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.

The first step before you start looking for work is to ensure you have a professional CV. At Inspired CVs, we provide both traditional and graphic CVs to help support your job search. Our online CV writing services are available to clients located throughout the world. You can order here or contact us to find out more about the best CV writing services

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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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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