For Candidates Archives

Jan 21

LinkedIn Action Points For Aspiring IT Professionals

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, For Candidates | No comments

You aspire to a fast-track career in IT. You’re in a great role, but want to ensure you progress at a similar pace to your peers. One thing that’s key to achieving this is having a LinkedIn profile that truly sells you. Here we’ll be covering 4 things you must address if you’re ever to […]

Jan 15

How to Prepare for a Job Search in the New Year

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, For Candidates | No comments

The bringing in of a New Year is a natural period for reflection. For many, it’s a time to kick start the job search in hope of new challenges, better working conditions, and more exciting opportunities. Whatever your reasons for starting your job search, the prep you do beforehand is vital. The steps you […]

Nov 19

Why a new job should be on your Christmas list and not your New Year’s Resolution

By Corriculo | Blog, For Candidates | No comments

When it comes to job hunting, you’re probably using lots of tools to make yourself stand out from the crowd, but you could be overlooking an important one – the timing of your application. There is a common misconception that you would be better off postponing your job search until after Christmas […]

Mar 23

The way contractors pay tax is changing – what you need to know

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, For Candidates | No comments

The changes to Travel & Subsistence (T&S) tax relief were widely expected by the industry for some time but draft legislation was not released until 9th December 2015 and the final wording wasn’t released until the 16th March 2016. The Finance Bill 2016 comes into effect on the 6th April 2016. The aim of the […]

Feb 01

Why trust is key when working with Recruitment Consultants

By Corriculo | Blog, For Candidates For Clients | No comments

The jobseeker/Recruitment Consultant relationship is often overlooked which could be a big career mistake. A Recruitment Consultant that you have a good relationship with will be your biggest advocate to future employers. So, how do you get the most out of the relationship? You need to attract each other’s attention. […]

Jan 18

7 ways to get the most out of your LinkedIn profile

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, For Candidates | No comments

Most people know LinkedIn can be a very powerful career tool, but not everyone knows how to make the most of it. One thing you should bear in mind is why people are actually using LinkedIn; to network, to build their career and to hire, including companies screening people who have applied to them. […]

Dec 28

Why do so many people change jobs in January?

By Jonathan Campion | Blog, For Candidates For Clients | No comments

January and February are traditionally very busy times for job seekers, hiring managers and recruiters alike but why do so many people change jobs in January? There are of course many reasons why people change roles but there are several reasons why they do so en masse. There is a myth that the job […]

Nov 23

HMRC is playing with IR35 again, and it could have serious consequences for all contractors

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, For Candidates | No comments

I recently wrote a post about the mixed signals that the government is currently giving out to contractors, well it seems that those signals are becoming less mixed and more negative. There are rumours flying around about the government’s plans for IR35, thanks to leaks published in the Guardian and Daily Mail. If you […]

Nov 18

We are looking to expand our team again; Junior Recruitment Consultant / Sourcing Consultant, Oxford

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, For Candidates | No comments

This is not your normal recruitment role. After two years of incredible growth and success, Corriculo, a values-driven IT Recruitment Agency is now seeking a talented Sourcing Consultant / Junior Recruitment Consultant to come and join our friendly team. Working as a Sourcing Consultant / Junior Recruitment Consultant, you will be responsible for finding the right […]

Oct 28

10 tips to make sure your interview is less “Trick” and more “Treat” this Halloween

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, For Candidates Interviews | No comments

Here at Corriculo we have been working in the recruitment industry for over 40 years and during this time we have helped candidates through a LOT of interviews. Here are our top 10 tips for interview success; Make sure you arrive on time. There is a balance here; you should never be even a minute late […]

Oct 21

Will any recruitment innovations ever actually become mainstream?

