Have a look at our after school planning section. It will tell you more about where you can find out more information about the sorts of things available to you now you have left school.
The world can seem a frightening place and all of sudden and you have lots of choices and this can be a bit too much to take in sometimes.
This section will tell you about how to go about looking for a job, applying for it and starting work. It will also give you some advice on apprenticeships too.
Please bear in mind that the information here is just to get you started. It is to give you some advice that perhaps you haven’t heard of before. If you want to know specific information relating to you, your choice of job and your ABI, you should really contact someone local to you. The previous section gives you information on who to contact.
Looking for a job
It may be that your careers advisor has given you some specific information on who to contact about looking for a job. It is always a good idea to follow this advice as they often have access to information that not many people know.
It may be that you still aren’t certain about what sorts of job you want to do. The job centre should be able to help. They hold lots of information about people who are looking for workers. This can be in all sorts of different jobs.
The local and national newspapers are also a good place to start. They often have a lot of the big name organisations in that might be looking for workers.
Good things to look out for are the equal opportunities logo or Investors in people logo or the positive about disabled peoplelogo. This means that these employers value everyone for what they can do and will provide the resources for you to work with them if you are suitable for the job.
You will see these logos at the bottom of the job advertisement. It is important to remember that you will have a good chance of getting the job as long as you are what they are looking for and interview well on the day. Some jobs require you to have qualifications, other jobs do not. It all depends on the and the type of job you are applying for.
How to apply for a job
Most employers will ask you to fill out an application form that they will send you. The form will ask you for details like where you live, your date of birth, what qualifications you have and why you want the job.
It is important to fill out the forms neatly and answer all the questions they ask you. If you have trouble writing or have an unsteady hand, you should get someone to help you write your application. Good employers should offer to send you the application form in the format that you need, for example in large print or so that you can fill it in on your computer. If you need the application form in another format from the one offered ask the employer for this.
Some jobs will ask you to write a personal statement that tells the employer why you want the job. This can be tricky to write well so you should ask someone to help. You could even ask someone at the job centre or a family member or teacher to help.
The employer will also ask you for a reference. A reference is written by someone who knows you and can comment on what you are good at. Only certain people can write references- your Mum can’t write you a reference but your school teacher can! As you change jobs you will get your old boss to write you a reference. The reference will tell your new boss about what you do well, how hard working you are and if you are suitable for the job you have applied for.
Some employers don’t ask you to fill out an application form, they ask you to send in your Curriculum Vitae or CV for short. Your CV is a brief list of all of your experience and qualifications. It can be hard putting a good CV together so you should get some help with this. A CV contains all of the information your employer needs to know including who to contact for your references. A person who is writing you a reference is known as a referee.
What next?
After you have filled in your application or sent your CV off you the have to wait back from the employer. This can be a slow and frustrating process and it can sometimes feel like you have applied for hundreds of jobs and not heard anything back form anyone. You have to be patient.
Not all employers will get back in touch with you. Sometimes they get lots of applications for a few jobs and can’t answer everyone. The employer will look at all of the applications and decide who is ‘best on paper’. They will then short list the applications for interview- this is where they contact a few people who’s application they liked and ask them to come in for an interview.
Going for an interview
This is a very exciting and nervous time. It’s exciting because you might end up with the job but it’s nerve racking because you can feel under a lot of pressure to perform well.
You will usually meet with two or three people and they will ask you some questions. It’s always best to answer honestly. Talk slowly and think about what you are saying. Don’t forget to show some personality too.
You should try and look as smart as possible. You don’t always need to wear a suit. It just depends on what sort of job you are going for.
Then what happens?
The employer will contact you again and say how you got on in the interview and tell you if you got the job or not. Sometimes they might ask you to go in for another interview but that depends on what sort of job you have applied to.
Looking for an apprenticeship
An apprenticeship is a special scheme run by an employer that trains you to do the job as you go along. In some jobs there is lots to know and the best way to learn is to do the job and pick it up as you go along. There are all sorts of jobs like this. You can be a plumber’s apprentice, a shoe repairer’s apprentice, even an accountant’s apprentice.
Apprenticeships are great because you can see real changes in your skills and learn a trade as you go. Some apprenticeships offer you funding or a small wage packet and may even pay for you to go on courses to learn new skills. As you get more qualified you stop becoming the apprentice and can do the job for yourself.
There are all sorts of apprenticeships so if you are interested you should speak to a careers advisor in your area. It also a good idea to have a think about what sort of apprenticeship you want to join.
There are some special apprenticeship schemes that help people with disabilities but this very much depends on where you live. You should speak to your careers advisor or contact Learndirect for more information. To get on an apprenticeship you will have to fill out and application form and go for an interview too so please read the section on interviews above.