Archive for the ‘Candidates’ Category

One week to go! Fun and Vibrant Networking, have you confirmed? Yes…You!!

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

Final push for the next Largest Fun and Vibrant London Accountancy and Finance Professionals Networking Event in London.

This networking event is completely FREE and early arrivals will receive a complimentary glass of wine.

The success of the last event was purely down to your positive contribution
 of passing on invitations, through word of mouth and emails, and social media invites. So thank you being the difference!

Again, please continue to spread the word by forwarding this to your friends, and colleagues associated with the Accountancy and Finance Industry to come and network with us.

Time: 18:30

Date: Tuesday 30th March 2010

Location: Please note the venue has changed to: The Fine Line, 1 Bow Church Yard, London, EC4M 9DQ

Please confirm your attendance, by emailing david@david-walters.co.uk

P.S Some photos from last time! http://gallery.me.com/kenwilsonmax#100552

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The London Accountants and Finance Professionals Networking Event

Monday, January 18th, 2010

The next London Accountancy and Finance Networking event has been arranged for 9th February 2010 at 6.30 pm.

This year we want to create a fun and vibrant London Accounting and Finance Professionals networking event, so please come and join us.

There will be a complimentary free glass of wine on arrival, and some food will be provided for early arrivals.

Please note the venue has now changed.

Location: Corney & Barrow, 2b Eastcheap, London, EC3M 1AB

Please RSVP – david@david-walters.co.uk

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Interview Preparation Tips

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

Once you have submitted your CV and managed to secure an interview, what’s next?  Preparing for an interview, if done right, can be worse than the real thing!  I’m now going to give you 7 of the most valuable tips on preparing for an interview.

  1. Research, research and research – It’s so important to stress the importance of thoroughly researching the company and role.  I’m a fan of the UK Apprentice TV show and it always amazes me during the final stages, how many of the Apprentices have not got a clue what Sir Alan Sugar does after ten or so weeks on the show.  Obviously, he will be more geared towards the applicants with the most passion and knowledge of what he does.
  2. It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it – the interview is now your personal sales and marketing pitch!  Being confident without sounding cocky about your ability to do the job will make your interviewer more at ease recommending you to his work colleagues, as you have the ability to sell yourself.  There are lots of candidates out there that come across unsure of themselves, and therefore this will always impact how they will potentially be perceived in the workplace.
  3. Never assume – whatever you do, do not assume anything.  If you are unsure about something, just be honest and ask before the interview.  If the answer is not satisfactory to you, you can always bring it up again during the interview.
  4. Examples – simply saying you are good at something does not mean you have ticked the boxes and therefore will be offered the job.  For example, if asked about your strengths and weaknesses, do not say statements like “I’m a good communicator and great a problem solver.”  Your interviewer needs to be convinced by you, therefore have your audio script prepared to demonstrate how good you are at whatever you say you are.  Facts and figures will work a treat. Make it easy for the interviewer; create the picture you want to create in the interviewer’s head.
  5. Questions – No questions, no job offer!  Alternately, having some well thought-out questions highlighting any gaps or issues, and potentially solutions to problems will put you in good stead.
  6. Interview dating – who’s recruiting who here?  When preparing for your interview, imagine the interviewer needs you more than you need them.  Reverse psychology can help get you clear on what you have to offer your potential employer and why they should recruit you.  With this in mind, don’t be surprised if they are overzealous in convincing you how great the opportunity will be for you.
  7. Body language – they say never judge a book by its cover, however for the interview, that saying should be totally ignored!  Body language probably counts towards over 60% of interview success.  Consider this exercise – make a conscious effort and look at your body language including posture when answering questions daily.  Analyse your body language, what is your body language saying that you are not saying verbally?  The results can be a real eye opener.

David Walters has analysed the results from preparing hundreds of candidates for interviews and from the results, we developed a tried and tested formula for successfully interviewing.  We are now helping professional people with our independent Interview Preparation service to prepare for job interviews.  For further information email careercoach@david-walters.co.uk

Best Wishes for 2010!

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Your Online Social Media CV

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

In my previous blogs I gave you 7 useful CV Review and Writing tips and Have you done the 50% yet?

So moving forward, not only should you have a CV for traditional job applications via job boards, direct hiring companies and recruitment agencies, you should also consider your Online Social Media CV.

