During the build up to the festive season many companies take on extra staff so if you are looking for a casual job now is the time to act.

The sectors that usually need staff to boost their employees are the hospitality and retail sectors with some companies nearly doubling their workforce. If you have experience working in these areas then getting a job should be easy but even if you do not have experience as long as you are willing to learn quickly you should get a post without any problems.

Many businesses advertise their casual positions either by putting posters in their windows or through their social media platforms where you can message the business directly to enquire about the positions. If you are asked to attend an interview it is important to arrive on time and be smartly dressed as this will be your opportunity to make a good first impression. Show the potential employer that you are willing to be part of their team and that you are available to work right up to the Christmas shut down. Some companies may want to keep you on after the festive season if you make a good impression and they need extra staff.

So you’ve done the hard part of updating your CV, going through the application process and landing yourself your dream job, now what? Well this is the point where usually those first day jitters could get the better of you, but fear not, here are some handy tips on keeping your cool on your first day.

Preparation is key – do you research! Look up where you need to be and use a route planner to familiarise yourself with your journey. You can also input an arrival time and the route planner should be able to calculate your journey based on average traffic congestion. Always give yourself an extra 15-20 mins just in case your travel time is increased.

Dress to impress – Ask about what the company dress code is. It may be full business attire or smart casual, either way, knowing in advance will mean you can take time to plan your outfit to ensure you are comfortable and dressed appropriately for your job.

Be prepared – ensure that you have some basic stationery and a notebook with you as there will be a lot to learn and taking notes will make you look enthusiastic and well prepared.

And lastly … smile, be kind and polite to everyone you meet and try not to let your nerves get the better of you.

In some sectors there appears to be quite a few job vacancies currently especially if you are interested in working in the care industry. To give yourself the highest chance of getting a job, here are a few pointers to consider.

Firstly, apply for as many jobs as you can as this will increase your chances of being successful. Even though this will mean spending time searching every few days and filling in application forms or sending off your CV and covering letters to prospective employers it is a worthwhile way to proceed if you are serious about your job search.

As there is fierce competition for some roles, you will need to ensure that your CV and covering letters are top quality so that they can compete against other candidates’ applications. Experience alongside qualifications is the main thing an employer looks for when they make their choice as to who they should invite for an interview so make sure your CV lists all your skills and achievements. If you are not as qualified as others, it does not mean that you will be ruled out if you can demonstrate a willingness to undertake further training and have other attributes that will be valuable to the employer.

The new year is only a few weeks away and it is very common for people to start to make plans for the year ahead and this often includes thinking about their career. If you are already in employment then you may decide that you want to do something else. It may be that you want to do the same or similar job for another company or you may decide that you instead want to change your career totally.

IT is important to plan ahead if you are not able to be out of work as you ideally shouldn’t hand your notice in on your current job until you have another job lined up. The first few weeks after the new year are often quite business for many businesses as they are trying to catch up on work that they may of missed during the festive period. As we approach February and march you will likely see more and more jobs being advertised. As many companies have their financial year start again in April, this is often a time when they look to take on more staff as they have new budgets that they can use and allocate.

That time or year is nearly upon us again and many retailers have already taken on extra staff to copy with the increase demand in the coming weeks. IF you have been on the look out for a new job in the retail industry then you need to act fast to ensure you get a placement. You may be put off by the fact that many of these jobs are advertised as seasonal and are only on a temporary basis, but some in fact do lead to full time positions in the future. It may be that you work so hard and prove yourself that they decide they do not want to let you go at the end of the period of employment. Or perhaps they can’t offer you a job right now but will put your name down for as soon as something comes up. If you take a temporary position that doesn’t mean you cannot continue looking for permanent placements at the same time. If you do find another position hen you will just have to work your notice, which may not be very long at all if you have only recently started working there.

