When contemplating a career move, aspiring to a more senior position represents not only an opportunity for professional growth but also a substantive increase in responsibility and accountability. The decision to pursue a higher-level role requires careful evaluation of your capabilities and career objectives.

Evaluating your capability for advancement

A higher-level position typically entails expanded responsibilities, which may include overseeing teams, managing complex projects and making critical business decisions. Before pursuing such a role, reflect on your comfort with accountability, decision-making and leadership. Consider whether your experience has sufficiently prepared you to guide others effectively or whether further skill development, mentorship or exposure to complex initiatives would strengthen your readiness.

To assess suitability, review your current contributions and achievements. Identify experiences that demonstrate leadership, cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder management. For example:

• Leading projects that span multiple teams or departments
• Mentoring or developing junior colleagues
• Successfully navigating organizational change or complexity

Understanding the scope of responsibility

Prior to committing to a new role, ensure clarity on the scope and expectations. Senior roles often involve:

• Managing larger or more diverse teams
• Handling complex, multi-stakeholder projects
• Navigating higher levels of accountability to the business or board

Engage hiring managers in a dialogue to understand success metrics, performance evaluation cadence and leadership expectations. Some questions might include:

• How is success defined in the first six to twelve months?
• How is performance measured, and how frequently is it reviewed?
• What leadership style does my manager employ?

Evaluating the total impact, beyond compensation

While remuneration is an important consideration, it should not be the sole driver of a career move. According to Tiger Recruitment’s recent salary and benefits survey, 15% of US professionals left roles due to burnout, nearly equaling the 12% who departed for higher compensation.

Senior positions frequently come with elevated expectations, longer hours, and increased pressure. A higher salary may be insufficient compensation if it conflicts with your values, work-life balance, or engagement with meaningful work.

Strategic decision-making

Ultimately, deciding to pursue a senior role should balance capability, opportunity and fit. Consider:

• Are you equipped to manage increased responsibility effectively?
• Could additional experience or mentoring enhance your readiness?
• Does the organization recognize your potential and support your development?
• Does the role align with your long-term career trajectory?

A deliberate and strategic approach to career advancement increases the likelihood of a successful and fulfilling transition, ensuring that your progression enhances both professional impact and personal satisfaction.

The post Assessing your readiness for a senior role appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

For years, jobseekers have been advised that sending a post-interview thank-you note is essential, a sign of professionalism that can tip the scales in their favor. But in today’s hiring market, that advice isn’t one-size-fits-all. Depending on your level of seniority, the role you’re applying for, and even the company, a thank-you note might not always be appropriate.

So, before you hit “send”, it’s worth pausing to consider whether you should follow up with your potential new employer post-interview.

When a Thank-You Note Adds Value

If you’re interviewing for a business support role, such as a PA, or a client-facing role, a brief, thoughtful thank-you note can solidify professionalism and good communication. These are skills important to the role that you’re interviewing for, which help to further solidify your fit. It shows that you value the interviewer’s time, and it can leave a positive impression.

As Rebecca Siciliano, Tiger Recruitment’s Managing Director, says, “It’s definitely a good thing to do. I’d recommend it 100% of the time if you’ve applied directly to a role and have the contact details of the scheduler. It’s an opportunity to reiterate any responses you feel you could have addressed better in the interview, and it shows genuine interest.”

You could use the thank-you note to briefly highlight why the position excites you, or to reflect on a topic discussed that aligns with your experience. These small touches often complement other strong interview techniques that demonstrate professionalism and enthusiasm. This can be particularly effective in competitive hiring processes, where small details can distinguish one strong candidate from another. A thank-you email sent within 24 hours keeps you fresh in the interviewer’s memory and shows that you are proactive, engaged and genuinely interested in the role.

When It Might Not Be Necessary

If you’re interviewing for a role at a senior or executive level, a thank-you note is unlikely to influence the hiring decision. At this level, interviews are focused on strategic alignment, leadership capability, and long-term value, rather than etiquette or follow-up gestures.

It may also be inappropriate to reach out directly. For example, if your interview process is being managed entirely through a recruiter, it’s best to let them handle any communication. Contacting the hiring manager directly can appear as though you’re bypassing established channels or disregarding the process. Similarly, avoid the temptation to reach out on LinkedIn.

As Angela Lopes, Director and Head of the City Office, says, “I don’t think candidates should reach out to hiring managers unless they have shared their contact details and invited them to do so. Otherwise, it can create an awkward situation if the positive feedback isn’t mutual.”

Additionally, if you’re not working with a recruiter and the company has made it clear that the next steps will be taken through HR or your recruitment consultant, it’s advisable to hold off on sending a message directly without speaking to your direct contact first.

Ask Your Recruiter First

Every company and hiring process has different expectations. That’s why your recruiter is your best guide. They work very closely with the hiring manager and understand their preferences. They can advise whether a thank-you note is appropriate, when to send it and what tone to take.

In some cases, your recruiter may even offer to pass along your appreciation directly, which can be a more suitable approach for some employers or senior-level positions.

Summary

Ultimately, there’s no universal rule. A thank-you note should never feel like a box-ticking exercise, but rather a genuine continuation of professional conversation.

If it adds value, it’s worth considering. But if it risks coming across as forced, it may be better to hold back. When in doubt, ask your recruiter; they’ll know the best approach for each situation.

The post Should You Send a Post-Interview Thank-You Note? appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

In today’s fast-moving job market, more professionals, at all levels of seniority, are turning to temporary work.

As Ruth Edwards, Head of Tiger Recruitment’s US operations, reports, “Fractional work is unlocking meaningful opportunities across all professional levels, including the C-suite.”

There are many reasons why a professional may choose to do temp work. Some may have been made redundant, others may fit temp work around another commitment, such as a creative pursuit or parenthood, or to gain the relevant experience. Temporary work can range in length – some temp placements can be for a day; others can be for several months.

Could temping be for you? With plenty of benefits, it could just be the perfect career path.

It presents a challenge

Temporary assignments can be extremely challenging as you will need to pick up processes, procedures and policies very quickly. You will likely be required to cover a workload for a member of staff who is out of the office, so there’s a chance there won’t even be a handover. For this reason, you’ll need to be able to pick up tasks with little to no direction, using your common sense and initiative to figure tasks out.

Experience

Working as a temp will allow you to develop your skillset and gain fantastic experience, which you can then add to your resume. A broad resume that displays several skills is very appealing to employers and may well get you the job over another applicant.

Remember to update your resume regularly while temping, noting key achievements within a role. Think about what will appeal to those reviewing your resume, and try to sell yourself.

Temporary work works extremely well for those straight out of education, as it allows you to ‘try before you buy’, while building up essential experience that will bode well when you eventually decide to pursue permanent work.

Flexible working

The flexibility of temp work is what makes it appealing to so many people.  If you communicate your availability to your consultant, the temporary working world is your oyster.

As temporary working assignments can vary in length, you can choose exactly how long you’d like to work for, making your work life work for you.

Confidence boost

Starting a new job can be daunting, whether it is temporary or permanent. Taking those first steps into work is nerve-wracking. However, taking on temporary work placements means you’ll be required to do this regularly, which will increase your confidence immensely. You will build your people’s skills each time you step foot in a new office and find new ways to strike up a conversation or get to know your colleagues. Building your confidence will also help you when it comes to interviewing elsewhere for new roles.

Networking opportunities

Often, when job seekers first move to an area, they can walk straight into a great temporary job and gain experience and income quickly. Moving to a new area can be difficult, and the idea of leaving friends and family behind is a scary thought. By working as a temp, you will be meeting new people regularly. You will be constantly building new relationships and making great friends!

Paid holiday

Did you know that temporary workers also have the right to claim holiday pay? When temping through Tiger, you remain on our payroll, so your holiday pay accrues across all placements. You can usually get this paid out should you not want to use it. If you have any questions about holiday pay as a temp, feel free to get in touch with the temp team.

Opportunity

Temporary work could be that all-important foot in the door with employers. They could ask you to come back each time to cover an absence. Not only this, but temporary work could lead to a permanent position within the company. Your employer may see great potential in you and will not want to let you go. We see a high instance of candidates starting in a temporary role and going permanent. Think of every temp job as an interview and initial introduction to a company.
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If you’re looking for temp work, submit your resume today.

The post The Benefits of Temp Work appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

The introduction of AI to our lives has disrupted the way we all work, whether that’s positive or negative depends on who you ask, but when it comes to job applications, we advise steering away from the temptation of using it.

As AI becomes more accessible, professionals are resorting to using it in many areas of their jobs. AI tools like ChatGPT have over 5.19 billion visits a month, whilst sitting at number 5 of the most visited sites in April 2025.

Although there is an argument that AI streamlines the work we are doing day-to-day, it should be avoided in your job search. David Morel, Tiger’s CEO reports that he’s seen “a significant increase in employers pushing back on applicants who submit resume’s generated by AI”. Simply speaking, by using AI in your job search, you’re putting yourself at a huge disadvantage behind those who don’t.

We see this all the time with candidates at all levels of seniority, and they wonder how something so useful can place you at a disadvantage. There are several reasons why this is the case.

1. AI doesn’t know you

It’s important to keep in mind that AI doesn’t know you. It doesn’t understand your work experience, motivations for applying for a role, and what makes you tick. You can feed the tool your resume and give it the information about a role you’re applying for. But we all know a resume merely touches the surface of the achievements you’ve had over your working life.

When it comes to placing someone in a new role, companies, of course, look for experience and knowledge, but they also place importance on value alignment.  An AI-generated resume isn’t something that can demonstrate your personality and how you’d fit within a team. Hiring managers want to understand who you are, not just what you’ve done.

2. AI doesn’t replace human touch

We’ve all seen those LinkedIn posts outlining how to spot AI-generated content, with a particular spotlight on the “em dash”, but what many people don’t realize is that there is so much more that gives away that a resume has been created using AI. It loses a human touch and authenticity; it’s almost crafted too perfectly and robotically. That doesn’t mean to say you should generate an AI resume and add a few mistakes to make it seem like you’ve created it. It’s more about losing the robotic tone.

