CEF - Graduate sales jobs with a difference

CEF - Graduate sales jobs with a difference by Tom Bunkham City Electrical Factors â€" big yet little.It’s not often that graduates know who City Electrical Factors are. After all, you don’t hear of many people aspiring to work as  an Electrical Wholesaler, do you?Who, what, why?Established in 1951 by Thomas Mackie, City Electrical Factors, commonly known as CEF to most in the industry is now the UK’s leading Electrical Wholesaler, sporting 393 branches. In addition to it’s UK presence, CEF can also be found on the other side of the Atlantic in North America, as well as in Canada, Australia, Spain Ireland.Still not sure what CEF actually do? The main bones of the company is to sell electrical products to the consumer. Be  it B2C or B2B, products include cable, lighting, consumer units amongst many others for both domestic and industrial use. CEF’s mantra is ‘the  customer always comes first` and the company has always prided itself on being able to cater for every customers needs no matter how big or smal l.Things you may not know about CEF:CEF is still owned by the Mackie family and is one of the most successful privately owned companies in the UK, ranked 7th in the Times top 250 in 2013.CEF employs over 6,000 staff members worldwide.In 2013 CEF’s turnover exceeding £1.1 billion.Some of the most successful staff members within the business started off behind the trade counter (sales assistant or van driver) including one of the current MDs.CEF are the only UK Electrical Wholesaler to have an in-house manufacturing distribution arm.Why CEF?There are many reasons to choose CEF as a place to develop your career.  A wide range of opportunities, including within wholesale, manufacturing and  distribution, a worldwide presence, and the company  still being privately owned, all  help  to create a range of  career opportunities at CEF.Many university students dream of working at a well-known  blue chip company after graduating, meaning that  sometimes CEF may fall slightly lower down th e list of graduate  brands to work for.  However, what CEF may lack in brand awareness, they make up for in variation of work offered  and international presence similar to those blue-chips.Where they do stand out is their ability to ensure their graduate employees are given every available opportunity  to ‘really work their way to the top`, where they can be mentored and developed every step of the way. CEF want every single graduate to succeed and stay with the company for the long term.At CEF academic ability is important   but it’s not everything; well-rounded individuals who can demonstrate commitment dedication, entrepreneurial vision (CEF is always interested in hearing new and innovative ideas) and a desire to succeed are just as vital. They  reward hard work regardless of any other factors such as length of service and if you’ve proven yourself to be successful there’s no reason why you can’t work your way up the career ladder.TestimonialStill not sure? See what Phil ONions, a former Graduate trainee who is now a Group Manager  at CEF, had to say about joining the scheme in 2005:Want to find out more? View CEFs Graduate Programme  now.Find a job What Where Search JobsSign up for more Career AdviceSign up for moreCareer Advice Please enter a valid email addressmessage hereBy clicking Submit you agree to the

Writing a General Computer Science Resume

Writing a General Computer Science ResumeThe Internet is filled with information on how to write a general computer science resume. If you are contemplating using this type of document, here are some tips to help make it more professional and business-like.Your computer science resume should not just be a list of your accomplishments. Many people do this, because they have no idea what they are doing. It's better to give a human touch to your resume, so that the reader can get a feel for who you are and what your skills are like.The first tip to remember when writing a computer science resume is to always use clear, concise language. Writing an essay is much different than writing a computer science resume. With the former, you can use all the fancy words you want. In the latter, you need to be as straight forward as possible.You want to put together a resume that is well written and filled with impressive job history. Always include details of any jobs you have held in order to show that you are professional and know what you are doing. Include titles and positions, so that the reader knows how long you have been in your current position. You should also mention awards you have received for these accomplishments.The next thing you want to be sure to include is career objectives. This is where you can truly showcase your skill sets and the types of positions you have held. For example, if you have worked for a large computer company, then make sure you include that in your description. It will help show the reader why you think you are the right person for the job.After that is a list of specific responsibilities you have held. Describe the responsibilities you had and the tasks that you completed. If you have only had a few jobs, then you don't have to list them. Just take note of what you did and state that in your description. Having a list of responsibilities is not the only detail you need, but it can help.You should also list the languages you speak and t he languages you have studied. If you haven't worked with a program in ten years, you need to put it on your resume. By listing these details, the reader will have a better idea of your background and educational background.When you are writing a computer science resume, you want to highlight the skills and accomplishments you have. However, the most important part of your document is the statement of your professional background. Be sure to include a lot of detail, but leave the reader wanting more.

