Guest this week: Are you thinking of taking your first steps into the third sector? Elaine Smethurst, head of workforce development at the National Council of Voluntary Organisations, talks about the charity sector's resilience during the recession, what could happen when the sector's funding cycle comes to an end next year and identifies social care and fundraising as the biggest areas of opportunity. She also has some tips for career changers.
News review: We urge rejected applicants to be persistent, following the news that unsuccessful job applicants often bear grudges towards companies, we explore a new wave of innovative recruitment campaigns designed to attract and test talent (including a new video game from Dutch law firm Houthhoff Buruma) and ask how important is height to career success?
Also in the pod: On the subject of the creative recruitment campaigns, we talk to Nicholas Wellings, a student who is just finishing his AS Levels at Sixth Form in Sheffield. He got involved in Think Big — a recruitment challenge from the company Big Yellow Self Storage — where young people can compete for a placement on a training internship with the company's digital marketing team. The scheme is still open, if you're interested in trying your luck via one of these new wave of recruitment strategies.
Plus, we're joined by Careers site Job Goddess, Clare Whitmell. The JobMarketSuccess.com blogger shares some thoughts on why interviews are tricky – whichever side of the desk you're on.
Q&A review: Guide to assessment centres — Alison White has some highlights from the Q&A including why you don't need to 'win' set tasks to impress assessors and some tips on preparing for psychometric tests.
The jobs top 10: Keeping with the charity theme, third sector roles dominate this week's chart, including a children's centre manager role at Action for Children and a campaign project manager for the British Heart Foundation.
For more information — and, of course, more jobs — go to jobs.guardian.co.uk.
Q&As coming up:
16 June: What else can a youth worker do? First in a series exploring career progression and alternative options for a range of professionals
17 June: Working in digital advertising
Remember: Tip of the week has become Dear Julian, so post your workplace woes and burning questions in the comments section below, on this blog or over in the Careers forum, and Julian Linley will address them in the podcast.
