The job market is very competitive, which means that it can be very difficult to get a job unless you have the precise experience that is asked for on each advert. It can sometimes feel like a vicious cycle as it is hard to get hands on experience without actually having had a job before! It isn’t all doom and gloom though as it is possible to get a job with perseverance; all it takes is a foot in the door before your career takes shape in front of your eyes.
You can increase your chances of securing that first position by making your resume more appealing to potential employers. It’s not always going to be easy sailing but the work you put in now should be of benefit to you in the long run. So if you are wondering what you can do in order to give your resume that little something extra, here are a few things to think about:
Voluntary positions
It might be the case that you can get unpaid experience in your area. This would look excellent on your resume as it shows that you have the initiative to get involved with local projects and want to make a difference. A great place to look for the UK is do-it.org.uk; all you need to do is put in your town or postal code and it will display all of the relevant results for you. You can find everything from retail assistant positions to dog walking jobs, so it could be a brilliant choice for you even if you can only do it once a week. If you are still in education, see whether you can fit in a few hours of volunteering on the weekend.
Work experience
You can get other relevant experience by going direct to employers. Some may have a paid internship scheme, and others may let you work in the business unpaid for a week or two. If you have just finished university, try and use your summer to get work experience in a number of businesses. This is a good time of year as many of the full time employees will be on summer holiday so any extra hands can be useful for business owners. Doing this will allow you to get involved with the responsibilities that you will have in your future full time job; this will directly benefit your resume and job prospects.
Job shadowing
If you still don’t know exactly what type of job you’d like to do, have a look online to see what kind of positions are advertised. For example, caterer.com lists many hospitality recruitment opportunities lists many hospitality recruitment opportunities which might be of interest to you if you are a people person who loves working hard. Once you create a shortlist, get in contact with a few businesses and see whether they would allow you to do job shadowing for a couple of days. You will be able to follow an existing employee to see what they do on a daily basis, which could help you to make a final decision about what you want to do. Having a specific goal will allow you to make your resume more targeted, rather than a generic list of your experience and education.
