5 “old school” tips for the under 25’s job hunt

Recent figures have shown that youth unemployment is at an all time high within the UK. Several matters often stand in the way of a young persons’ job hunt. A lot of people nowadays focus their efforts entirely on the internet rather than embracing other methods alongside the world wide web. We’ve put together some old fashioned hints and tips to help encourage your job search…

1. Dedicate more time – Allowing a couple of hours a day looking through job boards whilst checking your Facebook and Twitter at the same time will not suffice. They say the process of finding a job should be the equivalent of having a full time job – so make sure it is!

2. Apply speculatively to companies – Research has found that 80% of vacancies aren’t even advertised. Advertising vacancies can be an expensive process for companies, so if they can avoid it, most will. Send your CV and a tailored covering letter addressed to the person responsible for recruitment. If you can’t find this out from their corporate website, then call the company and ask.

3. Look elsewhere other than the internet – newspapers, industry publications. If you’re a graduate, attend job fairs and network – especially if your job role is quite specialist.

4. Be open minded – Don’t restrict yourself to one industry. Think about transferrable skills. You may not want to work in that specific industry for the rest of your life, but it might well prove to be a stepping stone in your career to the job you’ve always wanted.

5. Offer your skills for free – if you’re not working, then why not volunteer in a local charitable organisation, or within a company that you’ve always wanted to work for? It will provide you with the opportunity to increase your skills offering, and you never know, it could lead to a permanent job offer!

Sometimes, all it takes is a small adjustment to change the whole dimensions – be open to making changes within your job search strategy. Before you know it, you may be the one offering the advice and in the process, you may learn some valuable lessons through doing this.

Managing your social media presence

Recent research has found that 90% of recruiters and hiring managers have looked at a candidate’s social media profile, and almost half have done it after receiving the application, but before initiating a screening conversation. The research also showed that 69% of recruiters have rejected someone based on their social networking profile. The main reasons were because the candidate had lied about their qualifications, posted inappropriate photos or comments, or had negative comment about a previous employer. 68%, however, were reported to have hired someone because of what they’d seen on their profile. This was often due to the candidate’s profile providing a positive impression of personality and organisational fit, it showed the person was creative or it supported qualifications and had good references.

To help avoid being rejected due to your social media presence, we’ve put together some tips…

• Make sure your privacy settings are set to private unless you want everyone and anyone knowing your business – this includes the potential employers!

• When updating your social media platform, think about what you’re posting and how it may be perceived.

• Bear in mind that even if your profile is private, recruiters will still be able to see your profile picture. Offensive photos are often found to be the main reason for a recruiter rejecting a candidate.

• http://www.reppler.com is a free social media monitoring service which helps users manage their online image. In a nutshell, it checks all your social networks and highlights anything that could be considered a potential issue or risk.

How to get a call back...

So, we’ve all been there, you’ve managed to secure an interview for a job and you think it’s gone really well, but you’ve not heard anything when they said they would ‘get back to you within the next few days’. As each day passes you begin doubting how well the interview really went.

Don’t panic! This situation happens to everyone, so just relax and make sure you follow these steps to try avoid these situations as much as possible…

·         Remember that interviewers have very busy schedule – especially when they’re recruiting. If you haven’t heard, chances are there’s not a decision yet.

·         To avoid this, ask at the end of the interview when you’re likely to hear. If they say ‘within the next few days’ then ask when it will be acceptable for you to follow up if you don’t hear by then.

·         Never assume that they’re going to call you back.

·         If you don’t manage to arrange a certain time then follow them up. Be pro-active, and push for a response – but gently.

·         Unfortunately, waiting is part of the job seeking process. It can be frustrating, but being patient is important – just not too patient!

 

What to cover in a letter?

Including a covering letter with your CV can demonstrate motivation, commitment and initiative. A covering letter gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your writing skills, and an extra chance to state why the recruiter should read your CV.

1. Presentation: Make sure the presentation of your covering letter is of the highest standard. Find out who the letter should be addressed to (if there’s no name on the job advert, then make the effort to ring the company and find out their name). Did you know 60% of covering letters and CV’s are addressed to the wrong person? Make sure you’re in the 40% that are right! Also, put the job title and reference number (if there is one) at the top of your letter, and avoid exceeding one page.

2. Content: Focus on the company rather than yourself. Read the advert thoroughly and try to mimic the terminology used within the advert and supporting information (job description and person specification). Make sure you match the aspects they’ve outlined as their ‘needs’ to your skills.

3. Structure: Open your letter by stating why you are writing, identifying the position you’re applying for and how you heard about the position. Next, explain what interests you about the job, and then focus on how their organisation would benefit if they were to employ you. State what strengths (skills and experience) you have and relate them to the job in question. Describe past achievements, relate them to the vacancy. Finally, refer the reader to your enclosed CV for further information and thank them for their time.

4. Detail: Include detail about the company. Show the reader you have done your research on the company, mention some of the organisation’s specific projects in your covering letter. For example, “An aspect of your organisation that really attracted me was the amount of projects you undertake within the community. The ‘EXAMPLE’ project really impressed me; the whole process seemed incredibly well structured with a clear vision. The results within the community are really inspiring. To see an organisation encourage residents to improve their skills and therefore further their prospects to that extent is very rare - and the thought of being involved in such an organisation is something that really appeals to me.”

