[RE-POST] Day 6: Christmas Merchandising Temporary Job (23/12/17)

This is a re-post of Day 6: Christmas Merchandising Temporary Job (23/12/17), which was published on Tuesday 02 January 2018 at 15:00.

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What were you doing on your shift?

Like all shifts I have completed, I was doing replenishment of shelves.

I was placed on pasta and pet food aisles.

How do you think it went? Why?

We all know how bulky both pasta and pet food can be bulky and heavy.

All in all this shift was the best shift, as I felt I achieved much more than I have done on previous night shifts.

When will your next shift be?

This was my last shift, as this merchandising position was only a temporary position.

[RE-POST] Day 5: Temporary Christmas Merchandising Job (22/12/17)

This is a re-post of Day 5: Temporary Christmas Merchandising Job (22/12/17), which was published on Tuesday 02 January 2018 at 12:00.

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What were you doing on your shift?

For this shift, I was with one of my team on crisps.

How do you think it went? Why?

Being a Team Leader, I found it harder on this shift, as one or two of my staff suddenly slowed down for a little while. However, I managed to help them get back to speed by offering to help place products under the correct places.

Apart from that, it went really well and I was satisfied with the amount of work we did as a team.

When will your next shift be?

My last 11 hour shift will start at 8pm that night.

[RE-POST] Day 4: Temporary Christmas Merchandising Job (21/12/17)

This is a re-post of Day 4: Temporary Christmas Merchandising Job (21/12/17), which was published on Tuesday 02 January 2018 at 09:00.

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What were you doing on your shift?

Like yesterday, I was merchandising crisps.

However, my night was made better because I became Team Leader, leading my team to the best of my ability.

I encouraged my team to get all merchandising tasks completed with time on the shift to spare, ready for the store to be opened.

How do you think it went? Why?

Taking in to consideration that I have only had two weeks’ supervisory experience, I was excited and pleased that I was given the Team Leader position.

I continued working hard with my part of the merchandising to complete my tasks.

When will your next shift be?

My next shift was at 8pm that evening and I could not wait.

[RE-POST] Day 3: Temporary Christmas Merchandising Job (20/12/17)

This is a re-post of Day 3: Temporary Christmas Merchandising Job (20/12/17), which was published on Monday 01 January 2018 at 18:00.

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What were you doing on your shift?

On this shift, I was placed on the crisps aisles, which was easy, but was very fiddly in places, especially with the smaller packets if crisps

How do you think it went? Why?

As I mentioned in my last answer, some of the packets of crisps were very fiddly because there were some smaller packets.

However, it was fun with the multi packs. They kept falling as the shelves were metal, but I made sure that they were secure / safe on the shelves.

When will your next shift be?

My next shift was at 8pm that day for another amazing 11 hour shift.

[RE-POST] Day 2: Temporary Christmas Merchandising Job (18/12/17)

This is a re-post of Day 2: Temporary Christmas Merchandising Job (18/12/17), which was published on Monday 01 January 2018 at 15:00.

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What were you doing on your shift?

Like my last shift, I was doing replenishment of shelves in the Alcohol aisle and in the Free From aisle.

With the alcohol being sold at £10+, I tagged each bottle.

How do you think it went? Why?

It was still a challenge as it was night work, but I was getting used to doing night work, but I was enjoying the position.

When will your next shift be?

My next shift will be Wednesday night at 8pm for another 11 hours.

[RE-POST] Day 1: Temporary Christmas Merchandising Job (17/12/17)

This is a re-post of Day 1: Temporary Christmas Merchandising Job (17/12/17), which was published on Monday 01 January 2018 at 12:00.

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Where is this position based?

This position was based at Sainsbury’s in West Green, Crawley, just off the A23.

Who did you meet on your first ever night shift?

I met many amazing staff from Sainsbury’s and MSS.

Six members of staff from MSS were doing the same temporary position that I was doing.

What were you doing on your shift?

I was merchandising stock from cages and pallets onto the correct shelving, which include alcohol and Free From.

How do you think it went? Why?

I am not going to lie, but it was a major challenge for me as it was my first shift working nights, which I have not done before.

It definitely killed me, but wanted to do much, much more.

When will your next shift be?

My next shift will be tonight at 8pm for another 11 hours.

What skills do you think you used?

I communicated with the store manager and other Sainsbury’s staff to see which aisle(s) they wanted to place me.

I feel I used a methodical approach to this position, as I placed each product at the bottom (on the floor) of where they needed to be placed on the shelves.

Then I opened and stacked the products into the correct places on the shelves quickly, abiding to Health and Safety and making sure there were no gaps, using my keen eye for detail.

[RE-POST] Teamwork: Revive

This is a re-post of Teamwork: Revive, which was published on Monday 01 April 2019 at 08:00.

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As a volunteer at Revive, there was always alot to do, which included getting donated products priced, steamed (for clothes) and onto the shop floor quickly, ready for sale.

I had to work as part of a team to complete all tasks by deadlines.

I was asked to put donations onto the shop floor whilst other volunteers were doing the steaming and pricing. I picked up several products at a time and placed the products in the correct places on the shop floor. I also dealt with customers during this process, which I did not mind.

Not only were all the tasks completed quickly and effectively, more products were sold, making a profit. I helped towards improving the good working environment and we learned new skills from each other, as well as gaining and developing socially.

Skills Used

• Teamwork
• Communication Skills
• Organisational Skills
• Initiative
• Multitasking
• Excellent Customer Service
• Results and Target Orientated

[RE-POST] Teamwork: MSS

This is a re-post of Teamwork: MSS, which was published on Monday 16 March 2020 at 09:00.

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When you’re a Team Leader or if you need to lead a team, you can’t let your team do the work on their own.

I needed to work with my team to merchandise products onto the correct shelves.

