Job Seeker Version 3.0 Review by Mary Cox
Newscheck Magazine Volume 11 No.3 November 2000
Job Seeker - The complete guide to getting your next job - CD version 3.0
Produced by:
Anglia Training Associates
Date:
May 2000
Price: Individual licence Job Seeker programme £39.95. School single
machine licence £52.87. Site license £116.32. Libraries site licence £175.07.
Colleges, Universities and Job Centres and other organisations single
machine £116.75 site licence £346 For existing users upgraded version
£41.12 All prices inclusive of copies of workbooks and VAT.
Available from: Anglia Training Associates,The Old Crown, The Street,
Ovington, Thetford, Norfolk IP25 6RX Tel/FAX: 01953 883 953 www.uktraining.uk.com
System Requirements: Pentium 90 PC with Windows 3.1, 95, 98 or
2000. An 800 x 600 screen display at high colour. Sound Card. Double speed
CD ROM.
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This programme has been completely re-worked and updated in response to
feedback from users. Its stated aim is to considerably increase the users'
chances of getting a job to suit them and is designed for anyone wanting
a job - whether a school leaver looking for a first job, a professional
or executive seeking career move, or someone facing redundancy.
The first thing I liked about Job Seeker was the simple instructions on installation; and the second thing was the fact that the instructions worked and the programme was up and running, on a far from new PC, within 20 seconds. Moving between sections was equally quick and straightforward throughout the programme. The initial sections on 'How to use the Programme' and 'Navigation' are equally clear and would, I feel, enable someone who had never used a computer before to use this programme confidently.
The content of the programme includes sections on : Identifying strengths, writing a CV, finding job sources, presenting yourself at interview and matching yourself to job. All these sections are essential elements of job seeking, although the last mentioned is, I feel, a subject that warrants a programme in its own right.
Jobseeker can be used either by an individual or with a group as a part of a personal/career development course. Each section could also be used by an individual or group on a stand alone basis. The programme is designed to be used with an accompanying 29 page workbook so users can answer questions and develop their own profile to help construct their personal CV and action plan. The facility to print individual sheets directly from the CD is useful, as not all users may have ready access to the workbook.
'Identifying strengths' has a list of 40 suggestions from which to choose, with users being encouraged to add their own and rate their best . This includes some specific job titles e.g. bricklayer, which seems odd but also had plenty of helpful examples to get most users started. I also liked the suggestion to use family, friends and colleagues to help suggest strengths as many young people ( and the not so young ) find it hard to promote themselves in this way. The section goes on to get the users to look at personality types, providing a list of 45 types and their achievements using a SWOT analysis. These more abstract concepts might be less useful to the younger job seekers.
The CV section has excellent advice on layout including six examples. It also describes the concepts of electronic scanning of CVs, a phenomenon I've not encountered either as a careers adviser or as a recruiter and which made me wonder just how common this method currently is in the UK. This section also contains information on CVs in Europe which was perhaps too limited to be very useful to anyone seriously considering this option. 'Finding that Job' gives very useful advice on networking and a good range of useful contacts. 'Writing letters' included a range of examples, including one described as radical which was so over the top it would have me as a recruiter running for the waste bin but which would be appropriate if aiming at a marketing/sales or perhaps work in the media.
'Winning with Interviews' is an extremely useful section including sample questions (79 for a school Leaver, 158 for a professional) and the suggestions of questions to ask. It also gives users the choice of reading through the interview questions or listening to them through a video.
'Choosing a career' would seem to be more logically placed at the start rather than the end of the programme and, as previously mentioned, perhaps better dealt with in other ways. This section allows the user to search a database of 1500 job titles on the basis of six categories. My search for jobs relating to 'people' elicited just three suggestions-Foreign Service Officer, Secretary Board of Education and Town Clerk which are not the first three jobs which spring to my mind when I think about jobs with people.
Overall, I feel Jobseeker would aid a wide range of clients as preparation for job seeking. It would be equally useful as a whole for those who have made their choice of career(s) and are concentrating on developing key aspects of job search, in particular identifying strengths, CV/letter writing, sources of jobs and interview preparation.
Mary Cox.
Mary Cox is an Information Centre Manager and a Careers Adviser in a Further
Education College.
NEWSCHECK is
published by: Careers and Occupational Information Centre, Moorfoot, Sheffield
S1 4PQ
EDITOR: Jan Widmer, 110 Westley Road, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
IP33 3SD Tel: 01284 756481