Personal Internet Use at Work

Personal Internet Use at Work I’ve always wondered what IT Managers really track when it comes to employees’ personal internet use at the office.   So I got in touch with an IT Manager who has a lot of experience at both large and small companies, and here is what he had to say. “In my current (smaller) environment, we do not track or restrict internet usage.   We have a department that serves as the IT staff for small businesses. Liberal internet usage is somewhat required, and even encouraged for research and sales/marketing development. We also promote a flexible workplace. Often our staff will work from home on nights/weekends with full access to the tools they need, because of this, they will sometimes spend time while at the office sending personal emails, chatting, and social networking. As long as assigned tasks get completed, nothing that isnt inappropriate (pornography, gambling, etc.) is out of bounds. In my previous larger/corporate environment, we tracked all internet usage with software (SurfControl), and blocked instant messaging. Reports of each months top-10 users, and users who used the internet to look at pornography were created and submitted to HR. Due to the nature of their jobs requiring a lot of internet usage (routinely researching issues and communicating with various technical support avenues), and actually unbeknownst to upper management, the IT department exempted themselves from these reports.  Rarely did anything but a slap on the wrist occur to the most severe abusers. It was widely believed throughout the IT department that it was merely a scare tactic, and a tool to use when looking for an excuse to fire someone. If not, we could have just blocked pornography. Make sense?” Personal internet use seems totally normal and hard to live without for corporate Gen Y’ers.   My advice is to make sure you’ve read and understand your company’s Code of Conduct policy as every companys is different.   If you are afraid of being laid off, consider keeping your personal internet use to a minimum so that your manager can’t pull your records and come up with an excuse to fire you.   I know someone who got fired for Instant Messaging at work.   Ouch!   Not a fun thing to talk about at your next interview. The more obvious question here is, why would you even have to worry about this anyways?   If you’re on the internet all day, then you are probably not in a challenging enough position.   Or, perhaps it is challenging but you are bored to tears because it isn’t something you enjoy.   If you are reading this article because you are paranoid about “getting caught” or afraid that your popsugar addiction is effecting your work, then consider where you are and where you want to go in your current career.

8 Ways a Recruiter Can Help Your Job Search

8 Ways a Recruiter Can Help Your Job Search Although you will have been contacted by recruiters from time to time, you may or may not have been interested in what they had on offer. Most people should have realised by now that recruiters are not only useful when you are changing jobs but also when you are perfectly happy within your position. Over time, your relationships with good recruiters will prove mutually beneficial as long as you nurture them. Keep track of the good recruiters out there, just like they keep track of you on their CRM system. And although you may be very safe in your job today, all it takes is new management or an outsourcing deal and you will need that recruiter as soon as possible. First off, you need to understand how recruiters operate and what their agendas are. Just like they like to provide value when calling you, from your side you can think of what will be of value to them apart from the obvious value of you being interested in one of their positions. Contingency vs. retained recruiters There are two types of recruiters out there; contingency and retained. They are both keen on placing you into a position but the way they are remunerated are different. The contingency recruiter works on a fee for success only, so their job is to find brilliant candidates that their clients will hopefully be interested in. The retained recruiter has been formally instructed by the client to fill a particular role and they take a fee to start their assignment as well as a fee on completion. How does this matter to you? Well, the retained recruiters tend to have the better jobs and obviously work closer with the clients. The contingency recruiters tend to work with a plethora of clients and are typically more pro-active.  So if you think that you will move at some point in the foreseeable future, stay in touch with contingency recruiters. If you are very happy with your position and would only move for the dream job, chances are the retained recruiters will be handling the vacancy. In any event, the fees are charged to the client and you will never have to fork anything out, apart from your time. 1. Stay in touch You will want to stay in touch with recruiters that are local or have a local client base, if possible you should even meet them to further cement your relationship. Please be aware that if you are not going to be interested in any positions, communicate this clearly so that you don’t get the recruiter’s hopes up too much. 2. Same field, same geography You also want to make sure the recruiters you stay in touch with are specialised on your sector/industry and cover the same area that you are interested in. There is little sense in having regular contact with generalist recruiters as they won’t be able to fill you in on industry gossip and they are not likely to have the relevant opportunities for you. 3. Give and get the inside news Exchange information with recruiters. A decent recruiter will tell you what they have on at the moment and will expect you to tell them  what is happening at your company/department/team. Remember that some of the recruiters you deal with will have a direct access to very senior people in your field. You would be surprised how liberal with information senior hiring managers can be, only because they are speaking with a recruiter and not a peer. This means you can access top level industry gossip very conveniently. 4. Giving referrals Whether or not to give out referrals of colleagues and people you know in other companies is up to you. All I can say is that it is very much appreciated by the recruiter and they will return the favour when the time comes. Make sure to agree that this give and take of information stays strictly confidential. 5. Knowing what you want Be clear about what you want and what you don’t want. It is a source of frustration for recruiters when candidates aren’t sure what direction they want to take their career. When you are clear, the recruiter will respect this and will only ever bring up jobs that fit the bill; thus saving you both time. Furthermore, operate on a ‘no surprises’ policy, meaning if something (a promotion, another job) comes up please make the recruiter aware of this early on. Again, your honesty will be appreciated. 6. Your salary Be open and honest about your current package, as recruiters can sniff out a liar a mile away. By being open, the recruiter can actually tell you if you are being fairly remunerated or not. This is basically a free salary benchmarking straight from the expert. 7. Common courtesy Always be courteous and return calls from the recruiter. Although the call back rate for voicemails can be low, most people will drop an email or text saying when they are available to speak again. 8. The tables might turn Last but not least, you might find yourself in a hiring position one day and this is when your recruitment contacts can be very handy. Your contacts will be more than happy to work with you as a client and as you have been in regular contact over time, your new business relationship will hit the ground running. Any other ideas for getting the best out of recruiters? RELATED: Why a Recruiter is Necessary in Your Job Search Image: Shutterstock