An Online Social Media CV is the place online where you put your credentials, experience and achievements, not to mention the online “you”, online for all to view.  Obviously you should not put any personal information online, such as your date of birth, place of birth etc, as that could leave you open to fraudsters.

Where to put your Online Social Media CV

There are lots of different sites to put your details on, such as Linkedin, Facebook, Ecademy, Hi 5, Wordpress, Twitter, Xing, Bebo, etc.  All are great for putting your details out there, however not all will work for you.  I use different social media sites for different things. I use Linkedin in a purely professional capacity to network online with various professionals and business owners.  I view Linkedin as a professional networking site.  The surprise out there is Facebook.  I use Facebook for both business and pleasure.  Let’s look at Facebook in a little more detail.

Did you know Facebook is the most visited website after Google?

Did you know Facebook has over 22 million users on the UK and 350 million worldwide?

Did you know that Facebook has an excellent search function?

Did you know that you can filter the results in Facebook?

What I’m briefly exploring is the ability to use a so called ‘friends’ social media website for professional business and job opportunities.  I have used Facebook many times to research, find and communicate with people online.

As with everything, it sounds easier than it really is!  Online is so much different from offline, especially in the approach!

When updating your Online Social Media CV on Facebook, be sure that everything you say and do will not put a shadow of doubt over you for potential employers or business colleagues.  There is a lot to consider when using Facebook.

If you would like to connect with me on Facebook and see my Online Social Media CV/profile then click here and add me as a friend

http://www.facebook.com/people/David-Walters-Fcca/1518716928

If you would like to connect with me on Linkedin my details are:

http://uk.linkedin.com/in/davewalters

And if you would like some help advice on creating your Online Social Media CV and presence, job search strategies, and research, you can email me on david@david-walters.co.uk or to register online click here

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7 useful CV Review and Writing tips

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

Well the New Year is nearly upon us. We just need to get through Christmas and that’s it, BAM, 2010 the New Year, time for finding a new job, time for writing down your goals and also time to review those things you said you would do last year, but still haven’t got round to doing it. Can you relate to any of this?

Well I’m going to continue writing about CV Review and CV Writing because I still think there are still lots of you that can benefit from some extra information or help from someone like me on your CV’s. Please keep reading.  Well, I was surfing the net today and I came across a useful free CV template website with various CV templates.  Looking through these templates I immediately recognised the common templates that I have received in my inbox time and time again from candidates looking for a job. It got me thinking that none of these generic CV templates stand out. In light of this, I’m going to share with you some of my tips for putting together a great CV and CV Template for free.

7 CV Tips

1. Know your value and consider putting down

  • What do you have to offer your perspective employer?
  • What skills you have to offer?
  • What have you achieved in your career?

2. Know your audience

  • Who will be reading your CV?
  • Have you demonstrated your ability to do the jobs you are applying for?

3. Don’t do a sheep, “baa”

  • Don’t be afraid to do something different and take a risk on your CV to highlight your uniqueness or specific skill and/or ability
  • Don’t follow the presumed leader – asking your peers how they put together their CV is not always to best point of reference. Copy a bad idea or CV, and you may end up having a CV that does not give you the desired results for years to come.

4. Ask an “expert’s” option

  • Get an expert to review your CV and give you some honest feedback. It’s no good thinking you know how to fix your CV when you are not getting the fast results you need. You probably need to go back to the drawing board. In the last two weeks, I have reviewed about ten CVs, all as boring as hell, from professional accountants looking for work that needed some help. From the feedback received after the review and rewriting their CVs, they can now stand out from the crowd with a CV to be proud off.

5. Who will be reading your CV

  • Having an understanding that your potential line manager may not be the only person reviewing your CV is useful. A CV that cannot be understood by non-techies is likely to alienate people, such as the HR Manager and other staff members involved in the decision making process.

6. Stay away from boxes and tables on your CV template

  • Boxes and tables are so last year! Very old fashioned…ask yourself this, “does my career deserve to be put in a box?”

7. Invest the time or money needed on your CV   (The business plug – use our CV Writing Service)

  • If you are applying for jobs and not enough people get back to you, it’s time to spend more time developing your CV.  Get your CV professionally written so you can benefit by having someone present you in the best way possible, which you would not have know otherwise before going through the professional CV Writing process. This will definitely increase your chances of getting your foot in the door tenfold.

