TipTopJob Blog

If you are seeking a better career or if you are simply looking for a position that is full-time, stable and high-paying, consider your knowledge of foreign languages and how they can help to benefit you. 

When you consider language a learning, it is possible to find new career paths and opportunities by improving your skills and abilities when it comes to communicating with individuals from all around the world. If you choose to study foreign languages, there are many benefits that come along with doing so that not only helps with your communication capabilities, but also with potential future job opportunities and placements that are right for you. 

The Benefits When You Study Foreign Languages
Any time you want a better job with more stability, consider the option of studying a foreign language. Whether you choose to learn languages online or if you prefer to learn within a traditional classroom, having the knowledge of multiple foreign languages greatly increases your chances of getting hired into a position you desire and that is also high-paying. One of the newest methods of learning a foreign language are online language learning tools and solutions such as Lingualia.

Foreign Language Positions
Obtaining a job using your skills when it comes to speaking, reading and writing a foreign language is possible through both local and online channels, regardless of where you are currently located and whether you prefer part or full-time work. When you want to find a position that is ideal for individuals who understand multiple languages, consider your options before selecting the language you want to immerse yourself in learning to understand thoroughly some of the best positions such as working in translating, interpreting and even language-teaching. These roles are available for those who are familiar with multiple languages, whether you know two, three or even more. It is also possible to find a solid position in the scientific, medical or even the engineering field once you have the knowledge of foreign languages. 

Before you begin pursuing the option to learn a new language, it is important to consider the type of work you are interested in the career you have your heart set on. Understanding where you want to work and the specific type of work you are interested in personally can give you the guidance you need to find a language-learning program that is just right for you.

If you have a desire to learn languages online, you can do so with Lingualia, a free application and online tool to help with learning a second or third language of your choice, on demand. 

Read more on our website.

You are sitting with your friends having a catch up when they start talking in riddles and using abbreviations or random words you have never heard before! Corporate jargon otherwise known as corporate lingo, workplace jargon, business speak to name a few is often commonplace among large corporate companies and especially those originating in the USA. For some, it can be frustrating to be lost among such language so we have collated some common terms and provided you with an explanation for each. There are many references to such jargon which include using abbreviations, nouns, verbs and adjectives. Here they are………. 

Abbreviations

COB – close of business

CSW – completed staff work

EOD – end of day

FTE – full-time equivalent

FY – fiscal year

HIBBIS – heads in beds, butts in seats

KPI – key performance indicators

NDA – non-disclosure agreement

PCP – previous corresponding period

POS – point of sale

PQQ - pre qualification questionnaire

RFP - Request for Proposal

RFQ - Request for quote

RIF – reduction in force

SBU – strategic business unit

SME – subject matter expert

TCO – total cost of ownership

TTT - this time tomorrow

WC – week commencing

WE – week ending

YTD – year to date  

Nouns

Blue sky thinking: Idealistic or visionary ideas 

Cascade: Array of possible actions to take in response to a problem: protocol

Check in the box: complete the task

Flavor of the month: the current popular activity/person as directed by the company/client/management

Hub: an idea which other ideas are linked to

Joined-up thinking: Discussing the viewpoints of each organization and coming to an agreement or compromise

Kill two birds with one stone: doing one action will result in achieving two goals

Low-hanging fruit: Tasks that have the greatest positive effect for the least effort, used when promoting new projects to show the advantages

One belly button to push: Reduced number of suppliers

Raft of measures: A collection of proposals or schemes

Tent pole: the task or item most likely to delay a project or consume the most resources

Silver bullet: One solution for everything

Under-pinning: The foundations of an idea, which helps another related scheme or proposal

Womb to tomb: An idea or program that is killed before it has a chance to grow or flourish 

Verbs

Baked In: Same as "included," in principle. Something which has been "baked in" is implied to be impossible to remove

Boil the Ocean: An effort or task which is perceived by the speaker to be impossible or impractical

Build Capacity: Take actions which produce no useful output immediately, but increase the amount of useful work which can be done in the future

Cover all directions of the compass: Try to make things acceptable for all stakeholders

Create the storyboard: Outline what the solution will look like

Deep dive: Get into the detail

Eating one's own dog food: Use the same product that is sold to your customers, especially if it's a bad product

Land and expand: To sell a small solution and then grow it within the client's environment

Moving forward: Making progress on an idea or scheme

Pick the low-hanging fruit: Go for the easiest option

Power to the elbow: Get additional backup information to make your case stronger

Pushing the envelope: Going outside normal boundaries to achieve a target or goal

Sing from the same hymn sheet: Show a united front or everyone understanding and saying the same thing to customers or service users

Touch base: To meet up with a colleague to discuss progress 

Adjectives

Cross-Functional: resume jargon, music to management's ears

In the loop: knowing what's going on and being kept informed

Off the shelf: buying in a product or service already completed 

You can also read this article on our website.

You may have already noticed some tweaks to the site...

Now you can click through to our Instagram account and Blog right from the icons at the top right of the homepage. You will now find icons for Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Linkedin, Instagram and our Blog which will link directly to the accounts.

Underneath these icons, we have a new image that allows Clients to click through to pay and post for 1 job online.

And finally, on each job vacancy, there is a new button at the top of the job description that allows the jobseeker to click to apply making it easier to find the APPLY button :)

If you would like to see any tweaks, changes or additions to the site, please do get in touch with us and let us know what you think....

Here are the changes....

Thank you to Stuart @ VFG for supplying us with the following comments...........

"All is going well. We have made 4 placements so far, with 6 more potential placements in the pipeline. Our clients tend to have a fast turnover rate of staff, though, so it's largely an ongoing process."

Another happy customer. Smiles all around!

