As part of our commitment to supporting the local community, the Business Garage team have embarked on a challenge to offer their skills and expertise to schools throughout Oxfordshire in the form of a free job application workshop.
The rise in tuition fees and decrease in the amount of university places available means many school leavers are opting to go into the world of work, but are unprepared as to how they apply for jobs and what potential employers are looking for.
Joanne Bunting, Managing Director of Business Garage says, “Having received many job applications from school leavers in the past my experience is that students are sometimes ill prepared for the reality of the business world. Employers accept that school leavers need training and guidance, but certain attributes such as having a good work ethic and plenty of enthusiasm goes a long way.
“You’re far more likely to get through to interview stage if you can get the basics right and Business Garage is providing this initiative as part of its continuing ethos of giving something back to the community and also to help what could very well be its employees of the future.”
Designed to help school leavers for when they enter future employment, the job application workshop will consist of a mock application process in which students will be provided with a job advertisement for a dummy role at an entry level position in an everyday business. We would ask for applications for the role to include a CV and covering letter. Spelling, grammar and presentation would be checked, but we will also be looking for clear evidence that they have read the job description properly and have presented documents that are up to scratch. We would then provide constructive feedback to each applicant.
Joanne says “We will be assisting students from a business perspective and provide them with a valuable insight into how they can make themselves an attractive candidate to potential employers, while providing feedback on their mock application.
“In my 20 years of business, I’ve always tried to maintain a level of community involvement and volunteering in whatever role I’ve taken. I feel it’s important that businesses get involved with the local community, not only to help those in the surrounding area, but to help grow the business and its reputation within that area.”
If you’re interested in finding out more about our CV workshops please call us on 01235 433 099.