This section has been prepared based upon the feedback of experiences of potential candidates. As soon as you start approaching companies, recruitment agencies or career services, you need to own “ Brand You.” You need to be as positive and successful in your job-searching. Google, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Skype and MySpace are names synonymous with social networking in the early 21st century. Social networks have become an integral part of people’s everyday lives and in fact, is so popular it has its very own language, for example, you can “ Google” or be “ Googled.” You can “friend” or “unfriend” someone on Facebook. And you can send tweets to update people on your every activity every moment of the day using your Twitter account. 2016 will be the year when recruiting on social media will become even more important in the war for talent. Over 900 million people worldwide use Facebook every day. A staggering 60% of UK recruiters are not using social media to source candidates. Source: Jobvite&rsquo's 2015 UK Social Recruitment Survey. A recent study by an executive search firm found that 77 per cent of recruiters run searches of candidates on the Web to screen them; 35 per cent of these same recruiters say they’ ve eliminated a candidate based on the information they uncovered. What does this mean for young jobseekers about online profiles? Discuss as a group some of the postings that young people preparing for careers should be careful to avoid. Examples include: complaining about a former employer, showing pictures of hard-partying, descriptions of sexual exploits, abusive or aggressive language, etc. Think about your own personal texting and social media habits. What can you do to protect your online image – and your job opportunities? Here are a few ideas. Be careful. Nothing is private. Don’t post anything on your site or your “friends’” sites you wouldn’t want a prospective employer to see. Derogatory comments, revealing or risqué photos, foul language, and lewd jokes all will be viewed as a reflection of your character. Be discreet. If your network offers the option, consider setting your profile to “ private,” so that it is viewable only by friends of your choosing. And since you can’t control what other people say on your site, you may want to use the “ block comments” feature. Remember, everything on the Internet is archived, and there is no eraser! Be prepared. Check your profile regularly to see what comments have been posted. Use a search engine to look for online records of yourself to see what is out there about you. If you find the information you feel could be detrimental to your candidacy or career, see about getting it removed – and in the meantime make sure you have an answer ready to counter or explain “ digital dirt.” Now, we’ ll move onto the next section, which will explore job hunting, applications and interview preparation! Section 2 – About Employment It is natural for people to earn a living. Gone are the days of bartering and exchanging goods to survive. Now we all have to earn a living or a salary. ‘Salary’ comes from the Latin word ‘salarium’ and has the root ‘sal’, or "salt." In ancient Rome, it specifically meant the amount of money allotted to a Roman soldier to buy salt, which was an expensive but essential commodity at the time. So this brings us onto the task of ensuring we can obtain a salary, by obtaining a job that we feel we can do well. This section will help you identify and apply for a suitable job and the learning outcomes will help you to: Understand how to prepare a Curriculum Vitae and what it is for. Understand different methods of applying for jobs. Be able to complete a job application. Understand how candidates are selected for interview. Understand the interview process. Preparing a Curriculum Vitae. There are quite a few sites online where you can peruse different templates. Some are free, but most aren’t. Before you even choose the layout and look, you need to plan and prepare the information you need to fill in various sections, but we’ ve included a couple of helpful resource sites. www.myperfectcv.co.uk is a useful tool as it is free and contains useful examples of what to write in each section. www.reed.co.uk and www.monster.co.uk, both have free CV templates to download and use. There is also some basic guidance on what to write as you progress. However, firstly we’ ll take a look at the preparation required. If you’ ve found a job which is advertised directly by the employer, go and look at their company website first. Once there, you’ ll get a good feel of how the company works and the type of culture they operate. This will help you to decide if the company feels right for you. Before you apply for any role you need to gain an understanding of the type of person the prospective employer is looking for. Whether it’s from a job advert, person specification or role profile posted on their careers site, use this information as a blueprint for your CV. The more effectively you show a clear match between the skills required and those you possess, the more likely you are to secure an interview. Your CV should be a living document. To make the most of it you’ ll probably need to adapt it to specific roles or blue-prints. Employers don’t have time to read between the lines, so the more you do to promote your suitability, the greater your chance of success. Make it easy for them by Moulding your CV to their requirements. Highlighting where your skills match their needs. Pointing out the value that you could bring to their organisation. As an example, if there want a great team worker, provide examples of where yoU have worked as part of a team. This could include a football, hockey, or quiz team. It doesn’t have to be work-related if you don’t have the