3. Don’t even think about using it for interviews

The issue with using AI for interviews is that you’re going to end up with answers the same as any other candidate in the process, which isn’t going to do much for you when you’re trying to stand out. Moreover, when you’re asked skill-based interview questions, which are incredibly common in an interview, AI doesn’t understand your experience or know every example of where you have shown a certain skill. Only you can give a genuine answer about your experience.

Thinking of using AI to feed your answers during a live interview? Don’t do it. Interviewers can tell, and it instantly raises red flags. Your preparation ahead of the interview should give you enough confidence to go into the room and show the value you’d bring to a team. However, if you’re presented with a question that you’re unsure of how to answer, you can always ask for it to be rephrased in another way or explain that it’s a knowledge gap, but you’re eager to learn more.

Employers don’t want perfection when it comes to interviews, which is what AI has led us to believe. But the truth is, not many of us can keep that level of perfection up. Hiring managers want to see someone who’s passionate and eager to learn. Giving robotic answers that are fed to you during an interview isn’t going to match that brief.

4. What can AI help me with?

If you’re looking to use AI, you can explore software that offers speech feedback, which will analyze your tone and speaking voice to make sure what you’re saying is coming across as you planned. However, no analytical tool can prepare you for the natural pivots that happen in an interview, so it’s important to be mindful that this will only help you to a certain extent.

Taking all these points into consideration, it’s important to remember the value you can bring to a role and understand this isn’t something that can be described for you. If you’re struggling to convey this yourself, reach out to a recruitment agency that can support you and help you put your best foot forward.

AI can be a valuable tool at times, but your personality, potential and passion are what truly set you apart in job applications.

Explore our latest roles or submit your resume today.

The post Why AI Won’t Get You Job Interviews appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Whether you want to expand your responsibilities within your office assistant job, or you’re looking to progress into an executive assistant job in NYC, a promotion isn’t something that is just given out. It’s a case of preparation, planning and timing.

As New York is a city full of opportunities for great assistants, we’ve put together an infographic that explains how you can show your boss that you’re ready and able to take the next step!

Tiger Recruitment can help you land your dream personal assistant job in Manhattan, Brooklyn, or the greater NYC area. Have a look at our live job listings to start your search today!

The post Here’s how to secure your personal assistant promotion appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Five key PA duties explained

If you’re considering a move into a personal assistant job, you’ve come to the right place. Tiger has specialized in securing jobseekers their dream PA role for over two decades, so our understanding of the position is second to none.

PA roles and responsibilities have been highly valued across a number of industries for decades. The future of the PA role may always be evolving along with the many changes in technology and work culture but, at its core, the position remains the same: ensuring the Principal you’re assisting has everything they need to perform at their best. So, how does a personal assistant go about achieving that?

The gatekeeper

The amount of incoming calls and emails they receive will depend on the seniority of your Principal but, regardless, answering these will play a significant role in your PA duties. You will be tasked with filtering out unnecessary distractions and prioritizing inquiries for your Principal to respond to. So, you’ll need excellent verbal and written communication, as well as relationship-management skills when in regular contact with clients and other business partners.

The diary manager

Senior-level staff can jump from meeting to meeting, office to office throughout the day, so naturally it can be difficult for them to remember their schedule. They’ll rely on you as a PA to manage their diary: booking meetings, phone calls, lunches and more, but also ensuring that they have enough downtime to travel or attend to personal tasks.

The travel booker

Management and executive-level staff will often be required to travel nationally or internationally for meetings and conferences. As their PA, it will be your responsibility to arrange everything surrounding these trips including visas, taxis, flights, hotels, meeting rooms and restaurants. Writing a well-planned travel itinerary, as well as the ability to respond quickly and effectively to cancellations, schedule changes and other issues, will make you an invaluable assistant.

The expense manager

Hand-in-hand with arranging travel and accommodation is dealing with expenses. You’ll be entrusted to ensure all bills are correct and paid for on time, and keep an up to date log of these and all other business expenses related to your executive. It’s thus crucial that you have a good head for numbers.

The MS Office wizard

Your manager/executive will regularly be moving between meetings covering different subjects. They may even be giving presentations. A personal assistant will help ease the transition by preparing notes, reports, PowerPoints and other documents for their Principal ahead of time. The best PAs are skilled with a variety of software useful to this task, such as Microsoft Office suite. If you lack confidence in these programs, there are many online courses you can take to get up to speed.

There are many more ad-hoc tasks you’ll be required to undertake as a PA and, alongside mastering these daily PA roles and responsibilities, the most important challenge of a personal assistant job is to learn the preferred working style, rhythms, and quirks of your manager. If you can click with them and march to the same beat, you’ll be able to anticipate potential problems and distractions ahead and clear them from the path, keeping everything running smoothly.

If you’re ready to take the next step and apply for PA roles, submit your details today. And be sure to read our tips for PA interviews to prepare yourself!

If you’re looking to hire a personal assistant yourself, we can also help! Get in touch with your requirements today.

The post What does a Personal Assistant do? appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Having an EA job is no walk in the park! As a first step, you must be extremely efficient and be thinking ten steps ahead of your boss. Acting as a second brain for your principals, much of the time you’ll adapt your working style to match theirs. Some may wish you to organize aspects of their personal life, asking you to complete such tasks as paying bills and organizing family vacations, while others may only require professional support.

Be communicative

Communication is absolutely crucial as an EA, but your boss may only like a certain form of communication – email, text, phone call or face-to-face. No matter their preference, ensure that you’re relaying all information back to them. Some bosses like their EAs to attend all meetings with them. If this is the case, it’s crucial to make thorough notes to discuss post-meeting. You’ll then be able to pull them apart and prioritize action points. If it’s a virtual meeting, the advantage is that you’ll be able to record it to refer back to afterwards.

If you do not go to meetings with your boss, suggest sitting down together afterwards to discuss everything that had been touched on. This way, you’ll be constantly in the loop with a good understanding of the situation.

Be resilient

A resilient EA will quickly become an invaluable support to your team. Most of us, at one time or another in our careers, will occasionally be presented with the challenge of dealing with tricky situations and people. These might be clients, managers, time-sensitive projects or make-or-break presentations. EAs, however, see all these regularly – up front and center!

Not taking things personally is a given trait of a great EA, quite simply because they’re so frequently in high-pressure situations and more often than not (rightly or wrongly), on the receiving end of a frustrated individual or team.

Be efficient

It goes without saying that a great EA must be organized! Implement organizational structures into your work and stick to them. By keeping your work life neat and tidy, it will keep your mind clear and ready for all situations. You do not want to get to the point in your day where you urgently need to find documentation and you are struggling to find it in your messy inbox!

Try to organize all of your emails into set folders. Break them down by sender or task and store all correspondence in each folder. Alternatively, there are apps to help automate inbox and diary management, ensuring that all emails are on hand when you need them.

It’s also essential to keep a to-do list. Every time you have a new task come up, think about its priority within your workload, then place it accordingly in your list. This reduces your chances of forgetting something and will help with your time management.

Take on your most difficult and time-consuming tasks at the beginning of the day to minimize stress levels and maximize your standard of work.

Remember, your boss’s efficiency should also be considered. Before asking your boss questions, think about whether you could find the answers another way. By raising unnecessary queries that you could figure out for yourself, you are essentially wasting both yours and your boss’s time. Take a second to think before you speak!

Be proactive

If nothing else, an EA must be proactive. It’s vital that you can stay ahead of your boss, regardless of the situation. On a Monday, review the meetings your boss has this week, ensuring that all requirements, such as notes and rooms, are considered ahead of time. Your first thought should always be ‘what is my boss going to need?’.

There may be a time when they are out of the office or away on vacation, leaving you to manage their affairs. As the first point of contact for clients and contacts, you’ll need to maintain high levels of professionalism to ensure that you are acting exactly as they would do in each situation.

Keep a positive attitude

When recruiting for an executive assistant, we always look for calm and collected individuals who work well under pressure. Not only can the EA role be incredibly stressful at times, but a busy team will look to their EA as a constant. So, a successful EA must be able to approach every situation with a smile, working logically through each problem to find a solution. By keeping calm and staying upbeat, you will be able to complete tasks to a higher standard.

An EA is often required to represent their boss and company either on the telephone, via email or face to face. Therefore, you need to be comfortable engaging in small talk and networking. Whatever the situation, always be polite and courteous! Your boss will expect you to stay positive and have that can-do attitude at all times, as this will also play a huge part in staff morale.

Be self-motivated

When working as an executive assistant, you cannot expect praise every time you complete a task on your to-do list. Self-motivation is key to being able to get on with your workload, so set yourself goals within your working day. Aim to complete a certain number of tasks on your to-do list before you get your next cup of coffee. Working hard may look like it is going unrecognized when your boss is extremely busy, but it is always noticed.

Be discrete

Discretion is one of the all-time top behaviours our clients look for in potential candidates, particularly private PAs. You’ll be exposed to a myriad of personal and professional confidences as an EA, and this unique characteristic will see the best candidates go far in their careers. A gossip might find their credibility is tarnished early on, while those who understand confidentiality will shortly prove themselves to be indispensable.

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The rewards are significant for those EAs who earn their stripes. You’ll strengthen relationships with business leaders, teams and peers whilst simultaneously earning great credibility in professional circles. Our most valued EA candidates, in addition to the financial rewards, will experience great adventures, meet incredible people and even travel the world. While it might take time and experience to reach those milestones, a successful EA will get there.

Looking for an EA job? Tiger Recruitment can help. Submit your details or see our available jobs now.

Looking to hire an EA? Read our guide to hiring an EA, and get in touch with your requirements.

The post The seven traits of a successful executive assistant appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Automation continues to pervade our everyday lives, with Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri and a multitude of chatbots now commonplace. As this technology continues to rise in popularity, it’s being adopted in the professional space, with everyone from factory workers to CEOs recognizing its potential.

