Unemployment benefit How to claim

Unemployment benefit How to claim by Michael Cheary Whatever the reason you’re unemployed, there’s help out there for you.Knowing what resources are available to you whilst searching for a new job could help give you the time and financial security needed to find your next position.To help you find out more, here’s a quick guide to unemployment benefit:What benefits are available to me?The main unemployment benefits available to you are as follows:Jobseekers AllowanceWhat is it? A benefit paid to people actively looking for work, whether they’re unemployed or on a low income.How do I qualify? If you’re 18 or over (but below State Pension age), not in full time education, and actively seeking work, you may qualify for JSA.How do I claim? You  can claim online, on the phone or through Jobcentre Plus. However, you will have to attend an interview to complete your claim.How to claim Jobseeker’s AllowanceHousing BenefitWhat is it? A benefit paid to those on a low income, which helps you pay for part, o r all of your rent. Housing Benefit does not include payments for heating, water or food.How do I qualify? To qualify you must pay rent, be on a low income or be claiming benefits. Your savings must also be below a particular figure (typically £16,000 unless you get Guarantee credit of Pension Credit).How do I claim? You can claim Housing Benefit through Jobcentre Plus.Child BenefitWhat is it? A regular, tax-free payment helping parents cope with the cost of raising a family.How do I qualify? Anyone responsible for a child under the age of 16 (or those aged 20 or over, who are still in education) can claim Child Benefit.How do I claim? You can claim Child Benefit by filling out a Child Benefit CH2 form, and sending it to the Child benefit office. As with Jobseekers Allowance, you will need to attend an interview in order to claim.How to claim Child BenefitShould I claim unemployment benefit?To put it simply â€" yes.Despite the negative stigma that sometimes unfairly surrounds clai ming benefits, they are put in place for a reason. Looking for a new job can be incredibly stressful, especially when it comes to ensuring your finances are covered.And, perhaps just as importantly, if you claim benefits while looking for a new job the government will continue to keep up your National Insurance payments on your behalf. This is important when it comes to your state pension upon retirement, amongst other things.* Please note, the information outlined above is intended for general guidance purposes only, and is subject to change. This article was first written in December 2014.For more detailed information about your rights to working in the UK, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit/overview.Find a job What Where Search JobsSign up for more Career AdviceSign up for moreCareer Advice Please enter a valid email addressmessage hereBy clicking Submit you agree to the terms and conditions applicable to our service and acknowledge that your personal data will be used in accordance with our privacy policy and you will receive emails and communications about jobs and career related topics. Career Development

Ashton Kutcher Confesses 3 Insider Secrets to a Better Career

Ashton Kutcher Confesses 3 Insider Secrets to a Better Career I know, I know, Im late to the party.  By now Ashton Kutchers surprising acceptance speech at the Kids Choice Awards has popped up on your Facebook feed over a dozen times by now. And if youre like me, you see these kind of videos all the time and think to yourself, mehI dont have time for that right now.  And so, off it goes to whatever viral video graveyard your brain has plottedright next to Kid Presidents Pep Talk and Randy Pauschs Last Lecture. So after seeing friend after friend, site after site, recommend I go watch this video, I finally broke down and said, Alright, Ill do it. I get the hint.  The Youtube Gods demand it! Five minutes later I was reminded of the words I wrote after reading Tina Feys Bossypants, we dont give comedians enough credit for their business smarts. But before I go into exactly what those insider secrets to a better career are, heres the video to see for yourself. Before Kutcher was a TV star and movie celebrity, he was Chris.  And while he was Chris he learned three things that really made his career shine. 1. Opportunity Looks A Lot Like Hard Work I believe that opportunity looks a lot like hard work. When I was 13 I had my first job with my dad carrying shingles up a roof, and then I got a job washing dishes at a restaurant, and then I got a job at a grocery store deli, and then I got a job at a factory sweeping cheerio dust off the ground. And Ive never had a job in my life that I was better than. I was always just lucky to have a job.  And every job I had was a stepping stone to my next job. And I never quit my job, until I had my next job. And so opportunities look a lot like work. 2. Be Smart. Be Thoughtful.  And Be Generous. The sexiest thing in the entire world is being REALLY smart, and thoughtful, and generous. Everything else is crap.  I promise you. Be smart.  Be thoughtful. And be generous. 3. Dont Live Your LifeBuild One Steve jobs said, when you grow up, you tend to be told that the world is the way that it is.  And that your life is to live your life inside the world and try not to get in too much trouble.  And maybe get an education and job and make some money and have a family. But life can be a lot broader than that if you realize one simple thing. And that is that everything around us, that we call life, was made up by people that are no smarter than you. And you can build your own life that other people can live in. So build your life.  Dont live one, build one.