Resume Writing Service Albany NY - Tips and Tricks For Finding a Good Service

Resume Writing Service Albany NY - Tips and Tricks For Finding a Good ServiceIf you are looking for a resume writing service Albany NY can help you with, you need to know what to look for. Do not expect an amazing resume without proofreading it first. Make sure to take the time to learn a few simple skills before you start writing your own resume.Many hiring managers ask me when I suggest that people utilize a resume writing service. I will tell you from my experience that they cannot make up for your personal attention to details. There is no substitute for expert guidance. It is not easy writing a resume so you want to make sure that you are doing it the right way.You should always be able to find your unique approach to a particular situation. What if you have experience with sports? Or food? Or a certain area of law? Always write your resume from the perspective of the position that you are applying for.Do you need to spend time editing? Maybe. For example, if you do not care abo ut sports, you may want to hire someone else to edit your resume. Many times, you have great written content and someone else can make the job easier for you. Also, make sure that you think through a sample resume before you sit down and type one up.This is a common question, but I will answer it again: be sure to know what type of resume you need before hiring a resume writing service in Albany NY. While there are a lot of good services, it is important to know what your needs are and to get a real feel for which service will meet your needs. As you browse through these sites, you will find that there are many types of resumes and most of them have very specific formats.Look at the reviews and testimonials of the companies you are considering using. How long has the service been in business? How many years does the service have? Is the service legal?Ask for samples of the type of resumes the service has written for others. Many of the better services will have some sort of sample o n their website. Read it carefully to see if the company has the information on their website that you are looking for.Be sure to ask about hiring policies, fees, how long it will take for the service to get to work, whether or not you can have a sample completed and returned. Having a resume written by a professional who knows what they are doing is going to make a big difference in your ability to land a great job.

