TipTopJob Blog

Our latest research tells us that recruitment agencies do not get a look in compared to job boards and direct applications to specific jobs and organisations.

After a month of asking jobseekers what they do once they are happy with their CV / Resume, we found that 45% choose to upload it to a job board and make online applications via their systems. 39% apply directly to company opportunities and lagging way behind is the option to use a Recruitment Agency with only 12% taking that route.

There will always be a market and desire to use Recruitment Agencies especially within certain specialist industry sectors so it really does come down to what kind of jobs are being applied for. Many jobs can be found on job boards so it is quick and easy to make job applications online in this way where the CV/Resume can be saved within a users account. On the flip side of this though, some companies will never publish their vacancies on job boards or even enrol an agent, so direct applications to companies would be the chosen avenue.

Where have you found the most success when applying for a job? Tell us here.....

There are plenty of cities that are frequently declared to be expat havens, offering a high quality of living and a vibrant international community to help new residents from all over the world feel at home. But if you’re a finance professional looking for your next step, there are other factors to bear in mind when you’re deciding where to relocate to.

As well as setting your sights on the world’s global financial centres, it’s important to look into the typical salaries on offer for finance professionals at your level in different locations. You may also wish to consider what personal income tax you’ll need to pay, and the economic stability of your potential new home.

For financiers just starting to research their options, here’s a look at some of the best cities in the world for people working in the finance industry.

Frankfurt
Often cited as the finance capital of Europe, Frankfurt is home to the heart of the European Central Bank and German Central Bank, as well as the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority. The city’s ‘House of Finance’ research and teaching institute is said to set new standards in researching capital market issues, and a number of banks looking to relocate from London as a result of Brexit have decided to move their teams to Frankfurt because of its status as a financial powerhouse.

Data from PayScale and SalaryExpert places Germany in the top 10 countries worldwide when it comes to average pay for both Finance Managers and Financial Analysts, while additional data suggests that expats living in Germany also have a higher level of disposable income than those in other finance hotspots like Singapore and Hong Kong.

Aside from the ease with which you could find a job in Frankfurt’s finance sector, it’s also a trendy and welcoming city with plenty of great food, drink and shopping potential, as well as historic sites and cultural activities to enjoy.

Singapore
Salaries for financiers living in Singapore are generous, and this city-state is also known for being a safe location and one with an excellent quality of life. Rated as the second best place in the world for expats by HSBC’s Expat Explorer survey, this is a politically and economically stable location where career opportunities mix perfectly with an expat-friendly environment.

In 2018, the number of jobs in financial services and fintech in Singapore grew by 6,900, with an additional 4,000 financiers being hired during 2019. Salaries are comfortable, though it’s worth noting that the cost of accommodation and services varies from district to district and can be high.

You may also need to take out a global healthcare policy to cover any medical expenses while living in Singapore, because only those who are permanent residents or citizens will have access to the public healthcare system. Even so, Singapore’s private healthcare system is of a world-class standard and is only slightly more expensive to access than the country’s public healthcare system.

English is the language of business, which makes settling in to a new role that little bit easier, and if you’re moving with children in tow you’ll be pleased to know that HSBC’s Expat Explorer ranked Singapore in first place for both schooling quality and childcare quality.

Hong Kong
Whether you work in brokerage, banking, wealth management or another area of finance, Hong Kong is a gateway to China that offers a rapidly growing market for finance roles. If you speak Cantonese you’ll be at an advantage, but there are also positions available for solely English-speaking expats.

Hong Kong is known for being busy and crowded, and the cost of living is high. However, it does also have some of the lowest personal income tax in the world – currently capped at a maximum tax rate of 17% of earnings. A colourful culture and lively nightlife are just a few of this region’s selling points, along with an excellent public transport system that means you won’t have to spend your salary on personal transport.

