How To Improve Your Employability

There's no denying that the economic and jobs market is tough at the moment. There are more people chasing fewer jobs - so it's smart to be organised and focused in your employability planning. Essentially, you need to be able to present yourself to best effect and demonstrate to your future employer, why they want you within their organisation.

 Network to success

The ability to network effectively is a highly valuable skill when it comes to finding your next job. Quite simply, you'll need to be having conversations with as many people as possible and letting them know that you're looking for a job and in what sort of area. Don't limit these conversations to people in certain sectors - chance meetings and conversations can often lead to powerful benefits! It's good to attend business networking sessions, industry meet-ups and other business and social combined opportunities to build your contacts list. Bring a business card ideally, so that your new contact can get back in touch with you and follow up where you've promised to. Relationships lie at the heart of most modern businesses, so this is a great skill to acquire.

Work experience

If your CV has a certain skills gap, then get savvy about boosting it. You could sign-up with a temporary agency to get an assignment, or offer to take on unpaid work experience to boost your experience. Whether you're looking to get into a commercial solicitors or a digital agency, this approach can pay dividends. Once you're within an organisation, showing your enthusiasm, hard work and talent, your potential employer is far more likely to consider hiring you for a longer contract or permanent role, than go through the expense and hassle of recruiting afresh.

Look at your CV

If your CV isn't getting the right response, it might need re-working. Check that it's a maximum of two pages, well written and in a logical order. Most people put their most recent role or educational experience first. Talk about what you've achieved, using clear and high impact examples. Add numbers and statistics if necessary, rather than padding with sentences. Use powerful adjectives that align to the sort of job you are looking for - many pre-screening automated systems will pick out key words and highlight those CVs as being worth further reading. Also, take the time to tailor your CV and covering letter to the role that you're applying for, rather than simply sending something generic. It's far better to show that you're genuinely interested and motivated for the job in question, rather than simply firing your CV out to all and sundry!

Training and development

A period of unemployment can also be a great time to get back into training and learn some new skills, or bring an existing skill set up to date. For example, if you work in a trade, you might want to do a college course in the latest green energy installations and broaden your potential portfolio of clients. If you began working in an office twenty years ago, you might want to brush up on your IT skills and check that you understand how to use the latest packages properly. Speak to a careers or training counsellor to get further advice and support in this area; many courses are either free or subsidised, particularly for the unwaged.

Written and contributed by legal blogger Zoe on behalf of Hibberts employment law solicitors.