13.03.

2023

Introduction
 Need to capitalize on your educational achievements
to date as you start on your chosen career path.
 You may feel excited, nervous, eager, apprehensive,
confident, concerned.
 You may have already tried the job market without
success, or maybe you are just starting to look for
that first ‘career job’.
 You have spent the majority of your life in university
with pre-determined goals and levels of reward
dependent on your performance – relatively safe
havens.
 Your only competitor was yourself, competing against
the standards laid down, and not against your fellow
students.

Introduction
 But now the safety net has been removed and the
competition really begins – you against everyone else
looking for work.
 The course explains each stage of the job-search
process and gives you support by providing practical
and informed advice relevant to each particular task.
 The information and guidance combined with some
determined hard work on your part, make anything
possible.
 There is no substitute for good preparation and,
when the interviews come along, you will have given
yourself the best possible chance of success.

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How can I get a job – there are so few

around and so many people going after
them?
 You have to make career choices, possibly with help
from parents, friends, teachers, tutors and mentors.
 We can help you to give yourself the best chance of
achieving that first step on the career ladder – the
critical first job.
 Employers and recruiters have often been
disappointed by the lack of preparation and research
by candidates who have failed to sell themselves to
them as worthwhile investments for the future.
 Their failure has been a direct result of their lack of
understanding of the employer’s expectations and
needs.

How can I get a job – there are so few

around and so many people going after
them?
 There is always competition amongst employers for
talented personnel.
 Candidates who sell themselves effectively and
prepare well put themselves in the driving seat.
 We will tell you what to expect, how to handle
problems and how to present yourself in the best
possible light.
 Choosing the career that will give you sufficient
opportunities to channel your enthusiasm, interest
and creativity for the next phase of your adult life –
and generate financial reward – has become your
new priority.

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How can I get a job – there are so few

around and so many people going after
them?
 You may already have had lots of advice on career
selection, researched the different routes, looked at
all the alternatives available, discussed your ideas
with parents, friends, etc., and made your choice on
where you want to go and what you want to do.
 If not, you need to start ASAP.
 You need to have a reasonable idea of what you
want.
 Take advantage of all the careers advisory services
available.
 The internet (Google, etc.) is a valuable information
source for identifying career paths and opportunities.

A schedule (see Figure 1 below) for you to record your

preferred websites for ease of future access.
Websites – career choices/job search*
List website addresses you Note information gained, for
have found which give access future reference –detail
to good career choice careers researched, etc.
information or assist with your Cross-reference job searches
job search (as appropriate) with the Job search campaign
– control sheet’.

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Step by step to get a job

 Step 1 Getting started looks at the early stages, at
the ways you can plan your job search as if it were
a marketing campaign or research project.
 Step 2 Your personal sales ‘tool kit’ helps you to
carry out your personal ‘self-audit’, discusses CVs
and letters of application, and explains their
importance to the recruiter. Issues of style, content
and presentation are also covered.
 Step 3 Searching for opportunities looks at the
different ways in which information on careers,
industries and employers can be found, and looks
at the ‘admin’ you will need to do to keep track of
your job search as letters go out and replies come
in.

Step by step to get a job

 Step 4 Your interview ‘tool kit’ gives you guidance
in preparing yourself for the interview, including
your all-important response to the ‘tell me about
yourself’ question, and examines the work you need
to do just before the interview – including practising
your presentations and reviewing your answers to
possible questions.
 Step 5 Communication tools is linked very closely to
the previous Step and goes into this vital area in
more depth, explaining how to understand and
appreciate the effect communication has on others.

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Step by step to get a job

 Step 6 The interview goes into interview protocol,
types of interview and interviewer, and a few ‘Do’s
and Don’ts’. The aim is to take the fear out of the
unknown.
 Step 7 After the interview looks at how to handle
offers and rejections, and how to choose the best
offer and agree terms.
 Step 8 Into the future . . . gives you a quick look at
what happens next as your career starts in earnest.

Step 1-Getting started

 There is no instant formula for creating a successful
career. Like most things in life there is no substitute
for building on a solid foundation, and to help you
focus your thoughts, the following principles will
help you to establish your base line:
• Know what you want, and have a clear idea of your
goals.
• Keep your senses active and be aware of your
progress at all times.
• Finally, be prepared to adjust . . . until you get what
you want.
 You may change your mind, or adjust your goals.
 This should not be seen as failure or indecision, but
rather as the product of an experience that has
been learnt.

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Step 1-Getting started

 Most of these principles are embedded in
techniques for positive thinking and self-
empowerment through the use of language and
behavioural changes.
 One such technique is neuro-linguistic programming
(NLP), which provides individuals with the ‘know-
how’ to influence their own worlds.
 Dreams and reality can be very different, but when
they combine, the result could turn ‘just a job’ into
a rewarding and satisfying career.

