The Department of Health has launched a “vision and strategy” to support and develop the contribution of all nurses to the care of dementia patients.

The strategy, published as the Prime Minister’s Dementia Challenge reached its first anniversary, describes what is expected of general, “dementia skilled” and specialist nurses working across all care settings.

Significantly for industry, the strategy requires nurses to be “research aware and committed to delivering evidence-based care”.

Listing the values and behaviours necessary for nurses involved in dementia treatment and care, the strategy includes:

• recognising that dementia “brings cognitive, behavioural and physical changes”

• supporting advance care planning

• promoting patient choice and focusing on “strengths and unmet need”

• using “all available resources including networking, technology and social media to improve care and access to services”.

A pyramid of nursing care is outlined, with all nurses providing “usual care and support”, dementia skilled nurses providing “assisted care or care management”, and dementia specialist nurses providing “intensive or case management”.

Emphasis is placed on the need for “seamless” integrated care across a range of settings: home, community and hospital.

The strategy addresses the responsibilities of nurses not only in the NHS but also in social care, the prison service and the private and voluntary sectors.

Pauline Watts, DH Nurse Lead for Dementia Care, commented on the launch of the strategy: “Dementia is every nurse’s business – with a change in mindset, practice, commissioning and education, nurses can make a real difference to people living with dementia and their carers and families.”

Apodi’s Jan Cox discusses four vital stages to ensure your next job provides everything you could have wished for this Christmas. 

For the employer and employee alike, stability can be a dangerous illusion, particularly in the current economic climate. It is inevitable that markets and organisations will change and adapt in response to the economic, commercial and political pressures that exist – and this will impact on both the recruiting organisation and the candidate.

In my previous article, Stability: a dangerous illusion?, I stressed that: “For a lot of people, the pharmaceutical industry has provided a stable career over many years. For example, there are many sales representatives who have had a successful career fundamentally doing the same job in the same way and often for the same employer. Whilst there will always be a need for sales representatives within the industry, the number has fallen and will continue to fall. And for many, the role itself will change and demand the acquisition of new skills and knowledge.

Some companies are addressing the need to change rather quicker than others. Those that are slow to act may be creating a situation where some employees still feel they are operating in a relatively stable environment. This may be a dangerous illusion because it is almost guaranteed that the changing environment within the industry will impact on most employees – and probably sooner rather than later.”
From my experience I believe there are four key stages for employees to build a successful career and secure the RIGHT job in such a dynamic marketplace.

STAGE 1: Assessing what companies want
World class organisations understand the importance of the recruitment process and the need to find the right people. Jack Welch, one of the most famous business leaders of the 20th century, stated: “nothing matters more in winning than getting the right people in the field. All the clever strategies and advanced technologies are nowhere near as effective without great people to put them to work.” His company, General Electric, had an extensive recruitment process which tested for integrity, intelligence and maturity. Its hiring framework focused on finding people who had positive energy, the ability to energise others, the courage to make tough ‘yes or no decisions’, the ability to execute and get the job done and finally passion.
Conversely, McKinsey, the world renowned consulting organisation, looks for people who:

• Are of above average intelligence
• Possess a record of achievement at a good university and business school
• Show evidence of achievement in all previous jobs
• Demonstrate extraordinary analytical ability

Clearly there are different themes running through the recruitment requirements of these two companies, and naturally so, given the differing nature of the services they deliver. However, it is possible to find differences even when looking at the recruitment process for similar roles in competing companies in the same industry sector.

For example, pharmaceutical companies often look for different attributes when recruiting for sales representatives. A typical job advert may stress the need for the following from applicants:

• Experienced sales representative with at least two years’ experience in similar roles
• University degree
• Sales to be delivered through the company’s selling process/model

Interestingly, the Gallup Organisation has found in extensive studies that education has often little, if any, influence on an individual’s ability to sell; the learning curve in most sales jobs is relatively short and only rarely is there a correlation between experience and results; and that the most successful sales people sell in different ways using different strengths – following a strict sales process/model is more likely to hinder top performers than to help them.

