TipTopJob Blog

National Hug Your Boss Day is fast approaching and due to be celebrated on Friday 9th September. Will you get involved this year? We hope so!

The philosophy behind National Hug Your Boss Day is to promote healthy working relationships with not only your boss but also your colleagues. We figure that if you are working alongside your boss and colleagues for on average 8 hours every week day, then you may as well enjoy spending that time with them.

We have been collating interesting facts and stats over the years and we will be releasing some more for 2016 before we celebrate on Friday 9th. Help us to build some interesting data by answering the survey questions on the homepage of TipTopJob which are currently changing regularly.

We also have a Facebook page and Twitter page that you can follow to keep abreast of information as well as a dedicated website with pages for Facts, In The Press, Articles, Quotes, Picture Gallery, Video Gallery and more.

New articles surrounding motivation and relationships will be live before Friday 9th to help with supporting, building and developing relationships at work. Keep your eyes peeled.

To celebrate this year, all we want you to do is give your boss or colleagues a BIG hug. Capture it as a picture or video and share it with us on social media using the hashtags #nationalhugyourbossday #nationalhugyourboss #hugyourboss. It could not be simpler and it will add to some fun at work :) Help us spread the word. 

We are really excited to share our guest blog on Jobmob that went live yesterday. We have written an article for them entitled "How To Overcome These Awkward Job Interview Moments". 

We look at some of the funny, awkward moments that you may have experienced yourself and what you can do to overcome them. 

Why not have a read over on the Jobmob blog.

We read yesterday that the Queen is currently recruiting for a new cleaner to help keep Windsor Castle clean and tidy.

The job would consist of making beds, polishing antiques and laundering linen and according to the newspapers, they would be required to work 6 days per week, 5 hours per day. There is no accommodation on offer and the chosen individual will need to be happy to undertake a range of activities.

The current salary offered is £27,000 per year for the job. Would you do this job at this salary? 

We are pleased to share some changes to TipTopJob. We have now increased the limit of the CV/Resume sizes you can upload into your account. They used to have a limit of 500Kb but it is now 750Kb giving you 250Kb more space! This may not mean much to you in terms of Kb but you can be rest assured that you will be less likely to receive any errors when uploading larger CV/Resumes. 

It is however still recommend to limit the number of pictures includes as this can greatly increase the size to an unmanageable amount. Including pictures of yourself can also add an element of bias or judgement to a recruiter and in some Countries it is probably best avoided as less common practice. You will also want to leave out any pictures of visas/permits etc and supply these directly to a recruiter upon request. There is no need to include them in your CV/Resume at this early stage and usually they increase the size too much.

Given the adjustments in limits, we have reduced the number of CV/Resumes allowed in the accounts from 5 to 3. We have found many duplicates and therefore unnecessary to have these multiple items. If you want to apply for more than 3 jobs and require a different CV/Resume for each, once you have made an application you can simply remove an existing CV/Resume and upload a new one. 

If you have any questions relating to these changes, please do get in touch with us via email.

In our latest survey results we discovered that 43% of individuals WOULD work harder when their boss is in. Although, more respondents said that they didn't and that they work just as hard when the boss is in to when the boss is not, 43% is still a very large proportion of people who need constant supervision and guidance.

So, why do people need this constant control and direction? Are there just too many distractions with the open access to the World Wide Web that when the boss is not around it allows employees to do their shopping or catch up with friends on social media? Are colleagues developing better friendships at work that they just chat, have a joke and mess around at the expense of getting their daily tasks completed? 

Whatever it is, you need some motivation to focus on your day to day activities without requiring the boss to be a around! If this is you, maybe you need to consider having some benchmarks and guidelines between you and your colleagues on how long you are going to "chat" for before then turning your focus on your daily chores. Maybe give yourself 10 minutes in the morning to have a natter. And if you are serial Facebooker or shopper and click back and forth from your task in hand, maybe stop yourself from shopping through working hours and only so this in your break or lunch break. 

Do not forget, you are being employed to do a job so you want to make sure you are performing to the best of your ability. You do not want to get the sack and have to move on without a reference. Our advice is to try your best all of the time :)

Our latest survey results reveal that 73% believe they are "hard" workers compared to 25% who felt they were "smart" workers. 

Funnily enough, less than 1% of people admitted to being a slacker and 1.7% a chancer. It was an anonymous survey so it is not like people did not feel they could tell the truth! We are pleased to have this feedback :)

So, why are more people "hard" at work, than "smart" at work? Quite possibly because people feel that because they work long hours and put in as much effort as they possibly can, then they quite simply feel they work "hard" and maybe do not understand the difference between the two. Smarter work involves using others to assist you, managing your time, organising your diary, networking, working within the right industry, being creative, recruiting the right people around you, asking for help and knowing when to cut your losses, to name just a few.

