Employment

opportunities
Reece Hancock
Full time

 Full-time employment is employment in which a person works a minimum number of hours defined
as such by his/her employer. Full-time employment often comes with benefits that are not typically
offered to part-time, temporary, or flexible workers, such as annual leave, sickleave, and health
insurance. Part-time jobs are mistakenly thought by some to not be careers. However, legislation
exists to stop employers from discriminating against part-time workers so this should not be a factor
when making decisions on career advancement. They generally pay more than part-time jobs per
hour, and this is similarly discriminatory if the pay decision is based on part-time status as a primary
factor.
 Full-Time status varies between company and is often based on the shift the employee must work
during each work week. The standard work week consists of five eight-hour days, commonly served
between 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM or 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM totalling 40 hours. While a four-day
week generally consists of four ten-hour days; it may also consist of as little as nine hours for a total
of a 36-hour work week. Twelve-hour shifts are often three days per week, unless the company has
the intention of paying out the employee overtime. Overtime is legally paid out anytime an
employee works more than 40 hours per week. The legal minimum for overtime starts at Base Pay +
One-Half.
Part time

 A part-time contract is a form of employment that carries fewer hours per week than a full-
time job. They work in shifts. The shifts are often rotational. Workers are considered to be part-
time if they commonly work fewer than 30 hours per week. According to the International Labour
Organization, the number of part-time workers has increased from one-fourth to a half in the past
20 years in most developed countries, excluding the United States. There are many reasons for
working part-time, including the desire to do so, having one's hours cut back by an employer and
being unable to find a full-time job.
 In some cases the nature of the work itself may require that the employees be classified part as
part-time workers. For example, some amusement parks are closed during winter months and keep
only a skeleton crew on hand for maintenance and office work. As a result of this cutback in staffing
during the off season, employees who operate rides, run gaming stands, or staff concession stands
may be classified as part-time workers owing to the months long down time during which they may
be technically employed. "Part-time" can also be used in reference to a student (usually in higher
education) who takes only a few courses, rather than a full load of coursework each semester.
Freelance

 A freelancer or freelance worker is a term commonly used for a person who is self-employed and is
not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance workers are sometimes
represented by a company or a temporary agency that resells freelance labour to clients; others
work independently or use professional associations or websites to get work.
 While the term "independent contractor" would be used in a higher register of English to designate
the tax and employment classes of this type of worker, the term freelancing is most common in
culture and creative industries and this term specifically motions to participation therein. Fields,
professions, and industries where freelancing is predominant include: music, writing, acting,
computer programming, web design, translating and illustrating, film and video production, and
other forms of piece work which some cultural theorists consider as central to the cognitive-cultural
economy.
Shift work

 Shift work is an employment practice designed to make use of, or provide service across, all 24
hours of the clock each day of the week (often abbreviated as 24/7). The practice typically sees the
day divided into shifts, set periods of time during which different groups of workers perform their
duties. The term "shift work" includes both long-term night shifts and work schedules in which
employees change or rotate shifts.
 In medicine and epidemiology, shift work is considered a risk factor for some health problems in
some individuals, as disruption to circadian rhythms may increase the probability of developing
cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment, diabetes, and obesity, among other conditions. Shift
work can also contribute to strain in marital, family, and personal relationships.
 Shift work increases the risk for the development of many disorders. Shift work sleep disorder is a
circadian rhythm sleep disorder characterized by insomnia, excessive sleepiness, or both. Shift work
is considered essential for the diagnosis. The risk of diabetes mellitus type 2 is increased in shift
workers, especially men. People working rotating shifts are more vulnerable than others.
Permanent contract

