Many employers will use the New Year as an opportunity to take stock and think about plans for the next 12 months. If this applies to you and those plans extend to recruiting additional staff then don’t forget that Land-Force.com is here to help. Not only can you browse CVs for potential candidates but we also offer a quick, easy and affordable way to advertise your vacancies.

For many people, the ringing of Big Ben at midnight on New Year’s Eve will prompt not only cheering and merriment but also a New Year’s Resolution about looking for a new job, or even perhaps a change of career. If that applies to you and you are thinking about looking for a new role in 2010 then make sure you have an updated version of your CV on land-force.com so that potential employers can find you. Click here for more information.

A good network of contacts is one of the most valuable things you can have when searching for employment, although many people don’t know where to start when it comes to ‘networking’.

At its simplest level, networking is about building up a group of contacts in your industry sector that you regularly talk to and keep in touch with. It is not something that you can do overnight – indeed you don’t want to only be contacting people when you are desperate for work!

Go to as many events, meetings and conferences as you can and make an effort to engage people in conversation. Introduce yourself, ask them what they do and listen to the answer. It can be daunting at first, but the more you do it the easier it becomes. Always have business cards with you and don’t be shy handing them out. And if this all seems a bit awkward then another route that can be easier is to try volunteering on an industry-related project or for a relevant charity. This type of activity gives everyone involved a common aim and can make it easier to get to know people. Finally, make sure you follow up all potential leads no matter how insignificant they may seem – you never know when you might need them!

Recruiting the ideal candidate is all about setting realistic targets when advertising. It is vital that as an employer you are pragmatic about your requirements. Do the experience and qualifications that you require match the remuneration and terms and conditions you are able to offer and does this compare favourably with other similar vacancies in your geographic location and sector? It is well worth researching this before advertising in order to pitch the advert appropriately and therefore target relevant candidates. Ultimately, time spent researching the competitiveness of your offer is time well spent, as it will ensure that your advert attracts the attention of suitable candidates, helping you to rapidly fill the vacancy.

If you are recruiting staff the way you write the advert will make a huge difference to the response you get.

Remember, the advert is there to sell your organisation and the job you have to offer. Use a catchy headline and if job title doesn’t immediately convey what the job is about then use a strapline to do it. Try to write in short simple sentences and refer to the potential applicant as ‘you’ and use the second person – you, your, yours – as it helps involve the reader and lets them visualise themselves in your role. Try to stress what is unique about your organisation and the role you are offering. And make clear the skills and experience that you require from applicants.

Remember, your advert needs to attract attention and inspire the reader to apply so clarity and punchy text are the order of the day.

British agriculture must recruit 60,000 new entrants in the next ten years to maintain its current workforce. That’s the conclusion of a recent report commissioned by the Royal Agricultural Society of England.

The report criticises the industry for poor communication and PR and suggests that unless the industry improves this then it will lose potential entrants to other careers. What’s more, it highlights that only 50-70% of the current demand for workers is being met by colleges, resulting in a shortfall in candidates for agricultural positions.

It should mean that there are some great career opportunities for those young people entering the industry at the moment, anyway.

A government proposal aiming to turn Britain into a low-carbon economy aims to create more than 400,000 new ‘green’ jobs by 2015, according to a plan presented by Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and Government ministers. The White Paper will plough nearly £100 million into developing renewable energy sources and, in the process, create scores of new ‘green’ career opportunities. The government’s goal is to supply up to 40 per cent of Britain’s electricity from low-carbon energy sources, such as wind and water power, by 2020.

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Key job opportunities created by the proposal include the construction of 7000 on- and offshore wind turbines by 2020; the installation of ’smart meters’ in more than 26 million homes by that date; and undertaking more than seven million ‘pay as you save’ energy makeovers to British householders. Smart meters will allow families to see exactly how much energy they are using; it will cost nearly £7 billion to do so. The ‘pay as you save’ system will allow money to be lent to families to implement energy-efficient home improvements such as solar panels.

In addition, ministers proposed the implementation of a green transport system with the introduction of an electric train network and low-carbon buses, and offering discounts on the purchase of hybrid electric cars.

