How to Apply for Jobs as a School Leaver
Knowing which direction to go in can be challenging if you are just leaving school. Whether you are looking for a job for your gap year before University or have left school with just a few qualifications, getting a job without having much experience can be difficult. We look at how best to increase your chances of landing a decent job straight out of school.
One of the best first steps is to weigh up the options that are open to you and to research the kinds of jobs that are hiring people with the qualifications that you currently have. You may be surprised at some jobs you can apply for without completing further or higher education.
Top Tips for Applying for a Job as a School Leaver
Decide What You Want From a Job
Step one in applying for a job is deciding what you want to do with your life. Many young people don’t know this when they start their search and drift into positions that they end up hating and resenting as a result. Think long and hard about what you do want and talk to those around you to help to figure it out.
Once you have decided or narrowed it down, you can start looking for vacancies that may fit your requirements. UK jobs websites like Our Bob are a great way to find suitable jobs in the area of the UK in which you live.
Write a Top-Notch CV and Covering Letter
One of the best ways to get noticed by potential employers is to write an excellent CV. As you have just left school, it is unlikely that you have very many academic qualifications to your name yet, so ensure that you focus on your skills and abilities that can make you sound unique and help you stand out from the crowd.
When writing a CV, it is essential to tailor it to the job you are applying for to make sure that you hit all or as many as possible of the points they are looking for. Obviously, don’t lie and say you have qualities you don’t have, but try to ensure the CV addresses as much of what they are looking for as possible.
A CV that has been tailored toward a specific job will obviously stand out to the recruiters, and they may appreciate the effort enough to offer you an interview. If you are writing a cover letter, be sure to address it to the correct person and ensure that it all fits on one page.
Nobody will read a cover letter that spans several pages. Within one page, with several well-laid-out paragraphs and excellent spelling and punctuation, you can explain why you would be the perfect candidate for the job.
Research the Job Market
In the UK, at the moment, there is a monumental skills gap which has been primarily caused by a combination of Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic. If you're looking for a job, it makes sense to take advantage of this skills gap and apply for jobs in areas which are already short of staff. This means that you will have more chance of being selected for the job, and you will also have a better chance of being promoted more quickly from that position to a more senior role.
This applies to many sectors, including retail and hospitality. It also applies to jobs in the health and care sectors. Many people who previously worked in these sectors were European citizens who had to leave the UK because of Brexit.
Many others left jobs in the 2021-22 “Great Resignation”. This was an unprecedented movement of workers from their previous jobs to different jobs, perhaps in different fields than the ones they had been doing previously. As many as 5% or one in twenty of the entire UK workforce changed their jobs at this time. It is thought that the primary motivation was that Covid-19 had made many people rethink how they wanted to live their lives and that some had decided that the jobs they had were no longer a good fit for their plans.
It makes sense, therefore, to concentrate your efforts on the areas mentioned above to give yourself the best possible chance of finding employment that will meet both your needs and your aspirations. Employers place particular value on employee retention at the moment, so be sure to tell them that you are looking for job security when you apply.
Consider Applying for Apprenticeships
Consider looking into the possibility of apprenticeships. They are the best of both worlds between education and a job, as you get paid while still learning the job role. You gain experience in how to actually do the job while receiving a decent payment for your work.
There are a wide variety of apprenticeships available at companies across the UK, and you can learn how to to-do a wide variety of different jobs across a range of different industries. Many subjects you can choose to apprentice in are not available at school, and this is your chance to begin a career in an area that interests you.
When you begin an apprenticeship, you will notice that around 80% of your time is used for training in the job role that you will be by qualifying in. the other 20% of your time will be used in what is called off-the-job training. This means you will spend this time learning the technical information required to do the job successfully.
There are many good reasons to start an apprenticeship, and one of the major ones is the flexibility provided. Apprentices can be either part-time or full-time, and the amount of time the apprenticeship takes can vary between 12 months and several years.
Many Apprentices find that they are offered a full-time job with the company they apprenticed with once they have completed the apprenticeship successfully. This means that not only have they benefited from training, but they have also cultivated work relationships that they can now continue and deepen.
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