After the team meeting at the beginning of each shift, I asked the team if they were happy with the way we planned each shift and asked if they had any questions before we started merchandising the shelves. There were the occasional question, which I happily answered, and we got to work. I went round to the different aisles that we were in, checking up on them to see if they were getting on well and helped them where I could. For example if they struggled to get the excess products onto the top shelf.

I worked as part of the team, not just led the team. We were able to merchandise the shelves completely before the end of each shift.

Skills Used

• Teamwork
• Communication
• Decision Making
• Managing and Directing Others
• Organisational Skills
• Problem Solving
• Results and Target Orientated

Sainsbury’s creates 22,000 seasonal roles ahead of Christmas

Retail Gazette, Friday 13 October 2023, Viewed: Friday 13 October 2023

Why did this article catch your attention?

This article caught my attention because Sainsbury’s are to recruit 22,000 new seasonal employees to cover the festive season.

Where and when will Sainsbury’s recruit the 22,000 new seasonal employees?

All we know for these vacancies, they will cover Customer Service, depots and fulfillment centres, but this article from Retail Gazette does not mention exact locations.

However, Sainsbury’s will start recruiting as soon as next week.

How would this benefit the 22,000 new seasonal employees?

This would benefit the 22,000 new seasonal Sainsbury’s employees hugely. They would go from claiming Universal Credit (unemployment benefits) to being in paid employment.

Working in Customer Service, depots and fulfillment centres, the employees would be on their feet for the majority of their shifts, so this would benefit them physically.

This should also benefit them mentally.

Who else would this benefit?

It’s not just the 22,000 new seasonal Sainsbury’s employees who would have a great Christmas. Here’s a list of others who had also benefit:

• Customers – Customers would have more stock on the shelves to purchase, and would be able to be served quicker.
• The Government – The Government might receive taxes from the 22,000 new seasonal Sainsbury’s employees. Also, the Government would save money by not giving out as much money in Universal Credit payments.

I would like to apply for one of the seasonal vacancies at Sainsbury’s. What do I need to do to apply?

You would need to apply via Sainsbury’s careers page.

Important Information for Employment

I have noticed that companies expect me to travel further afield for jobs that I am unable to get to. For example, GU postcodes.

I am giving the following important information to employers / potential employers to help them find what I am actually looking for. This will save them and myself time and energy.

I want to keep building bridges, rather than companies burning the bridges.

So, without a further adeau, here’s the important information.

Types of work I am looking for:

• Construction (housing preferred, but commercial accepted).

Start date

I will be available from Tuesday 04 April 2023.

After this date, I will be looking for employment as soon as possible, but MUST have a minimum of 24 hours warning.

Locations

• Crawley (essential)

Hours

Day work are highly preferred, but may consider night work at the right wage.

Pay

• £13+ per hour (long term construction – 1 year or more).
• £15+ per hour (short term construction – 1 year or less).

More Information

For more information, check out my Key Competencies, Job Interview Questions and previous experience.

For previous experience, I have a lot of blogging to catch up on, so please bear with me on getting this onto my blog ~ Thank you.

PLEASE NOTE – If you only have short term work, please let me know in advance (minimum of 2 weeks notice), so I can fit as much construction work in as possible. Thank you.

My First Work Experience

My first work experience was when I was in Year 10 at Ifield Community College, where I had to complete 1 week’s worth of Work Experience.

I chose to complete this Work Experience at my local Sainsbury’s, as it was only around the corner from me, though my mum dropped me off and picked me up.

I remember helping out in the cafe, where I cleared and cleaned tables and place clean cutlery into the cutlery trays for customers to use.

Away from the cafe, I also merchandised shelves, ready for customers to purchase the products, and helped customers along the way.

[RE-POST] Organisational Skills: Salvation Army

This is a re-post of Organisational Skills: Salvation Army, which was published on Monday 02 March 2020 at 21:00.

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The bric-a-brac shelves at Salvation Army were five across and five high and they were a complete mess.

I needed to organise as much of the bric-a-brac on the shelves to make it look a lot tidier and more appealing to customers.

I explained to my Manager that the bric-a-brac was a mess on the shelves and I asked if I could make it look better. He immediately agrees. Initially, I organised the donations already on the bric-a-brac shelves with the cups on one shelf, glasses on another shelf, and china sets on another two shelves, and I saw how much space there was left. From there, I worked out roughly what other bric-a-brac I could put onto the shelves. So I went into the stock room and carefully rummaged around to see what other bric-a-brac we had that were donated, and I found plenty. I priced nearly all of the bric-a-brac and carefully took them to the bric-a-brac shelves on the shop floor, starting with the china sets, which were the most expensive bric-a-brac and I merchandised them. This was followed by toys and games on the bottom five shelves before the cups and glasses. I also helped customers in the process with their questions and queries.

It too me three hours to merchandise 25 bric-a-brac shelves, and over 75% of the donated bric-a-brac were sold over a two-day period.

Skills Used

• Results and Target Orientated
• Analytical Thinking
• Communication Skills
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Initiative
• Organisational Skills
• Problem Solving

[RE-POST] Organisational Skills: Poundworld

This is a re-post of Organisational Skills: Poundworld, which was published on Monday 07 February 2022 at 15:00.

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There were several times where shelves were getting low on stock.

I needed to merchandise more stock onto the shelves using the First In First Out (FIFO) rule.

When it was quiet in the store, I looked to see of any of the popular products were running low. I then picked up several boxes of each onto a trolley and transported them to the shop floor.

I merchandised the shelves quickly and correctly ready for customers to pick up and purchase without being asked or watched.

Skills Used

• Organisational Skills
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• Initiative
• Time Management

[RE-POST] Organisational Skills: Oxfam

This is a re-post of Organisational Skills: Oxfam, which was published on Wednesday 04 December 2019 at 12:00.