During the thick of the pandemic, most employers were not taking in new recruits other than in specific industries. There was so much uncertainly that they didn’t want to take of new members of staff to find that they didn’t have a enough work for had to close and therefore get rid of them again. Many retailers had to let go of staff or put them on furlough in order to continue.

Over the last few months as many restrictions have been lifted again in England, businesses are again starting to look to grow their companies. This is great news for the jobs sector as more and more positions are becoming available daily.

It may be that you are looking for work after having lost your job during the pandemic. You may decide that you want to go down a different career path to the one that you had before and this may mean that you need to return to education in order to gain a qualification or do additional training. At present there are many opportunities to get help and funding with this if it is something that you would like to do. This is especially true for people who do not already have a degree or NVQ level 3.

For many teachers the amount of paperwork that is required to be completed over the year is huge especially if the teacher has extra curriculum responsibilities such as being a subject leader. Although most of the paperwork is actually completed on the computer it is still time consuming and many teachers feel it distracts from their many role of being educators.

If you enjoy teaching but do not want the burden of carrying out regular assessments and the resulting administration why not try working as a supply teacher. As part of this role, you will be required to assess how the pupils have progressed in the lessons that you cover but this is far less than a contracted teacher would be required to do. Leaving feedback for the normal teacher could be in the form of a handwritten note detailing how the day has gone and whether there were any issues or a more formal assessment sheet which could include individual pupil’s response to the lesson however most teachers will just want to know generally how the lessons went. If there is a teaching assistant in the class who usually works with the class they can be a real help when it comes to checking which children worked well and which children need to revisit the topic again.

During training courses in many different industries, students are offered the opportunity to spend some of their course on work experience. This is when they get to work in the workplace alongside employees and experience for themselves exactly what the job entails and is the best way to really find out if that role is right for them.

Usually work experience is organised by the college or university where the student is based but placements can be found independently by the student if they have contacts within the chosen industry. These placements can last for weeks, months or even a year and may be in the UK or abroad. If the work experience placement is abroad this will involve living abroad too which is a fantastic chance to learn a new language and practise speaking it to native speakers.

When starting a work experience placement, it is important to be open to learning new things and to be willing to work hard alongside colleagues. Students may be allocated a mentor in the company who will spend time with the student discussing progress and any difficulties. They may also need to carry out regular assessments on the student celebrating achievements, giving constructive feedback and suggesting clear targets for improvement. All of these things should make the work experience process both positive and helpful.

Job sharing is becoming more and more popular as people try to get a better work life balance without sacrificing their career prospects. It is certainly worth approaching employers to see whether they are open to such a job arrangement if you are struggling to keep up with working full time but do not want to give up the role completely.

One situation where job sharing is common is in a school environment. One class of pupils is taught by two teachers whose hours of work are either divided equally or split according to the two teachers’ terms of employment. This is done with the agreement of the Head Teacher, school governors and the Local Authority. Often the teachers agree between them which subjects they will be responsible for planning and teaching and how the workload will be divided. This is of great benefit to the pupils in the class as they are getting the expertise of two teachers. It always works well if both parties have similar teaching styles and are willing to spend time discussing future planning and assessments.

Mutual respect and an equal workload are essential for a job share to work successfully and for each party to benefit by the arrangement.

Some people may choose to start up their own business and become self-employed or others may find themselves unemployed because of redundancy and so become self-employed out of necessity but whatever the reason it may actually be one of the best decisions of your life.

The reason for this is that as a self-employed trader you have the potential to vastly increase your earnings in line with how much hard work you put into your business rather than profits going to an employer. You also have the freedom that working for yourself provides, an issue that is especially a concern if you have family commitments as if your business is one that can be carried out during evenings and weekends this may fit in better with family life.

The financial rewards of starting up your own business are often felt after the first couple of years as there are usually setting up costs to deal with but if your business is successful then profits may be seen straightaway. It is a good idea to employ the services of an accountant when it gets to the point of having to submit a tax return as they can advise on the expenses that can be offset against any profit.