Skills Launchpad Plymouth
Find a job
Where should I look for a job? What support can the Skills Launchpad offer?
There are many reasons why you might be looking for a new job right now from uncertainty about the future of your current job or apprenticeship to being made redundant, leaving school, college or university, with or without hoped for results, as well as lockdown giving you time to think about what you really want to do.
Covid-19 has changed the way we live and work with growing uncertainty on how this will affect us individually, as communities and as a city. The great news is that there are jobs available right now in Plymouth.
We can help you access impartial careers advice and guidance to help plan out your next steps. This could involve training or further study, or a fresh CV and some interview preparation to put you in the best position for employment.
Through the Skills Launchpad we aim to help you to develop the skills you may need to apply for and fill these current jobs and apprenticeships, and also look ahead to Plymouth’s future jobs which will be created as our local businesses work hard to recover and the city’s investment and recovery programme takes effect.
Find advice and guidance here:
Understanding the changing jobs market
What jobs are available post-lockdown?
10 firms in Plymouth that have smashed it during the lockdown
Speak to a careers advisor
Call the National Careers Service on 0800 100 900 for help to identify skills that could be useful in a range of different roles.
Job websites
The good news is that there’s a wealth of job sites out there where you can search for jobs, register online for alerts about jobs that you may be interested in applying for and some give you the option to upload your CV to be matched.
Find a Job is the Government’s Job search site, you can follow @JCPinPlymouth on Twitter for sharing jobs, events, job search and careers advice for Plymouth.
On Job Help you will find lists of the national recruitment exercises that are underway to fill vacancies across a wide range of sectors, including the NHS, care, retail, food production and logistics.
https://jobhelp.campaign.gov.uk/latest-jobs/
The imployable App helps you build your digital CV, identify the career you want, see how you fit and what you need to break into that career. You can get access to the qualifications and experience you need, and once you are ready you can use the inbuilt job board to apply for jobs that suit you. The app is packed with coaching videos and support features for job seekers.
Other job sites includes:
Local job news, websites and support
Plymouth Jobs is the largest jobs listing board and Facebook jobs page in Plymouth, focusing on advertising the best local jobs and opportunities.
Plymouth Live latest news about jobs.
Prince’s Trust – for those aged 16-25 years
Local employers and links to job websites
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Building Plymouth’s directory of local construction employers
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Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service current job vacancies
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Plymouth Manufacturers’ Group employers list and Plymouth Makes
Sector specific job websites
There are job sites which focus on particular sectors where you can search for specific jobs, register online for alerts about jobs that you may be interested in applying for and some give you the option to upload your CV to be matched.
Banking/Finance
Broadcasting/Media
Catering/Hospitality
Civil Service
Construction
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Construction Talent Retention Scheme - if you are a construction worker you are encouraged to sign up which will aim to match you with vacancies
Education
Engineering
Environmental/Geoscience
Medical/Healthcare
IT/Telecommunications
Legal
Personnel/HR
Public Relations
Public Sector
Retail
Finding graduate and intern jobs
All careers are built up in steps and this page on Target Jobs covers the first stages in choosing a graduate career and seeking out your first job after graduation.
It’s all about getting ideas about jobs by knowing your career options, exploring your skills and understanding your motivation, and then, of course, knowing where to look for graduate opportunities. Dip in, whatever stage you’re at.
Even if you feel you’re up against a wall having left graduate job hunting and career plans a little late or are struggling to find your next step due to the economic impact of Covid-19, covering the basics is the best way to boost your confidence and get back on track.
https://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/career-planning
If you have recently graduated, you can find opportunities on these graduate specific job sites.
Finding jobs for military service leavers and veterans
These websites promote the wide support available for finding ex forces jobs and careers advice, with job opportunities from employers who value ex-military recruitment.
National Careers Service guidance
How to find job vacancies
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/get-a-job/advertised-job-vacancies
How to get a job through networking
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/get-a-job/networking
Recruitment Agencies
Recruitment agencies help organisations find the right people to fill their vacancies. They can help you to get full-time, part-time and temporary work.
Recruitment consultants can match you to job roles. Agencies are useful for connecting you with jobs that are not advertised online or in the press. Some agencies specialise in particular industries, for instance healthcare or engineering. It's worth checking their website first to see what kind of jobs they advertise, then register online and call ahead if you wish to speak with an advisor and to book an appointment. You can register with more than one agency at a time. This increases your chances of finding a job.
