Juggling Multiple Job Offers

With many graduates walking out from school every year and entering corporate firms and agencies looking for a job, you are up for a big competition. This is one of the common problems of new graduates. It doesn’t matter if you live in Ghana, Africa or Jakarta, Indonesia or Las Vegas, Nevada. The fact that many graduates are looking for a job is a big challenged.

                  

 Another one, albeit not considered a problem but more an opportunity, is to receive more than one job offers. It can be pretty flattering but a little bit pressuring as well. What do you do? Which one would you take when both offer good benefits for you?

Westhill Consulting and Employment has faced a lot of these questions before from new graduates who are having a hard time choosing among so many job offers. Well, first of all, you have to calm your nerves. Instead of throwing complaints on which one to choose, try to focus and review both sides. You have a choice to make and you'll be able to compare and contrast the jobs to determine which is the best fit.

The following strategies will help you to make the best of this challenging and exciting situation.

1.         Express enthusiasm without saying “yes.”

Any time you receive an attractive offer, express your high level of excitement and appreciation for the offer. Clarify when the employer needs to know your decision. Resist the impulse to accept on the spot if you have other attractive options to consider.

2.         Gather all data.

If you receive multiple offers within the same deadline period for acceptance, your task will simply be to decide which option is preferable. Make sure you have all the information necessary about both options to make a rational choice. If not, reach out to the employer and seek clarification about any lingering uncertainties regarding benefits, advancement, working conditions, job content, supervision or any other questions you may have.

3.         Negotiate the decision time frame.

A more challenging scenario is when you have an offer from one employer, and you believe that another equally or more attractive offer might be forthcoming from another organization. In these cases, if you aren't comfortable accepting the firm offer, you should attempt to bring the time windows for decision-making together. One way to line up the  is to create a reasonable delay with the first employer who has made the offer. For example, you might ask for the opportunity to meet with staff at your level if you weren't able to do so through the screening process.

New front opens in the Northern Territory

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The Amadeus Basin region, which is rich with gas and oil deposits, is already the site of test drilling by Santos at Mount Kitty. Drilling at this site, 179km from Uluru, has been suspended following an accident when the drill rig fell over in April.

“This site isn’t far off the highway to Uluru, making it a completely inappropriate place for drilling,” said Jeremy Buckingham, a NSW Greens MP who has been previously critical of Santos’s activity. “This is a culturally significant, environmentally sensitive area worth billions of dollars in tourism. The idea that this area will have gas fields all around one of the most iconic areas on Earth absolutely horrifies us.”

Santos said that there is no truth that drilling will have any effect on Uluru and dismissed concerns that rise from gas flaring would be visible from the famous rock.

“The current drilling is quite some distance from Uluru and even within 75km you won’t see a flame, which is probably not much bigger than a campfire anyway,” Matt Doman, a Santos spokesman, told Guardian Australia.

Since 1993, Santos has managed 63 gas wells, 30 of them using the fracking technique of extracting gas, at a site about 250km west of Alice Springs.

Fracking, which engaged drilling and pumping of materials underground to release trapped gas, has showed controversial elsewhere in Australia, most notably NSW and Queensland. Opponents claim the practice can contaminate groundwater.

Doman said Santos hoped to expand its presence in the Northern Territory, but in an environmentally responsible way.

Many has released their own opinion, i.e, Westhill Consulting Career and Employment, Australia said this might affect the oil and gas industry in Souteast Asian cities such as Singapore, Jakarta, Indonesia, KL, Malyasia and much more.

“It’s very early days to know what the scale will be, although the initial results have been encouraging,” he said. “We hope the expansion activity comes to fruition in a safe and environmentally sustainable manner.

“We take great care in the way we drill and operate. Our track record is testament to the way we do things. We take the impact we have on the surface and sub-surface very seriously indeed.”

In an environmental assessment prepared for the Mount Kitty drilling, Santos identified a risk of “disturbance to cultural heritage sites”, as well as contamination of soil and water. However, Doman said strict procedures had been put in place to avoid those risks, stressing that not all the exploration area would be developed into gas sites.

