So you've been to the Expo and hopefully found it informative. What's next?

What are your next steps? 

Now you should have found out everything you need to know to start making some decisions and now you need to start to form an action plan.

• What are your options now?

• What further investigation do you need to do?

• What are your next steps?

• What support or resources do you need?

• Do you need to organise any work placements – Go see your Careers Adviser at school as they may be able to organise work experiences or even for you to talk to someone in that industry.

• Have you found out when the Open Days are for the university or tertiary provider? Many universities, tertiary providers, and workplaces like you to have a volunteer aspect to your application. This shows that you are willing to give back to your community and it can sometimes be the point of difference between you getting a position over someone else.

🖥 Check out www.seekvolunteer.co.nz for opportunities in your region. 

The financial side 

Now that you have made some decisions around what you might want to do, the next step is to look at how you are going to afford to do it.

The cost of university or tertiary provider fees $?
Your living costs (rent and bills or hostel fees) $?
Food, transport, hobbies, sports, entertainment $?
= $ A lot of money! 

Student loans and Student allowances can help pay for some of these things but it is never enough to cover everything. 

🖥 Check out www.studylink.govt.nz.

You may need to weigh up the cost of living at home vs. the cost of moving to another city or town for study. 

🖥 Check out

• Student Job Search (www.sjs.co.nz).

• Scholarships (Generosity New Zealand – you will need to login to this through your school’s or local library network). 

Making a CV

Make a profile of yourself 

• Academic Achievements (for example NCEA Certificates, Literacy and Numeracy, Endorsements, etc)

•Additional qualifications (for example have you completed any course such as a barista course, a first-aid certificate, or a leadership workshop)

• Experiences (for example do you do any part-time work, volunteer work, or completed any work experiences)

• Extra-curricular achievements (for example are you in any sports teams, clubs, or leadership roles) 

What's missing?

Once you've gathered up everything you can see if one section is lacking - this needs to be your focus for the rest of the year as employers and educational providers are looking for people who are well rounded.

Write a short 200-word blurb about yourself. This should cover who you are and what characteristics you could bring to a job. You could use the list of skills and characteristics which you developed from the Who are you activity you completed before the Careers Expo as a starting point. (Example: “I am an adventurous and innovative person. I love experiencing new things and overcoming challenges. I adapt to different situations with ease and would regard myself as efficient and trustworthy.

In addition to this, I love working with other people, especially when there’s an element of competition involved.”)

Use this information to create a CV and Cover Letter. (It is important that your Cover Letters are specific to the jobs you are applying for – don’t do a generic one!)

Make sure your contact phone number is a number which you can be reached on. If you have applied for a job then answer your phone even if you do not know the number as employers will just move onto the next person if they cannot get in contact with you.