5. Why you? Throughout the covering letter, you should be answering the question of ‘Why you?’. The whole purpose of the letter is to convince the recruiter that you are the right person for the job, and therefore they should read your CV and invite you for interview. Emphasis your positive assets, past accomplishments and personal qualities – remember to keep it in line with the potential employers needs.

6. Last few pointers: If you are sending the covering letter in physical format, make sure you print on a high quality paper. If, however, you are sending it digitally, include the covering letter in the main body of the e-mail and attach the CV as a document. Finally, get someone to proof read the letter before you send it off. Everyone makes mistakes – better to be safe than sorry!

Good luck!

Making application forms a breeze!

The vast majority of public sector companies ask candidates to complete an application form, rather than submitting a CV. This is primarily for equality and diversity reasons.

The essence of completing any application form is to express that you have the right skills and qualities for the position. They usually feature a range of different questions; from general questions about your personality and hobbies, to ones that focus on your education and past work experience. There will also be competency based questions. To help you tackle these forms in the best way possible, we’ve put together some advice…

1. When answering the more general questions, such as – “What do you do in your spare time?” – think about what the employer is looking for and how what you write may be perceived. For example, “In my spare time, I enjoy playing team sports and regularly play for a five aside football team” would demonstrate to the employer that not only do you work well in teams – but also that you pay attention to your fitness. Healthy staff = higher attendance rates.

Try to avoid phrases such as - “I enjoy socialising with my friends”. Most people do enjoy socialising with their friends, but chances are a recruiter would read through the lines and perceive you as unreliable.

2. Use questions based on education and past experience as an opportunity to highlight skills that you’ve developed as a result of these. For example, communication, time management, and leadership skills. If you lack similar experience, then be sure to indicate these skills as transferable.

3. Competency based questions – a lot of people struggle with competency based questions. People often over analyse the questions and think there is a right or wrong answer. The recruiter wants to see your ability to problem solve and use your initiative. Use this opportunity to show how you have resolved problems and what the experience has taught you. You should structure your answers using the CAR approach – context, action, result. Describe the context of the situation but try not to go into too much unnecessary detail. Focus on the action - what you did and what skills you used. Then explain the outcome, and what you learnt from the experience.

Here are some examples of competency based questions:

• "Please give an example of how you work in a team/how you have dealt with a difficult problem".
• "If your co-worker has missed a deadline, what would you do?".
• “Please describe a situation when you have used your interpersonal skills to help build relationships with others, shared knowledge and information to achieve the business goals.” 

Make sure you use examples, and focus on your own actions rather than that of a team. Use a variety of situations rather than focusing on one area – for example your studies or your previous job positions. Avoid any negativity and use power words such as "succeed", "committed", and "confident". Finally, remember to stay truthful throughout the whole application process.

Good luck!

Housing Jobs provides organisations with the tools to create a discrimination free recruitment process, including the ability to create on-line application forms and restrict viewing. For more information, or if you're a job seeker seeking a role with an organisation that promotes equality and diversity, please visit www.housingjobs.org.uk

It takes two to tango!

It's very well preparing answers for intervew questions, but a job interview is a two-way process. Preparing questions to ask at the interview will not only potray initiative, but also give you a more thorough vision of what the company are like to work for.

We've put together some examples that might come in useful...

• How would you describe the responsibilities of this position?
• How would you describe a typical working week in this role?
• How many people are in the team that I'll be working with?
• How would you describe the company culture?
• What are the prospects for growth and advancement with the company?
• Are there regular performance reviews?
• What do you enjoy the most about working here?
• Are there any other questions I can answer for you?
• When can I expect to hear from you?
 

Don't ask them all, and be careful not to ask anything that has already been covered in the interview - otherwise they'll think you've not been listening!

Good luck!

How to get a job through social media...

Nowadays, people use social media for lots of different aspects of their lives – socialising, shopping, for educational purposes and informational purposes, so it’s not surprising that companies have started using social media to recruit as well. We’ve put together some tips to help you source your next role through social media.

·        Don’t just search for jobs – search for people. Websites such as LinkedIn allow us to search for companies and it's employees. It provides you with direct access to the HR manager. You can also use it for research purposes when you do bag an interview.

·        When someone thinks of twitter, they probably won’t think of it as a place to find your next job. However, several companies have twitter accounts dedicated entirely to their recruitment team – plus recruitment companies are always tweeting their positions. Search specific hash tags to find live vacancies. Some examples are, #jobsearch, #jobseeker, #vacancies. Or try industry specific hash tags such as #housingjobs or #publicsectorjobs

·        Several companies have Facebook fan pages with a dedicated job search tab. The HousingJob Facebook page has a job search application whereby you can search through live vacancies without leaving the website.

·        Subscribe to blogs – a lot of people don’t realise that blogs are the number 1 social media tool. A quick google search will provide you with a vast range of blogs on every topic you could imagine. Look for industry specific blogs, as well as ones based on job seeking and HR matters.

