Employability Training

The following sub-module provides you with information on job search, identification on strengths and weaknesses as well as preparation of cv and motivational letter, among others. It hence enables you to foster migrants’ and other users’ employability skills.

3.2.1 Job search

After the initial learning and educational paths have been concluded, it is the time to actively start the job search in the respective sector. In order to do so, there are several different reference points that should be taken into account.

The job search can be done either face-to-face in the local territory or online in the local territory and beyond. In the local context, there might be different public job centres and employment services as well as NGOs offering similar services, people in search of a job can contact to receive career guidance and working opportunities. Furthermore, if your participants already know which sector they want to work in, they can also prepare their curriculum, print it and leave them with possible employers in the town.

You can find some concrete examples for institutions offering support in the search for work in the context of Vetlanda, Prague and Palermo below.

In addition, it might be useful to get informed on job fairs or other networking events that might take place in the local territory and would be beneficial to attend. In case the migrants you work with want to attend such an event, make sure that they go prepared: Help them prepare their curriculum, so they can print it and take it with them and make sure they reflect on their competences and qualities in advance, in case someone wants to do a job interview on the spot.

A second possibility is looking for a job online. Our society is more and more relying on the digital economy. Many calls are only published online either on the website of the respective businesses and organisations or can be found through job search websites as well as the website of public institutions. Below you can find an overview of the characteristics of some useful websites for the purpose of finding work.

The websites in the list above might be a good starting point. However, it is always useful to search google for “job search” and the country or city you are looking to work at, in order to find the best online job search machines for your local context. It is also useful to check the websites of businesses, organisations and public institutions in the respective sector, your participants want to find work in.

Another important point when looking for a job is considering different learning opportunities, among which:

• Internships: Great way to get on-the-job training, gather first experiences and get an impression of how it would be to work in this field;
• Volunteering activities: Fostering new skills, making new connections and getting to know a certain environment better;
• Local, European or international civil services: Can be seen as part of volunteering activities, but are in dedication to support society for a certain amount of time, might be abroad, regional or local;
• Community events: Participating in or organisation of community events might be a great way to get in touch with different local realities, thus creating new links and contacts that can be very helpful when looking for a job;
• Participation in social projects in the local territory: Many NGOs offer different workshops, events and trainings, which might contribute to skill development, getting in touch with the local society and thus creating new working opportunities.

Apart from the fact that these opportunities might contribute to the development or increase of transversal and technical competences, requested in the labour market, they also can be an important starting point for finding work afterwards, since they allow the participants to make new experiences and connections as well as to get to know a certain sector better, which will help them in the future to find a job.

If you want to get an impression of what these experiences might be, you can read a couple of different testimonies of CESIE’s volunteers here.

3.2.2 Curriculum vitae and motivational letter

An application generally has two main elements: the CV and, most of the time, a motivational letter, in which the applicant briefly explains their interest and motivation, previous experience and qualifications related to the job position he or she is applying for.

Curriculum vitae

The CV is the main element we present ourselves, our working experiences, skills and former education with – even before the recruiter or employer has the chance to get to know us in person. It is hence of key importance that it gives a structured and brief, but comprehensive overview of everything.

Main elements to include into a CV are:

• Personal details and contact information: Generally, the curriculum vitae starts with contact and personal information. However, avoid personal data, such as religious affiliation, children’s names etc.
• Working experience/employment history: One of the main styles of employment record is the chronological curriculum vitae, in which you present your working experience in reversed date starting with the most recent one. Here, you should include the institution’s name and address, title or your role and some key responsibilities/ tasks that you were affiliated with while working there.
• Education and qualifications: The next section is generally representing your education and qualifications. Make sure to include the names of institutions and dates attended in reversed order, starting from your highest degree or most recent certificate.
• Skills: You may include relevant skill in your CV, such as digital skills, foreign language skills, and any other recent training that is relevant to the vacancy you are applying for.

Motivational Letter

The motivational letter is a short statement of motivation and the reasons why a candidate is applying for and thinks to be an adequate candidate for a specific job position that accompanies the CV. It is generally a one-pager that is written in the style of a letter, i.e., addressing the recruiter or employer directly at the beginning and sending regards at the end of it. Be aware that a motivational letter is not always requested, in which case it is enough to just include a short motivational statement in the email to which the curriculum will be attached.

Generally, the structure of a motivational letter is the following:

1. Greetings;
2. Short introduction of your person;
3. Motivational statement – Why do you want this job?;
4. Emphasis of own strengths/related experiences – Why are you the right person for the job?;
5. Conclusion.

3.2.3 How to apply

After the job offer is found and all necessary documents are collected and prepared, it is time to submit the application. It will be helpful to support the migrants you work with initially in all these steps, but is also of high importance to clearly explain everything, so they will eventually be able to complete the whole process on their own.

You can hand out the following steps to your participants, so they have a guideline for when they are applying.

Step 1- Read the job offer carefully and analyse it: Which qualities, competences, certifications and/or experience are they looking for? When is the deadline to apply? Which prerequisites are they asking for? In which way do they want to receive the application and which documents should be included (e.g. CV, specific declarations you have to sign to participate in the call, ID, fiscal code, motivational letter, specific statements etc.)? You can highlight or note all the important information down.

Step 2: Prepare your documents: After you have checked when and how to apply, you start by preparing your documents. Please keep in mind that it is of high importance to always adapt your CV and motivational letter to the specific job offer you are applying for. This means that you should only highlight relevant working experiences in your CV (e.g., you do not need to put down your experience as a babysitter if you are applying to be an electrician) as well as reflect on the necessary soft skill for job position, highlighting all of them in the possible motivational letter. Your CV and motivational letter should be signed with the current date. Don’t forget to include the data declaration in your curriculum! Gather all other required documents.

