The New Level Recruitment blog

Email sins - is your email address hampering your job search?

Nowadays the web is full of people offering advice on how best to present yourself to potential employers – you know how to write a good CV that accurately showcases your skills and experience; you might even have had a nice new photo taken to put on it; you’ve given thought to just how much personal information/contact details to include, balancing security with thoroughness -  you’ve done all the right things, BUT have you ever considered what your email address says about you and how it could be hampering your job search?

 

There are 2 big email “sins” that may be stopping you finding the job of your dreams:

 

1. On a purely practical front, sending out job applications using your current work email address is not only indiscreet, it also means that once you leave that job, the recruiters you’ve sent your details too won’t be able to contact you about any possible new opportunities. Before you start applying for jobs it is worth either making sure your personal email address is on your application, or (better still) creating a new email account specifically for your job applications. The same applies to giving your work mobile number rather than a personal one.

 

1. Consider what your email address says about you – highly personal addresses such as “pornstar@...”, “psycho@...”, “daddy@...”, “yummymummy@...”, “millionkisses@...” might be fine for communicating with your mates, but are generally inappropriate for professional correspondence.  If you were a hiring manager how seriously would you consider an application from someone who’s email address was “bareass@...”?

Another health & safety myth exploded

There was a bit of a fuss in certain newspapers this week over the refusal of a supermarket worker to sell christmas crackers to the mother of a 6 year old girl, ostensibly because of health & safety regulations. Surprise surprise, the shop worker was wrong, there are no such rules. According to Neil Morton, Chief Inspector of Explosives at the HSE,

"The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has not imposed any restrictions on the sale of Christmas crackers to children, as your article (8 November) claims.

HSE's responsibilities are focused on workplace risks associated with activities such as the serious business of manufacturing and storing significant quantities of explosives and fireworks.

The sale of Christmas crackers is a different matter and not the responsibility of HSE.

Yours sincerely,

Neil Morton
Chief Inspector of Explosives
Health and Safety Executive"

When will retailers start making sure their staff are properly informed about HSE regs, and not just let them go around undermining the true reason the Health & Safety regulations exist - to protect people, not stop them living their lives!!

Another health & safety myth exploded

There was a bit of a fuss in certain newspapers this week over the refusal of a supermarket worker to sell christmas crackers to the mother of a 6 year old girl, ostensibly because of health & safety regulations. Surprise surprise, the shop worker was wrong, there are no such rules. According to Neil Morton, Chief Inspector of Explosives at the HSE,

"The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has not imposed any restrictions on the sale of Christmas crackers to children, as your article (8 November) claims.

HSE's responsibilities are focused on workplace risks associated with activities such as the serious business of manufacturing and storing significant quantities of explosives and fireworks.

The sale of Christmas crackers is a different matter and not the responsibility of HSE.

Yours sincerely,

Neil Morton
Chief Inspector of Explosives
Health and Safety Executive"

When will retailers start making sure their staff are properly informed about HSE regs, and not just let them go around undermining the true reason the Health & Safety regulations exist - to protect people, not stop them living their lives!!

Engineers in the board room? HR say no....

According to some research in the Recruiter magazine today,

"Just 66% of HR directors think engineers have the necessary skills and attributes to make a valuable contribution on a board of management.

According to research carried out by Sainsbury’s Management Fellows (SMF), a not-for-profit organisation that helps UK engineers gain knowledge and skills to make the transition from a technical to a senior management role, the backgrounds most prized in the boardroom are accountancy, sales, marketing, HR and legal, with professional engineering coming way down the scale.

However, when asked if professional engineers with MBAs are suitably qualified for board positions, 80% of the HR directors agreed that they are.

The survey also shows 86% of those asked were open minded about recruiting directors with non-financial or legal backgrounds and where engineers have MBA qualifications and business experience, 80% of HR directors thought that engineers had the necessary skills to warrant a place in the boardroom."

Interesting concept this, does anyone have any comments?