 Permanent employees, regular employees or the directly employed, work for an employer and are
paid directly by that employer. Permanent employees do not have a predetermined end date to
employment. In addition to their wages, they often receive benefits like subsidized health care,
paid vacations, holidays, sick time, or contributions to a retirement plan. Permanent employees are
often eligible to switch job positions within their companies. Even when employment is "at will",
permanent employees of large companies are generally protected from abrupt job termination by
severance policies, like advance notice in case of layoffs, or formal discipline procedures. They may
be eligible to join a union, and may enjoy both social and financial benefits of their employment.
 With exception of South Korea where extensive laws and regulations make firing of permanent
employees nearly impossible, rarely does "permanent employment" mean employment of an
individual that is guaranteed throughout the employee's working life. In the private sector, with the
notable exception of academic tenure, such jobs are rare; permanent employment is far more
common in the public sector, where profit and loss is not as important.
Temporary contract
 Temporary work or temporary employment refers to an employment situation where the working
arrangement is limited to a certain period of time based on the needs of the employing
organization. Temporary employees are sometimes called "contractual", "seasonal", "interim", "casual
staff", "outsourcing", "freelance"; or the word may be shortened to "temps". In some instances,
temporary, highly skilled professionals (particularly in the white-collar worker fields, such as law,
engineering, and accounting) refer to themselves as consultants.
 Temporary work is different from Secondment, which is the assignment of a member of one
organisation to another organisation for a temporary period, and where the employee typically
retains their salary and other employment rights from their primary organisation but they work
closely within the other organisation to provide training and the sharing of experience.
 Temporary workers may work full-time or part-time depending on the individual situation. In some
instances, temporary workers receive benefits (such as health insurance), but usually benefits are
only given to permanent employees as a cost-cutting measure by the employer to save money. Not
all temporary employees find jobs through a temporary employment agency. With the rise of the
Internet and gig economy (a labour market characterized by the prevalence of short-term contracts
or freelance work as opposed to permanent jobs), many workers are now finding short-term jobs
through freelance marketplaces: a situation that brings into being a global market for work.
Zero hours contract

 A zero-hour contract is a type of contract between an employer and a worker, where the employer is
not obliged to provide any minimum working hours, while the worker is not obliged to accept any
work offered. The employee may sign an agreement to be available for work as and when required,
so that no particular number of hours or times of work are specified. Depending on jurisdiction and
conditions of employment, a zero-hour contract may differ from casual work. They are often used in
agriculture, hotels and catering, education, and healthcare sectors. They are used to enable on call
scheduling. This term is used to refer to on-call shift scheduling practices, even though it is just a
contract which enables it.
 In the United Kingdom, under the National Minimum Wage Act 1998, workers operating under a zero-
hour contract on stand-by time, on-call time, and downtime must be paid the national minimum
wage for hours worked. Prior to the introduction of the Working Time Regulations 1998 and the
National Minimum Wage Regulations 1999 zero-hour contracts were sometimes used to "clock-off"
staff during quiet periods while retaining them on site so they could be returned to paid work should
the need arise. The National Minimum Wage Regulations require that employers pay the national
minimum wage for the time workers are required to be at the workplace even if there is no "work"
to do. In the past, some employees working on a zero-hour contract have been told that they are
required to obtain permission of their employer before accepting other work but this practice has
now been banned under UK legislation enacted in May 2015.
Multi-skilled worker

 A skilled worker is any worker who has special skill, training, knowledge, and (usually acquired)
ability in their work. A skilled worker may have attended a college, university or technical school.
Or, a skilled worker may have learned their skills on the job. Examples of skilled labour include
software development, paramedics, police officers, soldiers, physicians, crane operators, truck
drivers, drafters, painters, plumbers, craftsmen, cooks and accountants. These workers can be
either blue-collar or white-collar workers, with varied levels of training or education. Multi-skilled
means the person would know more than one of these trades, this would be like a plumber and a
painter.
Voluntary worker

 Voluntary work is the use of or reliance on volunteers, especially to perform social or educational
work in communities. You have to be motivated and give time and sometimes your own money into
dedicating time and effort into a project for your community or a topic that you support.
 Long term, paid: In this category, volunteers are usually sent to work on long term projects lasting
for over a year in which the volunteer may almost lose contact with his or her old way of life. For
these positions, professionals with qualifications, specific skills and relevant work experience are
usually recruited, for example doctors, nurses, engineers etc., and they can receive benefits
including a monthly salary based on the local rate, air tickets, insurance, lodging etc. Short,
medium and long term, unpaid: These positions can last from anything between a couple of weeks
to one year, that are suitable for many people, including students taking a year off, professionals
taking sabbaticals to work on a specific project, individuals wishing to gain further "hands-on"
practical field experience and so on. Usually, they must pay for their transportation to and from the
project. In most cases, volunteers pay a monthly fee which covers living costs, project materials
etc. which cannot be paid by the volunteer organisation. Costs depend upon country and so on, but
as a general indicator, volunteers may be asked to contribute between 100 to 500 GB pounds per
month.
Casual worker