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Around Christmas and New Year was an extremely busy time. shelves and clothes rails were emptying very quickly from sales. Only myself and one of the other volunteers  were available to volunteer for the two weeks.

I needed to get donations priced and sorted onto the shelves and clothes rails, whilst on the shop floor.

Before we opened the shop to the customers, I looked at what was required on the shop floor. I took note of what was required. I initially picked up plenty of bric-a-brac from the stockroom, along with the price gun. I then checked the quality. I opened the shop at exactly 09:00 and I priced the bric-a-brac. When I had the chance, I merchandised and organised the bric-a-brac shelves. when I had completed that, I asked the other volunteer for several female clothes which were already steam ironed, so I could price and merchandise them. Other donations include, but not limited to men’s clothes, DVDs, and CDs.

There was more stock on the shop floor, ready for sale. In turn, there were more sales.

Skills Used

• Organisational Skills
• Communication Skills
• Teamwork
• Results and Target Orientated

Communication Skills: Co-op

When I was doing Work Experience at Co-op, I had a blind lady come to me saying she was looking to purchase a pasty for her lunch, but being blind, she could not read the packaging for the couple of different flavours. Though I was busy merchandising shelves, it was my duty to help customers.

I needed to communicate to let her know which flavour we had in stock.

When she asked if we had pasties, I explained that we had Gingsters, as well as own brand pasties and asked her which whe would prefer. She let me know she wanted own brand, so I walked her and her guide dog to the own brand pasties, where we only had 2 flavours. So, I asked her if she would like me to give her 1 pasty in each hand. She agreed. I gently tapped her right hand and mentioned the flavour it was. Then, I gently tapped her left hand and mentioned the flavour it was.

She mentioned that she wanted the meat flavour in her left hand, and gave me back the other flavour from her left hand, before she thanked me for helping her.

Skills Used

• Communication Skills
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• Initiative
• Problem Solving
• Results & Target Orientated

Results & Target Orientated: Co-op

On several days at co-op, a lot needed to be completed, including merchandising the milk section.

I need to complete motor starting the milk as quickly as possible so I could get onto the next task.

I started off by collecting the milk from the main fridge behind the bakery by bringing out 3 or 4 cages worth of milk. I then started merchandising the most popular milk, from the bottom shelf working my way up to the top shelf. When I completed that, I condensed the milk cages to save room in the main fridge. I then put the cage or cages back into the fridge that still had milk available then I brought out another 3 or 4 cages to merchandise more of the milk shelves. Again I couldn’t danced the cages and wheeled them back into the main fridge.

I’m merchandised the milk shelves promptly and without any hassle and I was able to move to the next task as quickly as possible.

Skills Used

• Analytical Thinking
• Decision Making
• Initiative
• Organisational Skills
• Problem Solving

[INTERVIEW QUESTION] Can you tell me why you changed career paths.

Of course.

When I finished education, I initially went into volunteering in the Retail and Customer Service before going into basic Recruitment. I was dealing with customers and merchandising products. The main reason for this was because of foul mouthed customers. The companies I worked for included:

• Oxfam
• Poundworld
• Revive
• Salvation Army

When I was in Recruitment, I was taking down old jobs from the physical job boards and replacing them with new jobs, helping people write CV’s and cover letters, and helping them apply for suitable vacancies. I then went to warehousing. The reason for this was because I had too much energy to use up. The companies I worked for included:

• Alternative Learning Community
• Royal British Legion Industries

I then went from warehousing to construction, where I was transporting products and keeping the site tidy, amongst other things. The reason for moving to construction was construction work paid more. The companies I worked for included:

• A-One Recruitment
• Tesco

Since then, I have stuck with construction. The companies I worked for included:

• CPR
• Fawkes & Reece
• PCR
• Randstad

[INTERVIEW QUESTION] Tell me about a time when you had to give someone difficult feedback. How did you handle it?

Being a Team Leader, I had to lead my team. However, over a couple of shifts, one of my team disobeyed orders

I needed to understand how to complete the task successfully and find out what was causing her to disobey orders.

I politely let her know that she wasn’t following orders, taking into account her feelings and asked her for her reasoning behind it. I listened to what she said. I explained that it would cause her problems, and problems to my team as a whole, which I did not want to see. She thought about it for a minute and agreed with me.

From then on she followed orders correctly and I resolved the problem successfully and quickly without causing delays or distress.

Skills Used

• Problem Solving
• Communication Skills
• Decision Making
• Initiative
• Leadership Skills
• Managing and Directing Others
• Implemented Change
• Relationship Building

[INTERVIEW QUESTION] What are you most proud of?

I’m most proud of the many different types of work I was capable of doing.

Though, I started off volunteering in a Customer Service positions with some paid employment in Customer Service positions.

I then went into office based positions, where I was helping clients find suitable employment. These was also volunteer based. With these positions, I realised I was too active for these positions.

Even though I went back to Customer Service briefly, I moved forward by working at Tesco, working in their Fulfillment Centre before moving into Logistics based warehousing. I was at DPD on 3 different occasions, and on the third occasion, I was there for 6 months.

From April 2021, when I got my red CSCS card, I went into Labouring as a General Labourer.

To see what Key Competencies I competed at each job I was at, check out my Key Competencies contents page.

Interview Question: Are you looking for a permanent or temporary position?

As much as I prefer a permanent, full time position, I would consider taking temporary positions. I would not consider part tike work.

I do have a post called Important Information for Employment, which stipulates what I am looking for.

[RE-POST] Customer Service: MSS

This is a re-post of Customer Service: MSS, which was published on Monday 09 March 2020 at 21:00.

Sainsbury’s was open when I started every shift and I had customers come to me and ask me where products were.

I needed to help customers find the products they were looking for.