Be careful not to focus all your efforts solely on social media though – you should do the above in conjunction with more traditional methods to make sure you’ve got all bases covered.

Men = women?

A recent article on personneltoday focuses on the results of research conducted by recruitment consultancy, Robert Half. The research has found that more than three-quarters (78%) of HR directors believe that male employees do not have an advantage over females within the workplace.

The survey, completed by 180 HR directors, also found that half of those who did think that there was an imbalance between males and females at work believed that family commitments were responsible for this difference.

Respondents also identified a lack of promotion opportunities (42%) and the desire to maintain a good work-life balance (36%) as key factors behind the difference in men and women’s professional development.

Phil Sheridan, managing director of Robert Half UK, commented: “While it s encouraging that over three-quarters of HR directors don’t view men as having an advantageous position over women in the workplace, more needs to be done.

“Companies should regularly review their succession and remuneration plans to ensure that women are treated fairly and equally, with policies to take into account their family and personal commitments.”

Previous research by Friends Life found that more than half (55%) of women believed that there would still be a significant pay gap between men and women in 2020 and 53% thought that they would still be facing more barriers than men to secure senior roles.

The Equality Act 2010 states that it’s unlawful for an employer to discriminate against you because of your sex. The Act covers the following aspects of employment:

• recruitment
• employment terms and conditions
• pay and benefits
• training
• promotion and transfer opportunities
• redundancy
• dismissal

Equal terms – equal pay refers to where men and women whom work for the same employer, are doing one of the following, they are entitled to the same terms in their employment contract:

• the same or similar work (like work)
• work rated as equivalent in a job evaluation study by the employer
• work of equal value

Pay secrecy clauses in employment contracts are unenforceable if you are trying to find out if any difference in pay is connected with a 'protected characteristic', for example sex.

If you think you are being discriminated against, visit the direct.gov website for further advice on what to do next.

Tackling age discrimination

2010-11 Tribunals Service statistics have revealed that the number of age discrimination claims accepted by employment tribunals has risen by nearly one third (30.8%) to 6,800.

                                                        Personneltoday, 2011

                                                      

The statistics, which cover the period from 1st April 2010 until 21st March 2011, shows that the number of overall claims has decreased by 8% on the previous year.

Adrian Crawford, employment partner at law firm Kingsley Napley, comments: "It is noteworthy that while age discrimination claims are still a long way behind sex discrimination, they are now catching up with disability claims and have overtaken race-related claims to be the third most frequent type of discrimination action.

"Everybody has an age so anyone can potentially formulate an age discrimination claim. This may explain why there are already so many claims even before we have felt the impact of the abolition of the default retirement age, which is likely to lead to a huge increase in age discrimination claims."

Housing Jobs prides itself on providing a discrimination free job seeking process. The ability to upload/view job descriptions, person specifications and create tailored job descriptions helps housing associations reach their equality and diversity aims.

All aspects of employment are protected from age discrimination. This includes:

•Recruitment – advertising/application forms and interviewing
•Training
•Promotions and transfers
•Employment benefits
•Employment terms and conditions
•Flexible working
•Redundancy
•Retirement
•Sickness benefit
•Dismissals

If you think you may have been a victim of age discrimination, visit the direct.gov.uk website for help on what to do next.

How to improve your time management skills

Time management is one of those skills that you're not taught during your time in education, but is vital in the professional world. The ability to prioritise and organise your workload will differentiate yourself within the workplace. Your colleagues will respect and admire how you keep level headed under pressure due to your organised outlook and colour-coded 'post it notes'! If you struggle with time management, here's our top eight tips to help you achieve this level of recognition:

1. Track your daily activities - Keeping track of your daily activities - what you did and the time frames involved - will help evaluate where you're wasting time and where you need more time assigned. If you use Outlook, you can utilise your calender to do so, or if you prefer a pen and paper, keep a diary.
2. Create to-do lists - To-do lists will prevent you forgetting about tasks and make sure you complete the tasks in order of priority. Soon, you won't be able to start a days work without creating a list! Once again, Outlook provides you with the option to create a task list, or if you prefer, just use a notepad/diary.
3. Avoid leaving e-mails sitting in your inbox - Keep your inbox organised with designated folders. Schedule regular times to check your e-mails, and action them as soon as you've read them - otherwise you'll end up forgetting about said e-mail!
4. Be careful when multi-tasking - Multi-tasking isn't something to take lightly. People often take so much on board they end up becoming overwhelmed and forgetting about certain tasks. Don't be afraid to say no!
5. Keep your website bookmarks organised - Bookmark websites that you regularly visit, then organise them by folders. This will reduce time, and prevent you losing any relevant websites!
6. Be honest with yourself - Assess when you're at most productive. Everyone has a time in the day when they work best. If that's the morning, then prioritise your most important work to do during the morning, that way you will achieve more within your working day.
7. Set time limits - Use your outlook or diary to set time frames for each task. Regularly assess these time frames. If you're running out of times for certain tasks, then make sure you assign a longer time frame the next time.
8. Take your time - People want quality work, not rushed. Don't be afraid to take your time, accuracy is more important than rushing and producing work littered with mistakes. Remember the tortoise and the hare?

“Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

Research has found that 11am on a Tuesday is the most depressing time of the week. Monday is gone but you're still 3.5 days away from the weekend. You've caught up on all your e-mails, and now it's time to get down to the nitty gritty. So here at Housing Jobs, we thought we'd try cheer you up with some feel good quotes...

“Before I can tell my life what I want to do with it, I must listen to my life telling me who I am.” - Parker J. Palmer

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” - Calvin Coolidge

"Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same." - Francesca Reigler

And a more light-hearted one...

“Hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance?” - 

Edgar Bergen  

Talk about diversity!

Whilst reading about the arrival of a 'Zonkey' foal (a cross between a donkey and a zebra!) in South East China this morning, it got us thinking about diversity in the workplace.

Diversity and equality within the workplace is becoming more expected, especially of organisations within the public sector. It's often considered a minefield with some organisations not having a clue where they should start, which is why we've put together some ideas to get you started...

• Create a 'diversity calendar' - with a range of religions and ethnicity within the workplace, a good starting point for your organisation is to create a 'diversity calendar'. It will not only help the organisation keep track of annual cultural celebrations, but also it can help provide information on the celebrations and even allow organisations to organise events to highlight the celebrations. A 'diversity calendar' may also improve staff morale as it will show an organisation's respect for their employee's and their beliefs.

• Make use of creativity - Having employees from a wealth of different backgrounds and upbringing can only be beneficial for the organisation. It will provide the opportunity for creative ideas from all different angles of society. Tapping into the individual qualities of the personnel will encourage an organisation to grow and expand.

• Cost effective - Not only has research shown that an organisation with a diverse workforce suffers from lower absenteeism and employee turnover rates, but they are also less likely to come under threat from discrimination law suits.

• Encourages business - Just as an organisation is likely to come across diversity in the workplace, the organisations' external business dealings will also involve different ethnicities and cultures. If you promote diversity and equality in the workplace, your external business dealings will improve as a result.

At Housing Jobs, we promote diversity and equality by providing our clients with a platform whereby they can control and monitor their recruitment methods within a discrimination free process.

Finally, something to make you smile on a rainy Wednesday morning, view the video of the Zonkey foal here

Who's in?

Ever thought about enhancing your CV through volunteering?

Searching for a new job can be frustrating. Hundreds of applicants, all applying for the same role. How do you make yourself stand out?

Research has found that volunteering can make you much more appealing to potential employers, as it shows that you aren't afraid to use your initiative and helps to develop leadership skills.

Volunteering is much more likely to enhance your skills and be more beneficial than doing work experience.

Becci Newton, senior research fellow at the Institute for Employment Studies, suggests volunteering.

"There's no doubt that young people are struggling in the labour market and there's no doubt that they'd benefit if there was somebody to offer them a bit of a reference about their abilities," she said.

"Volunteering is quite different in that young people have a greater opportunity to perhaps develop leadership skills than they might in work, because they are able to devise to a greater extent or suggest their own projects that they might take forward."

Not only will it improve your job prospects, but there's also the feel good factor of knowing you're helping a worthy cause!

How to get a job through Housing Jobs...

We've not updated the blog for a while, so we thought we'd give you an update as to how Housing Jobs can help you in your job search.

So, here are some hints and tips to help you find your dream role…

• Job alerts – Set up your job alerts on the Housing Jobs website, so any relevant vacancies get sent straight to your inbox as soon as they go live.
• Become a fan on Facebook – Take advantage of our Facebook page which features our new Housing Jobs application which allows you to search through all our vacancies without leaving the page itself.
• Check out our new clients – Sanctuary Housing have recently started advertising on Housing Jobs. Take a look at their current vacancies by clicking here

We hope that our help will assist you in finding the job you’ve always wanted. In the meantime, we’d love to hear from you if there’s anything you think we can improve on or any suggestions about our website. Drop us an e-mail at sophie.taylor@housingjobs.org.uk and we promise to take what you say on board!

Good luck!

The Housing Jobs team. 

Health and safety gone crazy?

A pensioner living in Barnoldswick, Lancashire, has been told by the local council that nothing can be done about the nest of angry wasps outside her bathroom window. The council has claimed that using ladders is considered too dangerous when environmental health staff were required to wear the neccessary protective clothing and carry the poision.

The elderly pensioner was concerned that she may be stung from the wasps whilst in the bath.

Local councillor David Whipp said, "Unfortunately, you do not find wasps nesting on the ground, although it would be better for the people doing the risk assessments if they did."

"But its a barmy situation if people employed to tackle nuisances at a high level are not allowed to go up a ladder to do it."

"People wearing cumbersome suits have managed to land on the moon. Presumably, we would never have got there if the health and safety brigade had their way."

"Perhaps the council needs to advertise for Spider Man to carry out this work."

Here at Housing Jobs, we're beginning to think this health and safety epidemic is here to stay!

Housing Jobs celebrate its first birthday!

May 2011 sees the first birthday of online job board, Housing Jobs. The specialist recruitment advertising website has continually grown over the past year, and now has a number of key clients ranging from reputable Housing Associations such as Yorkshire Housing & Opportunity Housing Trust, to the market leader in e-recruitment solutions – networx Recruitment.