Therefore, many companies are looking for more innovative and different assessment criteria when recruiting for sales roles. It was for this reason that my own company, Apodi, developed the recruitment model above. This model primarily focuses on a candidate’s:

• Talents/strengths
• Competencies
• Cultural fit
• Mental toughness

It is clear that companies are often looking for different things even when recruiting for similar roles. In some cases, even the most sophisticated companies will be looking for attributes that don’t, in fact, have a significant influence on a person’s ability to perform the job effectively. However, at this stage of the process, all applicants can at least find out what really is important in each company’s assessment criteria before they apply. This can be done by contacting the agency involved or the company itself. Also, in this age of networking and social media it should not be too difficult to contact people who are current employees of that company.

STAGE 2: Preparing for success
In this rapidly changing marketplace all employees should understand that planning for success and finding the best career does not start simply a month before the decision to find a new job. Building a successful sales career depends on a long-term view of career development and should include the following:

• Find out what your underlying strengths are. For long-term career success these are much more relevant than your education or experience. The Gallup Organisation identified 34 different strengths – each one of which may play an important part in a sales process depending on the role itself. The key for each individual is to understand what those strengths are and which selling roles will best suit them
• Take charge of your own personal development. Most companies now ask representatives to have a sound knowledge of the changing NHS and how that impacts commercially on the pharmaceutical industry
• Prepare a CV that stresses the following:
• Your key strengths and why this has ensured success in the past
• Your knowledge of the changing NHS
• Experience, education etc – whilst these are not necessarily predictors of success, employers often still stress the need for them
• Undertake market research. Research which companies are most suited to you. It would not be too unfair to suggest that the world of the pharmaceutical sales representative is quite incestuous and most representatives are prepared to give their opinion and information on current and past employers

STAGE 3: Sourcing the appropriate job
Most prospective applicants are well versed in the various methods of sourcing jobs. These include registering with agencies, searching through job sections in newspapers and magazines, online searches and approaching companies directly. A direct, personal approach can be very powerful. One of the greatest leaders in American sport, basketball coach, John Wooden, gave the following advice to organisations: “When hiring, be diligent in discerning what the individual’s motives are. Be alert for those who express a strong desire to join and contribute to your team and have some understanding of who and what your organisation is all about. Recruiting should be a two way street.”

STAGE 4: Choosing the right opportunity
Hopefully, the above process ensures that an applicant has a number of choices when deciding on their next career move. Typically, the final decision will involve factors such as remuneration, benefits, training and development, and promotion opportunities. There are also some other considerations that are often overlooked.

Many companies’ mission statements and credos state something along the lines of: ‘The company wishes to attract, develop, motivate and retain exceptional people.’ Despite this, the rigour companies apply to the recruitment process differs significantly from one business to the next. Consider choosing the company that takes recruitment seriously – it almost certainly reflects the fact that they really stand by the mission statement, rather than just talk about it.

Also, judge the company by the manager you are going to be working for. Managers have a huge influence on your career, your motivation and your ability to do the job – a good one will take you to the stars, a bad one will stifle you.

Finding a job is tough; but finding the right job is even tougher. If you are focused on developing a successful career you must give it the attention and energy it deserves. Judge the role on how it fits with your talents/strengths and assess the company’s ability to let you utilise these to maximum effect.

Jan Cox is the Resourcing Director at Apodi and can be reached on jan.cox@apodi.co.uk

Roche plans to use the Twitter-based Diabetes Nest social network as a means to interact in real time with diabetes patients, carers and health professionals.

The company’s diabetes care business will sponsor the site, run by agency Ignite Health, which collects, sorts and ranks tweets from diabetes experts.

Roche Diabetes Care will also add a widget with content from the Diabetes Nest to the company’s community web page, Accu-Chek Diabetes Link.

The Diabetes Nest sends the week’s top 10 curated tweets to community members via an e-newsletter.

Rob Muller, Associate Marketing Manager for Roche Diabetes Care, said: “We are very proud to support such a great resource that can help people with diabetes stay up to date with their friends on Twitter, or even help them discover more of the diabetes online community there.”

Fabio Gratton, Chief Experience Officer at Ignite Health, explained the site’s rationale: “Social media have transformed how patients and their caregivers share healthcare information and find support. But the sheer volume of content can be overwhelming.

“So we asked ourselves how we could best help the diabetes community find and engage in the most timely, relevant and important conversations. The result is a simple, intuitive, compelling and ultimately self-sustaining diabetes social media community.”

“The Diabetes Nest highlights many of the most influential voices and topics in the diabetes Twittersphere, helping to raise the collective voice of our community,” commented health blogger Kerri Sparling.