After I laid out the products on the floor under the correct shelves, I started merchandising the products onto the shelves. I had a customer approach me asking me where a product was, so I greeted them and confirmed what product they were looking for. The product they were looking for was the last product that I laid out on the floor for the aisle I was merchandising on. I took the customer to the product, I picked up the product and handed it to the customer. I asked if they required more of them, but they didn’t. I then asked if I could help with anything else. They mentioned that they didn’t and thanked me  for my help. I let them know that I was there if they required any more help.

I provided excellent Customer Service and I showed initiative. The customer was happy with the service I provided, and I successfully merchandised the aisle I was in.

Skills Used

• Customer Service
• Communication Skills
• Flexibility
• Initiative
• Organisational Skills
• Problem Solving
• Results and Target Orientated

[RE-POST] Communication Skills: MSS

This is a re-post of Communication Skills: MSS, which was published on Wednesday 11 March 2020 at 12:00.

My agency Manager asked me to let him know which agency staff arrived at Sainsbury’s, so he knew who arrived and who was to be paid.

I needed to call my Manager to inform him about who attended at the beginning of each shift.

My Manager called me and let me know who should be attending each shift, which I took note of. 10 minutes after the shift started, I called my Manager  back and let him know who attended. He asked me to inform him if and when late employees arrived, which I duly did

I communicated effectively with my Manager and let him know how well each shift went with what went well, and what didn’t.

Skills Used

• Communication
• Being Well Informed
• Decision Making
• Initiative
• Managing and Directing Others
• Problem Solving

[RE-POST] Analytical Thinking: Salvation Army

This is a re-post of Analytical Thinking: Salvation Army, which was published on Monday 09 March 2020 at 09:00.

On several occasions, my Managers asked me if I could train new starters to help them get on board quicker.

I needed to decide quickly on how I could go about training them.

I accepted the task of training the new starters and trained them from the beginning and in an orderly fashion. I trained them on how to accept donations, how to steam iron clothes, price donations and merchandise donations on shelves and clothes rails. I explained and showed them on how to do it.

I successfully trained the new starters and my Managers commented on how well they were doing, as well as how well I did the training my my training process. The donations were also merchandised quickly.

Skills Used

• Analytical Thinking
• Decision Making
• Communication Skills
• Flexibility
• Initiative
• Managing and Directing Others
• Organisational Skills
• Results and Target Orientated
• Teamwork

[RE-POST] Analytical Thinking: Oxfam

This is a repost of Analytical Thinking: Oxfam, which was published on Monday 30 December 2020 at 21:00.

Christmas at Oxfam was busy and I had to plan out what needed to be done each day, and in what order.

I needed to get donations onto the shop floor as soon as possible.

Before the shop opened, I walked around the shop to see what was required to fill up the shelves and clothes rails to stay fully stocked. I took note of what was required in the order of urgency. I got as many clothes ready as possible, then I steam ironed all of them before the shop opened. When the shop did open, I priced the steam ironed clothes and merchandised them on the rails on the shop floor. I asked a colleague to bring out lots of books , accompanied with the price gun, so I could price the books before I merchandised them onto the book shelves, whilst serving and helping customers.

More donated products were in the correct places on the shop floor and there were more sales.

Skills Used

• Analytical Thinking
• Communication Skills
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Note Taking
• Organisational Skills
• Results and Target Orientated
• Teamwork

[MY RESPONSE] 100 LinkedIn Easy to Do Content Ideas

I’m not going to lie, but I did run out of ideas on LinkedIn, as well as blog ideas, so I decided to complete some research for content ideas, and in April 2019, I found an article on LinkedIn about content ideas for LinkedIn by Jillian Bullock. I feel that several of these are good for both LinkedIn and via my blog.

I thought I would go through each content idea and give my thoughts on it.

THE PERSONAL POST

1. Share a story of your career journey and how you started your business

I would like to initially say and make clear that I do not have my own business. Where possible, I will try to replace “my business” parts of questions to my career to date.

I share my parts of my career journey on LinkedIn via my blog in form of Key Competencies, and more recently, in posts with what tasks I completed at work (when I had it) on a daily basis.

I did the latter for Sainsbury’s through MSS, Hermes through Staffline, Streetwise, DHL and DPD through A-One Recruitment, and all can be found on my contents page.

My Key Competencies can be found on My Key Competencies contents page.

2. Share your experience at an event or conference (add selfies)

I try to attend as many suitable events as I can, especially as part of my job search. For example I attend Careers / Job Fairs, as well as networking events.

I publish blog posts about every event that I attend, and can be found on my Events contents page.

3. Let people know an event you’re going to and why / expectations

Following on from the last type of Personal Post, I attend Careers / Job Fairs to see what companies attend, determine which of them have vacancies available, which of those vacancies are suitable for me, and how I apply for those vacancies. I also attempt to get leads to other companies, especially from those companies I am not suitable for.

As for networking, I attend networking events because I enjoy helping other people where I can. I do  not expect others to help me, even though I have had other attendees throw ideas and leads my way, which I do appreciate. I will give an example:

On Thursday 27 February 2020, Stuart Ritchie arrived at my house, after agreeing to give me the box of business cards and a bottle of bubbly for me to take to the next Purple Networking event on Tuesday 03 March 2020 at Xenia Lounge, as he will be unavailable.

I tagged him in a LinkedIn post about needing help with Key Competencies and he asked me what I needed help with. I explained that I got as far as I could with them, but I was not able to remember examples for several of them, including for networking. He threw me a suggestion for when I solved a problem, as well as working as part of a team, which I handwrote on Thursday, ready to be typed and scheduled.

He went onto suggest going to another connection of ours to get help with my job search, which I will be doing.

Thank you Stuart for the suggestions. I really appreciate your help.

4. On this day (in history) regrading your professional life.

I do not normally posts things about ‘this day in history regarding your professional life’, but I would consider it.

5. Share customer experience story (good or bad)

I personally have seen good and bad stories about customer experience, and I have considered publishing them to my blog, before sharing it to LinkedIn.

