Tag: advice

With the built environment incorporating so many disciplines, skilled technical professionals are always in demand. While that makes for a fast-paced, competitive job market, it means that when the time comes to move on there is an abundance of richly diverse, rewarding and high earning opportunities ready to pursue.

But how do you know when it’s time to start job-hunting?

If you resonate with any of the points below, it’s time to revise your CV.

01 | You are no longer fulfilled

With the average person spending one third of their life at work, job satisfaction is no longer a benefit, it’s a necessity. Finding a job that fills your cup more than drains it is imperative for a healthy work-life balance.

If you lack passion, are burnt out, feel overcome with anxiety at the prospect of going to work, or have noticed yourself adopting negative thought patterns in both your professional and personal life, start looking for something new.

02 | Your values don’t align with the company’s

As businesses evolve, so do cultures. Feeling as though you no longer fit in can be an isolating experience, particularly if you have worked for a company for a long time and enjoy your job.

Look for opportunities in environments where you are more likely to thrive, for example companies which prioritise environmental sustainability if you are passionate about climate change, or can offer face-to-face working if you prefer social interaction.

03 | There is limited scope for career progression

The most successful businesses are those that recognise, value and retain talent. Ask yourself: does the company I’m working for support my professional development? Do I have regular one-to-one reviews with my line manager? Am I offered opportunities for promotion?

Demonstrating loyalty to a company carries benefits, but staying in the same position for an extended period can suggest to prospective employers that you lack ambition. If you have been in your current role for more than three years and you’ve answered no to any of the questions above, it is time to take your talent elsewhere.

04 | You are under unreasonable pressure

Stress is affecting an increasingly high proportion of UK construction workers. If you’re finding that your boundaries are being overstepped regularly or that work is taking a toll on your well-being, you need to re-evaluate.

First, make sure to prioritise healthy eating, exercise and sleep so that you are in the best frame of mind to approach the job market. Then, begin to actively search for an employer that prioritises its people and promotes a healthy work-life balance.

05 | The company isn’t operating safely or effectively

In the built environment, health and safety should be a number one priority. Colleagues taking shortcuts and leaders turning a blind eye to potentially serious hazards are indicative of a poor safety culture. Remember that your health is worth more than any job.

Watch out for signs that the company is allowing standards to slip. This could include not investing in proper equipment, not paying staff or subcontractors on time or a sharp rise in staff turnover.

Take the next step in your career with Advance TRS

At Advance TRS, we know that no two people or companies are the same. We pride ourselves on securing meaningful placements using a tailored approach to perfectly match talent with major organisations. If you’re ready to discover new opportunities within the built environment, contact us today.

While all interviews and interviewers are different, there are some common interview questions that are asked to find out more about the candidate and how they deal with certain situations. We’ve compiled a list of some of those questions and guidance on how to confidently answer them.

Tell me about yourself

Some interviewers will start the conversation by giving a little insight into the business and will then most likely ask you to tell them a little bit about yourself.

Give them a quick summary of who you are and what you have been doing and some insight on any experience you’ve had which is relevant to the job. It’s a great point in the interview to mention your top achievements and to say why you think you’d be perfect for the role.

The interviewer won’t want to hear your life story or about your family history here. Make sure to talk about experience relevant to the position instead. 

Why are you looking to leave your current role

Make sure you are honest about why you’re looking for work, but try not to talk too negatively about your current employer. Try focusing on something like you are looking for new challenges, possibly even highlighting aspects of the job you are interviewing for which aren’t available with your current employer.

Tell me about a tricky situation you have dealt with and how you solved it

When being asked this kind of question, the interviewers want to find out more about your negotiating skills or potential clashes with colleagues. The best way to approach these type of interview questions is to explain the situation, how you resolved it and what the outcome was.

Try to steer clear of describing a situation where you caused conflict as this might give them the wrong impression.

What are your weaknesses

Being asked this question can be quite daunting, but don’t let it scare you. We previously dedicated a blog to this question that you may find useful.

Talk about something you know isn’t your strongest point but which you are working on. Picking something that you can get training on and willing to develop will be the kind of answer the interviewer is looking for.

What are your career goals?

When answering these interview questions, it’s important to differentiate between your long-term and short-term career goals. Your long-term goals may be wider, overarching achievements that you would like to accomplish in the future. Whereas your short-term goals should be smaller, actionable objectives that may improve relevant skills or performance.

The salary question

Don’t undersell yourself here or say to the interviewer that you’re happy to take whatever they think will be best.

A lot of job adverts will include a salary band and if this isn’t the case, you can take a look at similar roles and get a good idea of an appropriate salary from those. There may also be some room for negotiation between you and the employer, so bare this in mind.

You can then justify what you are asking for by mentioning relevant knowledge and experience you will bring to the team.

Do you have any questions

Avoid asking about working hours and holidays here but instead, ask something about the business. Something you might have read about and you’d like to find out more. Maybe there is a new product or service they are launching which you can ask about. This shows the interviewer that you have done your research on the company. 

You could also ask what goals and objectives the company has over the next, 3, 5, 10 years etc. This will indicate your interest in their mission and longer-term commitment to the business.

Are you looking to take the next step in your career? 

Advance TRS is growing quickly and we are always looking for ambitious, driven people to join the team. Find out more about our current opportunities or for a detailed and confidential conversation, contact our Talent Acquisition Manager Jess.

Your CV is the first thing your potential new employer will see of you and therefore it needs to make a really good impression. Time to update your CV! We previously shared CV writing tips and you can also download our free CV template. 

In this post, we want to take a closer look at the finer details, rather than the layout and what to include.

Filling in the gaps

You could take this quite literally and check whether there might be any gaps in your employment dates that have been going unaccounted for. Update your CV by filling these in and giving reasons for why they are there. 

Other gaps to look out for might be knowledge gaps – anything you could do with having more of a competitive edge on. Maybe there are aspects of your skillset you have been a little hazy on for a while. Now is the time to upskill!

Your LinkedIn profile can act as your CV

Update your CV on LinkedIn. Most recruiters nowadays use LinkedIn when posting jobs and looking for candidates. Therefore, it’s good practice to pay as much attention to your profile on the platform as you do to your actual CV.

Make sure that the information you include on your profile matches up.

References

It might be a good time now to contact people and ask them for character references, ready for when you need them next. 

And taking another look at LinkedIn – there is the option to ask anyone you have worked with; whether it might be colleagues, managers, clients, the list goes on; for recommendations which are then shown at the bottom of your profile. This is another great way of giving recruiters looking at your page an idea of the kind of person you are. 

Less is more

Lastly, try to keep your CV to 2 pages where possible. You could achieve this by giving a little less detail on jobs that are further in the past or might not be relevant to the role you’re applying for.