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Just IT Training and Recruitment announce supported charity for 2012

Just IT Training and Recruitment announce supported Charity for 2012.

Just IT Training and Recruitment are delighted to announce that Macmillan Cancer Support has been chosen by the employees of Just IT to be our supported charity for 2012. Everyone at Just IT is really looking forward to working closely with Macmillan to raise awareness and money for a great cause.

More news on fundraising activities to come…

Macmillan Cancer Support aims to reach and improve the lives of everyone living with cancer. As treatments improve, more and more people are living with cancer in their daily lives. This means they need more than medical help, they also need practical, emotional and financial support.

We are the nurses and therapists helping you through treatment. The experts on the end of the phone. The advisers telling you which benefits you’re entitled to. The volunteers giving you a hand with the everyday things. The campaigners improving cancer care. The community supporting you online, any time.

Find out more about Macmillan - www.macmillan.org.uk

The last 6months of 2011 saw Just IT partnered with Shelterbox, a Disaster Relief Charity focused on providing emergency shelter and lifesaving supplies for families around the world who are affected by disasters.

Find out more about Shelterbox - www.shelterbox.org

From August to December 2011 Just IT raised over £950 for Shelterbox. This was a great effort from all concerned; our employees took part in a range of internal and external fundraising activities including:

- The Barcelona Triathlon (Olympic Size!!) -

Robin Booth, Natasha Downes and Leo Fischer completed a 1 mile swim (in the SEA!!), 33k cycle ride and after all that a 10k run!!

Men’s Health – “Survival of the Fittest” –

The fit (and not-so-fit!) volunteers completed a 10k obstacle course through London!

Sharing our profit:

Just IT donated money based on individual’s performance within the business. This inspired our employees to work that little bit harder to raise some cash for Shelter box.

Here at Just IT we are proud to be involved with such great charities, and we are grateful to all those who have donated money.

Importance of Soft Skills for Technical People

Although you may be seeking a role in IT, neglecting your soft skills could prove disastrous to your chances of securing your first job and even progressing within your career. Soft skills include things like communication, interpersonal/people, problem solving and team working skills. In a survey by Microsoft it was found that Business leaders rate soft skills above academic qualifications.

So what does that mean to the people seeking technical roles?

Hard or technical skills may get employers or recruitment consultants interested enough in you to give a call, but that’s where your soft skills start to impact your chances. You will immediately start to be judged on your communications skills as you speak as well as how positive and focussed you come across which is assessed as you sell yourself over the phone.

If you have been successful over the phone, next will come the face to face interview and there your soft skills will be keenly tested. Starting from your time keeping and planning which will affect you arriving on time to the interview. But how early is too early? Will you seem over eager and end up putting undue pressure on your interviewer. Being nice to the Receptionist and your initial handshake and smile with the interviewer are all impacted by how developed your soft skills are and all this is before you have even sat down to be interviewed.

“We make judgments about people instantly and almost unconsciously” a Managing Director was quoted in The Guardian saying “Somebody who looks smart and confident has the halo effect because people add on intelligence, wit and ability without any further evidence, whereas a tiny detail like scruffy shoes or lack of eye contact can have the horns effect and make people conclude the opposite.”

The good news is, like most skills, soft skills can be learnt and developed. Make sure you are developing yours especially if you are a Technical person.

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Recruitment, Christmas and ‘Double Dip’

Now we are moving into December, Christmas is on the horizon and traditionally Recruitment starts to wind down here at Just IT things are building nicely for a successful 2012 – Even if all we read in the media is double dip and the eurozone crashing!

Just IT Recruitment are continually building long lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with clients across London and the South East who all want to utilise our unique perspective on recruitment and of course training. Just recently I have placed 7 students from the NPP into jobs ranging from 1st line support in a legal firm through to Junior Network Engineers for Networking organisations all with a range of skills.

There has also been an uptake in more senior level recruitment with a lot of clients looking to ensure they have everything in order ready for the New Year when companies will start with a fresh recruitment budget and look to fill that ’problem’ role!

For companies who are looking to add talent to their technical teams but are unsure on the economic outlook Just IT can really reduce the risk in recruiting by allowing our customers to use the free work placement scheme. Also, by bundling a companies recruitment spend and training spend there are massive amounts of savings to be had, even if we do enter a double dip. By partnering up with major training partners and Just IT holding Microsoft Gold Partnership status we are able to really add value to any process moving forward. For example, a international media firm really struggled to find Support engineers with cross platform skills within budget. By utilising the candidates from the course and buying the official Mac OSx 10.6 training course Just IT were able to provide trained and focussed support engineers within budget.

Forming relationships like this are a key part to any recruitment business and sit at the heart of Just IT’s business model.

For any client looking to recruit either a hungry and focussed junior or a more experienced safe pair of hands, Just IT can deliver, just ask our clients!!

The CCNA Course

Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certified professionals have the knowledge and skills to make connections to remote sites via a WAN, mitigate basic security threats, securing access to routers and switches and understanding how internet works.

Recruiters look at related experience validated by the certification. Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician (CCENT) Certification could be your first step toward CCNA certification. It validates the skills required for entry-level network support positions, a starting point for careers in networking.

The CCNP certification is appropriate for those with at least one year of networking experience ready to advance their skills and work independently on complex network solutions. CCNP demonstrates the skills required in enterprise roles such as network technician, support engineer, systems engineer or network engineer.

To find out more about the Just IT CCNA course click here

Common CV Mistakes and Assumptions

Having a good CV that promotes your background in the best possible way is vital in order to get phone calls from agencies who want to put you forward suitable IT roles. Many candidates on our Network Professional Programme fail to realise that they have gained key skills from their previous experience that can be transferred into the Technical Support environment. If you have come from a customer service background it is imperative that you go into detail on your CV of what your duties were and what skills were necessary. For example, if you put down that you are serving customers you want make sure that you have stated that this task required ‘excellent customer service skills’. These types of buzz words will ensure it catches the eye of the agency as well as your potential employer.

In addition to above, it is important that you quantify how many customers you were dealing with as it gives an idea on your workload and that you are used to working under pressure in busy environments. Another key aspect is to state how you have communicated with customers, whether it is face to face, over the phone or via email; this is important as these elements play a key factor in Technical Support.

Lastly, when you are listing your duties it is important that they in bullet points and all in full sentences. One or two word lines will not help promote your skills that you have gained from your previous experience.

To find out more about our career support services, please click here