Staff — with clear potential to succeed in more senior posts — who need to improve their interview and presentation skills to gain promotion.

This service is best suited to staff living or working in the Midlands. If staff prefer, it may be possible to supply this coaching at their place of work or other convenient venue; otherwise, the coaching will be provided in Leicester.

This coaching service helps staff understand the recruitment process and how to present themselves well as candidates for promotion.

Typically, staff require coaching on one or more of the following topics:

• Analysing the employer’s requirements of the post and producing the evidence (on Application Forms, etc.) to show that the candidate can meet these needs.
• Effective self-presentation during interviews (videoed interview practice for a real job, with immediate feedback on performance).
• Delivering effective presentations (eg. during assessment centres).

The type of support required by the individual employee determines the number and timing of the coaching sessions provided – however, many staff achieve the progress they need after only one meeting.

Leicester, unless otherwise discussed.

Email:
Tel: (01455) 284 020

Any graduates or university student (aged 17 and over), living anywhere in the UK, who is extremely undecided about their career direction.

This graduate career advice programme also suits any college and university student trying to decide whether to change course or drop out of study altogether; and any Open University student seeking advice on career direction to decide on the best course modules to take for their degrees.

This programme of graduate career advice is designed mainly for those planning a graduate career in the UK. We are also able to provide career direction advice and guidance for any graduate planning an international career.

You work one to one during a half-day meeting with your career management consultant, discussing your career options, circumstances and thoughts on career direction in an unhurried but focused way. You complete a series of psychometric testing questionnaires (assessing your personality, ability, potential and interests) to help you plan your future career direction.

Your career management consultant analyses and interprets all this information in a full, written "user friendly" report answering the individual career direction issues you raised with her.

Please note, we never use standardised computer reports to interpret psychological test results and provide graduate career advice. Many specialists in the assessment field believe — as we do — that computer-generated reports produce superficial and distorted impressions of the graduate seeking advice and career direction.

The written graduate career advice will provide:

• An extremely detailed picture of yourself and of the work-related strengths and personal potential affecting your career direction.
• Guidance towards the graduate / management jobs, roles and work environments most likely to suit you.
• An assessment of the career direction options open to you (including study) and advice on those which offer the best "fit" with your individual strengths, ambitions and circumstances.
• Job hunting advice sheets to help you begin a graduate career in the occupation(s) recommended.

The free Helpline service (delivered by email and telephone) provides unlimited support for any graduate client seeking additional advice, information or career direction.

Further support (eg. interview coaching and CV writing services) is available to clients seeking their first graduate jobs as an addition to this career advice programme . This "top-up" to the graduate career advice / direction planning programme may be of particular interest to mature students and Open University students.

Leicester (70 mins by rail from London and close to motorways)

£395 (in 2 instalments)

Email:
Tel: (01455) 284 020

Adults wanting in-depth career counselling before changing career path in mid life.

People gaining special benefit from this intensive career change advice programme:

• The mature student unsure which career option to follow after graduating and worried about ageism.
• The job seeker retiring in middle age from the Police or Armed Services who now wants a civilian career that's at least as rewarding.
• The job seeker whose changing circumstances, ambitions or personal values demand a change in career.

We offer unhurried, focused one-to-one counselling to help you identify your personal career and life goals, decide the best career option and plan a good future in the workplace.

Your time with us is split almost equally between discussion-based career counselling (talking through your career-related hopes and fears, your personal situation , what you want from your working life, etc.) and completion of the psychometric tests used to illuminate and cross-check your guidance.

All personality, ability and interests test data is interpreted by a skilled career development consultant with at least 25 years experience of psychometric test interpretation. Many psychologists feel this personalised approach provides a more accurate and rounded picture of the individual receiving career counselling than the computer-generated assessments do.

Because we don't use computer-generated interpretations, we're able to avoid potentially significant career guidance errors.

For example, the victim of bullying at work may feel too shaky to talk about their experience during the career counselling. A computer-generated assessment might conclude this person has an "aggressive" and "aloof" personality, prompting the career advice that the client should avoid all jobs working with people.