Download the local recruitment agency list here
Sector specific recruitment agencies highlights:
Teaching: Step Teachers
Construction: Sphere Solutions
Office/ Commerical/ Industrial: Big Ant
Useful links to support you finding a job with Skills Launchpad Plymouth
Employer-proof your social media
We all know how important it is to make a good first impression, especially when it comes to getting a job. H&M has a fantastic initiative, loaning out a navy suit for 24hours to ensure you can look the part for your interview (more on that here), but what if you make the effort, research the company, land the interview, but then your social media lets you down?
The team at Total Jobs have come up with five ways to employer-proof your social accounts, and they are brilliant so we wanted to share them with you.
1. Prepare a great online CV on LinkedIn
You might think your LinkedIn profile is safe, secure, and completely appropriate, especially because it has a delightfully professional head-and-shoulders photograph of you looking rather suave in your sharpest business attire.
However, keep in mind the jobs you’re listing too, including how long you were there, your responsibilities, and any recommendations. The generally accepted rule on CVs is that you don’t lie on them, so don’t do it on your LinkedIn profile.
And just like a CV, don’t sell yourself short either, make sure you use interesting language, list all your skills and experience, and ask for endorsements and recommendations from friends and former colleagues.
Why is this so important? Well, a good LinkedIn profile can take the limelight away from your more ‘fun’ social profiles. “I will always check out a LinkedIn profile before a candidate’s Facebook, Twitter, etc.” says Oliver, a head-hunter based in London. “It’s what it’s actually there for, and so if it’s good I will feel confident enough that the candidate is professional so there’s no need to snoop any further”.
All well and good. But on LinkedIn you only get one photo to display, as we all know other sites have no limits…
In terms of photos, keep the exposure of flesh to an absolute minimum. Or just make sure your photos, or your whole profile ideally, is set to private. It’s important to think about how professional you look in photographs when your eyes are glazed over, forehead is sweaty and your hair is beyond a bird’s nest after a few too many.
Although the recruitment process is becoming ever more engaging, with increasing numbers of employers claiming to want to really get to know candidates, there still is, and will forever remain to be, a very definite line, and the understanding of how incredible you looked riding the rodeo in nothing more than hot pants and an ill-fitting shirt in Vegas is way beyond it.
3. Delete any contentious posts
Remember, jokes don’t always work so well through media or the written word in general. With no tone of voice or facial clues, what you might think is a pithy witticism might in fact translate as utterly terrible.
“I checked out a candidate on Facebook last time I was recruiting for my sales team”, recalls Steve. “I didn’t expect any of the applicants to have open profiles, let alone anything untoward on them. But this particular guy had a status about Jimmy Saville… I mean, I could tell it was meant to be a joke, but the fact it was for anyone to see made me question whether he actually cared if a potential employer saw it, and what if they took offence? That attitude put me right off!”
4. Think twice about posting
#First world problems? Don’t even mention it. Went to the gym, completed a full day at work and made your own dinner? Congratulations are not in order. This sort of social network banality is awful enough to friends and family, think about how your employer could perceive it.
I know we keep traipsing back to this point, but your employer(s), professional peers and colleagues probably don’t want to know THAT much about you. If you’re really insistent on having your work and social life cross over or blend entirely, at least don’t be whiny, dramatic and neurotic in what you post. Just saying.
5. Where applicable, make your content private
It’s relatively straight forward yet the numbers that fail to do this are alarmingly high. Delve a little deeper and actually take the time (and when I say time, usually under 2 minutes) to find the account settings for your social media page and adjust the settings.
Facebook in particular lets you alter individual aspects of your profile and activity to be available to different groups or contacts. You can even set things to open or private to everyone except specific individuals. It might sound a smidgen spiteful, but very handy and absolutely essential to keep professional eyes off your unprofessional self.
Ultimately though, regardless of whether an employer looks, just think carefully about what you put online. In 1996 if you were rocking out to Oasis at Knebworth when you were meant to be in work, nobody had a smartphone or a digital camera in order to stitch you up in a photo or a status on the pages of your social network. Now, it’s a whole different story.