examples. Just use positive examples and showcase what you did clearly. Give yourself the edge by using your CV to accentuate your real skills and abilities, and to promote achievements and successes, but remember to be honest and factual.Do remember to include all of your contact details on all of your pages as you never know if your CV will get split up. Always include your name, address, telephone number and e-mail address and, if you have a website that you think will add value to your application, include that too. As a minimum, put your email address and mobile number as a footer, so it isn’t in the main body. Aim to keep to two or three pages and bullet-point your content, so that it is easy to digest. It&rsquo's critical that each area of your CV is easy to read and allows the key points to stand out. Use a universal font such as Arial, Times New Roman, Palatino, Courier or Century Gothic, rather than one that may not be available on the recipient’s computer. Don’t forget to proofread your CV and spell-check once completed. Layout. Use an uncluttered layout with plenty of white space and wide margins. Choose a single, common typeface as already mentioned. Follow best practice: 11-12 point body text, 14 point maximum for headings, no capitals (especially on internet CVs where capitals are seen as SHOUTING), and embolden headings. Don’t reduce the margins to fit more in, or else printing out may be problematic. If you need another page, use one, but don’t reduce the font to try to fit more words into the document.Print on one side of the paper only, and number the pages if there are two or more. Structure. Personal Information. Name, address and contact details are a must. You might want to add these details to the footer of your CV in case pages go missing. Work Experience. Employers are usually interested in your most recent jobs, so concentrate on your last two positions – although you might occasionally want to highlight earlier roles if they are relevant to the role you’ re applying for. If you haven’t worked full-time before, or voluntarily, you must include this. Start with your most recent position and work backwards. Provide a job title, start and finish dates, the name of the company and a brief description of what they do. Treat a promotion like a separate position and add content accordingly. List relevant responsibilities, achievements, duties and skills. Make sure you explain any gaps in your career as, even if you’ re not working you may have gained valuable transferable skills and experience from other pursuits. For example, a student taking six months out to travel will have gained life skills, plus a deeper cultural understanding, social skills, and possibly problem-solving and decision-making skills too. All of this will make you sound more rounded. Qualifications, education, training and developmentUsually these come near the end, but if particular qualifications are essential for the job and make you more marketable, put them on the first page after your profile or key skills. Include relevant professional qualifications and academic ones, and any courses which may not be accredited, but where you have leant valuable skills or knowledge. List qualifications; giving the subject, awarding body and year. Mention relevant skills such as languages, technology, vocational or on the job trainingInclude relevant training or skills acquired while unemployed, or during a leave period, or doing part-time or voluntary work. References and endorsementsYou may want to include the names and contact details of your references on your CV, but there is no obligation. Whether you include them or not, it’s wise to have your referees ready and willing to represent you. Include any endorsements and recommendations, for example: ‘ Given a special award by ABC for contribution to ABC project’ or ‘ Awarded a prize for full attendance at school for five years’ Future-proofing. Remember to keep your CV up to date, even when you’ re this section has been prepared based upon the feedback of experiences of potential candidates.o longer looking. You&rsquo'll be thankful when the time comes and it’ ll prevent you from forgetting important dates, details, projects or successes. If you follow these simple rules and put all of these tips into practice, you’ re more likely to impress on the strength of your CV. Remember, to keep it factual, and don’t try to overly-impress or over-estimate your achievements. Email Etiquette. If you are sending a CV with a covering letter by email, or are making speculative enquiries, you need to ensure your email etiquette is up-to-date and appropriate. Here are some tips. Always include a subject line that “helps” the reader as a meaningful subject line helps to clarify what your message is about – and also might help the reader to prioritise reading your email. The email should mimic a written letter. Always begin with Dear… – and end with Sincerely. Sincerely is often the best “professional” choice for a closing. Use business language, spell check, and avoid abbreviations as emails are considered professional or business correspondence. You want to be sure everything is spelt correctly and can be easily understood and avoid using ALL CAPS. Just as in the case of a CV, which we’ ll come onto in the next section, ALL CAPS USUALLY MEANS YOU ARE ANNOYED. NO ONE LIKES TO BE SHOUTED AT. Business emails should not use emoticons because they are not considered “professional” – plus not everyone knows what they mean. Don’t come across as negative or sarcastic. Emails can be forwarded to others quickly. You never know who will see/hear what you wrote. E.g. “ This is the thirtieth job I&rsquo've applied for so at least give me an interview.” Remember to keep as positive as possible. Once you hit “ send,” there is no turning back!