70 of the world’s 100 largest banks have operations in Hong Kong, making it one of the highest concentrations of banking institutions worldwide. HSBC’s Expat Explorer rates this location as the best in the world for expat career progression, and states that ‘most international workers tend to leave Hong Kong wealthier and more senior’ than when they arrived.

Dubai
One of the main attractions for many people moving to Dubai is the fact that there is no personal income tax. This is because government expenditure is funded by revenue from the oil industry, income tax, inheritance tax, stamp duty and capital gains tax, which are all considered unnecessary. On top of this, it’s easy to get by without speaking Arabic – though it is, of course, polite to try and learn the basics.

Dubai has been making considerable efforts in recent years to become the financial centre of the Middle East, and the Dubai International Finance Centre is a ‘special economic zone’ with its own legal and regulatory framework. Housing hundreds of financial institutions, from wealth funds and private investors to multinationals, the area offers a 50-year guarantee of zero taxes on corporate income and profits.

One thing that’s important to keep in mind if you’re considering Dubai for your next career move, is that this is a conservative location with deeply ingrained customs and laws that may be unfamiliar if you’re moving from the western world. Female expats in particular should thoroughly research the local culture before a move, as while Dubai is more liberal than other parts of the UAE, there are still requirements for women to dress modestly in public, among other things.

Tokyo
Japan is one of the world’s safest countries, and while there’s likely to be an element of culture shock settling in to a place as bright and bustling as Tokyo, this is another area offering a good quality of life and opportunities for career progression.

More than 50 foreign banks have operations in Japan, including Citibank, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase, and Tokyo is the centre of all things finance in the country. Described as a ‘key financial centre for the international market’ , Tokyo does have a high cost of living to accompany the high salaries you can expect to find here. However, you can still expect to have a reasonable level of disposable income.

When you aren’t working, you can spend your time between historic temples or modern shopping malls, or simply eat your way around the city’s many excellent restaurants and street food stands. Tokyo’s work-life balance isn’t quite as life-focused as that of other cosmopolitan cities, but as a destination that is more politically and economically stable than the UK and the USA, you may find life in Tokyo less stressful in many ways than life elsewhere.

Your specific finance role and whether you’re moving alone, with a partner or with family, will help to indicate the location that’s best for you. Wherever you decide to move to, the good news is that there are plenty of cities around the world which can simultaneously offer you good career opportunities, a high standard of living, and room to develop both personally and professionally.

We have been asking YOU whether you are looking for a job this month.

Our results reveal the following.....

- 63% of people say "YES" they are looking for a job and do not already have one. 
- 30% say "YES" as well that they have a job and they are also looking.
- 2% do not want a job!!
- 4% have a job and are not currently looking.

Positive news that the majority of people either are looking for a job or have a job with only 2% happy not to work. 

January is a great time to go on the hunt with many more companies recruiting, advertising and looking for grow. Many want to start fresh and use January as a good time to make new, positive changes to their lives. 

Is that you? Tell us your story.....

In our latest research study, we found that the main reason for looking for a new job is "career progression".

Jobseekers look around in order to take the next step up the career ladder but staying within the same industry. Almost 60% responded to this option. In some instances, there becomes a limit and barrier to the progress that can be made within a company and so the only option is to move on elsewhere.

25% of jobseekers are after a new role of a similar level but just want to move away from their current company/organisation. Potentially due to staff or manager clashes, lack of training, money issues, location/commuting difficulties being some of the reasons.

15% however, were looking for a career change all together.

If you are looking for a new job, head over to our jobsite TipTopJob.com where you can search through over 400,000 active jobs in 61 industry sectors. You can register for free, upload a CV or Resume, Set up Job Alerts and search to apply to jobs in a matter of minutes. What are you waiting for? 

Our latest survey reveals that job boards are the favoured option for jobseekers when they are first looking to find a new job. 38% choose a "job board" in the first instance to search for their next role before anything else.

"Social networks" were the second most favoured avenue for a jobseeker with 18% visiting either Linkedin, Facebook, Instagram or one of the other platforms. 

