Improving Your Chances

In an environment that has become very competitive there are lots of ways to improve your chances of successfully finding work. Below is a list of points that will help you:

Flexible over location - don’t just look for jobs within your own local area this restricts you, and employers may also consider you to be inflexible. Be prepared to travel to get a suitable job, for example in Birmingham we are surrounded by many other great places where employment opportunities will be available, such as Wolverhampton, Coventry, Walsall and Telford.
Flexible over type of work - it is important to be flexible over the type of work you will do. Every job you do will help to build your experience, ,and trying a variety of job sectors will help your skills and experience to grow further, even if they are not the career you would ideally want to go into. You never know it may open your eyes to an alternative career choice that you may find more suitable to you. For example, if you want to work in IT you may be able to gain experience within an office using computers, maybe in an administrative role. In most jobs you will be able to build your skills as a team player, communication and customer services skills, all important to any career you go into.
Improve Qualifications - with unemployment at such a high level it is important to try and stand out, and find ways to compete with others going for the same job. If your qualifications are good it will often give you the advantage over other candidates with less qualifications.
Experience Building - there are a number of ways to build your experience even if you are unable to get a job straight away. It is possible to go on work experience placements or volunteer with organisations. This shows that you are able to use your own initiative in order to improve yourself, employers welcome such keen individuals who are looking to do whatever they can to get the experience they need for work. Also some of the work experience placements and even voluntary work could lead to permanent paid positions.
Be informed - keep yourself aware of what is going on within the economy, there are often reports in the news and on the internet outlining areas of industry that looks to do well and grow, and areas that are predicted to decline during a recession. This can help you to identify what sectors may be the best for you to go into, and what qualifications it may be worth you working towards to help increase your chances of employment once your college or higher education course has come to an end.

What Are Employers Looking For?

Employers have a lot of choice in the current climate when it comes hiring new staff, and so it is very important that your application stands out from the rest. Knowing what the employers want is the first step towards getting your foot in the door. It will ensure that you are prepared to write the successful application, to be confident during the interview and/or assessments. All employers will be looking for the right combination of functional skills, employability skills and technical skills.

Functional Skills

All potential employees will be expected to have general basic skills to enable them to do almost any type of job or learning. Many employers will list these skills as the most important, along with employability skills. Often more important than experience or qualifications gained.

English - employers expect their employers to have good basic literacy, they will want them to be able to spell, use grammar correctly and have handwriting that is readable. Along with other forms of communication to include listening and speaking. They will also need people that are able to understand and give instructions.
ICT - confidence using computers is becoming more and more important in this very technological age. Now most jobs will involve the use of some kind of computer system, whether it is the computerised tills in a supermarket, or the email and software packages used internally within a company.
Maths - it is very important for employees to have practical number skills, such as having the ability to accurately measure, weigh or handle money. It is also expected that individuals have problem solving skills that are developed through the ability to complete basic maths problems.

Functional skills are so important that they have even become a qualification in its own right, either as part of GCSE’s, Foundation Learning and Apprenticeship or completely separate.

Employability Skills

Along with functional skills employers also want employees to have employability skills that are needed for success in the world of work or learning. Below is a list of skills that employers value, we have also provided tips on how to show these skills in applications, interview or assessments.

Punctuality - it is important to employers that their employees are reliable and arrive on time. This means you need to ensure you arrive on time for the interview, in fact 15 minutes early is even better. If you are going to be late, for reasons beyond your control for example car breaks down, then phone the employer to let them know as soon as possible. They will also check with your references whether you are reliable and punctual, therefore while as school/college etc. it is best to ensure that you develop these skills, be punctual for registration, lessons and deadlines for work etc. This will help to develop habits that will be great for when you start work.
Sensible and Practical - Employers also want to know that their employees have common sense. A great way to show them this is through the provision of examples in your everyday life where you have had to show you have been responsible, and have made good decisions.
Enthusiasm and Commitment - it is important that potential employees demonstrate that they are interested in the job and the organisation. The best way to ensure you show this is to research the company, find out more about the role you are applying for and where it is correct to do so mention something in the application or during the interview.
People Person - it is important to employers that their staff are able to get on with others from a wide variety of backgrounds, this includes colleagues and customers. This can be demonstrated with reference in your application or interview to team working experiences you have been involved in, or any time you have had to provide customer service.
Personal Appearance - During your interview the employer will base 30% of their opinion of you on the way you look. The interview and during assessments employers will get an impression of you as a person based on your appearance. This means that even if you do not feel well it is important to ensure you look your best, and present a positive image. Firstly ensure the clothes you wear are clean and smart, on the most part a white shirt, black trousers, tie and black shoes (like you would wear at school/college) will be enough, the only exception would be if they employer requests you arrive at the interview with more casual wear as they may have to carry out or demonstrate skills that formal clothing would not be suitable for.
Polite and honest - Your ‘please’ and ‘thank you’s’ are important when in an interview with an employer. These basic skills that form part of manners will help the employer to have a great first impression. You need to also ensure that you are honest in your CV/Application and interviews as honesty is valued greatly by employers, if they found out you were not telling the truth it could lead to you losing your job if you were accepted.
Problem Solving - Employer like to employ people that are able to come up with solutions to problems, therefore before you go to an interview or fill in the application form, think of a time you have helped to solve a problem, or taken charge in a situation. This could be experience you have gained at school, home, within a sports team or as part of a hobby. Mention it in the application and then be ready to expand and talk about it during the interview.
Motivated - Employers want to have employees that are self motivated and keen to get on with their work. In your application/interview you could provide examples from everyday life where you have shown you have taken on responsibility and worked hard towards a task. This could be a project that you have had to complete on your own.
Team - working well within a team is another skills that employers value, most jobs will involve you working alongside others. You may even have to work with people you don’t get on with, but that won’t make any difference you will still have to work as a team member. To demonstrate this skill think about times you have been part of a team, or helped others out.
Want to Learn - Employers want to employ staff that want to learn all they need about the job so that they can do it well. Most jobs will have a level of training involved. To show that you have a willingness to learn you could give examples of any skills you have recently acquired.

Technical Skills

Within most employment sectors and jobs there are specific skills that are needed in order to do the job. These skills could range from using machinery correctly, or a special computer program, or writing reports.

If you have just left education employers will not expect you to have many of these technical skills to begin with, however they will want to know that you are eager to learn the skills you need in order to move forward.

When looking for work you should look out for jobs that offer training to help you develop technical skills as you are working and earning.

For some jobs you will not be able to start work with the employer unless you have the specialised technical skills to do the job, for these jobs you may need to go to Higher Education or take an Apprenticeship. An example would be if you want to be a Barrister, where you will need to have a degree (normally in law), and then take the Bar Entrance Exam, before you can even start the training to become a barrister. In these types of career the technical skills are of great importance to the ability to carry out the role.

Skills and Qualities

If you have never worked in a paid position it is still possible for you to build your skills and personal qualities to fit the needs of the employer. This can be done through work experience, or even offering to carry out voluntary work.