Archives

Are you a graduate who has just finished University or a young professional finishing their Secretarial Course and wondering what the next step is to your career? That was me once and it’s that daunting reality of becoming an adult, accepting responsibility and furthermore not being guided. It can actually be an intimidating and unapproachable change that nobody really wants to face. It’s the endless dinner parties/drink parties, social events where you stand there beside your parents, smiling sweetly whilst the same daggering question is asked ‘SO TELL ME, WHAT’S NEXT. HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT TO DO…’ and you reply politely like you always do whilst you think to yourself ‘YES OF COURSE I HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT IT, AND IF ONE MORE PERSON ASKS ME I'M GOING TO LOSE IT AND HAVE A SERIOUS TANTRUM ’. So I thought I would put together some easy steps to a hopefully pain free job hunt to endeavour to help you find your dream job. 1) CV: Your CV is the key to get you in the door so it needs to be presentable, readable and applicable to what job you want to apply for. - Define what you want to do in life: At the top of your CV you should provide a Profile (a blurb) of what skills you have and can apply in your potential new role..

Once a year our MD, Pip, takes us away for two days on a little surprise trip. It is a great way to do a little ‘team bonding’ as well as getting to know one another out of an office environment. This year our surprise trip was to HENLEY ON THAMES! Here is a little insight into what the JG Gals got up to… On Tuesday 22nd of July at 4pm we set on our way to Henley on Thames to stay at the Red Lion hotel which situated on the beautiful River Thames renowned for the very famous Henley Regatta. Having arrived in high spirits we dropped our bags in our extremely large and luxurious king size bed en-suites and quickly found ourselves across the road to an idyllic pub – ‘The Little Angel’ with a glass of Rose in hand and a beautiful view of the River. (Ideal for anyone who has come for a romantic weekend btw or indeed with a group of friends?)   Once quenching our thirsts with some delicious Rose and having a good old giggle we slowly wondered back to our rooms to get ‘all glammed up’ for the night ahead at the highly renowned Argentinian Restaurant the Cau : http://www.caurestaurants.com/ “Our menu embraces Buenos Aires cuisine, a melting pot of comfort food inspired by Italy and Spain alongside the jewel in Argentina’s..

So the 1st of December has come and gone, which can only mean one thing-the festive season has sprung on us again. It is time to get the tree out, plug in those fairy lights, put the Bublé on repeat and re-stock the cupboards with mince pies and mulled wine. But if you are someone who needs a helping hand to get in the Christmas spirit, then the JG team are here to assist 1.       Dust off those decorations Here at JG HQ, our office has been transformed into a Winter Wonderland. We have adorned our walls with Santa and Rudolf bunting, put up our cute little tree and have hung up fun honeycomb balls. As soon as you are surrounded with all the golds, whites and reds, it is hard not to get excited about the month ahead. 2.       Bake some festive treats Nothing will fill you with the Christmas spirit more than the smell of Christmas goodies wafting through your house. Breaking from the tradition of baking minced pies and yule logs, the JG team invite you to try this fun gingerbread wreath. It looks good and will definitely taste good too.   However if you want to indulge this year, why don’t you try baking your own Christmas classic- the After Eight 3.       Participate in Secret Santa Ahead of our Xmas party next week, we have already..

Temping always seems scary! People see it as the limbo between a job and no job, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. It is a great opportunity to learn some new skills and learn what you like and don’t like about a job. But don’t just take our word for it, check out what one of our fab candidates has to say about her time temping with JG… ******* A very good friend of mine gave me some excellent advice in the lead up to my first day temping.  Just before you get to your office listen to some motivational music!  His particular favourite was “Touch the Sky” by the well-known modern day philosopher Kanye West.  It worked for him, and it worked for me!  Go in with your head held high and a smile on your face.  I guarantee your smile will be returned.  Stage one: complete!  As with any job or new experience it can feel like the first day of school, but you’ve survived that and you can survive this.  Remember you are there because they need your assistance.  You wouldn’t be there if you couldn’t do the job, so enjoy it! The best piece of advice I can offer is don’t be afraid to ask questions.  No question is too silly, and they will appreciate you checking everything through.  One of my most embarrassing..

As the Chelsea Flower Show opens its doors this week, it signals the beginning of Chelsea in Bloom. It’s the time when the whole of Chelsea comes alive with colour and gorgeous aromas, which for us here at JG signals the beginning of summer! Every year the shops in Chelsea compete for the most stunning floral display, and this year the theme is “Carnival”. Bright colours have already begun to adorn the streets, and we are keen to join in on all the excitement and London’s new found obsession with all things floral. Every day we will be posting our favourite shop fronts on Instagram, the ones that make us smile the most – make sure you check it out as they will certainly brighten up your day!     @JoyceGuiness       Save Save

Some people are apprehensive when you mention Work Experience. You may not be asked to get involved with the most exciting and important projects, and it might not last for a huge amount of time, but gaining some work experience could be the best step to take towards getting that perfect role. Of course you won’t be doing your dream job to start with, but due to so much competition for jobs these days, having work experience on your CV is becoming increasingly important. Work experience is a fantastic opportunity to gain some exposure to office life; how things work, logistics, day-to-day goings on, the different types of roles in an office and generally how the whole office system works. When a company looks to employ someone for an office role, they often want to see a demonstration of office work – and this is where work experience comes into play. They like to see that you have had an insight into office life. You need something on your CV that demonstrates a capability of getting on with the task at hand without any fuss or drama, and this is exactly what work experience does for you. Additionally, as well as providing you with a basic understanding, work experience offers the chance to experience an industry that you may not know much about. You can dip your toe in whatever..

