Well, the 7C Alliance Contractor Support Analyst team asked these very questions while doing the first trial of the new contractor health check call initiative.

The intention of these calls is to determine:

a)    What 7C Alliance can do to help the group, as a whole, to increase its opportunity

b)    What can be done to help an individual member specifically with increasing their opportunity, according to the needs and goals that they advise on becoming a member (which is based on the 7 C’s)

c)    What the individual member can do to help themselves

For the first and only time, we have decided to publicise the responses we have received in the 7C Alliance discussion group and are interested in feedback from other members on this initiative as well as the Open Practice Technology Network at large.

If you are interested in reading the results of the first round of Contractor Health Check Calls, please join the 7C Alliance LinkedIn discussion group by clicking on the link to the left or by cutting and pasting the following into your Web browser: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1542397

Once you have joined the group, you will be able to read and participate in the discussion by following this link: http://bit.ly/70U9oh. We look forward to your contribution to the ongoing discussion!

Written by Stuart Brown, an Associate Member of the 7C Alliance.

Hmmm, these are tough questions, but speaking from my personal experience as a ‘professional job hunter’ (and getting better with every attempt!); there are a number of things that I have found can help to keep you going.

For me, these have been:

• Knowing that there are many opportunities out there and it will take a number of attempts to get the right role. The UK employment market has been improving over the last three months, and while it may not be at the heyday of a couple of years back, it is better than the first six months of 2009. Each interview attempt will better prepare you for your next go.
• After an interview, always seek feedback. If you get the call that you haven’t been successful, remember to ask the recruiter why – you deserve it! Don’t take anything personally – remember, there are multiple candidates and only one person can get the role. If the recruiter doesn’t have any feedback from the client, ask them nicely to follow up with the client. You don’t need a detailed report – just a couple of key points that you can work on for next time.
• Reflect back (in a positive way) as to what you can do better next time. What was it that you need to focus on? This is where a little recruiter feedback can go a long way!  Was it the questions you are asked about the role, your description on how you would manage something or did you not demonstrate enthusiasm about the company and opportunity?
• Keep and develop a support network. No one person is an island and it is incredibly important to share your thoughts and to support each other. Your network can consist of other job seekers, family and friends. Consider mixing your network – meet people both online and in the real world. I keep in touch with a number of job seekers who encourage me when going for an interview, and I in turn do the same to them. A win-win situation!
• Consider practicing your interview technique. Practice by writing up half a dozen likely questions and having a family member or friend question you in a mock interview. There are also some brilliant online videos which ask questions which you can practice your responses such as jobsite. On the flip side, if you have a computer with a web camera, give some consideration to using it to film yourself giving answers to some likely questions. You may feel a little silly, but it can reduce any feelings of anxiety and it could help you to spot some of your personal traits when nervous such as “ums” or “ahs”, playing with your hair or touching your face. When you are conscious of these, you can work towards minimising them.

There are many other tips out there that can help, but these are some that have worked for me. Of them all, I think the most critical is making sure you have a support network and remember, this network is a two way street – if you support others when they need it – you will be supported in turn!

If you are interested in discussing some of these further, look at joining the 7C Alliance discussion group: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1542397, where some great discussions are taking place with regard to the type of help that people need to secure their next contract.

Written by Stuart Brown, a member of the 7C Alliance

About Stuart Brown:

Stuart is an Associate Member of the 7C Alliance.  He provides services to the 7C Alliance on a voluntary basis for facilitating sharing of knowledge about Social Media, including raising awareness of its value, as well as currently being on a part-time contract to 7C Alliance Limited where he is working as a CRM Business Analyst reviewing and refining the Contractor Support Analysis and Contractor Resource Administration functions.  He can be contacted at 7C Alliance Limited by email to stuart@7c-alliance.com or found on LinkedIn through clicking on http://uk.linkedin.com/in/stuartkbrown

About The 7C Alliance:

The 7C Alliance is a Professional Association of IT, Telecoms and other independent technology contractors and consultants who come together to support each other through coaching, mentoring and marketing activities based around each and every member’s set of 7 C’s – which is what they have realised and accept as being what each and every contractor needs to be aware of for survival and success on contract.

