Who Needs an Enhanced DBS Check?

Posted by Ben on in Blog, Job Search

The Disclose and Barrings Service or DBS is the replacement for the CRB checks that are required for a number of jobs. These criminal record checks are required to work in some jobs, voluntary positions and also to foster to adopt a child. There are three types of DBS checks – standard, enhanced and enhanced with list checks. So what jobs would require the enhanced DBS check?

Types of DBS checks

You must be over the age of 16 to have a DBS check run against you. There are three levels that can be requested by employers or organisations. The standard check involves looking at spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings.

The Enhanced check takes this and adds additional information held by the local police that is considered relevant to the role you are applying for. The third type of check includes a check of the DBS barred lists – these are lists of people considered unsuitable to for with children or adults depending on their history. It is against the law to employ someone in these roles when they are on a barred list.

What kind of work requires Enhanced DBS checks?

Any job that involves working with children or vulnerable adults will require a DBS check and often the Enhanced version. This includes teachers, social workers, child minders, foster carers and people working in the medical profession. In addition, some employers will also require the check such as schools, children’s homes and hospitals.

In addition, a range of other roles will often require a check before someone can be taken on. These includes jobs such as being a solicitor or barrister, accountants or a veterinary surgeon. If you are uncertain if the role you are considering requires the check, there is an online eligibility checking tool offered by the DBS website.

How the check works

The person going through the check, known as the applicant, must provide certain original documents to the potential employer in order to conduct the check. There are various different routes including different documents depending on which you hold. These include things like a passport, driving license and birth certificate as primary identity documents and papers such as bank statements, P45 or council tax statements as financial and social history documents.

Employers can only request DBS checks once the applicant has been successful so they can’t do checks at the interview stage of the process. An employer can withdraw the job offer depending on the results from the check if these weren’t disclosed. Employers also need to confirm the identity of the person as part of DBS checks.

Receiving the results

Once the documents have been submitted, the results of the check are sent to the applicant, not to the employer. It is them up to the applicant to provide the details to the employer if they wish to take up the role. DBS certificates now have a range of security features to ensure they are legitimate.

Information contained in the certificate is accurate for the date the check is done but obviously there can be pending information that isn’t included – these certificates don’t automatically update.

Great Careers Without a Degree in 2018

Posted by Ben on in Blog, Careers, Recruitment News

Going to university isn’t something that suits everyone. Maybe you don’t know what you would study, don’t like the idea of accumulating debt or simply don’t like the idea of the university experience. There are lots of options out there for great careers without a degree and here are some to inspire you.

Journalist

Being a journalist is a great job that doesn’t require a degree to get started. Sure, there are lots of journalists out there that have a degree behind them but there are just as many who don’t. Average pay is in the region of £30,000 a year and all you really need is the ability to write a good story. Times columnist Caitlin Moran is an example – no formal education, let alone a degree but started aged 16 writing for competitions and has gone from there.

HR managers

There are different routes to being an HR manager but most of them don’t require a degree. Some will look for qualifications such as from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) while many managers have worked through the ranks, starting in jobs through apprenticeships or entry level positions and moving up. Average pay for these jobs is around £38,000 a year.

Air traffic controllers

For such an important job, you would think that you would need a degree but this isn’t the case. Instead, you can start at the very bottom and take the industry training course through the National Air Traffic Services. It takes 5 months intensive or 11 months if you want to specialise and starter salaries during this time are around £12,000 but the average for a qualified controller is over £40,000 a year.

Offshore oil platform worker

If you love physical work that is demanding and intensive, then working on an oil platform offshore might be perfect and no degree is required.  Jobs include work such as rig operations, drilling operations and equipment maintenance and most of the training is done by the employer while on the job. It’s a tough job but if you are up for it, average salaries around nearly £50,000 a year.

Commodities traders

If you have a good maths brain, even if you don’t have a maths qualification, then working as a commodities trader could be on the cards for you. Many of these jobs are taken straight out of school and the ability to talk the talk is more important than formal qualifications. You do need to be approved by the FCA to get a role and there are courses available from the CISI. Average salaries are around £53,000.

Military security

For those who have served and don’t have any formal qualifications, one of the better-paid jobs to use those skills and talents is in military security. Unfortunately, there is a lot of demand for this kind of work in today’s world and companies look for ex-military personnel to fill their ranks. Work can involve security at festivals and large events as well as looking after high-profile clients such as football teams. Average pay is around £35,000.

Are You Really an Independent Contractor?

Posted by Ben on in Blog, Careers, Self-Employment

One of the big growth areas in terms of the job market in recent years has been the number of people who are now self-employed. From self-employed business owners to freelancers and contractors, there are lots of different terms used to describe people who work for themselves. So which one applies to you and what are the differences?

What is a freelancer?

A freelancer is generally someone who works from home or from their own business premises and work on a variety of projects for different clients at one time. Some of the most popular areas for freelance work including as writers, designers, web developers and photographers but you can also employ freelance tutors, accountants and translators.

