Job hunting for young adults

A CV is a professional document that showcases your skills and experience to a potential employer. Our top tips for writing a CV are:

• Think about having different CVs for different jobs – make sure you tailor your CV to the job you’re applying for using the job description and person specification
• Make sure your CV is clearly laid out – you can use our free CV template to do this
• There’s lots of different opinions on how long a CV should be; our advice would be to make sure it’s no longer than two sides of A4 paper – this is because an employer can see all the information they need on one sheet of paper. Don’t worry if you can’t fill two sides of A4 though, especially if you’re looking for your first job.
• Check your spelling and grammar
• Use bullet points instead of paragraphs – this makes it easier to read your CV and keeps it short, snappy and to the point
• Keep your CV up to date. Every time you complete a course or gain new skills and experience get it on your CV. Also make sure you update your CV if your contact details change!

We’ve created a simple CV template to help you write your CV. Just fill in the gaps with your information and save a copy!

Your personal profile (the paragraph at the top of your CV) is the first thing an employer will read about you. Research shows that employers only spend 5-7 seconds reading a CV, so this is your chance to make them want to read more…

Your personal profile should be short, only a few lines, and summarise your transferable skills and experience. When writing a personal profile, remember Who – What – Goals.

Who are you? 

• A hardworking professional…
• An ambitious marketing graduate…
• A highly skilled professional… 

What can you offer?

• What skills can you bring?
• What experience do you have?
• Be specific

What are your goals?

• Currently seeking an opportunity to…
• Looking to join a market-leading company…
• Wanting to establish a career in…

Employers check your references to make sure you’re reliable and have worked for the places you say you have. You don’t have to put your references’ contact details on your CV – you’ll be wasting valuable space that could instead be used to talk more about your skills. Instead, write “References are available upon request” at the end of your CV.

An employer will specify who is an acceptable reference – they usually ask for two. They can’t be family members and should ideally be previous employers. Don’t worry if you’re not sure who to use as a referee; you could ask old teachers or anyone who has known you for a long time in a professional capacity. Remember, always get permission to put someone down as a reference.

There are many different ways to look for work. All of these methods are great on their own, but utilising as many of these methods as you can will greatly improve your chances of landing that interview.

• Job sites – there are loads of job search websites out there and you can search specifically or generally for the type of work you’re looking for. Some sites will allow you to send a CV direct to the employer, while others will take you to an application form
• Specific company websites – larger companies such as supermarkets and local authorities will have their own dedicated careers websites. Have a think about companies you would like to work for and look for their careers pages – a lot of these vacancies won’t necessarily appear on job hunting websites. 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 are also large employers in the city
• Newspapers – local newspapers and community magazines will often have sections for job adverts. Papers like the Daily Echo also have an online jobs section
• Shop window – these types of adverts are common in retail. Many shops will put a poster up in store and encourage you to give your CV to the manager or apply on their website
• CV drop – handing your speculative CVs in to employers can be time consuming, but it also shows you’re proactive and committed. Some employers may keep your CV on file in case they have jobs in the future.
• Telephone – this can be scary, but also worthwhile. Pick up the phone and call some local businesses. You never know, they might have some vacancies…
• Social media – social media isn’t just about keeping in touch and sharing photos. You can also join groups and follow accounts to help you find work. Smaller businesses may also advertise their vacancies on social media to save money. We’ve got more information about safely using social media to look for jobs below
• Southampton Jobcentre Plus – is located at St Cross House, 18 Bernard Street, Southampton. You can search the Universal Jobmatch database.
• Family and friends – 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

Have you ever heard the expression “It’s not what you know, but who you know”? This can apply when looking for work; networking, and building up your network of support can help you access more opportunities and put yourself in front of potential employers. When we hear the term networking we tend to think of business people pitching ideas and making connections. But networking can also really help when looking for work. Networking with businesses can allow you to directly sell your skills and experience to an employer.

Did you know, 85% of employers use their own networks to fill their vacancies? - LinkedIn Pulse

Networking allows you to use the people you know, the people they know, and the people they know to look for work. Make sure you let the people in your life know you’re looking for work; they might have their own friends and contacts who are looking for staff, or they might be able to point you in the direction of a brand new opportunity. People in your network could be:

• Family members
• Friends
• Old colleagues
• Teachers
• People you talk to regularly
• People you know on social media
• Recruitment experts
• Support workers and organisations

Find out more about networking from the National Careers Service.

There are lots of national websites where you can search for vacancies. 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.

• Indeed
• Reed
• TotalJobs
• CV-Library
• Find a Job
• Jobsite
• Monster
• NHS Jobs
• Fish4Jobs
• GuardianJobs
• Adzuna
• Civil Service Jobs
• CharityJob