AGB Will Ensure Your Company is Always Getting Better - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

“AGB” Will Ensure Your Company is Always Getting Better - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career While on vacation at a resort last week we noticed a unique looking individual having unfettered access to the dining room and the kitchen areas. We commented that he looked like he was doing official duties, but that his dress and grooming was anything but official-looking. A couple of days later on a snorkeling excursion he was with us. During our morning trip we engaged in a brief conversation learning that he was on site consulting with the resort to help them improve their operation. He was evaluating the resort’s approach to its dining service, kitchen functionality, and assessing its menu for updating. This resort was one of the best my wife and I have stayed at in Central America in recent years. We didn’t see a need for much improvement in service or their menu offerings. Yet, this resort was applying what one of my former business colleagues called, AGB, which stands for Always Getting Better. Only a small percentage of business organizations truly practice AGB, something peak performance guru Anthony Robbins has termed “Constant and Never Ending Improvement” and the Japanese manufacturing industry calls “Kaizen.” In my experience most organizations just dabble in it, they think they’re practicing it. Yet, most continue to do the same things over and over again just thinking they’re getting better through experience. To do it right, it has to be an organizational commitment at all times, through both good and bad economies and financial performing years. Interestingly, in trying to work with organizations to incorporate operational improvement initiatives, many have excuses whether they’re having a good year or a bad year. If they’ve had a poor financial year, the financial resources are rarely available for investing to improve their operation. If they’ve had a good year, most organizational leaders fail to see a need to invest in an operation already performing well. Yet, champions become champions because they practice the strategies of AGB. When I was leading my last professional baseball team between 1994 through 2001, we started the franchise from scratch. The success we enjoyed right out of the gate was surprising and overwhelming. At the end of that first season I decided we were going to practice AGB. The process included two specific initiatives. First, we hired a consultant to facilitate focus groups to secure independent feedback from three different levels of ticket purchases; season tickets holders, mini-pack purchasers and fans that purchased individual game tickets. We did the same with sponsors and ballpark advertisers. Secondly, we shutdown our office within a few weeks of the close of our season and required all department heads to evaluate the good, the bad and the ugly of their contribution to our season’s success and to recommend improvements for the next year. Whether you hire an outside consultant to help you glean independent feedback from your customers, or have internal resources identify and suggest areas for improvement, or a combination of both, an AGB process should be planned for and scheduled every year. What’s the best time of year for your business?