As a PA, you may be having visions of those chirpy AI assistants taking over your role, but fear not – there are plenty of benefits of automation for personal assistants! Here are five ways to take advantage of the technology and start automating processes at work.

1. Inbox management

There are plenty of tools for PAs out there that can filter through inboxes, categorizing emails into different folders and marking them in terms of importance. If needed, they can also send receipts straight to your nominated accounting software, forward tasks straight to to-do lists and even delete unneeded communications. When handling multiple inboxes, it can make maintaining emails easier than ever. Check out these top services:

• Clean Email
• Mailbird
• Boomerang

2. Multi-tasking

Smart browser extensions can coordinate your many different apps and programs, reducing the need for repetitive tasks, and opening up the workflow from one application to another. For example, you could send an important PowerPoint or Excel document in an email, and the attachment will be automatically saved to Dropbox. Project management apps can also be linked – Evernote can be connected to Trello or a Google calendar, meaning there’s no need to repeat notes. Streamline your workflow with these recommendations:

• Zapier
• If This Then That
• Workato

3. Diary management

There are some things that only a human PA or EA can do when it comes to scheduling, but rote tasks such as organising meetings can be offloaded to an automation app.. These programs can find the next available spot in your Principal’s calendar by CC-ing them into an email. Most of these bots are also programed to learn from each experience, meaning that any pre-sets are carried onto the next interaction. Our favorites are:

• Calendly
• Fantastical
• Google Calendar

4. Travel booking

Forget liaising with a travel agent or spending hours on the multiple airline apps to find a spare business class seat – travel booking tools will do your organizing for you, leaving more time for other human-centric tasks. With the potential for personalized results, automatically generated itineraries and a concierge service, they take care of every element for both personal and business travel. Take the stress out of traveling with these apps:

• TravelPerk
• TripIt
• TripActions

5. Minute-taking

Minute-taking may be one of the regular tasks for PAs and EAs, but if the tech world has anything to do with it, it won’t be for much longer. Several apps now exist to automate the entire process, dialing in like a human participant and using speech-to-text technology to take accurate notes. They can also email a copy after the meeting and highlight any actions discussed, ensuring each meeting is of use. Our top picks are:

• Beenote
• Otter.ai
• Sembly

We know that the true value of PAs and executive assistants stems from their soft skills such as empathy, negotiation, diplomacy and personal touch. Automating repetitive and administrative tasks, as part of your role, will ultimately allow those soft skills to shine so that you can take the next step in your career.

Looking for a new PA job or seeking further training? Tiger can help – register today to start your job search!

The post PAs, are you up to speed on the benefits of automation? appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Keep an eye out for these tell-tale signs of a people-first business

Receiving that ‘Congratulations…’ email after weeks of applications, interviews and stress can be a huge rush. You spring out of bed buzzing with energy, get to the office an hour early and work harder than ever, thrilled to have seized this dream role!

But how many of us know where this story is heading? The 9-5 becomes a 7-11, the ‘cool’ boss is at boiling point, and no one else in the office is smiling…

Just like a whirlwind romance, a new job can quickly sour after the honeymoon period. The pandemic prompted a lot of people to rethink their careers and take bold steps to change them. For some, the choice to leave one company for another has proven to be the right one. Others, however, are finding the grass isn’t always greener. In their haste to leave an unfulfilling job, they’ve overlooked the importance of doing in-depth research on a company that looks like a perfect fit.

So, how can you tell if a job opportunity is right for you? Here are some green flags to look for in a prospective employer.

Positive workplace culture

Take a look at any successful company’s website and social media. Chances are you’ll see photos of the team enjoying away days and after-work drinks like a group of old friends. This is a great indicator of a company striving to regularly bring a team together – the importance of which can be forgotten in the current excitement around hybrid and remote working. You may even wish to reach out to your potential colleagues for their own experiences in the office.

Transparent diversity & inclusion initiatives

Many companies have clearly defined policies around Diversity & Inclusion, often available to view on their website. While this is a good start, it’s worth looking at the reality in their team via social media, and by asking questions in the interview process. Reviews from employees on sites like Glassdoor can also be revealing. If there’s a lack of diversity, an honest answer from the interviewers is still a sign of their awareness of the issue.

Good communication and flexibility during the hiring process

Applying and interviewing for jobs is stressful at the best of times, but not hearing a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for weeks at a time can be unbearable. Regular updates from the recruitment team show there is as much respect for the candidate’s time as there is for the company’s. During this back-and-forth it’s also good practice to pay attention to how accommodating they are with interview dates and times. If a company is understanding of prior commitments in your calendar, such as the school run, it’s a good hint at how flexibly it will treat you as an employee.

Clear career progression opportunities

The classic “Where do you see yourself in five years?” could just as easily be countered with “Where do you see me?” While we certainly don’t advise being quite so forward, the point stands that a company needs to be able to show there are real opportunities for you to learn new skills and climb the career ladder beyond the role in question. Examples from its current workforce are the best proof.

Respect for work-life balance

The importance of a healthy work-life balance has been in the spotlight for a while now, encouraging employers to place much more emphasis on it in their job adverts. But this is an easy area for them to fall short in due to our 24hour connectivity and ability to work remotely. In the interviews, be sure to delve into any benefits offered like holiday, flexible hours/days, personal days, life-coaching, and mental health initiatives.

What connects all these positive indicators is the proof that a company acts on its word. If you can see the employer puts its money where its mouth is, or at the very least is transparent in its shortcomings and efforts to amend them, you can rest easy that this is a company with a human approach to business.

If you’re ready to take the next steps in your career evolution, and would like advice and help finding a role and company that will match your principles, submit your resume today.

The post Five signs a company is a great place to work appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

After searching far and wide, you’ve found the ideal personal assistant job to apply for. You have the traits required of a great PA, and you’ve made sure they’re all listed clearly your resume. But before you hit that apply button, there’s one more area that needs close attention if you want to stand out to the hiring manager: the personal statement.

Writing an effective personal statement on your resume can have a substantial impact on your job hunt and the success of your application. It will sum up why you’re the perfect fit for the role, and encourage the employer to read on and see the proof. But it’s not always easy to write.

To help you in this process, we’ve put together a list of tips to give you clarity and confidence when writing the best possible personal statement on your resume.

What do you write in a resume personal statement?

On your resume, the personal statement provides a brief overview to the hiring managers of your character, your ambitions, and what you can offer.

In the case of a personal assistant role, it should of course highlight your relevant skills, experience, and the sectors you’ve specifically worked in. But you should also pay special attention to the personality traits that are so crucial to this role.

Below, you’ll find some more specific guidelines to make a great first impression with your resume summary.

Keep it concise

Your resume personal statement should be brief and to-the-point — ideally three to four lines long. The hiring manager will be interested in learning more about you, but they won’t have time to read a whole biography. Keep it punchy and relevant, and therefore effective.

Focus on readability

Don’t get too creative with your vocabulary — keep it simple!

In an effort to sound different or knowledgeable by using very sophisticated words, the risk is that your personal statement will be hard to read. The tone should be professional, but when it comes to the choice of words, sometimes less is more.

Don’t forget to dot the i’s and cross the t’s

You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to make grammar mistakes when writing a personal statement on a resume.  When the goal is to keep it concise and simple, you may feel there’s no need for a grammar check, but it’s always best practice to proof-read. It might also be worth using a tool like Grammarly for extra help.

In conclusion

The goal of your personal statement, when applying for a PA role, is to spark the interviewer’s interest in those first few lines. If you can grab their attention early, they will be more likely to read your full resume and offer you an initial interview. Focusing on the above points will go a long towards achieving this.

Are you not registered with us yet? Submit your details here and let us help you find the perfect personal assistant role!

The post How to write a personal assistant resume profile appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Preparing for a job interview can be a daunting experience, especially in a highly competitive job market.

So how do you stand out from the competition? To help you make a great first impression and optimize your chances of acing the interview and securing your dream role, we’ve compiled a list of 10 winning interview tips.

Do your homework

This is a critical yet often overlooked component of interview preparation. When you are invited for an interview, ensure you familiarize yourself with the company and show that you have done your due diligence. This also includes research on your interviewer.  Employers may not be willing to offer a role to somebody who has failed to demonstrate a genuine interest in the organization and role in question.

It is always good practice to research what a company does, what their values are, and what differentiates them from their competitors. More important, think about what that means to you and how it aligns with what you are looking for.

Read the job description carefully

Ensure you are prepared to answer questions about how your experience relates to the job description. The hiring manager will use your answers to determine your suitability for the role.

Draw upon examples from your experience that demonstrate that you have a particular skill or core competency the company is looking for. For instance, if the role you are applying for requires someone who can manage multiple projects at once, the hiring manager might ask you to share an occasion where you used that skill in your professional experience.

Refresh your technique to effective competency interviews and frame your answers well.

Dress appropriately

The way you present yourself in a job interview will influence the interviewer’s impression of you and the overall success of the interview.

Choosing the right attire is an important step, as each organization will have different expectations for what their employees should wear.

A finance company may have more professional requirements for employee attire compared to a tech company; therefore, it is imperative that you consider how you’ll dress and ensure it’s appropriate for the company you are meeting with.

Good presentation is as important for a video interview as it is for face to face.

Make a good first impression

Making a good first impression can determine the degree to which you are successful in your interview. The way you introduce yourself, shake the interviewer’s hand or interact in the initial conversation, all play an important role in the outcome of your interview. So, arrive on time, remember good posture, a friendly greeting, and most importantly, smile!

Pay attention to your body language

Effective body language can help you convey a positive message to the interviewer and is an important indicator of your confidence and interest, regardless of whether you are attending a face to face or virtual interview. You should pay attention to your posture, avoid slouching and sit up straight.

Don’t cross your arms on your chest as it creates an invisible wall between you and the hiring manager, and steer clear of excessive hand movements.

Prepare 3 personal facts about yourself

As much as the interview is to assess your professional skills and abilities, employers also want to learn more about you as a person. Sometimes this question can throw you off in an interview.

