July 2008 - Project Job Search

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Project Job Search - July 2008

Parents returning to work

July 29th 2008 11:35

Women, especially find it difficult juggling between family and career. After having a child they often do take an extended leave to take care of the new born, and find themselves at cross roads when it comes to returning to the work force.

Last weekend's The Australian has a great article on companies that are adopting new approaches to help women returning to work, providing childcare facilities even children's play areas inside the offices themselves. This has attracted more women to return to the work force and giving more flexibility to parents who both work with options to spend more time with their children.

As for trying to find that job to start with, Sara Dobson has written on her blog some excellent advise for those looking to return to work after a long period of unemployment. You can read her post here -> Parents Precinct: Returning to the work force

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The hospitality industry: a wider perspective

July 23rd 2008 10:56

I remember in high school the subject 'Hospitality' had just been introduced to replace what was once called 'Home Science'. Although, what it involved were really along the lines of being able to cook, provide silver table service and manage the sales in a restaurant environment, giving the impression that a career in hospitality means a life long commitment to dealing with restaurants, cafes and food.

Not really. Just like IT, Hospitality is a vast industry that involves many many more operations than one think. The industry is made up of three sectors: Accommodation; Cafes and Restaurants; and Licensed Premises.

The basic employees of hospitality are involved in waiting on restaurant clients, serving alcohol at the bar, cleaning tables after an event, a doorman at a hotel, a room attendent at a hotel to the reception of a hotel or a restaurant establishment. The work is always client facing and always on two feet. Its an industry where desk jobs are no where to be found.

The hospitality industry probably has one of the most strict rules and regulations. Ask a restaurant or a hotel manager how many times the health department came by, or an audit had been performed on their premies. One small little fault can cause them the entire business. The staff are mostly casual and paid hourly and is known to have a high turn over rate.

So who can work in the industry? The nature of the job in the hospitality industry requires strong people skills, assertive personalities, ability to prioritise tasks, keep calm and graceful under stress and pressure, and willing to be flexible on the working hours and conditions. Many of the jobs are seasonal, dependent on the demand of clients on whether or not you may or may not work the extra hours. So someone who has flexibility with their hours have an advantage over others in this industry.

Although many of the jobs do not require formal qualification, it is essential that some previous knowledge, experience and certification are obtained to increase your chances in getting a job. For example, it is essential to have the Responsible Service of Alcohol certification before you can work in a licenced bar. It is recommended to do a course in silver service before applying for a job as a waiter in a five star dining establishment. Courses in hotel and restaurant management can help you get ahead of the game and go up the ladder in the industry, and of course, becoming an apprentice is necessary if you want to be the next head Chef.

Jobs are aplenty in the hospitality industry. All you have to do, is check on your favourite job seeking websites!

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Working in IT: A rough guide

July 20th 2008 07:54

I remember when I just finished high school, there was a shortage of IT professionals. It was the time when technology was booming and advancing too fast for the workforce that they were 'importing' staff from all over the world to make it all happen.

So, universities went crazy recruiting new IT students offering all sorts of courses from a simple Computing Sciences course to things like Software Engineering, Technology Development, Technology Management and Computer Networking to attract students to an industry known for its career ladder and high pay.

Unfortunately, by the time all these students graduated, the IT industry was overloaded with IT professionals and many had to take jobs in other industries instead. It was a result of bad planning really: too many people wanted the opportunities, but not specialising themselves enough to be 'wanted'.

The problem with the IT industry is: it's too broad. IT is a very very general term in technology. Many people think it's just working with computers: programming, building hardware, managing databases and networking. You tell someone you work in IT they will probably say "Oh good! There is something wrong with my computer. Can you fix it?"

What those who are not in the industry don't understand is: IT doesn't have to be technical. And it is in fact, those non-technical jobs in IT that is surviving locally in a world where outsourcing is growing to be a trend.

Besides technical jobs, to work in the IT industry can also involve people with experiences in: HR, Payroll, Project Management, Asset Management, Office Admin, Event Management, finances and banking and even the odd real estate professionals can score a job in IT. Companies such as IBM has internal departments with professionals from all the other areas, to manage their finances, legal issues and even their real estates of their worldwide offices. Microsoft and Google has similar structures too. And in a way, all these people, no matter which department, all work in IT.

However in the recent years, many IT jobs are outsourced, and it is in fact many of the more 'traditional' IT jobs such as programming and database management that are going. Any job that doesn't require the staff to have to physically be in one location with others are in danger of being outsourced, and call centres are one very fine example. All they need is a centralised phone number.

So if you are considering a job in IT, consider your desired areas of expretise. What IT needs these days are high level engineers that understand the local infrastructure well and business analysis that understand the operations of IT to be able to align both sides of the organisation to work together better. The second is really important, as traditional business professionals that don't come from an IT background cannot work with IT professionals that doesn't understand the business. This is often where companies who wish to embrace the latest technology offerings fail - they fail to see how the technology should be aligned to the business and end up spending too much money trying to fix the post integration problems.

IT is still booming, but in different ways than it was before. It helps to analyse the market before making a decision to switch.

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Being a travel agent

July 11th 2008 11:19

I got this in the email and I thought was worthwhile forwarding on. In no way does it represent my feelings towards working in the travel industry, however the industry can be very difficult when airlines keep changing prices all the time and having to deal with unhappy customers as well as arrogant airlines at the same time.

Anyways, enjoy. Don't take it too seriously

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Working in Retail

July 8th 2008 11:00

I am going to start a little series of 'Working in...' in the next few posts, starting with Working in Retail. The aim is to share what it's like workng in different environments (having worked in many of them myself) to remind you grass is not always greener on the other side!

THE HOURS
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Having a break? Why not get a temporary job?

July 1st 2008 13:43

I know that it's university holidays at the moment. Yes I do keep track of academic dates! If you have nothing to do and have no travel plans for the holidays, why not consider getting a temporary job?

I know that holidays are meant for resting. I hear you all protesting against the notion of getting a job. However, consider this: would you rather go back to uni next semester too relaxed to study and take three weeks just to get over the holiday blues, or would you rather turn up at your classes ready to tackle the next set of challenges

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August 2008

3 Posts

July 2008