Tips for Getting a Job  (or a promotion)

What Study Gets You a Job?

  • Put yourself in the employers shoes -they get dozens (sometimes hundreds) of people competing for the same job.Their choices are usually based upon lots of different things (Your studies are part of their consideration, but only part)
  • People who stand out from other applicants get the job; so you need to do things to make yourself stand out.
  • In the past, a qualification made you stand out, because few people had qualifications -but today, most people have qualifications (There are a lot of people with degrees, diplomas and certificates who are unemployed)

Why Study then, if Qualified People are Unemployed?

Having a qualification may be no guarantee for work; but what you learn from a good course does greatly increase your opportunities to be employed.

Getting the Qualification is not as important as Learning what Employers Seek

Employers today look for all of the following:

  • Ability to communicate verbally fast, clearly and effectively with co-workers and clients
  • Ability to write in a concise, clear and accurate fashion
  • Computer skills -not important everywhere; but IT skills are important in an increasing rabge of jobs
  • Capacity to solve problems; fast when needed, and systematically and in detail when required
  • Natural Efficiency -some people do things fast (naturally); others do things slow. Where an employer sees an indication of speed without compromising accuracy, the applicant can have an edge.
  • Awareness of "state of play" in the industry
  • Knowledge and skills that are pertinent to the job
  • A thirst for learning -demonstrated by networking within industry, volunteering to get experience, memberships to clubs, societies, associations; reading literature
  • Psychology and Personality -Employers are increasingly cautious about employing people who may not be a team player. Psychological profiling is used increasingly by employers to gain some insights into a person's profile.

How then can Doing a Course help Get a Job?

  • Study can help a lot if it focuses on developing all of the things employers look for (the points above -and more)
  • Courses at ACS and with our affiliate colleges do this -but not all colleges or universities have trhe same focus today.