Supplies retailer, Brother UK, has analysed 12 months of Google search data and has revealed the most popular jobs from each country in the world.

British workers are keen to take on teaching roles, with over 288,000 people searching Google for teaching assistant jobs in the last 12 months, the data shows.

Teaching assistant came out top for England, Scotland and Wales, however, nursing came up trumps in Northern Ireland.

Estate agent jobs are the second most-googled job in the UK, with 105,700 searches, followed by project manager with 99,300 and prison officer with 98,400.

With the advances in the digital age and the interest in social media, photography jobs have also skyrocketed in popularity, contributing to skills required to manage and market social media platforms.

Jobs in the public sector were notably high, with social work, counselling, and nursing all appearing in the top 10.

It seems the UK has high demand for these jobs, too, with secondary education teaching professionals, social workers and nurses all appearing on the UK’s shortage occupation list.

Britain’s most Googled jobs from the last 12 months:

• Teaching assistant (288,400)
• Estate agent (105,700)
• Project manager (99,300)
• Prison officer (98.400)
• Accountant (88,800)
• Social worker (85,500)
• Councillor (82,500)
• Photographer (81,000)
• Graphic designer (74,700)

In Europe, translator won the title of most-googled job, with most searches coming from Spain.

A translator in Spain can expect to earn approximately €19,715 (£17,645) a year.

Visual merchandising came a close second, with more than 10,000 searches for these roles coming from Germany. German Glassdoor users voted IKEA as the best company to work for in this field.

Surprisingly, the term “music jobs” came in third place – most popular in Italy, where it was the most-google job sector overall.

Combining all the countries from around the globe, mechanical engineering came in at first place.

With education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) becoming increasingly desirable, the profession boasted nearly one million searches in the past year – most coming from India.

In India, on average, a mechanical engineer will be paid Rs 340,000 a year – equivalent to £3,663.

While the cost of living is much higher in the UK, mechanical engineers can expect to make around £30,449 a year, according to figures from PayScale.

The most Googled jobs in the world:

• Mechanical engineering (511,440)
• Accountant (406,920)
• Teaching assistant (274,560)
• Chemical engineering (52,800)
• Civil engineering (37,800)
• Graphic designer (32,840)
• Social worker (23,880)

Credit – Helen – Newsdesk – Recruiting Times

In addition to this, the study which surveyed over 1,300 UK employees, found that Instagram was the social media channel of choice for people to pass the time during their working day (36%) and the most popular hours for employee social media usage were between 3pm-5pm (47%).

Paul Holcroft, Associate Director at Croner, said:

“The number of business owners calling our employment advice line about social media use in the workplace has risen considerably over the past five years. Traditionally employers have had a knee-jerk reaction to social media, some wanting to dismiss employees for gross misconduct. However, this could result in claims for unfair dismissal.”

“Additionally, when faced with such situations, employers may also want to introduce a complete ban on accessing social media sites during work time. While this is an understandable approach, employers need to consider the potential benefits for their business if employees make positive use of social media. It is completely acceptable for employers to limit internet use during times when employees are expected to be working as it obviously has an impact on productivity. However, access could be offered before or after work, or during official breaks. Whatever an employer chooses it is important that they have the right policies in place which clearly set out what employees can and can’t do.”

“High-profile legal cases involving Twitter and Facebook users at work should serve as a warning to employers of the dangers of not having clear policies in place. Even though social media still presents itself as a challenge to many businesses it doesn’t have to. And if companies want to be seen as innovative, exciting and dynamic then they may wish to hop on the social media bandwagon and start to future-proof their business with a social media policy. A social media policy should set out clear rules on the use of social media and if appropriate, provide some positive guidelines on responsible use.”

Credit – Chris McColgan – Recruitment Buzz

Claire is a founding Director of Bain and Gray. Claire was approached to join a growing recruitment agency as a permanent consultant in 1998. She was then invited to join a leading boutique agency where she became a well-known name in the Secretarial Recruitment Industry before establishing Bain and Gray in 2009.

Social media is used for a number of reasons, including networking, sharing ideas and keeping up with the latest news and developments around the world. It’s no surprise then to see so many businesses using the likes of Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn to share new job advertisements to draw in some of the best talent out there.

For example, in 2017, Akosua Boadi-Agyemang turned to LinkedIn to share her career aspirations, tagging the then Microsoft CEO, Jeff Weiner, in her post. She then went on to land an internship with the tech giant, proving just how powerful using social media to look for a position can be. At Bain and Gray, we utilise social media to share out latest job postings, as it is a great way to receive instant updates from potential candidates looking for new PA or EA roles.

This increasing trend has now led to more job hunters using their own profiles to seek out new opportunities, especially among the PA circuit. However, if you are looking to find a role in this way it is worth ensuring your own social media profiles are up-to-date and represent you in the best possible light. For example, if your media streams are full of images of you out partying it may be worth removing them.

Think about the pages you ‘like’, the posts you write, the things you share and the photos you’re tagged in. No one is asking you not to be yourself, but it is all about being sensible and having a positive digital footprint. Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are highly searchable and appear at the very top of Google searches, so making sure all your social media accounts are secure is crucial.

The most common transgressions on social media that have reflected negatively on potential job applicants and led employers to make the decision not to hire as a result, include:

Provocative or inappropriately suggestive photographs (46%)

Information about drinking or doing drugs (40%)

Negative statements about previous employers or fellow employees (34%)

Weak communication skills (30%)

Comments inciting discrimination (29%)

To help with your job search, we have put together a collection of helpful tips for assistants seeking new roles:

Brand yourself

Your social media profile is the perfect backdrop to showcase your interests and what you can do. For example, if you attend regular PA networking events, share these details so that potential employers know you are serious about the role and are willing to work out of hours. If you also have a personal blog or portfolio you can link to, here is the place to do it, too.

Avoid clichés

Try and ditch using buzzwords in your bio such as ‘passionate’, ‘enthusiastic’ and ‘bubbly’. These are common phrases that employers are used to reading when seeking a new applicant. Instead try and be creative and inject some personality into your description to grab their attention.

Stay active

By following or creating conversations with experts in the industry you will more than likely impress employers and remain memorable in a sea of competition. This may not lead to a job offer; however, it will demonstrate that you are an engaged member of the PA industry who takes their role seriously. It is beneficial to link in with bloggers and mentors who may have experience and information to help your future career too, so make sure you continually are networking with the right professional people. 

Job search

Having a scroll through Twitter, Facebook and even Instagram you’ll likely come across new positions daily. Search for relevant hashtags to help with your job hunt and reach out to recruiters or employers to express your interest – again it may not always be the most successful route to find your dream role in the industry, however, you will grow your presence online and someone may notice.

Keep details up-to-date

Finally, one of the most important things to consider is to make sure your social media profiles are current and up-to-date. This is probably most relevant to LinkedIn, so it is worth reading over your profile, checking that your employment history is refreshed and any experience relevant to your next role is clearly indicated.

Bain & Gray

Leaders in permanent and temporary secretarial recruitment

www.bainandgray.com

Tel: 020 7036 2030