Guest Article - Interview tips for the hard of hearing

Each and every job candidate faces a set of challenges at a job interview that vary from being able to deliver the right impression to demonstrating how suitable they are for the position. For a large part of the UK population, a job interview poses additional challenges. In 2005 the RNID (The Royal National Institute for Deaf People) conducted a survey that revealed more accurately than ever before the total number of hard of hearing in the UK. Close to 9 million hard of hearing is the figure quoted, which represents a significant segment of the population.

In today’s job search landscape a typical job candidate may attend two types of job interview. The first is a telephone based interview, be it with the recruitment agency (almost always) or with the employer (on occasion), and the second is the face to face job interview. Each type of interview introduces different hurdles for the hearing impaired.

Telephone Based Job Interview Tips:

1. Request a written interview - The initial interview is meant to assess only preliminary suitability of the candidate. If you suffer from severe or profound hearing loss, a telephone interview is not feasible. Employers are encouraged to accommodate candidates with any number of impairments.

2. Conduct a mock interview by phone - In cases of mild hearing loss, adjusting the volume of the handset is all that is required. Ask a friend or family member to conduct a simple exercise to establish how well you are able to hear over the phone by answering a set of questions that haven’t been disclosed to you.

3. Set the scene - Hearing loss is classified according to the level of hearing loss. The four levels are profound, severe, moderate and mild. In the case of the last two, you might be able to hear over the phone perfectly well provided there is minimal background noise. Therefore choose a time for the interview when you are situated in a quiet room or environment.

4. Pick the right device - Nowadays we all carry a mobile phone or some smart device with phone capabilities. As much as it might seem tempting to schedule the interview while you are on the move via your mobile device, poor signal reception might make hearing the interviewer harder. Therefore, consider using a normal BT line.

5. Use a telephone amplifier - Modern technology offer gadgets such as a telephone amplifier that can affix to your existing telephone and amplify the sound of the speaker. At around £10 to £20 these are useful gadgets for anyone who suffers from hearing loss.

6. Use an amplified phone - There are certain phone manufacturers such as Geemarc and Amplicom who produce dedicated telephones for the hard of hearing. Available in a cordless or corded configuration, they include an extra loud speaker, extra loud ringer and other visual clues such as flashing lights.

Face To Face Based Job Interview Tips:

7. Increase your confidence levels - You might have concerns before the interview that may lead to question your abilities to shine during the interview. A useful tip is to prepare as much as you can so your confidence levels are high when entering the interview. Learn about the employer, study the job description in detail, write down a set of possible questions you have for the recruiter and prepare answers to common questions.

8. Position yourself accordingly – those that are Hard of hearing will often use lip reading to aid in overcoming their hearing loss. When you are asked to sit down by the interviewer, choose the seat right in front of the interviewer.

9. Wear a hearing aid - Out of the UK’s 9 million hard of hearing, the RNID estimates that 1.4 million wear hearing aids on a daily basis. These are a group of devices which differ in how they fit the wearer’s ear, but perform the same role. They are able to amplify external sound thereby supporting the part of the hearing process that is diminished.

10. Hearing loss is a common condition and you should disclose your condition to the interviewer to avoid unexpected concerns and misconceptions.


Good luck!

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Article by Hearing Direct, an online based vendor of hearing aids for the deaf and hard of hearing including accessories such as hearing aid batteries.

The numbers behind the headlines - employment, unemployment and what it all means.

There are a number of misleading statistics currently being bandied around at the moment regarding the state of the jobs market in the United Kingdom.  Some commentators who are trying to be positive point to the massive jobs growth that has occurred since the start of the year, whilst the more bearish tend to point to the fact  that total unemployment has continued to increase in 2010 and that the majority of the new jobs that have been created are either temporary or part-time.

So what is the real story?  Well let’s look at the raw numbers. 

It certainly is true that there have been a large number of jobs created this year.  Total employment has increased by almost 350,000 since the start of the year, and there are now almost 2.8 million people working in the country.

These jobs have been predominantly part-time and temporary.  Of the net new jobs created, 250,000 were part time jobs and 120,000 were temporary jobs.  Full time jobs have actually fallen by 40,000 since the start of the year.  However, is this surprising?  Coming out of a very deep recession it is not surprising that employers are being cautious in their approach to headcounts.  Employing new staff on a part time or temporary basis is likely to be the first steps to taking them on permanently.

Total unemployment has increased in the year, but only marginally at 5,000 jobs.  With a growing labour market, renewed government efforts to take people off long term benefits and continued economic uncertainties this growth in unemployment is relatively small.  Indeed, the total increase in unemployment has been surprisingly low during the downturn.  Total unemployment peaked at around 2.5 million, having increased by around 900,000, much lower than the 3.0 million estimate that was forecast during the downturn.

However, what of the outlook for unemployment?  For one, because unemployment increased less than forecast during the downturn, there are concerns that businesses have been hoarding labour, preferring to cut wages and hours instead.  Wage and hours cuts are certainly evident in the statistics.  With the economy starting to grow again, it is highly possible that businesses will work their current staff harder rather than looking to employ more people.

The impact of the public sector job cuts is a big unknown.  Government estimates suggest that 500,000 jobs will be lost in the public sector over the next five years, but what is the indirect impact on the private sector?  This is very hard to estimate but the cuts will almost certainly lead to many more job losses in private companies.  But this will be spread throughout the next five years.  The private sector will be creating jobs over this period and it seems possible that at least an additional 100,000 jobs per annum can be created as the recovery gains momentum.

The immediate outlook for the labour market is one of potential weakness, as businesses and the public sector react to the deficit reduction plans with headcount freezes and job cuts.  Nevertheless, the fiscal plan has provided companies with the clarity they need to adjust to these changed economic circumstances, whilst continued support from low interest rates and the weakness of the pound will provide a firm footing for businesses to recover and then expand.