So do you know what you want to do?

 Some of you will already have made your career
choice.
 For anyone who is not totally convinced we suggest
that now is a really good time to do a check on
your thoughts, reasons and motivations.
 If you don’t know where you are going, how can
anyone else know? And that really is an
interviewer’s ‘turn-off’.
 If you are uncertain, then seek advice from trained
careers counsellors at your school, college,
university, etc., or do your own research into career
opportunities that appeal to you.

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So do you know what you want to do?

 Uncertainty and/or lack of enthusiasm will obviously
have an impact on your motivation in the job
search, and will ultimately show up to an
experienced interviewer.
 You need to decide what you want – because
without total commitment you will fail to realize your
goals.
 You cannot influence potential employers if you are
unclear in your thoughts of what you want to
achieve.
 So check your choice by asking yourself ‘Do I really
want to do it? Are my reasons for wanting this
career path totally valid – or are they a dream
without reality?’ The decision is yours. If you feel
the decision is right, then go for it.

Where do I start?
 Treat your job search as if it were a marketing
campaign or research project.
 Campaigns of this type will normally be based on
well developed plans covering market research,
identification of customers, product design,
promotion and sales effort.
• market research: identifies career opportunities in
your chosen field;
• customers: are potential employers you may want
to approach;
• product: is ‘you’ and the skills which have been
developed that may satisfy the needs of your
customers (potential employers);

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Where do I start?
• promotion: is the style and content of your sales
material (that is your letters, CVs, telephone
manner, etc.);
• sales effort: is the energy that you put into the
whole process of getting the job.
 You are trying to sell yourself by promoting your
skills, enthusiasm and effort to an employer.
 The employers are looking to purchase your abilities
in order to add value to their business or
organization.

Market research
There are many sources of information to access.
• trade associations;
• websites;
• employment agencies;
• job centres;
• libraries;
• targeted companies;
• employer ‘road show’ visits;
• professional institutions;
• educational careers offices;
• career advisory services;
• trade magazines and periodicals;
• newspapers – national and local;
• career fairs;
• your network of contacts.

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Market research
 The internet offers the most accessible and
immediate response.
 Sensible use of search engines will produce a wide
range of priceless company information.
 This data can also help you identify companies you
may wish to work for, and if so will provide valuable
information when you are applying for employment.
 Your network of contacts is an area of research that
often has surprising untapped potential.
 A network is simply a list of all the people you know
well enough to ask them for advice on where to
pursue your ambitions and who you might approach
in your job search.

Market research
 Your network may at first seem very limited, but
once you begin to list your current and past
contacts you will be amazed by the number of
people that may offer help.
 Don’t forget that when you ask your network
contacts for help, you should ensure that you give
them feedback on your progress and success.
 Politeness and courtesy cost you nothing and will
enable you to visit the network again.
 This isn’t a one-off exercise, and your network will
continue to grow with you.
 You in turn will be on someone else’s network, and
in the future you also will be called upon to assist
others.

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Market research
 Guard your network well and treat it with respect –
people will respond positively to genuine
approaches for help and guidance, but be careful
not to take liberties.
 Your market research will give you an abundance of
information.
 All information is valuable and you need to be able
to retrieve it quickly at any stage during your
campaign.
 Keep good records.

Market research
 A good record system enables you to:
• rank the opportunities in order of preference;
• keep track of all the leads you are pursuing;
• update your network of contacts; and
• avoid the risk of embarrassment (and perceived
incompetence) as a result of going to the same
contact/organization twice asking the same
questions.

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Customers
 Your research will have identified potential
employers and now you should collect as much data
as you can on each company/organization.
 What information is needed?
 Basically, at this stage, anything that gives you a
clear idea of where the business/organization has
come from, where it is going, how successful it is
and what its policies and aims are.
 Sources of specific information include:
• the website of the company/organization;
• local newspaper business pages for comments
(most also have websites);
• recruitment advertising (developing
companies/organizations need people);

Customers
• published marketing material, financial information,
annual reports and brochures (ring the
company/organization and ask what is available);
• libraries – research using trade directories, etc.

 The concepts are simple but if you assess the data

available in these sources you should be able to get
a clear impression of each business/organization
and whether it can offer the environment in which
you would like to start/develop your working career.

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The product, promotion and sales effort

 Our aim is to provide you with a ‘tool kit’ designed
to give you the best chance of success in the job
market.
 The tool kit embraces ‘product, promotion and sales
effort’ and should, for example, help you in the
transition from the academic environment into the
commercial world, with its completely new set of
disciplines, standards of behaviour, work ethics and
attitudes, which you will need to handle – if you
want to succeed.
 The kit helps you to develop your personal
promotional material (application letters and
Curriculum Vitae) and your presentation at interview
to achieve maximum positive impact.

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