School Leavers | Embarking on your first job search

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What an exciting time in your life! School is over and you have the rest of your life ahead of you. With this comes the decision about what you want to do for a living. You’ve probably gained, or are working towards qualifications and need to begin your job search.

Exciting as this is, it can be equally terrifying! No one teaches you job hunting as a skill; you wouldn’t have a clue how to pick the phone and call a complete stranger and ask for a job. You’ve probably never needed a resume and never responded to an advertisement. Then comes the thought of being interviewed, which can be likened to having surgery without anaesthetic for some people, it’s so frightening.

So let’s go through a few things that might help.



Where and how to look for work

There are many ways to find positions. The more traditional methods of looking in the newspaper and searching online job boards are the most common. Read the advertisement carefully and make sure you follow the instructions turkey phone number library on how and where to apply. Some adverts will list a closing date and you need to submit your application before then. If a closing date is not listed you should aim to submit an application sooner rather than later. Remember though to send a quality application – you don’t have to be the first person to submit, especially if rushing causes you to make errors.

When using any of these methods you will be competing with a large number of other jobseekers. You can reduce the competition by applying directly to employers of interest. Time to pull your research cap on and come up with a list of companies you’d like to work for. Research them, find out what you can about the culture as well as their products and services, and then approach them directly. Rather than sending your resume unsolicited,find the name of a person who hires. Tell them about yourself, what you are looking for, and why you think you’d be an asset to them. Send your resume and follow up with phone call.

Picking up the phone and calling a potential employer sounds simple enough, but it really is hard for some people. You can’t let this stop you. Mock yourself up a script and read from it to help keep you on track. Once you’ve done a few you will start to get the hang of it and it will flow more naturally. You can read more about cold calling employers here.