The experienced human interpreter will see the subtle patterns indicating the possibly situational, defensive quality of this assertiveness. We'd be asking what's causing this stress and how can it be reduced (possible career development options being to change to a less confrontational role, leave that employer, etc.).

We research (with employers, professional institutions and / or recruitment consultancies working in the relevant professional sector) the practicality for you as an individual of any career option before we suggest it.

This research often identifies how you can move on or change career without getting new qualifications (if it doesn't, we then research ways of reducing your training costs through study exemptions).

Your detailed carer planning report is individually written, covering the topics of special concern to you (eg would self-employment suit you? How much of a career change do you want? How can you counter ageism?).

Your career counselling report will provide:

• An extremely detailed picture of yourself and of your career-related strengths and weaknesses.
• Guidance on the roles and work environments that best suit you.
• An assessment of the career change options open to you and advice on those which offer the best "fit" with your individual strengths and weaknesses, ambitions and personal circumstances.

We support you with advice, encouragement and jobhunting information sheets while you change career through the free career counselling Helpline.

Leicester (70 mins by rail from London and close to motorways)

£395 (in 2 instalments)

Email:
Tel: (01455) 284 020

This less intensive career change advice programme is designed for people who know what they enjoy doing (eg managing people) but don't like — or can't continue with — their current jobs.

People gaining special benefit from this career change advice programme:

• The volunteer who enjoys their unpaid work so much more than the salaried job they'd like to explore the option of changing career.
• The mature student who feels able to work at a more demanding level than the job they're currently doing.
• The job seeker who wants to use their skillset in civilian employment now they've reached the age of retirement in the Police or Armed Services.

You work one to one during the discussion based half-day career change advice session with your advisor. This counselling meeting helps you think through and reflect on your career and life goals, then map out how to achieve the working future you want with the least delay, family inconvenience and re-training costs.

The process is often one of transforming hazy career dreams, conflicting ambitions and uncertainties about the way forward into a clear, workable plan — a plan that takes into account work-life balance issues as well as career development. Sometimes there are specific worries which need to be overcome before career change can happen (eg. fear of employers' ageism or unwillingness to offer "family friendly" hours to mature professional / managerial recruits).

By middle age, many adults have built up an impressive array of different qualifications, work / voluntary experience and life skills — yet almost everyone assumes they'll have to go back to college or university before they can start a new career. Your counselling meeting will often include advice on using your existing portfolio of skills and qualification to change to a more enjoyable career without any re-training or significant loss of seniority.

Even if some re-training is needed, our advice on claiming study exemptions often substantially reduces the time and cost of gaining your new qualifications.

We can often identify "bridging posts" to help you avoid a dip in income as you transfer from your present job to the new career path.

Some clients wish to use the career change advice session to help them plan for a more rewarding way of life as well as a career change. Perhaps loss of hearing or impaired mobility means clients have to adapt how they do their jobs to such an extent they question whether changing career would be an easier option, for example. Similarly, if they work in an industry where ageism is rife, clients may want a safe environment and an objective advisor to help them decide whether to continue battling against illegal age discrimination or to change career path sufficiently to avoid the hassle.

Leicester (70 mins by rail from London and close to motorways)

£200

Email:
Tel: (01455) 284 020

The UK based job seeker applying for professional, managerial and graduate-level employment.

People gaining special benefit from this programme:

• The job seeker who's tried to use recruitment agencies with little success (they suspect ageism but can't prove it).
• The job seeker hunting for a job in sectors offering few vacancies or at middle and senior management level.
• The job seeker at a disadvantage in job hunting because of uncompetitive qualifications, an unconventional career history, recruiters' age discrimination, etc.
• The job seeker from a Police or Armed Services background wanting to begin a very different second career.

This one-to-one programme will give you more control over the job hunting process and better results. It will also help you feel more positive and less stressed.

The programme starts by reviewing with your advisor the job hunting techniques you use now and learning how to get better results from them.