The website also benefits from having a top five Google ranking, and thousands of registered candidates waiting for quality roles based within housing organisations. The online job board has been a first of it’s kind to offer the platform it does – whereby you can ask candidates to apply in a range of methods, from offline, by e-mail or directing them straight through to your website – but the website also offers the ability to upload supporting documents such as job descriptions.

Many of the registered candidates have a social media based relationship with the website as well – an aspect of marketing that Housing Jobs has recognised is key to success. With an active Twitter page, Facebook page and LinkedIn group, the website is constantly building its social media presence in an aim to engage their readers and subsequently attract good quality candidates to the roles advertised. All positions are automatically Tweeted, as well as posted on Facebook and LinkedIn to help their clients reach the biggest audience possible.

To celebrate their first birthday, Housing Jobs are currently offering job posting credits at a reduced rate of £99.99 per vacancy. For more information on the services the website offers, please e-mail sophie.taylor@housingjobs.org.uk

How to train the Jedi way?

A good friend of mine has recently decided she wants a career change which has subsequently caused an uproar by her close family members. This has left me wondering about how people chose the career they have. I, for one, only decided I wanted to go into Marketing at the age of 21 after leaving school after A-Levels to go to agricultural college and attempt, what later turned into, a failed career in the Equine industry (once I realised that for me, horses were a hobby that should be left as that!). I then took up an admin job for an e-recruitment solutions company which gave me an insight into all the different industries and roles available – which is when I realised a career in Marketing was for me – and my experience in the recruitment industry has helped me adapt to marketing a specialist online job board.

More and more nowadays we’re seeing people changing their career paths later in life, and younger people generally avoiding embarking on their career as they’re not entirely sure what it is that they want to do.

I can’t help but wonder why it is that the younger people of today’s societies change their mind so often – many going to University because it is the “done thing” despite them not fully intending to have a career in whatever it is they’re studying. Are young people today given too much choice? Careers that never existed years ago have emerged with job titles getting more bizarre by the year – and universities and colleges offering degrees in subjects I’ve never heard of. The Independent released a list of “weird and wonderful university courses” which noted that traditional English University, Durham, offers a unit in “Harry Potter and the Age of Illusions” as part of their Education Studies degree. Similarly, Queen's University Belfast offers an open learning course in “Feel the Force: How to Train in the Jedi Way”. The Independent stated that, “the course teaches the real-life psychological techniques behind Jedi mind tricks, as well as examining the wider issues behind the Star Wars universe, like balance, destiny, dualism, fatherhood and fascism.” No offense to anyone who has studied these subjects, but I struggle to see how this can add to ones career path?

I’m interested to know people’s thoughts on this matter. Have you always known you wanted to work in the Housing industry? Or did you just ‘fall’ into it? Perhaps you’re looking to kick start a career in the industry?

Should people really be frowned upon for not knowing what they want to choose as their career path? Is it not better to change your direction in aid to be happy within your role, or should people stop thinking the grass is always greener and “crack on with it”?

Social Media for Social Housing

Figures have been released today showing that social media websites, such as Facebook and Twitter, have become the most visited websites in the UK reaching around 2.4 billion visits in January 2011 alone.

Here at Housing Jobs, we recognise the importance of social media, including within the social housing industry. We’re talking about an industry where people are its core value, so what better way to communicate than through a social means that is easily accessible to most? Websites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn provide you with the opportunity to interact with your tenants and stakeholders. Here’s some tips we’ve come up with to help you build / improve your social media strategy:

Engage your audience…

For social media platforms to be effective, organisations need their audience to interact with them, otherwise all their content will fall on deaf ears. To do so, you need to understand what your followers, fans and readers want and subsequently learn to how to engage with them.

Create a social media strategy…

To use social media successfully, you need to think about your objectives and your audience. Without knowing these, your social media will fail as the content will be targeted incorrectly, and therefore irrelevant.

Use a blog…

Few people realise that blogs have actually been found to be the most effective form of social media. You can direct traffic from all your social media platforms to your blog, and then onwards to your website. This not only expands your social media presence, but will also help with your search engine optimization (in layman's terms, how high up you rank in search engines such as Google).

Create social media guidelines…

Many organisations worry about the risks with social media, in that any content has a direct effect on the reader, and therefore anything negative written about your company on an employee’s behalf could have serious consequences. It is, therefore, important to create guidelines to prevent this. Social media guru, Todd Defren, has created an example of a Social Media Guidelines Template that you can use for your company…

I hope this is enough to encourage you to develop your social media. For examples of our platforms, please click on the following links…

Twitter

LinkedIn

Facebook

(Please note: our Facebook page is currently under development - a job search application will soon be available which will allow our fans to search Housing Jobs from the Facebook page!)

Good luck!! J

iHobo - the homeless charity application for iPhones

We’re quite the fans of social media platforms and new ideas here at Housing Jobs – as you may have gathered! I’m also a big fan of iPhones, so much so I’m rarely seen without mine by my side. Which is why, iHobo, the iphone application that allows the user to interact with an animated homeless youth, developed by advertising agency Publicis London for Depaul UK, is something that really stood out to me.

