Paul Duxbury

Do You Use A Reflective Journal?

I have written about the need to reflect on our learning a number of times of late. It’s something which I have found invaluable and try to build into my activity on a regular basis. Indeed, I commented recently when I started this blog that in many ways it was a form of reflective writing for me as much as a way of helping others.

However, I am aware that keeping a reflective journal and writing in it on a daily or even weekly basis can be a challenge if you are not familiar with the approach. Reflecting on that reminded me of The Reflective Journal, which was written by Barbara Bassot.

It is designed to help readers critically assess their academic or professional progress and is as suitable for working professionals in any fieled as it is for students studying a variety of disciplines.

Have you completed Peter Honey and Alan Mumford’s learning styles questionnaire or indeed any questionnaire that looks at learning styles? If you have and you have identified that you have any reflector traits, then Bassot’s reflective journal can help you reflect on your career progress or on the information you’ve learned as part of a formal training course. If you have completed any type of learning styles inventory and have identified that you need to develop more skills around reflection then I would suggest that it’s ideal.

As well as giving you ample free space to record new information and observations, The Reflective Journal also contains a variety of useful techniques to help you become a critical reflective writer. If you haven’t had any prior experience writing in a reflective journal, then The Reflective Journal, is an ideal first reflective journal, as the process of writing in a reflective journal differs from writing in a traditional journal. To get the best out of the whole exercise, which will be an ongoing one, then learning how to properly utilise a relfective journal, in order to get the most out of your reflective exercises is very worthwhile.

The key to writing in a reflective journal, is to write in such a way that you can pin point the areas in which your knowledge is sufficient and the areas of your study or career, in which you need to invest a little more time. If you’re unsure of how to write journal entries which will give you an indication of your strengths, your weaknesses and potential opportunities to further your successes, The Reflective Journal, will guide you through each step of the reflective writing process.

One of the advantages of The Reflective Journal, is that is an easy read and isn’t too wordy or verbose (which with my passion for plain language gives it a big tick!) Unlike some of the other reflective journals being sold which contain lengthy text and few practical activities, The Reflective Journal has been carefully written so that readers spend more time practising reflective writing and less time reading. Each chapter, teaches readers how to build upon their reflective writing skills and offers a few practical exercises, for readers to put their new knowledge to the test. After all, the best way to retain knowledge and to improve your writing skills is to practice writing.

Whether you’re looking to get an A on your next university exam, start your own business or get a new role or a promotion, The Reflective Journal will help you get the most out of your reflecting writing, so that you’ll be able to reach your academic or professional goals. If it is something that interests you then I can highly recommend Barbara Bassot’s The Reflective Journal

Dealing With The Silence During Your Job Search

Reading the title to this post those that know me may be wondering whether I am letting Doctor Who seep into my job search advice! But don’t worry I am not going to reflect on the fictional religious order or movement that Steven Moffatt created with the aim of them being the scariest of the Doctor Who villains!

No in this case “The Silence” is that radio silence which has been the biggest shock to me since re-entering the market for a job. It’s the silence which I think you really have to prepare for when you are searching for a job. Having identified a role you feel you have the skills, knowledge and will to do, you will find yourself spending many hours crafting a cover letter. You will tweak your CV to place appropriate emphasis on aspects of your career to date which marry up with the requirements the employer or recruiter has identified in the job advertisement. You may even go through the process of creating an account on the employer’s website and completing various steps in the process. Having done all that you know that, based on the information they have given you, you meet the requirements and then you submit your application.

You then wait in eager anticipation of the response…..and you wait, and wait. It’s then I am afraid that you will start to wonder whether your application even reached them because The Silence descends. Yes, it has been quite a shock to me that it now seems that HR/Recruitment is the only function in a business where ignoring your clients/potential clients is deemed to be acceptable behaviour. You will find that household names will go silent, large companies with tens of thousands of employees will go silent; companies that you have dealt with in the past when you were in employment will go silent. That’s not to say every company or organisation is the same because there have been some excellent companies that I have dealt with that have kept me informed of the progress of my application via email, their website, text messages and telephone calls.

However, as I am providing job search advice I feel obliged to warn you what you are almost certain to experience. Now, I have commented elsewhere that I am not going to focus on the negative aspects of job search on this blog and nor am I going to deviate from that. The reason I decided to write about this area of the whole process is that I have fairly rapidly come to some conclusions as to how you can deal with what can be quite a challenging situation.

