Job HuntingArguably finding a job has never been as difficult as it is in the current economic climate. Regardless of whether the price of a barrel of oil has rocketed, or whether the FTSE has recovered massively in the last three months, the unemployment statistics are still at record highs and the number of people competing for every job is still through the roof.How to go about finding the perfect job (or any job for that matter)? The first thing that you have to do is start looking, but don't just look in the obvious places. Make sure that you regularly check the trade papers, and the job centre, but there are also hundreds of websites that offer jobs and any number of recruitment agencies. Most recruitment agencies don't charge people to sign up, you'll be given an interview, asked to present your CV, and that will be it. They may not find you something, and it's generally accepted that the more you badger them the quicker they'll find you something, but if nothing else they will at least tidy up your CV, and when you're looking for a job (particularly in a competitive market) presentation is everything. If you are one of the many unfortunate people to have found themselves unemployed, a career change could be what you need to get back into work. There are always public sector jobs being advertised, usually in the newspapers (check out the public sector jobs section of the Guardian Jobs website for instance) and often on the government websites. In some quarters the public sector doesn't have a great reputation, but there is much greater job security than in the private sector, and a much more stable pension system. It's not for everyone, of course, but the last decade or so has seen thousands of people start second (or third) careers as teachers. The government offers a lot of support for those who want to train as a teacher and if you've always considered it, now is as good a time as any to make the change. Whilst it might not be up everyone's street, there are job advice centres around the country (and lots of information on the internet) that can give you advice on how to sharpen up your internet technique, or format your CV to be as eye-catching as possible. Above all the tips, knowledge and experience, the one attribute you need more than any other when hunting for a job is persistence, keep applying for everything, keep looking everywhere and even if you are unsuccessful at application or interview stage, there's always something that you can take from the experience. |
