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Undercover with employers!It's not easy when you think about going to work. After all, there are
so many things to consider. |
………….and much more. So when it comes to employers, you really need to give yourself a head start by finding out what they are looking for. Once you know more, completing applications and attending interviews will be easier and hopefully, more successful!
Jobs can be quite different but there are three main areas that employers really need to consider when looking for a new member of staff. These are :-
Let's face it. Would you let someone cut your hair if they had never actually done it before, but had flicked through a book about it? I don't think so! You want to make sure that the job is done properly. So it's the same for employers. Experience isn't always gained by having already done the job somewhere else (if that was the case, no-one would ever get a job because you need to start somewhere). It could mean work experience, voluntary work or something you do in your spare time. Some jobs may not need an 'experienced' person because they are looking to take on a trainee, however they may still want to hear about any experience you may have as many young people could be applying for the same job. Competition is tough, so make sure you can talk about any experience you have!
Employers will be looking at two types of skills. General skills like communication, presentation, time management and organisational skills as well as specific skills relating to the type of work. For example, if you are applying to become a receptionist, the employer will be looking for telephone skills and customer care skills.
Your personality is very important to an employer. They want to be sure that you will fit in with the team already employed, as well as having the right sort of personality for the type of work involved. For example, if you are not a patient person, working with small children is probably not the right type of work for you. If you are a shy person, working in a very busy sales team would not be suitable either.
It seems quite straight forward. The employer wants to recruit someone, they probably place an advert in the local paper (although many other ways are now being used such as websites etc) and you send off for an application form or send in a CV (depending on what the employer has requested). Your piece of paper has to tell that employer that you are the person they are looking for.
Think of it as your own personal advert. You need to sell yourself. If you were trying to sell something, you would find out what your customers were looking for. If you get that right, you will sell more stuff. So if you know what the employer want, you stand a higher chance of getting the job.
Find out more specific information about what the employer wants. Read the 'Person Specification' or 'Job Specification' and any other information that you can lay your hands on. The employer is telling you exactly what they want and even writing it down for you. When you send in your application or CV, the employer should think …..
"this is our sort of person. They have the skills and experience we want and I would like to interview them to get to know them better".
The application process is where you tell the employers about your skills and experience and the interview gives you the chance to show your personality.
Many employers use a 'short listing' process (some more formal than others) which helps them choose the people they want to give an interview because they meet the employers requirements. The specifications give you guidance on what they are looking for and they will probably use these to shortlist. If you don't read these, your application might not even get short listed and you won't have the chance to attend an interview. Don't get caught out! Prove that you know what they want!
EXPERIENCE - SKILLS - PERSONALITY
Make sure you can show the employer what you've got!
Find out more specific information when you apply by using the job and person specifications. Read company information, or talk to someone who works there to give you more clues. Once again, you need to do your research. Your contact with an employer should be more successful and less stressful if you are going in prepared!
For more general information please have a look through our Job
Seeking section on this site.
Good Luck
Jennie Glitherow
At school or college? Look out for Jennie's future articles which we'll have
here for the first Monday of each month, and which we'll link to the best sites
we can find on the Web. Why not bookmark us now?
To get back to this page to use the links on it - enter http://www.careers-gateway.co.uk/mainpage.htm
and click on Magazine then Mission Impossible ....Or Mission Quite
Possible?
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