Blog

So you have sent your CV off or completed an application form to apply for a job. You may then hear back from the company as to whether or not you have been invited to attend an interview. If you have then you need to spend some time preparing for your interview before the big day to give you the best chance of securing the position. Many people feel very nervous of interviews and if you are not someone that finds it easy to talk to people you don’t know then you may worry about how you will get across the information you need to.

Often people think that you cannot practise for an interview, but you can. Firstly have a read through your CV or application form and highlight any areas that you want to discuss. It may be experience or qualifications that you feel are particularly relevant to the position you are applying for. Also be sure to look through for any anomalies that you think they may ask you about such as breaks in employment or being in one job for a short period of time.

Next do your research on the company that you have applied to for the position. Find out a bit about their history, their ethos and even the members of staff that are currently working there. Much of this information can usually be found on their website.

Some people have a good idea of what they want to do in later life from a young age. Often this will change over time but for some, they have their heart set on one particular job.

Regardless of if you think you know what you want to do career wise or not, it is vital to get a varied education and broaden your horizons.

For example, someone may know that they want to get in to acting and therefore concentrate on drama and possibly English but nothing else. If you later change your mind then you may have limited yourself by not gaining qualifications in other areas.

If you do a degree at university, you may have the chance to add an additional year on to the end of your degree to gain a teaching qualification. This will again give you options to fall back on should you want a change in career path. You may find that you actually enjoy teaching more than you think and want to continue to do that as a job rather than what you actually did your main degree in.

Lots of people feel that they have job skills that are not currently being utilised in their job role. This can be disheartening and can often lead to people looking for new opportunities. Before you abandon ship, you need to carefully consider which skills you feel are not being utilised and what sort of job you may go in to that would utilise them. All too often people leave a job and end up in a very similar role, still feeling disappointed.

It may be that your employer is not aware that you have a skill that may be useful to the business, so it is always worth having a quick chat with your boss first to see if there is any extra responsibility you may be given which would allow you to use your skills. Often employees feel that they are micro managed and do not have the freedom to do their job as they would like to. If this is the case, again you should bring it up with you immediate line manage or boss. You need to be careful how you word this, but saying that you feel you would like more responsibility is often a good way to broch the subject without getting off on the wrong foot.

When searching for a job it can be hard to know just where to start, particularly if you are considering a change in career. Most people find that a good recruitment firm can be the best option here as there are people there specifically trained in helping match appropriate candidate to available roles.

The other important thing to remember is that for some larger firms they only do any recruitment using agencies and do not accept CVs in directly or offer application forms from the business address.

If you are unsure of what sort of jobs you could apply for a good recruitment agent should be able to have a chat with you about the kind of things you enjoy and look at your skill set and qualifications to match you with an appropriate job. They should also be able to advise you about any qualifications that you could gain to help further your chosen career and point you in the right direction to attain these qualifications.

Once they have found a suitable position the agent will then offer help with completing the application form and can even give you some pointers with regards the interview process for that company.

When it comes to finding a job, it can often be a tricky task and one which leave many people leaving deflated and stressed. If you have been out of work for some time, then you may find it even harder than others to land a job even if you are open to most positions. Many employers are looking for people with experience in a similar role or candidates that have been employed for some time and used to a work environment.

If you are struggling to get back in to work then it may be the ideal time to do some unpaid work and volunteering to get you used to working with other people again and used to the daily work life. This can look great on a CV and will show potential employers that you are willing to go the extra mile to show them that you are ready for work and committed.

The UK have a wealth of teaching jobs in many different types of roles. Teachers are in high demand at the moment as the industry has seen many teachers leaving within their first year, leaving a gap in many schools.

It may be that you want to get in to teaching but are not sure of the exact route you need to take, or need to check if there is any funding available to help you through university. There are a number of companies out there that specialise in this and will help you through the whole process from finding the correct course for you to help you find a job once you have completed your course.

Having some classroom experience will help with your application, so it may be worth trying to find a school where you can help out in the classroom for a term or so to get this much needed experience.

If you are looking to travel around the world a little and don’t mind working whilst there, there are some great opportunities out there that will allow you to see and learn about different cultures, visit places of interest and know that you also have an income at the end of the day to pay for your lodgings etc.

Most of these companies will ask for a relatively small fee of between £400 – £1000, and this will often cover you food and living expenses for the first week, whilst you relax and get to know the people and the areas. They will then help you secure a job for the remained of the period you wish to stay there are often at hand throughout the process to assist you with any queries you have.

This can make travel less daunting and will also allow you to make friends quicker with the other people within the group.

If you have applied for a number of similar positions and not been offered the job you may start to question why you are not getting them. It could be a number of reasons but often it simply comes down to experience. Employers like to be able to employ someone that has experience in a similar role so they do not have to spend too much of their time or money on training you, so if there is a candidate with experience who is very similar to a candidate without then the one with the experience will often get offered the job.

Try finding out if there is any way you can gain experience in a similar role, possibly by doing some volunteer work or by asking a company if you would be able to start on a lower salary as a trainee. Even taking part in a college course that specialises in that industry and possibly offers work experience may just be enough to land you that next job.

So you have applied for a job and just received a phone call inviting you in for an interview. Some people can find interviews hard and struggle to stay relaxed, but as with many things, if you can be prepared you will probably get through it much better.

You can prepare for an interview and should take some time to do this. Research a bit of background information about the company that you have applied for the job with. Try and find out how and when the company was set up and the structure in terms of management etc. This will also allow you to possibly put faces to names in your interview and may make you less nervous.

Check to see if they have a social media account such as a Facebook or Twitter profile, you may be able to find out some interesting news that they have recently shared or industry change that may affect the job you are applying for.

Some people think that they do not need to prepare for an interview as they do not know what they are going to be asked. This is simply not the case as there is always some sort of revision you can do before attending an interview with a potential employer. Firstly revisit your CV and cover letter. Have a read through and highlight any sections you wish to expand on and any anomalies (such as time out of work) that you may need to explain about. Test yourself on questions they may ask you about your CV and be sure to have a confident and correct answer ready.

Apart from re-reading your own CV, you should also spend time researching the company background. Try to find out who the managers are and a bit about the history of the business. You should also have an overview of the products and services that they sell as they may well ask you about these even if full training is offered.