 Casual employment can be defined as where an employee is employed when and if needed, and
where there is no particular expectation of continuing employment. Whether an employee is
employed on a casual basis is a regularly contested matter. This is because casual employment is an
employment relationship that only exists during periods of work and the parties have no obligations
to each other in between such periods.
 The UK Government defines casual employment as the following:
Employees occasionally do work for a specific business

The business does not have to offer employees work and employees do not have to accept it - employees only work when they want to

The contract with the business uses terms like ‘casual’, ‘freelance’, ‘zero hours’, ‘as required’ or something similar

Employees had to agree with the business’s terms and conditions to get work - either verbally or in writing

Employees are under the supervision or control of a manager or director

Employees cannot send someone else to do their work

The business deducts tax and National Insurance contributions from their wages

The business provides materials, tools or equipment they need to do the work
Hourly paid worker

 An hourly employee is paid an hourly wage for each hour worked, while a salaried employee is paid
a flat salary regardless of how many hours worked during a work week. Workers who are paid on an
hourly basis are required to be paid, at the least, minimum wage. Hourly workers are entitled to
overtime pay for hours worked over 40 hours per work week. Employees paid on an hourly basis are
paid for actual hours worked.
 Asda are a company which only do hourly pay contacts. The range of hourly-paidroles at Asda is
probably far wider than you imagined -choose between full time, part time or seasonal roles,
flexible part time work to suit the way you live. Compensation in terms of wages is given to workers
and compensation in terms of salary is given to employees. Compensation is a monetary benefit
given to employees in return for the services provided by them.
Piecework

 Piecework is any type of employment in which a worker is paid a fixed piece rate for each unit
produced or action performed regardless of time.
 Some industries where piece rate pay jobs are common are agricultural work, cable installation, call
centres, writing, editing, translation, truck driving, data entry, carpet cleaning, craftwork and
manufacturing. Working for a piece rate does not mean that employers are exempt from paying
minimum wage or overtime requirements, which vary among nations and states.
 Employers may find it in their interest to use piece rate pay after examining three theoretical
considerations; the cost and viability of monitoring output in a way that accurately measures
production so that quality doesn’t decrease is first. Variable skill level is second, where piece rates
are more effective in a more homogenous workforce. Thirdly, there may be more invasive
managerial relations as the management is attempting to test how fast the workers can produce
 Employees decide whether to work for piece rate pay if the relative earnings are high, and if other
physical and psychological conditions are favourable. Some of these might be job stress, physicality,
risks, degree of supervision and ability to work with peers or family members. Employees may also
be more or less welcoming to performance pay depending on the leverage and risk. Leverage was
defined as ratio of variable pay to base pay, and risk is the probability the employee will see
increased benefits with effort. Workers tended to be suspicious of pay packages that were too heavy
on variable pay and were concerned it might be a concession to remove cost-of living wage
adjustments or to secure wage rollbacks.
Recruitment &
contacts
Reece Hancock
Careers advice/service

 The National Careers Service is the publicly funded careers service for adults and young people
(aged 13 or over) in England.
 Launched in April 2012, it brings together elements of previous publicly funded careers services for
adults and young people. The launch was reported by the BBC and commented on by organisations
such as NIACE, the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services and NAEGA. The National
Careers Service provides information, advice and guidance on learning, training, career choice,
career development, job search, and the labour market. It can be accessed online, by telephone,
and face to face (for people aged 19 and over).
 Most colleges will also have a careers advice employee that the student can go to and they can help
them find a future career path or a job near to them, this would be good for someone that doesn’t
know what they want to do or just needs some money.
National press