If you want to do something quintessentially British this week then it has to be Henley Royal Regatta. The best known rowing regatta in the world which was established in 1839. It spreads over 5 days, Wednesday - Sunday and is always over the first weekend in July. (As you weave along the busy pavements past the queues of traffic you will probably hear all the radios tuned in to the Wimbledon Commentary.) Back to Henley; The rowers go head to head in knock out competitions that span a 1 mile course - starting at Temple Island upstream before heading towards Henley Bridge. Getting there from London is quite easy as there is a train station in Henley albeit a little walk to the river - It’s a wonderful British occasion with competitors from all over the world - schools to olympians, men and women, boys and girls – all competing in a variety of classes including: eights, cox less pairs, sculls, coxed pairs. For the spectators there are endless spots you can view the event which spans right along the course. There are numerous enclosures along both banks of the Thames and of course there is plenty of action on the water with parties on boats big and small. The most famous enclosure is the Steward’s Enclosure on the Berkshire side. It comprises of two covered grandstands with restaurants..

Wimbledon 2016 is well and truly underway. It’s the event in the British calendar that makes us all suddenly have a new-found interest in tennis. We all stock up on Pimm’s, strawberries and cream, and anything else that symbolises Britain to enjoy this summer sport. Did you know though that during the whole 2 weeks, The Championship gets through… 54,250 tennis balls 330,000 cups of tea and coffee 150,000 glass of bubbly 320,00 glasses of Pimm’s 140,000 portions of English strawberries and 10,000 portions of cream 25,000 scones () Wimbledon is an event that we all get behind and this year Lucy was lucky enough to get Centre Court tickets: Having applied months ago through the ballot for tickets, I was lucky enough to get 2 Centre Court tickets for the 1st day of Wimbledon, Monday 27th June. Having made our way to Southfields on the District Line we arrived to a packed station with everyone pushing their way to get through the barriers – luckily the sun was shining so this passed with a breeze, if it had been raining this might have gone very differently! We arrived at the gates to the grounds and having had our bags searched we made our way to Henman Hill to soak up the atmosphere and of course drink Champagne (remember to take some with you as its expensive there and you’re..

As soon as you graduate from university, the next step for most people is to find a job. London has so many opportunities but unfortunately the job hunt for most is not always straightforward… It can be so disheartening when you send out hundreds of applications to different companies and hear nothing back.  So how do you go about it? Firstly, it would be an idea to apply to some London based agencies. As a first time jobber it is difficult knowing exactly what you want to do and how to go about getting it, and agencies can help with this. Recruitment agencies are there to help when you’re not sure which direction you want to go in – they make the job hunt appear less daunting, so it’s a good idea to register with as many agencies as possible. The registering part is pretty easy – they go through your CV and ask questions. You get to talk all about yourself, your interests, your ambitions, what jobs you’re interested and those that you’re not. With your first job, it’s important that you take your time and don’t rush into taking something that you don’t like and can’t see yourself doing. Recruitment agencies will send you the specs of all the jobs that they think you’d be suited for, but it doesn’t mean you have to take them just because!..

Despite what the weather would suggest, we in the midst of summer. Summer always brings about the need to ditch the sugar and pick up the slightly healthy alternative. Here at JG we’ve hopped on this bandwagon and have become obsessed with all things to do with healthy drinks. It’s an easy way to get your vitamin fix without going OTT. 1) Mello Drinks We love this drink. It is made simply of pressed and de-seeded watermelons. It’s the perfect way to keep cool and refreshed during the ‘hot’ summer.  A drink full of mineral, vitamins and antioxidants that gives you that healthy boost. 2) What a Melon This is a drink which you won’t find on the shop shelves just yet, but it sounds utterly delicious. Ahead of its launch in July we thought we’d do our research on this new and exciting drink.  It is jumping on the watermelon bandwagon and is made of 100% watermelon = 100% natural. Those that have been lucky enough to taste it state it’s better than coconut water. 3) Innocent When you talk about healthy drinks you couldn’t possibly not mention Innocent – smoothies, juices, bubbles the lot. They are jam-packed with 100% fruit and veg but taste unbelievably yummy. They use over 36 different types of fruit and veg, with at least 5 different fruits in every smoothie. There is even..