you are doing a temporary job, you are interested in permanent work. They may not raise the subject, if they are unsure of your situation. They might just think you are doing temporary work as a stop gap. The temporary job meaning is that the role is short term, and often managers will assume that a permanent job won't be of interest. You might even consider sending in a temporary to permanent employment request letter.

Treat it as Permanent

If you are only looking for temporary work, it is acceptable to treat the job as such. However, if you wish to establish a permanent role, it is important to treat it in the same way. Show an interest in the company and where they are heading in the future. Try to go above and beyond as much as possible in the role and it will show that you have a keen interest in the company.

Ensure Reliability

The main concern for employers when making hiring decisions is that the individual is reliable. Reliability is important and it will play a huge part in whether a company decides to make you permanent, even if you are good at your job. Make sure you turn up to work on time and you attend scheduled meetings. You should try not to call in sick during your temporary assignment, if you want to learn how to turn a temporary job to permanent.

Speak to Colleagues

It is understandable to feel that because you are ‘the temp’, no one will be interested in speaking to you. However, you will probably find that most people are happy to get to know someone different. Make an effort with your colleagues, even if you believe it to be a short contract. There is usually always a way to turn a temporary job to permanent, if the need is there.

Adhere to the Company Culture

Pay attention to the company culture and follow suit in your own behaviours. For instance, don’t sit eating your lunch at your desk if everyone else is visiting the canteen; it may be frowned upon! The best way to fit in is to adapt to how others are behaving. Temporary job roles are often a good way to get your foot in the door, but you must be seen to be part of the business to turn a temporary job into a permanent one.

If you are looking for a temporary or permanent role, the first step is to ensure you have a high quality professional CV. At Inspired CVs, we provide our traditional and graphic CVs to a range of candidates from different industries across the globe.  We offer top rated  CV writing services. To order your CV, you can contact us for an initial chat or alternatively, buy your CV here.

The job market is becoming more global than ever before, and with that, there are more opportunities to move to offices in other locations. Statistics revealed that almost 5 million UK workers consider moving abroad for work, citing a better quality of life as being the main reason for this consideration. There is no doubt that uprooting your life to another country is daunting, however, there are many reasons why this could be a good decision, even temporarily. These are some benefits of living and working abroad.

Career Prospects

Whether you move abroad for a new opportunity with your current employer, or a completely new role, there is always the possibility of improving your career prospects. One of the benefits of working abroad are that there may be other avenues you can work in if you widen your prospects.

Life Experiences

When you work and live in the same place, you tend to do the same thing day in and day out. With that, you tend to have little difference in your life experiences. With a move to a new country, you get to explore a completely different life, which can do wonders for improving your knowledge, skills, and self-confidence. A move to Australia for instance, will enable you to explore the outside and enjoy the warm weather daily. Whereas, a move to Dubai might help you learn to build a new business, and enjoy the finer things in life! There are advantages and disadvantages of working abroad but building new life experiences is a great benefit.

Learn Languages

Not only does learning a new language help your future career prospects, but it also helps you understand and meet new people. Most of us can be quite lazy when it comes to learning a new language, but if you move abroad to a non-English speaking country, it will be easier to pick up the language. Learning a new language is one of the most significant benefits of working abroad for students who are already studying the language at home.

Grow Your Network

Moving abroad will also give you the chance to grow your network. You will meet people from the country you reside in of course, with the likelihood of a range of other people from different cultures and backgrounds. Expanding your network is always useful; you never know when you might need to use your contacts. It is why working abroad is better for those looking to build a global business.

Improve Skills

One of the benefits of working abroad is the opportunity to learn new skills as you adapt to a new way of life. These include general life skills, as well as soft skills and knowledge about the country.

Challenges of Working Abroad

Although working abroad can be hugely beneficial, it doesn’t come without its challenges. There are advantages and disadvantages of working abroad. These are some considerations before choosing to work abroad:

• Family life - even if you are only working abroad temporarily, you need to consider how you will manage your family. It can be the most challenging aspect of choosing to move abroad.
• Finances - find out more about the costs of living, especially if your employer is not providing any support. Make sure you can manage financially, before fully committing.
• Visas - you may need a visa if you are moving abroad, make sure you find out as much as possible about this before you take the leap.

If you are looking for a new job with the opportunity to work abroad, the first step is to ensure you have a high-quality professional CV. At Inspired CVs, we can provide you with a high-quality professional CV through our CV writing services in Glasgow. We support candidates from across the globe and you can have a look at our CV writing services reviews. For the best CV writing services, you can contact us here or buy your CV now.

The number of employees working remotely has increased by over 2.73 million since 1998, according to statistics from Statista. Although working remotely can be hugely advantageous for employees, it also comes with its challenges. When you are working remotely, it can be difficult to build relationships with your colleagues, especially if your manager doesn’t organise meetings together. You might feel lonely or excluded at times. These are some answers to how to build relationships with work colleagues remotely.

