Supporting young people with FREE careers coaching.

Over the summer we’ve been busy at Fastforward.me giving FREE career coaching consultations to 17-25yr olds who needed some support with what to do next. This week we’ve been sharing some of the top tips that we gleaned from these discussions.

Regardless of your age - if we can support you in any way with a FREE 30 minute career coaching consultation - get in touch - details at the end.

TIP 1 - even if you don’t yet know what specific role or industry you want to target - make sure your CV or personal statement reflects the skills you can offer (e.g. quick learner, adapt to change...) and environments that motivate you (e.g. fast paced, variety) and build your evidence from your experiences to date.

TIP 2 - review your CV from time to time - not just when you are targeting roles. As time goes by condense down things from the past. Whilst you still may be super proud of your leading role in a school play 6 years ago - a recruiter may not & the space may be better used saying something else about yourself. Keep the headlines - not the detail - that way employers can choose to prove further if relevant.

TIP 3 - don’t underestimate things you have done as not being interesting to recruiters. The amount of fantastic evidence that we have to drag out of people is unbelievable!!! If you have done Duke of Edinburgh, volunteer coaching, tutoring others, work experience, worked abroad, participated in team activities then you will have great examples of team working, leadership, adapting to change etc., so think hard about what you have done and ask others to remind you of good examples. 

TIP 4 - if you are recently out of Uni and applying for roles that are relevant to your degree then it is useful to give some detail on your CV of the modules/ topics that you covered on your course. It shows potential employers you have a good grasp of the role you are applying for even if you are lacking in the work experience.

TIP 5 - Network! Network! Network! You are never too young! Letting people know what you are interested in opens doors. Think outside the box - who do you know or who do you that might know someone that would be helpful to chat to? The world is a small place and we talk about 5 degrees of separation. Often when we chat to people they remember something like ‘oh my friends aunt works in....’ - ASK and you will be surprised how willing people are to help and share their knowledge. If you don’t ask.... you don’t get!

TIP 6 - start gathering feedback early on to help you develop your self awareness. Getting recommendations on LinkedIn isn’t going to guarantee to get you a job but it will build your self confidence hearing positive accolades from others. This will help you sell yourself without feeling like it is bragging. Take the feedback and build it into your personal profile as strengths. Don’t be frightened to ask for recommendations - it’s a good habit to get into and people are willing to help more times than not!

TIP 7 - a few first jobbers we talked too told us about people being let go at their work and therefore their jobs getting broader. Despite these tough times - see this as an opportunity- less layers means you’ll be closer to where decisions are made and learn more. Be sure to reflect your broader role on your CV.

TIP 8 - everyone has a different point of view on how to lay out a CV and what to include/exclude. Our view is that it should be easy to read - if you can’t get the ‘gist’ of who the person is or what they have done in the 1st few minutes of reading then that may be the difference between going into the MAYBE pile as opposed to REJECT. If you are short for space remove details such as referees, exam grades from a while back - if a recruiter wants to know them - they will ask!

TIP 9 - it’s never too early to start on LinkedIn - you an use it as an opportunity to connect with people if you do work experience. As you progress to looking for work make sure your “about you” paragraph reflects what you have on your CV or personal statement. Recruiters or companies will look you up on LinkedIn so make sure your profile is comprehensive.

TIP 10 - Invest in yourself! In this turbulent jobs market potential employers will be impressed if they see that you have been proactive in trying to best prepare yourself for future opportunities so saying that you have had FREE careers coaching and being able to show what your learnt and how you implemented it will be another positive string to your bow! Don’t be shy - reach out for support - it costs you nothing!

If we can support you - get in touch via our website www.fastforward.me.uk to book your FREE 30 minute careers coaching consultation using code FREEIC valid until 30/09/2020.