But Jimmy Cocking, director at the Northern Territory’s Arid Land Environment Centre, said he was concerned over the scale of operations in central Australia.

“If you look at the Northern Territory as a whole, 90% of it is under exploration licence, at a time when 90% of the territory is dependent upon groundwater,” he told Guardian Australia. “We are on the cusp of what the gas companies think is a bonanza. But we have scarce water supplies and a community that won’t benefit from a fly-in, fly-out workforce coming in.

“One of the biggest tourist draw cards for the territory is the sense of wilderness, away from industrialization. This exploration has negative environmental impacts for short-term economic impacts. Some people will make money and the rest of us will be screwed.”

Southeast Asia Rig Market Challenge

By 25 active operators in Southeast Asia with 46 rigs, the contracting conditions have been challenging due to the collapse in crude oil prices while exploration and production spending have pressured both utilization and day rates in the region

INTRODUCTION

Southeast Asia is rich with hydrocarbon resources. The region is made up of Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Jakarta Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

According to Shell, the Indonesia oil industry and what subsequently became Royal Dutch Shell are closely connected. Shell discovered commercial quantities of crude oil in Sumatra just over 100 years ago. Moreover, Shell was the first to bring a drilling rig to the region and the first to discover oil off of Brunei in 1958.

Today there are about 25 operators active in Southeast Asia with 46 rigs (Jack Ups, Semis and Drillships) currently contracted. Forty one of the contracted rigs are drilling, and five are waiting on location or in shipyards. In addition to the rigs that are contracted in the region, there are eight cold stacked units, nine ready stacked units, and one unit in the shipyard without a contract for a total supply of 64 rigs. Thus, total utilization in the region is 72% and ready utilization is 84%. While indications are that Jack-Up Market fundamentals have begun to stabilize.

Southeast Asia only has eight semisubmersibles actively drilling in its waters (one other is contracted but not currently working). Four are off Malaysia, two are off Vietnam, one is off the Jakarta Peninsula, and another is off Myanmar. However, the drilling Jack Up count is significantly higher at 31 (four others are contracted but not currently working). Malaysia has the highest Jack Up count at twelve, followed by Vietnam with seven, Thailand with five, Indonesia with four, Brunei Darussalam with two, and East Timor with one. There are also two Drill ships working in the region. One is off Malaysia and the other is off Vietnam.

In fact, through 2009, operators have already spent approximately U.S. $2.8 billion on offshore rig contracts (Semis, Drill Ships and Jack ups) compared to U.S. $3.4 billion in all of 2008. Assuming similar spending to levels for the rest of the year, rig spending for all of 2009 will be roughly equal to spending in 2008 in the region but is likely to trend lower through 2011 as rigs re-price at lower day rates. Broken down by rig type, the $2.8 billion spent so far in 2009 is comprised of approximately $1.9 billion for Jack Ups, $785 million for Semis and $119.4 million for Drill ships.

RIG CONSTRUCTION BOOM

Hosting shipyards for established rig builders like Keppel, Jurong (a subsidiary of Sembcorp Marine) and PPL, Asia is a hotbed for new rig construction. A total of 38 rigs -- 17 Semisubmersibles, 18Jack Ups, and 3 Drill ships -- are under construction in Southeast Asia, and 69 more are under construction in the Far East. South Korea is building 38 rigs, Singapore is constructing 34 rigs, China has 31 rigs under construction, and four other newly-built projects are scattered across shipyards in Vietnam, Indone-sia, and Malaysia.

Although the current rig construction cycle has clearly peaked, and the number of rigs under construction is likely to decline over the next several years, the Southeast Asia economy has enjoyed stimulus created by one of the largest rig construction cycles the offshore rig industry has ever seen. The value of the orders for the 38 rigs under con-struction in Southeast Asia today exceeds U.S. $14 billion, a good portion of which will filter into local economies in the form of wages. The chart below shows historical and expected rig deliveries from 2007 – 2012.

