APPLYING FOR JOBS OR TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES SESSION PLAN

SESSION: APPLYING FOR JOBS OR TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
Expected Progress:
Be able to recognise identify their own skills, experiences and education to be put on a CV
Be able to identify essential information to put on a CV and what each section should include
Be able to produce a CV of their own in an appropriate format for seeking employment
Be able to complete a basic application form for a job/course that is relevant to their interests / Description:
This session is about getting the young person to recognise their own skills and qualities and how to produce this into a CV which promotes their own abilities and potential, and using that CV to apply for jobs or training opportunities.
NB: this plan can be adapted to stretch over a number of days, depending on the length of your session.
Resources required:
Flipchart paper, pens, scissors, glue
Access to computers
Computers with internet
Worksheets
Preparation for Work booklet
Marker pens
Timer
Dictionary / LLN Opportunities:
Read and understand texts in a variety of formats: online and newspapers;
Use proof reading strategies to identify spelling, punctuation and grammar errors
Recognise different ways of completing and application form;
Read and understand commonly used phrases and words on application forms;
Proof read a job application.
 / STEM Opportunities:
Using Microsoft Word to write CV
Using Internet Explorer to look up job advertisements and CV writing guides / Qualifications Opportunities:
Career Planning
Planning for Personal Development
SCQF Career Planning
SCQF Planning for Personal Development
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY / RESOURCES / SUGGESTED LEARNING OUTCOMES AND ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
Introduction and icebreaker
What is a CV?
Discussion for the whole group on what a CV is and what information it can tell employers about them when applying for a job. Ask young people if they know firstly what a CV is?
Explain to the young people that a CV provides employers with an overview of their qualifications, skills and work experience. This helps employers to decide if you would be a good fit for a particular job. REMEMBER the employer will form their very first impression of the individual on the basis on their CV, so producing a strong CV is important.
Split the groups up into pairs or small groups and get them to list what information that they think employers would like to know about them when applying for a job using flip chart paper.
Using the CV heading cards, ask young people to work in groups to identify what information they should include on their CV. Discuss why certain pieces of information should/shouldn’t be included on their CVs. Alternatively run the CV stations exercise from the Literacy, Language and Numeracy energisers and games pack (page 9).
Next, young people should work in groups to design how they think their CVs should be laid out on a piece of flipchart paper. / Flipchart
Marker pens
Worksheet
CV Heading Cards / Level 1/Level 2/Scotland Level 4/Scotland Level 5
Assessment Criteria: produce a personal CV in a format appropriate for seeking employment
Transferable Skills
Stress to young people that although they might not have had any formal work experience or qualifications as of yet, they will still have demonstrated various skills from their school and home life.
Discuss with young people how various activities like being part of a sports club, babysitting siblings/younger family members and doing school work can demonstrate various skills that employers may be looking for.
Split young people into groups of 4, and ask them to each give an example of how they can demonstrate skills in their school life, home life and work life. Young people could give examples of anything they personally do which could go onto a CV.
At a higher level, challenge young people to think about specific situations in which they can demonstrate skills e.g.as part of their Achieve club, by volunteering, by playing sport etc.

Young people could use job adverts online or in newspapers to see what skills various roles, like Customer Service job or IT roles, advertise for. / Paper
Marker Pens
Computer / Knowing how to identify transferable skills
Identifying how they can demonstrate these skills
Identifying skills and personal qualities
Discussion with young people on the importance of selling themselves on a CV and identifying their own skills and personal qualities.
Using flipchart paper young people can call out any words/phrases that could be used to describe themselves or their skills on a CV, advisor to note these on flipchart paper. Emphasis on POSITIVE wording and descriptors.
Game – Ask the young people to tell each other about their own strengths and some of the skills they believe they have. Put up paper on the walls with the names of the young people on it; ask the group to write on the paper what the strengths they have noticed about each other during their Achieve club, e.g. Rebecca – easy to talk to – friendly – caring – hard working.
Young people now need to look at the structure of a CV and see how their own personal information and individual skills and experiences would fit into this. / Identifying personal skills and qualities.
Learning the importance of positive language for a CV / Understanding how to identify their own personal skills and qualities
Learning the importance of positive language for a CV
Personal Statement
If you think the group are working at a higher level, you can get them to write a personal statement to accompany their CV.
Explain to the young people what a personal statement is and how it is especially useful for those individuals who are just starting out in the world of work therefore have little practical experience. Explain to the young people that a good personal statement can make the young person stand out from the crowd and be an added value to their CV.
Note to young people that the personal statement is only 3 to 4 short sentences describes skills and attributes. Use words like ‘I’ or ‘my’ as this gives a warmer, friendlier tone.
To stimulate ideas, either in pairs or as a group (with the person sitting next to them in the group) ask the young people to name one or more positive qualities about their peer.
E.g. “Stephen is very confident and is great at speaking to a large group of people”.
Game – Put the group into two teams and get them to stand at the opposite end of the room to the board or flipchart. Write a start word on the board, e.g. ‘I’, and each team must then work in relay to add a word each to make a complete sentence in relation to a personal statement.
Activity - Ask the young people to think about their key strengths and skills and then produce their own personal statement. / Being able to produce a personal statement / Being able to produce a personal statement
Writing a CV
Give students examples of some good CVs, and demonstrate how neat and tidy it should look and how to make your CV look attractive.
Young people should begin by filling out the table on their worksheet, which will let them see how their CV should be formed. Once they have filled this out they could ask their peers to look over to see if there is any additional information that could be added.
Once this has been completed, young people can then draft this into a CV. They could either do this using the CV template or by doing it themselves through looking at CV examples online.
Once completed, young people should ensure they have double checked their work for spelling mistakes and bad grammar.
Optional– YP should swap CV with person next to them and see if they can spot any mistakes or missing information.

