Businesses looking for apprentices

[Michaelk]

Hi,

My name is Michael, im 19 and im currently looking for an employer to take me on so i can start an apprenticeship.

I am based in the North-East area (Newcastle and Northumberland). I am not yet studying in college but willing to get stuck straight in if an employment opportunity arises.I am very interested in getting into either plumbing or electrics. I have appied to various training providers such as JTL, BEST and TDR and been accepted, just waiting for the assesments.

I have also applied to many local companies (Approx 60 or 70) with no luck as yet. ive also applied at British Gas twice and other national companys such as BT.

Here is a link to a copy of my CV if anyone would like to read through.

http://dl8.ohshare.com/v/7001741/1CV.doc.html

(Click the link and then click "Download File" at the top of the page.)



I would also appreciate any feedback if im heading in the wrong direction and advice on where i should be heading.

Thanks very much for your time.

Michael Keen

 

[breezer]

you must be desperate, this is a diy forum

have you tried monster ?

not sure if its .com or .co.uk

 

[Michaelk]

Thanks for the website breezer, ill certainly give it a go. Yeah i know i may seem a bit desperate its just i really want to pursue a career in that sort of industry.

If anyone knows anyone with a business or anyone looking for an apprentice in my area i would really appreciate the help.

Thanks alot.

 

[jj4091]

I can only admire your enterprise & wish you the best of luck, I am sure you will do well.

 

[JohnD]

Sadly there are not many about, and those at are, are massively oversubscribed.

It you get into a local college they ought to know the local jobmarket.You will be up against stiff competition so try to get a frank assessment of where you lag behind the best, and work on it.

Keep an eye on these people. //www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=77647&highlight=apprenticeships
but you're too late for this year, sorry.

 

[Chri5]

Well at least your working still.

Could you work reduced hours and do College for half a week, each week?

Might be a better way forward.

Your CV shows English B- Please spell check your CV, there's a few errors!!

With 5 A'levels, I not sure why you haven't decided to go to Uni, might be sensible to detail your reasons and logic on the CV.

Ignore any soft headed comments, your right to try all avenues of opportunity for work. Are you really sure that being blue collar, is the best way forward.

Have you any idea how dull punching cable and pipe routes in buildings is, banging out back box holes in engineering brick, all day long, isn't fun.

Then again, I enjoy my work and love the in control feeling of being my own boss. If you lived in N13, I'd give you a week test & trial.

Have you tried suggesting that to any of the potential employers, "give me a week to show you how hard I work" might be the patter that works.

Good luck, sort the spelling out

Add in some practical experience, if you have helped Uncle (or anyone) with building work / plumbing / electrical tell them.
If your good with materials, tools and your hands, tell them.

Rgds

 

[JohnD]

Some suggestions about the CV:

Change font size. You have some in 6. Make it 10. You want it to be easy to read as well as structured and bulleted. Use Bold rather than large fonts for headings.

Change "Job Description" to "Responsibilities". Mention here any noteworthy Achievements. Take out "My duties include" and add what you, personally, did (especially if it exceeded what was expected).

Take out referees (they are only relevant when an offer is made, and can be supplied then.

Change "not yet resigned" to "To Present"

Take out "reason for leaving."

Put a "space" after each comma. This will help the automatic line spacing.

Your bullet points will be easier to read if you have a half-line space between them. Select the text and click on the Bullets icon to do this for you. It will also save you having to type Asterisks as bullet markers.

"Her Majesties" should be "Her Majesty's"

In "Work experience" at the garage say "I have a mechanical aptitude and was taught to successfully..."
Take out the "Address" column and put the Town after the employer's name.

"many hobbies and interests" may suggest you have too many things that will take your mind off work. Especially if you are likely to crawl in after a late night with the band. Say that when you put your mind to something you are enthusiastic and dedicated, fir example at the gym...

Take out the word "Catholic" unless you don't want to. You never know what the reaction of the person reading it might be.

Change "I have a keen interest in cars, motorcycles and such like" to say that you use your technical interest and mechanical aptitude to... (don't give the impression that it means you like watching Top Gear and Men and Motors)

Change column widths to avoid inconvenient word breaks.

Remove the trailing row of your table that spills onto final page.

If you have ECDL or computer skills, say so.

Spell check and proof read your dokuments before issue.

Get someone you trust to review them after you think they're perfect.

Two pages is a good length for a CV. White space is not a problem. In your personal profile say what you have got that makes you suited, and why you want their job. You can put this in your covering letter if you want, which should be personalised to the company and the job you are interested in, to make them think you are a good fit.

 

[plugwash]

btw do note that it is far from essential to have done an apprentiship to become an electrican.

 

[JohnD]

Very good point, there are hardly any apprenticeships around, but there are vacancies for trainees.

 

[Aqua]

Michael, good on you to give it it a try on here, nothing ventured etc.

As others have written, try talking to a few potential employers and offering your services for a week, no strings attached.

If someones takes you on, DONT be late in the mornings, DONT be cheeky to work mates, do as your told and work hard.

No one can ask for a lot more than that in the first week.

It all sounds a bit obvious, however i can assure you some of the young lads we employ dont appear to think so.

Best of luck Michael, i hope you succeed.

 

[Taylortwocities]

Mrs Twocities is in recruitment (pharma so no good for you) but one major tip is to handwrite the letter you send with your cv.

It shows to prospective employers that you have skills beyond being able to bang out paperwork using Bill Gate's utilities.

TTC

 

[plugwash]

presumably that only helps if your handwriting doesn't suck