Think about your interests and hobbies, volunteering projects, or anything else that you feel comfortable talking about that will help the interviewer to develop a more in-depth understanding of you and what makes you tick.

Highlight your most relevant transferable skills

Transferable skills are a set of skills and abilities that can be applied to a wide range of different jobs and industries.

This will be extremely helpful for selling your potential, especially if you’re at the start of your career and don’t have extensive experience under your belt, or if you’re looking to transition into a new industry. demonstrating that you have transferable skills will help to convince the hiring manager that you are a good fit for this role, regardless of your lack of experience in a certain industry.

Prepare insightful questions to demonstrate your interest

Preparing insightful questions to ask prospective employers in an interview will help you to come across as interested, enthusiastic and engaged. Asking strategic questions shows that you have conducted in-depth research into the company and that you have a strong interest in the role in question.

For example, you may wish to ask about the key challenges of the role, career progression opportunities offered by the company, or the company culture.

Be yourself

As cliché as this sounds, it’s probably one of the best pieces of advice you could receive.

Pretending to be someone you are not or providing misleading or dishonest information about your background or experience won’t lead to a successful outcome. Employers want to hire someone who is honest and transparent, and if you simply focus on being yourself, it will pay off.

Send a thank-you note

Finally, sending a thank you note or email after an interview is not only an act of courtesy, but also demonstrates your enthusiasm for the role.

Sending a simple email to thank your interviewer for their time will make you stand out in their memory.

Job interviews don’t have to be an intimidating experience, the key to reducing job interview stress is thorough preparation and practice.

Following our 10 must-do tips will fast-track your route to your dream job.

If you’re interested in receiving interview guidance or if you are looking to make a career change, we can help! Submit your resume here.

The post Ten tips for a successful job interview appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Why asking your interviewer questions is important

Interviews can often be a dreaded part of the recruitment process. Regardless of whether they’re a panel interview, video interview or phone interview however, they’re integral to your understanding of the PA job and the prospective employer. And, asking your interviewer well-researched and considered questions presents an opportunity to emphasize your enthusiasm for the open vacancy.

It’s likely that a well-prepped interviewer will set out the agenda for the meeting at the beginning, advising whether they’d welcome questions throughout the interview or at the end (be aware, there may be interviewers who are ill-prepared!). If this isn’t mentioned, however, we generally advise to try and keep the conversation as two-way as possible.

Every question you ask the employer affords you an opportunity to highlight your own skills too! By framing your questions appropriately, you can convey your strengths and examples of previous performance in an interactive and proactive way. For example, when asking about process improvement, you could say, “At my last organization, I set up a committee for all the PAs to meet once a month so that we could share tips and improve processes. Do you have anything similar in place here?”.

How long does a PA interview last?

A typical PA interview will last about an hour and we would normally expect you to have seen a copy of the full job description beforehand.  There will usually be two or three stages to a PA interview process – but we have seen this take a lot longer depending on the company and seniority of the position.

Example questions PAs can ask their employer in interview

1. How many PAs are working in the company at the moment and how do you allocate executives to PAs?

This question will help you to better understand the make-up of the PA team, as well as how the management team view the business support function. Do they recognize its importance or do they, for the most part, try to push senior execs to do the admin for themselves? It might also shed some light on your support network once you’re working for the company (moral and professional!).

2. What are the key goals you’d like to see me achieving in the first three months?

Having a better understanding of the key objectives will give you better clarity around what is important to them. It might be that they want you to focus on getting your head around the different time zones you’ll be working with, in which case you’ll know that that’s the key priority.

3. Can you tell me more about the personalities of the people I’d be assisting?

As you know, personal assistant jobs are so much more than what’s listed in the job description. Having a better understanding of their personalities is likely to give you a better insight into whether or not you’d be comfortable working for them. If the fit doesn’t feel right, you might need to weigh up the pros and cons of the other aspects of the role.

4. What traits do the most successful PAs in the company have?

Having a greater insight into the other PAs’ perceived successes affords you a glimpse of what they deem to be positive. If you’re very lucky, their successes will be things that you already do and know back-to-front!

5. What technology do the PAs and EAs typically use in the company?

This will give you a better understanding of any knowledge gaps you might have, or an opportunity to let them know you have experience in what they’re using! Knowing their use of tech also gives you a sneak peek into how innovative the business is, in that regard.

6. Aside from the people I’m supporting as a PA, who will be my main stakeholders?

Some PAs only spend a few minutes each day with their executives. Knowing who else you spend time with will play an important part in your enjoyment of the position!

7. What do you feel are the main challenges of this PA opportunity?

Having an understanding of the perceived challenges affords you greater insight into the obstacles you might need to overcome. This will hopefully give you an opportunity to get a fuller understanding of the cons as well as the pros.

8. Tell me about your working style and how you like to work with your PA?

This question is obviously directed towards the executive you’d be supporting, rather than an HR representative. Having a sense of their preferred working style gives an awareness of how closely you’ll be working together, how involved you’ll be with their projects and the day-to-day detail of their requirements.

9. Will I have access to your inbox and will I be responding to emails on your behalf?

Email management has the potential to take a significant chunk of time in a personal assistant’s job. Depending on whether this is something you enjoy, it’s always best to know ahead of time if this is something you’ll be doing.

10. Are there any additional areas of responsibility that I can take on, such as committee work or events management, in other areas of the business?

This question should be phrased carefully, to ensure that there are no misconceptions about your enthusiasm for the role at hand. That said, asking about ways you can add value elsewhere in the business will be well-received in the right context.

11. Do you have any initiatives in place to train and develop your PAs?

The question on many PAs’ minds, when interviewing, surrounds career progression and learning and development (L&D) opportunities. Does the company support advancement and how will they support your professional growth? Instead of asking specifically about career progression before you’ve secured the role, knowing how they structure their L&D will give you a glimpse of the ways in which they can support your growth.

12. Do any events or forums exist for PAs within the business in which they can come together and share ideas?

This demonstrates a consideration of bigger-picture continuous improvement and an ability to look outside of your own role. The advantages of collaboration and team building are also significant.

If you’ve not already submitted your resume, you can do so here.

The post Personal assistants, ask the employer these questions in your next interview appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Moving to a new city for work can be daunting! This is especially true of the city that never sleeps, with its five boroughs, eight million people, and fast-paced lifestyle. We’re new to the Big Apple as well, so we’re feeling a lot of the same feelings! Whether you’re looking for an entry-level assistant job or a senior executive assistant job in NYC, here are four ways to help you find a job in the city.

WAYS TO HELP YOU FIND A ROLE IN NYC

Register with the right job agency

Regardless of the type of role you’re looking for, there will be a job agency in NYC that specializes in that space. When looking for a PA or secretary job, for example, a business support agency will have the right experience to help jobseekers like you. First, decide whether you’re looking for temporary roles or permanent opportunities, and then search a recruitment company’s job pages to see if the roles they’re advertising are suitable. You might also want to look at how they support their jobseekers with online resources, such as blog posts and résumé tips, as this will give you an indication of how far they are willing to go to help you throughout the process.

Spruce up your résumé and cover letter

If you’ve just moved to the city, give your résumé and cover letter a once-over to make sure it’s in line with what’s expected by local employers. Key points to include, when looking for a role in NYC, are your relevant skills, education and experience. Remove personal details such as your full address, and don’t include a headshot. Keep the whole document to one or two pages maximum, as the hiring manager will probably look at hundreds of applications – anything longer will discourage them from reading it. In your cover letter, adapt the skills mentioned on the job description and explain how your achievements relate to the specific role you’re applying for. Mentioning the company values is also a good idea, as it shows that you’ve researched the employer.

Network

If you don’t know anyone in NYC, look for groups online like assistant support pages on Facebook, or connect with potential colleagues on LinkedIn. If you’re looking to meet other personal assistants in person, check out Eventbrite, where companies will put on conferences for support staff around New York. Apps like Meetup can also offer an informal group setting to meet and mingle with fellow assistants.

Refresh your skills

When moving to a new city, it may be worth completing a short course or two to work on any weaknesses, ensuring you’re put forward for the right roles in a competitive market. Skills needed for a personal assistant job in New York City, for example, may include minute taking, time management and an understanding of Microsoft programs. Websites like Coachhorse.com also offer courses on the basics of office software, while Trainup.com host online seminars across a range of business courses.

Tiger Recruitment can help you find your next PA role! Submit your details online or browse our live job listings to start your journey today.

The post Four ways to find a personal assistant job in New York City appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

The coronavirus pandemic is creating a challenging time for businesses who may have reduced or ceased activities. If you are on furlough (leave), or are in the market for a new job, then it makes sense to upskill and complete free online courses!

Free online classes to complete during the pandemic

What Great Leaders Do

https://alison.com/course/what-great-leaders-do

This leadership course is one of the best free online courses with certificates. It features insights from Bob Sutton, a researcher in evidence-based management and a professor of management science. The course highlights the traits of great leaders and the habits of leaders who fail, allowing you to consider your leadership skills from both angles.

The course also shares the best way to deal with team disagreements and how to ensure your team’s health. It reveals how excellent leaders work hard to stay in-tune with their workforce and covers the consequences of not paying attention to those they manage.

The course can be completed in under two hours and includes an assessment and certification. It is ideal for both new leaders and those who wish to become a leader in the near future.

Psychology and Mental Health: Beyond Nature and Nurture

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/mental-health-and-well-being

Mental health and wellbeing are crucial for anyone, but due to the pandemic, they have never been in greater focus. This course from Future Learn will teach you how to improve your wellbeing and mental health by gaining a deeper understanding of your emotions and behaviors.

You will learn about new perspectives on the nature versus nurture argument and new research that will help you improve your mental health. The course delves into thinking patterns, the current challenges and debates and new ways of thinking.

This free online course is the work of Peter Kinderman, a professor of clinical psychology. You can start this course for free and upgrade for extra benefits and unlimited access. The course typically takes six weeks to complete with a three hour per week commitment. Of course, if you are on furlough or find yourself with more down time, you can complete the course quicker.