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, For Candidates For Clients | No comments

Today is Back to the Future day and there’s been a lot of talk about which things that featured in the films have actually come into fruition and which haven’t. Hands up who has a hoverboard or self-lacing shoelaces? No-one. Oh well. Here at Corriculo we regularly attend recruitment expos and there are […]

Sep 22

How to research a company before a job interview

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, For Candidates Interviews | No comments

Everyone knows that you should research the company before an interview and it sounds simple but you’d be surprised how often interviewers feel that a candidate doesn’t know enough about them. There are three main areas you should research; The company The interviewer The role The Company Don’t just have a look at their […]

Sep 15

The Oxford hiring market report: Counter offers are creating havoc

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, Counter offers For Candidates For Clients | No comments

It’s fair to say that here at Corriculo we talk to a lot of hiring and HR managers. As well as recruiting for their IT vacancies, we like to find out what their challenges are. The number one complaint they have in the Oxford area is a lack of candidates being exacerbated by a […]

Aug 20

15 CV tips from recruiters who have seen it all!

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, CV Advice For Candidates | No comments

I recently wrote a blog about the top 10 interview tips from the team here at Corriculo so now it’s time for the team to share their CV tips; If you don’t want to include your full address, at least give the first part of your postcode or the town. The postcode will always […]

Aug 19

Is it just me or is the government giving out mixed signals when it comes to contractors?

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, For Candidates | No comments

It’s fair to say that I read a LOT of industry press (mainly so that I can keep you updated with anything that affects you on our @Corriculorec twitter feed) and there has been a lot of focus on contractors recently. There are numerous reports saying that the number of contractors in the UK is […]

Aug 04

Things to consider before accepting a counter offer

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, Counter offers For Candidates Interviews | No comments

Handing in your notice is rarely a pleasant experience. Unless you REALLY hate your job, you’re going to have some areas of regret. You’ve accepted your new job, built yourself up to talking to your boss, written your letter. You’re good to go. Then your boss throws a spanner in the works; they make […]

Jul 25

6 ways to get the most out of a second interview

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, For Candidates Interviews | No comments

If you’ve already had one face to face interview (and possibly a telephone interview as well) then you might think that the second interview stage will be easy. Sadly, that isn’t always the case. It’s the stage where you need to get down to the nitty gritty, a bit like the second viewing of […]

Jul 19

Why it’s not just candidates who should be honest during an interview

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, For Candidates For Clients Interviews | No comments

Imagine you have just interviewed the perfect candidate for your role. They tick every one of your boxes and then some! You make them an offer and they accept. As a hiring manager this is exactly how you want the recruitment process to work. Sadly, this can be where it all goes wrong. Once the […]

Jul 13

Graduates – What you need to consider before accepting your first job offer

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, For Candidates Interviews | No comments

Looking for that first job after graduating can be a daunting task. Depending on what subject you have studied you might need to decide on your career path as well as the usual choices re the company, role and team. If you’ve successfully navigated this and received an offer then congratulations! Before you go ahead […]

Jul 03

Why a recent article telling candidates to lie in interviews is wrong and could hurt your career

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, For Candidates For Clients Interviews | No comments

It is rare that I will blog off the back of, and to disagree with, a specific article but I came across this one and I had to respond to it. It offers the advice of Peter Harris who is the Editor in Chief of a Canadian job board (which also has UK job […]

Jun 22

Beat the summer hiring slow-down with these top job hunting tips

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, For Candidates | No comments

The weather has been getting steadily better and the holiday season is just around the corner. Good news for everyone, unless you are planning on looking for a new job that is. Whilst a break might give you the time to begin your job hunt, it may well clash with everyone else’s holidays as well. […]

Jun 08

Why changing jobs regularly is good for your IT career

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, For Candidates | No comments

There is one piece of universally accepted recruitment wisdom; don’t be a job hopper. Regularly changing jobs ie every six months or so, or even more often than that, will make employers hesitant about hiring you. What’s the point in investing in getting you up to speed if you will be leaving again soon. […]

May 20

Why your Interview starts in the car park not the meeting room

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, For Candidates Interviews | No comments

If you think your interview doesn’t begin until you have settled into the meeting room then you could be failing interviews before they have even started. One of my top interview tips is to remember that the results of your interview don’t just depend on what happens during the meeting, it covers everything that […]

May 18

Top 10 interview tips from experienced recruiters

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, For Candidates Interviews | No comments

