London Jobs
Tuesday
Image by indigo_jones via Flickr7.5m people live in London and need public services, that means lots of Public Sector Jobs. Public Sector Jobs in the UK as a proportion of total employment was 20.4 per cent in June 2005. In 2009 that represented 6.09 million jobs. - Office of the National Statistics. So if you are job hunting maybe you are missing out on 1/5 of your job options if you are not looking in the Public Sector In London for jobs.
However many people have been frustrated when they try to fill in the 14 page application form for a Public Sector job in for example: Housing, Fire Service, NHS, or Education. Do you spend hours filling in the form, and then it goes into a black hole and you hear nothing. Have you been totally lost not knowing why you didn't get an interview for that job you so much wanted in the Public Sector. Well I am going to try to open the curtains and let you get an insight into the whole Public Sector recruitment process. If you are applying for jobs in London just think about it there are 34 Local Authorities in London including Greater London Authority. That's 100's of London Jobs.
For most jobs in the Public Sector you apply for, the organization will provide you with a job description and a personal specification. So how do they differ:
The purpose of a job description
The Job description is to set out the main features of the post on offer. It is important to pay close attention to the wording of the job description as it serves several important purposes. The job description:
The Job description is to set out the main features of the post on offer. It is important to pay close attention to the wording of the job description as it serves several important purposes. The job description:
- should attract appropriately qualified applicants to fill a vacancy
- defines where a post sits in the organization's structure
- will form part of the legally binding contract of employment between the employer and the employee
- can be used for appraisal or performance management purposes with individual objectives being based on the duties and responsibilities in the job description.
The Personal Specification
The personal specification is a profile of the skills, knowledge, experience and aptitudes which a candidate should have in order to fill the post. It's written to give you a clear understanding of what sort of person the organization is seeking to appoint. The person specification should list what is required of the applicant under the following headings:
The personal specification is a profile of the skills, knowledge, experience and aptitudes which a candidate should have in order to fill the post. It's written to give you a clear understanding of what sort of person the organization is seeking to appoint. The person specification should list what is required of the applicant under the following headings:
- Experience.
- Knowledge
- Skills
- Qualifications.
It can reduce bias in the recruitment and selection process by ensuring candidates are judged against criteria which are relevant to the job, and all candidates are judged systematically on the same criteria. Especially during a recession when lots of people are applying for each job in London.
Both the short listing and the interview panel (usually the same people) use the personal specification to recruit the person for the job on some occasions the personal specification will also cover competencies like: communications skills, planning skills. Time management, and managing teams.
I will give you tip 2 tips that will save you hours and hours filling out the forms.
1. Firstly write a paragraph on your practical experience and skills for the following as these are some of the key short listing areas that will appear in most officer level jobs within the public sector:
*Communications- written - have you prepared reports for committees or boards,written formal letter in response to complaints.Verbal - presented your report to the committee, arranged staff meetings
*Customer care-how have you applied this in your job roles. who were your customers, give an example of how you went beyond the basics to apply customer care
*EOP and Diversity- what is the meaning of equal opportunities and how have you applied it in you daily work with: elderly, people where English is the second language, those suffering from mental health issues
*Experience- so what experience do you have that is relevant to the job you are applying for. What experience have you had in the public sector or similar roles maybe in the voluntary sector or with a private company. You can highlight experience form any of your previous London jobs.
*IT- what packages have you used and for what purposes: word for business letter and reports, PowerPoint for the presentation you did to those company reps,Excel to manage that project budget
*Organization- what's your thoughts on this one
*Planning- your comments
*Qualifications- So what have you got
*Teamwork- how have you supported your team e.g. during period of absences or training new starters. Have you supported you managers with new projects
*Time management- how have you organized your diary, how do you plan to meet your targets How do you plan and manage your work, time
*Customer care-how have you applied this in your job roles. who were your customers, give an example of how you went beyond the basics to apply customer care
*EOP and Diversity- what is the meaning of equal opportunities and how have you applied it in you daily work with: elderly, people where English is the second language, those suffering from mental health issues
*Experience- so what experience do you have that is relevant to the job you are applying for. What experience have you had in the public sector or similar roles maybe in the voluntary sector or with a private company. You can highlight experience form any of your previous London jobs.
*IT- what packages have you used and for what purposes: word for business letter and reports, PowerPoint for the presentation you did to those company reps,Excel to manage that project budget
*Organization- what's your thoughts on this one
*Planning- your comments
*Qualifications- So what have you got
*Teamwork- how have you supported your team e.g. during period of absences or training new starters. Have you supported you managers with new projects
*Time management- how have you organized your diary, how do you plan to meet your targets How do you plan and manage your work, time
Additional subjects for Manager
- Budgets
- Management experience
- Staff management
- Reports
- Risk management
- Representing the organization
These are all universal subjects which are central too all public sector jobs in London.
2. The second tip is to save your write up in alphabetical order in one document. So when you download the next application you already have 60% of it written up, all you may need to do is to make minor changes to suit each new job. What a great time saver
Guess what - you are ½ way there in getting that Public Sector Job in London.
Read my next update on interviews and interview techniques.
Mike Thomas MBA is a experienced: Senior Manager, Project Manager and Internet marketer. Due to the recession Mike was keen to find out the different types of part time jobs available in the UK market. Above you have a snap short of what is out there for us all in 2010. Mike has recommended a great part time role have a look http://www.secondincometoday.co.uk
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_O._Thomas
http://EzineArticles.com/?London-Jobs-&id=3612092
