Starting a new career can be a minefield especially for young people who are taking the first step onto the career ladder. Many young people are faced with tough decisions about whether to continue with study or find and start work. Here are some useful hints and tips to help young people take the first leap into employment or make a positive change in their career path.

Review your prospects

Set some time aside to thoroughly review your career prospects. Think about how you would like to start or improve your current career and assess your strengths and weaknesses. Consider what you like doing at work and at home as job satisfaction is vital to staying motivated.

Seek professional advice

There are many professional careers advice services and development centres throughout Northern Ireland. Seek advice from your local Careers Service centre which offers free and impartial careers advice. Careers Service NI also has some useful online tools to help search for jobs and assess skills, for further information visit: www.nidirect.gov.uk/careers

Research and explore your options

Explore your options if you do not know what career you want to do or which field of study you want to switch to. Ensure you research all the options open to you without any limitations. Use the internet and read some career/advice books to help provide further understanding about your options. Research career courses and events to discover what opportunities are available.

Improve your skills

Think about improving your skill set to open up new opportunities. With a vast number of ever changing industries in Northern Ireland it may be worthwhile updating your portfolio with further education courses. There are many courses available to help decide what is right for you.  Seek advice from EGSA (Educational Guidance Service for Adults) which provides advice for adults seeking to engage in learning and managing their careers. For further information visit: www.egsa.org.uk

Tailor your CV

It is often the case that employers look for specific requirements and criteria that matches your CV. Think about reviewing your qualifications, skills, qualities, work experience, hobbies and interests and identify evidence that you could use to highlight your suitability for the job role. For further tips and advice visit: www.nijobs.com/cv-writing-tips.htm

Be flexible

If you are lucky enough to be in a position of accepting a job interview, be flexible with the employer. If you have to travel to the interview or the job requires further travelling or relocation don’t let this put you off.  Prepare your journey in advance and think about using public transport which offers a smart way to travel and is a great way to make savings. Why not take advantage of the new Translink yLink card, a new Smartcard for young people aged 16 to 23 which provides a third off travel on bus and rail services in Northern Ireland and up to 50% off cross border Enterprise fares. The card costs £8 and the one-off payment will provide up to eight years worth of savings with no annual renewal charge. For further information visit: www.translink.co.uk/ylink

Boost your interview skills

Interviewing is a learned skill and often improves with lots of practice. Help boost your technique by preparing in advance and think about other factors such as improving your non-verbal communication skills and dressing appropriately. The INTRO Programme has a useful interview tips pack available for download at: www.introprogramme.com

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