Express London Job Seekers Blog

We go to work to get things done, and it never helps to blame a co-worker for problems that happen. It’s far better to work together to achieve our goals. Usually, anyway. But sometimes it just seems like a co-worker is dead set on derailing the entire work process. Maybe they’re constantly gossiping about their peers or always missing deadlines. Whenever you ask them about their problematic behavior, there’s an excuse. They’re having an off day because they slept badly, they missed a deadline because their aunt is sick, they aren’t gossiping, they just “say it like it is.” Here are a few signs your co-worker might be toxic. They Lie. A lot. Lying is never a great look, but there can be legitimate reasons for bending the truth. Maybe a co-worker is suffering from an illness and doesn’t want to worry you or is suffering from personal drama they don’t want to share. But if lies pile up day after day for no reason, you might be dealing with …

Explore a career as a substitute teacher! Despite already having experience with several jobs, many working adults are unable to answer the age-old question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Our Job Spotlight monthly blog series is designed to help answer that question. In this series, we review all the basics of specific jobs, from pay and duties, to why people do the jobs they do. Substitute Teacher In this month’s Job Spotlight, we’re learning what it means to be a substitute teacher. Required Education: Generally, a high school degree. Bachelor’s degree in teaching preferred. Pay Although pay varies depending on a variety of factors (e.g. experience, industry, geographic area, etc.), substitute teachers make an average of $17.35 an hour. What Substitute Teachers Do: Substitute Teachers deal with a variety of responsibilities, including: Taking attendance Coordinating with the regular teacher to teach their curriculum and lesson plans Overseeing students both in and outside of class Giving out and explaining homework Administering tests and quizzes Compiling progress …

It’s hard to believe that 2021 is almost over. It’s already December! With the world starting to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s been a year of change many companies decided to permanently embrace remote work and new jobs were created. Work just looks different now. And now it’s time to ask ourselves what 2022 is going to look like. Will finding a new job be easy, hard, or somewhere in between? Let us know by voting in our poll!

Back in 2019, no one could have guessed what was in store. But here we are nearly two years later, and COVID-19 has changed the way we work, learn, and connect. For employment, jobs seekers don’t expect, or really event want, work to go back to the previous status quo. Here are some statistics about what the job search looks like now, courtesy of Job Journey polls and a recent The Harris Poll Survey commissioned by Express Employment Professionals. Remote work is now the norm. Fifty-eight percent of those surveyed say they work more hours remotely than in-person. When it comes time to go back to the workplace, job seekers value safety measures: mask requirements, a socially distanced workplace, workplace sanitation/disinfection procedures, and provided PPE top the list of what they want to see to feel safe. The pandemic has taken a toll on job seeker morale, with 66% thinking overall workplace dynamics and interpersonal relationships will be worse than prior to the pandemic, compared to 22% who think things …

It’s that time of year again. A time to eat turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, and give thanks. It’s Thanksgiving Thursday! And what better way to celebrate the holiday than giving thanks to our favorite job search tool, the resume. We thank our resumes for always being with us, and for traveling the unknown of the world wide web to meet with interviewers. But more than saying our thanks, we should show it with some resume updates, too! Here are a few ways to ensure your resume sparkles this holiday season. Condense, condense, condense! Recruiters get hundreds of resumes, so they can’t spend a ton of time on each one. If you want a recruiter to review your entire resume, brevity is the way to go. This doesn’t mean you need to cut jobs that are relevant to the position you’re applying for; instead, use bullet points and subheads to save on space. Show your remote work capabilities. If you’ve worked remotely during the pandemic, make sure to include that information …

By Julie Neal, Corporate Communications and PR Specialist for Express Employment Professionals International Headquarters Demand for workers is critical right now with more than 10 million job openings in the U.S., and businesses are willing to offer high wages and more benefits to fill positions this holiday season. Companies seem to realize the importance of competitive pay as the majority (63%) expect the average wage at their company will increase for the remainder of 2021. And that’s been steadily growing over the past year (52% in the first half of 2020, 58% in the second half of 2020, and 63% in the first half of 2021)! This is according to a new survey from The Harris Poll commissioned by Express Employment Professionals. In addition to high pay, 43% of businesses expect their company’s benefit offerings to increase in the next quarter, which means now is the right time to land your next job or make a move to a more lucrative one. If you are just entering the workforce or …

You put in the work and sent out plenty of job applications, and you had the opportunity to interview with some great companies. But for some reason, even when you think those interviews went well, you never get a second interview. What’s going on? Is there something you’re doing wrong? Not necessarily, but there might be a few things you can improve. Here are a few reasons for not getting a second interview and solutions to help you move forward. You: Lack of Preparation Sometimes you aren’t getting a second interview and it is your fault. Maybe you didn’t research the company beforehand. They asked you why you were interested in working with them and you didn’t have an answer prepared. Or perhaps you were running late (even if for a good reason). If the reason you didn’t get an interview is due to a lack of preparation, the only solution is to prep more. There’s no such thing as overpreparing. If you’re having trouble answering interview questions, check out …

When you’re tired on a Monday morning, two of the best ways to put some pep in your step include coffee and tea. But is boiling bean juice or hot leaf soup the way to go? Both provide a caffeinated boost, so it depends on what you’re looking in your morning beverage. More Caffeine? Coffee. According to the BBC, coffee is the way to go if you’re looking to maximize your caffeine intake. Coffee has about 80 milligrams of caffeine, compared to the 40 milligrams found in tea. However, according to a study, both beverages left subjects feeling similar levels of alertness later in the morning. So, it might be more than pure caffeine that determines how awake you feel. But if you still want to maximize your caffeine intake, coffee is the way to go. Looking for Less Calories? Tea (Sort of). Ok, so neither of these beverages is going to break the bank when it comes to calorie intake. After all, they’re both basically hot water and nature. …

It can be tough to motivate ourselves to go through training when we already have a job or when we’re dealing with the other stresses of life. But sometimes, promotion opportunities are only available to those who take the time to upskill. If there was one benefit you could get as a reward for taking the time to upskill, what would it be? We wanted to know, so we took a poll. Here are the results! The Results Twenty-eight percent of those polled responded with a pay increase, while 17% chose a cash or bonus incentive. Another 15% opted for scheduling flexibility, while an additional 14% chose new or expanded job opportunities. Just 13% responded with promotion, and just 11% chose benefits incentive. One percent chose the other options with responses such as “the joy of personal development,” “personal achievement and satisfaction,” and “additional PTO.” What Does it Mean? Perhaps unsurprisingly, the two most popular responses involved monetary rewards. But it’s important to note that scheduling flexibility and expanded job …

There’s something special about Pixar movies. Whether it’s a space ranger learning what it means to be a toy, an elderly man rediscovering friendship, or the personification of joy learning about sadness, these films tug at our heartstrings and teach us incredible lessons. But did you know that these life lessons can also apply to your job search? Here’s how. “Finding Nemo” – Find Something You Love “I shall call him Squishy, and he shall be mine and he shall be my Squishy.” – Dory Dory is memorable because … well, because most things aren’t memorable for her. She forgets most things in a matter of minutes, but that doesn’t stop her from living life to the fullest. She loves everything, like the tiny jellyfish she dubs Squishy. In your career, you need to find your Squishy. Even if your job isn’t the most exciting thing in the world, you want something to look forward to every day. It could be your co-workers, a certain project you’re working on, or …