Expert Answers: Working out how to get a job

Some people know what job they want to do from an early age. For others, it’s not so simple.

Choosing a career is a big decision but getting the right help and advice can make all the difference.

Firstly, think about what motivates you as a person. Make a list of what you enjoyed – at school, college or work. What was it you liked?

There are no right or wrong answers, but you may like working in a team, meeting new people or solving problems, for example.

Next Step has online activity to help you to check your skills and understand what makes you tick. Next Step is a publicly-funded service, helping adults get the advice they need for future skills, careers, work and life choices.

Once you’ve got an idea of your skills and interests, the next step is to look for a career that matches up to them.

The site also has job profiles which have information on a huge range of careers, organised into “job families”.

It’s worth considering other types of employment such as working for yourself, working from home or working overseas.

Maybe you’re ready for a new challenge or simply want a change.

It might also be worth thinking about retraining.

Drawing up an action plan – a series of steps that can take you towards your goal.

If that goal is to get a new job, the action plan is a step-by-step guide for getting there from where you are now.

It’s a number of small steps that help you make a big step. Action plans help you to work towards your target and stay on track.

Sometimes working towards a far-off target can seem impossible.

Action plans can help break things down into manageable pieces. To create an action plan, follow these steps:

* Describe your current situation.

Identify your skills and work goals – if you need help doing this, work through the Skills Health Check and browse the job profiles.

* Set a long-term goal and maybe some short-term goals.

* Work out the steps that will get you there.

Looking for work takes time and effort, and it’s good to get as much help as you can.

Whether you’ve recently lost your job or been unemployed for a while, you can improve your chances of getting back to work by using our guides.

* For more help, visit https://nextstep.direct.gov.uk/gettingajob

Paul Charlson

GP from Brough

YOU are right to worry. It is important to have a focus and a plan, otherwise you can just drift.

Make a list of the type of work you might be interested in and find out what you need to do to start in that career.

It may mean you need further qualifications. If you have good results have you considered university? It will give you a better chance in the career stakes and, hopefully, in three years time the job market may have improved.

An option could be to try to get some work experience to see whether a particular career is for you. This work would be voluntary but you may make some good contacts and it will improve your CV.

Think seriously about the direction you wish to go rather than taking a job simply to earn money unless this is an absolute imperative.

Elaine Douglas

A chartered psychologist who specialises in family and child relationships

IT’S not surprising that you are feeling a bit despondent, but I think that there are things that you can do to improve your situation.

I think that all that is lacking for you is a sense of direction and how to tackle your current position.

This is one of those situations where you need to show initiative, so here are a few ideas. Do some digging and ask around to find out what is out there and what interests you. Then put together a good letter and CV and explain what your skills and experience are and ask if there are any particular projects or pieces of work that you could get involved in.

Try not to be too choosy at this stage and be flexible in what you are prepared to do. Many companies (including mine) take on students or staff for defined periods of time. Quite often if they are capable and show that they are prepared to work hard, they are taken on for short-term contracts (paid) which can, and do, lead to permanent employment.

Cary Cooper

Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health at Lancaster University

YOU need to gain some control over your situation. First, I would suggest you think through your options, of which, at your age, there are many.

You could go to college or university, you could apply to the Civil Service (if your grades were okay), or, indeed, you could get some vocational training in a specialised occupation.

It seems that you don’t know what you want to do, so you may need some help and support in considering this. You could go to the pathways to work programme of the Department of Work and Pensions, or find an occupational psychologist who could do some personality and occupational assessments with you to assess you key interests and aptitudes.

DWP is very good at trying to get young people back into work, so try that first and see what happens.

Dr Carol Burniston

Consultant Clinical Child Psychologist

THERE are positive steps you can take to improve your chances of finding employment.

It could be helpful for you to discuss your position with a qualified careers advisor. Alternatively, the Government website for the Department for Education https://nextstep.direct.gov.uk/planningyourcareer/jobprofiles has a section where information about different jobs and the requirements of each is explained.

Looking at this kind of information may help you to think about possibilities that you hadn’t previously considered.

You could consider apprenticeships or taking further college courses.

Consider updating your curriculum vitae (CV) to show your experience and skills. You could ask another adult to help you with this or there are templates available on the internet.

In the period before you manage to find a new job, you could think about volunteering for a few hours a week, this would give you a sense of purpose and help you make new friends.

VOLUNTEERING: A WAY FORWARD

WHY not look at volunteering? There are lots of charity shops around that need people to man them.

You may not get paid, but it will help to build up your confidence (and will also look good on your CV).

You could look to helping out at your local hospital, because, again, they are always grateful for volunteers. Find out what you feel would suit you. All of this will give you additional skills, but will also enable you to meet new people who may have connections to companies that need staff, and networking in this way is one of the best ways of finding out about jobs that don’t get advertised.