Careers blog written by Irena Zientek, Information Development Manager, Careers

If you’re job hunting there are some basics you need to know: where to find vacancies and how to get through the recruitment and assessment process.

The Careers website’s look for work and apply for jobs sections are where you need to start.

As the title suggests, our look for work pages help you identify relevant job sites and resources for all types of work. So, whether it’s graduate jobs, internships, part-time work or international work, you’ll find good starting points and further information.

One part of this section – the job hunting toolkit – offers practical help with:

• understanding job adverts
• recruitment timescales
• searching for vacancies
• what employers want from applicants

Elsewhere in look for work, there’s also information about:

• working for small to medium sized companies (many graduates will work for these sorts of employers, rather than the larger recruiters)
• networking as a way of finding jobs (not all jobs are advertised!)
• labour market information (which sectors are growing? where are the jobs?)
• and your employment rights (even if you’re only working part-time, you’re still entitled to certain rights).

If you’re job hunting, at some point you’re going to have to apply and face recruitment processes. This is where the apply for jobs section comes in.

Most jobs will require you to submit an application, whether that’s a CV or an application form. It’s the first stage of recruitment for many jobs and particularly important if you’re to get through to the next stage(s) of the process. If your application doesn’t impress, you won’t get to an interview, so invest the time to make it the best you can.

Even if you’re not actively looking for jobs, it’s always good to draft together a CV or make a record of the skills and experience you’ve got. Having these will make it easier when you come to make genuine applications, as you’ll have the basics to work with.

Preparing for interviews and assessment centres are both explained in the apply for jobs section too. There are also links to resources, which provide practice aptitude and psychometric tests, which are used by many employers, particularly the big graduate recruiting companies.

Don’t underestimate the time and effort it can take to work through the recruitment process – it can almost feel like a full-time job in itself! However, with your preparation and the support offered by our online resources, you can understand what’s required and make a success of your job hunting.