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