6. Share a day in the life video (film your day in intervals, edit together with iMovie)

Unfortunately, I do not have a decent enough camera to record videos or take pictures.

7. Share a photo of your kids, pets, hobby etc

Personally, I do not have children and I would not post pictures of them, even if I did have children. I feel it is unprofessional to do so. It’s the same with pets, unless I am a vet or a dog walker.

As for hobbies, it might be a good idea to share pictures, however, at this present time, I want to get into warehouse work rather than start my own business as a Philatelist. I don’t even share pictures of my postage stamps on Twitter.

8. Share your favourite book and why

I do share information on my blog about books, which are shared onto LinkedIn. I have written Book Reviews for LinkedIn Profile Optimization for Dummies by Donna Serdula (Book Review) and The Quick Expert’s Guide to Writing a Blog by Luisa Plaja (Book Review).

You can find them on Amazon (LinkedIn and Blogging) and they should be at your local library.

9. Share a time when a customer taught you a lesson

In a way, I’m not 100% sure why anybody would post about a customer teaching them a lesson, apart from how they went about improving themselves after the incident.

10. Ask a question about your business that the audience can answer easily.

As I mentioned in the firs Personal Post in the list, I will do not have a business, so I will ask a question about my job search that my amazing audience could answer.

11. Throwback Thursday to an event in your history

Really? I thought Jillian Bullock published a Article on LinkedIn about what to posts on LinkedIn, not Facebook or Twitter.

Am I wrong?

12. Share a photo of you at work &/or with your team

There are several downsides to pictures being taken at work, including:

• Me not having a good enough camera
• People not liking their picture taken
• Companies not allowing pictures to be taken on their premises

13. Tell people about a big mistake and what you learned from it

To a point, I sort of agree with this, but I also disagree with this too.

I feel that there are too many people out there who are too judgmental, who look down on others when they have made mistakes.

I would not lie about making my own mistakes because that would not get me anywhere. I am not perfect. I do make mistakes, and I will hold my hands up to any mistake I have done. I’m only human after all.

But wouldn’t it be boring if we were all perfect? Let me know in the comments below!

14. Share in insight as to why you started your business

There are people out there who have started their own business and I respect them for that. However, I do not have my own business, so I would not be able to share an insight to why I started my own business.

15. Tell the story of your biggest ‘aha’ moment in business

We all have our own ‘aha’ moments in business, but unless it was successful, I probably would not post about it.

16. Take some selfies with great clients & merge as a video will all of them

Like I mentioned in number 12 of this section, there are downsides of taking pictures. Here’s a reminder of those downsides:

• Me not having a good enough camera
• People not liking their picture taken
• Companies not allowing pictures to be taken on their premises

17. Take us through the day in the life of you

On my blog, I published posts about what I do for my job search, as well as tasks I completed whilst I was in employment.

For my Job Search Weekly (what I did for my job search), check out My Job Search March 2019 – November 2019 contents page.

18. Pure Fun – showcase your office pet, favourite memorabilia, best friends, family member

Umm … NO!

I’m not saying don’t have fun at work or have fun on LinkedIn, but when you put both together, it would make you look less professional when you’re on LinkedIn.

19. Share books that you are reading (add your favourite spot to read)

I have recently started reading another book to help me to get back into employment but, realistically, I do not have the time to read. With my blogging, which I currently have a new challenge on (via Twitter by E. H. Night), as well as my job search, which is more important, I am struggling to get much reading done, which I think is now postponed.

Generally, my favourite spots to read is on my sofa with my pan and several pieces of scrap paper for my thoughts, etc. on the book and for Book Reviews, note for ideas on other ways for looking for employment, as well as for ideas on what I could blog about.

My book reviews can be found in the second section of my Relevant Posts: Other blog post.

20. Selfies or fan photos

I think this would be a no for the same, or similar reasons, that I mentioned in numbers 12 and 16 of this section.

21. Journal your business tour interstate / overseas

Again, I do not have my own business, but I do blog about Company Hunts, which I generally complete in Crawley and Manor Royal. I have completed a Company Hunt in Horsham once.

Previous Company Hunts can be found in the second sections of My Job Search posts (2016-2018, 2019, 2020)

22. Celebrate anniversaries; business birthday, founder birthday etc.

As I stand, celebrating things like getting a new job and professional goals and targets are more important.

23. Do a ‘caption this’ photo of your staff/or you mucking around

I used to do Monday Meme’s on my blog every Monday (of course), which was shared onto LinkedIn, but received no interest in it whatsoever. So I change my blog plans for Monday’s.

24. Post a round up. A list of must read articles for the past week/month

I have always published roundups on my blog. For example, I publish Job Search Weekly every week to show what tasks I had completed for my job search. I also used to publish posts called LinkedIn Weekly, where I listed people and posts

25. Share ideas from people you have heard speak that inspired you

I have had ideas from people who shared content ideas on LinkedIn and their respective blogs about both LinkedIn (like this article from Jillian Bullock).

For the blogging content ideas I found, one list of blogging ideas was called 103 Blog Post Ideas That Your Readers Will LOVE [Updated], by opt in monster, which, I published about on my blog.

Please note: I did not come up with these ideas myself and I used some of their ideas, which I appreciate the publishers for sharing their ideas.

A TASTE OF INDUSTRY FLAIR

1. Share some news trending in your industry

I am not going to lie. I do not keep a close eye on news trending in my industry, warehousing.

The closest I get to this is hearing about companies who  have warehouses employing new employees, making redundancies, etc., which I do blog about.

2. Create an infographic (or outsource to Fiverr.com) curating industry news with statistics

I wouldn’t know where to start with this. I’m more of a wordy (??) type of person.

3. Cover a ‘today in history’ of a milestone in your industry

Like I mentioned in number 4 of the last section, Personal Touch, I do not normally post things about ‘this day in history’, even about warehousing.

