How to Get a Job: A Practical Step-by-Step Guide
Resource type and category
Resource type: eBook / candidate career guide
Category: Career Advice, Job Search, CV Advice and Interview Preparation
Intended audience
Facilities Management, Property, Estates, Workplace, Engineering and other professionals looking for a new role, changing career direction, returning to work or beginning their job search.
Resource-card description
A practical step-by-step guide to finding your next job, covering transferable skills, networking, job searching, CV preparation, direct approaches, internships and interview technique.
Full resource-page description
Finding a new job can feel overwhelming, particularly when you are unsure where to start.
How to Get a Job breaks the process into practical, manageable steps, helping candidates understand what they can offer, identify opportunities, improve their CV and prepare more effectively for interviews.
The guide begins by encouraging candidates to step back and assess their own skills, strengths and experience before starting the search.
Rather than defining yourself purely by your current or most recent job title, the resource recommends looking more broadly at the capabilities you have developed and where those skills could transfer.
This can open up opportunities in different types of roles or even entirely different career paths that might otherwise be overlooked.
Salary expectations are considered early too. The guide recommends thinking about both an ideal salary and the minimum you would realistically accept for the right opportunity, allowing candidates to search with greater clarity without automatically ruling out roles that could offer strong overall potential.
Another important theme is not rejecting yourself before an employer has the opportunity to consider you.
Job descriptions are often written around an ideal candidate, and the guide argues that applicants should not automatically avoid opportunities simply because they do not meet every listed requirement. If the role is a strong overall fit, it may still be worth applying.
The guide then explores how to find opportunities.
Job boards are presented as a useful starting point, helping candidates understand what roles are available and what employers are looking for. But the resource makes it clear that a successful job search should not necessarily rely on advertised vacancies alone.
Networking and referrals play an important part.
Candidates are encouraged to speak with friends, family, previous colleagues and other contacts who may know of opportunities or be able to make introductions. The guide notes that sometimes finding a job is as much about being on the right person’s radar as submitting an application.
Previous employers and referees may also be useful earlier in the process than many candidates expect. Reconnecting with people you left on good terms can potentially uncover opportunities and ensure they are ready to support you if a reference is later required.
The resource also encourages candidates to go beyond job boards by letting more people know they are looking for work and widening the number of people who may hear about relevant opportunities.
Volunteering is presented as another possible route, particularly for someone trying to enter a new organisation or industry. It can create practical experience, build relationships and potentially lead to stronger references even where it does not result directly in permanent employment.
Internships and apprenticeships are also highlighted for candidates who lack experience or are trying to enter a new field.
The guide presents these routes as a way to gain practical exposure, demonstrate commitment and give an organisation the opportunity to see how someone performs in a working environment.
Direct approaches are another option. Rather than waiting for an advertised vacancy, candidates can identify organisations they are interested in and make a clear, polite approach to an appropriate hiring manager or HR contact.
The resource even discusses approaching employers in person where that is appropriate to the type of role, reinforcing a wider message throughout the guide: opportunities do not always arrive through a conventional online application.
Once a suitable role has been identified, attention turns to the CV.
The guide describes the CV as the foundation of the application process and recommends several straightforward principles.
First, keep it current. Contact information and work history should accurately reflect where you are now.
Second, be honest. Candidates are advised against exaggerating experience or skills because inaccuracies can create problems later in the recruitment process.
Third, use relevant language. Where appropriate, candidates can adjust the wording of their CV so it reflects the terminology used within the job description and makes relevant experience easier for the employer to recognise.
Presentation matters too. The guide recommends a simple layout, clear sections and information that can be scanned and understood quickly rather than an overly complicated design.
Finally, proofread carefully. Spelling and grammar mistakes can make an otherwise strong CV appear rushed, and the guide recommends asking someone else to review the document where possible.
The final major section focuses on interviewing like a professional.
The guide starts by reframing interviews as an opportunity for the employer to understand who you are, how you communicate and whether you could fit within the organisation.
Preparation is presented as the biggest advantage candidates can give themselves. Understanding the role, researching the company and considering how your own experience connects to the position can make the interview feel more natural.
Mindset is also addressed. Rather than approaching an interview from the position of simply needing the job, the guide recommends focusing on the value you can bring and why you are capable of succeeding in the role.
Candidates are encouraged to talk confidently about genuine achievements without exaggerating them.
The guide also recommends preparing in advance for potentially difficult areas of the CV, such as employment gaps, short periods in previous roles or changes in career direction. Clear and honest explanations can help candidates remain calm when these topics arise.
One commonly asked interview question receives particular attention: “Tell me about yourself.”
The guide recommends keeping this answer focused on where you are now, what you have done and where you are heading, rather than providing an unnecessarily detailed personal history. A concise answer of approximately one or two minutes is suggested.
Candidates are also encouraged to be honest about development areas or weaknesses, while explaining what they are doing to improve.
Problem-solving, comfort with basic IT systems and communication are identified within the guide as common capabilities employers may look for.
When answering situational questions, the resource recommends thinking in examples: explain what happened, what you did and what the outcome was rather than relying on vague statements about your abilities.
Research should go beyond a quick visit to the employer’s website, and candidates should also prepare good questions of their own.
The guide closes with a simple message: getting a job is not about being perfect. It is about being prepared, putting yourself in the right positions, showing what you can genuinely offer and remaining consistent until the right opportunity appears.
Documented client outcomes give a better sense of what to expect than any pitch document.