Creative Thinking: Techniques and Tools for Success

https://www.edx.org/course/creative-thinking-techniques-and-tools-for-success

You will become proficient and confident in using many techniques, including how to use the six thinking hats tool, idea generation using morphological analysis and intentive problem solving using TRIZ. From brainstorming to applying the SCAMPER method, this course will arm you with a skill set that employers only dream of finding.

The course is free and you can, if you wish, purchase a certificate for $49 on completion. You will complete this self-paced course in seven weeks if you have up to four hours per week of free time.

Work Smarter, Not Harder: Time Management for Personal & Professional Productivity

https://www.coursera.org/learn/work-smarter-not-harder

Time management and productivity encompass a variety of skills such as organization, professional and personal awareness, goal setting, scheduling, prioritization and delegation. You will learn about all of these skills and how to apply them in your career.

During this class, you will develop your ability to manage resources efficiently and effectively and how to keep your sense of perspective to avoid and manage a crisis. Furthermore, you will learn how to plan and achieve your professional and personal goals, as well as how to recognize and overcome potential barriers to successful time management.

You can enroll in this free online course immediately and it takes approximately five hours to complete.

Improving Communication Skills

https://www.coursera.org/learn/wharton-communication-skills

Free Ivy League courses are in high demand but can be challenging to find. However, this one is a fantastic gem that will help you communicate effectively and achieve your goals at work. The course is from best-selling author and Wharton professor Maurice Schweitzer and it will improve your communication skill set.

During this class, you will learn about negotiating styles, apologizing, creating a persuasive message, asking engaging questions and conducting active listening. Teachings include how to recognize if someone is lying to you and how to react, and you will learn how to develop trust, along with the ins and outs of creating convincing messages for video conferencing, phone calls and email.

The free Improving Communication Skills course takes about ten hours to complete. You will enjoy a mix of videos, readings and quizzes to confirm what you have learned.

New Skills Academy

While they aren’t free, Tiger has a partnership with leading online school, New Skills Academy, who are offering up to 87% off their courses. With secretarial, admin and business support-specific courses, they can help with anything from telephone customer services to problem solving and public speaking. Their extensive range of lessons all come with a certification, allowing you to put it on your resume once completed.

These are just a few excellent free courses to take in your free time that will help on a personal and professional level. For more resources, visit our insights page.

The post The five best free online classes to try in your downtime appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

While recruitment activity has slowed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are still job seekers who are being offered fantastic new positions. If you’re one of them, congratulations! This may well mean that you find yourself in a video call with HR for an exit interview soon.

Volunteering general feedback about your employer can sometimes be an uncomfortable experience, so we’ve provided eight exit interview tips to help you prepare.

What to do in your exit interview

Do: Prepare like you would for any interview

Treat this interview as you would any other and prepare accordingly beforehand. Google some sample exit interview questions that are typically asked and practice answering them. Regardless of why you’ve chosen to leave, it’s important to provide thoughtful answers that will help the company improve in the future.

Do: Act professionally

You should remain professional right through to the very end. It will keep the door open for potential opportunities in the future and won’t diminish your chances of receiving a positive employer reference.

Do: Discuss the positives

Try to highlight the positive aspects of the role you’re leaving, even if it’s been the worst job you’ve ever had. It can be anything from the benefits package to the office facilities. This will help to balance out any negative points that may become apparent during the course of the conversation. It also displays a high level of professionalism and awareness on your part.

Do: Exit on good terms

When all is said and done, the aim is to leave the interview room on good terms. Make it clear that you are thankful for every opportunity the company has provided. Even if there is some resentment on your part, it’s better to leave on a positive note and have a clean slate for your new job.

What not to do in your exit interview

Don’t: Vent with no constructive feedback

Your exit interview is not the time to discuss petty grievances with your colleagues. Avoid discussing colleagues unless you’re specifically asked to do so. If it does come up, stay clear of slander and only provide reasonable examples that support a valid argument.

You can discuss your ‘suggested areas of improvement’ for the company, but it’s important to remain tactful in your approach.

Don’t: Brag about your new role

Your interviewer will probably ask about your reasons for leaving. While you may be jubilant about leaving, it’s important to avoid boasting as it’ll come across as discourteous. Just keep it short and to the point. For example, if you’re excited that this move is a step up in your career (with a considerable salary increase), you could mention that the new position gives you more responsibility than your existing one.

Don’t: Raise issues that the company cannot address

Any good employer will be looking to improve the workplace using your feedback. As such, you’ll want to refrain from expressing sweeping statements with no rational explanation. They’re not actionable and don’t give off the best impression of you. While preparing for your interview, try to come up with suggestions for how certain situations could be improved in the future.

Don’t: Be unresponsive

You’re probably familiar with the term, “if you have nothing good to say, don’t say it at all”? While this may be great advice in general, don’t apply it to your exit interview. Being unreasonably tight-lipped could be viewed as patronizing and won’t help the process. The interviewer will respect your honesty as long as you keep it relevant to the exit survey questions being asked.

If you’re looking for a job, we continue to update our live job listings daily. Make sure to also check out our insights page for helpful resources to help navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.

Author bio: This article was written by Check-a-Salary^[1] . Check-a-Salary provides insight on earnings collated across multiple sources for every position in the UK.

^[1] www.checkasalary.co.uk

The post Do you struggle with exit interviews? Here are eight dos and don’ts to help! appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

As we know, preparing for an interview is essential. It has a direct result in both your confidence and competence and ultimately, your performance. With competition for jobs on the increase, it makes sense to ensure you prepare for the different types of questions an interviewer may ask. Among these, behavioral interview questions are crucial to prepare for. To help, we’ve put together a complete guide to behavioral questions, including what the interviewer wants to find out by asking them and common questions to prepare for.

What is a behavioral question?

Interviewers ask behavioral questions to determine how you might react to an issue or situation you experience in the future. Your answer to a behavioral question will reveal to the interviewer evidence of how you will react, illustrated by examples of how you’ve handled similar situations in the past.

Behavioral questions are very different from other types of questions, like competency and knowledge-based questions. These can be answered by stating the qualifications or experience you have in using, for instance, a specific piece of software.

What an interviewer looks for when they ask behavioral questions

Common behavioral interview questions can be grouped in several categories:

• Teamwork – when an interviewer asks you a question about teamwork, they’re looking to verify your ability to work with others. The interviewer will want to know if you can cooperate with team members with different personalities. They will also try to gauge if you can handle conflicts in a healthy and constructive way.  
• Adaptability – adaptability is a trait many employers look for. They’ll be searching for evidence of how you react when an unexpected work crisis occurs, or if the business needs to pivot its focus quickly. Your ability to problem solve may also be explored here.
• Communication – communication questions are asked to determine how you interact with team members, leadership, and clients. The interviewer will want to know how you represent your team or company, your customer service style, persuasion skills, presentation skills and how well you can convey technical information.
• Time management – the interviewer wants to find out how well you handle stress and if you have the organizational skills to juggle multiple tasks and responsibilities.
• Values and motivation – questions asking what drives you can reveal how you handle future failures and stress.

How to prepare for typical behavioral interview questions

To prepare for behavioral interview questions and come up with answers, you should go through examples of behavioral questions and think of a story from your past experience that shows your competence. If you can’t think of a story that shows a successful outcome, consider sharing an example where you failed, focus on what you learned from the experience and would do differently in the future.

It’s a good idea to prepare a few strong examples that could be adapted to various behavioral questions. If you can, try to think of a story for each of the following categories of questions. This should allow you to have something to draw from, no matter what type of behavioral question you’re asked.

Remember, an easy way to structure any interview answer is using the STAR method:

• S: Situation — explain the situation or background of the story
• T: Task — focus in on the specific task you’re referring to
• A: Action — explain the action you took
• R: Result — finish by discussing the result of the action

As COVID-19 was an unprecedented and difficult situation for both employees and businesses, employers may want to use behavioral questions to determine how you handled these changes personally. They may focus on your transition to remote working or how you helped your company through the challenges they faced. So, it’s a good idea to prepare an answer using an example around this topic if you can.

Examples of teamwork behavioral interview questions include:

• Tell me about an occasion when you needed information from a non-responsive colleague.
• Give me an example of a conflict you experienced at work.
• Tell me about when you’ve struggled to build a relationship with someone and how you overcame it.
• Describe an instance when you’ve worked closely with a teammate with a different personality to yours.

Examples of adaptability behavioral interview questions include:

• Tell me about a recent work crisis and how you got through it.
• What did you do to learn the ropes at the first job you ever had?
• Describe a difficult or awkward position you found yourself in and how you managed it.
• What’s a recent failure you’ve experienced and how did you deal with it?

Examples of communication behavioral interview questions include:

• Tell me about a time when it was vital for you to make a good impression on a client.
• Describe an occasion when you had to deal with a difficult client
• Describe a time when you needed to rely on written communication skills to get your ideas across to the team.

Examples of time management behavioral interview questions include:

• Tell me about a long-term project you were managing and how you kept everything to schedule.
• Describe how you handled overwhelming responsibilities.
• What’s a work-related goal you recently set for yourself and how did you make sure you achieved it?
• How have you managed conflicting priorities in the past?

Examples of values and motivation behavioral interview questions include:

• Describe to me your proudest professional achievement.
• Tell me about an occasion when you noticed a problem at work and took the initiative to correct it.
• When were you able to be creative at work and did you find this difficult or exciting?
• Describe an instance when you were unhappy at work and the actions you’ve taken to change it.

As you can see, behavioral interview questions need a little bit of thought and time to answer. This is why it’s crucial to prepare before the interview. We’ve put together other interview-specific insights to help any jobseekers currently looking for a new opportunity. If you haven’t already, submit your details with us today to start your job search.

The post A jobseeker’s complete guide to behavioral interview questions appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Asking your boss for more money can be a nervous conversation for many people. However, with proper preparation and research you can both improve your chances and plan out your next step, whatever the outcome. Here are five things to know before you begin the conversation.