As I reflected on it I came to the conclusion that in reality there are probably two approaches you can take to dealing with the silence during your job search:

Vent about it and get annoyed. But what good is that really going to do you? Is it going to get you the job you applied for? Is the employer or recruiter going to feel suitably chastised by you wasting your time and energy on getting annoyed? I am sure that if you spend a little time reflecting on those questions you will come to the same conclusions as me.
Learn from it. Yes, as you might expect from a Learning & Development Professional I see it as a learning opportunity. You are learning things about organisations and how they deal with people which will serve you well in the future. Once you are back in employment and you have recruitment decisions to make you can do your best to ensure that candidates are dealt with in a way which you would have liked to be dealt with. You will also know firsthand what it is like have been a user of potential suppliers to your organisation and be able to make informed decisions based on those which gave the best service.

Any situation we find ourselves in is packed with learning opportunities and that applies equally to our positive and our not so positive experiences. As I have said many times before being open to the learning experiences that we encounter is a good thing.

Yes, I know it can be challenging when you are keen to secure new employment and you feel as if “The Silence” is yet another brickwall. However, learn from it and keep ploughing on.

Creating Your Personal Branding for Job Search

Following my article earlier I had a number of people ask me how to go about developing your Personal Brand. So in this article I will try to address some of the basics of building your Personal Branding for Job Search.

With the increase in the use of social media and social networking, people are using the internet to help them to create a personal brand. At the simplest level branding yourself is simply highlighting all of the features of a person that put them in the best position possible to secure a new job. While branding has been around for a while, marketing your identity on the internet is just a new twist. Here are some techniques to consider when developing your personal branding for job search.

Should Your Create Your Personal Brand?

Personal branding is all about how you want others to see you. While everyone already has their own unique identities, the idea of branding allows you to focus more on your strengths, showing potential employers your unique qualities that set you apart from the crowd. By marketing those unique qualities, you help to direct people to focus on areas that you want them to identify with.

If you have excellent people skills and are looking to work in the service industry, promoting your brand as a person everyone loves to be around can put you in a better position to get the job. Your personal branding for job search identity will communicate your resume in a way that highlights all the positive attributes you have. By having a much clearer understanding of who you are, you also gain more confidence at the job interview because you are simply focusing on the most positive features of your personality.

How Do I Build My Personal Branding for Job Search?

Personal branding allows you to simply focus on everything you feel makes you stand out from your competition. These attributes are a true reflection of who you are and could make the difference when the job interviewer is considering applicants.

To start working on your brand you have to focus on what you bring to the table, what values you have, and the goals you want to accomplish. This creates a memorable brand that will really connect with other people. They will be able to identify quickly if you bring what they are looking for in a new employee. Your personal brand should answer these questions:

What are my core values?
What is my reputation?
What am I truly passionate about?
How am I perceived by others?
What is the potential audience of my personal brand?

Social media has really transformed the ability to promote your personal branding online. You can easily create a brand on several different popular social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn and others. Many employers routinely use social media websites to check on potential employees to get an understanding of how they act when they are not in a business environment.

This is why it is so important that your branding be uniform across multiple channels because you never know which might be the one your potential employer is using to do research. When you create a profile on a platform like LinkedIn, you have to be consistent with your values and your passion, or you water down the value of your branding. Your actions online speak much more than simple words, and if you promote yourself as having particular values but consistently do and say the opposite on Twitter, no one is going to believe you.

When creating your brand, you have to realise that both your online and offline efforts need to be consistent. Branding is all about letting other people see you for who you really are. if your profiles are in conflict, you send mixed signals to potential employers and eliminate all that power in branding. Therefore having determined what your personal brand is you need to ensure that you keep it consistent across all those channels.

Lis McGuire On The 10 Major CV Crimes

I have known Lis McGuire of Giraffe CVs for some little while now and have always been impressed by the quality of her advice and work. I was therefore delighted when she agreed to do a post for this Job Search Advice Blog looking at some of the issues she has seen with CVs. She has also provided a wonderful infographic which brings the topic to life in a very visual way.

Summing up of 10 Major CV Crimes

All rise. The CV court is now in session.

