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Top 10 stories of the week

Job hunting is being treated like booking a holiday

We hope you’ve got your Halloween costumes ready for this spooky weekend. It’s hard to believe next week is the start of another month – where does the time go? Let’s take a moment to check out our top 10 most read stories of the week.

1. Helpful hints for job hunters over 50
When you get to your 40s and 50s, it’s likely you will have held a stable position at a company for years. But sometimes life throws you a curveball and you need to look for a new job. While you’re highly employable and have all the experience in the world, the job market moves at such a fast pace to keep up with millennials that you need to adapt to get noticed. We did some research and pulled together a few top tips to help job hunters over 50 find the perfect role.

2. Three women transforming Britain’s work landscape
With Global Workplace Analytics (GWA) finding that allowing employees to telecommute even half the time would save companies at least £7000 per employee per year, and numerous studies illustrating the widespread benefits of a diverse workforce, three women in particular have had the chance to reflect on the evolution of working life in the UK.

3. 5 ways to use an interview to spot a bad boss
Personal assistants are possibly more susceptible to the wrath of a terrible boss than any other member of staff, simply due to the nature of their professional relationship. That’s why it’s important to use your interview to get a feel for your potential manager’s personality. Here are some tips from Glassdoor to help you spot a bad boss.

4. The importance of colour in business: An article from House of Colour
PAs often act as the face of their business, attending meetings internally and externally. Dressing for success is essential, but colour plays an important role in how people perceive you, according to Helen Venables, Managing Director of House of Colour.

5. Tips to help introverts win at work
Anybody familiar with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator knows that there are roughly 16 personality types. I’ll let you in on a little fact about me – I’m a bona fide INTJ type, which forms just 0.8% of the population and means I’m highly introverted. Fellow introverts know that social situations such as life at the office can be extremely stressful. Here are a few tips to help you get through the day.

6. App of the week: Scannable
Mobile phones have become a lifeline for most business people these days. For anybody who has already discovered the wonders of Evernote, the clever developers have added Scannable to its rank of really useful apps.

7. 5 soft skills that ensure success
When employers are looking for the right PA candidate, they search for somebody who has business and technical knowledge, but they also want somebody with excellent people skills. These are the five essential soft skills that will ensure career success no matter the industry, according to workplace speaker Antonio Neves.

8. Win a VIP Safari Tour for six people at Longleat
Longleat estate is nestled in Wiltshire, the heart of England’s rural West Country. It spans 900 acres and is home to the first Safari Drive-Through outside of Africa, as well as the exquisite Elizabethan Longleat House, which remains family home to three generations of the Thynn family. Longleat is offering one lucky PA Life reader the chance to win a VIP Safari Tour for six people.

9. Take our survey and win Matchday Hospitality at Stamford Bridge
At PA Life, we’re devoted to producing content that you want to read. We’d like to get some feedback from our readers to help us tailor our content to your needs. In exchange, our survey sponsor Stamford Bridge is offering three lucky participants the chance to win two Matchday Hospitality tickets each.

10. How to increase your chances of getting a pay rise
Asking for a pay rise is never a fun conversation to have with your boss, but it has to be done if you want to receive the right compensation for what you do. The worst that can come of it is a “no” from your employer, so there’s nothing to lose. Here’s a bit of advice from Glassdoor to increase your chances of success.