Tips on Writing Resume Summaries

Tips on Writing Resume SummariesThe tips on writing resume summary may not be anything new, but there are many people who think that a resume summary is not important. If you get into a job interview, the first thing that is going to happen is that they are going to read your resume. They will be interested to know what you have to offer and will be tempted to call you for an interview. When a resume goes through a good process of getting responses from the employers, the first thing that will be read is the resume summary.The tips on writing resume summaries may not be very new, but the truth is that they still work well. It is because they are effective in helping to sell yourself. Your resume should include things that will make the employer to take the time to read it. What should you put in your resume summary? This article will tell you some good tips on writing resumes that will help you do that.The first tip is to make sure that your resume has a strong point that will justif y its presence. This means that it must have something worth reading. You must be sure that the details of your background is made clear and that it shows a positive thing about you. This will make your resume appear as if it is worth reading. Many people make the mistake of including small details but this is not necessary.The second tip on writing a resume summary is to make sure that it includes all the facts that need to be mentioned. It is better to focus on only a few things rather than including everything. Including all the details will show the employer that you are not being serious about the job. This is very dangerous and you may lose the job that you have applied for.The third tip on writing a resume summary is to make sure that it includes all the important information. If you want your resume to stand out from the rest, then you need to give the employer enough information about you. Just be sure that you do not overload them.The fourth tip on writing a resume summary is to make sure that you have written it clearly. This is very important especially when you are writing something for the first time. You do not want your resume to be confusing to read.The fifth tip on writing a resume summary is to make sure that you have included every bit of information possible. This means that your resume must have details about you that will have the employers confused. There are some people who may write the resume without even knowing what their requirements are. This can be very dangerous especially if you are applying for the position of a manager.The last tip on writing a resume summary is to make sure that it is professional and concise. This is very important because if you do not follow all these tips, you might ruin your chances of getting the job. You should remember that the resume is the first thing that a potential employer will read and hence you need to make sure that your resume is professional in appearance.

Are You Lurking or Participating

Are You Lurking or Participating Are you a lurker?   I guess I should define the term to be sure you know what I mean.   According to Wikipedia: In Internet culture, a lurker is a person who reads discussions on a message board, newsgroup, chatroom, file sharing or other interactive system, but rarely or never participates actively. Research indicates that lurkers make up over 90% of online groups (Nonnecke Preece 2000). Lack of trust represents one of the reasons explaining lurking behavior (Ridings, Gefen Arinze 2006). Is it a lack of trust that prevents you from engaging? Spam, violation of your privacywhat is preventing you from participating? Why should you bother? Trust Agents and Crush It, two amazing books Ive recently read, reference lurking. It is, according to them, a good first step to take when exploring new tools. So, theres nothing wrong in getting the lay of the land.   Figuring out whos active and how they are active in the groups you are newly part of is pretty smart.   However, at some point, once youve figured it out, you need to participate. Participating means commenting and sharing.   Why is this important? Creates an awareness of you Demonstrates knowledge/expertise I moderate a LinkedIn group exclusively for job seekers who have completed a job search training program.   There are over 500 members.   The majority of them do not participate. Perhaps it is lack of trust or maybe they dont know that they can share news or add discussions. I am also part of a Yahoo Group which is extremely active. People regularly post information.   But you know what?   It is a clunky tool.   It is email based, it is difficult to find user profile information.   Yahoo groups were wonderful when they were first invented, but weve come so far. (Sorry, got sidetracked). Members of this group lurk too.   The majority dont participate.   When they do participate, they have been encouraged to introduce themselves.   They post a long boring resume-type message. If you are ready to stop lurking, then begin posting information that is on brand. You can do this in any of the groups you belong to or tools you use (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter)   What I mean is, if you are an Electrical Engineer, share an article, news or link that would help other electrical engineers. Look for ways to help others. Instead of introducing yourself begin by participating!   Your reputation will precede you (if done correctly).

Taking Advantage Of Social Media Promotion

Taking Advantage Of Social Media Promotion In this day social media and social networking is everything and if you are not a part of it you are missing out on a great deal. Companies that utilize social media sites are on the top of their game and they want to know that their employees are not only comfortable using these sites, but are skilled at using them. Take advantage of this. When you apply for a job offer your future employer the chance to look at one or more of your personal pages on various social media sites. Be warned: if you do decide to do this, make sure that your page or profile is professional and enjoyable. Do not post crass, vulgar, or potentially embarrassing thing that could jeopardize your chance at a job. This is also something to be careful of once you have a job. Be careful to avoid talking about employers or coworkers in a negative, mean, or condescending way. This will keep you from getting into any unnecessary company drama. If the company you apply for (or currently work for) has not gotten on board the social media promotion   train, then offer to help get them started. If you are skilled and effective when using social media sites, then offer to start a Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Linkedin, or blog for the company. Not only will you be showing initiative, but you will also be in charge of helping the companys marketing in a big way. This will be very impressive to employers. Social media is an extremely useful tool and you (as well as the company you work for) need to take advantage of it in order to get ahead.