4. Hold a debate about a topic that is very evenly split

I found that debates about anything can cause conflict and issues, I feel that, especially when it comes to online debates, it would come and bite me on the butt, which could tarnish my reputation. I know I don’t want that dark cloud hanging over my head.

5. Share an interesting or shocking statistic regarding your industry

Even though, time bound, I have not had a chance to gather information about statistics about warehousing in general, I have considered doing this on LinkedIn. However, if I had a list of statistics about warehousing, I would also publish it on my blog, contributing my thoughts on them. I had thought I published some DPD stats on my blog, but I have not.

6. Weave a national holiday celebration into your industry

The two main national holidays I can think of within a warehousing department would be Cyber Weekend and Christmas. I had a picture of me with a Cyber Weekend t-shirt on, but unfortunately, I am currently unable to find it.

7. Share some history about your industry

When I have a job interview, I always research about the company for some of their industry history and news.

With permission of the companies I had job interviews with, my job interviews can be found on My Job Search contents pages (2016 – 2018 and 2019)

8. Share the most famous video or image regarding your industry

The most famous video or image? I did not know that warehousing had any of those.

I will look into this though.

9. Survey how people usually feel out companies in your industry

This is something that I have not considered yet, especially on LinkedIn, as not everybody in the warehousing industry has a LinkedIn account.

I respect that people use different social media. For example, I use LinkedIn and Twitter, but I have an Instagram account to keep in touch with a few of my amazing friends and connections.

Another two examples are both at DPD and they both use Instagram. One of whom posts infrequently and the other has not posted for ages.

10. Share the most common myths about what you do

I have not thought of, or researched about this in warehousing. When I get a chance to, I will.

I tend to get my head down and get on with my work.

11. #Tuesday Tips – Share Top tips when making a decision to use a company like yours

#Tuesday Tips is more of a Twitter and Instagram thing, so I can’t see why or how it could get onto LinkedIn, as a professional site.

12. What are the most common misconceptions in your industry

I have seen people think that warehousing is one of these “sitting down” jobs, when it isn’t.

You’re on the move the whole time, and that’s where I get my satisfaction.

13. Share 10 facts about your industry people may not know

Like number 10 of this section, I have not thought about facts about warehousing. Again, when I get a chance to, I will.

14. Hold a poll on a topic from your industry

For polls, I would not have a clue on how to go about doing them. Thinking what to ask and how to start a poll.

I will look into this when I get a chance to.

15. let us know when the biggest expo & conference is on in your industry

I don’t normally hear about expo and conference meetings as in industry. I have heard about small conferences occasionally within individual companies.

16. Whats the best podcast in your industry? Is it yours?

Warehousing industry has podcasts? This is something else that I would need to look in to.

17. Share relevant statistics eg Top 10 (make them short and tweetable)

As I mentioned in number 5, I have not had a chance to look into statistics However, I did get some statistics for Cyber Weekend whilst I was at DPD, which can also be found under number 5.

I guess, instead of posting about individual statistics, lists of them would be much more useful.

Make them short and Tweetable? If I did that, then there would not be as much information. Not only that, I thought this article was about posting on LinkedIn?

18. Share a fascinating fact about your (company or) industry

There are common sense facts about companies, especially when it comes to warehousing.

I will plan a blog posts about it, and share it to LinkedIn, so watch this space.

19. Share a comic or meme marking fun or light of your industry “shows you have a sense of humor”

This would be classed as banter, in my opinion, and trust me when I say this …  The banter I have seen  and given would not be suitable for either social media or for my blog.

Generally, warehouse employees do have a sense of humour in one way or another.

20. Find industry related National/International days to incorporate in your content

This sounds a bit like expo and conference events, like number 15 in this section mentions. I may have read it incorrectly, but that’s the way I have read it.

21. Predict how something is effecting your industry (Royal Commission/Elections)

One this I will mention here before continuing with this question … I refuse to discuss politics

There are facts, and there are those people who are way over-opinionated who make up a lot of nonsense to try to make them look better.

But I will say this … facts will outrun nonsense.

22. Offer an “Ask Anything” post

This is a great idea, but some things I would not personally discuss. For example, politics, like I mentioned in number 21.

23. Post a fact or fiction question about your industry

There could be both for, industry and myself. For the industry one, research would be required.

24. Share pictures from industry events – key takeaways

I have seen a promotional video for Purple Networking, which can be found here. However, there are people out there who don’t like their pictures being taken, and there are those, like me, who don’t have a quality camera.

25. Tell people about your pet peeves regarding your industry

Yes, there are pet peeves both in different industries, as well as individual companies, but I would not shout about them because I feel that it would make me look like a pest and unprofessional, which I don’t want to be.

When I conclude things in my employment, I might add a few minor problems that could easily be fixed.

STRICTLY BUSINESS BASED

1. Share trivia or the hobbies of your team members

This is too unprofessional for LinkedIn, in my opinion. Maybe a little trivia is good if it is about the company, or if it helps people find suitable employment.

However, would they like to be mentioned on LinkedIn? Are they even on LinkedIn? That is only a couple of downsides I could think of whilst I was preparing this blog post.

2. Showcase the office and what you are working on

With this, we always have to be very careful, especially in a warehouse environment where there is contact information of clients, like names and addresses.

I am all for GDPR and Data Protection, no matter what the job I do.

3. Share the profile of a team member showcasing their achievements

This is a good idea, but permission would have to be granted for me to do this. So watch this space.

4. Post the answers to your FAQ’s

This is something that I have to do. I will be going through FAQ’s as soon as I can.

5. Let a staff member or department take over your Company Page for a week

I do not have my own business, like I have mentioned before, but if I did have my own business, I would consider help from another employee or department to take over my Company Page.

6. Turn your previous content into an infographic!

This could be quite difficult for what I discuss on LinkedIn, especially when it comes to my job search, networking and helping others.

