OCR Award and Certificate
in
Employability Skills
Level 1
Unit 8:
Preparing for and learning from
a job search
This unit is about:
Searching for a job
Job types
Job searching skills
and resources
The documents
Searching for a job
There are many different ways of searching for a job.
You could:
Register at
recruitment
agencies
Look on
company
websites
Talk to people
– friends, job
advisors
Follow social
media sites eg:
LinkedIn
Searching for a job
There could be many people applying for the same job as
you.
So to get ahead, you need to find
out as much as you can about the
company and the job you are
applying for.
You may be just what the
employer is looking for!
Job searching skills and resources
You will need the following skills when searching for a job:
• Organised – you must keep copies of
your applications
• Written communication – you may
need to write a covering letter
• Verbal communication – you may need
to telephone for an application form
• Time management – you must get
your application in on time
• Self-reflection – think about what
you could do differently next time
Job searching skills and resources
You may also need these resources:
Telephone – to call
about advertised
vacancies
Computer – to type
your letters of
application and your CV
People – friends or job
advisors to give you
advice and guidance
Job types
To decide which jobs to apply for you will need to know:
The hours you can work
Different types of jobs will mean different
working hours. For example, bar staff
usually work during the evening. Office
staff usually work between 9am and 5pm.
Job types
To decide which jobs to apply for you will need to know:
Can you get to and from the
job?
You may have your own transport
or you may only be able to look
for jobs on your local bus route.
Job types
To decide which jobs to apply for you will need to know:
The type of job
that would suit you
You will need to be physically fit to
be a labourer or be confident on
the telephone to work in a call
centre.
Job types
WhatWhat
mightare
their
theemployment
different
What skills
work
might
status
patterns
they
be (full-time,
for thesepart-time,
jobs
(typical working
temporary,
need?
daysetc)?
and hours)?
Christmas shop
assistant
Cleaner
Motor mechanic
Hairdresser’s
assistant
Job types
What What
might are
theirthe
employment
different
What skills
work
status
might
patterns
be
they
(full-time,
for these
part-time,
jobs
(typical temporary,
working
need?
days
etc)?
and hours)?
Christmas shop assistant
• Probably part-time and temporary
• Possibly working late evenings and weekends
• Good customer service skills
Job types
What What
might are
theirthe
employment
different
What skills
work
status
might
patterns
be
they
(full-time,
for these
part-time,
jobs
(typical temporary,
working
need?
days
etc)?
and hours)?
Hairdresser’s assistant
• Could be full-time or part-time,
temporary or permanent
• Would have to work Saturdays
• Good customer service skills
Job types
What What
might are
theirthe
employment
What skills
status
might
be
they
(full-time,
part-time,
different
work
patterns
for these
jobs
need?
etc)?
(typical temporary,
working
days
and hours)?
Cleaner
• Could be full-time or part-time,
temporary or permanent
• May have to work early mornings or
late evenings
• Would have to be physically fit
Job types
What What
might are
theirthe
employment
different
What skills
work
status
might
patterns
be
they
(full-time,
for these
part-time,
jobs
(typical temporary,
working
need?
days
etc)?
and hours)?
Motor mechanic
• Could be full-time or part-time,
temporary or permanent
• Would have to work Saturdays and
late evenings
• Would have to be physically fit
The documents
Documents that you need to support your application are:
CV
Application
form
Covering letter
Pay attention to these documents – make sure they are
correct and as clear as possible. You wouldn’t want to put the
wrong telephone number on your CV!
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 Slide 4 - Man with briefcase: Sergey Nivens/Shutterstock.com  Slide 5 – thinking man: Modella/Shutterstock.com Slide 6 – laptop: ifong/Shutterstock.com, man with magnifying glass:
Air0ne/Shutterstock.com, books: studioVin/Shutterstock.com Slide 7 – checklist: AnatolyM/Shutterstock.com Slide 8 – man with phone: Jane0606/Shutterstock.com, people talking:
Air0ne/Shutterstock.com, man using computer: Air0ne/Shutterstock.com  Slide 9 – barman: Texelart/Shutterstock.com  Slide 10 – man driving car: Texelart/Shutterstock.com  Slide 11 – call
centre: Sergey Nivens/Shutterstock.com  Slide 12 – Christmas shop assistant: 3Dmask/Shutterstock.com, Mechanic: Alexander Maslennikov/Shutterstock.com, Tyres: Dmitry
Kalinovsky/Shutterstock.com, Hairdresser: Anatoly Maslennikov/Shutterstock.com, Cleaner: 3Dmask/Shutterstock.com  Slide 13 - Christmas shop assistant: 3Dmask/Shutterstock.com  Slide
14 - Hairdresser: Anatoly Maslennikov/Shutterstock.com  Slide 15 - Cleaner: 3Dmask/Shutterstock.com  Slide 16 - Mechanic: Alexander Maslennikov/Shutterstock.com, Tyres: Dmitry
Kalinovsky/Shutterstock.com