Like any job, you should research and prepare yourself before embarking on a particular career path. Below are some simple steps to help you gain a Australian Apprenticeship so that you can start earning while your learning!

What industry, what job?

One of the first things you should do is decide what your genuine career interests are. When you are choosing your career path it is important to investigate the occupation, its job prospects (both now and in the future), the weekly earnings and whether this job will lead you into promotions or other job opportunities as you get older. Make sure that it offers you the future you want. Take a look at our Career Links page for some sites to visit to help you in your search.

Prepare your resume

Rather than waiting until you find a job, get your resume together now. This saves you rushing your resume and ensures a much better finished product. Remember, first impressions count, and a professionally presented resume can mean the difference between getting an interview or not. There are some great sites to help you develop your resume, you'll find them on our links page. Remember, if you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail!

Job Hunting

There are a number of places you can look for a job. Try these hints:

• Check out the situations vacant section of your local newspapers
• Register with Job Services Australia
• Register with your local Group Training company
• Visit the many websites that have vacancies from all over Australia
• Tell everyone you know that you are job hunting. As the old saying goes, 'it's not what you know.....'
• Prepare a journal of potential employers and include their name, address and contact person (you can find this out by phoning the company and asking who is in charge of recruiting). Write these people letters to telling of your interest in their industry and that you would be interested in undertaking an Australian Apprenticeship with their company. Maybe they are unaware of Australian Apprenticeships so you could tell them a little about the system or direct them to this site. Tell them why you would be a good employee, make mention of any experience you may have and include a copy of your resume. Follow up your letters with a personal visit to the workplace or a phone call (a visit is best).
• When you find a job opening, write that application promptly. Our Career Links page has some sites that can assist with application writing.
• Prepare for interviews. Once again our Career Links page can help you with this. As a guide follow these tips: Learn about their industry and especially their business before you attend the interview. Dress to impress and take an additional copy of your resume. Finally, whether you get an interview or not, follow up your application with a phone call to ask what they thought of your application and presentation.
• Hang in there! Anything worth achieving takes a bit of effort, so persistence is the key. If at first you don't succeed, stay positive and keep trying.
• Most importantly, sell yourself!

Good luck!