YP to do the CV template on Microsoft Word either for their first draft or once they have completed a paper template of their CV.
Encourage young people to draft their CV before completing a final copy. Model proof-reading techniques as well as hints and tips. E.g. ask them to photocopy
the form so they have a draft version, encourage use of pencil so mistakes can be rubbed out. Make sure young people use correct spelling, punctuation and grammar. / Producing a CV / Level 1/Level 2/Scotland Level 4/Scotland Level 5
Assessment criteria: Produce a personal CV in a format appropriate for seeking employment
Next Session: Application Forms
Optional STEM Introduction: Explore LinkedIn
Go to and create an account. This is a professional networking site, so you should use your real name and details.
You can use your email address to find people you may know on LinkedIn
select some relevant (and work appropriate) interests
Build a profile using a suitable photo, and fill out the Experience, Education, Skills and Summary areas. Just like a CV, these areas will form the core of the profile. LinkedIn will prompt and guide you through the steps, and will often help you find people you may know.
Once you’ve connected with a few people, see if they could give recommendations or endorsements. Much like a reference, having these will add credibility to your profile.
Check out your public profile. You can use this link to direct people to your profile
Application forms Introduction
Explain that employers use application forms for a number of reasons. See if the young people know any reasons why they might be used:
Help the selection of hiring new employees
Keeps the selection process simple
Standardise procedure
Information about you before they have met you
Assess suitability to see if you meet basic requirements for job
Signed document stating details are true - legal
More detail than CVs
Assess motivation – application forms take time
Ask the group to identify different ways of completing applications forms e.g paper-based forms and online forms. Sometimes you are also asked to submit your CV with a covering letter or email.
Completing an application form

Key words on application forms card matching activity – in small groups ask young people to match the key phrases and words commonly found on application forms with the correct definitions. Explain any unfamiliar terms and record them on a word wall.
Ask young people to obtain an application form for a job that is relevant to their career choice and interests. This could be for a specific job, a training course related to that job or a volunteering position.
Explain that young people should complete the form using block capital letters and a pen (usually black ink), should avoid spelling mistakes and answer every question! If they need some practice, they could use the blank application form provided.

Encourage young people to proof-read their complete application forms. Share tips for proof-reading:
read your application form out loud – you’ll read slower and be more likely to spot errors
use your finger tip or a pencil to the follow the text on screen/paper as you read, again this will force you to read slower and it’ll be easier to spot mistakes.
proofread backwards – start at the bottom of your text and read one sentence at a time. This will help you to focus on spotting errors rather than the content.
print it out – sometimes errors can be difficult to spot onscreen so why not print it out to proofread.
ask for help! Try swapping your application with another member of the group and ask them to proofread it for you.
Young people may also be able to apply for a job online. If they do remember to take screen shots of the application for checking. They should also get the opportunity to print their application at the end of the process. / Blank application form
Key words on application forms – card matching activity / Level 1/Level 2/Scotland Level 4/Scotland Level 5
Assessment Criteria: Complete an application form to an appropriate standard for submission
Wrap Up
What have you learnt as part of this unit? How do you feel about it? Do you feel more able to write a CV and how use this to apply for jobs?
Discuss whether you have developed any reading and writing skills in this unit.

1 (April 2017)