1. Know the business

Make sure you know what the company’s policy is on pay rises. Some will only consider them at annual reviews whilst others will have pay grades that are reliant on an employee’s position within the company. If there is an employee handbook it may contain details on this. Otherwise consider the best person to ask, be it your manager or a more experienced colleague. Either way, if it goes against company policy your chances will be slim. By finding out ahead of time, you can save yourself what could be an awkward conversation.

2. Know the market

Ensure you understand who else is out there who could take your role. For example, if you’re a PA and someone with a similar level of experience could be available at your current wages, it’s not necessarily in your employer’s interest to meet your wishes. By knowing the market you can be realistic about the likely outcome of your request but also benchmark what you believe you should be earning. Equally, if they turn you down without reasonable consideration you will know what else is out there and can consider moving on to find your desired salary.

3. Know your value

While you may be valued at a certain price on paper, think about what else you offer the business. If you have built up intricate knowledge that will be hard to replace, demonstrate it. Be ready to talk about your achievements in your role and how you’ve benefited the company. If your job description has changed or been added to, ensure this is acknowledged. Be fully prepared to explain what you personally offer the business and why it’s in their best interest to keep you.

4. Know the details

Once you’ve checked you’re working within company policy, are being realistic with your request and have noted why you believe you deserve a raise, it’s time to get your details in order. Be clear, concise and plan what you’ll say, working out a conversation framework ahead of the meeting. Try and pre-empt any questions or challenges your employer may put forward and have a response. And, though it may seem obvious, know how much you’re asking for, ensuring you can explain how you arrived at that figure.

5. Know your next move

There are several likely outcomes from a pay rise request. Be ready to respond to all of them. In the best case scenario, your employer says ‘yes’. This is where you’ll need to know exactly how much you’re asking for and why. Your employer may counter so be prepared for this as well. If you are willing to accept less than your initial request, know by how much. If not, explain why.

You may hear a response that starts “No, but…”. Listen carefully to their reasoning here. It may be the case that they want to but are unable due to cut backs or cash flow issues. If this is the case you may be able to agree a time to next discuss the issue or find out what you need to do to reach an agreement now. Worst case scenario is a flat no. Be polite and gracious, and enquire into what steps you could take for a pay rise to become a consideration. You can then decide if these are worth your while. If not, it may be time to move on.

Are you looking for an employer who knows your value? Send us your CV or get in touch to discuss your next move.

The post How to ask for a pay rise… and get one appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

If you’re one of the few professionals who find themselves logging on on December 27, finding a positive spin on your situation may seem almost impossible. However, as stormy as the cloud may appear, there are plenty of silver linings to working between Christmas and New Year’s.

Write your to-do list

First and foremost, this typically quiet period means you’ll have plenty of time for doing those things you keep putting off. Take the time to write a comprehensive to-do list and methodically work through it – not only will the time pass quickly, but you’ll hopefully start the new year with a completely fresh slate.

Secure face time with your boss

If your supervisor or manager is also working over the Christmas period, now is the time to organize a one-on-one catch up. With fewer people online or in the office, you’ll face less competition for their time, and will be able to have a proper catch-up, covering the year in review, the year ahead, any scope for promotions or professional growth or any ideas you have for a new project. Similarly, you’ll also have unprecedented access to any mentors or senior staff, meaning there’s potential to pick up some valuable lessons.

Complete training

Lessons can also come in the form of upskilling. With some extra time up your sleeve, now is the perfect time to complete that online course you’ve been eyeing off, or finally reading that industry-based book you’ve had on your bookshelf for six months. If you haven’t already done so, familiarize yourself with current literature, trends and technologies in your industry, ensuring you’re completely up to date. Whatever you learn you’ll be able to inject back into the business, making for an incredibly beneficial use of your time.

Look ahead

With the new year just days away, the last few days of December are ideal for making sure your diary is completely up to date. Fill out your appointments for January, block out any trips you’ve already booked and make sure all your leave requests are with the relevant people. While you’re there, take some time to set some realistic goals for the year ahead, setting benchmarks along the way.

De-clutter your inbox

After all this, if you still have hours to spare, it’s time to conquer your inbox. Filter and file relevant emails and review any important communication to ensure there isn’t anything you’ve missed in the run up to December 25.

All of these tasks have one common goal: starting next year as fresh as can be. By clearing your desk both literally and figuratively, you can wave goodbye to the year knowing that come January, you’re ready to conquer whatever the year throws at you.

Scared of the January Blues? Here’s how to keep feeling productive well into the first month.

The post How to be productive between Christmas and New Year’s appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

The start of a new year is always a time of new beginnings and change, and it’s the perfect time to set new career goals.

January is the busiest job searching month of the year, so it presents a great opportunity to boost your career through targeted reflection and carefully consider the strategies you’ll need to implement to steer your career in the right direction.

Why is it important to set career goals?

Goal setting is one of the best things you can do to make positive changes in your career. Setting specific, measurable goals helps you to clarify your ideas, focus your efforts and can provide a path to improve your career. Setting goals is critical for achieving career advancement because they provide a framework for achieving specific milestones. Choosing a career without making a plan is like sailing a ship without having planned a course: you’re likely to end up somewhere that you wouldn’t want to go! One of the most crucial steps in planning a high-impact career is implementing effective career development strategies to help you to achieve your work goals.

The process of setting goals

Goal setting is the process of taking active steps to achieve your desired career outcomes. It’s important to set short term, medium term and long term goals.

First, you look at the big picture, then work your way down to the smaller steps you can take now to begin moving in the right direction. For example:

• One year goal: ‘Secure my ideal role working for x type of company in x location’
• Six month goal: ‘Go back to college to gain a qualification in x’
• One month goal: ‘Talk to my current manager to determine any promotion opportunities that may arise this year’
• One week goal: ‘Arrange a meeting with a recruitment agency to discuss my career options’

To help you achieve your desired outcomes successfully, be sure to create SMART GOALS.

SMART is the acronym to help you establish solid goals. It stands for:

Specific: The goals you set must be clear and well defined, the more specific you are about what you are trying to achieve, the easier it will be to achieve your goal.

Measurable: It’s important to include a quantifiable way of tracking your progress so you are aware when you have hit each milestone, and can celebrate.

Achievable: The success of your goal needs to be within your control, you need to set goals that challenge and stretch you but that are also achievable.

Realistic: Be sure to set goals that are within your reach this year, for example, is it realistic to expect to have achieved a salary bump of 20k in one year?

Time-bound: You need to set a time frame for each of your goals, with deadlines attached to each one.

Here are our top tips to help you fulfill your career aspirations in 2022:

Dare to dream big

If you want to achieve big things, you have to start with big dreams. Whether you’d like to change industries, try for a promotion or move horizontally within your current organization, don’t be afraid to dream big! Big goals will help you to achieve success and it’s okay if it seems far away or overly ambitious, don’t let that overwhelm you. To be happy, us humans need to constantly challenge ourselves.

Enlist support

Career planning and job hunting can be an overwhelming and exhausting process, this is why it’s important to surround yourself with people who support you and believe in you. Have a goal partner. Find someone to help you stick to your plan: a friend, co-worker or a career coach. Discuss your goals and check in with them when you complete steps. If possible, do the same for your partner!

List your skills and set an action plan to develop them

Take some time to assess where you are in your career and consider the key skills you’ve picked up along the way. If you’re interested in knowing the key skills you need to get hired in 2022 click here. Think about where your strengths and weaknesses lie and what skills you need to build on to optimize your chances of professional success this year.

Pause, and reflect on 2021

Take an in-depth look at your achievements over the past 12 months and consider the degree to which you fulfilled your 2021 professional goals. Consider any qualifications or training courses you completed, any new skills you gained, any promotions or new responsibilities you were awarded, career milestones you hit and feedback you received. This will help you to determine what you can realistically achieve this year.

Write down your goals, and the steps you will take to achieve them

Some examples of work goals include:

• Achieve a promotion to x position
• Learn how to say, ‘no’
• Pick up and learn a new skill
• Find a mentor
• Go after the career of my dreams
• Become a better communicator
• Plan what steps I need to take to change careers

Place your list somewhere highly visible and revisit it every day. Set yourself deadlines for each goal and remember to celebrate each achievement to help you stay motivated.

Those who believe in themselves, armed with the right tools, can achieve just about anything.

And don’t forget—the Tiger team believes in you, and we’re here to help! If you’re interested in discovering how we can help you achieve your dream career goals this year, please get in touch.

So, as 2022 begins, we raise our glasses to you and wish you the best of luck on your professional journey!

The post New year, new career! How to set your work goals for 2022 appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Being organized at work will have an immediate positive impact on your productivity. It can help you produce a better quality of work, make fewer mistakes, and work more efficiently. Prioritizing and getting organized also helps to reduce stress and overwhelm.

Albeit not all of us are naturally gifted with supreme organizational skills, it is possible to improve them by following a few simple tips.

Here are our six top tips to help you stay organized at work and get more done.

Create a master ‘to do’ list

The first step in getting organized is to create a master list that documents all the tasks you need to complete. It can be a daily, weekly, or monthly list.

Depending on your role, a weekly list may work best. Weekly lists will supercharge your organization and productivity and give you the flexibility to make amendments as and when is necessary for your role.

Write down everything that needs to be done in a specific week and assign certain tasks to each day.

Prioritize your tasks

Strategic prioritization is essential for getting everything done. You need to arrange tasks according to their deadline, the amount of time required to complete them, and the focus they will require.

It may be more effective to work on tasks that require high levels of focus when you’re at your most productive and leave tasks that require less energy for another time of the day.

Avoid multitasking

Multitasking is one of the biggest obstacles to productivity. It’s essential to focus on one task at a time to produce a high standard of work and get as much done as possible.

Unless something urgent needs your attention, block out time in your calendar to carry out focused work. Set aside time elsewhere in the day to check your emails and make phone calls.

Organize your workspace

As the saying goes – tidy desk, tidy mind. It can be your physical workspace, such as your desk, and your digital one, such as your laptop, inbox, etcetera.