Plans such as the “Wave Hub”, a socket on the seabed near Cornwall that is connected into a power grid to allow large-scale testing of wave power. Carrying out and implementing the various energy-saving plans will create hundreds of thousands of jobs throughout Britain.

Ministers disclosed that in order to fund the “green energy revolution”, millions of British families will be hit with a £92 additional annual levy on their fuel bills by 2020, though the UK Energy Centre predicts the increase could be more than twice the official estimate of £92 per family. Energy companies will be directed to subsidise rising bill costs for the poor and elderly, by charging more for wealthier customers.

Ed Miliband noted that creating jobs to implement the green measures would pay for themselves in the long term, as well as protecting Britain from the possible damage of fluctuating global oil and gas prices. ‘We could become more and more dependent on that and quite insecure in our energy,’, said Miliband. ‘Or we can go for more homegrown energy which will also cost, but I actually think the costs will be less in the end, because the costs of climate change if we don’t stop it are going to be enormous.’

On the other hand, TaxPayers’ Alliance reasearch director Matthew Sinclair claims wind farms have not illustrated their ability to deliver energy in a reliable fashion and questioned whether the government was pushing the agenda ‘to line the pockets of renewable energy firms.’ Consumer Focus energy expert Jonathan Stearn also noted that the ‘cost should be shared with Government and industry, who will also benefit from these measures.’

What to add to your CV really depends on the nature of the job you plan on applying for. However, with most CVs, you’ll need to include some of the following elements regardless of the job you’ve set your sights on:

1- Personal Details…

Include your name, address, phone number/s (home and mobile) as well as your email address. Some people also choose to add their date of birth and marital status – however, it’s not compulsory so that part is completely up to you.

If the job you’re applying for involves working outside the country, then consider adding your nationality as well.

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2- A Personal Summary…

This need only be a couple of sentences long and usually precedes the main body of the CV. It’s basically a very short but punchy summary/overview of what you feel your skills, merits and future aims are. The intention and the desired effect behind composing this short summary is the equivalent of dangling a carrot in front of the reader. It should pique the reader’s interest and make him/her want to read the rest of your CV.

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3- Work Experience…

Start from your most recent and work your way backwards. This can include paid and unpaid work.

If you’ve been working for several years, then you can really only fit in so much! Rather, focus on the last 10 years. You should also explain any gaps in your employment over that time.

On the other hand, if you’ve recently left school/college/university and don’t have that much work experience, you probably have a lot more experience than you think. Did you ever help organise an event, a wedding, a birthday, a fundraiser? That’s work experience. Did you baby-sit, house-sit, pet walk for some time? That’s work experience.

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4- Educational History…

Again, start from your most recent educational achievement and work back. If you hold a degree (or degrees), you don’t need to break it down into different subjects. If you have A-Levels or GCSEs, list all grades from A-C and leave out any grades beyond that. If you studied an A-Level or GCSE equivalent such as a BTEC First or BTEC National, include that too.

(p.s.: if you’ve recently left education and have little work experience, then list your education before your work experience)

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5- Professional Qualifications/ Membership…

…especially if they’re of particular relevance to the job you’re applying for. If you’re in the process of obtaining a professional qualification, mention that as well. It might not carry as full a weight as actually gaining the qualification but it does demonstrate a certain level of commitment and intention on your part.

Are you a member of any professional association? Add that too along with your corresponding member ID.

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6- Training…

If you’ve been sent on any significant training courses in the past in connection to work, then include them. This also includes any job-related courses you might have signed up to off your own back without the company you work/ed for having suggested it.

Similar to listing any professional qualifications you may currently be undertaking, you might also consider listing training courses that you’re in the process of taking.

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7- Skills…

Mention any computer skills you have. This includes both hardware and software skills. Consider listing things you might deem to be outdated. For example, if you’ve only ever used a really old version of a database application, mention it as it might just be a matter of training you up. (it might be quicker than training someone with no knowledge of databases at all).

Do you have any marketing skills, telephone-based skills, language, shorthand or typing skills that might be relevant to the position? If so, list them.

