Looking for work

CVs, Application Forms and Interviews

Before you start your job search, it's good to get a decent CV together, as well as getting some practice filling out application forms and trying out your interview techniques.

Our CV pages tell you all you need to know about creating that perfect CV, but if you need some extra help, you can visit your local youth support drop-in centre - you can just pop in and work alongside a Youth Support worker.

Youth Support workers have also produced some help sheets that you can download here:

For more hands-on help and advice, call into one of the drop-in centres and ask to see a youth support worker.

Where to look for job vacancies

There are lots of national websites where you can search for vacancies, like Fish4Jobs and Monster. These type of websites let you post your CV and search a national database of jobs, but they are limited in the amount of local jobs you will find.

Your best bet is to get the Daily Echo on a Thursday when all the local jobs are advertised. You can also search the Daily Echo's vacancy database online.

Southampton Jobcentre Plus is located at St Cross House, 22 Bernard Street, Southampton. Again, you can search the Jobcentre Plus vacancy database.

It's also worth remembering that some employers - particularly shops and restaurants - advertise their vacancies in their windows, so do take a walk around if this is what you're interested in, and remember to take a pile of CVs with you.

Don't forget to ask family and friends if they know of any jobs. Small companies often rely on word-of-mouth to fill their vacancies. They may also put up vacancies on college or university notice boards, or in Post Office windows.

If you want to work for a large organisation, their website will usually have a job section which is updated regularly. Try Southampton City Council for jobs ranging from gardeners to administration assistants, from teaching assistants to leisure centre workers, or the National Health Service (NHS) for a variety of health-related positions, including care assistants and receptionists. Southampton University and Skandia are also large employers in the city.

Remember...

The Prevention and Inclusion team produce lists of current vacancies in and around Southampton every Thursday. Pick one up from one of our drop-in centres or you can ask if they can be sent to you. Alternatively, the listings are added as PDF documents to the Job Bulletins page - just click on the links and you can print them off.