Research career types and employers
Research employers – who are they and where do they advertise? You will be amazed how many employers are out there when you start looking!
Find out what is required in the roles you are interested in by looking at the job adverts.
Think about the skills you need and how you can convince an employer you have them – it’s important to back up what you are saying with evidence. Remember, anyone can say they have good customer service skills but can you prove it with something you have done previously?
Put a CV together by matching your skills to the job you are looking for – it is crucial to tailor your CV to the job so don’t be afraid to adapt your CV when you are using it each time!
Think about how to fill the gaps with anything you don’t have – eg experience or qualifications. If a job role is asking for something you haven’t got, then you need to do something to make sure you have it!
How to find job opportunities:
Job / company websites – there are many different websites out there and using a variety of them will help you find more opportunities.
Newspapers – quite old school but still a recognised method.
Networking – making contacts (personal or social media etc) – it is true, ‘it is about who you know.’ But with the world of social media, this is made much easier. The likes of twitter, facebook and linkedin make this much easier so make the most of them.
Recruitment agencies – still a very useful friend in many cases and lots of them specialise in certain job roles so use them to your advantage.
Work Experience / Voluntary work – this can often lead to employment because you are suddenly known by the company, have a chance to impress outside of the usual interview process, and you know things like the ‘values’ of the company you are working for.
Approaching employers – speculative approaches or approaching employers you don’t know can feel like a scary thing but can be very effective. As many as 70% of jobs are never advertised because of job seeking tactics like this.
Online – Is your profile employer ready?
Social Media
Social Media has changed over recent years and and is now used as a platform to advertise employment and also seek employment. This is the first place employers now advertise, as it’s free and reaches thousands of potential employees.
Social media is a great way to stay connected with friends, family and stuff you like, but with some tweaks and a slightly different focus, it can also be a powerful tool for attracting potential employers.
Show them the best version of you
Posting about your passions, projects and achievements lets employers know that you are ambitious, productive and talented outside of work. Even things you might consider normal could contribute towards making a great impression.
Having an opinion, views on current events and more generally just expressing your individuality is great, but how you express yourself can have an impact on the way employers may see you. Posting content with profanities, abusive language, lewd remarks etc can reflect really poorly on you, especially if taken out of context. So when you post something online, keep this in mind.
Your photos
This isn’t about what effects you use with your images – but more about which pictures you choose to put online. Your account might have all the privacy settings turned on, but it doesn’t mean that all your pictures are completely untraceable, so think twice about the photos you post or others post of you. When you’re looking for work, do you really want a potential employer seeing them?
Don’t publish a status or leave tagged photos of yourself online which could paint a less than desirable picture. Consider who’s going to see it and how it might come across.
Show them the best version of you
Posting about your passions, projects and achievements lets employers know that you are ambitious, productive and talented outside of work. Even things you might consider normal could contribute towards making a great impression.
Having an opinion, views on current events and more generally just expressing your individuality is great, but how you express yourself can have an impact on the way employers may see you. Posting content with profanities, abusive language, lewd remarks etc can reflect really poorly on you, especially if taken out of context. So when you post something online, keep this in mind.
Contact Us
We aim to help you explore career opportunities to achieve, progress and gain meaningful paid employment.
Have any questions or need more information?
Fill in the form or call the team:
01656 302 302