“The Diabetes Nest gives a cumulative snapshot into what real life with diabetes is really like.”

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has partnered with two major IT service providers to develop its digital marketing capability.

The new multi-million dollar contract with software services provider Infosys and digital marketing specialist Fabric Worldwide will enable the UK’s largest pharmaceutical company to harvest market insights from social networking sites.

GSK and its IT partners will develop a new service, Global Digital Services (GDS), to improve the company’s digital engagement with customers across its pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare businesses.

The service will use the cloud-based Digital Marketing Platform developed by Infosys and Fabric Worldwide, which brings together technology and marketing expertise, to build digital assets and improve customer interaction.

A major aspect of the new system is the ability to collect and interpret data from social networking sites in order to gain and leverage customer insights.

The platform will allow teams to share information. GSK’s IT partners will also provide digital marketing services around brand and agency liaison.

“We recognise that our customers, consumers and other external stakeholders increasingly want to engage with us online,” said Phil Benton, VP, Global Digital Services at GSK Core Business Services. “Global Digital Services will enable us to provide globally standard processes, scalable assets and advanced analytics to support better and more efficient engagement with these external audiences.”

V.G. Dheeshjith, Senior VP and Global Head of Life Sciences at Infosys, commented: “In the coming years, pharmaceutical companies will be heavily leveraging digital media to connect with their sales force, customers, physicians and key opinion leaders in the industry.”

According to Neil Miller, Joint CEO of Fabric WW, the new digital marketing platform “will greatly enhance GSK’s ability to consistently understand consumer signals from digital channels, across all brands in all markets, and react faster to the insight they gain.”

The MSI Consultancy has appointed Tracy Baker as a consultant.

Baker has over seven years’ experience of sales and marketing in the pharmaceutical industry, and has also set up and run technology and property companies.

Most recently Senior Product Manager at Novartis, with responsibility for a range of hypertension and diabetes drugs, she has also been a Product Manager for Wyeth.

Her expertise covers strategic planning and the positioning and execution of brand strategies, with specific knowledge of diabetes therapies.

Jon Bircher, Managing Director of MSI, said: “Tracy has a strong entrepreneurial spirit and solid pharmaceutical background which helps her provide fresh, insightful and current advice and expertise to our clients.

“She has already started to shake up MSI’s offerings in the digital and social media space, and we look forward to offering our clients new and exciting services in the very near future.”

The MSI Consultancy is a specialist pharmaceutical marketing strategy consultancy based in Farnham, Surrey.

Pfizer has been crowned the leading pharmaceutical company for their presence on Facebook and Twitter, a new study has found.

Cegedim Strategic Data (CSD) found the pharma-giant had the third-most ‘likes’ on Facebook and had more followers on Twitter than industry rivals. Novartis were ranked overall in second with Merck & Co in third position.

Christopher Wooden, Vice President, Promotion Audits for CSD, says the audit highlights how the industry is improving its social media footprint.

The study was conducted worldwide and focused on the top 100 pharmaceutical companies in terms of traditional sales force and marketing channel spending. CSD then identified the top 30 pharma companies for their presence and healthcare-focused activities on Twitter and Facebook.

Behind Pfizer, Novartis was ranked seventeenth for ‘likes’ on Facebook and overall fifth on Twitter for its number of followers. Merck – which came first for the number of pages on Facebook – ranked tenth for the number of ‘likes’ it has received, third for the number of ‘tweets’ it has made on Twitter and fifteenth for its followers.

CSD found that J&J is second for the number of ‘likes’ on Facebook with Roche occupying the same position for its number of followers on Twitter.

“The CSD social media audit shows clearly that most major life science companies are establishing a presence in social media – but coverage, methods and sophistication do vary significantly,” said Christopher Wooden.

“In broad terms we see an attempt by companies to reach out and create a positive, on-going message about their contribution to better health. The ability to target that message and encourage constructive dialogue through social media will bring value to companies developing this new channel.”

Despite huge investments into CRM systems some pharma companies still struggle to get all of their staff to embrace and fully interact with them. Pf’s Iain Bate explores why, and what the future holds for technology in the industry.

There’s no doubt that technological developments have changed the way we live and work from year to year – maybe even from month to month in the 21st Century. But has the world of healthcare been travelling in the slow lane of the intergalactic highway?

