Talk Talk in association with Citizens Online are inviting applications for cash grants of up to £2000 each to fund technology related projects, as well as technology equipment to help them make the most of the internet.

The Talk Talk Innovation in the Community Awards 2008 are open to UK based not-for-profit organisations or community groups looking to ‘harness the power of the internet’ to extend their work.

There are 5 categories; Work & Training, Creativity & Culture, Play & Sport, Body & Soul and Learning & Knowledge.  Check out the website for all the information and application criteria.

Good luck to all who apply and more information is at Talk Talk Innovation in the Community Awards website.

From a candidate recruitment perspective I think LinkedIn has a lot to offer. For the uninitiated, consider your LinkedIn profile a much more modern ‘online CV’. You can get endorsements from your peers and ex-colleagues, give endorsements where you see fit, and without the back door tactics of old.

Linkedin is better termed your ‘business network’, you won’t get bombarded with application requests, tagged photos, or bitten by a vampire, nor is it accepted nor appreciated to send any unsolicited emails.  But when it comes to improving your job search, you can definitely get strategic.

You’ve applied for a position at a local authority, interview is fast approaching, doing your homework is all about being prepared.  Find people who are currently working there, a little feature they’re soon to add include business profiles, you can view people who’ve been hired and promoted, related companies, career paths and key statistics.  When this feature comes out it will be a valuable tool for jobseekers who are at the research stage of a company or organisation.  I’ve also written a previous post on ‘What to do at the interview stage‘.

Anyway, we’ve had a few keen signups (Dan, Phil and myself included) to get started and there’s been ripples of excitement as we’ve planned our bikes, and of course the all important stylish helmet to ensure you look like a true cyclist.

Wednesday the 9th of July was the inaugural ‘outing’ of my bike for it’s first road run. As you may or may not know, yesterday London also hosted a monsoon, and some seriously hideous weather. However, nothing deterred me at 7.45am and I started my ride with the guidance of one of the co-founders of Jobsgopublic (thanks David) who is also a keen cyclist and lives not too far away. My ride to work, as well as becoming slightly wet, was also very much a tourist ride as I was introduced to many gorgeous landmarks around London’s south embankment from a completely different angle.

This didn’t deter me from my ride home, and I didn’t even notice the horizontal rain as I left Back Church Lane. What did worry me slightly was the fact that I was so distracted by my tourist ride in the morning, I actually hadn’t remembered enough of the landmarks to get myself home. Undeterred by this minor mapping issue, I launched myself into the lashing rain.

Anyway to cut my long story short, I made it in one piece, and have successfully conquered London by bike. I had a few dead ends, found a few steps I’m sure weren’t there on my ride to work, and again had a little assistance in finding my way home (David found me at some random intersection and guided me home, talk about luck!) . What I would like to say, is that this scheme is fantastic! It’s a great way to support employees to get active, and afford a bike without the initial outlay. I’m paying about £25 a month out of my gross pay and I’m not even going to notice that!

I also found a cool website that allowed me to ‘map my ride‘ to work and work out distance, so check it out and see if the cyclescheme is something your company would be interested in supporting. 9.74 miles to work isn’t a bad effort (and I did it twice), but I’ve given my poor newly found muscles a much needed rest today and will prepare them for a battering next week.

Ooh and a reminder we have a current vacancy for a Scrum Project Manager, check out the post ‘Desperately Seeking…‘ from yesterday for more information.

As such when we require ‘talent’, we scream and shout about it!

We have a an amazing opportunity for a ‘techie’ wanting to take the next step and lead our organisation into the next level of web-tech.

We’re seeking a passionate and technology led thought-leader, a project manager who is a creative and pro-active team player…. are you still hanging on to my every word?

We have a vacancy for a Scrum Project Manager.  We have an awesome team of Ruby on Rails developers within JGP, but truth be known, we’re so excited about the potential about what our platform can do, that we require a focused ‘innovation capture artist’ to remove the impediments, capture those user stories and ensure the team is running a full steam.  Could this be you??  Check out the job description and person specification here.

Want to know more?  Email Jayne Hilditch our COO or phone 020 7923 5610 and have a chat to see if JGP is where you want to work!

However, you’ve just stumbled across some great vacancies on jobsgopublic, they’re relevant, and they’re actually your local council. To start saving these searches you will need to register.

It’s pretty simple (we’ve recently simplified the process even more for you) all you need is an email, your name, and of course the all important password. The password option is case sensitive, which means if you type in caps the first time, you’ll always have to type it in caps.