Members of the Jury, my job is to explain the CV law to you and to sum up the evidence you are about to hear. It is your job to weigh up all the evidence you read and decide whether you believe yourself to be guilty or not guilty of these CV crimes. After all, a recruiter will judge your employability and potential on the basis of your CV.

You, as a jobseeker, are accused of the following CV crimes. I present the evidence.

EXHIBIT 1: Your CV is too long.

Your CV should be a maximum of two pages

EXHIBIT 2: Your CV lacks clarity and focus.

Your direction should be clear from your CV.

EXHIBIT 3: Your CV isn’t aimed to your target role.

Ideally you should identify your target job, then take aim. Fire!

EXHIBIT 4: Your CV is poorly presented.

Your CV’s design and format are assaulting the recruiter’s senses. An eye-catching, uncluttered CV will be more appealing to the recruiter.

EXHIBIT 5: Your CV is full of irrelevant information.

Appeal to the recruiter’s judgement by showcasing pertinent evidence.

EXHIBIT 6: Your CV lacks structure

The recruiter reading your CV has to play detective to find out what they need to know. Using defined headings will help the recruiter to quickly identify the information they need.

EXHIBIT 7: Your defence is weak

Arm yourself with an arresting CV profile to set out your case. The penalty of not securing an interview will outweigh the effort required to present a sound case.

EXHIBIT 8: Circumstantial vs real evidence

Back up your claims with quantifiable achievements. Call witnesses to defend your character (LinkedIn recommendations can support this).

EXHIBIT 9: Your testimony has holes in it

Don’t try to cover up holes in your case. If your dates don’t stack up, the recruiter may suspect fraudulent activity – make sure you have an airtight alibi.

EXHIBIT 10: You’re CV is full of speling misteaks and gramaticale erors

Check, check and check again to make sure your CV does you justice.

Would you now retire and consider your verdict to establish if you are guilty as charged. If you’ve been banged to rights, then consider this a caution and revisit your CV to show the recruiter it would be criminal not to hire you.

If you require some professional representation, Giraffe CVs’ professional CV writing service would be considered a ‘steal’.

Case dismissed.

Personal Branding – How Do People See You?

I have written quite a bit over the years about Personal Branding and I wanted to share my experience when I first realised that I needed to think about it in terms of my search for a new role.

But first, for those who may not be that familiar with the idea let’s remind ourselves what Personal Branding and your “Personal Brand” is all about. Essentially it’s you! The things that make up your personal brand are your values, the beliefs and attitudes that drive you, how you behave and of course your knowledge, skills and abilities. It’s your online and offline image. The tried and tested way of understanding what your personal brand is is to find out what your reputation amongst those you work with, those you engage and interact with is.

That last point was my starting point when I started to take a look at how I was perceived by others especially those I interact with online through Social Media sites, membership sites and the like. I asked people what words they would use to describe me, how they perceived that I come across and what they thought I did for work. Whilst I was flattered by the positive comments I received I was very surprised when it came to the question of what I did professionally!

Having spent many years working in Learning and Development it wasn’t something that people generally associated with me. That was really useful feedback and ensured that I started to focus a little more on talking about an area I am truly passionate about. Indeed it was the inspiration/push I needed to create my Learning & Development Insights blog where I write on the topic and my passion for making learning accessible to all.

Even though we may have done no conscious work on developing a personal brand we do already have one. Your personal brand is what people think of when they see or hear your name. How do they react? What knowledge, skills and abilities do they think you have, how do they think of you as an individual.

All of those things are what make up your personal brand. When people hear or see your name do they see you as a positive person to be around who always has something interesting to say or share? Or, do they see you as someone who is always negative and looking for the worst in things and others? It can be challenging when you have lost your job to appear positive and focused but the reality is that you need to think about how you are perceived by others.

We all know that potential employers now have much more access to information about us than our CVs give them. They can see how we interact with others and our general attitude. Whilst some will say that social media sites are a snapshot of who we are and don’t necessarily show the full extent of our personality they do have the potential to create an impression and we want that impression to be the right one don’t we? So my recommendation would be that you keep the negative, critical moments away from the online world and in the comfort of your own home and with your nearest and dearest.

If you were to ask those people you interact with online or offline how they would describe you would their views match with how you want to be seen?