Many people ask if doing volunteer work will help their future job prospects. The truth is it depends on the job you are going for. If you have done volunteer work before you may find that there are more job opportunities open to you especially if you have gained experience in a number of different areas.

Often with volunteer work you may not get paid but may receive free meals or even accommodation allowing you to be able to do it without worrying too much about money.

Gaining as much experience as possible is always a good idea and will also give you the chance to find out what type of job you may want to apply for. Volunteer work can sometimes mean that you get to travel and work in other parts of the world and make new friends. It’s also a fantastic opportunity to learn about new cultures and how other people live.

Attending an interview can be a daunting thing. It may be that you are not sure if you have the right skills, qualifications or experience for the job and are worried as to if you are the right person they are looking for or even that you have everything you need to do the job but just struggle in an interview situation.

Even the most confident or people can struggle when it comes to being interviewed by a potential employer. The main tip I have is to spend some time prior to the interview running it over in your head. Go through your own CV and highlight any areas in which you think they may question you and also any areas in which you want to highlight to them (if you have completed a relevant training course or additional qualification, for example).

Once you have done this, you will feel a lot more prepared for what they may ask you and instead to feeling worried can take the interview as an opportunity to shine.

Online job boards are places that people looking for work can upload their CV, too. You usually create a profile and then upload a CV and possible an image to display on the website.

This website is then updated to show your details to potential viewers. Some companies sign up to have access to these job boards to help them find suitable candidates for jobs but often many recruitment agencies will use these boards to find potential employees for their clients.

Some job boards are free to register with and others will charge a monthly or annual fee. If they are asking you to pay to be added to the site, see what they are offering such as help with CV writing or advanced placement on the site and compare it to other job sites to see which one is best to register with. If you are contacted by a recruitment agency you may want to ask if they have been hired directly by an employer to fill a position or if they are going to put you forward for jobs that they are not currently responsible for.

If you are looking to set up a recruitment agency then it is vital that you get the right software in place. You are likely to have a large number of clients on your database, some that are searching for work and companies that are searching for candidates. You will need to ensure that your software is secure and that you can keep a record of documents such as CV’s, contact information and job roles available.

There are some software systems that will offer you this type of functionality but ideally you want to invest in one that has been designed specifically for recruitment agencies. Some systems will also create and chase invoices and relevant legal documents that you are required to keep.

The cost of this type of software varied, it is not usually cheap, but it can be the difference between a business that makes it and one that doesn’t.

If you own your own business, there may come a time when the workload simply becomes too much and you need to hire someone to help you. It may be that you are looking for someone skilled or trained in your profession or you may require help with the administration or accounting side.

When hiring anyone there is a lot to consider as you are not only now responsible for your own income but that of a member of staff. You are also responsible for their safety whilst artwork and need to have adequate insurance to cover everyone. You need to ensure that all legal documents / training is done correctly and that you have enough money to pay them each month even if the business has a quiet one.

There are however great advantages of employing staff rather than sub contracting such as being able to set working hours and pay rates and managing the project more closely that if you had outsourced work.

If you advertise a position for a PA role (personal assistant) then you may notice that you get a vast amount of applications as it’s a quite a sought after job, especially amongst people just starting out in the working world looking for a good starter job.

So what are the key qualities of a good PA that you should look for at the application and later interview process?

Punctuality – this is essential as it’s a good indication of how organised someone is, if they can’t make an interview on time then they are unlikely to have taken it seriously.

Experience in a similar role – the role of a PA isn’t something that you can train for at college or university so experience will be a real bonus especially if you only intend on having one PA.

Great organisation skills – the best way to test this in an interview setting is to give them a diary and a sheet of appointment times to input then ask them what they would do to book train tickets and hotels. This is a great way of seeing how they handle data entry under pressure.

And lastly always check that they have good references.

If you’re self employed, you may find yourself turning down work as you don’t have enough hours in the day. It’s frustrating as one job well done can often lead to many more and it’s hard not to feel like your passing up future business. It’s doubly annoying if you have a lull a few months later. Taking on an employee is the obvious answer, but it can be a daunting process.

You’ll need to consider how much you can pay, whether to train someone up or get someone fully qualified. Do you offer a temporary position or commit to someone full time? There’s also all the legal and other paper work to contend with. Employers liability insurance must be taken out and appropriate PPE provided. You’ll have to notify HMRC and make sure you comply with workers rights.

This all seems like a major headache but the upshot is you’ll be able to expand your business. With a few employees on your books, you’ll be free to organise jobs better, take more time meeting clients and maybe find time to enjoy the benefits of all your hard work.

When looking to recruit new staff it can be daunting to think of conducting face to face interviews, particularly if it’s the first time that you have had to do them.

One of the first things to do is look at the job that you are recruiting for and come up with a comprehensible job description that can be given to candidates for the preparation of the interview. This should include key responsibilities of the role along with mandatory skills and qualifications then additional skills/qualifications desired.

Based on the job description it is then important to prepare a list of questions that you will pose to a candidate to determine their suitability for the role including an allocated time where they can ask questions about the role/company at the end.

You may also want to include a short test as part of the interview process such as a simple copy and re-write exercise of a table of information. This will give you an indication of the accuracy of the candidates work along with an idea of how they cope under pressure.

It’s always worth remembering that most people in an interview situation are nervous and so it’s important to make some allowances for that to be able to get a clear representation of the candidate and get an idea of their suitability for the role.

Many employers ask you to send a covering letter with your CV or job application. Below are a few tips and guides on how to write a great cover letter.  Your letter should be about a page longer and no more than two. The idea of a cover letter is to give the reader an overview of what position you want to apply for and what you can offer to them. I usually advise people to split their letter in to 3 paragraphs.

The first paragraph should explain who you are and what position you wish to apply for.  You may also wish to state your current employment position i.e. I am currently employed as a receptionist at a Volkswagen dealership in Wales.

The second one should give the employer an overview of what skills and experience you have, do not go in to too much detail as you can do this on your /cv. You need to get a happy medium between giving information and not going on too much as to put the employer off.

The closing paragraph should basically thank them for their consideration and state that you would be happy to attend and interview or talk to them further if they have any questions.

When starting to look for a new job, the process can be a bit unnerving especially if this is the first time or it has been quite some time since you last applied for a position. There are now a number of great online jobs boards that let you upload your CV for free. These jobs boards are visited constantly by employers and recruitment agencies that search through the CV’s looking for prospective candidates to invite for interviews.

Once you have uploaded your CV it is normally a very short time before you start to receive calls and emails about positions available that suit your skill set. Recruitment agencies often play the middle man, communicating between you and the employer and setting up initial interviews. Online jobs boards are a great portal to advertise yourself often without any cost to yourself. You can also find useful information on jobs boards about how to write your CV and interview techniques.