RECENTLY AND SOON TO BE DELIVERED RIGS

1-One of the newest Jack Ups in the region is the Petrojack IV, which was delivered in the year (2008). It is the fourth deep-drilling offshore Jack Up rig ordered at Sembcorp Marine’s subsidiary Jurong Shipyard by Larsen Oil & Gas’ subsidiary PetroJack ASA (PetroJack). It was deployed in the Gulf of Thailand in January 2009 for a five-year char-ter with PTTEP, National Petroleum Exploration and Production Company.

Built based on the group’s Pacific Class 375 design, Petrojack IV is designed to drill high-pressure and high-temperature wells of up to 30,000 ft while operating in 375 ft of water. The rig can accommodate 120 men. Petrojack IV is the fourth unit of a series of four Jack-Up Rigs PetroJack ASA originally ordered. The company subsequently sold the first and third units to Maersk Contractors. Its sister rig unit Petrojack II was suc-cessfully delivered to PetroJack in March 2008 and is currently managed by Saipem and operating in Saudi Arabia under a four-year charter with Saudi Aramco.

In addition, there are six new rigs either recently completed or near completion in Southeast Asia.

2-One of these is QueirozGalvaoPerfuracioes’ Gold Star semisubmersible, which cost U.S. $270 million to construct and will work for Petrobras of Brazil. Keppel FELS deliv-ered the rig six days ahead of schedule on October 2009, to QGOG. Gold Star is the world’s first DSSTM 38 deepwater semisubmersible drilling rig. Currently, under con-struction at Keppel FELS, QGOG’s second DSSTM 38 unit, Alpha Star, is scheduled for delivery in mid-2011.

3-“Keppel Shipyard” has also constructed Petro Vietnam Drilling’s PV Drilling III jack up, which cost U.S. $220 million to build. The Keppel FELS KFELS B Class Independent Leg Cantilever Jack Up had been under construction since March 5, 2008, and was ready for service at September, 2009. The rig was rated for 400 ft of water and is capa-ble of drilling down to 30,000 ft. The PV Drilling III has already contracted to Viet-SovPetro (Vietnamese Russian Joint Venture Co) off Vietnam. The five -year charter started November, 2009.

4- At a cost of U.S. $ 220 million, Egyptian Drilling Company’s unnamed jack up is un-der construction at PPL Shipyard in Singapore. The jack up is a Baker Marine Services BMC Pacific Class 375 Independent Leg Cantilever. It will be capable of working in up to 375 ft of water and drilling down to 30,000 ft. PPL Shipyard started construction on the Jack Up on Sept. 5, 2007, and delivered the rig at December, 2009.

5-“PPL Shipyard” has also constructed for Vantage Drilling company a Topaz Driller jack up. The $198 million jack up was delivered October 31, 2009 and was ready stacked. The Baker Marine Services BMC Marine Pacific Class 375 Independent Leg Cantilever can work in 375 ft of water and drill down to 30,000 ft. Vantage Drilling Com-pany announced that its Topaz Driller has a drilling program in Southeast Asia consist-ing of three wells plus an option well. The anticipated duration of the first three wells is seven months. The contract is to commence in March 2010 following the mobilization to Vietnam from Singapore. Estimated revenues to be generated over the initial term of the contract are approximately $26.2 million.

6- “Drydocks World Graha yard” ( Indonesia ) has delivered the $160 million Naga 2 jack up to UMW holdings and Standard Drilling ( joint venture ) on May, 2009. The Naga 2 is capable of working in up to 350 ft of water and drilling down to 30,000 ft. The jack up had been under construction since March 2006 and has been contracted with Malay-sia in last September 2009.

7-Saipem took delivery of its latest newbuild, the Perro Negro 8 jack up, on 31 October 2009. The $154 million jack up is capable of working in up to 350 ft of water and drilling down to 30,000 ft. “Drydocks World Graha” started constructing the rig in October 2006.

SOUTHEAST ASIA CONTRACTING ACTIVITY

-Over the course of 2009, 47 different rigs have worked off Southeast Asia. This number was down from compared 2008, when the total reached about 60. Looking ahead, the number of rigs contracted in 2010 decreases from a high of 39 in January to a low of 24 in December, assuming no extensions or additional contracts are signed. However, Southeast Asia has a high number of jack ups working in the region, which are typically not contracted far in advance.