The potential that technology offers to pharma, and the general world of healthcare, is enormous. But is the pharmaceutical industry, and its staff in particular, using it to maximise the returns of billion-dollar investments?

It would seem that technology is the ‘buzz word’ on the lips of a few of healthcare’s major players at present. The DH recently invited people to nominate their favourite health-related mobile phone ‘app’ – be it for keeping fit, to locate a hospital or chemist, or helping to manage an illness. Creative minds were also asked to design their own health app with a panel of DH judges deciding on their favourite from the most popular entries.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley says it’s the Government’s intention to give people better access to information using modern technology and the exercise is a “unique opportunity for the NHS and those who develop apps to not only showcase their work, but to bring to life new ideas and realise true innovation in healthcare”.

As part of the DH’s technology revolution, patients may also soon be offered online consultations with their GPs using programmes such as Skype. Clearly the Government is embracing the convenience technology offers to patients, but are other sectors in healthcare as interested? It would seem there is still some way to go.

 

In two minds

Pf ’s 2010/11 annual Company Perception, Motivation and Satisfaction Survey suggests that not all respondents are completely convinced by the power of technology in the workplace. Although the Survey – which relates to 2010 and the early part of this year – found that nearly 90% of respondents have access to a CRM system, only 43% find time to use it in the field and more than a fifth of people fail to accurately record post-call reports with important clients.

Questions have to be asked as to why, despite multimillion pound investment and training by pharma companies, there remains a percentage of staff that still ignore the power and potential of the technology at their finger tips.

Results from the Survey reveal there’s no difference in uptake by key account managers, primary and secondary care representatives, those in primary care roles only, firstline sales managers and secondline sales managers and the use of CRM technology between differing age groups – although surprisingly 10% of respondents in these positions with less than two years of experience said they did not have a CRM system, compared to just 5% more experienced colleagues.

The launch of the iPad in March 2010 promised to revolutionise the way sales representatives, and those in similar roles, use CRM systems in the field. However, nearly three-quarters (70%) of respondents from the Survey are still presently sent out with laptops containing their customer-relationship systems.

When quizzed on what they’d change about the hardware which houses their system, the majority of respondents said that their CRM was too awkward to carry, with poor running systems an issue and that batteries ran out too quickly. Apple claims its second-generation iPad now enjoys ten hours of use away from a plug socket in the field.

Yet the switch to the latest convenient tablet devices may not necessarily be about high levels of investment, it may be down to maximising value for money as Paul Shawah, Vice President, Multi Channel Strategy, Veeva Systems explains. “I would say the life cycle of devices within the industry is generally about three years, sometimes a little bit longer,” he said. “When a company invests in new technology they typically depreciate that over that period, so they don’t want to replace it in the field for that time to maximise their investment.

“However, with the introduction of game changing technology like the iPad, this has changed. We see a number of our pharmaceutical customers are justifying the business case to move to the iPad even before their tablets are fully depreciated. This speaks to the business benefit that pharma expects to achieve from the iPad and the related applications only available on that device.”

A convenient shield

Despite technology eliminating mundane process in the workplace and offering the potential to assist employees and improve their efficiency at work, it has historically been used as a shield to mask poor performance and abused as a means to waste company time – a recent online survey by AOL found that nearly half of Americans (44.7%) rank surfing the web as their primary activity during the two hours they ‘waste’ each day at work.

But it would seem that a high number of respondents do value the opportunities CRM offers. Almost two-thirds (64%) said they always enter correctly the amount of customer sales they make into their CRM. But 21% admitted they fail to always report face-to-face meetings with clients. More surprisingly, over a fifth of participants said they do not always record the number of products they had sold to clients.

The lack of honest accuracy is surprising considering the amount of time spent using CRM systems each day. A third said they spend between one and two hours a day on their system with a fifth spending three hours or more on their CRM. During their time using the management system, more than half (55%) said that call reporting was the most useful feature.

Although respondents were less impressed with the KAM abilities of their software with only 19% believing it to be the most useful facility. When questioned about what they would change given the chance, 45% said they wanted an improved database, over a quarter (28%) called for their system to be overall more useful, and 18% said they would prefer their CRM to be easier to use.

 

The next level

But what of the future of CRM systems? Will they be easier to use and have improved customer databases? David Round, General Manager, UK, Cegedim Relationship Management, says the regular interaction we now have with technology means we’ve all come to expect the latest developments.

