Expert advice to help school leavers land that job

If, after A-level results day, your teenager is planning to shun university for the world of work, jobs guru and author JAMES INNES has some top tips for kick-starting a career

IT’S TOUGH out there! If your son or daughter has decided not to go on to college or university, they will be leaving school at the same time as thousands of other kids in your area and they are all going to be looking for jobs too.

They will have a much better chance if they are prepared. That means getting their CV written, choosing an interview outfit and signing up with local recruitment agencies.

Here is my advice for school leavers:

TOP TIP: A job search is more likely to be successful if it is targeted, as opposed to just applying for jobs randomly. Knowing what you want is the first step to achieving success. WARNING: Finding a job is a job in itself. It takes hard work, perseverance, innovation, excellent communications skills and confidence.

KILLER CV

TAILOR your CV to every different job role you apply for. Ensure the skills required for the job are clearly demonstrated by identifying key words from the job ad. Having a strong professional profile at the top is an ideal way of achieving this. Most recruiters nowadays use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to Check there’s nothing potentially harmful on your social media

sort through applications and, without those key words, your CV just won’t cut it.

Keep it brief and only include information that’s relevant. If your CV gets past the ATS, recruiters spend as little as 30 seconds looking at a CV before moving it to the yes or no pile, so ensure your CV has the required impact.

Don’t forget you may have acquired some invaluable skills for the workplace through your extra-curricular activities, such as team work and communication.

Include relevant activities in your CV, but again, keep it brief.

Make sure that there are no spelling or grammatical mistakes!

Proofread it carefully and even get a friend/relative to check your CV in case you miss something.

As a school leaver, your work experience may be limited, so lead with your education and qualifications as this could well be your biggest selling point. But don’t forget, some work experience is better than none, so any part-time work or volunteering should always be included.

Big up your achievements and any awards you have won.

Recruiters look for high achievers both academically and professionally.

WARNING – CLEAN YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA

NOWADAYS it is common practice for recruiters and HR managers to screen candidates against what they find online; gone are the days of wowing them with just your CV/ resume. It is a fact that 70% of recruiters searched online to see what they could find on a candidate before making a hiring decision.

But it seems the millennial generation have ignored this fact and continue to ignore the impact of their social footprint.

We all leave behind a digital footprint in some form – it’s quite unavoidable. The longer you’ve been online the bigger it will be. Unfortunately, this social footprint can work against us and this is more evident when job hunting.

Don’t panic – there are companies who can do a ‘social scrub’ for you – check out cvcentre.co.uk for more details.

JOB HUNT

BEFORE you start, think about what sort of job you are looking for, which isn’t always easy! Do some research