Careers

First things first, career is a very big word! We talk about being having successful career’s a lot on this site, but we also want to stress that essentially your career can involve going down many paths and exploring lots of options. What counts is that you plan, prepare and are proactive about what you do. We hope this guide can help you a little bit with doing that. If you think you’d like to add something or have comments on our little guide, send us an email on info@opportunitiestosuccess.org.uk.

In the meantime, we hope our we’ll help you start your job search with useful information, advice and links to sources of information.

1. Selecting a career

You may have already chosen your career, you may be deciding between a few options or you may be unsure about what you want to do. In all of these scenarios there are a few things you should think about to ensure you are on the right track for a career that will fulfill your life’s ambitions.

•    What do you like doing?
•    What are you good at?

These first two questions will help you to focus on a good starting point. Most people do really well at something they enjoy. It could be as simple as knowing you work well with your hands, are a good communicator and like meeting new people or that you work best in team. Thinking about this will help you identify what you can bring to an employer as an asset.

•    What do you not like doing?

It follows that if you excel at the things you like doing, you will struggle to be successful at things you don’t like doing. If you know you aren’t good at numbers, it’s probably not best to look at accountancy as a career option. Once you have decided what you like, thinking about what you don’t like will help narrow down the scope of options available to you.

•   Where do you want to be in 5 to 10 years time?

Now this is a big question, its a very difficult one to answer, but if you can answer it, you give yourself a good chance of being able to plot a path between today and where you want to be in 5 years. You can be as specific as naming the job title you want in 5 years, or you can set yourself a goal salary or even an industry you want to work in. The good thing about a 5 year plan is it’s just that a plan. You can update it every year, make adjustments as you learn more about what you want and don’t want.

2. Preparing to find a job

To get the most from your job search you need to be prepared! Preparation includes knowing what’s required of you in the job you want to do and making sure your CV presents you as the best person for the job.

To gain a good understanding of your preferred job speak to people who are already doing the job and read job specifications online. Both of these will give you insight into the skills and expertise required to do the job. For example, if you want to work in marketing you can search for ‘marketing jobs’ in Google, Yahoo and Bing. Each of these will present hundreds of job specifications containing details of roles, skills and competencies required.

Your CV is the first impression a potential employer will get of you, so you need to ensure that it gives an excellent representation of you as someone they should employ. You should ensure your CV is clear, concise and well written. Specifically, ensure it includes your contact details, education, work experience, skills and hobbies and interests.

You may not have previous experience of the job you are applying for, however you will have some (or all) of skills required to do the job. Skills include the ability to communicate (through written or spoken word), organise, plan and keep good time.

For further information about CV writing and examples visit the following sites:

• DirectGov’s guide to getting your first job
• Connexion’s guide to writing a CV
• Great CV’s First CV guide

3. Searching for jobs

There are many places to find jobs that are currently available. These include the job sites on the Internet, your local job centre, company websites and word of mouth. It could even be said that there are too many places to find jobs! When you start looking for a job it is more important to be focused than scatter-gun in your approach – the more focused you are the easier it will be to hone your CV and approach to specific roles. A scatter-gun approach will present you as a jack-of-all-trades and master of none.

A suggested approach to searching for a job is as follows:

1. 1. Start by clearly defining the job you want to do
2. 2. Research that role to understand what is required to do the job
3. 3. Update and amend your CV so it reflects the key aspects of the role
4. 4. Build a list of agencies and/or companies that have job roles in this area
5. 5. Decide on how you are going to approach the agencies and companies e.g. via the phone or email, and prepare a brief script for calling or letter for emailing. Remember that you will not have too much time to make your initial introduction, so the better you prepare the more success you will achieve
6. 6. Contact the agencies and companies and follow these up within a few days of making your initial contact
7. 7. Keep in touch with each agency or company to ensure you do not miss out on any opportunities

4. Preparing for interviews

The more you prepare for an interview, the more relaxed you will feel and ultimately, the better you will come across to the interviewer. Preparation for an interview should include:

• Reading and understanding the job description
• Mapping your experience to the job description
• Researching the company and being able to comfortably talk about them e.g. what they do, what makes them different and who they compete with
• Practicing answering questions you think they may ask you about you, the job, your CV, skills and ability to do the job
• Listing questions you want to ask the organisation. Remember that an interview is a two-way process and you must feel comfortable that the organisation is somewhere you want to work

If it helps, do some role-play with a friend or family member where they play the role of the interviewer.

Lastly, if it is your first job a great attitude can make a big difference, especially if you can demonstrate to the prospective employer your willingness to learn.

More information about preparing for interviews can be found at the following websites:

• Red Gold Fish’s Interview Tips
• DirectGov’s Preparing for an Interview
• Prospect’s Interview Preparation Guide

5. Developing your career

In the back of your mind you may (should) have an idea of the job you would like to do in 5 to 10 years time e.g. a manager, director or self-employed. With this in mind your first job is the first step to getting you there and should be used as the opportunity to deliver real value to the organisation, and develop your skills and experience. Many jobs offer on the job training or courses you can attend. You should take advantage of these and use them to develop your skills.

You can also develop your skills and knowledge through evening courses that you do whilst working. You will find that there is a training course for just about every job role – start by searching the Internet or go to your local college’s website for details of evening classes they offer.