-Also due off contract soon is “Maersk Drilling company’s” Maersk Completer jack up. The jack up has been working for Shell at Iron Duke off Brunei Darussalam since Nov. 16, 2008, at $190,000/day. The contract terminated on 7 November 2009. However, Shell had another contract for the Maersk Completer starting Nov. 8, 2009, through Nov. 7, 2011, at an undisclosed day rate.

-Transocean’s Actinia semisubmersible also started a contract earlier November,2009. The rig started drilling off Myanmar for CNOOC on November 2,2009. The $206,000/day contract is valid through Dec. 1, 2009, when PTTEP will drill off Myanmar at the same dayrate through April 1, 2010. However, PTTEP has an option to extend the contract through May 2010 at the same dayrate.

- The SongaMercur semisubmersible (owned by Songa Offshore Drilling Ltd.) has signed a contract with Oilex for drilling in the Joint Petroleum Development Area (JPDA) between Timor Leste and Australia. The contract covers a drilling of 2 wells plus 1 op-tional well in the JPDA, with a mobilization and de-mobilization element included into the agreement. Total estimated contract duration for drilling operations is 50 days plus an additional 25 days if the optional well is exercised. The day rate for the two contracts is U.S.$ 280,000 / day .The rig started on 26 November 2009 and contract terminated on 14 January 2010.

-The last rig to come on contract off Southeast Asia the last year was “Atwood Ocean-ics” Vicksburg jack up. The rig worked for NuCoastal of Thailand starting December 2 through the 1st of March 2010, at $90,000/day.

WEST AQUARIUS

The rig commanding the highest dayrate is Seadrill’s West Aquarius. ExxonMobil is drill-ing with the semisubmersible off the Philippines at $529,500/day. The contract com-menced in February 2009 and will terminate on Feb. 28, 2013.

Seadrill took delivery of its newbuild on18 January 2009, just one month before the West Aquarius started its contract with ExxonMobil. The West Aquarius is a sixth gen-eration, high specification, deepwater semisubmersible drilling unit. The rig has a high load carrying capacity, an efficient drilling floor layout with improved safety and working environment measures. West Aquarius can run parallel drilling operations and is de-signed with a dynamic positioning system and a water depth capacity up to 3,000m.

Westhill Consulting Career & Employment Australia hopes you enjoy the above article.

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Misconceptions about Teaching Abroad

by Diane Jacoutot of Teachanywhere.com

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Fallacy #1: I will be teaching English as a foreign language

Not necessarily. Whilst there are a number of English Language schools that exist solely to teach English language to non-native English speakers, there is a very large and important category of schools that teach a full curriculum of all subjects. These schools, known as international schools, use various curricula such as the US, UK, Canadian, Australian and International Baccalaureate and teach all subjects in English. Whilst some of the pupils may not be native English speakers, they are still expected to learn all or most subjects such as Maths, Science, Geography, Art and Physical Education, in English. In fact, a TEFL (teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate is not required to work in International schools. They require approximately the same qualifications you would need to teach at home in a state-funded school.

Fallacy #2: I can teach anywhere I want

Teachers wishing to work overseas must meet regulations on two very different levels - teacher certification and immigration. Many teachers think that because they are qualified to teach at home, they can teach abroad and this is not always true. Each country has rules and requirements for the required training and experience and they might not match with your home country. For instance, teachers in South Africa without a 3 or 4 year teaching diploma will likely not be able to teach in the UAE. British Special Needs teachers without a university degree or certificate in Special Needs cannot teach Special Needs students in the Middle East or Asia. In Thailand and China, teachers must have 2 years of experience to teach at all at international schools. And teachers without a teacher training degree such as a Bachelors of Education, Masters of Education, Higher Diploma in Education or Post Graduate Certificate in Education, can usually only work in English Language (TEFL) schools, not in International Schools.