If you are struggling to do any of these tips, I want to hear from you. And if you think you could benefit from our services of CV Writing, CV Review, Interview Preparation or Career Coaching, then I want to hear from you too. Email me at careercoach@david-walters.co.uk or click here for further information.

David Walters Coaching, Career Management, and Recruitment from the ground upwards

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Have you done the 50% yet?

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009

The thing that a lot of people do not consider is that 50% of a job interview is already done before you show up for the job interview.   In the first stage, the first thing potential employers see is your CV.  Potential employers are like you and me, they know what they like and they know what they don’t.  From a personal point of view, the first thing I do when a CV or any form of marketing literature comes in my email or post is look at it and within a few seconds decide whether it’s worth anymore of my time.  If it doesn’t look right, i.e. the presentation isn’t quite to my style, it may never get the time of day again!  However if the presentation is to my preference then I’ll read on…we have now reached the second stage.  The second stage is the reviewing the content stage, this is the who, what, where, when, etc.

Typical questions which may run through my head are:

  • Is this what I’m looking for?
  • What can this person bring to the organisation?
  • Does he/she have anything in common with the other people in the company?
  • Does this person sound like a team player?
  • How much experience does he/she have?

If you are successful at both stage one and two, and you are one of the lucky ones the following may happen – either you’ll get a response saying thank you and your details will be kept on file or you’ll receive a call finding out when you are available for interview.  The point here is that if you have portrayed yourself in the right way before the potential interview, the interviewers will already know what to expect, and will just want verbal confirmations from you of your ability to do the job well and add value. Your ability to interview effectively is now the key to securing the job.  If unsuccessful in an interview and you say to yourself afterwards, perhaps I could have done better in that interview then you may need to consider your interview technique and interview preparation as we all respond differently in difference circumstances.

So to summarise, to do your 50% I would advise you to have your CV reviewed and possibly professionally written if required.  After doing that you may consider having your interview techniques reviewed to get to that desired 100%!

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler” Albert Einstein

For further information on CV Review, CV Writing, and Interview preparation email careercoach@david-walters.co.uk

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Hi All

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009

Please join me facebook and we can share information. Thanks
http://www.facebook.com/people/David-Walters-Fcca/1518716928

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London Working in Accountancy Networking Event 29th July 09

Friday, July 10th, 2009

The evening will provide the opportunity to network with other accountancy professionals in a relaxing environment, so even if you do not have any career questions, please feel free to join us for a drink.

Who should attend?

Anyone wanting to enhance or pursue their career in accountancy or those wanting to have a drink with friendly professionals.  Click here for further information

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David Walters interviewed by Accounting and Business Magazine ACCA

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

The founding Director Dave Walters FCCA of David Walters was recently interviewed in the Accounting and Business Magazine ACCA.

Q How’s business?

A The slowdown in the recruitment industry has actually been good for us. We have seen more companies requesting our specialist accounting knowledge for recruiting part qualified and qualified
accountants to join their organisations. These companies are bucking the recession trend by reducing recruitment risks by using accountants to do their accountancy and finance recruitment.

To read the article in full and find out what Dave Walters had to say about the recruitment sector click here

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Is it all doom and gloom in the accountancy and finance job market?

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

Despite the economic downturn that is taking place in the UK job market, now is an excellent time to redefine yourself and decide what you should be doing by way of a job! For some time now many Accountants and Finance professionals have been doing a job they do no longer enjoy. I know this because I speak to lots of them daily, and as a matter of fact, I’m an accountant too! Most bizarrely, accountants are now being very picky about what companies they work for, even the unemployed, due to the market conditions. We are now offering free career advice, CV workshops, interview tips and most importantly, jobs!

David Walters Accountancy and Finance search and selection recruitment agency now have lots of highly skilled accountants and finance professional on the database looking for work. This is excellent news for us because we didn’t imagine having so many Accountants on our books at this early stage of business, but it’s not such a good thing for the SMEs recruiting as some accountants may use some SMEs as half way houses before moving on. None the less, if the recruitment process has been carried out correctly, there is no need to fear!

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