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Young people should 'focus their CVs' to get results

There is no point taking a "scatter gun" approach to finding work as employers want to see examples of how candidates are focused on and committed to the role they are applying for, it has been claimed.

Daniel Halls, co-founder at the Graduate Recruitment Bureau, said many young people do not have relevant work experience when it comes to applying for jobs, but this does not have to hold them back as long as they can demonstrate "transferable skills" from the jobs which they have had.

"If you haven't been lucky to get [an internship] and you can afford it, try working for a week in the kind of company that you want to work with to get it on your CV," he commented.

According to figures from the Higher Education Careers Services Unit, almost two-thirds of students (63 per cent) did not visit their university careers service at all and less than half attended organised events, despite the importance of career planning in the early stages of university.