• Blue Arrow – Administration, Hospitality, Catering, Logistics and Industrial
• Konnect Recruit – Construction
• Michael Jay Recruitment Services – Construction and Facilities Management
• Drivers Ltd – Driving
• Premier Recruitment Solutions – Finance, Construction, Driving, Industrial
• ADS Recruitment – Finance, Administration, Customer Service, Driving, Engineering, Industrial
• Red Chilli Recruitment – Finance, Administration, Engineering, Management, HR, Manufacturing, Sales
• Pathfinder Personnel – Administration, Driving, Industrial, Security
• RFC Recruitment Solutions – Administration, Construction, Customer Service, Driving, Industrial, Sales
• 3D Personnel – Construction
• Teacher Active – Education
• Newcross Healthcare – Health Care, Social Care
• CMA Recruitment – Finance, Management, HR
• Anderselite – Construction, Engineering, Facilities Management, Health & Safety, IT, Rail
• Page Personnel – Finance, Administration, Customer Service, Government / Public Sector, Health Care, HR, Industrial, Logistics, Manufacturing , Media, Retail, Sales, Telecommunications, Energy
• Angel Human Resources – Finance, Administration, Catering and Hospitality, Management, Facilities Management, HR, Industrial, Marketing, Sales, Social Care
• Gi Group – Finance, Administration, Catering and Hospitality, Customer Service, Driving, Industrial, Logistics, Manufacturing, Marketing, Sales
• Hays – Legal, Administration, Social Care, Construction, Government / Public Sector
• City Centre Recruitment – Finance, Administration, Catering and Hospitality, Customer Service, Driving, Engineering, HR, Industrial, Legal, Marketing, Sales
• The Best Connection – Driving, Industrial, Logistics, Production, Retail
• Manpower – Administration, Construction, Customer Service, Driving, Education, Engineering, Management, Finance, Government / Public Sector, HR, IT, Legal, Logistics, Manufacturing, Marketing, Retail, Sales, Social Care, Energy
• Office Angels – Finance, Administration, Construction, Customer Service, Engineering, Facilities Management, HR, Industrial, IT, Legal, Marketing, Retail, Sales, Travel
• The rpc Group of Companies
• Berry Recruitment
• Pertemps
• August Clarke – Accounting

LinkedIn is a free professional social networking site. You can connect with employers and other workers in the sectors you’re interested in, as well as link with mentors and raise your profile to employers.

Top tips for using LinkedIn

• Upload a recent, high quality profile picture. Wear a professional outfit and stand against a plain background
• Connect with people – start with the people you know and expand from there
• Be active – keep your account up to date to show employers you are motivated. The more active you are, the more likely you are to be noticed
• Like, comment and share articles and posts that interest you
• Join groups and sign up to newsletters to stay up to date

Find out how to set up a LinkedIn profile with the National Careers Service.

Facebook has become popular in recent years for job postings and networking. There are several ways to use Facebook to look for work:

Facebook Jobs – search for job postings on Facebook near you

Company Pages – lots of companies, especially smaller businesses, will post their job vacancies on their Facebook page. If there are particular companies you would like to work for, make sure you like their page to stay up to date with future vacancies. You could even send them a message on Facebook to see if they’re hiring

Groups– there are several local job groups in Facebook. Just search “Southampton Jobs” on Facebook and ask to join. Remember, these job postings aren’t always verified by Facebook, so make sure you follow Facebook’s guidelines when using this feature.

Important things to remember:

• If a job sounds too good to be true, it probably is
• Research the employer and ask for more information
• Report listings that ask for payments
• Don’t transfer funds or make payments on behalf of an employer
• If you’re following a link to a website to apply, make sure the URL has “https” at the front to show it is a secure website
• Meet in safe, public locations for interviews. Make sure you tell friends or family when you are going and when you expect to be finished

You can use Twitter/X to look for jobs by following company profiles – many large companies now have specific careers accounts on Twitter/X, solely for advertising their jobs. You can also research the company to help you decide if you would like to work there and prepare for your interview.

In Southampton, there are several accounts and weekly events on Twitter/X that can help you find work:

• @sotoncareers – our account that share local vacancies, advice and information around employment
• @JCPinHants_IOW – the local Jobcentre account shares job vacancies in Southampton, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight
• @CareersSE – the National Careers Service account covering the South East of England regularly shares vacancies and advice
• #SotonJobs Hour takes place every Thursday 1pm-2pm with employers sharing their vacancies
• #SouthEastJobs is the hashtag for the National Careers Service Twitter Jobs Fairs that take place several times a year

Use the search tool to your advantage.

To make sure you’re finding jobs relevant to you, you can use Twitter’s search bar to get specific vacancies. A popular way of doing this is to search location + vacancy + industry. For example, Southampton vacancy administration. 

While social media is a great resource when used properly, unfortunately there are always people who will try to exploit these tools for their own gain. It’s important to stay safe and look after your personal data online.

SAFERjobs is a useful website for job seekers, agency staff, and contractors who have experienced any suspected fraud, malpractice, breach of legislation, or poor experience. They also have some helpful articles for job searching safely and to help you spot any scams.

Here are some important things to remember:

• Never share your personal data, passwords, National Insurance Number or bank details on social media, even if a potential employer asks you to
• Limit the amount of information you share – don’t give out your date of birth, email address, home address or phone number on social media
• Work at home schemes are commonly used by scammers – research the company and ask questions about pay, commission, responsibilities and timeframes to check it is a legitimate opportunity
• Make sure you set up your privacy and security settings properly
• Set strong passwords and don’t have the same password for everything
• If something looks suspicious, delete/block it
• Make sure your security software is up to date and working

View job searching advice from Get Safe Online.

Whether you use social media to look for work or not, you should always make sure there is nothing on any of your online profile that you wouldn’t want an employer to see. Some employers will look up candidates on social media – this isn’t illegal, as long as they don’t discriminate based on protected characteristics.

If an employer looked up your social media and didn’t give you the job because they found out you had a disability, that would be against the law. However, if they didn’t give you a job based on content you shared that they thought was inappropriate, that is allowed.

There are four easy steps to take to make sure you’re appearing professional online:

• Privacy settings – check your privacy settings and make sure only friends/followers/connections can see your posts
• Profile Clean – take some time to go through ALL your posts on social media, deleting or hiding anything that is inappropriate or questionable. If it makes you cringe, it should probably be deleted
• Google yourself – put your name into Google and see what comes up. If you spot anything you don’t like, track it down and fix the issue
• Think about what you’re posting – next time you’re posting photos of a drunk night out or getting in spats on Twitter, step back and ask yourself; Would you want an employer to see this?