Now for immigration. As with certification, each country has its own set of rules about immigration and because you can travel to a country on a holiday does not mean you are allowed to work there. Some countries in the Middle East, for instance, will not issue a work visa to anyone over the age of 60. Most countries in the European Union can only hire teachers with a European Union passport, excluding most teachers from the US, Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. American curriculum schools are the only exception to this rule – most of these schools are able to sponsor work permits though they usually take quite a long time. Many other countries require police and medical checks and will not issue visas to people with a criminal record, disabilities or HIV. Further, if you are travelling with a family, countries differ on the work and immigration rights of a trailing spouse and most countries require that you are married in order to receive these rights at all. Therefore, if you are not married, your partner must have his or her own work authorisation through his or her own job.

Fallacy #3: Everyone I work with will have the children’s best interest at heart 

Most international schools are privately owned, and whilst obviously schools are successful if children and their parents are happy, there are often competing forces within an international school that don’t exist in state-funded schools at home. As mainly for-profit enterprises, international schools must strike a balance between spending money to attract teachers, parents and produce good educational results against the income the school generates in school fees. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as well run international schools can adapt the efficiency of the business world with the joy of providing a service to children and parents, but some teachers might feel uncomfortable with the concept of a profit-making educational enterprise. And there is a huge spectrum of schools – some are more ‘businesslike’ than others. International schools are as different as the children you teach – each one has a personality. Make sure your personalities are compatible!

Fallacy #4: I will save loads of money because the salary is tax-free

Firstly, tax-free salaries are only tax-free in the country in which you earn the money. Depending on the tax rules of your country of origin, you might still owe taxes on foreign-earned income back home. Some countries such as the US and UK might require that you are out of the country for more than 183 days in a tax year for a salary to be untaxed back home, whereas other countries have different requirements. Know the rules before you go so you don’t have any nasty surprises when you return. Further, teachers cannot expect to make their current pre-tax salary everywhere in the world. Salaries will usually reflect the cost of living, and many schools take into account the added benefits of no tax payments and free housing so the basic salary will often appear lower than you might expect. This is why we encourage teachers to ‘do their sums’ with their current and overseas salary to find out what will be their final take home pay after all taxes, housing costs and transportation are taken into account. A basic salary of £30,000 in one’s home country where one pays tax and housing costs often results in far less money at the end of the month than with a tax free salary of £12000 where housing and transport is provided.

Fallacy #5: I can take it with me

Living and working abroad means relocating those who depend on you – your partner, your dependants and your pets. It is important that you understand whether you can bring them with you and the implications. Because a teacher’s family will require a larger apartment, school fees (schooling is not always provided free to children of teachers – go back to Fallacy #3 for more insight on this) and more on-costs which are not usually feasible on a teacher’s salary, most schools will often not consider a teacher with more than 1 child per teacher unless the teacher’s partner has found his/her own job with relocation benefits. And they usually don’t believe you when you tell them “he/she will find work once we get there”.

Pets are another complication that can cause major problems abroad. Most countries require ‘pet visas’ which mean you must have a full immunisation and health record for your pet and some pets such as snakes or birds might be banned altogether. Culturally, we do not recommend that teachers wishing to move to South East Asia or the Middle East bring pets because, at best, they are not welcomed or catered for, and at worst, teachers might be unable to find accommodation which allows them. Therefore, teachers with pets need to declare this to their recruitment consultant or school so that you can find out if the culture or accommodation is appropriate.

Finally, before you go abroad familiarise yourself with the rules of the country you are entering. Some countries prohibit the import of certain medicines, literature or other media so don’t get caught out.

Fallacy #6: If I am teaching in a British or American school, all the children will be British or American

The idea of international education appeals to many parents, not just expatriate ones. You will find in almost any international school that there is a broad range of nationalities. Some schools even serve a very local population of parents who want their children to have an education in English with an eye towards attending a western University or working in a multinational corporation. Most international schools, in fact, serve host nationals rather than expatriates so make sure you know the particulars of the school you are considering and what suits you.

Fallacy #7: I am really ready for this!