 If you are looking for a new job, you will want to examine your local newspapers, namely the
employment sections of them. As nice as it is to hear that you should examine the employment
section of your local newspaper, you may be curious as to why it is so important to do so. What you
need to know is that, although, many businesses have started using the internet to their advantage,
not all have. This means that there may be a great employment opportunity in your area, but the
company behind that opportunity may choose to not use the internet or may not even know how to
use the internet to list that job online. Another one of the many reasons why you will want to use
your newspaper and its employment section is because of local businesses. If you live in a large city
or near one, you may have multiple newspapers to choose from, all of which likely focus on a
particular area. If you have your hometown newspaper, you may be able to tell what businesses are
the ones with listed jobs.
Personal contacts

 One of the most successful ways to secure a new job is through talking to people you know. This
part of the job search process most people try to avoid altogether because they do not like opening
up to their contacts and admitting that they want to move on from where they are or have been
made redundant maybe they have just grown to dislike their job for one of many reasons. While
more and more employers are using job sites in their search for talented employees, most job
seekers do not realise that making contact with acquaintances and friends and letting them know
you are looking for a job is a route through which a large proportion of employment opportunities
are secured.
 Personal contacts are all around us, these could be anyone.
They could be:
– Personal Friends – Business Contacts, current or past – Friends – Friends or Team Mates in Sports –
Family – Professional Associations – College Tutors – Referrals, etc.
networking

 Professional networking is about making contacts and building relationships that can lead to jobs or
other work-related opportunities. Thoughtful networking provides a focused way to talk to people
about your job search. Done right, it can help you obtain leads, referrals, advice, information and
support. It is an essential component of any successful job search, but it requires calculated
planning.
 A key part of effective networking is being clear about your employment goals. A careful self-
assessment can provide pertinent information about who you are and what you want when
communicating with contacts. Prepare talking points and practice delivering them, whether you
have 10 seconds for an elevator pitch, 60 seconds for a commercial or 10 minutes for
an informational interview.
Word of mouth

 Word of mouth or viva voce, is the passing of information from person to person by oral
communication, which could be as simple as telling someone the time of day. Storytelling is a
common form of word-of-mouth communication where one person tells others a story about a real
event or something made up. Oral tradition is cultural material and traditions transmitted by word
of mouth through successive generations.
 Word of mouth recruitment is one of the best and most effective ways of getting the job you really
want. And it's enormously powerful: in fact, the best way to get your foot in the door is to come
recommended by someone already working there. That's because any hiring manager prefers to hire
someone who's been praised by someone they trust. It all comes down to their fear of making
decisions: if a recruiter makes a bad call on a new hire, they're accountable. But by relying on word
of mouth, recruitment responsibilities because more certain and less risky for the new employer.
internet

 If you are looking for a job, you’ll obviously need a resume. A well-written resume is often a test
that employers use to identify the quality and experienced candidates as well as a method to weed
out those candidates that are less desirable. If you don’t have a resume, you’ll find it hard to get a
quality job. The Internet can be an invaluable asset to those that need a resume and don’t know
how to write one.
 1. Post your resume online so recruiters can find you -- even when you're not actively searching for work.
2. Join an online networking community and connect with fellow alumni, colleagues and recruiters.
3. Search the names of old friends and co-workers to reach out and expand your network.
4. Research major employers, using Monster's Company Profiles, various news/financial Web sites or search engines.
5. Tap the power of industry blogs to find folks who are doing what you'd like to do for a living and ask for advice.
You'd be surprised at how many people are willing to share their wisdom.
6. Streamline your efforts by saving job searches and signing up for email job alerts so you'll know about new postings
immediately.
7. Start an online job-search support group and open it up to members of your network who are looking for work and
share encouragement and insights as you seek out new opportunities.
8. Visit company Web sites for additional job postings and to learn about each organization's corporate culture. This
will help you determine if you'd be a good fit and provide you with insights for any interviews.
9. Browse trade associations and professional groups online for insights and new connections.
10. Patrol message boards, like Monster's Career Advice Forums, and discussion groups to connect with like-minded
and in-the-know professionals. Many times job openings are not posted immediately and these people may have hot
inside leads on new opportunities.