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Guide: How to find a Job in Gloucestershire
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Guide: How to find a Job in Gloucestershire
If you are currently looking for work or want to progress in your career, learn new skills or take on a bigger role – then this guide is for you.
11 May 2023
Have you recently become unemployed? Or perhaps have been out of the workplace for some time due to caring responsibilities or health issues?
Gloucestershire Skills Portal guide for ‘How to find a job in Gloucestershire’ is packed full of contacts and resources to find a new role.
The good news is that Gloucestershire has a dynamic and growing economy with a strong jobs market forecast for 2023. Latest figures from February 2023 show that there were over 22,000 job vacancies in the county across a wide range of industries and job roles, and over 1 million nationally.
Looking for a new job, whether you have been made redundant, are looking to re-enter the workforce after some time out or are looking for progression in your career can seem a daunting prospect.
There is a huge, sometimes confusing range of online options and organisations providing support and guidance to jobseekers. The aim of this guide is to try and signpost you to some of the best options to get you started in your search and give you some of the tools and confidence you might need to land that new job.
Unemployed and looking for work in Gloucestershire
If internet access to support your job search is an issue your local library will have free internet access available and your local Jobcentre Plus can also be a very good starting point to get some ‘in person’ support. For example if you have been unemployed for over 9 months or are over 50 you can access the ‘Restart Scheme’ through the job centre which can provide additional 1-2-1 support.
If you need to improve your work skills, anything from basic numeracy and literacy skills through to higher technical qualifications, a wide range of courses - many of which are free of charge - can be accessed through the ‘Skills for life’ programme.
Following the spring budget in March 2023 – Jeremy Hunt the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced there would also be additional support available for over 50s to re-enter the workplace, either through focused support on health or perhaps around flexibility and re-training. Speak to your local Jobcentre Plus to access support.
Looking for work can feel like a daunting and stressful experience but always remember that there are thousands of businesses out there that need people for all sorts of jobs for their business to succeed.
You don’t need to convince businesses to create jobs; the jobs are there, you just need to find the job where you are a good fit for it and convince the employer that you are an ideal candidate for it.
And whilst it is true that employers may need specific skills in some jobs, there are many jobs where attitude and enthusiasm are just as important. Many employers operate on a ‘recruit on attitude, train for skills basis’ because of the shortage of skills across so many industries so it is always worth considering jobs that may be outside of your previous experience if you have useful transferable skills.
Where to look for jobs in Gloucestershire
An excellent local resource is the Glosjobs website, as all of the jobs advertised are within Gloucestershire: www.glosjobs.co.uk
Job centre plus also advertises a wide range of jobs via their ‘Find a job’ site: findajob.dwp.gov.uk
If you don’t yet have a LinkedIn account, consider creating a profile. LinkedIn is a great platform to search for new jobs: linkedin.com
Also think about friends, family or business contacts. Do any of them work for organisations that might be potential employers for you? They will often be aware of businesses (or may work in one) that are looking for staff. A personal introduction can often be an excellent way to get access to a company.
Local recruitment agencies are another excellent place to look. Agencies tend to focus on specific industries or sectors such as industrial, technical and warehousing or accountancy, commercial, and professional services or IT and cyber.
Usually the sign-up process is quite fast and they are often working with immediate demands so they are often the best place to start if you need work urgently.
Starting via an agency is also often a good route to a permanent position as many companies now operate a ‘temporary to permanent’ process, where subject to good performance, you may be offered a permanent role after a qualifying period.
Here are some local recruitment agencies:
reed.com/offices/reed-recruitment-cheltenham
trulytailoredrecruitment.co.uk
Job Centre Plus also offer the “Work and Health Programme” which can provide tailored support to match your skills to available jobs, put you in touch with employers and help manage health issues that affect your ability to work: gov.uk/work-health-programme
Forwards Gloucestershire also offer excellent help and support for those with disabilities or health issues to find meaningful work: forwardsgloucestershire.co.uk
For young people (16-24) who might have additional personal challenges or need help with improving their skills Young Gloucestershire can also offer support: youngglos.org.uk
Securing a new job
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Prepare a CV
Although many companies will still require a Curriculum Vitae (CV) increasingly companies are using online application processes. Either way, preparing an up to date CV will probably be essential. For online applications, having a CV to use as reference will make the process much easier.
There are some excellent online resources for building a CV, including the GFirst LEP Career Coach and the Prospects website.
A basic CV outline should contain the following, usually in this order:
- Name, address and contact details (phone number, email etc)
- A short personal summary, outlining your skills and work experience and how you would describe yourself in a workplace context. Eg “An experienced warehouse operative” or “successful sales and marketing executive”.
- Work experience in order of most recent first, with outline of responsibilities and any significant achievements achieved in the job.
- Qualifications achieved, with most recent first.
- Any interesting additional information about yourself (hobbies, interests, memberships etc) which might be relevant or useful to the job.
CVs should be neatly spaced, a minimum of 11-point text and avoid elaborate fonts and graphics unless perhaps for a creative role where it has been specifically requested. Typically, 2 pages should be sufficient, even if you have a range of work experience.
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Create a cover letter
This covering letter should be submitted along with your CV to apply for the job. It should highlight your key strengths and why you are the right person for the job. Most importantly it should be tailored to the company and role you are applying for. Spend time to personalise it, this will make your application stand out from the crowd. A word or PDF format is the best way to submit the cover letter.
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Interview Preparation
Congratulations! You’ve been offered an interview!
Nerves are normal, but with some careful preparation you can go into your interview feeling prepared and ready. Here is some basic guidance on preparing for an interview:
- Ensure you know the date, time and location for the interview.
- Arrive in plenty of time, but don’t ‘check-in’ too early. 10 minutes before the interview time is probably the earliest you would want to do so.
- If unsure, check the dress code for the interview.
- Prepare in advance for what questions may be asked and also some questions to ask.
- Be prepared to discuss in detail (with real examples) your work experience and be prepared to provide evidence of any achievements claimed.
Prospects have some excellent resources on interview preparation and though aimed at graduates, most of the guidance will be useful for any interview.
Changing careers and improving your skills
The UK is currently facing a national skills shortage across a whole range of business sectors, including health, construction, teaching, engineering, digital and cyber.
As a result, there are probably more opportunities now than ever to upskill or change career.
The national careers service offers some excellent guidance in this respect through their website: nationalcareers.service.gov.uk
The GFirst Careers Coach also offers a useful Careers Assessment which may help you narrow down your search to careers that will match your interests and skills: Career Coach
The UK construction sector has thousands of vacancies currently and within Gloucestershire we have a unique facility, The AccXel Centre that offers a wide range of construction qualifications, including apprenticeships some of which are funded: www.accxel.co.uk
The Government ‘Skills for Life’ website also has a wide range of resources to help you navigate the often complex skills and education system, to find relevant courses: Skills For Life
Within Gloucestershire we also have Gloucestershire college who offer a range of adult, vocational and higher qualification courses across a wide range of sectors: gloscol.ac.uk