A quick guide to successful job hunting

Whether you’re looking to start work straight from school or with a degree under your belt, the process is often very similar. Check out our five top tips to increase your chances of a successful job hunt.

1. Experience counts

Whatever your qualification level, employers value experience. This can seem like a stumbling block when you’re starting out so try volunteering, work experience or an internship, to help get you going. Don’t forget  holiday jobs and casual roles can also be a great way to demonstrate work-related skills.

Remember you can use experiences from your interests or responsibilities outside of work or education. Employers don’t expect every example to be work-related, even from applicants with established careers.

2. Be open to opportunities

You’re unlikely to land your dream job straight away so look for ‘stepping stone’ roles which can help set you on your chosen path.

Starting in a junior administrative role for example, can provide valuable work experience, develop your skills, and often lead to more exciting things.

Similarly, being flexible about the type and locations of roles you apply for may increase your chances of finding work.

3. Have a positive attitude

A willingness to learn, enthusiasm, and a can-do approach all feature highly on employers’ wish lists. Demonstrating the right attitude to work and showing you have potential are sometimes more important than specific abilities. From an employer’s perspective, skills can be developed and polished but changing someone’s outlook is a much harder task.

4. Adopt a tailored approach to applications

Avoid a copy and paste approach to job applications. It’s far better to send off five individual and thought-through applications than to blitz every advertised vacancy with a virtually identical form.

Help your application stand out by demonstrating you understand the company or organisation, what the role involves, and how your skills and experience match the job requirements.

Following this approach also allows you to learn from experience – completing quality applications is a skill in itself, and is something that gets easier with practice.

5. Persevere

Don’t give up! Disheartening as rejection can be, keeping your job search active is often what makes the biggest difference. Try setting yourself weekly or monthly goals – positive actions you can take as part of your search, to help give you a sense of progress. Finally, allow time for other activities – getting a job can be a lengthy process so it’s important not to burn out.