The application challenges the user to look after the homeless person for three days, making decisions on his behalf in order to keep him off drugs and stop him getting ill.

The iPhone user has to provide food, warmth and support whenever the application sends alerts straight to the iPhone. The app also provides info on the homeless person’s health, including their body temperature, calorie intake and how many alerts the users has missed.

The aim of the app was to highlight the charity to a new market segment.

"We wanted to reach that elusive generation of young, affluent donors who tend to exist in a world defined by their mobiles," Publicis creatives Tom Ewart and Adam Kean told MediaWeek magazine.

The application also allows for the user to make donations to Depaul UK.

iHobo has consistently received praise through the “App Store” and Depaul UK reports that following the 600,000 downloads, there has been an increase in the amount of supporters of the charity.

The application is a refreshing change to the usual shock tactic advertising charities use to try raise awareness and subsequently gain donations, and it is the perfect example of an innovative and incredibly well targeted marketing campaign.

The  organisation is fresh in my mind when I think about homeless charities, and I absolutely love the challenge of trying to take care of the homeless character. It has definately raised my awareness - and hopefully will raises yours soon too!

iHobo 1.1 has been launched today which allows you to integrate the application with your Facebook page, as well as personalisation, information on homelessness and a league of care. To download the application, please visit…

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/ihobo/id364005732?mt=8

Source: The Independent, DepaulUK

The Annual Andy Ludlow Awards is now open for nominations

The awards celebrate innovation and good practice among organisations tackling homelessness in London and are now in their 13th year. Social landlords, borough housing departments and health and voluntary organisations across the capital are all eligible to apply.

Housing directors at London’s local authorities established the awards in 1998 in memory of Andy Ludlow, former director of Housing and Social Services in the London Borough of Haringey, who died at a tragically young age.

The London Pathway claimed the prize last year, an organisation who give homeless people access to proper healthcare. The London Pathway has reduced hospital admissions of homeless people to University College Hospital by 3.2 days per patient, which equates to savings of £300,000 a year.

Since winning the awards last year, the London Pathway has gained wider recognition and is being rolled out to other hospitals later this year, both in London and outside.

The awards are ran by London Councils, and funded by the London Housing Foundation, the Mayor of London, Shelter and all of the London boroughs.

First place will receive £25,000, and the two runners-up are to receive £10,000 and £2,000 going to three shortlisted projects.

To mark the 21st anniversary of the London Housing Foundation, a special award of £15,000 for the best use of volunteers is also available to this year’s entrants and past shortlisted/winners of the Andy Lodlow Award.

London Councils executive member for housing, Mayor Sir Steve Bullock said:
“This is a fantastic opportunity for organisations working with the homeless to get a financial boost to help them take their services to the next level.

“We ask all organisations helping the capital’s homeless, whether they be local authorities, part of the NHS or voluntary groups, to take the time to apply for these prestigious awards”.

Don Wood, chairman of London Housing Foundation commented:
“Over the years we’ve seen the Ludlow Awards benefit a great many deserving organisations, and this year the London Housing Foundation has brought another award to the table.

“In celebration of our 21st anniversary, we are offering an extra prize of £15,000 - open not just to this year’s entrants, but also to past winners and shortlisted groups. We wish all entrants the very best of luck.”

The closing date for entries is 12pm on Tuesday 10 May 2011.

The awards ceremony will take place on Thursday, 20 October 2011.

Any organisation wanting to find out more about the awards or to apply can go to

http://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/policylobbying/housing/homelessness/andyludlow/default.htm

Source: HousingExcellence

Devonshire Housing Association receive grant towards homelessness project

Housing Association, Westcountry Housing, has been awarded £40,000 towards a new project which will help homeless people find a new place to live in the North Devon area.

The project, Westcountry Smart Move, will work with and support both landlords and clients seeking accommodation, to ensure that both sides are able to enjoy a trouble-free tenancies.

A range of tools will be on offer from the project, including financial incentives and active support, to help people move into tenancies and become good tenants. Equally, landlords will have access to support and be encouraged to work towards sustainable, long-term tenancies.

Divisional Manager, Bill Allen said, “We will use the grant award to secure tenancies for 30 people who would otherwise be facing homelessness.  With the award, we will be able to offer some financial support to tenants and landlords to secure an initial tenancy in the private rented sector.”

“The award will also allow a specialist worker to support both tenants and landlords to ensure that the tenancy is well maintained from both sides, and that both tenant and landlord work positively to make the tenancy a long term commitment that benefits them both.”

The Westcountry Smart Move adds to another number of homelessness projects in North Devon which are managed by Westcountry Housing. All the projects combine to offer people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness a real opportunity to re-gain control of their lives.

The area of North Devon is an area of low wages, high house prices (in relation to wages) and a limited stock of social housing. The private rented sector is hugely important in the area, and this project will work towards ensuring better outcomes for tenants and landlords alike.

This local grant is part of a Crisis funding awards scheme of £2million for 49 new projects throughout England, that will help single homeless people find new homes and subsequently lasting independence.