‘Freelance’ isn’t a legal term but describes a way of working. From a tax viewpoint, you are classed as self-employed and therefore need to register with HMRC to complete a self-assessment tax return. When it comes to your books, it can be worth working with accountants for freelancers who understand areas such as discounts for working at home.

What is a contractor?

A contractor is someone who works for one client full time for the duration of a project, sometimes in their own workplace or sometimes in the workplace of the company. The IT industry is one of the most common places to find contractors, where they spend six months working on a new IT system for a company, for example, or to spend a set period filling a skills gap for an employer.

Like freelance, contractor isn’t a legal term and they also fall under the heading of self-employed for tax purposes. There are also specialist contractor accountant services available to help manage the different requirements of the role.

Where does solopreneur fit in?

The term solopreneur is a relative newcomer to the work descriptions and is simply someone who has set up their own business – so, essentially, someone who is self-employed. These tend to be small business owners, business consultants, virtual assistants and online developers, to name a few. They work to the entrepreneurial model but don’t have staff to do any of the work, instead doing everything themselves. And they have to register as self-employed just the same as everyone else!

So are you self-employed?

What this means is that if you are a freelancer, contractor or anything else of a similar nature, you are all classed the same for tax and legal purposes. A self-employed person is someone who creates their own services and products, has final say over what happens with them and doesn’t answer to anyone – they are their own boss.

Of course, being your own boss isn’t right for everyone – there’s no-one to rely on for help if things go wrong, you have to do all of the work yourself and there are no sick days if you are ill because there’s no-one else to fill in. But you are in the position of controlling your work life completely and working with the clients that you want to when you grow your business and this has great appeal to many people.

Job Advice for Graduates: Top 5 Tips

Posted by Ben on in Blog, Job Search

When you finish your degree, there is this sense of immense pride and achievement – you have done what you set out to do. And while taking a moment to enjoy this is important, you should also be preparing yourself mentally for what is ahead. Finding a job can be intimidating after the years in college and you can even find yourself competing against friends from class. So how do you prepare yourself and stand out from the crowd of other graduates to get that dream job?

Start immediately (and stay calm)

Once the pride of your graduation wears off, there can be a sense of panic – you NEED a job and so does everyone else, how are you going to survive? What will you live on until you get a job!

One of the best pieces of advice is to stay calm and start your preparation immediately but don’t rush the job. If you rush and panic, this will come across in what you do and you might not show your best self to potential employers. Instead, calmly assess what you need for the job hunt and you will probably find you have a lot of it almost ready to go anywhere.

Get your CV and online profiles in shape

The CV is still the go-to document for job hunting, even in the online world. In fact, it has become even more of a fine art as automatic sorting processes can eliminate job hunters without a real person ever seeing them. So getting your CV just right is a crucial step. You can then upload this to relevant job sites and there’s the chance the employer could come to you.

Also, consider using the power of social media – LinkedIn is a perfect example. Known as the professional social media network, it is a great place to start building contacts and even finding jobs to apply for.

Talk to recruitment agencies

Whether you look at specialists or generalists, chatting to recruitment agencies is always advisable. Many companies outsource the job of finding applicants and these are the people who do the matching up tasks. They are paid a commission to find applicants but they also want to find the right applicant so they can help guide you towards the right roles and avoid wasting time with the wrong ones.

Make yourself employable

Remember that your degree alone won’t net you the job – the company is employing you, not just the title you have gained. So making yourself more employable is a good step – do some voluntary work, get a fresh online qualification while you are job hunting or even start a blog. These all show that you are more than just your degree.

Understand the job

It is tempting to jump into the first job you are offered because you need that work but make sure you understand the job before you sign up. Look at things like the total package on offer, what the expectations are, what the workplace culture is like – all of these things can have a big impact on your daily life and will help you decide if this role is the one for you.

4 Key Things for a Successful Job Search

Posted by Ben on in Blog, Job Tips

Personal Brand

First things first, as soon as you have decided that you want to start looking for a new role, make sure your personal brand comes across as professional as well as having enough insight into you and why someone should employ you. There are lots of things you can do to get your personal brand up to scratch but for me the main point is to do a sweep of your social media. Make sure any personal accounts that have things that might not make you look so great on them Private and make sure you have professional looking accounts set up on the major social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Linked in. Most importantly make sure they show you off in the best possible light.

CV

Once your personal branding is in order you can use this to help you perfect your CV. Make sure it covers all relevant experience for the roles you want to apply for. Your personal statement is up to date and again that you really show yourself off and stand out from the crowd.

Job Boards

As soon as your CV is up to date, set up accounts on all the relevant job boards you can find. Ensure that your accounts are fresh, up to date and include key words for the kinds of jobs you are searching for. This will help recruitment agencies find you, taking a little bit of the leg work out of the job hunt.

Interview Prep

Hopefully your amazing CV will land you a few interviews. Make sure you take every interview seriously. Study the company, the job spec, the person spec and think about ways that you can show you fit the bill. Make sure you prep for the journey there too as there’s nothing like being late to an interview to throw you off your game.

And to top it all off make sure you stand out in the interview itself, to get you started here are a few personal experience led tips from Entrepreneur James from LifeSkills …