Getting Started

There are tons of things you can do to prepare for the next stage in your career. The first and probably most important step is to assess your career and fully understand what you want out of your life.

In this section we will look at the following things to help you get started.

For those of you who have never really used the Internet before then we will cover the basics in here.

E-mail is an important tool for any job seeker. There are many free e-mail accounts available. We will go through the best ones in this section with details and links on how to sign up for these free accounts.

Manage your Money

If you've recently lost your job are are getting ready to start looking for a new one. This is often a good time to take a step back and review some of your personal financial agreements. A simple way of checking whether you are getting the best deal on your credit card, mortgage, loans or savings is to visit web sites like Moneyextra or Money Supermarket. These independent web sites can make an immediate check and advise you where you could start saving.

Find out if you are entitled to any benefits.

The department for work and Pensions (DSS) web site has copies of all the information leaflets on the site so you can see which benefits you may be entitled to and more importantly how you go about claiming for them.

What else can you do?

Well there is a massive array of web sites on the net that are well worth a visit. The best of which are:

Support for learning

This site was originated by the National Association for Managers of Student Services in Colleges (NAMSS) and is now run as a none profit venture. There is an excellent list of self assessment resources on the site including tests, tools and information on assessment centres. The site also includes kinks to the major psychometric test publishers so could prove useful if one of these tests is going to form part of your interview.

New Monday

A comprehensive overview of the different types of tests that employers use covering aptitude, personality and psychometrics. Provides an opportunity to try various tests including verbal reasoning, Myers Briggs, career competency and career values.

What Colour Is Your Parachute

The Internet companion to this best selling career handbook. The sites provides a useful and up to date reference list of career related sites. This section covers the exploration and assessment stage of job search.

What's Your EQ at Work

Fortune magazine feature this test from Daniel Goleman which follows the principles of his famous book 'Working with Emotional Intelligence' and measures your social and emotional compatibility with work colleagues.

Measure Your Personal Values

FT.com have teamed up with Hay Management Consultants to provide two free self assessment tools in their Career Advisor section. Personal Values is designed to provide you with an awareness and understanding of what you value the most, helping you to meet those requirements in the choices you make.

Guardian's Work Unlimited - Psychometric Tests

The Guardian's Work Unlimited Quiz section provides an opportunity to try out a variety of quizzes, questionnaires and tests such as: 'Are you in the right job?'; 'Are you a workaholic?' and 'Are you ambitious?' as well as an IQ test and psychometric test.