First of all hope you all had a Merry Christmas and also have great New Year.

As you can imagine this week has been quiet although there has been some searching which has led to a few CV's been sent. I've also been reading some good advice articles about working abroad.

I have had a lot of encouragement this week from places I expected (family and friends) and also from places I didn't!

The search continues.

Thanks and Happy New Year!

Hi gerrysharpe thanks for the reply.

Without being vague I am looking at all angles and will consider most things if they are desirable. I guess ideally something in Teesside PAYE or something further afield (Europe/UAE etc..) that would pay well on a interim/contract basis. I have experience in construction and more recently FMCG.

Best regards,

Originally Posted by: gerrysharpe

Originally Posted by: jchc

Hi gerrysharpe thanks for the reply.

Without being vague I am looking at all angles and will consider most things if they are desirable. I guess ideally something in Teesside PAYE or something further afield (Europe/UAE etc..) that would pay well on a interim/contract basis. I have experience in construction and more recently FMCG.

Best regards,

I looked on Indeed yesterday and theres hundreds of  jobs there, But i was looking at London.  My experiance is in Construction which to me is very well paid but you do need to go to where the job is so travelling from Teeside to London every day is a no no. 

Some Construction jobs are paying as much as £56 an hour, Contract for 18 months, I'm guessing London is nearer than Dubai in case you get fed up!

Good Luck, I'll let you know if i hear anything in Teeside

Thanks gerrysharpe, I too have seen the amount of vacancies in the London area and the only thing that puts me off is the high cost of living that I hear about, quite happy to be proved wrong if you have some good advice. Many thanks,

Originally Posted by: gerrysharpe

You don't have to stay in London you could stay in a B&B outside london and comute, Plenty of places for £40/£50 a day with Breakfast around Romford, Dagenham, Ilford, and on a train you'll be in central london with 30 minutes,

I've know of people that live 5 days a week at Premier Inns for arounf £250 - £300 a week with Breakfast and going home at the weekends.

Its sounds alot but when your earning £1500 - £2000 a week its just another Tax expense. I've just looked on the travelodge website and can get a monday to friday week booked in London for £250 approx, They may give preferential rates if your there longer.

London does not need to be expensive

Good Luck and may 2017 be your Year

What a gloomy commentary on the state of our profession and much of our current economy. Jobs aplenty in London but slim pickings anywhere else. The thought of living in a B&B or cdheap hotel 5 days a week and commuting to/from home on a weekly basis is horrific to me.

I am very glad that I am not looking at that scenario and have much sympathy for any that are facing that choice.

I did the hotel routine in London for 3mths over summer 2016.

I found it to be a soul destroying way of living/working. Hotel rooms in London are very small - big enough for a bed thats it, in cheap hotels.

Constantly eating in restaurants is unhealthy. No cooking facilites in a hotel.

Originally Posted by: walker

If you "only" have H&S as a qualification & experience you are going to struggle away from the south east.

If you have engineering or electrical background as well,  I could point you to 2 H&S jobs on teeside available now.

Are you networking with IOSH branch folks in your area.

Hi walker, happy new year.

Unfortunatley no engineering or electrical background. I have been networking with friends/colleagues etc and I believe there to be some potential work on Teesside in the future which is encouraging, my current role ends at the end of February so still got some time to look and that may end up with working outside of Teesside, i.e. the South East, for a period of time.

I have not been able to make it to branch meetings due to work commitments but am hoping to get to the next one.

Thanks, 

Originally Posted by: rich459

Bit of a flooded market out there, my frustrations lie with the recruiters.

I lost my job a year ago and decided to set myself up as a limited company, I've had one 3 month contract in the last year and have applied for contract work all over the country, and permanant roles closer to home. I have  experience in Telecoms, manufacturing, engineering, civils and small construction projects. I have had 3 interviews all unsuccesful and can count on both hands the amount of times recruiters have contacted me. 2 weeks is a short but annoying time without work but please be prepared to wait a bit longer. I wish you all the best in your search.

Feel your pain. I have done three years of this, although only wanting to do one or two interims a year.

Registered with all the main H&S agencies, but still had to react to any obvious vacancies myself. Once done one contract with an agency, they will then (usually) get back to you with other openings. However, some are big, and subdivided, either geographically or sector, and this means you still need to trawl for yourself. Interim opportunities close very quickly, it can be frustrating. I try to contact a human first to check if a vacancy is still open, and also to talk myself into the head of the recruiter. The CV is just a back-up. Only rarely contacted from electronic application. Have plenty of text pre-prepared for inputting into applications to sell yourself.

The first contract was quite a distance, but near accomodating friends - in both senses. So I packed for a fortnight when I went to the interview, and started the 2 month contract the next day. The next two contracts wanted a start the week after the interview, so just time to get accomodation sorted.

It's not for everyone, and I limited work to half the year at most. The extra travel, meals, car parking, PI insurance, and other sundries add up, plus the time to web search, apply and arrange accommodation too. There are companies which specialise in finding contractor accommodation, but I did my own. It can be hard to make a decent profit, I was also paying quite a chunk to the umbrella company managing my tax affairs although they did a good job.

Since quitting this and closing my company, I have had quite a few of the agencies still contact me with openings, or just to keep udated, and I did get a permanent post via this network.

Its a matter of luck, sales technique, and then reputation, as doing interim work is quite different to taking on a permanent job, and recruiters are wary of lack of experience in switching to different settings and sectors.

Maybe this is an area you can big-up more. If you have moved around at all, switched roles, locations etc, even within one company, selling how quickly you can 'get it' and then 'get on with it', will no doubt influence your chance of being considered. 

there are a few on reed for teesside.

https://www.reed.co.uk/jobs/teesside?keywords=health+and+safety&#job31589366 

as an aside, it may be worth having a look at a book: 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Great-Answers-Tough-Interview-Questions/dp/074947145X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487092230&sr=8-1&keywords=great+answers+to+tough+interview+questions 

i tell everyone, (even self), however doing is something different. 

go to the IOSH events at teeside and nissan sunderland as word of mouth & relationships is better than anything on a website, take a few people out for a beer and ask for a walk round sites where you want to work, then you can find out who to target and what they're going to be looking for, when, and how you could fit requirements.