Month: October 2022

As one of the Development and Skills Officers on the HeadsUp project I get asked this a lot. The answer is… I have no answer. It is a very difficult thing to decide what you would like to do for a job, especially if you have never worked before, had a career break, are unable to return to your previous career or just in general.

This is a decision that only you can make, but at HeadsUp we do talk this through and help you to come up with your own decision of what jobs you would like to do.

Here are some of the recommendations we make or activities we do together:

• Look at volunteering in a sector you are interested in
  Sometimes if we have no experience in a sector it feels daunting trying to get a job in that sector, volunteering is a great way to test out whether you like the sector, AND make you more employable in the chosen sector as you then have volunteering experience to add to your CV.
• Do a free Level 2 course in a sector you are interested in
  There are lots of free courses out there which will give you some knowledge of the sector you may be interested in to help you decided whether you may enjoy a role in that sector, it gives you a taster and as they’re free there is no harm if you change your mind about the sector after, plus courses are great to put on your CV so win win.
• Research different job sectors
  A lot of the time we don’t know what jobs exist until we do some research, we may have an interest in a sector like Admin, but it’s a good idea to look in to what roles are within/involve Admin to see which jobs you may want to apply to – the National Careers Service ‘explore careers’ section on their website is great for this as you can also see what experience and/or qualifications are needed for different roles.
• Online quizzes and assessments
  There are many websites that offer quizzes and questionnaires that will then suggest sectors based on your interests and skills from the results, this can give you ideas of sectors or jobs you may enjoy doing.
• Look at the job market
  It is always best to consider what the job market is like in your local area or preferred working area, you need to be realistic as to what jobs are available in your area, for example you can’t get your heart set on working on a farm if you live in a built-up city with no farmland for miles. This can be done of job search sites to see what the most popular sectors are.
• Work backwards
  Sometimes it is easier to work backwards, list all the jobs/sectors you wouldn’t want to work in to see what is left over, for example if you know you don’t want a customer service/public facing type role this will leave certain backhouse type of roles to consider such as warehousing. Make a list of these roles and then another list of ‘maybes’.
• Think about your personal life
  Think about what you enjoy in your personal life and consider if you could do training to make it a career, for example if you love cooking could you become a chef or kitchen member, if you love gardening could you consider this as a career. Think about what you enjoy doing, if you like being social maybe customer service is for you, if you are very empathetic and enjoying helping and supporting others, maybe the case sector for you.

Remember that sometimes jobs are steppingstones to a potential career so it’s okay that you may not be in your dream job straight away.

It’s a sad reality that, with the ending of our funding, HeadsUp is going to stop taking referrals from the 14^th of October. By the time you read this, we will very likely have enrolled our thousandth participant. In plain English, that means we will have supported one thousand people from Essex- including Southend and Thurrock- during the lifetime of our programme. One person for every 1,500 people in the entire county.

Teaching into action

One of our Development and Skills Officers had to make the difficult choice to look for a new job, so thought he’d put into practice what he’s been teaching others for several years. Having decided the sort of role he’d like to do he had to make sure his CV was suitable, displaying the most relevant skills and experience. Sometimes deciding what to leave out is as hard as deciding what to put in, but this is an essential bit of good discipline that also helps you to focus for the rest of the application.

Highlighting relevant skills

Having found a role and uploaded his CV, he then checked that all the relevant information had been extracted. The job he was applying for required a “personal statement” showing why he was suited for the role, so he followed a similar format to a cover letter. This meant highlighting how his relevant skills matched those required by the employer and backing this up with examples. He had to show why he was a “good fit”, and the ways in which he matched the values of the employer. Very often it is this step which is the most important in getting you through screening; and by doing a great job here you are also helping to prepare yourself for an interview.

With fingers crossed, the DSO sent off his application and was invited for an interview which was going to include a presentation- with just 48 hours’ notice. Having done his homework when applying initially, he was able to put together a presentation which both addressed the question asked and showed an understanding of the wider issues he would have to address if he was successful. He kept it simple, reading it through to make sure it met the time limit.

And then the interview!

The interview was to be held online. Prior to the interview, the DSO checked his equipment was working. As part of this, he used the camera function on his laptop to ensure that the lighting and background would be suitable for the interview: that he wasn’t in shadow, and that there were no distractions behind him. He then got into a suit, to show the interviewers that he was taking the meeting seriously.

As part of his interview preparation the DSO had reviewed the person specification and job description, looking for likely questions and working on STAR responses. He identified possible “threats” and worked out answers he could give on areas where he was not an expert. This gave him a bit of confidence going into the interview, and also helped him to manage his own expectations: at the end of the day, if someone ticked more boxes than him, then they would most likely be successful. He could only do his best.

The DSO logged in five minutes before the interview. He had the interviewer’s contact details to hand in case there were any connection problems but was able to sign in without an issue. After brief introductions he delivered the presentation before moving onto answering a range of questions. After what seemed like a very short hour the interview was over. He knew he’d given some good answers but wasn’t entirely convinced by others. Rather than dwell on the unknowable he resolved to get on with his day.

A successful outcome

Two days later (after periods of self-doubt!) he was informed that he’d been successful. This success came from following the same lessons DSOs share with participants- just another example showing that they work.