End of 2011 summary

It's been a busy year for SOLIDstaff and we haven't sat on our laurels. We are always looking for ways to improve the use of our site and the search for a job or employee.

Employees

For those looking for work, we have added a count of your CV viewings so you can see how often your details have been viewed by potential employers. We know how encouraging it is to see your 'hit count' rising and to know that something is happening at the other end.

We've also added quick searches for categories with vacancies, job titles with vacancies and vacancies by company to take you straight to where the jobs are.

The layout of the advert view pages has been improved, removing the pop-up windows and making the layout clearer. You can now step through the various adverts from the display page instead of returning to the results each time.

We have implemented automatic emails to remind you of things that you may have forgotten to do, such as enter your job history. We realise though that too many emails can be annoying so we limit the number of these sent out, and you always have the option to switch them off.

We also added many design tweaks just to make the process easier or less tedious:

• Permanent arrows on the right hand side of the page to quickly take you to the top or bottom

• Disabling the town and county menus when you select a country outside of the UK

• Sorting the towns by county

• 'Step' arrows at the top of the Personal, Career and Job History pages to help you make your way through the registration process

Coming in 2012

• Subscription emails - get an alert when a suitable job is posted

• Favourites Search - save your preferred job title or category and, when you log in, see immediately which jobs of that sort have been posted since you last visited. An easy way to check every day!

Employers

We haven't forgotten those looking for staff either. We also added a count of your advert viewings so you can see the interest that each advert has generated.

When posting adverts (and filling in the company details), you can now fill in the postcode and get the town and county added automatically.

When you view someone's CV, it is no longer in a pop-up window and the layout is clearer.

You can now step through the various adverts from the display page instead of returning to the results each time.

You can also immediately view all the categories which have applicants to save you making a full search.

We have implemented automatic emails to remind you of things that you may have forgotten to do, such as enter your company details. We realise though that too many emails can be annoying so we limit the number of these sent out, and you always have the option to switch them off.

Similar design tweaks to the employee side have also been added.

• Permanent arrows on the right hand side of the page to quickly take you to the top or bottom

• Disabling the town and county menus when you select a country outside of the UK

• Sorting the towns by county

Coming in 2012

• Subscription emails - get an alert when a suitable employee registers

December 13th update

Another week and another addition to the SOLIDstaff site. We have now added counters for both employees and employers.

For employers, it records a 'hit' every time a potential employer views your details and is shown on the top right of your home page. If you're not getting any views, think why? Have you filled in as many details as you can, including job history? Is your personal statement likely to intrigue employers and make them take the next step? Check the 'Preview' page to see how your CV will appear in search results; get as many contact detail and upload icons as you can.

For employers, the counter records the number of views of each advert and is shown on the 'Adverts' page. Again, if your advert is not getting many views, can you make it more enticing to potential employees?

Meanwhile, a temporary full-time chef is wanted in Gloucestershire for £18000 plus tips (ID 1529)

December 3rd Update

We continue to add new employers to our site. We're very pleased to annouce that we now have the Compass Group posting their adverts such as a pastry chef wanted at Tom's Kitchen in London (id 1353), at a £26k salary.

We also have Tragus, operator of big names such as Café Rouge, Bella Italia and Strada. A sample advert is for a head chef in Bristol for £24-25k (id 1344).

November 26th update

More new companies are signing up all the time. As an example, there is the Admiral Group
who are looking for a Group Sales and Marketing Manager for High Profile Events/Catering and offering a salary of £40-50 thousand (ID 1253).

We have also added integration for mobiles and created pages to feature more jobs in Google searches. SOLIDstaff keeps expanding. Register now if you haven't already - your new job may be just around the corner.

November 22nd Update

With employers looking to fill vacancies for Christmas, the adverts are being posted thick and fast. From your new agency, Ellis Mack Recruitment, here are a couple we've selected.

An assistant manager in a bar is wanted in Leeds for £18 to £22,000 (ID 1027) while, if you fancy the wide-open spaces of Scotland, a head chef is wanted in Dunbartonshire (£35,000). You've got till 17th December to apply - just search out ID 911.

November 12th update

There are a host of "Kitchen chef de partie" jobs on SOLIDstaff this week, and we've picked out a juicy one. First Contact are looking for a sous chef in a London five star hotel with a salary of £32,000. Search for advert ID 1149.

Meanwhile, Perfect Recruitment have a position for a restaurant manager for a brand new restaurant to open in the Wigan area: a chance to infuse your own persona from the very start (ID 1139).

Finally, Abode Hotels, a chain run by the acclaimed chef Michael Caines, has a position for a commis chef in an 85-bedroom hotel in Cheshire (ID 1124).

We're always looking to add little "somethings" to the website to help you and, for employers, we've added a postcode look-up to the company and advert pages. Why bother to pick the county and town from the menus? Just enter the postcode, click the button and we fill them in for you. (This is also very useful for those using XML feeds.)

Bonfire Night update

The competition for jobs is tough and it is important for employees to add as many details as possible so we have added graphical ‘step arrows’ to the top of the personal, career and job history pages to encourage you to fill in as much as possible. Remember that a potential employer has to pay to see your contact details and they are not likely to do that if there is little information in your CV.

Primarily for employers, we are introducing a quick look up system for the town and county locations for your adverts. Just enter the postcode, click the button by the side of it and the town and county will be automatically filled in (assuming the postcode is correct).

November update

The nights are drawing in and British Summer Time is no more (for this year at least) but the search for jobs never stops. At SOLIDstaff, we have had yet another agency joining us, Perfect Recruitment, and we are rapidly becoming a one-stop-shop for recruitment in the hospitality area.

Looking through our database of jobs, there are a couple of positions in the North of England which may be of interest. A country house in Workington is looking for a general manager with a salary of £30-35k (ID 963), while a chef de partie is needed in a large hotel in Harrogate (ID 1046). Just register (if not already) and login, click on the Advanced search and enter the ID number. Then apply and good luck!

If you are needing a little help in filling in your details, we are adding more video tutorials to the site (click on the YouTube button). At the moment, there are a few videos for employees.

Christmas is looming

SOLIDstaff has been quiet on the social front for the last month but now we are here, beginning a regular update of the employment market.

We have had some new agencies which have joined our list of employers such First Contact Chefs, and there is also a chance that Whitbread will be coming on board before the end of the year.

On the specific job front, there is a restaurant in Salcombe looking for a chef de partie who personally phoned SOLIDstaff asking for help. A lovely part of the country to work.

As we all know from the high street shops, Christmas is looming over the horizon which means an opportunity to get some temporary work if you are a student or unemployed. And remember that these temporary jobs can lead to long-term employment as companies will often look to those who have already worked for them when looking to take more on. (It doesn’t do your CV any harm either – remember to add it to your Job History.)