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8- Hobbies and Interests…

Including your hobbies and interests gives your potential employer a chance to see another aspect to you. It might also make for an interesting topic of discussion at your interview!

Sharing your hobbies and interests is also an opportunity to highlight any areas of responsibility you may have within it. For instance, perhaps you’re a volunteer editor for a community magazine or you love playing football and over the years have been teaching the sport to the over 50s.

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9- References…

You can either mention on the CV that references are available upon request or include the contacts of two people who are willing to give you a good reference. Do ensure that you let them know you’d like to use them as references before actually including their names. Even though you might have used them for a previous application, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll be willing or able to give you another. It’s also plain courtesy to ask rather than assume.

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10- Other Information…

This section of your CV is where you could include other important information that doesn’t readily fit into any other section.

For instance, if driving is essential to the job, and you do hold a driving licence, include it here. Or if the nature of the job is such that it involves you having a Criminal Records Bureau clearance, and you do have one, then mention it as well as the date in which you obtained it.

Include any other essential information you feel might be relevant to the job.

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No I’m not going to post some humorous, anecdotal emails that I have received, but I noticed some funny email addresses in our Jobseeker intray today and I wanted to stress to jobseekers the importance of not having an email address starting BoozerPhil@, LazyK@, StinkyPete@ etc. Whilst these email addresses are great fun for communicating with friends they can become a bit of a liability if you supply them to Employers and are hoping for a job with them!Also I note there are a number of people that use ‘joint’ email addresses, i.e. MarkAndEmma@ or RickyBianca@. These too give a bit of a poor impression and it will be well worth signing up for your own email address just for applying to jobs.

In this current climate, you want to make sure you have all the positive points in your favour no matter how trivial.

There are loads of free email sites now; the obvious are Hotmail, Yahoo, MSN, Gmail/Google Mail. If you have a favourite service not listed then let people know by leaving a comment below.

The Dairy Industry is an area where in the past few years many farmers have struggled to recruit and retain Dairy Herdspeople.  If you have always wanted to work with livestock and you understand the following 10 step basic guide to milking a cow, then perhaps this is the career for you.

Step 1  Cows enter parlour from the collecting yard. Each side of the parlour holds eight cows in a herringbone pattern. The milker stands in a pit below the cows so that he does not need to bend down to put on the cups.

Step 2  Cows are identified and fed concentrates by entering their identity (freeze brand) number into the computer. Cows can be fed individual amounts according to the amount of milk she yields.

Step 3  Foremilk is taken from each cow to ensure the milk is healthy and clean.

Step 4   Cows are cleaned by wiping the udder with a clean disposable wipe. This ensures that there is as little as possible contamination of milk.

Step 5  The machine is started by pressing a button on the control panel which releases the ACR mechanism, opens the vacuum to the cluster and the milker applies the cups to the teats.

Step 6  The cow then lets her milk down – releases the milk from her udder. The milk is sucked into the clusters in an action similar to the suckling calf’s. The milk is sucked up the milk tube and passes through a filter which is checked to see if there is any disease (mastitis) in the cow’s udder.

Step 7  While the eight cows on one side of the parlour are being milked cows are let into the other side of the parlour and prepared for milking. Usually by the time these cows are all prepared and have started milking the first side has finished giving milk.

Step 8  The flow of milk from the cow is measured by a milk flow meter. When the flow drops to a low level the meter trips the removal of the cups. The vacuum to the cluster is cut off and a cord pulls the unit gently from the cow.

Step 9  The milker then sprays the cows teats with a mild disinfectant to prevent any germs entering the teats. This helps to control mastitis infections.

Step 10  The gate at the front of the parlour opens and the batch of eight cows leaves. The exit gate shuts, the entry gate opens and eight new cows enter ready for milking.

(10 Step guide courtesy of Lackham Farm, Wiltshire College, Wiltshire)  http://www.lackhamfarm.co.uk

If you have no experience look at getting some basic training either on a Day Release basis or a Full Time course.

There should be a college in your area, try logging onto the link below to find a list of colleges supporting land-based courses.

http://www.lbcnc.org.uk/moodle/mod/resource/view.php?id=30

Let Land-Force know if this information has help you, we want to hear your story.