Although we generally advise against relying on recruitment consultancies for your next job, you'll be helped to find the recruitment consultancies working in your professional sector and recruiting for staff at your level. These organisations are more likely to offer "career move" posts than the "high street" agencies the job seeker typically uses.

You'll learn how to find all the most important professional and business journals advertising jobs in your employment sector. Advice on web-based job hunting can be given if needed.

Surveys asking the UK job seeker how they found employment show more than 70% got their jobs entirely or partly through networking. People over 30 are even more likely than their younger colleagues to have found their next job through networking (partly because ageism is such a common problem). Accordingly, most of our time together will be spent teaching you easy, psychologically comfortable ways of using this highly effective job hunting technique.

You'll create your own database of networking contacts able and willing to help you with your job search. You'll have the opportunity during the session to "role play" networking with contacts to find out information about employers and job opportunities, making you feel more confident about using this job hunting technique in real life.

Leicester (70 mins by rail from London and close to motorways)

£200

Email:
Tel: (01455) 284 020

The UK based job seeker applying for professional, managerial and graduate-level employment.

People gaining special benefit from our professional CV writing services:

• The job seeker with no recent experience of job hunting at professional level.
• The job seeker wanting to achieve a big change in career direction (eg after graduating as a mature student).

The best way of getting onto the job interview short list is to design your CV and covering letter to impress employers recruiting for the posts you want. What your target employers look for really matters because your CV has to prove you're so close to their ideal candidate they must see you! Expect lots of rejections if you send out a universal CV and covering letter.

Accordingly, the experienced recruiter writing your professional CV (and teaching you how to write a good covering letter) will start the session by exploring with you the type / level of job you want and your target employers' picture of the individual they hope to recruit.

The discussion with the recruiter writing your professional CV will often sharpen your ideas about the career move you wish to make, so job hunting is easier to plan. As the UK job seeker often applies for jobs below their capabilities in the mistaken belief this improves their chances of being selected, our help with your job applications could boost both your ambitions and employment package!

Your advisor will tease out the particular skills, experience and achievements you can offer in your next career move. She'll help you identify and explain in your CV and covering letters the "value to the employer" benefits you bring.

She'll advise you which CV format to use to "sell" you to your target employers. If you're in the later stages of your career or have had a "portfolio" career, her advice about choosing the right CV format can make the difference between getting a job interview or not.

She'll warn you against adding unhelpful details in your CV and covering letter that will make employers "bin" your application.

If your intended career move involves a big promotion or a different type of work, the advisor writing your professional CV will "translate" your earlier achievements and experience into language that explains what you can offer in the new job.

Your advisor will write your individually designed CV for your target job market and present it for your approval.

Occasionally a complicated CV may need "tweaking" until both the recruiter writing the professional CV and the client are completely satisfied. Such rewriting is free of charge.

Guidance on how to write a covering letter will be included on request as part of the CV writing services programme — please ask the advisor producing your professional CV. Please also ask for the advice sheet on how to write a covering letter.

Leicester (70 mins by rail from London and close to motorways)

£200

Email:
Tel: (01455) 284 020

The UK based job seeker applying for professional, managerial and graduate-level employment who wants one to one help in upgrading their interview performance.

People gaining special benefit from the interview coaching programme:

• The job seeker with no recent experience of job hunting at professional level (eg. people who've worked for the same employer for years).
• The job seeker from a Police or Armed Services background who needs to explain the civilian employment value of skills learnt in the earlier career.
• The job seeker whose self-confidence needs boosting as they fear rejection on the grounds of disability, age discrimination, previous employment history, etc.

The "learning material" used in the interview coaching is based on a "live" job application. This approach means you enjoy the benefits of practising for your next interview as the same time as you receive whatever job interview tips and advice you need to boost your self-presentation skills.

You work one-to-one during the half-day session with your tutor, an experienced recruiter and coach.

Your tutor will teach you to "think like the employer" when preparing for each job interview (a tip which helps you select the right evidence to show you're the best applicant for their vacancy). You'll learn how to analyse job advertisements, job descriptions and person specifications to discover what questions you're likely to be asked at interview. Being able to anticipate the questions means you go into the interview ready to answer confidently and persuasively.