"Recruitment agencies" were not as popular as we thought with 16% choosing them first and "search engines", an even less popular source (15%).

Only 10% of jobseekers go direct to the end clients and 3% use their own friend or acquaintance network, which was another surprising result as normally, the networks are a valuable and popular source to find a new job. Maybe it is not the first place people go though!

What do you use? Share here....

Latest findings have found that 26% of people have applied for more than 10 jobs in their job search process.

32% had not applied to any so far, 16% only 1 job, 12% had applied to between 3 and 5, 9% had applied to 1 or 2 and finally 6% had applied to between 6 and 10.

Are you someone who will apply to as many jobs as you possibly can, copying and pasting your application one after the other? Or do you carefully hand pick the jobs and companies and ONLY apply to those you feel you are 100% suitable for and those jobs you really, really want?

Our job board allows you to save up to 5 tailored CV's/resume's into your account. This allows you to tailor your application accordingly and really help your chances of being invited to an interview. We always advise our jobseekers to apply to jobs carefully and tailor their applications to each and every job role. It makes the jobseeker look more professional and interested in the company and role and most certainly increases the chances of taking the next steps in the process.

If you require any help with your CV or Resume, please do get in touch with us. We have a great partner who can help :)

We are investigating the reason why you may want to leave your job and if it is because of the boss! Here are our latest findings...

40% of people want to leave their job because of their boss. 16% of these do not agree with how he/she works, 15% do not like him/her and 9% say their boss bullies/harasses staff. 

60% of the respondents like their boss and are not considering leaving their job.

If you were one of the users that responded within this 40%, let us know what it is exactly that you do not like about them or what you do not agree with? How are you handling your situation? Sharing your own personal stories and letting others know may help and support others who are struggling and finding working life difficult. 

Have you ever lied on your CV? 

We are pleased to say that in our latest study, an amazing 86% of people have NEVER lied on their CV. Obviously, we wanted to see 100% as the result but it is apparent that some individuals feel the need to change their profiles/history etc in order to find themselves a new job.

6% said that they had told a big lie on their CV and 8% just a small white lie. Unfortunately, even though it is a small percentage, there are still some that feel they need to make such changes in their CV.

So, what, we would like to know are people lying about? It is their age? How long they were employed for? If they took a break? Job titles? Education history? References? 

Advice at TipTopJob is not to lie. Is the risk worth it? If you get found out it will definitely cost you the job! If there is something you feel you need to explain, then explain it to the employer/recruiter so you are open and honest as this will be received much better than a potential lie.

What are your thoughts on this? We would love to hear.....

Which CV layout is suitable for you?

Author: CV Knowhow, CV writing experts in CV Writing 

It’s a big enough decision to start thinking about putting together a CV. It could be the first time you’ve ever had to create such a document, or it might be years since you’ve had to apply for a job, so where do you start? A quick look online can bring up a huge variety of examples: different layouts; different sections; some with colour, and some without; and you never knew there were so many font styles to choose from! 

But which one is right for you? 

The point of a CV is to provide a prospective employer with just the right amount of information about your skills and qualities, in an easily accessible way, to make them want to find out more about you. From the first few seconds of reading your CV they will be able to either see you working with them or not. So, it is crucial to choose the right CV design which best reflects what you have to offer. 

There are 5 main styles of CV:

Resume

This is a single page CV, mostly used in the USA and Canada, and you would adopt this style if you are looking to apply for roles in either of those 2 countries. Its focus is on your skills and achievements within jobs and education, and, because of the space restrictions, being concise is absolutely the key to success here – every word counts. There is no room to include anything that is not totally relevant to the job role you are applying for, and so you must have a solid understanding of the skills and experience required to fully tailor your CV. This style of CV is also used for some jobs within the Financial sector – check with the employer if they require this style, if it’s not made explicit in the job advert or application guidelines. 

