WORLDOFWORK

of others, help the environment, or help others less fortunate or without avoice.

As well as volunteering close to home, you could also consider lending ahand overseas. Thereare many charities on the lookout for extra help with projects abroad such as building schools for disadvantaged people.

Volunteering can help you gain confidence by giving you the opportunity to try something new and build areal sense of achievement.

It can help you feel part of something outside of your friends and family and you will meet lots of different people.

It will make you feel valued and part of ateam.

By volunteering, you aredoing what you can in order to improve the environment around you.

Through volunteering you can develop skills for the workplace from organisational and time management to communication and the ability to work with different age groups. It may also give you aroute to earnqualifications. n For moreinformationabout volunteering opportunities visit www.ncvo. org.uk

Alot of non-profit organisations will offer training to volunteers, which often leads to accreditation too.

It can also be agreat way to get work experience in your chosen career field and get an insight into the profession.

Employers will be impressed that you’ve shown initiative by getting some hands-on experience.

As well as looking good on your UCAS personal statement, if you areconsidering going to university,itwillhelp your CV to stand out too because it proves you can think independently and that you’ve shown commitment by getting unpaid work.

Your Chance To Make Agreat Firstimpression

CVsare importantbecause they areyour firstand maybeonly directcommunication with a potentialemployer

That meansaswellasbeing afull record of your educationand work experience, it’s also your chance to make agoodimpression.They need to be carefullythoughtout, designed andwritten so that they make apositive impact

Here aresome hintsofwhat businesses andorganisationsare lookingfor in aCV: n Firstly,makesuretoinclude your contactdetailsatthe top but do not include your ageora photograph unless specifically askedtodoso. n Youwantthe layout to be clear andconcise because toomuch information canbehardtotakein so trytokeeptonomorethantwo pages. Your choiceoffontisalso keytomakingsureawould-be employercarries on readingyour CV –simple formatsworkbest. n It needstoinclude your educationand achievementsand employmenthistory,suchasany part-timejobs, as well as anywork or volunteer experience, making sure to include detailsofyour rolesand responsibilities n Mention anypersonal, technical or specialist skillsyou have –you couldprovide examples of how you’ve used them to show youare motivated andready forwork. n Also,you canadd afew lines abouthobbies or personal projects that mayberelevant to thejob youare applying for andinclude detailsoftwo referees. Thesecould be tutors or someonewho managedyou at your part-timejob or during work experience. n Make sure to checkspelling andgrammar andthatyour phone number andemail address arecorrectasthisisthe way employers will contactyou.