One of the biggest time-wasters in the workplace is trawling through hundreds of emails, folders, or documents when looking for something, simply because files aren’t organized efficiently on your laptop.

Create SOP’s

Standard Operating Procedures consist of the step-by-step processes that you need to follow to complete specific tasks.

This step is crucial to reduce the likelihood of making mistakes, and it helps to be precise and efficient when managing your workload.

Keeping a folder with all the different SOPs required for your role means you’ll have all the information you need to perform your role successfully to hand, readily and easily accessible.

Master time management by implementing one of these popular techniques
Time-management techniques can help you to manipulate time and get more done.

You may want to try:

– The Pomodoro technique: you select a task you need to focus on, set a timer for 25 minutes and work solely on that task. After 25 minutes, you take a short break (typically 5 minutes), then start again for another 25 minutes.

– The ‘Eat that frog’ technique: Championed by motivational speaker and productivity expert Brian Tracy, the goal of this method is to analyze the items on your list and organize them according to their difficulty. The idea is that you tackle the most challenging tasks first.

– The Kanban technique: this is an effective workflow management method for visual learners. On a board, your notebook, or your laptop, create three sections: to-do, in progress, done. Then write your tasks and move them across the sections based on their progress and completion.

If you’re serious about supercharging your organizational skills, you could also benefit from a time management app such as Todoist or Toggl Track.

Increasing your organizational skills will not only help you to stay on top of your workload, it will also maximize your chances of excelling in your role. If you implement these tips gradually into your workday you’ll start to see a noticeable difference in the quality of your work and in the results you produce.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Feel free to read more on our Insights page.

Are you ready to write the next chapter of your career? Get in touch with us at info@tiger-recruitment.co.uk, and one of our consultants will be happy to help.

The post Six tips to improve your organization and productivity at work appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

We are living in a digital world, with laptops, smartphones, tablets and other devices now an integral part of our daily lives and work.

Businesses around the world have become increasingly digitalized, even traditional brick-and-mortar companies are now opting to market their business online. With all the benefits of digital marketing for businesses, this is no surprise.

Just some of these benefits include:

• Cost effectiveness: Digital marketing methods are less expensive than traditional marketing
• Targeting: Reach niche audiences in a measurable way
• Lack of geographical boundaries: Target audiences anywhere in the world
• ROI: Generate a consistent lead pipeline and higher conversion rates
• Measure: Analyze data to determine if campaigns are yielding the desired results

The future of digital marketing is bright

The digital transformation of business has led to a steep rise in demand for marketing professionals who are well versed in the digital marketing arena. Graduates and those looking for a career change are attracted to this exciting and fast-growing career path because it’s a dynamic field that is constantly evolving.

There are currently over 24000 digital marketing jobs for New York listed on LinkedIn. And recent LinkedIn data shows that the digital marketing sector continues to soar in popularity. Thus, if you are looking for jobs in this field, you can rest assured that there will be plenty of opportunities available to you.

Is digital marketing a dream job?

Whilst digital marketing is an exhilarating and rewarding career, it also comes with a set of challenges that you need to be prepared for if you are seriously considering this route. To successfully navigate the fast-changing digital marketing landscape, you’ll need to equip yourself with a myriad of skills and continue to improve your knowledge on an ongoing basis. Top digital marketers are always learning and upskilling to ensure they remain competitive and keep on top of emerging trends.

Pros of a career in digital marketing:

• You can earn a healthy income
• It’s a fast paced and exciting career route that will keep you on your toes
• It offers unlimited opportunities for personal and professional growth
• You’ll have the opportunity to work with an interesting mix of people and businesses
• Feeling bold? You could take the plunge and set up your own digital marketing agency
• You’ll be free to tap into your potential and use it to drive your success
• As long as you have internet access, you can work from anywhere in the world
• The balance of tasks allows you to be creative in your work as well as review tangible analytical trends
• The broad landscape of digital marketing gives you many different avenues and outlets
• You’ll have the chance to build a thriving career that will last the test of time
• You’ll never be bored!

Cons of a career in digital marketing:

• Continual learning and keeping on top of rapidly changing trends is hard work
• You may not always see the results you were hoping for
• If you find yourself in a niche that isn’t the best fit for you, it may be challenging to pivot
• You’ll spend long days sitting in front of a screen, which could cause tension over time
• Digital marketing is a demanding and multifaceted career that requires discipline and focus
• You may struggle to formulate successful campaigns, generate traffic and drive conversions, even if you think you’re doing all the right things
• Running your own digital marketing business may be harder than you think
• You may work with clients who have unrealistic expectations, creating additional pressure

If you do decide to go down this route, thorough preparation will increase your chances of success. Start by brushing up on or developing some of the key skills that are required to be an accomplished digital marketer.

Just a few of the top skills that will help to skyrocket your career in digital marketing are:

Video marketing

Are you aware that YouTube is the 2nd largest online platform after Google? Businesses who are embracing video marketing are benefiting from more traction, increased brand awareness, more traffic and more sales. Whilst you don’t need to know everything about video production to succeed as a digital marketer, the stronger you are in this area the better.

Social media

As of January 2022, there were 4.62 billion social media users around the world. A social media presence is vital for businesses who want to maximize exposure for their brand, attract and retain the attention of their audience, and generate more business. Social media offers an incredible opportunity to better understand and build relationships with customers anywhere in the world. Most importantly, it’s free! Savvy digital marketers use engaging social media content to attract and convert audiences organically and analyze campaign data to determine what’s working and what’s not.

Copywriting

To succeed as a digital marketer, you’ll need to create content that engages your audience and persuades them to take a specific form of action that ultimately leads to a conversion or sale. With as many as 350,000 tweets going out every minute, catchy, compelling content is vital to stand out in a saturated digital market. And while the amount of content being shared online is increasing, the attention spans of people are shortening. So, you’ll need to compress information into digestible bites while still conveying the right message and without losing the ability to capture their attention.

Search engine optimization (SEO)

Search Engine Optimization is crucial in all aspects of digital marketing, so if you can demonstrate a solid knowledge of the dynamics of SEO, you’ll be ahead of the game. The organization for whom you work may assign the technical side to a specialist SEO team, but if you have expertise in this area you can apply it to ensure you are producing optimized content that will drive successful campaigns.

PPC

PPC, or pay-per-click advertising, helps businesses to expand their reach by showing up in top spots online, and they only pay when a visitor clicks on their ad. Digital marketers drive performance by paying attention to the relevance and quality of the ad, determining which keywords to target, and the best format and channel. This requires a creative flair, polished analytical skills and an in depth understanding of the business, their goals and customer intents.

Analytics and data analysis

If you want to be a successful digital marketer, you’ll need to use data to verify, understand and quantify the degree to which the efforts of your campaigns are paying off. You’ll need to be able to interpret the data into real, actionable insights which can then be used to inform important business decisions and shape core campaign strategies. Data analysis highlights what’s working and makes it clear where efforts need to be focused.

Email marketing

To further elevate your digital career, learn how to harness the power of email marketing to build relationships with customers. A seasoned digital marketer can create campaigns that nurture subscribers and existing leads through newsletters. They create powerful experiences for their audience, tapping into their emotions and inspiring them to take action.

You’ll find countless digital marketing courses on sites such as Udemy, Lynda, Coursera, Edx, Alison and Hubspot. We also recommend taking a look at our partner New Skills Academy, who are offering course discounts of up to 65%.

If you’re interested in discovering how our consultants could help you find your first or next dream role in digital marketing, please contact us here.

The post Are you ready to be a digital marketer? appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Job hunting isn’t just about finding a role. It’s about the career path that’s on offer too. With this in mind, having a growth mindset is important at every stage of the interview process. Discussing progression opportunities with your potential employer gives insight into the company’s growth culture. It also demonstrates the value you can bring to the organization.

In this guide, we explore a different approach to job hunting, with growth as the focus. Navigating the right balance between your career aspirations and the reality will ensure that your equipped with the right information when you make the all-important decision of accepting the role at hand.

Having a growth mindset when job hunting

Before sending out any applications, ensure that your growth mindset is in place. This means managing your expectations around the job hunt and preparing for the obstacles that might fall your way.

• Embracing challenges – The uncertainties of job hunting can feel daunting. Use any challenges to your advantage. View them as learning opportunities and ways you can improve.
• Learning from feedback – Each application and interview is a chance to gather valuable feedback. You’ll see criticism as constructive, to make improvements as needed.
• Setting achievable goals – Setting ambitious but achievable goals with the understanding of the effort, planning and ongoing learning involved.

Preparing for interview

An interview presents you with a chance to demonstrate your eagerness to grow in your career. It’s a two-fold opportunity to learn about the company’s commitment to professional development, whilst communicating your intentions.

That said, it’s crucial to strike the balance between that and your enthusiasm for the role at hand – the one they’re interviewing you for!

Research the company

It’s no secret that researching the company before an interview is a must. Find out their values and look at the potential internal progression opportunities.

It might also be worth looking at employee profiles who are in similar roles on LinkedIn. You’ll be able to see their progression path within the company, which tells you 1. If they support growth and 2. The skillsets and backgrounds required to progress.

Personal development plan

Express your current skill set during your interview and your drive to build on it. Discuss any courses or reading materials that are part of your development plan. Being proactive underscores your commitment and passion/

Evaluate your offer

If you receive a job offer (which we hope you do!), look beyond the financial incentives. Dive further into the long-term growth opportunities that each position offers and don’t be afraid to walk away.

How to evaluate an offer with a growth mindset:

Career path clarity

Does the role offer a clear career path or is it a dead-end job? This should be easily identifiable from your interview. Look for opportunities for movement in the company and seek clarity on anything you’re unsure of.

Training and professional development

What training opportunities does the company provide? Is there a professional development budget?

Recognition and feedback

Does the company acknowledge employee progress and provide feedback regularly? A work environment that values input and nurtures growth is key here.