About 7C Alliance Limited:

7C Alliance Limited is the company, incorporated by Matt Miller – the inventor of the 7 C’s concept – to provide services to The 7C Alliance.  This includes the setting and management of online forums,  facilitating the provision of coaching and mentoring services, industry-level and professional meetings, events and training as well as other activities to support the professional development and lifestyle of the independent technology contractor.

The evening will include a short talk on how to network effectively for work by someone who is setting up a business to help people do this (and see below for details on them and this talk), followed by some great networking opportunities while taking the Vinopolis “Grapevine Tour”.

Read on for a few more details about the night and speaker, or register online as indicated in the section below.

A Little Bit About The Vinopolis Wine Tour
Vinopolis is a well-renowned venue for showcasing wines from across the world in one place – and their Grapevine tour gives a good introduction for novices and enthusiasts alike.

The price listed on the web-site for the wine tour is £19.50, however if more than 20 people register interest to attend, then we will be able to get a discounted price of £18.50.

The tour includes:

• • Admission to the Vinopolis Wine Tour (1.5 hours in length)
• • A ‘How to Taste Wine’ session
• • 5 regular wine tastings
• • A Bombay Sapphire cocktail
• • A Vinopolis tasting notebook

Click on “Vinopolis Grapevine Tour” to go to the site and get more details.

A Little About Diana Lowe and “The Art of Networking” Talk
Prior to taking the wine tour, 7C Alliance is proud to announce that it will introduce Diana Lowe, who will give a short talk she has developed through attending Toastmaster’s entitled “The Art of Networking“.

She has developed her public speaking skills, and this talk, through being a committee member and mentor at the St. Paul’s Speakers, a Division of Toastmasters International

She is using this talk as an opportunity to present her and her new business, which is based on following her passion to help people grow their careers and improve their interpersonal communications. Further details on Diana, and her new business, can be found out by using the general enquiry facility through the 7C Alliance web-site, along with a message: “Diana Lowe and The Art of Networking” as well as any specifics about what you are interested to know.

This will be a great opportunity to come along and listen to Diana in her first public talk launching her new business supporting IT professionals in getting work. We are sure that she will provide some very handy networking tips as well! If all goes well, the 7C Alliance will consider engaging her business as an Alliance Partner and using it to help support its members in developing their public profiles and sourcing work through networking.

Special Guests Confirmed As Attending
Already invited and confirmed as attending are a number of other special interest guests including:

• • A Business Continuity Planning (BCP) Manager of one of the world’s largest investment banks, who is also a prominent member of Toastmaster’s, a group that assists people with developing their skills and profiles in public speaking
• • An expert from iELEVATE, a business specialising in interview techniques, mentoring and life coaching – and 7C Alliance’s newest Alliance Partner

After the wine tour concludes, attendees can continue to network and then adjourn for dinner at a local pub or wine bar.

Registration
Please register your attendance by going to the Contact Us form on the 7C Alliance web-site, and select London IT Contractor Alliance Meetup (LITCAM) Mailing List” along with a statement in the query section I would like to attend the Monthly Meetup on Thursday 12th November“.

N.B. In registering for this event you will also be added to the LITCAM list for future events – unless you request otherwise in the query section.

Registration is required by close of business on Monday, 9th November.

This event is open to any IT contractors and independent technology consultants. If you are not an IT contractor, or do not work in IT, but would like to attend, then please send a request to attend as a query using registration method stated above – and please state interest.

Looking forward to a great evening, in a great setting with some great people!