You Your Roommates Wont Survive College Without Making These Promises

You Your Roommates Wont Survive College Without Making These Promises There are a huge amount of benefits when you have roommates. You always have someone to talk to; someone to moan with and someone to spend time with. There may be the occasional teething problem, but you do eventually adapt and find a way to live in harmony. You even in time become accustomed to the noise and bustle of other people. Without wanting to take away any of the good, one of the major issues in sharing your living space is the sense of privacy. As you and your roommates become closer, it can become too commonplace for what feel like invasions to happen. Doors are opened without knocking, people eat the food of others from the fridge, and sometimes you feel its so loud you cant think.It’s one of the best known roommate problems there is. With a few simple steps, you can transform your shared house into something worth enjoying. roommates are excellent company, but you need to be able to retreat to your private space when needed. Gather everyone together and go through the following a set of house rules, if you will. It might seem like youre laying down the law, but better that than endless arguments. We Will: Understand That Someone Might Just Occasionally Need Some Space People have a tendency to overreact when told their friend needs space. They immediately jump to the conclusion that is a personal slight, when usually, its nothing of the sort. Promise to respect it if someone wants to spend a night in their room and let them have the quiet they need. We Will: Take Whatever Measures Necessary To Make Us All Feel Comfortable Contributing to household costs that arent deemed essential can be a touchy subject, but its worth doing if everyone is happy. This can be big things or just decor-related changes. If there are windows that dont provide enough shield from the outside, then invest in window film frost. If someone else wants a stronger lock on the front door, then choose something that suits. Even if this means paying for something you dont see as entirely needed, do it. By accepting the responsibility for everyones comfort, the group benefits as a whole. Treat individual issue as a group problem, and you will all get the support and changes required. We Will: Work Out A Chores Rotation The easiest way to avoid arguments is to work out a chores rotation. This doesnt need to be set in stone; figure it out weekly and revolve the less pleasant tasks. Make sure by every Monday everyone knows what they are meant to be doing. We Will: Make Sure We Stick To The Chores Rotation This shouldnt need to be said, but many a roommate argument has been the cause of a neglected rota. If you go to the hassle of figuring it out and making it, make sure that youre all going to stick with it! One easy way of doing this is for there to be penalties such as paying for a meal if someone slouches off their side. We Will: Please Be Quiet Will Result In Us Being Quiet Its only fair so learn to respect it when one of you needs a bit of peace in the house. Youll be grateful when youre the one who needs to enjoy the sound of silence for awhile! Image credits. Main.    Alone.    Calendar.   Agree.   Quiet.

Do You Have a Plan B for Your Career [Updated] - Career Pivot

Do You Have a Plan B for Your Career [Updated] - Career Pivot Do You Have a Plan B for Your Career? You have probably been told that you should have a Plan B. What if something does not work out? How about having a Plan B for your career? I entered the job market in the 1970s when I expected to work for one employer for most of my career. Well, that lasted 22 years and I have had six in the last 18 years. Most of those transitions were planned, which means I planned very well, or that I was lucky! Every move I made was my choice. I was only laid off once and I volunteered for that one. Did I always have a Plan B? I had several career failures but I recovered from all of them. It was always better to have a Plan B. What should you be prepared for? Cyclical Professions In my most recent past, I have been involved in the two very cyclical professions: Recruiting Learning and Development (Training) Recruiters are the first hired when the economy picks up AND the first to be let go when the economy slows down. It is great to be a recruiter right now. Wait until the next recession hits and suddenly recruiters are no longer in demand. Learning and development professionals know that their mission can easily be eliminated. In fact, as traditional stand-up training has faded into oblivion driven by online training, if your job is eliminated it may never come back. Ask any recruiter or trainer whether they have a Plan B for their career. Listen to the most recent episode Mergers and Acquisitions I have worked for two successful tech startups that were acquired. Both eventually started to lay off staff. This can be due to eliminating redundant positions, or because expectations of growth after an acquisition are not attained. Rarely has there been a merger or acquisition where layoffs do not eventually follow! It may take a couple of years but… This can now include taking a company private or being bought by private equity. Once a company is taken private is much easier to lay off staff and keep it quiet. The rate of companies being taken private via private equity firms is accelerating. If you work for a company where an acquisition or merger is possible, you better have a Plan B for your career! Patents I currently have multiple clients in the pharmaceutical industry. Many companies have patents on pharmaceuticals that are going to expire in the next few years. Several of these companies have announced multi-year staff reduction plans. Patent protection is key to profitability in many industries, but when the patents expire it is like going over a cliff. Profits dry up overnight! When this starts to happen you will see lots of mergers and acquisitions. Check out this list of merger and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical industry.It is a pretty big list. If you work in the pharmaceutical industry or any other industry dependent on patent protection, you should always have a Plan B. Creative Destruction Creative destruction has been around for a very long time. Check out my post,Surviving Creative Destruction in the 2nd Half of Lifeif you are unfamiliar with this concept. There are two easy-to-spot targets of creative destruction: Retail is being devastated by online commerce driven primarily by Amazon.com. Mobile computing, started by the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, has had a devastating effect on many industries. I previously wrote about this in the post Has Your Job Been SMACed? If not Yet, It Will! If you think your job is immune to creative destruction, then you must be smoking something and yes, you are inhaling. You really need to be developing a Plan B. Economic Bubbles We all know what happened in the last two recessions. Having worked in the semiconductor and telecommunications industry during the dot-com bubble, I knew the end was coming and acted accordingly. Similarly, I was working in the non-profit industry raising money from the financial industry at the beginning of thegreat recession.In hindsight, I saw the collapse coming but did nothing about it. Asafe place appeared in late 2007 as luck would have it. If things seem just too good to be true, you need a Plan B! Unforeseen Situations Sometimes stuff just happens.My last employerput me in a highly unethical position,which I wrote about in a recent post When Your Ethical Boundaries are Crossed [Updated]. My Plan B was already in place, but I was not prepared to act quickly enough. What will you do if your employer places you in an untenable position? Do you have a Plan B? You will always be prepared to move to your next position if you follow the steps of the Targeted Job Search, You never know when you will need a Plan B for your career. Marc Miller Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above. Like What You Read? Get Career Pivot Insights! Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast Do You Need Help With ...