“End users are significantly more ‘technology-savvy’ than their counterparts of even five years ago,” he explained. “If anything, the challenge for companies is to ensure that they provide their end users with the types of technology that they use as consumers. It’s also important to focus on the usability of your software to ensure maximum use. Technology companies – and pharma – must work together to develop a better understanding of the interaction, to ensure it meets users’ needs in the field.”

One main reason that users have become more ‘savvy’ is down to the use and interaction with social media. Whether at home or at work, websites such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and most recently Google+ have driven an increased use of various forms of technology – especially on devices such as smartphones or tablet devices which reps are calling for in the field.

Pharma companies, both in the US and UK, have flirted with the idea of fully embracing the power social media harnesses, but at present are restricted by the PMCPA’s Code of Practice and by the FDA – who has again delayed the publication of its guidance.

The FDA says it is “difficult to provide a timeframe... due to the extensive work and review process, or ‘Good Guidance Practices’, which ensures that FDA’s stakeholders are provided well vetted guidances articulating FDA’s current thinking on a topic”.

Although the FDA may be unsure on how to direct healthcare companies, David Round believes the introduction, both professionally and personally, of social media has had an impact on staff and their expectations.

“For the modern professional person, much of their everyday life is conducted online – for example on shopping, utilities, insurance or booking a holiday – and many users then want the same level of capability from the tools they use in their job,” he added.

Dan Goldsmith, General Manager, Veeva Europe, agrees there has been a significant shift in the way we operate and interact due to our experiences online through tagged posts or hash-tagged searches. But although the 800 million users on Facebook – more than half which ‘log-on’ every day – and 175 million people on Twitter have no problem saying hello to friends, pharma finds it more difficult reaching out to people.

“Social media create a new avenue for healthcare dialogue and will only continue to pervade our lives,” said Dan. “Consequently, I believe that pharma faces two challenges. The first is to decide how to participate in the online dialogue with stakeholders and then to create those interactions through the channels we’re all familiar with, such as Facebook and Twitter.

“The second is to figure out how to leverage the model of social dialogue internally to support stronger collaboration and more focused communication among employees. Already, we see some companies taking advantage of the latest social business tools to connect employees with one another and to access and share information in real time.”

Clearly CRM solution providers understand the potential modern technology and social media platforms offer to companies. Whether pharma and its workforce get fully up to speed on the intergalactic highway sooner or later remains to be seen.

Medical technologies that advance the QIPP agenda by saving healthcare providers time and cost were the focus of an event featuring Government and NHS speakers alongside demonstrations of groundbreaking new technologies.

The inaugural Healthcare Efficiency through Technology Expo (pictured), held at Olympia Two, London, combined a high-level conference with an exhibition dedicated to solutions for more efficient patient care.

Speakers at the conference included Dr Mahmood Adil, National QIPP Advisor – Clinical & Finance Engagement at the DH; Lord Nigel Crisp, Permanent Secretary of the Department of Health; and Bob Alexander, Director of NHS Finance.

Dr Adil identified the challenge for the NHS of achieving £20 billion of savings through the QIPP programme, arguing that “Efficiency without quality is unthinkable, and quality without efficiency is unsustainable.”

Dame Fiona Caldicott, Chair of the National Information Governance Board for Health and Social Care, led a discussion on the challenges of information governance and security in the use of electronic healthcare systems.

Chris Chant, Executive Director, Digital at the Cabinet Office, discussed the Government’s digital strategy and said that a new cloud framework, G Cloud, will be in place by the end of this year to help IT providers deliver services to government.

The exhibition featured an area dedicated to Apps and Social Media for Healthcare. A Patient Journey feature, sponsored by 3M, showed the role of technology in pursuing the QIPP agenda in every phase of the care process: primary care, A&E, the operating theatre, the hospital ward and follow-up care at home.

Dr Simon Collins, Clinical Lead, MedOCC, Medway Community Healthcare, called the event “an inspiring and thought-provoking overview of the many ways that technology has been used to improve efficiency and also patient care in many parts of the NHS.”

He added: “I came away inspired that the QIPP agenda may not be such an impossible dream – and that the effective use of technology will be crucial in making it a reality.”

Next year’s Healthcare Efficiency through Technology Expo is set for 23 October 2012.