Have you really thought this all out? Are you sure that you are flexible and adaptable enough to be able to relocate your life, your belongings, be separated from your family and friends all whilst starting a new job in a culture that you don’t yet understand? Do you need to rent out your house, put your possessions in storage and do you have enough money saved up to live until the first paycheque? Teaching abroad is not for everyone as it requires an enormous amount of adaptability, acceptance, preparation, optimism and most of all, resiliency. It is not for those who are insecure in themselves or their teaching, who give up easily or who expect it to be ‘the same as it was at home but with better scenery’. It is especially not for those looking for an easy life, as teachers working in private international schools need to know that parental and school expectations are high. Most international school positions require a 2 or 3 year commitment, so teachers must be quite sure they are ready.

Yet despite all of the challenges and misconceptions, there are thousands of teachers happily living their dream of teaching abroad in exotic locations such as the Seychelles, Dubai, China, Spain and Peru. Teaching is one of the few professions where you can literally work your way around the world whilst developing professionally. Teaching abroad offers the opportunity for teachers to learn, grow and refresh themselves in their profession whilst teaching motivated children in exciting locations. The journey abroad must start somewhere, and reputable agencies such as Teachanywhere.com, offer their services and advice free of charge to teachers, providing a great place to begin.

However, saying all this, there are plenty of opportunities teaching under the radar for cash remuneration. Go to tourists’ areas of cities such as Changmai, Bangkok in Thailand, KL in Malaysia, and Jakarta in Indonesia. If it is too good to be true, it is usually a scam. Take this warning seriously.

7 Tips to Revamp Your Job Search for 2014

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Experts foresee the job market being more competitive than ever in 2014. With 10.9 million Americans unemployed, it is important to take a fresh look at your job search strategy. Now is the perfect time to develop an effective plan for success.

How can you set yourself apart from the competition and position yourself for finding the best next step in your career?

Here are seven tips to help you refresh and refocus your job search in 2014:

1. Don't be a copycat candidate. Job searches are a very personal experience and one-size-fits-all strategies will not help you stand out among the competition. Even though a certain interview tactic or style was successful for one candidate doesn't mean it is the best strategy for you. Take into consideration your personal experiences, preferences and career goals and use them to position yourself as a unique candidate.

2. Learn to look at job titles differently. Be open-minded about your preconceived notions of job titles. Roles in compliance, human resource, or administration, for example, are often perceived as being boring, career-limiting or otherwise undesirable. Such preconceptions, however, about the scope, strategic importance and long-term potential of these positions are not always true in today’s market. In many cases I’ve seen, these jobs offer exceptional opportunity for influential and attractive long-term careers.

3. First impressions are everywhere. With 92% of employers using social media in the hiring process, the content of your social profile forms an employer’s first impression before you even sit down with for an interview.

You should take special consideration to job-proof your social media profiles. For example, use a picture that represents you as a professional. Don’t rely on privacy settings to keep your personal information safe. Your best bet is to assume everything will be seen by a potential employer, so clean up your content and edit your pictures accordingly. Ask yourself the age old question, "What would my grandmother think of this?"

4. Be prepared to land the job. Here’s one job seeker mistake that’s definitely worth kicking to the curb this year — the idea of an interview being just informational. You should go into every interview prepared to land the job, not just learn more about the organization. You only get one shot at your first interview, and this mistake will get you caught looking unprepared and unprofessional. Instead, always come ready for a formal interview; you will never regret being prepared.

5. Be strategic with social media. Social media is a vast resource for job seekers. The amount of content and connections thrown at you every day can become overwhelming and a time-suck if you’re not careful.

Be strategic with how you use social media to seek out job opportunities. First, know where recruiters and hiring managers for your desired industry spend most of their time. For example, in you’re looking for a job in finance, LinkedIn might be a more valuable social media site to keep updated as opposed to, say, Twitter. If you are looking to land a job at a media company, on the other hand, Twitter is a great resource. Be sure to also connect with the profiles or pages of companies you want to work for to stay up to date on job openings and announcements.