In conclusion, the labour market was surprisingly strong during the downturn, has started to create jobs (although not permanent jobs), will be weakened in the short term following the announcement of Government deficit cuts, but will likely to be seeing employment growth and a sustainable fall in unemployment by the second half of next year.

Some tough times to come, but be prepared for that light at the end of the tunnel…it is coming!

Vodafone cuts 400 jobs at call centre in Banbury

Vodafone have announced that they are planning on cutting 400 jobs from their customer relations call centre in Banbury. Half of the jobs will be relocated to other parts of the country but half will be lost.

It seems likely that large employers will continue to announce job cuts throughout this year and next. Although total unemployment may not rise as much as some are expecting, the jobs market will remain tough and many will be worried about the possibility of unemployment.

Unemployment - where is it going?

The total number of people registered as unemployed fell by 8,000 in the three months to June according to the latest ONS statistics, resulting in an unemployment rate of 7.8%.

However, the ONS also showed the claimant count - those out of work and receiving unemployment benefit - was up 2,300 in August to 1.47 million.  This tends to be a good lead indicator of where the broader unemploymen measure will move in the future.

The number of people employed increased by 286,000 in the three months to July, however much of this increase was from part-time employment, including a large amount of seasonal employment.

Of course, we shouldn't read too much into one month's data, especially given how often it is revised.

Nonetheless, with the economy showing signs of slowing and with the uncertainty of public sector spending cuts ahead, it seems highly likely that the labour market will be weak throughout the rest of the year and into 2011.

I don't subscribe to the double-dip scenario, as economies don't generally move out of recession this way and the Bank of England has shown itself very willing to support the recovery.  I also think that some of the estimates of job losses in the public sector and economic damage from cuts are overstated.  Nevertheless, jobs will be lost in the public sector and in those private sector companies directly affected.

The private sector is likely to be creating jobs at the same time but with wages flat and jobs being lost in the public sector, the jobs market isn't likely to feel like it is roaring back into life.

UK growth revised up in Q2 - highest level in over ten years

UK Q2 2010 economic growth was revised up at the second reading to 1.2%. This is the highest quarterly growth rate since Q3 1999. Nevertheless, economists are expecting the recovery to fade in the second half of the year as US economic growth falters and as businesses and consumers face the prospect of fiscal austerity measures.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-27/u-k-expands-faster-than-estimated-on-growth-in-construction-inventories.html

Hard Interview Questions

I found this list of hard interview questions and suggested answers using StumbleUpon...it may be worth a look.

It is a list of what the author describes as "The 25 most difficult questions you'll be asked on a job interview." Personally I don't think these are the hardest interview questions ever...here are a few of our own tough interview questions.

Then again...I think it might be from 1983 so perhaps it is a little dated. Nevertheless here is the link.

http://www.datsi.fi.upm.es/~frosal/docs/25mdq.html

Enjoy

Tough first day for Prime Minister Cameron as unemployment continues to rise

According to the latest figures released by the Office of National Statistics the rate of unemployment reached 8.0% in the three months to March whilst the rate of employment fell to 72.0% in the same period.

In contrast the number of people claiming unemployment benefit actually fell in the April, representing the fifth fall in six months. The claimant count fell by 27,100 to 1.52 million. This shows that people are unable or choosing not to claim benefits.

In addition the inactivity rate continued to rise, driven in part by people staying in education.

The employment rate for the three months to March 2010 was 72.0 per cent. The rate was down 0.3 per cent on the quarter and it has not been lower since the three months to September 1996. The number of people in employment fell by 76,000 on the quarter to reach 28.83 million. The number of full-time workers fell by 103,000 over the quarter but the number of part-time workers increased by 27,000. The number of employees and self-employed people working part-time because they could not find a full-time job increased by 25,000 on the quarter to reach 1.07 million, the highest figure since comparable records began in 1992.

The unemployment rate for the three months to March 2010 was 8.0 per cent, up 0.2 per cent on the quarter. The number of unemployed people increased by 53,000 over the quarter to reach 2.51 million, the highest figure since the three months to December 1994. The number of people unemployed for up to six months fell by 52,000, to reach 1.21 million. However, the number of people unemployed for more than twelve months increased by 94,000 over the quarter to reach 757,000, the highest figure since the three months to May 1997.

The number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (the claimant count) decreased by 27,100 between March and April 2010 to reach 1.52 million. The claimant count has fallen for five out of the last six months. The number of claimants of up to six months duration fell by 29,200 on the month to reach 923,800 while the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance for over twelve months increased by 10,700 between March and April to reach 253,000.

The inactivity rate for the three months to March 2010 was 21.5 per cent, up 0.2 per cent on the quarter. The number of inactive people of working age increased by 88,000 over the quarter to reach a record high of 8.17 million. Almost half of this quarterly increase in inactivity was due to the number of students not in the labour market which increased by 43,000 on the quarter to reach 2.30 million.

The number of vacancies for the three months to April 2010 was 475,000, down 6,000 over the quarter.

The earnings annual growth rate for total pay (including bonuses) was 4.0 per cent for the three months to March 2010. This is the highest growth rate since June 2008 and is up from 2.5 per cent for the three months to February 2010. This increase in the growth rate for total pay reflects higher bonuses across most sectors of the economy compared with last year. The earnings annual growth rate for regular pay (excluding bonuses) was 1.9 per cent for the three months to March 2010, up from 1.7 per cent for the three months to February 2010.

For further details follow this link to the monthly bulletin.

The statistics also showed that the public sector continued to take on people over the past twelve months. This is unlikely to continue following the General Election outcome.