Being out of work regardless of your age, specific skills and background is understandably a worrying and frustrating time as you simply want to get back into the working world. If you are currently unemployed, there are positive steps you can make to ensure your career either begins for the first time or starts again in a new and exciting environment.

Map your Thoughts
Before you begin hitting the job sites, take a moment to think about what it is you actually want to do. There are an abundance of great opportunities out there across industry sectors, so take a pen and paper and jot down the fields that are of interest to you. After this, break the category down into job roles you think may be suitable as this can then be used to enter in to job searches online for better results.

Visit your Job Centre
It may be the case that you are currently in receipt of job seekers allowance therefore you will already visit your job centre, but if not it is still worth going to book an appointment with an advisor as they may be able to help you with some job leads and general tips on how best to apply. In addition, many job centres now benefit from touch screen computers that allow you to search though their current known vacancies and print off any that could be suitable for you.

Research Companies
On many occasions, companies will not advertise current positions anywhere else but on their own website so have a think about companies of interest to you in your local area and take a look at their website. If there is a company you are particularly interested in there is no harm in emailing your CV along with a covering email even if they are not currently advertising a vacancy as this shows initiative and could stand you in good stead for future available roles there.

Personalised Cover Letters
If your cover letter looks generic, the chances are you will appear generic to the person responsible for organising interviews and may be overlooked. Take the time to explain why you think the particular role you are applying for would be well suited to you and always endeavour find out the name of the person you are applying to rather than addressing your application with a sir/madam. 

If you are struggling to find work at the moment, try and breathe new life into your search by following these top tips, you could find that the right role is just around the corner. 

Vicky understands how difficult job hunting can be. From IT sales jobs through to factory work and graduate placements, be sure to find your dream role through being proactive in your job search. This article was written by a guest author. Would you like to, submit a guest blog post?