Each of the individual projects will receive a grant of up to £50,000 each for the coming year and will target individuals who often struggle to find accommodation, including ex-offenders, young people under 25 and people living in temporary homeless hostels.

The Crisis programme is being funded by the Department of Communities and Local Government. The homelessness charity has more than a decade of experience in helping homeless people find new homes in the private rented sector.

Crisis Chief Executive Leslie Morphy said: “Single homeless people rarely meet the criteria to acquire council accommodation and finding a flat in the private rented sector can be a complex and expensive option. They need advice and help, but in many areas of the country, these specialist services are simply not there.

“Crisis asked local voluntary organisations to bid for these new funds so that we can kick-start the establishment of new private rented sector access schemes. These schemes will help people overcome financial barriers, match them to good landlords and help more individuals avoid the perils of homelessness.”

Housing Minister Grant Shapps said: "I have made clear that while it is vital that we tackle the record Budget deficit we inherited, we must also ensure that the most vulnerable people in society are protected.

"That's why we have maintained the level of Homelessness Grant in the Spending Review, and for the first time we've brought Ministers from across eight different Government departments together as a working group to ensure that the complex needs of the homeless are being met.

"So I am delighted that we have also been able to back these local projects supported by Crisis to the tune of £2.25 million. This will give single homeless people the chance they often don't get of a helping hand towards a stable home and long term independence."

Source: 24dash.com

Housing Association create 100 new jobs

Here at Housing Jobs, we're very pleased to hear the Statford-based Housing Association, Orbit Heart of England, has extended its maintenance and repairs team, creating 100 new local jobs.

The Orbit Heart of England property matters team, which is now 170-strong following the recruitment of 50 new members, is responsible for maintenance and improvements to 14,000 properties across the north and south Midlands. The new employees gathered at the DCS Stadium in Stratford this week to collect their new uniforms, pick up their new vans and undergo induction training.

The Housing Association currently employs more than 700 people mostly in the Midlands.

Paul Clifford, maintenance director, said: “Becoming part of our property matters team gives tradespeople access to top level training across all areas of their work as well as experience of working with sustainable technologies.

“It also gives our residents peace of mind that the people working in their homes have been trained to the highest of standards.”

Once completing their inductions, the employees will join the existing property matters trade team to deliver repair and maintenance services for Orbit Heart of England customers who are based across the north and south Midlands.

To see which other organisations are currently recruiting, have a look at the Housing Jobs website.

Source: Housing Excellence, 2011

How have the cuts affected housing?

The Guardian has today released a detail account of how the cuts have affected housing...

Total cuts: £5.8bn

The social housing budget will be cut by £4bn in 2011-14, and the emergency budget which was announced last June saw a £1.8bn cut in housing benefit.

Redundancies: 200,000

Sunderland housing provider Gentoo have axed 275 of it's 1,800 staff. This adds to the 1,400 housing job losses after the collapse of Leeds-based housing maintenance firm, Connaught, and 100 of the 600-strong workforce at Knowsley Housing Trust.

Services

Funding has been cut by 50% which will result in fewer affordable homes and half a million more people added to England's 4.5 million strong waiting list. The restructure of benefits could leave tenants unable to pay their rent and subsequently forcing them from their homes. The government's suggestion of plugging the funding gap by charing new tenants up to 80% of market rates means average weekly rents rising from £85 to £250.

To see which organisations are still recruiting, please visit http://www.housingjobs.org.uk/

Source: Guardian, 2011

Mayor opens £6.6million Somerset housing development

Celebrations held by Jephson Homes Housing Association on Friday 18th March saw residents of a new £6.6million housing development in Wincanton join the Mayor of Wincanton in a ribbon cutting ceremony.

 

The Mayor of Wincanton, Richard D’Arcy, and officers from South Somerset District Council attended the event, along with representatives of the development partners.

Residents have now begun moving into the 12 houses and 25 flats that have been completed by Jephson in the first phase of work at New Barns Farm, providing Wincanton with new affordable housing. The second phase which will see a further 25 houses and seven flats being created, should be finished by June 2011.

Mary Robinson, who has moved into one of the new houses along with her husband Martin and their six children, has said their new home has been a real godsend, as it has enabled her to stay living in Wincanton, where she has lived all of her life.

Mary, who attended the celebration event, said: “We moved in three weeks ago and the house is excellent, with solar panels and central heating. It is a four-bedroom house with much more room for our children – it’s given us all a whole new lease of life.”

Jephson secured a grant of £1.4million from the HCA which allowed them to provide affordable housing on the first two phases of the site and will look to provide 80 homes for rent, 14 for intermediate rent and 10 for sale through the HomeBuy shared ownership scheme.

Roger Glennie, Director for Jephson’s South & West Region, said: “"The new homes at Coulson Park have been designed with environmental issues in mind; they are all built to Level 3 of the Code for Sustainable Homes and all of the properties benefit from solar panels to heat hot water, which should result in lower bills for residents.  The apartment buildings also have photovoltaic panels on the roofs and the electricity they generate will provide power for lighting the communal hallways, again reducing the costs for residents."