Reading that, we do wonder if people may feel they are more "smart" workers now.....do you? Let us know here.....

We are currently asking our users if they are a hard worker, smart worker, chancer or slacker. We believe that being smart in your daily chores is a better option than the others. Being smart means you would not need to be sitting at your desk working (or pretending to be working!) for long periods. 

Tell us here in our latest survey what kind of worker you are.....

CLICK HERE to cast your vote.

Following on from our latest article on the 10 top tips for women on how to dress to get the job, it seemed fair to offer the same advice to men. There are common benchmarks for all, but here the main 10 top tips for men attending an interview…

1. Suit
Always try to wear a matching two-piece suit that is a subtle colour of grey, blue or back. Lairy pinstripes and bold colours can often give the wrong impression so try to avoid.

2. Alternative
If you do not have a suit or if the employer has specified no suits, then dark coloured trousers (grey, blue, black) with a light coloured long sleeved shirt and tie looks professional and smart.

3. Ties
Ties are an important accessory and allows a little colour to brighten up the outfit but avoid any bright colours or over the top patterns.

4. Shirts
Again when selecting your shirt, avoid any bold colours that can be distracting and give off the wrong impression. Shirts should have a collar and ideally long-sleeved and match the suit or trousers.

5. Belt
You do not want to be pulling your trousers up or showing your underwear so a smart, leather belt is suitable.

6. Socks
Again avoid anything bold by keeping to the dark colours.

7. Shoes
Likewise stick with dark or maybe a brown colour and ensure you have cleaned and polished them.

8. Hair
Make sure you have had a haircut and it is styled in a smart way. Do not over wax or groom though.

9. Facial hair
Avoid over grown beards or moustache hair by trimming the hair down so you are as smart as possible.

10. Finger nails
It is normal for women to make sure their nails are manicured and painted nicely but often this is over-looked by men. Make sure your nails do not have dirt underneath them and try to manicure them down so they are not sharp or over-grown.

By following these straight forward tips, you should not go wrong. You can check out the 10 top tips for women as well on this page and some general pointers for all here.

Read the article in our Career Centre here.

Interviews are all about first impressions and the way you dress yourself has a huge bearing on this. If the interviewer sees that you have made an effort and that you take pride in your appearance, it will reflect on how you will take pride in representing their business. It is not about spending a fortune on new, expensive clothes but it is about taking care to present yourself professionally.

Although expected dress in businesses varies, especially from industry to industry and role to role, it is still expected that for an interview the same level of professionalism is taken.

There are some additional tips on how to best dress for both men and women that can be found in a separate article in our career centre but here are the 10 top tips for women: -

1. Skirt
If you are going for a skirt, avoid anything above the knee or a skirt that is too tight and uncomfortable to sit down. You do not want to be showing too much leg and distract the interviewer.

2. Suit
A classic suit is always a good option – particularly a grey, black or blue one as it will not be over bearing and always be a smart, professional option.

3. Shirt
If wearing a shirt, avoid anything see-through or short that may reveal any skin. You do not want to have any of your bra showing and particularly avoid wearing a black bra under a light coloured shirt.

4. Shoes
Your shoes should be smart but also comfortable. Avoid wearing shoes you are not used to walking in and find you waddle or trip up in.

5. Make-up
Your make-up should be neutral and not over the top. Avoid fake eyelashes, red lipstick or any brightly coloured eye shadow.

6. Hairstyle
Your hair style needs to be conservative and not over done like you are going on a night out. Sometimes having your hair swept back into a tight ponytail can stop any distractions with hair getting in your face and distracting the interview.

7. Jewellery
Avoid wearing any jewellery that clinks and clanks and can be over bearing, for example, large hooped earrings and heavy chunky bracelets. Keep it simple.

8. Tattoos
If you have tattoos and are able to cover them, try.

9. General
In general, do not be too flashy, sexy or over the top.

10. Colours
Try to match your colours and go for the elegant, sharp, professional and smart look.

If you can follow the above advice, then you will at least have eliminated any concerns the interviewer may have about your appearance. How you decide to dress is well in your control and can be planned in advance. If you have any queries about the dress, you can always ask ahead so as not to go wrong.

Read this article on our website in the Career Centre and more.

We have just collated some very positive results about co-worker relationships and how people feel they get on with one another at work.

When asked to rate their current relationships on a scale from the options; Excellent, Great, Good, OK, Poor or Awful, almost 100% said they were Excellent or Great! 

To be more precise, 47% rated their relationships as Excellent and 45% Great. Only 7% said they were good and less than 1% OK. No one rated their relationships at work as Poor or Awful........ which is great news!

Here at TipTopJob, we like to promote healthy, working relationships and this survey is proof that today, relationships at work and more than good. This makes us very happy! 

#excellentrelationshipsatwork #relationshipsatwork #greatrelationships #happyatwork #coworkerrelationships