Here at Corriculo we have been working in the recruitment industry for over 35 years and during this time we have managed candidates through a lot of interviews. Here are our top 10 tips for interview success; Make sure you arrive on time. There is a balance here; you should never be even a […]

May 11

Why job hunting should never be a rash decision

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, Counter offers For Candidates | No comments

Someone we know walked out of their job this week after 37 years. She had been unhappy for a while and finally reached her tipping point. Whilst I think she was very brave doing what she did, I also would definitely not recommend copying her. After a bad day/week/month at work it can be […]

May 05

10 point CV checklist for maximum success

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, CV Advice For Candidates | No comments

There is lots of advice out there about how to write a CV and there will always be a certain element of personal preference involved when managers are reviewing your CV. There are 10 simple things you must do with your CV though to make sure you give yourself the best chance of success; Include […]

Apr 27

How to discuss why you’re leaving a job you hate

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, For Candidates Interviews | No comments

We recently had a candidate who, for very good reasons, hated the job they were in and had a very bad relationship with their current boss. This came across very clearly at interview and, unfortunately, was a big factor in why he wasn’t successful at interview stage. There are various reasons why slating […]

Apr 19

5 reasons why you should work for a start-up company

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, For Candidates | No comments

I have talked in a previous post about the fact that when job hunting, salary isn’t the only thing you should think about. The size of the company you want to work for is also important. There has been a lot of press coverage recently about the number of new companies that are starting-up over […]

Mar 26

Why offering flexible working makes sense for employers and employees alike

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, For Candidates For Clients | No comments

When I joined the team here at Corriculo I opted to work both part-time and with some home working; I am writing the blog from my home right now. For me it made sense; saving on childcare costs, petrol costs and spending more time with my kids. Wednesday mornings at home are also my most […]

Mar 18

How The General Election Might Affect Job Hunting And Recruitment

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, For Candidates For Clients | No comments

You may have heard; there is a general election coming very soon and all the parties are starting to reveal their policies. The period immediately before an election can be an uncertain one for businesses whilst they wait to see what changes may be coming their way. Depending on the results of the election, there […]

Mar 10

What is ITEPA and why does it mean recruitment agencies need my personal details?

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, For Candidates | No comments

There is a perception that too many people are using loop holes to avoid paying their “fair-share” of tax and HMRC shares this opinion. To help counteract this, they have put in place several new pieces of legislation that affect the recruitment industry. Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act , known as ITEPA, came into effect […]

Mar 09

5 Job hunting tips you might not have thought of…..

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, For Candidates | No comments

There is lots of advice available on job hunting (check out our blog and social media feeds) but here are some tips you might not have come across before: Once you have written your CV change the font and colour; It tricks our brains into thinking it is a new document and makes […]

Feb 25

7 ways to make your job hunt go more smoothly

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, For Candidates | No comments

The idea of job hunting is not something that most people relish. It could quite easily be a full time job, but the reality for most people is that it has to fit around the rest of our lives. There are some simple things that you can do to make the whole process go more […]

Feb 10

Getting Leadership to Work – Employee Voice – Oxford – 26th March

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, For Candidates For Clients Workshops | No comments

We regularly host free HR seminars by People Essentials and the Sian Perham Consultancy. These are informal breakfast workshops for small and medium sized Employers. Our latest seminar is on the Employee voice and focuses on the vital role of Leadership and the importance of Employee Voice. Employee Voice is the foundation of sustainable business success. […]

Feb 09

How you can stop yourself from choosing the wrong job

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, For Candidates Interviews | No comments

I recently posted a blog about why you shouldn’t quit a new job that you hate too quickly but it is of course better not to take the wrong job in the first place. Sometimes this is easier said than done, but here are some tips to reduce the risk: Make sure you […]

Feb 09

Why you shouldn’t quit a new job that you hate too quickly

By Victoria Watkins | Blog, For Candidates | No comments

At this time of year there are lots of people switching jobs. If you are one of those people then I hope everything is going well. If, however, you are unlucky enough to find yourself in a role that isn’t what you thought it would be then don’t despair and DON’T QUIT YET. In […]