Pfizer’s social media account at Facebook has been hacked by activists.

The ‘Script Kiddies’ group changed the account’s profile picture, company description, and dubbed the pharma company a “corrupt giant”.

One of the ‘hacktivists’ from the group boasted of the ease of which the page was accessed claiming “one Google search and I’m in”.

The social media account has since been removed by Pfizer.

It is now working closely with Facebook and has vowed to pass on any learned lessons to other pharma companies.

“We want to see exactly how this happened and ensure that it never happens again,” said Ray Kerins, VP, External Affairs and Worldwide Communications, Pfizer.

“When we do find out what happened, we will share the learnings with other [pharma] companies,” he said. “I don’t want this to happen to any other companies.”

The breach is topical in light of the recent global media coverage of the hacking scandal at the News of the World, and the question of anonymity and identity safety.

Getting a job through social media is not as easy as it may seem, but if you use this phenomenon wisely, it is possible to enhance your job search with it.

Mainstream media, some of your peers and social media itself may have you believe that anyone can find a job through social networking, just by embracing the medium wholeheartedly. Whilst enthusiasm is a benefit, it needs to be combined with a degree of wisdom if social media is to work as a useful job searching tool for you. Here are five ways for the online job seeker to be wise:

1)    Online reputation management is key

Carefully crafting specific tweets, Facebook updates and LinkedIn discussions targeted at potential employers is great, but keep in mind that employers can see all your status updates, photos, videos and groups, not just the ones you particularly want them to see. Unless you lock your social networking profiles, potential employers can view them even if you don’t initially contact them through one of these sites. They can just Google your name and some of the first results shown will be for your social networking profiles. So if you want a new job, it’s time to remove anything inappropriate from your profiles and to make all your online contributions professional. That said, it’s just as possible to make a positive impression on a social network as it is to leave a negative one. If you’re looking for a new job in publishing because you’re interested in books and printing, be sure to actually list these as your interests so potential employers can see how you’d fit into the industry.

2)    Be Smart with where you go

As open and accessible as social media is, possible new bosses aren’t going to come running to you as soon as you announce you’re looking for a job. You’ll have to seek them out, because it’s unlikely that they’ll actively seek you out. Twitter has an array of applications that can help you find potential employers and useful contacts. Directories like Twellow aid users in seeking out people in particular fields; keyword trackers such as Monitter highlight who’s using terms specific to your industry; and you can use apps like Twitscoop to track trends and events related to the type of work you’re interested in. On both Facebook and LinkedIn you can join groups discussing your targeted career areas, with the latter additionally possessing a Q&A function where you ask and answer the questions that will draw you into a network of potentially useful contacts. For a more comprehensive set of tips on how to harness LinkedIn for your job search read this eBook: 125 LinkedIn Job Search Tips.

3)    Network with the right people

Communicating with potentially useful contacts is about more than just asking them if they know of any job vacancies. It’s vital to spend time building up an online relationship with the relevant players so that even if they can’t immediately think of anything that would suit you, they’ll remember you if something comes up further along the line. By all means speak with people about your job hunt, skills set and ideal industry; just be sure not to make it all about you. What defines a relationship, both offline and online, is that it works both ways. Respond to your contacts’ online requests for help and contribute to the discussions started by them. Not only does it show that you’re willing to give as well as take, but it also demonstrates your expert knowledge of their particular industry or field.

4)    Be curious and open to learning

As important as it is to showcase both interest in and knowledge of your chosen industry, it’s just as important to show that you’re eager to learn and to build up your skills. Ask industry players for advice on your job search, use group discussions to get clear on things you’re unsure of, and read others’ conversations and discussions. You can also use social media to build up your experience and skill set offline. Even if a contact doesn’t know of any paid positions for you, you can press them for information on volunteering or work experience opportunities. If you’re actually aiming to gain some voluntary work experience before finding a paid job, connect with the voluntary sector experts who can sort you out with opportunities suited to your desired career path.

5)    Make sure not to limit yourself

Social media is a useful job search tool, but it shouldn’t be your only job search tool. Combine it with both offline and other online strategies like looking at relevant organisations’ websites, going to industry events and making use of your existing contacts.

Nisa Chitakasem is the founder of Career Change Specialists Position Ignition. Visit: www.positionignition.com or email: enquiries@positionignition.com to contact Nisa.