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Unemployment fell slightly last month, by 3,000. The previous month’s figures had shown that that the rate of unemployment was slowing down, so the latest statistics seem to confirm that we are at a turning point. Things seem to be improving, though this is of little comfort if you are looking for a job; the competition is still immense and I have to say there are some funny attitudes out there. (more…)

Over the past year economists and politicians have been divided as to the eventual timing and pace at which we will recover from recession. Some have feted 2010 as a year of rapid growth leading to a return to normality in 2011, others have been far more cautious. However, as we near the end of the second months in 2010 it appears that caution ought to be the watchword; there is little chance of a speedy economic recovery. And this has profound implications for those of us who would like to change jobs, or career. (more…)

The 1980s play Six Degrees Of Separation is undergoing a revival at the Old Vic in London. In the play a New York couple believe that they are going to be given parts in a film directed by the actor Sidney Poitier. Their paths and his have crossed, or so they believe, through an unlikely series of connections. (more…)

Race equality campaigners are pressing the government to make “anonymous” CVs compulsory in job applications. This follows research conducted by the Department of Work and Pensions, which found that that job applicants whose names suggested British ancestry had a far higher chance of being invited to interview than those than those whose names sounded ‘foreign’. (more…)

Redundancy is an opportunity to take a step back, review your career and put in place any changes that you feel necessary or important. But for most people there is an urgency to finding a new job. Spending time in a period of reflection is a luxury that cannot be considered. (more…)

Financial pundits seem to be confident that, despite last week’s scare, the problems in the Dubai economy will not seriously undermine global money markets. The same however may not hold true for jobs. (more…)

One of the many problems created by the recession is that of older people who thought that they were safe in their jobs until retirement, until they are unexpectedly hit by redundancy. I seem to have conversations on a daily basis with people in their fifties and sixties who have convinced themselves that they will never work again, because they are too old to get a job. And if that is what they think, chances are that is what will happen. (more…)

The online networking site LinkedIn now has over 50 million users worldwide. It is growing at 1 million new members every 12 days. This phenomenal rate of growth is almost certainly a consequence of the recession. (more…)

It is generally not a good idea to start a new marriage or relationship by frequently referring back to what you did in the last one. But this unfortunately is what many people do when applying for new jobs- they find it difficult to move on from the one they have just left behind. (more…)

A fifty seven year old man came to see me. He had come to this country as a young man, a refugee from war in his homeland. His immediate need when arriving in the UK was to earn money to send home and he got himself the first job that he could, a fairly menial job which paid relatively well given what he was used to, but which did not stretch or challenge him in any way. (more…)