We understand that it can be quite difficult to get that all-important work experience to add to your CV. We have suggested a few ways you can boost your CV at home, or through using online tools, to help you stand out to employers when looking for an apprenticeship or job.
Whatever role you are looking for, we have provided advice from our apprenticeship experts covering different industries and sectors.
Industries and sectors
Hair and Beauty
Hair
- Get practising and experimenting! Either on yourself or whoever you are at home with. Look at some up styles or hairstyles and have a go! We do not recommend you cutting or colouring without the presence of a qualified hairdresser.
- Create a photo portfolio of your talents.
- Start a Pinterest page of your favourite hair looks; hair ups, colours and cuts. Get to know the names of the styles so you can impress employers with your knowledge.
- Look at some YouTube tutorials e.g. Wella.
- Get to know your local salons, whether that be on a local walk or using social media.
Beauty
- Paint nails, try out some make up looks or treat someone to a gentle massage! Either on yourself or whoever you are at home with.
- Create photo portfolio of your efforts
- Create a Pinterest page to save your favourite make up looks, nail art, brow shapes, or other treatments you are interested in learning about.
- Watch Hair and Beauty YouTube tutorials
- Research about the different brands used in beauty i.e. the range of skincare products
- Know your local salons, go for a walk and find out who your local salons are. Alternatively have a look on the internet or social media!
Business, Customer Service and HR
- Think about your idea of what good customer service is, and what poor customer service is. Do some research online to find out why customer service is important to a business and who might actually be a customer. You can then put into words why the Apprenticeship is interesting to you.
- Think about your computer skills and how you might be able to practise these or learn more. For example, look for free on-line courses about databases, spreadsheets and so on.
- Being organised is also very important – do you think you are super organised or do you know that you should make improvements? Be honest with your yourself, because when you’re at work people will need you to be organised.
- Most apprentices work with a team – either in a small business or perhaps in a department of a larger organisation. Think about when you’ve worked in a team – what role did you play and how did it work for the rest of the team? It’s a good idea to really think about what you have already done and to match relevance to a job role.
- One of the first things to think about is, why does working in HR appeal to you? Think about why a human resources service is important in a business – who is it for? What value does it have?
- The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service – known as Acas – is a good source of information that demonstrates just how complex or simple working within employment law can be www.acas.org.uk
- Acas could help you demonstrate how you have researched HR as a career and learnt some terminology
- Look up GDPR – General Data Protection Regulations – as this should be implemented in all businesses.
Accounting, Digital and IT
AAT (Accounting)
- Buy an Accounting textbook and start learning the basics!
- Start practising your Excel skills, keep up to date with the industry, for example researching ACCA Global
- Make sure you have lots of examples on your CV of how you have worked in a team, developed your communication skills and even solved problems within school or previous work experience. These are all vital to business related apprenticeship roles.
Digital Marketing
- Have a side project going, maybe a website up and running.
- Sign up to free online courses, for example, Digital Garage through Google.
- Create your own YouTube channel and have a presence online and be visible through social media platforms.
- Build a LinkedIn profile with your experience, qualifications and side projects listed
IT and Software Development
- Sign up to Code Academy and do some self-study and research in your own time. You can impress employers with key words you’ve picked up and added to your CV.
- Become a whiz on PC’s and help your family and friends fix their technical issues!
- Have a go at creating apps, code and designing the back end of websites. There are free website builders you can use to practice your skills, like Squarespace, Wix and WordPress.
- You can even have a link to your website or app on your CV so employers can see your work first hand.
Hospitality and Catering
Hospitality
- Include on your CV any group work you have taken part in at school, such as team sports, class representative and group challenges.
- Research the hotel industry to get an idea of the different departments and look at potential job roles for future.
Commis Chef
- Take photos of any food you've been making at home and create a portfolio of your dishes.
- Watch YouTube cooking videos to give you an idea of different cuisines and dishes, and health and safety in the kitchen.
- Read over your Food Technology coursework to help you have examples ready of what you've learnt so far.
Childcare, Health and Social Care
- Think about times you've babysat for friends and family and have examples ready about difficulties you faced or what you've enjoyed.
- There are many online resources, such as Pinterest, where you can see ideas for activities to teach children and help their development. Create a teaching or activity plan as an example.
- The College offer free online courses to those aged 18+. These include a focus on; Autism, Fall Prevention, Infection Prevention, Awareness of Mental Health in children/adults and Dementia Care.
Construction
- If you’ve got the right tools, create a portfolio of DIY activities you can do around the house, or build something, no matter how small. Use a variety of materials, if you can, such as wood, metal, brick or any others you have spare at home.
- Watch YouTube videos on the different trades and see which one is best suited to you. Make a note of the keywords you pick up on and make sure you have a good understanding of what is expected.
- Do your research into the different type of machinery and tools used and make sure you know what you need to be able to use them on site.
Engineering, Motor, Marine and Boatbuilding
- Do your research into websites of companies you are interested in working for. Some might have case studies on their recruitment process or current apprentices. For example Sunseeker, Cobham, RNLI, AISH & AGI and many other all have dedicated apprenticeships pages to find out more information
- Watch YouTube videos on the different types of engineering and wow employers with your knowledge. Make a note of the keywords you pick up on and make sure you have a good understanding of what is expected.
- Make sure you understand the type of Health and Safety that is required for the work place you are looking into. Some machines or tools might need extra training. Do your research into the different type of machinery, tools and programmes used, for example, understand basic welding, fabrication, CNC machinery and CAD.
- Do you repair, make, design or invent? Do you like to repair your bike when its broken? This is Engineering! If you are mechanically minded and a natural problem solver create a portfolio to show this.
- If you have you been working on any School projects, whether this be practical or theory based, make sure you have got them in your CV.
- Get to know the College facilities before you arrive
- Have you visited any Boat Shows? Or maybe the Tank Museum, or Big Bang.
- Are you involved in any extracurricular activities like Cadets, Scouts, Football, or any other volunteering activities?
- If you are looking at going into the motor trade but don’t have a car at home you can work with, go online and make sure you know the different areas of the car and what each part does.
- If you do have a car at home you can fix, take photos of what you are doing and create a portfolio to present to employers.
If you're an Adult learner, you might find the following information useful:
Adult Learners
• Websites, such as Open Learn have some great recourses and free courses for you to boost your skills.
• You can purchase Open University textbooks to help with a variety of fundamental, everyday skills you will need in the work place.
For more information, check out these useful websites:
Useful Websites
For more information about Apprenticeships, get in touch with the BASE team today!