Industry trends and organizational growth

How does the company stack up against what’s current? A business that’s thriving should have ample opportunities for employees to thrive too.

Maintaining a growth mindset in your new role

Once you’ve started the position and settled into the role you can start to take steps to develop further. Here’s how:

Network and seek mentorship – Build a strong network that includes those who can guide you in your career.

Take initiative – Volunteering for new projects and responsibilities will go a long way to show your value. It sets you up as a proactive contributor and shows commitment.

Continual learning – Invest time into researching current trends in the industry. Seek out learning opportunities both inside and outside of your company.

Summary

Having a growth mindset can set you apart from other candidates. Have achievable goals and showcase your growth mindset during the interview process. When evaluating job offers, make sure you focus on professional development and don’t be immediately tempted by the compensation package alone.

You want your new role to contribute towards a fulfilling and progressive career so don’t settle for a job that doesn’t fulfill you. Embrace your new mindset and you’ll open yourself up to endless possibilities.

The post Job Hunting with a Growth Mindset: Prepare for Career Progression appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Commonly raised at half-year or annual appraisals, it may come as a surprise to hear that many people don’t actually set achievable career goals (or understand the value in doing so). At Tiger, we’ve found that the process of setting career goals can be clouded by misconceptions and misunderstandings, even among experienced professionals with many years under their belts[1].

To help you set achievable professional goals and establish where you want to be, we’ve decided to bust a few common myths on this subject.

Common questions asked about setting career goals

Not everyone can have career goals, can they?

So, let’s start with the most obvious myth – only people high up the hierarchy should take the time to set career goals. They’re reserved for the top managers, CEOs and anyone else who has a huge title that precedes their name.

Not true! Setting long-term career goals is something everyone should do, regardless of their position, experience, or industry they’re working in. Whether you’re a designer fresh out of college, a pastry shop owner, or a CFO of the biggest bank in the world, you’re entitled to take time to figure out exactly what you want out of your career. So, no matter where you are, grab a pen and start writing!

Professional development goals require a lot of time and energy, don’t they?

While developing your goals is going to require some time and effort, it’s often the very task of creating them in the first place that seems so overwhelming. Many people give up before they even begin, which is a mistake!

To help you get started, it’s important to spend some time simply thinking about where you want to be in one, five, or ten years (depending on the scope of your goals). Having a firm idea in place of where you want to be will make it that much easier to come up with a few achievable goals.

I should follow a certain process, shouldn’t I?

It’s true that there are some established tools, methods and patterns that you can use when you set up your career goals (or any goals for that matter) — one of the most famous being the SMART method^[1]. Using a method like this is definitely very useful, especially if you’re a beginner and this is your first time setting goals.

On the other hand, using these well-worn strategies can also be limiting, especially if your goal is innovative or unique. If you find that your goals simply don’t fit into a pattern and you need to draw outside of the lines a little, that is completely fine.

It’s not enough to simply set them, is it?

The (perceived) mountain of establishing your career aspirations is quite high. Unfortunately, this is only the first step. Following through is much more important since it makes all the difference in the end. So, how can you make sure that your goals don’t just stay written on a piece of paper?

One thing you could do is have a buddy – a partner, a friend, a coach – someone who will follow through with you and who will keep you accountable. Another important thing is to break down your goals into smaller actions to follow through every month, week, or even day. That way you’ll be able to see whether or not you’re making progress and you can easily correct yourself if you’re going down the wrong path.

It’s better to just focus on my current situation, isn’t it?

When setting long-term career goals, most people tend to focus on their present issues. Let’s say you’re looking for a job and your first goal is to get hired at a good company. Logically, you would sharpen up your CV^[2]and focus on improving your LinkedIn page. While these are great initial actions, it’s also important to look at a holistic approach to your goals. In this example, a person looking for a job should also think about how industry events, networking, improving their portfolio and learning additional skills will help them in the long term.
Even if you’re not looking to move on from your current role, don’t underestimate the value of looking at all your options. For example, if you want to expand your client base, posting regular articles on LinkedIn will help you become known as a thought leader for your particular niche.

Try to think outside the box when considering your career aspirations, because sometimes the best opportunities come to us unexpectedly. If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that, no matter what our original plans were, a positive mindset and adaptable goals can present new opportunities to improve our situation and grow even further – through a new role, a new relationship or simply a new activity.

[1] https://career-intelligence.com/career-misconceptions/

^[2] www.wikihow.com/Set-SMART-Goals

^[3] www.upskillcoach.com/blog/12-tips-resume-social-media-cv-online-presence

^[4] www.qeedle.com/licensee-vs-franchisee-which-works-best

The post Career goals: Separating fact from fiction appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

The festive period is known to be a joyful time, but also an incredibly demanding one!  With long ‘to-do’ lists, extra obligations and deadlines all around, even the most laid-back person can feel the pressure.  Add looking for a new job into the mix and winter can easily be the most stressful time of the year!  So, here are our self-care tips to help you reduce stress while job hunting over the festive season.

Stay social

It’s easy to become so focused on the ‘employee’ part of your identity that you forget about the other parts of your life. Spend time with friends and family, especially over the festive period, to remind yourself of why you work and what is most important in your life.

Create a shortlist of vacancies

When you feel stressed about getting a new job it can be easy to go for every opportunity you see, make a big list and send your CV to everyone! That means more things to track, more interviews to organize, and more stress each day.

By all means, make a long list of all of the vacancies you see but, rather than applying for everything, have a real think about what you want, where your skills lie, and whether the salary/benefits are right for you.

If you jump head first into a job that’s not right, just because you are feeling overwhelmed about the job-hunting process, you will find yourself back looking for a job faster than ever! Take your time, and narrow down the list of options.

Take a break

Do not burn out. If you spend all day and night thinking about it, searching for roles, and sending applications in, you will run out of steam and the stress will build. Like any project, set times to work on it, and times to relax and recuperate. When you are not working or looking for a job, try and get a change of scene – go outside, or even to a different room or space in your home and do something without a screen for an hour. It will help you immensely.

Break down the tasks

It’s common to assume that if you don’t start searching today that you’ll miss the job opportunity of a lifetime but, if you rush into it, you will be unprepared and anxious. Instead, break down the big task of finding a new job into smaller, more manageable ones, and give yourself time to complete each activity.

For instance, on the first two days you can work on updating your CV. On Days Three and Four, you can perfect your cover letter, and on Days Five and Six you can work on your LinkedIn profile. A week to prepare is not too much to ask of yourself and a plan will help to stop you from panicking.

Stay positive

It can be challenging to think of a positive future when you are stuck in a mire of anxiety and stress, but having a positive attitude will help you stay upbeat and it will be much more attractive to recruiters.  Even if you’ve suffered rejection to date, remember that it is just an inevitable part of the process and it is not something to dwell on. A positive mindset will help you to learn from rejection and move forwards towards the next opportunity.

Reward yourself

Don’t wait until the acceptance letter to celebrate; reward yourself at each step of the job hunt journey to keep your spirits up and to reflect on what you’ve achieved so far.

Don’t miss the stress

If your anxiety is affecting other areas of your life and health, then it is time to speak to someone about it. Don’t accept that it is a natural part of the process if the job hunt is causing you anxiety attacks, disrupting your sleep, or affecting your relationships. Seek help.

Your next employer wants to see you at your best, so take care of yourself first, and the rest will follow – good luck!

If you’re feeling the job hunt pressure, get in touch with Tiger today. We can help you find your dream role.

The post Seven self-care tips to reduce job-search stress over the festive season appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

As virtual jobs continue to rise in popularity, thanks to new technology and flexible working setups, more and more people in personal assistant jobs are becoming a virtual assistant. With added flexibility and convenience, it has become a fantastic option for those looking to even out their work-life balance.

However, the transition to a virtual assistant role requires plenty of forethought and preparation – it’s not just a case of dropping everything on Friday and starting up on Monday. So if you’re interested in how to become a virtual assistant, look no further than the following tips:

Plan ahead

Becoming a virtual assistant won’t happen overnight. It’s worth putting a plan in place as early as possible. Because you’ll likely be setting up as a freelancer, you need to treat the endeavor as a business, setting targets for business development, pitches and completed work. You can even create a path plan, identifying milestones and the skills and experience needed to reach them.

Network

When starting out, it’s all about who you know. Start networking with decision makers, calling on old acquaintances and connections to build a database of potential clients. One of the best ways to find potential clients and useful contacts is via LinkedIn, so spend time learning how to use LinkedIn effectively.

Another fruitful avenue for networking is with fellow ‘digital nomads’ working remotely. These could be other virtual assistants, or freelancers in other fields who may nonetheless have good advice and connections. Your best chance to meet these peers (and to have a break from the home office!) is in co-working spaces.

Get online

As part of becoming a virtual assistant, it’s imperative to make sure your online presence represents your brand as well as possible. These days, setting up an impressive and professional-looking website is very simple through services like WordPress and Squarespace. Having an easy-to-find online space with up-to-date contact details and information about your services will be one of the biggest drivers of new business. You should likewise treat your LinkedIn profile as a shop window, ensuring it reflects your achievements, services, and career aspirations.

Research

Do your research before engaging any clients. Know what the industry standard pay rate is, what normal turnover rates are and the average weekly hours. This will protect you from being taken advantage of, but it also shows prospective clients your depth of knowledge in your field.

At the same time you should learn all you can about businesses or clients you’re approaching. Show them from the start that you have an understanding of their work, their industry, and what would be required of you. This will certainly pique the interest of target clients.

Invest

Make sure you have all the equipment ready to go. This includes a fast computer and internet connection, microphone, headphones and, of course, a quiet space to work. For help setting up your own personal den of productivity, check out our guide to creating a home workspace.

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The move from PA to VA is a natural one in the increasingly online world, but it’s not always obvious how to become a virtual assistant. If you keep these principles in mind you’ll have a much greater chance of success as you head off in this exciting new direction!

Looking for a virtual role, or in need of a VA? Tiger can help – get in touch today.

The post From PA to VA: How to become a virtual assistant appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.