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A CV is basically a document where you record all your qualifications and work experience. There are no strict guidelines as to how you should create a CV but many people follow a few simple rules such as keep it to one or two pages and make sure that the information given is relevant and easy to understand.

Often people don’t update their CV until they decide to switch careers or they see a job advertised that they wish to apply for. The danger in this is that it is easy to forget course, additional training or qualifications you may have gained and also it the deadline for applications is soon, you may not have the time to update your CV correctly. This could mean that you either miss out or that you make mistakes by rushing it.

I update my CV every three months, this way I know that should I need to amend it, it will only be the previous three months that I need to think about rather than years!

Office work is one of the most popular jobs especially amongst school leavers as there is often a large amount of these types of roles available and some require little or no experience. Working in an office is a great way to get a feel for a work place. You will often get to liaise with different departments and get to understand how the company works.

There is a huge variety of office roles available, for example office junior, office manager, account manager, human resources roles and IT related roles to name a few. Many people start out as an office junior and then quickly progress in to other more skilled roles as their confidence and experience levels increase.

Some people may say that office jobs are boring, but this is often not the case with some positions offering a wide range of tasks that may vary day to day.

Knowing what to wear to a job interview can be a nightmare. You need to appear formal and smartly dressed without being too over the top and making yourself feel uncomfortable. Most interviews take place in an office environment so therefore you would be expected to wear something like a suit or smart skirt / trousers and top.

You are not only dressing to impress the interviewer but also to make yourself feel confident allowing you to sell your skills and experience and reasons why you are suited to the job to the potential employer.

Make sure that you plan your outfit and get it ready in advance. Too many people have an idea of what they are going to wear but then on the morning of their interview get it out of the wardrobe to find that it has a mark on it or doesn’t fit them anymore. This can make a stressful situation even worse.

There are times throughout your life when you may need flexible part time work, maybe after having children or when you’re approaching retirement and looking to slow the pace down a little, but what sort of job would allow this?

Working in a school/nursery – either in an admin position or as a teaching assistant this could be ideal work if you want to fit in work around your children, with school holidays off and earlier finishes than a standard office working day it’s certainly worth considering.

Supermarket work – this is usual shift work so can be great if you’re looking to work outside of the normal 9 till 5 office hours. The weekend and bank holiday pay is often very good as well so if you’re looking to earn as much as you can just working over weekends then this could be ideal.

Delivering catalogues – this type of work is usually based on commissions of products that you sell through catalogue orders however most companies do offer a very basic rate just for the catalogue distribution. Great if you want to be outdoors and want to get plenty of exercise.

We’ve all done it when looking for a job, uploaded our CV to several free job websites and put in our search criteria that we are interested in.

The problem is that even if you enter very specific criteria you then get bombarded with emails daily with numerous jobs ‘specially recommended for you’ that are nothing to do with your chosen profession. The result? Deleting the emails as soon as they come in without even opening them.

Not only is this frustrating but it also means that you may miss jobs on there that you could be interested in.

Another issue on these sites is fake job adverts linking you to a company that offers a job where you have to purchase stock up front, these are often scam companies and should be reported to the site administrators.

It may be worth looking at these job sites during your search for work but certainly isn’t a great idea to pin all your hopes on this method of job hunting alone.

If you like to keep fit and active and are great at motivating people then becoming a personal trainer could be for you. As a personal trainer your aim would be to inspire your clients to get fit and healthy and help them with work out techniques, nutritional advice and exercise plans.

Most personal trainers work on a self-employed basis and either do out door training at a park or go to clients houses. Some base themselves at a gym and try to encourage people there to book some one on one sessions.

There are some gyms that employ personal trainers on a contract basis to offer there gym members as part of a membership package. This can be great as you then have a stable income each month that’s reliable rather than the uncertainty of going self-employed.

To qualify as a personal trainer you can do a college course in health and fitness, in this course you will also cover a basic level of nutrition studies which could be developed at a later date with further courses.

When attending an interview you are bound to be nervous and believe it or not a bit of nerves can actually be a good thing, as it helps you to stay focused and seem genuine, however it’s when these nerves get the better of you that things can quickly fall apart.
So here’s 4 top tips of things to remember whilst going to an interview:-
Don’t talk too fast – this happens to lots of people when they are nervous and can be hard to control, take a deep breath and take your time in answering the interviewer’s questions.
Don’t be afraid to ask the interview to explain a question – Often when we are in an interview situation and asked a question that we don’t understand the temptation can be to just ramble on and blag your way through hoping the interviewer won’t notice, this is not a good idea, you’d be much better off simply saying, “sorry I’m not sure I understand what you mean, would you mind rephrasing the question?”
Always make eye contact – this shows that you are confident and that you are fully listening to the interviewer concentrating on the things you are being asked.
And lastly, smile, a smile relaxes you and the interviewer and can help to show that you are happy and confident.

Many employers favour application forms over CV’s. It allows them to get the information they need when looking for applicants without having to trawl through a stack of different CV’s. Most forms include a section for a personal statement. This is your only opportunity to sell yourself and secure that all important interview.

It’s really important to make this part relevant to the job you’re going for. Your prospective employer only wants to know what makes you suitable for the job they’re offering. Don’t waste time repeating things from the previous work history section unless it’s to highlight how it makes you a good candidate. If you don’t have relevant experience, think creatively about the experience you do have and link it to the position you’re after.

If you are submitting a CV, make sure to tailor it for the job in question. It’s easy to send off a standard CV but it won’t make you stand out from the crowd.

These days there is so much pressure to chose the correct GCSE and A Level subjects that some students find the whole process very daunting, I know I did.

You may feel like you need to have a good idea of what career path you wish to take from an early age and the subjects you chose at 15 will decide the job you will have for the rest of your life.

This is not always the case and regardless of how old you are, most of the time you can take a total change in jobs.

You my find it slightly harder to return to studying when you are older as you may have more responsibilities like a family or financial commitments and often as an adult you will have to pay for all or most of your further education. This being said, there are sometimes other ways round a change in career such as on the job training or evening studies that will allow you to progress in a career without having to worry about the issues above.

Sometimes in the pursuit to get your perfect career you have to take what may seem like a step backwards in the short term to gain long term.

Some careers are notoriously difficult to get into and the most important thing is to get one foot in the door. A great way to do this is to start by doing some voluntary work if it’s available. A good example of this is if you’d like to join the police force. There are very limited spaces available within the police and getting into the career can be extremely difficult, however by joining the special constables, who are un-paid volunteers, you vastly improve your chances of being accepted onto the force as you can show that you already have valuable experience.

If you think you’d like to get into a career but you’re unsure volunteering is also a great way to try it out without the same level of commitment needed. For example by becoming a teaching assistant you can observe the roll of a teacher before deciding if that’s the direction that you’d like your career to go in.

Sometimes it’s best not to head into a career feet first if you have the chance to ease in slowly and get experience along the way.