Offer Help

If your workload is quiet, you could reach out to your colleagues and ask if they need help with anything. Not only does this give you a chance to break the ice, but it also shows that you are a team player, which will reflect positively on you. If you are the one who is swamped, you could always reach out to colleagues to ask for some help. It will give you the chance to connect with others while working remotely from home.

Switch to Calls

It can be difficult to build relationships with remote colleagues when you only ever speak through messages; which is why it can be useful to switch to video calls. If there are people in the team you don’t know well, why not just send them a message saying ‘I feel like I’ve hardly spoken to you, and would love to find out a bit more about you, do you fancy a coffee break over video.’ If colleagues are working from home from another country, it may make them feel less secluded.

Join Team Meetings

If you are invited to virtual meetings, make sure you attend these. It will give you the chance to meet people and also find out a bit about your colleagues. Sometimes these can feel a bit daunting, but try to contribute, even just a little. Working remotely jobs can offer many benefits, but it is important to engage with your colleagues too.

Organise an Event

Instead of waiting for someone else to organise an event, why not do it yourself? If your colleagues live locally, it can be a great chance to meet them face to face and help to build connections. One of the challenges of working remotely is that you don't get to see your colleagues every day, an event can bring everyone together.

Find Common Ground

Try to find some common ground with your colleagues wherever possible. For instance, did they say they have a dog during a meeting? Do they have kids the same age as yours? Do they never miss an episode of Love Island? These are things to look out for during interactions and can give you something to talk to them about. With jobs working remotely from home it can be easier to become less engaged but by finding common ground, you will build a rapport with your colleagues.

Speak to Manager

If you are finding it difficult to engage with your colleagues, speak to your manager and ask them to help out. They may be able to create a project for you to work together on or they might be able to introduce you properly. Jobs working remotely from home are becoming more commonplace, so managers are increasingly used to dealing with these challenges.

If you are currently working on-site and would prefer a remote job, the first step is to ensure you have a professional CV. At Inspired CVs, we provide CV writing services London to clients across the globe. We offer online appointments CV writing services and you can contact us today to find out more or you can order here.

Interviews can be expensive, with the average cost being around £60, according to data from Barclays, which is why you want to do your best to secure a job as quickly as possible. At the end of an interview, most interviewers will ask if you have any questions. The worst thing you can do at this stage is to say ‘no’, as asking questions shows that you are interested in the role and eager to learn more. On the other hand, the interviewer doesn’t want to spend an additional ten minutes answering questions; two or three is sufficient. If you ask good questions it could even improve your chances of landing the job, such is the importance of it. These are some questions to avoid asking in an interview.

What do you do in this job?

The interviewer will expect that you have thoroughly read the job description, and the chances are that they will cover a lot of this during the interview. One of the bad questions to ask an interviewer is about the role's duties, you might make the mistake of asking a question about elements already covered. You can ask for further detail about aspects of the role, but avoid asking what they will be doing generally.

What is the salary?

It is best to try and avoid asking this question during an interview, and just focus on impressing the interviewer with your skills and knowledge. Questions about salary and benefits can be discussed and negotiated as and when you are offered the job. If the salary is not advertised and you need the ballpark, you should ask this before accepting an interview to check it is within your desired range. Discussions around the salary are the types of questions to avoid in an interview.

Do you get paid for being off sick?

Asking about sick pay can produce red flags for an employer. It is important to remember that they will usually be interviewing five or six candidates and quite often, it comes down to just two candidates. These sorts of questions can be enough to encourage the employer to choose the other candidate! Asking about being off sick are questions to avoid in an interview, as they may think you are planning to be off in advance or that you are already sick.

Do you offer remote working?

If this is a necessity for you, it is best to cover this before you attend the interview. Even if you don’t necessarily need to work remotely, the recruiter might be a bit concerned that you will be looking for other flexible jobs. Most employers will advertise hybrid or remote working arrangements on their job description. Flexibility is one of the questions to avoid in a job interview, it is better to get knowledge of this before you attend.

What is the boss like?

It is perfectly acceptable to get a feel for how you will be managed in the workplace, so asking something like ‘What is the management style’, is a better way of wording it. Asking what the boss is like, suggests you want to know what type of personality they have, rather than their management style. Personality related questions are bad questions to ask an interviewer.

Questions to ask during an interview

You should have some questions prepared for your interview. These are some examples of good questions to ask.

• How do you expect this role to contribute to the success of the company?
• What are the company goals for the future?
• Is there training and development in this role?
• What are the next steps in the interview process?