For Further information and Future Events
For any further information about this event, please email Stuart Brown on stuart@7c-alliance.com or info@7c-alliance.com with ideas or plans for future events. Please call 7C Alliance on 0844 844 2470 to arrange a time for a callback or a meeting to discuss this event or future events

Top 5 Market Challenges

CV Workshop

Trading and Risk Management (TRM) Workshop

Job Search Analysis Week (Job SAW) is a new concept of event that 7C Alliance piloted on Thursday 10th September 2009 in West London and which, despite short notice to hold it, had full attendance at every workshop presented.

It is an event that involves a series of small workshops where presenters are organised to present their view or experience of the market, giving some advice in the process on best practice or expectations of delivery requirements, and all attendees are invited to share their experiences and observations in response to the presentation or advice given.

Why Job SAW?
Job SAW is intended to enable greater face-to-face interaction between not only IT professionals but also IT recruiters and IT training companies. It could prospectively include HR staff who are considering recruiting new staff – but perhaps don’t understand skills, experience and training needed – and also even the management who are doing the hiring too and need to know both candidates’ and recruiters’ views of what might be relevant and important to an area of the market that they are considering initiating a project or service in!

Thus Job SAW focuses not just on jobs that are currently available in the market – and so have been seen through advertisements online or through email-shots (and hence the event name “Job SAW”) – but, also, those jobs that might be - and how participants in the market might more openly collaborate together, in advance of contract requirements being defined and issued, in helping to make them happen and so ensure that contract requirements themselves are better quality….

The Future of Job SAW
Future Job SAW workshops will look at different aspects of the market as follows, from:

- How to manage different styles and ways of preparing CVs relevant to the market (as exemplified by Mark Compton’s CV Workshop last week); to

- Different styles of interviews and how to approach the market for your type of contract work (including the difference between approaches to do independent IT consulting and services work to that of an independent IT contractor working alone as someone with IT expertise and experience that they re-use through use of a third party to engage them with end-clients); to

- What skills, knowledge, experience and training that different industries or particular businesses are seeking and how best to present these so that they are meaningful to any one of an agency, consultancy or end-client (ACE) alike; as well as

- How to acquire Capability, perhaps as indicated in any of the above workshops, through regular industry training or upskilling using either 7C Alliance’s proof-of-capability or proof-of-concept projects that have been defined and managed by leading 7C Alliance members who already have proven capability and experience in the chosen field. N.B. Funding of contractors being trained in new skills is possible too and can be facilitated through effective understanding and analysis of each individual contractor’s capability in line with better understanding and analysis of their needs and goals.

- Finally, as a bonus for leading members of the 7C Alliance, there is also the opportunity at Job SAW for “Blue Sky Thinking” where attendees can analyse what potential there might be for wholly new projects and services to be offered in the market - and how it might be possible to define and initiate them. 7C Alliance, and its approved Alliance Partners, can then consider good ideas and how they might support developing or funding them with support from some of the great services provided by Business Link, the new BIS Department and other sources that have been identified by 7C Alliance’s 5 years of market research into supporting contractors’ needs and goals.

Thoughts Sought on Future Workshop Themes
Besides Job SAW’s IT HR Supply Chain Challenges and Solutions, Job Application Support and Industry Focus themes (as exemplified by the Top 5 Market Challenges, CV and TRM workshops respectively), as well as those yet-to-be-presented about Capability Awareness and Blue Sky Thinking, the 7C Alliance is interested to get your ideas on what other aspects of the market that you would like us to focus on. We will then canvass the independent IT contractor and consulting communities on these themes and determine who is most interested – and ideally best suited – to present workshops.

Registration of Interest in Job SAW
For queries about Job SAW, future Job SAW workshops, and registration of interest in them then please select Study Group from dropdown menu of the Contact Us page on 7C Alliance’s web-site and put “Interested in Job SAW” in the query section, along with your query and interest to attend at a future Job SAW as well as suggestions for themes of workshops you like and specific topics you would be interested in.