6. Network with your peers. You should aim to network with your peers, in addition to your more senior team members. Find ways to be the person that comes to mind when recruiters ask them who they’d recommend for the job. Your peers can also offer off-the-cuff, honest appraisals about your performance and work reputation when referring you for a job. These connections have the power either to open or close doors and your relationships with them will have a direct impact on which way the opportunity swings.

7. Be realistic. Be honest about what you can realistically offer to a new employer. It's tempting to apply for a more challenging and prestigious role, but make sure you have both the skills and the commitment to be successful. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes shooting for the stars really does pay off! However, this becomes a risky strategy when you promise more than you can reasonably deliver.

Take a candid look at your current lifestyle and think about how it would be impacted by the position you’re considering. Just because the perfect opportunity has come along doesn’t mean it is the perfect time to accept. Holding back from applying for this job right now will prevent you from burning bridges for a role that may be a better fit later in your career.

Looking for a job can often be challenging and frustrating. Taking into account these seven tips can best position you for success in a competitive job market. Good luck and here's to a successful 2014!

Top 10 Job Search Tips

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Is your job search off to a slow start or getting stuck? Here are some quick time-saving job search tips that will help your hunt for a new job go smoothly.

Be Prepared. Have a voice mail system in place and sign-up for a professional sounding email address. Consider getting a separate email account to use for your job search, so you can stay organized. Put your cell phone number on your resume so you can follow up in a timely manner. This job search toolkit will help you get everything you need set for your job search. Westhill Consulting & Employment Australia has some good tips for finding work in countries such as KL Malaysia, Jakarta Indonesia, Beijing China, Bangkok Thailand and many more.

Be More Than Prepared. Always have an up-to-dateresume ready to send - even if you are not currently looking for work. You never know when an opportunity that is too good to pass up might come along. If you're not on LinkedIn yet, create a LinkedIn and start making connections who can help you job search.

Don't Wait. If you are laid-off, file for unemployment benefits right away. You will most likely be able to file online or by phone. Waiting could delay your benefits check.

Get Help. Utilize free or inexpensive services that provide career counseling and job search assistance such as college career offices, state Department of Labor offices or your local public library. Many libraries provide workshops, programs, classes, computers and printers you can use, and other resources to help you with your job search. Here's more on getting job search help at the library.

Create Your Own Templates. Have copies of your resume and cover letter ready to edit. That way you can change the content to match the requirements of the job you're applying for, but, the contact information and your opening and closing paragraphs won't need to be changed. Microsoft Word users can download free templates for resumes, cover letters and email messages which can be personalized for your own correspondence.

Review Samples. It's always a good idea to look at sample letters and resumes to get ideas for your own job search materials. Take a look at our collection of resume, cv, and letter samples.

Use Job Search Engines. Search the job search engines. Use the job search engine sites to search the major job boards, company sites, associations, and other sites with job postings for you - fast. You will be able to search all the jobs posted online in one step.

Jobs by Email. Let the jobs come to you. Use job alerts to sign up and receive job listings by email. All the major job sites have search agents and some websites and apps specialize in sending announcements.

Time Savers. Strapped for time? Consider getting professional help writing or editing your resume.

References Ready. Have a list of three references including name, job title, company, phone number and email address ready to give to interviewers. Print a copy of your reference list and bring it with you to interviews. Here's how to create a list of references.

Use Your Network. Be cognizant of the fact that many, if not most, job openings aren't advertised. Tell everyone you know that you are looking for work. Ask if they can help.

Get Social. Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter can be a good way to get job listings before they are listed elsewhere. Plus, you can promote your candidacy using the social media tools that are readily available for free for job seekers and companies are increasingly using social media for recruiting. Here's how to get started with social networking.

This tip isn't a time saver, but, it will broaden your online job search resources.

Don't Stop. Don't limit your job searching to the top sites like Monster or CareerBuilder. Check the smaller niche sites that focus on a particular geographic location or career field and you will find plenty of job listings. Networking works, too. Tap into your network of contacts to see who might be able to help you with job leads or a referral.

Westhill Consulting & Employment How to Give Yourself the Best Possible Chance of Landing A Job?