You'll be given tips to calm job interview nerves. You'll practise appearing relaxed, friendly and confident and keeping the right amount of eye contact with your interviewer. You'll get advice on dealing pleasantly but effectively with any ageism that you encounter.

The interview practice will teach you how to analyse the recruiter's questions in split seconds, making it easier for you to give intelligent, focused answers.

You'll have the chance to try out different ways of answering difficult questions, getting the recruiter's point of view how well each approach works.

You'll be taught how to use the facts and figures of your earlier achievements to impress your potential employer.

When your career move involves a more senior role or a different type of employment , you'll be shown how to "translate" the skills you've acquired to explain what you can offer in the new job.

Leicester (70 mins by rail from London and close to motorways)

£200

Email:
Tel: (01455) 284 020

Professional, managerial and graduate-level job seekers (employed and unemployed) wanting to receive interview tips, personal advice, support and companionship during their job hunting as participants in Job Hunting Help Groups.

People gaining special benefit from membership of these groups:

• The employed job seeker wanting to move on in their career and to learn about / share ideas on job hunting, professional CV writing and performing well at interview in the company of people of similar seniority to their own.
• The job seeker who'd like the support of colleagues during their job hunting while feeling that voluntary sector and government "job clubs" are not for them.
• The job seeker wanting to continue using their well-developed "people skills" and receive personalised help while job hunting.

Joining a Job Hunting Help Group can improve the effectiveness of your job hunting, keep you focused and provide emotional support during what is sometimes a very lonely and stressful experience.

Your colleagues in the Job Hunting Help Group may become lifelong members of your networking community, helping you achieve subsequent career moves and solve any workplace problems.

Each group consists of 8-10 members working together to improve everyone's employment prospects through sharing job leads and swapping skills, knowledge, contacts and resources.

Your tutor's role may be limited to bringing together individuals with common job hunting interests and facilitating their first half-day meeting (if so, the registration fee will be the only charge made for this service).

Alternatively, your group may want their tutor to attend every meeting, providing help with job application, advice on dealing with instances of ageism and unfair discrimination and giving interview coaching.

Tutor-led groups meet 1:00pm-5:00pm on any mutually conveninet day of the week, Monday to Saturday. Many groups will want to meet every 4 weeks or so but each Job Hunting Help Group decides for itself the timing, frequency and locations of its meetings.

Some individuals may find jobs very quickly (often because of a tip given by their Job Hunting Help Group). Members are asked to continue helping and supporting each other (by email, phone, etc.) until everyone in their Job Hunting Help Group has found the job they want.

Leicester (70 mins by rail from London and close to motorways)

£50 for each tutor-led session

Email:
Tel: (01455) 284 020

Adults, living anywhere in the UK, facing major career management or workplace problems.

This service is for people whose work related stress may be caused by one or more of the following:

• Being in the wrong job or wrong work environment.
• Mismatches of management style, personality clashes, etc.
• Work performance problems (perceived or real).
• Problems with the organisational structure (eg. being held accountable, although you've no authority to influence results or behaviour).

The process begins with an unhurried but focused discussion of the workplace problem or work life balance concerns with your career management consultant, resulting in a far better understanding of the key issues, practical constraints and range of possible solutions.

Improvements in the situation may be achieved through:

• Evaluating the potential for changing the job, structure or work environment to remove the problem.
• Planning how to "negotiate" the introduction of these changes with management, colleagues, etc.
• Coaching to enhance personal effectiveness (where the performance problems are real) or to alter management's perception of the individual (where it's an "image" problem).
• Designing a personal training plan and "recruiting" the individual's manager — where possible — to support it.
• Helping the individual to move out of the problem situation, either by assisting them to make a sideways move (or promotion) or by equipping them for a new post with a new employer.
• Coaching the individual in techniques to lessen their anxiety, boosting the energy they have available to solve the problems causing stress at work.

Leicester (70 mins by rail from London and close to motorways)

£200 (depending on requirements)

Email:
Tel: (01455) 284 020