At the bottom you will see a tick box, depending on the specific searches you save in your account, we may like to send you a specific email. Eg. If you’re interested in Social Care, it could be about a Social Care conference, or the latest national recruitment campaign for Social Workers etc. We ensure the content is specific and relevant, and you never know, it could be your dream job.

Now you click ‘Register’ and voila, you are now registered on Jobsgopublic.com.

If it says you are already registered, you may have previously created an account on one of our partner sites, like myhousingcareer, Social Care Careers, or LGJobs. Not to worry, you’re previous login will allow you access to Jobsgopublic.com also.

This is the first of several posts about your Jobsgopublic Account, so feel free to comment and I’ll make sure I answer your questions in future postings. Happy jobhunting.

Another aspect we get loads of comments about is personalisation of your account including jobs-by-email, saved searches and such.  So I thought I’d start a section around your jobsgopublic account and how to get the most out of it.  So keep an eye out on the blog and we’ll keep you posted with more updates.

I know for some, having ‘corporate’ dress is what makes them get into ‘work-mode’, yet for others it seems unnecessary and makes them feel uncomfortable. Office space doesn’t need to be completely kitted-out to be effective or to encourage a great work environment. But having the essentials to perform is always the necessary.

Work perks are great, but I know personally for me, having a great and supportive team does wonders in promoting positive job experience and team success. I also quite enjoy Friday’s here at Jobsgopublic as we are greeted with breakfast (croissant, bacon sarnies, muesli, fruit) and then in the afternoon the competitve side of jobsgopublic comes out when the nintendo wii is switched on at about 4.30pm for some workplace fun.

What are your work perks? What do you look for when your job seeking and checking out organisations? Does ‘how green your office is’ affect your decision to work for an organisation? For others office location is a priority, public transport or parking, or having a company mobile are factors that influence your job of choice.

If you are specifically interested in a housing career, we have a funky little site that is part of our network and is particularly targeted towards this niche sector - MyHousingCareer.com you may want to check it out!  You don’t even need to re-register, your jobsgopublic login will work on this website too.

It also pays to keep ahead of the game, by ensuring you know what is happening with the latest news in your chosen sector.  Jobsgopublic have plenty of interesting news feeding into their news site, that is tailored to key sectors; Charity/Voluntary, Planning, Housing, Social Work, and our General, which includes all local govt and central govt news.

Good luck with your job search

My immediate image was of a job applicant sitting in the reception waiting for their interview with their much loved teddy bear poking out the top of their bag alongside a copy of their CV and references. But the more discreet options are probably much more regular.

Nightmare stories are out there on terrible interviews, but much angst can be put down to being unprepared for an interview. Preparation is key to ensure you don’t look like an ‘eejut’ when they ask you the first question. With the wealth of information available on the internet, there really isn’t any excuse for checking your potential employer and what the potential work environment is like.

First step: Search Engines! Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Ask, a basic step on the internet of wisdom. Find the corporate website for your potential employer, check it out, do they have a news section, newsletters, are they blogging, or are people blogging about them?

Second step: Social networkingкомпютри sites are also another opportunity to utilise your research skills. Where are people talking about this organisation? Facebook, Bebo, My Space? When you start your career, for many it helps define them and their social circles so you can check out whats going on by getting a little web savvy. Don’t be naive to think this doesn’t go both ways though, social sites have security settings, just make sure you know how to use them. Linkedin is another great way to do a little more business research, they are soon to implement a company profile page which has got to be a crucial recruitment tool for organisations.

Third step: Ask questions, you are about to make a massive commitment, up to 5 days a week (or more) for what could possibly be years. How can you not want to ask questions? Be strategic though, salary questions or asking to be shown who you’re sitting next too is not appropriate at such an early stage. Corporate Social Responsibility, and carbon footprint seem to be on many people’s agenda, or possibly the culture within an organisation and whether socially there are corporate events that are organised, sports teams etc. Definition around the role is appropriate as not all job descriptions are as accurate as one would think.

The rest is up to you, put your best foot forward, ensure you dress appropriately (leave the killer heels and ripped jeans for the evening) and good luck!

According to research from our friends at Broadbean jobseekers are particularly busy at the beginning of the week when most applications are received.  This is in line with our statistics which show our busiest period for jobseekers using our site is the ‘long-lunch period’ at the beginning of the week.

When applying for jobs, candidates are also far more web-savvy in researching particular organisations they feel they may like to work for.  To find out the latest news on Local Government and Voluntary Sector  throughout the UK check out our Jobsgopublic news section.