After a tough time in the job market and damage to its employer brand, Lloyds are hiring again in numbers for their call centre in Sunderland!
Customer Service is at the very heart of Lloyds’ operations and that’s why their telephone advisors are so important. They’re responsible for putting customers at ease, earning their trust and finding products and services that are best suited to their needs.
They are looking for Customer Service Advisors and Sales Advisors so apply now!
It is common-place for many employers to use tests as a standard part of their selection process. Swamped with applicants, they want to find the best match between each person’s skills, abilities, aptitudes and personality and the demands of the job they are applying for.
Taking time to practice, whether for a verbal, numerical or personality test, is a must. It will help you perform better on the day, put you at ease for the real thing and teach you valuable insight into where your strengths and weaknesses lie.
TIPS FOR ALL TESTS
Take a practice test, review the answers and examine where you went wrong. Always read questions carefully and if time permits, take notes and read it again. Writing things down will help you remember and concentrate. Use the full time allowance. Go back and double check your answers.
SPECIFIC TIPS FOR VERBAL TESTS
Have a dictionary by your side, preferably with a thesaurus. Study basic rules of grammar (what is a verb, noun or adverb). Read the questions twice. Try a comprehension exercise. Read and digest the newspaper cover to cover each day before the test (interpreting snippets of content will get you in the right frame of mind).
SPECIFIC TIPS FOR NUMERICAL TESTS
Have a calculator with you. Practice long multiplication. Research and note down conversion rates. Polish your ability to calculate % and ratios. Most tests present data in charts, graphs or tables – so look for examples in the business press and learn to draw 2 or 3 conclusions from each. Practice estimating answers – even with a calculator this will help ensure you’re not wildly out.
SPECIFIC TIPS FOR PERSONALITY TESTS
Understand the skills and behaviours the specific employer is looking for. Note them down. Each time you are presented with a question you find difficult to answer, consider the employer requirements and tailor your answer. Remember – you are not “cheating”. This is just a test to include or exclude you – it is not a full character analysis! Every day in business people are told to “mirror” others. Job applicants are told to “tailor” their CVs. The principle is the same – when in doubt, make your answers attractive to the employer.
Putting the above into practice isn’t meant to suddenly raise your IQ or change your personality. The intention is simply to get you in the right frame of mind and into the habit of answering questions in a test environment. Most of us have not had to do so since school.
Recruitment company Reed is to create 400 new jobs to manage an increase in demand as companies look to expand their workforces, taking advantage of improving market conditions.
The increase in demand is national across most sectors and disciplines. Most noticeably office support, finance, IT, health and social care employees are the most needed.
The national recruiter, Reed, has lead by example by starting an internship scheme, giving almost 100 out of work people the chance to gain 12 valuable weeks of structured work experience, with the opportunity to secure a permanent role at the end of it.
The recent reported success of the high street is positive reading for the economy. It now seems that other businesses want to penetrate this space and the latest rumours to surface are that Amazon, the online giant, is keen to make its name by converting its online to success to shops as well. It could mean potentially vast numbers of jobs created in the retail sector. This is fantastic news following the recent disappearence of high street names Woolworths, MFI and Borders.
Government objectives of the pulling Britain out of the recession through manufacturing could be thwarted by a lack of home grown engineering talent. A report by the Engineering and Technology Board shows that we need upwards of 600,000 engineers to be recruited over the seven years to advance skills to rival those of other developed countries.
The report also expressed concern over the 30% decline in lecturers teaching engineering, manufacturing and tech courses, alongside a 17% drop in higher education students within these disciplines.