I will give it a try when I can.

7. Share how your company celebrates trending events and holidays eg. Christmas

Whilst I was at a few of the companies I had worked for, they had Christmas meals and drinks at hotels or restaurants.

I feel strongly about keeping my professional life separate from my social life, as it is the best thing to do. When others have gone back to work from one of these Christmas parties, there has always been gossip about this, that, and the other.

I don’t want to hear gossip, as I am a facts man.

8. Offer a special bonus / discount or sale that’s only advertised on LinkedIn

I don’t have my own business, so from that prospective, I have not needed to offer a special bonus, discount or sale.

As for any of it whilst working for a company, I have never had the authority to do so.

However, on the flip side, I have been trying to get funding for forklift licences, but to no avail. So I have decided to charge for Q&A Sessions for my blog. It would only cost £35 per person.

9. Share group photos of your team behind the scenes/culture

Again, not only do I not have my own business, I do not have a good camera, others might not want to be in the picture and under GDPR and Data Protection, it would make it that much harder.

10. Share early photos from when you started your business

What business?

11. Put together your own Content Series

I pull together a content series on my blog, which is shared onto LinkedIn. For example, I recently completed two lots of Company Hunts. Here’s a list of the Company Hunts on foot:

• Part 1: Manor Royal
• Part 2: Manor Royal
• Part 3: Manor Royal
• Part 4: Crawley Town Centre

Now, here’s a list of the Company Hunts via telephone:

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3

12. Share an event you are sponsoring or speaking at

I attend Purple Networking with Stuart Ritchie as the amazing organiser, a professional, but relaxed networking event on the first Tuesday of every month at Xenia Lounge, in Crawley, between 18:00 and 20:00. I do not speak at Purple Networking, but I do hand out badges, and occasionally give out a bottle of bubbly to one lucky winner from the draw.

As far as sponsoring events, this is financially impossible for me, as I am an active job seeker, claiming Universal Credit.

13. Highlight parts of your newsletter to gain a guest contributor

I have not got or produced  my own newsletter of yet. I would consider it when I have more time on my hands

14. Publish thanks to your customers/ clients and what they mean to you

I have many amazing connections on LinkedIn, and have shown my appreciation to them on my blog with posts called LinkedIn Weekly. Once my LinkedIn Weekly posts were published every Friday, it was shared to LinkedIn, where I tagged those who I appreciated that week.

However, I did have major issues with LinkedIn quite recently, as some of my connections know about, where I log in, go to profiles (including my own) and there would be sections missing. For example, when I attempted to complete a blog post (or a few) about whet I did during each month, I gather information  about how many times I posted, how many comments I made, etc., but the “Articles & activity” was missing from my profile.

15. Share the do’s and don’t with using your products/ service

As part of my job search, I let others know what generally works for me (or not). Personally, the biggest do, I feel would be completing Company Hunts on foot, knocking on company’s doors to see if if they have any vacancies, how to apply and who to apply to. I find I get more responses that way, rather than going through and applying for jobs on Job Boards, where at least 95% are either a straight up no, without good reason, or they just don’t respond.

I also get leads if any of the companies do not have any jobs.

16. Share links to your other social media accounts outlining the differences

Yes, I may have Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter, but why would I outline the differences? LinkedIn is best for both a professional and a job seeker.

17. Give a demonstration of your product or show yourself in action using your service/or product

The best demonstrations I give is when I’m in employment, proving myself to my employer. The next best demonstrations I provide are my Key Competencies, which I publish on my blog, and can be found on My Key Competencies contents page.

18. Repurpose an old popular blog with an update

I do this over the last full week (Monday to Friday) of every month, but without an update, as I normally find newspaper articles (online and offline), which follows on from the article that I have blogged about.

I find it gives me a chance to plan, type and schedule more blog posts for the upcoming month. The re-posts do have readers read them, and even click the link back to the original blog post.

19. Upload Powerpoint slides to Slide Share (remember there is no audio)

Personally, I don’t see the point in Slide Share.

20. Offer a free resource such as an eBook or video series

As I have mentioned several times in this post, I do not have a good camera to record videos. I also know nothing about eBooks, as I prefer to read normal books in the old fashioned way.

21. Share the technology or tools invaluable to your company

Again, I do not own my own company, but my main tools I would say are:

• Communication Skills
• Common Sense
• Logical Sense

Without those, you would not get anywhere.

22. Let your staff take over your Company page for one week

If I had my own company, then I would consider doing this, as I would trust my colleagues.

23. Share awards or nominations you’ve had

As much as awards and nominations are amazing, personally, I have not had any awards or nominations, in a professional capacity.

However, I was awards a Cyber Weekend t-shirt whilst I was at DPD. When I completed the Tombola at Central Sussex College, for Save the Children, I was given a Save the Children pin / badge, and I was in one of the college newsletters, as well as in one of the local newspapers.

24. Latest company news (changes in Biz, new employee, hours of operation)

When I am an employee at a company myself, if I feel that I have a chance to post or publish like new employees, hours of operation, etc., I would always attempt to get permission before posting or publishing it. I feel it is me being courteous to my employers.

25. Tell us about an unexpected use for your product or service

It was unexpected that after I commented on a post on LinkedIn, that somebody read it, then went back to read it the next day.

Here is the post:

Now, here are my comment and further comments to my comment:

ACKNOWLEDGING YOUR NETWORK

1. Share a customer review or testimonial from a person in your network

I am looking into getting references and recommendations a lot of the time, though I don’t expect it.

2. Interview an influencer (official or upcoming) and share their knowledge of your industry

I have conducted interviews as Q&A Sessions, which you can find on my  Q&A Sessions contents page.