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past 3 years, you’ll know that job hunting is tough. In fact, in general the world of employment is rocky and is something that has affected people massively over the past couple of years. With people being made redundant, companies cutting back on new intake and less opportunities being made available, people are stuck.  This has resulted in massive numbers of people applying for vacancies when they do become available – which means that the recruitment process is tougher than ever! Does this mean you need to be stuck in a job you hate or living a life on benefits? Not at all. It means you need to be inventive, organized and well informed on the ways of recruitment, to give yourself the best possible chance of being given any job that you apply for.

Keep At It 

It can be disheartening when you’re looking for a job and nothing seems to come up of. The first thing to remember is that climbing a career ladder is tough and you’ll be up against some stiff competition. Companies can only see a limited number of people during their recruitment process so are often very picky when it comes to who gets to the interview stage. You need to bear this in mind and don’t give up when it seems like you’re just not getting anywhere at all.

Instead make sure that you look in different places for job adverts and keep applying for any that peak your interest. Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket and apply for one job at a time – get your application out there to as many companies as possible in order to give yourself the best possible chance of being successful.

Think Outside The Box

Sometimes you need to take the initiative and contact a company, even if they aren’t advertising jobs. It’s not recommended that you simply spam every company in your local area with letters, but if there is a company that you would love to work for – why not let them know? Companies generally like people that are passionate about a brand or product, so if they can see this passion in you then you never know they might give you a chance.

Sometimes the initial offer will be a work experience opportunity, but you should grab this with both hands if you can because you never know what this will lead to.

Brush Up Your CV

Before you start applying for jobs you need to make sure that your CV is on-point. Don’t just assume that because it was good enough a few years ago that it is good enough now, because trends change. It is a good idea to contact a local recruitment agency and ask them what they look for in a decent CV. You’ll also find loads of information on this online. It might not be necessary to start your CV from scratch, but you’ll probably need to make a few tweaks to the layout to make it perfect.

It goes without saying that your CV should have no spelling errors and be grammatically correct. Generally speaking your CV should be 2 pages long, with your work history and experience at the top of this. Remember that recruiters usually have lots of CV’s to read through; you don’t want to give them any excuse not to read yours.

Think about the layout of it – you want it to look crisp and easy to read. They will usually skim read a bunch of CV’s to see how they match and then spend longer reading the ones that they liked and thought suitable. A messy layout could mean that they dismiss you and your CV at the first stage and of course this is something that you want to avoid.

Interview Techniques

If you get through to the interview stage then firstly give yourself a massive pat on the back. We have seen how tough the world of recruitment is, so to get to this stage should be seen as a massive positive.

There are loads of places you can get interview hints and tips, so there is no need to go into one unprepared. One of the best pieces of advice that can be given to you about interviews is to make sure that you are organized and prepared. Don’t assume you can just read up on the company the night before – this will just leave you feeling stressed and anxious, which is not the best approach for a job interview.

Read up about the company before you go and write down a couple of questions that you would like to ask them. This could be to do with the company, its growth, its plans or even specific to the job role you are applying for. It is important that you show an interest, so asking questions is essential.

You also need to think about what they are likely to ask you – prepare answers for questions about your strengths, weaknesses and experience. You’ll usually be allowed to take interview notes in with you so have buzz words written down to remind you of your answers. Interviewers will generally allow for nerves but you still need to come across as confident as you can.

Remember, as well as assessing your suitability for the job role they’re also looking at how you are going to fit in with a team. They want someone that is out-going, friendly and confident so that they don’t have to worry about how you are going to fit in with the people you are working with. Even if you’re shaking on the inside, try and project positivity and confidence as much as possible.

Sealing The Deal

End the interview on a high note so that you feel positive. Ask them when you’re likely to hear from them and encourage them to contact you should they have any more questions that they want to ask you.

Remember, just because you have had a good interview that doesn’t mean you should give up looking. If you miss a couple of day’s job hunting, you could miss out on your dream job. Instead, keep at it and carry on applying for jobs until you land your dream job role!