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Probation periods are common practice and are like a trial period to assess whether you will fit into a new role. Whether you are returning to the workplace after a break or just starting a new role, the probationary period also allows you to assess whether it’s the right role and place for you. Probationary periods usually last about 3 to 6 months. In some cases, the employer might extend the period, for instance, if you have been off sick and they haven’t had the chance to properly determine your suitability. According to research by Spring Personnel, 18% of new starts either fail their probation or get it extended. There is no need to worry about your probation, it is standard practice within most companies, but there are some guidance on how to pass probation period at work.

Friendly Attitude

It can be daunting to walk into a new job when you don’t know anyone, especially if you are an introvert. However, the employer will be looking out to see how you interact and engage with others. You should maintain a friendly, positive attitude when conversing with others, and try to remember names. You could even take note of them if you are prone to forgetting. Probation period rules are in place to help protect employers from making the wrong hiring decisions.

Professionalism

There are many elements of professionalism that your employer will be looking out for. They will expect you to dress appropriately for the workplace, turn up on time for work, and attend scheduled meetings. It is best to avoid sick days during your probationary period, if possible, as this could be enough to make the employer question your reliability. If you have been off frequently during your probation, you will probably notice signs you won't pass probation.

Avoid Your Phone

We are all used to being glued to our phones for much of the day, but it is a good idea to avoid looking at your mobile too often, especially during your probationary period. Try to save sending any messages or making calls for your breaks. Probation period rules are in place for these reasons, it would be risky to pass an employee's probation if they are already spending a lot of the working day on their phone.

Ask Questions

It might seem like the best course of action when you start a new job is to just get your head down and work away, but you should also be engaging with your colleagues. Ask questions, and try to get to know your colleagues a bit. Read the room though, don’t talk to people who are stressed out. It is common to ask yourself the question, will I pass my probation period, but try to relax and don't let it affect your ability to converse with others.

Take Feedback

It is important to be able to take feedback onboard in a job, without reacting negatively; especially in your early days in a new job. No one gets it right the first time, so be prepared to digest what is said to you, both the positives and negatives, and make changes where required. Interpersonal skills are important, both listening and communicating.

If your probation is extended, it might be disheartening but it simply means that the employer wants a little longer to assess your performance. If you fail your probation, make sure you get feedback as there are probation period rules that employers must adhere to.

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Imposter syndrome is a common feeling that is more widespread than most people realise. Imposter syndrome definition is when you believe you are not good enough or you worry about your inadequacies,

According to a survey by YouGov, a staggering 66% of British people have admitted to finding it difficult to accept praise from others. Imposter syndrome can happen in any walk of life, but it is prevalent within the workplace. Some people with imposter syndrome will try to overcompensate by becoming overbearing or they might do the opposite and shrink into a shell. 

Signs of Imposter Syndrome 

You might not be aware you have imposter syndrome but these are some of the types of imposter syndrome.

• Feeling that you are not good enough for your job, even though you have worked hard to get where you are.
• When your manager or colleagues praise you, you don’t believe the compliments.
• You hold yourself to standards that no one could achieve.
• You feel you need to constantly prove yourself, which might mean you even belittle others (most common with managers)
• Failing to grow by turning down opportunities to progress within the company.

Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

You can experience imposter syndrome in all walks of life. You can have imposter syndrome in relationships as well as imposter syndrome at work. Unfortunately, it is not easy to overcome imposter syndrome. However, there are some steps you can take to try and combat or at least, reduce these feelings.

Track Success

If you are experience imposter syndrome symptoms, you should take note of all your achievements, no matter how small. It might be as simple as getting a good customer review or figuring out how to work a system. You’ll be surprised at how much you have achieved within a week, without realising it.

Remember Compliments

The opposite of imposter syndrome can be worse, but somewhere in the middle is where you want to arrive. Compliments can be few and far between in the workplace, so if you do receive them, make sure you take notes and reflect on them. Someone with imposter syndrome symptoms will find it difficult to register compliments, but this can be helpful to be able to move on from this feeling.

Ask for Feedback

It is worth sharing your thoughts and feelings with your manager or a close colleague as they may be able to reassure you or in the case of a manager, provide any additional training you might need. Asking for feedback can help to put your mind at ease while also allowing you to voice your feelings if you are experiencing imposter syndrome symptoms.

Upskill

If there are any specific gaps in your skills that you are especially concerned about, it is worth investing in some training courses. Learning can boost your confidence and help you feel more secure in your job, so the imposter syndrome symptoms are reduced.

Accept Opportunities

It can be easy to stay in your comfort zone, but as they say, there is no growth in a comfort zone! Learn to say yes to new opportunities, especially if it’s something that’s completely out of the box for you. The more you do this, the more your confidence will grow and the less you will feel the signs of imposter syndrome.

It is important to differentiate between imposter syndrome and feeling like you just can’t do or are not enjoying the job. At Inspired CVs, we can help you kick start a career move with our professional CVs, available in traditional and graphic formats. To find out more about our online CV writing services, contact us today or order your CV directly.