3. Interview and/or get people from your network to try or demonstrate your products

I haven’t got products for others to try or demonstrate, but I do help other people where I can by suggesting things. For example, things that actually work for me as part of my job search, like Company Hunts, compared to applying for work online.

4. Share photos that your clients have taken of you or your products

Like I mentioned in the last idea, I haven’t got products for others to use or demonstrate. However, I will ask around to see if any of my amazing connections would be prepared to share pictures on suggestions I make, like completing a Company Hunt.

5. Do a special shout out to one of your suppliers

I used to do shout outs on my blog on a weekly basis, where I showed appreciation to those on LinkedIn who helped me in one way or another. They were blog posts called LinkedIn weekly, which can be found on the last section of my For LinkedIn Posts contents page. I have decided to resume doing LinkedIn Weekly, instead of my weekend plans posts

6. Recommend others follow a leader from your network or inner circle

I always give recommendations to others. There are several people and companies who I do recommend, and I always recommend them online (LinkedIn, Twitter) and offline (networking events)

7. Share another’s video that forwards awareness of your industry

Once, I found a video on how to stack a pallet correctly, which I found on YouTube.

8. Share the causes you support or fundraising your are involved in

There is only one charity I support now, called Alzheimer’s Society. I have had both friends and family who had suffered from some form of dementia, which was really scary to watch.

When I have more time on my hands, I will do some fundraising for them.

9. Share news that is trending or significant to your network

I have seen so many things on LinkedIn that are trending, as well as being significant to my amazing network. Here are some of them:

10. Give a shout out to your mentor or adviser who has been there for you in the good times (and bad)

Lots of people, I found, stuck with me throughout my good times, but ran when I run into difficulties. However, there are a few exceptions:

Sandra from Tile Giant on Manor Royal, who knows my unfortunate situation and offered me a job interview for a job I applied for. When I saw her when I was down, she lifted up my spirits.

11. Tell others about your favourite organisation or network group

For me, there as one company and one networking event that completely stand out to me and are my favourite.

DPD is my favourite company for two reasons. The main reason was, DPD gave me an opportunity to work for them through A-One Recruitment, a Recruitment Agency. The second reason is, I ordered business cards a while back from Vista Print and DPD delivered them on a Tuesday, the correct day that Vista Print  said it would be delivered, ready for a networking event that I attended that evening, called Purple Networking.

As for the networking event, my favourite event that I attend is Purple Networking, organised by Stuart Ritchie. I always attend Purple Networking when I can. Since I started attending Purple Networking, the first one being on Tuesday 06 March 2018, I have attended all bar two, due to employment. That equated to 21 consecutive Purple Networking events before the employment for DPD through A-One Recruitment.

12. Share images that inspire people about your industry

I wouldn’t know where I would begin for this idea.

13. Share images that inspire people about your industry and what feelings it evokes

Like the last idea, I wouldn’t know where to begin for this idea.

14. Refer to a relevant controversial blog that will elicit high engagement

I have published loads of blog posts, 1,402 to date. There have been a few with high numbers of views, but the engagement was generally on LinkedIn after they were shared to LinkedIn. Here is a list of 11 of the most viewed blog posts ever, since I started in 2017:

1. Book Review: LinkedIn Profile Optimization for Dummies – Donna Serdula (98 views)
2. [UPDATE] CV Drops (69 views)
3. Job Interview: Toolstation (64 views)
4. [UPDATED] Safeway brand returns in McColl’s-Morrisons tie-up (50 views)
5. What have I done in August? (49 views)
6. Jet2.com to hire 1,700 new staff (42 views)
7. LinkedIn Weekly (01 June 2018) (38 views)
8. LinkedIn Weekly (06 April 2018) (31 views)
9. [ETA] My Time at Purple Networking (29 views)
10. LinkedIn Weekly (15 June 2018) (28 views)
11. LinkedIn Weekly (20 April 2018) (26 views)

I know that these are not controversial.

15. Give a shout out to 5-10 people on LinkedIn that are our most loyal engagers

I have planned a blog post called Top 10 Most Loyal LinkedIn Engagers, which will be published one day next week.

16. List 10 people from your network (offline or online) that inspire you

I have planned a blog post called Top 10 People Who Inspire Me (Online and Offline), which will be published one day next week.

17. Show case fans of your products/people using services and get people to vote for winning photo

Something that I have not even thought about, but something I might consider. This all depends on how many of my amazing connections agree to use my help, and how many of them would be prepared to have their pictures taken. Not only that, like I have mentioned several times before in this blog post, I do not have a good camera to take pictures with.

18. Sneak peak something new launching soon

Personally, I have not got anything new that I am launching.

19. Create a photo collage (Pic Collage/Pic Monkey) of people from your offline network

No good camera, and I would not breach copyright. I might consider this if I get a good camera to do this.

20. Tell people about your pet peeve

There are so many pet peeves around, but I avoid saying too many, as it would make me look unprofessional. But the biggest pet peeve I have noticed are the non-communicators.

21. Create a compilation of industry news stories

I don’t normally see industry news about warehousing. However, I do see news stories like job losses, companies hiring, companies expanding, etc., so recruitment news I have created a compilation of these industry news on my News Articles contents page.

22. Share the content of others on LinkedIn that inspire or interest you

I share things that help me (and others), interest me (and others).

23. Give a ‘Kudos’ post to people in your network

The ‘Kudos’ button is new to me. I have seen it when I have posted on LinkedIn, but I would consider it and look in to it.

24. List Company Pages here on LinkedIn that you think people should follow

This is something that I have not really looked into, as not everybody in my industry uses LinkedIn or my connections in general might not be interested in the same companies as me.

25. Quote people from your network giving advice and why this is relevant to you (and others)

Ed Han has loads of job search and LinkedIn tips, and he uses quotes, which I find a lot easier to read. I’m sure you will find his posts and quotes very helpful.

I will be creating a blog post with quotes from my amazing connections in my network, so watch this space.