Job hunting can be daunting, so we’ve put together some handy tips to get you started.
Get a clear idea of what you want
- Think about your strengths and weaknesses, the environment you’d like to work in and the type of jobs you would enjoy doing.
- Take some time to research your chosen industry and the job roles in it. No matter what industry you are considering, there will be many career routes available. By researching these, it will help you to identify a starting point and what your future prospects may look like.
- If you can, speak to family and friends who work in the same industry as they may be able to give you some valuable insights into what a career in the industry is like.
Prepare your CV
Your CV is key to job hunting success. It is your opportunity to sell yourself to potential employers before you meet them.
Even if you don’t have any work experience, you can still write a great CV that demonstrates your strengths and skills.
You will need to ensure that your CV includes the following information:
- Name, contact details and email address
- A personal statement
- Your key skills
- Educational achievements and qualifications
- Any jobs, work experience or voluntary roles
Make sure your CV is proofread by a friend, family member or the PETA team before you start applying.
Where to look?
There are so many ways to look for a job now however, online job boards are a great place to start. At PETA, we use multiple job boards to advertise our vacancies. We have included a selection of our favourites below:
Apprenticeship Specific Boards
- PETA Apprenticeships Website
- Find an apprenticeship
- Get my first job
Generic Job Boards
Top tip – Almost every job board will have a job alert function. By setting up these job alerts, you can be notified via email when new roles that meet your criteria become available.
What to consider when applying…
Location – If you were successful in securing the role, how easy is it for you to travel there? If it is going to be a long journey or costly via public transport, could you see yourself doing the trip long term?
Salary – Will you be financially stable with the salary on offer?
Tailoring your application
Once you have found a role you want to apply for, take some time to tailor your CV to the job role. Read through the job description and understand what skills your potential employer is looking for in their ideal candidate. Use this information to tweak your CV to reflect the role. Whilst this may be time consuming, it will help your application to stand out from the crowd.
It’s a numbers game!
When searching for an apprenticeship, it can be easy to get your heart set on one particular job. However, bear in mind that employers will be receiving multiple applications for every position so the likelihood of you securing the one job you have applied for is slim.
Whilst you want to be selective about the roles you apply for and ensure that the positions are relevant to your career aspirations, you don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket. Try to apply for as many applicable jobs as possible.