With Halloween around the corner, we thought it was good timing to investigate some of the spookiest jobs and places to work. When we think of spooky, we think eerie, dark, quiet, old, dead, insects, creepy.

Here are some of the spookiest jobs we thought about when we think of the word ‘spooky’…

Housekeeper in an old mansion

Have you ever wondered around a large house in the dark when it is silent, hearing noises that are really only in your imagination? Well, can you imagine if that was what you did every day and it was your job to keep a mansion house, in the middle of nowhere, in the dark! Imagine if that mansion had history dating over 200 years or so old or if it was an ex-prison or even a place where murders or torturing went on. This is well and truly am eerie, creepy, spooky job!

Funeral Director or Mortician or Embalmer

Dealing with the dead at any point gives us the creeps! Having to hold it together to plan and execute a funeral, day after day would mean you would have to have a strong character and ensure you were not emotionally attached. An embalmer takes this category to the next level though and the process of preserving dead bodies so they look suitable for public displays is definitely an unappealing one!

Miner

Miners are very brave having to work in very dark, small, confined spaces for long periods. It can provide a scary experience for most and one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.

Night security at a museum or similar

Again working in the night, looking after a large space where there is no one in sight bring shivers to our spines. Being in charge of security in venues like this to ensure there are no trespassers means having a thick skin! 

Forensic Scientist

A Forensic Scientist is tasked with collecting, preserving and analysing scientific evidence which can be traumatic at the best of times, let alone if it was a gruesome crime scene where someone has been killed and there is blood involved. An interesting job but surely one that can keep you awake for hours at night.

Gravedigger

Dealing with the dead again and digging up the area required for a new burial means working alone at times in large, eerie graveyards. Maybe not as spooky as some jobs but enough to make us shudder!

Arachnologist

Sooky means insects and especially spiders so a job as an Arachnologist, who studies spiders and scorpions, harvestmen etc are brave human beings. This is one eerie role.

Taxidermist

Although this job would appeal to some, many would run a mile at the idea of preparing, stuffing and mounting the skins of dead animals. Again we are talking about dealing with the dead and handling them! Yuk!

Have we missed a spooky job that you have experienced or know about? Share with us :)

We get a lot of calls and emails from jobseekers asking us to call them back, wanting to follow up on applications, needing more information about a job etc etc so we wanted to clear up a few key factors that make "us", the job board, different to a recruitment agency....

- First off, a job board is online. It collates jobs in a list which are registered by the recruitment agencies and direct clients. The job board allows a jobseeker to apply to these jobs ONLINE only. 

- Job boards do not discuss the details of the job with the jobseeker and do not hold any further information regarding the jobs, other than what is seen on the site. They do not match a jobseeker to a job like a recruitment agency would.

- Job boards allow a jobseeker to register an account online for free and hold multiple CV's and Cover Letter's in their jobseeker accounts so these can be attached to roles when applying to them.

- You tend to see thousands of jobs being advertised on job boards rather than a smaller number held by a recruitment agency.

- Job boards will normally receive a fee from the recruitment agency or direct client for posting their vacancies on the sites.

Hopefully these points help to clear up the main difference between the two. So, if you are looking for a job, remember, you can apply for any job via a job board online. To follow up your application, you can contact the recruitment agency or direct client who are advertising the job, not the job board. Once the application has been made, it is with the advertiser of the job and has nothing more to do with the job board.

If you have any further questions about this, please do not hesitate to ask or comment below or get in touch on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or Linkedin.

Working from home has become a big thing for many people with more sophisticated technology available and to accommodate those striving to have a better work/life balance. It does however usually depend on what kind of role you do as to whether it is even an option.

We asked our users recently how often some of them did work from home. We were surprised at the responses as we did expect a larger number of responses to the one-off times and once per week options. Only 9% work from home at one-off times, 6% once per week, 5% twice per week and 12% 2 to 4 times per week.

27% actually work from home everyday BUT a much larger proportion.....40%, said they NEVER work from home.

What job do you do if you work from home? Help us understand what types of roles actually consist of more working from home :)

In our latest survey question about searching for a new job, we found that most respondents want more money and that is why they are searching for a new role. 27% of jobseekers selected “More Money” in the questionnaire.

Second to that was a “Career Change”. 18% were looking for a new role to change careers and try something new. 16% “Disliked Colleagues/Manager” and that was why they were job searching.

The other options and response rates were:

- Bored/don’t enjoy current role – 14%

- Re-locating – 10%

- Sacked/asked to leave – 8%

- More responsibility – 5%

- Better career prospects – 2%

Why are you looking for a new job? Is there another reason not listed above?

Is money always on the top of your agenda?

With cyber-crime bigger than ever and scammers using more and more sophisticated methods to make money, you need to be careful even when you are searching for a new job. Here are a few things to bear in mind when using a job board….

- Do your own research around a company who has registered a vacancy and only apply to the job if you are happy that they are legitimate.

- Never transfer money to a company or get involved in currency exchange.

- Be careful about work from home schemes as these are generally an easy way to scam people as they will ask for money upfront. 

- Do not provide your credit card number, bank account number, sort code, National ID number, passport number or any other personal information until you are 100% that the prospective employer is real.

- Be especially vigilant of re-shipping scams where you will be asked to receive packages and re-send them on.

- Be especially vigilant of money laundering scams and job descriptions that demonstrate them. Job descriptions may ask for people to process payments and transfer money. They can quite often stand out due to the use of broken language.

We hope that you have managed to avoid any dealings with fraudsters but if you have unfortunately been a victim of online fraud, you need to report this to your local police. We do our utmost to remove any obvious scammers from our websites to protect our jobseekers. If you are in doubt about a job that you have seen online, please feel free to get in touch with us and we will do our best to help.