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Jobs for one - Jobs for all! by Scott Boyd

I've had tonnes of jobs!

Jobs in shops - jobs in sales - jobs in marketing - jobs in IT - jobs in call centres - jobs in the arts - jobs in finance - jobs in the voluntary sector - jobs in local government - temp jobs - permanent jobs - contract jobs!

You name it - I've done it! And that's why I set this site up and wrote this guide.

This guide will help you have a look at the jobs are available and successfully help you through the application process.

Identifying jobs for you

You need to identify the jobs that are being advertised and decide which are suitable for you.

Have a look at these articles for some more information to help you out at this stage:

When you have read through these, you should have an idea of what kind of jobs you are looking for and where to look for them.

Now all you need to do is mass apply for all the jobs you have found and traverse the interview process successfully!

Applying for jobs

Adverts for jobs will either ask you to fill in an application form or, more commonly send in your CV.

Therefore the first thing you should do is create a current CV. As advised by Rich Wootten, in his tip of the day thread, it is best to keep your CV up to date even if you are not applying for jobs. It will mean less work when you do decide to look for another job.

Here are our articles on writing your CV:

A commonly overlooked part of the job application process is your covering letter. It plays an important role in your personal marketing campaign and should be given due care.

Have a look at these articles on the subject:

Dealing with the interviews

Depending on your profession, the response rate to your job applications will be good or bad.

The thing to remember is not to be disheartened.

The interviews will come - and when they do you need to be in the right frame of mind to deal with them effectively.

These articles have a lot of good information about coping with the interview process:

Common Pitfalls

There are a number of barriers that jobseekers face.

During my working life the main barrier I have seen crop up time and time again is the "how do I get experience if I can't get a job to get experience?" problem.

It is a very difficult barrier to overcome - some people can find a lucky break somewhere - others have to pay their dues in jobs that they don't really care for.

Personally I overcame this by temping.

I enjoyed my time temping. Although the pay wasn't great and the work was generally boring, I got great experience in a number of different industries and roles - experience which has lead me into my current job.

Have a look at these articles that may help you through this common setback:

Internal progression

Many of you will not be looking for jobs outside your current employer, as there may be possibilities for internal progression.

Although less stressful (you don't need to worry about lack of income), this method can hold its own problems.

These articles look at some of these issues and will hopefully help you out applying for internal jobs:

Career Advice

It seems that every man and his dog are offering career advice these days to help you find jobs!

If you only pay attention to one piece of advice from us, then I would say that this is it:

Don't take information for granted.

What works for one person may not for the next. I can sit here and tell you the way I went about applying for jobs and progressing my career, but the chances are that your situation is different.

Try to take this information and compare it with your own experiences - there are no right or wrong answers when looking for jobs.

What helped me a lot in the early stages of my career was posting on discussion forums and asking for help.

Again, there were a number of opinions on various matters, but that actually helped. It gave me the information I needed to make my own mind up.

Have a look at these articles for more information:

Finally, if you would like some specific advice about your career or looking for a job, then feel free to post a message on our discussion forum.

We can't guarantee that we will be able to help you, but we'll try and at least you will be able to get a number of opinions about applying for jobs.

Best of luck looking for those jobs!

Regards

Scott Boyd - Webmaster and Founder - Jobseekers Advice

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