Skills Based CV

The clue is in the name! This CV prioritises your skills before listing your work experience or academic achievements. You provide a list of skills as headings, once again remembering the golden rule of targeting them to the requirements of the role you are applying for, and then give evidence, written in bullet points, of when you have used that skill, For example: 

Team Work: 
•Worked in a small team whilst employed at Fred’s Diner, supporting colleagues through flexible working and sharing best practice. 
•Achieved first place in a debating competition, working with fellow team members to develop a successful group strategy. 
•Supported fellow students whilst creating an IT presentation, sharing ideas and enabling others to express themselves coherently and concisely, resulting in achieving a group mark of 92%. 

The variety of examples here, taken from work and education, give an added depth to the CV. This style of CV is useful if you have undertaken a number of short term jobs and have generated a lot of work history within a small space of time, helping to package your information in a much clearer way. This is also the ideal CV style for career changers or those with a limited amount of work history, but other, equally valuable, experience from elsewhere, such as voluntary work – the evidence you provide to support the skill can come from anywhere! 

Chronological CV

This is a nice, ordered layout – taking an employer through your employment / academic history from the present day all the way back, reversing the chronological order. Usually, you would only provide information on the last 10 years of your work history – however, this rule isn’t set in stone, and it would depend on how much work experience you had accumulated and the value of what you have done in relation to what you now want to go on to do –remember to target the CV to the role requirements! This CV works wonderfully if you have a clear employment history within the same sector, and you are quite happy to stay in that same area, providing an obvious pattern of progression and achievement. 

Hybrid CV

This is a little more complicated, but is, actually, one of the main styles of CVs used. It has a foot in both camps, taking elements from the skills based and the chronological formats, spinning them together to create something new and very effective. This style of CV would have a Key Skills or Key Competencies section and / or a Key Achievements section, highlighting the targeted skills required by the employer or sector. Following these sections would be the chronological elements of work history and education. This is a particularly good style for highlighting, very concisely, those key targeted skills - use the job description and person specification to help you focus on the right vocabulary, reflecting the employer’s expressions within your CV. A small word of warning, though: take care not to add too many of these sections in: you don’t want it too complicated or run the risk of repeating yourself in the chronological sections. 

Academic / Medical CV

This is the only style of CV where size does not matter! There is no prescribed length for an academic CV – unlike the Skills based, Chronological and Hybrid, which usually can be no longer than3 pages. However, all the information still has to be relevant and concisely expressed – it is not a cart blanche to tell them every detail about your life! As it suggests, this style of CV is used by medics / post-doctoral students or academics looking to work within research or teaching at academic institutions. It allows you to include sections on research work; teaching experience; and publications. 

A final thought ………

So, knowing more about the different types of CV you can use should make it easier to pick the style most suited to your needs! Just remember, though, that you are not alone – help is always available at CVknowhow, where our consultants can advise on style as well as content. If you are wondering if your CV is right for you, submit for a free CV review here.

The time has come. GDPR will take effect from the 25th May 2018, just less than 2 weeks away.

Due to the legal changes around data protection, we require you to update your settings in your account. If you have an account set up on TipTopJob, you just need to login and visit the "Site and Email Preferences" page to make any necessary amendments. 

There is no need to worry as nothing will affect you. You just need to be aware that your data is safe and secure and the reason we store and process your data is for the purpose of providing you with a quality service to help you to find a new job. The new settings allow you to state what email communication you are happy to have from us. You can always change your settings at any time so nothing is set in stone. All you need to do is login to amend them.

All of your data that we store is kept on our internal secure servers which are password protected and we are proud to say that we do not sell any of our data to third parties.

As part of the process, we have made the relevant changes to our Privacy Policy, Site Terms & Conditions as well as our Business Terms and Conditions. These will provide you with detailed information on all the relevant privacy information that you may want to understand and include the required changes so we are GDPR compliant. You can find these documents here.

For any further information, please feel free to email any questions or queries you may have to data@tiptopjob.com. Otherwise, please take a moment to login and amend your site and email preferences. Thank you!!!