There are plans for a new primary school to be built next to the site, along with a new village centre consisting of shops and offices. The site, which is the largest new development in Wincanton, is within a 10-minute walk of the town centre, with access to shopping local services and community facilities.

Source: 24dash

'House prices in spring bounce as they rise for third month in a row'

Research has indicated that new sellers have increased their asking price for the third consecutive month during March as activity in the housing market has shown signs of being on the increase.

The average costs of a home in England and Wales rose by 0.8% of £231,790 for the four weeks up to March 12th, which followed an increase of 3.1% in February, according to property website Rightmove.

Rightmove has suggested the rise reflects an increase in activity from potential buyers, as well a shortage of supply of properties coming onto the market, as many homeowners decide not to sell for the time being.

Search activity on the group’s website hit record levels during three of the four weeks in February, as well as estate agents reporting that higher levels of enquiries and viewings were slowly converting into offers and sales.

The amount of homes put up for sale during the month also increased, although levels are still 26% below those seen before the recession.

Rightmove said the low level of new listings pointed to an absence of both forced sellers and traditional mass market ones, as people were either unable or unwilling to trade up at the moment.

The average time a property is on the market for fell from 98 days to 89 days during the month, whilst the number of unsold properties per estate agency branch increased by just one, which is a far smaller increase than is usual for this time of year.

The group said the muted rise in the number of unsold properties on estate agents' books suggested that the pace at which sales were being agreed had picked up to nearly cancel out the spring bounce in sellers.

Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove, said: "The spring bounce in buyer interest and slight pick-up in supply of fresh stock suggest that renewed activity in some sectors of the property market is managing to outweigh the impact of economic uncertainty and lack of mortgage funding."

Mr Shipdale added that the large deposits that lenders are demanding from buyers has led to greater market liquidity for more expensive properties, while people selling properties that appeal to first-time buyers, such as terraced homes, are continuing to struggle.

London was the only area where asking prices didn’t increase, seeing a drop of 1.5%.

The South West saw the biggest jump, with asking prices rising by 3.3%, followed by the East Midlands at 2.8% and East Anglia at 2.2%.

Hopefully the increase in the housing market will see an increase in Housing Jobs!

Source: 24dash

Shapps and NHF chief fire warning to councils over Supporting People cuts

The National Housing Federation (NHF), housing minister Grant Shapps and Women's Aid have come together to highlight the damage disproportionate cuts to Supporting People-funded services would have on some of the country’s most vulnerable groups.

The Telegraph has today publishes a joint letter, written by NHF chief David Orr, Mr Shapps and Woman’s Aid chief executive Nicola Harwin, warns that women who are fleeing domestic violence, homeless people and people with mental health problems could be “forced to fend for themselves” as a result of the cuts.

Below is the letter in full:

SIR – Thousands of pensioners, women fleeing domestic violence, homeless people and people with mental health problems could be forced to fend for themselves because of unintended cuts being made to a government–funded programme called Supporting People.

Although the Government has given relative protection to this £6.5billion programme – reducing the grant it gives councils to fund these services by 12 per cent over four years – some local authorities have announced that they will make cuts of up to 50 per cent this year.

Cuts of this level hurt vulnerable people but make no financial sense. Without early identification, vulnerable individuals will quickly reach crisis point, making greater demands on health and homelessness services and the criminal justice system.

Eric Pickles, the Communities Secretary, said: "Most sensible local authorities will come to the conclusion that £1 spent on Supporting People will probably save them £5 or £6 further down the line."

Local authorities need to cut costs. But this shouldn't mean targeting disproportionate spending reductions on programmes that support the most vulnerable.

Grant Shapps MP (Con) Housing Minister
David Orr, Chief Executive, National Housing Federation
Nicola Harwin, Chief Executive, Women's Aid Federation

Source: 24dash

Charity issues homelessness warning over Government's cuts

Providence Row, a homelessness charity, is urging the Government to use the Budget on March 23 to slow down its cuts.

The organisation believes that the cuts could result in hefty spending in the future.

Lisa Harrison, acting chief executive of the London-based charity, said: "Over the next few years many vulnerable people will be hit by a triple threat of rising rents, lower housing benefit and the loss of benefits under the universal credit system if they do not go into work - all leading to a very real threat of homelessness.

"The people we see want to work but are often simply not able; they have other barriers to overcome first such as physical or mental health problems.

"The Government has pledged to protect the most vulnerable in society and slowing down the introduction of these cuts could achieve that.

"Too deep too soon might well mean an increase in homelessness, paired with a reduction in funding for those that help the most vulnerable in our society."

Providence Row has said that a rise in homelessness would cost the taxpayer and the state more as the Government tries to reduce the deficit. The charity highlighted homeless people’s limited access to local GPs which often resulted in minor illnesses becoming major ones, and therefore expensive treatments in A&E.

Another expense is emergency accommodation, with it costing more than £400 per week to house one person in a hostel. The charity warns that this figure is set to rise due to a lack of affordable private rentals for people to move into.

Providence Row currently sees up to 100 people per day but is anticipating greater numbers if all proposed cuts go ahead. For more information about the charity go to www.providencerow.org.uk.

Sourced from: 24dash