At this time of year, tens of thousands of students have completed their school, college or university studies. Are you one of them? If so, you may be wondering, ‘How do I get a job?’ You want to start earning and there may be pressure from family, yet where do you start? In this article, we offer advice on making those first steps on the career ladder.
Identify Your Skills from the Perspective of an Employer
During your studies, the focus is on the subjects you’re taking and the grades you achieve. So, you may be awaiting results or enjoying the success of graduation. While qualifications will open up more opportunities for you, employers are interested in more than your passes. They want to know what skills you can contribute to the team.
Here are a few examples of looking at what you can offer from a skills perspective:
‘I got a high grade in history’ becomes ‘In studying history, I learnt to research and collate information, draw conclusions and present it in a concise format.’
‘Drama was my strongest subject’ becomes ‘In Drama, I gained the confidence in public speaking and working as a team.’
‘I regularly babysit’becomes ‘Babysitting has taught me to take on responsibilities and use my initiative.’
‘I have a Saturday job in a shop’becomes ‘To do well in my weekend job, I had to learn and follow processes, be friendly and helpful to customers and support other team members.’
An employer may see no relevance in your drama GCSE or your Saturday job until you highlight the skills.
It can be hard to identify your skills, so ask people who know you well and will be honest. They might help you to see innate skills. For example, you might be the person who is good at organising activities or the first person they contact when their device plays up. Perhaps you are creative, curious or calm in a stressful situation.
How can School Leavers Upskill to Improve Their Chances of Getting a Job?
No matter what knowledge, qualifications and skills you have, there will be more to develop.
If you have an idea of the sort of career that interests you, research the skills needed in this profession. Then you can compare these with the skills you’ve identified as having and spot the gaps. Upskilling is the process of filling these gaps and there are lots of ways to do it.
These include:
- YouTube ‘How to’ videos – plenty of people have self-taught skills from watching online content
- Online courses & webinars – there have never been so many opportunities to access learning and insight! Take a look for webinars, learning modules and other sources of information that will extend your knowledge. Better still, there is plenty offered for free!
- Work experience – seek out and take up every opportunity to work, even if it isn’t directly relevant to the career you want to pursue. This includes weekend or evening work, volunteering and work placements. You will develop transferable skills which are valued in every workplace.
- Paid courses – not all courses require a long-term, full-time commitment. There are plenty of one-day training events, weekend workshops and short courses that could help you gain valuable skills that your peers lack.
- Industry events – many industries hold trade fairs, expos and conferences that are open to the general public. Some are free to attend and can include speakers talking about current priorities and innovations. If you attend, be brave and ask questions of people on the stands.
If you share in an interview that you recently attended an event, webinar or training course, it demonstrates your interest and initiative to an employer.
Where to Look for Jobs
- Tara Recruitment Ltd is a small employment support and recruitment company. We can help you search for jobs, build your confidence and get equipped for interviews. We’ll get to know you and what you are interested in, before assisting with job searches.
- Many companies advertise jobs on LinkedIn, the social media platform for business connections. If you are taking your first steps on the career ladder, it is a good idea to create a LinkedIn profile. This is quite different to other social media platforms you might use and you need to keep it professional. However, once you have a profile, state that you are looking for work. Also, connect with people you know. Then start to search for job opportunities linked to a specific sector or geographical region.
- There are many national recruitment companies such as Indeed, Reed and Total Jobs. These will list vacancies based on the filters you apply. In some cases, you can simply upload your CV to apply, in others, the application process will be specified.
- Is there a company that you’d love to work for? If so, visit their website to see if they have a Vacancies page. If not, you can still contact them to ask if they are recruiting or send your CV with a request to be informed when vacancies arise.
- Careers Fairs offer a good opportunity to talk with employers and ask about jobs, so find out what’s happening in your local area and be proactive in speaking to people.
Seek Out Advice from Employers
Few people get the job the first time around. It may take lots of applications and interviews to land a position. It’s hard to retain your resilience and keep applying, but this is a learning experience too. Don’t give up, keep trying!
If you have an unsuccessful interview, contact the company to request feedback on your performance. Ask if they have any suggestions to help you improve. Not all will respond, but those who do can help you consider small changes that put you in a stronger position next time.
Now, you may feel bombarded with advice, but this short article on Bucks Skills Hub shares employers’ views on what they wish they’d know when they started on their career path.
We hope this has helped address the question ‘How do I get a job?’. If you feel you would benefit from our employment support to help you get on the career ladder, get in touch with Tara Recruitment – info@tararecruitment.com or 01296 325730.