Feb 02

How social media is changing job hunting

By Jonathan Campion | Blog, For Candidates For Clients | No comments

An article was published recently asking if it will still be possible to find a job in 2015 without social media. The fact that the article was written in the first place just goes to show how much things have changed. If you haven’t been looking for a new role in the past 18 months […]

Jan 26

Why you need to be organised when it comes to job hunting

By Jonathan Campion | Blog, For Candidates | No comments

If you are going to apply for more than one role you need to be organised. Why? Well, you don’t want to be applying for the same role over and over again. If it happens to be with the same advertiser then you will begin to look desperate. If it is with different advertisers, then […]

Jan 19

Some things to bear in mind when starting out as a contractor

By Jonathan Campion | Blog, For Candidates | No comments

Contracting, be it in IT or another sector, can be a fantastic career choice for many people. It has many benefits over permanent employment; The flexibility of being your own boss A potentially higher income, including greater tax efficiencies A wider variety of projects and work which regularly changes An opportunity to develop skills […]

Jan 12

What you need to be preparing before your interview

By Jonathan Campion | Blog, For Candidates Interviews | No comments

We all know how important preparing for a task is, even more so before an interview. There are various things you should do before you walk into the meeting; Plan your route Being late for an interview will reflect very badly on you. Make sure you know where you are going (ideally doing […]

Dec 15

What you should be doing now to prepare for your job hunt

By Corriculo | Blog, For Candidates | No comments

If you are thinking of looking for a new job then there are a few things that you can do which will help make the process go more smoothly: Social Media Many people are not aware that prospective employers check social media accounts either before or during the hiring process. This can either work for […]

Dec 01

Why an informal interview is never just a rubber-stamping exercise

By Corriculo | Blog, For Candidates Interviews | No comments

Before the finale of Great British Bake Off many people assumed that Richard would win. He had a great track record during the show. At the final things didn’t exactly go to plan and someone else won. The same thing happens with job hunting. I’ve see quite often that an interview is considered […]

Nov 24

Which silly CV mistakes are costing you interviews?

By Corriculo | Blog, CV Advice For Candidates | No comments

Over the past 10 years it is fair to say I have seen lots of CVs and sadly there are so many that let the candidate down in one way or another. With some of the minor, obvious mistakes, a Recruitment Consultant might spot and correct them on your behalf before submitting your CV, […]

Nov 18

Why you should never assume your CV has been sent to a company

By Corriculo | Blog, CV Advice For Candidates | No comments

When you are job hunting you will inevitably speak to a lot of recruiters and hiring managers. When a recruiter calls they will be making a short-list from which they will choose their final candidates. They should always tell you when your CV has been submitted but don’t assume it has or it could […]

Nov 18

Should you include interests on your CV?

By Corriculo | Blog, CV Advice For Candidates | No comments

This came up in our office today and it got me thinking. Should you include your interests on your CV or not? I would say a cautious yes. An interesting hobby could provide a great talking point at interview stage. Hobbies can also give the hiring manager a snapshot of your personality […]

Nov 18

Why are agencies still posting fake ads and is it ever OK?

By Corriculo | Blog, For Candidates For Clients | No comments

Someone tweeted this article about fake job postings this morning. It is an old article but makes a very good point – fake adverts are bad recruitment practice and just waste everyone’s time. There are some agencies who are notorious for doing this but we won’t of course name names. There’s no hope you will […]

Nov 18

Why do people keep on about the importance of social media for job hunters?

By Corriculo | Blog, For Candidates | No comments

If you are job hunting you will often be told that a good social media presence is important, but why? Quite simply, the game changed. Previously, successful job hunting has been about who you know or getting your application in front of as many people as possible. Now you have to do more. Whilst […]

Nov 18

Why Salary isn’t the only thing you should consider when job hunting

By Corriculo | Blog, For Candidates | No comments

When it comes to looking for a new job, a lot of people focus on salary but there are various other factors you should be considering; Your day-to-day duties Location Career progression Hours Benefits There is something else though that you should be considering; the size of company. There are many options but each […]

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