Monday Tip Look forward to your work week - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Monday Tip Look forward to your work week - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog This monday morning, as you look forward to the work week ahead, what are you thinking? Are you dreading the week thats just begun, thinking about all the hard work, unpleasant encounters and unfinished business? Or are you looking forward to doing great work and having fun with the people around you? Everybodys work week contains a little of both, and how you feel about the week ahead may mostly depend on which parts of the week you focus on. Are you thinking mostly of the boring staff meeting on thursday or that fun team event you have planned for later today? So your monday mission is to make a list of all the things you look forward to this week. It can be anything: An exciting client meeting, a fun project, joking with co-workers, meat-loaf day in the cafeteria (presuming you like meat-loaf), etc Make a list of at least 5-10 things you look forward to at work this week and write them down on a piece of paper. The very act of making the list may lift your mood and make the week more fun even the less fun bits. And if you cant think of a single thing youre looking forward to in this work week, then maybe you should be thinking about finding a new job instead :o) The Chief Happiness Officers monday tips are simple, easy, fun things you can do to make yourself and others happy at work and get the work-week off to a great start. Something everyone can do in five minutes, tops. When you try it, write a comment here to tell me how it went. Previous monday tips. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

Writing Objectives on a Resume

Writing Objectives on a ResumeWriting objectives on a resume is a common practice of many recruiters. Objective statements serve a very important purpose in the first interview. It helps to keep the interviewer focused on your qualifications for the position and gives them a summary of your work history. By following a few simple steps you can create a compelling resume objective.Do not include the word 'objective' in the job title of the person you are interviewing for. This will not make any difference in the form of your objective but will only make it seem like a redundant statement. Focus on creating a single objective statement. Using a different acronym will help to improve your odds with potential employers. If you are a customer service manager, an o-l-g-m-p-e-c-e will have a better effect on a hiring manager than 'Customer Service Manager'.Always begin by describing the function of the objective. It is important to first identify the reason why the hiring manager wants to h ire you. The purpose of your objective should be clear and should have a specific direction in which you are headed.Next you need to create a description of your target audience. Explain how the target audience would benefit from your position. It is best to describe the audience in as many words as possible and include everything that could possibly relate to the job.You should also provide some real life examples to support your statements. Provide some information on a past position and ask the hiring manager what it might mean for them to hire you. Look at all of the examples that you have found and determine if your objective needs to be modified to fit the examples.Finally, you will want to be sure that you follow the guidelines for your objective. You may find that some of the other guidelines are better for your job. Before you move on to the next step you should take the time to make sure that you understand what the guidelines are for the specific job you are interviewing for.Once you have completed the basic informational items and you feel comfortable with the way you formatted your resume, you should then begin to put the actual pieces together. Most recruiters will begin by reviewing your written objective. It is possible that you can provide some additional information but it is more likely that they will ask for a letter of employment. Depending on the culture of the company, this may not be needed.You will find that many recruiters will read your resume and immediately make a decision about whether or not they will contact you. This will happen if they see that you did not follow the proper procedure for writing objectives on a resume. By taking a few extra minutes to follow the guidelines, you will find that the process of writing the resume will go much more smoothly.