Step 3 – Submit your application: After you prepared all documents, you are ready to apply. Nowadays, applications are often times asked to be sent via email. In this case, make sure to put some key words in the objective line (e.g., “Application for job xyz” and your name) so the receiver knows immediately what your mail is about. You should further write a simple text, in which you tell them who you are, why you are sending this email and which documents you will attach to the mail. Never send an empty mail to anybody! This might seem rude at best and suspicious at worst. If possible, try to find out their name, so you can personalise the beginning of your mail. You can also finish off your email by wishing the person a nice day. Afterwards, attach all required documents. Double-check that you have digitalised them all in good quality, so that they are legible. Before hitting send it is useful to do a final check of everything. In case you are required to send your application via post mail, make sure to send it early enough, so it will arrive in time and before the application deadline. You should also print all necessary documents in good quality and put them into an A4 envelope. Don’t fold your CV and motivational letter and make sure they are in good conditions and don’t look “used” already. Sometimes, employers want you to bring them your application or CV yourself so they can already get a first impression of you, if this is the case print the documents in A4 and good quality, put on some tidy clothes and be prepared for a spontaneous job interview on the spot.

Step 4 – Prepare for your job interview: After you have submitted your application the process is not finished yet. Now, it is the right moment to prepare for the job interview. You will find more detailed information on what to expect in the following subchapter.

3.2.4 The job interview

The job interview is an integral part and oftentimes the last steps in the application process. It offers the opportunity for the employer to get to know the candidate better, ask questions on previous education and working experience as well as to evaluate some competences. On the other hand, it offers the candidate the chance to show their personality, willingness to learn, motivation and preparedness regarding the vacancy.

There are several different types of job interviews:

• Screening interview: A generally short preselection in order to make sure the candidate meets all necessary criteria.
• Individual interview: In this most common form, one recruiter interviews each applicant individually.
• Panel interview: In this type, the applicant is interviewed by more than one person, who stimulate the discussion.
• Group interview: Several candidates are interviewed together.
• Telephone interview/ Online interview: These forms of job interview are preferably used to bridge distances or minimise costs. The online interview is becoming more and more common in our digital economy and has gained further popularity during times of the Covid-19 pandemic.
• With lunch: In some cases, the recruiter might invite the candidate to have a chat over lunch to get to know the candidate in a more relaxed environment.

When being invited to a job interview it is important to arrive prepared. This includes a set of different things, that can be categorised in the following areas:

• Physical appearance: dressing in formal clothes and keeping eye contact with the recruiter is important to make a good impression during the interview.
• Attitude: Friendliness, disposition, punctuality, professionality and responsibility are key to making a good first impression. Show interest and motivation to work with the institution you are applying to.
• Documents: Bring all the necessary documents printed with you. This might include your CV, the motivational letter and any recommendations that have been requested.
• Preparedness: Generally, employers and recruiters like to ask some questions regarding your CV: your previous working experiences, language and digital skills or transversal competences. In order to evaluate your suitability to the job offer, they might be interested in your strengths and weaknesses as well how you would behave in certain situations. In addition, here you can find 50 common questions in job interviews with exemplary answers in order to be better prepared for the next job interview.
• Questions: Asking questions is a sign of interest. It is thus a good idea to think about a couple of interesting questions to ask the employer during the job interview in advance.

Activity 2: Job search simulation

1. Divide your participants into 4 groups and give them 10 min to look for a job in the local context for a) an electrician, b) a teacher, c) a waiter, d) a nurse. (You can come up with other professions, if you find them more tailored to your group’s needs.) Don’t guide them in the activity, just let them discuss how they want to proceed and observe their approaches.
2. After the time is over, ask each group to present their results. You can discuss the different approaches in group. If some of approaches presented in the current chapter of this manual have not yet been mentioned, talk about them with the group.
3. Guide the group in a brainstorming on other opportunities that might foster their labour market inclusion on the long term (internships, volunteering activities, social projects, community events etc.). Encourage them to think as creatively as possible.
4. Finally give them the same task from the beginning again, assigning different professions to the 4 groups this time. They will have 10-15 min again.
5. Implement a debriefing on how the job search was different the second time and if it was easier to find suitable opportunities.

Activity 3: Spot the mistake

1. Provide participants with the handout “Most common mistakes when creating a curriculum vitae”, so you can go through and talk about all the listed mistakes together.
2. After this introduction, divide participants into three groups and provide each group with one of the exemplary curricula, which you can download from the links provided on the next page. They will have 15 min to analyse these CVs regarding the most common mistakes, noting down everything that they notice.
3. After the times is finished, each group will present their CV analysis to the rest of the group, so everybody can discuss together.

Activity 4: Know your strengths and potential for growth

1. First of all, you will need to print the cards depicted on the next page and cut them out, so that you have one word per card.
2. You can introduce this activity by discussing on soft skills: What are they? Why do we need them? Why do we need to be aware, not only of our technical skills, but also our transversal competences in the job search process? This will help participants to understand the importance of reflecting on our inter- and intrapersonal competences, attitudes and values that we all bring to our work environment. You can further outline that employers oftentimes ask questions regarding soft skill in the job interview as well (e.g. “What are three of your strengths and weaknesses?”) and that it is thus useful to have them clear.
3. Let each participant draw a card from the set. They should choose them randomly without knowing which one they are taking. After everybody has their card, in turn start to ask them what they have gotten and discuss together what it means to have this value, competence and attitude and how they can be used in the working environment. Leave much space to the participants, gently guiding the conversation if they get stuck.
4. After the first round ends, it is up to decide if you want to do another round to deepen the concepts or if you want to go on to the next part of the activity.
5. As the final step put all cards on the table and choose a specific profession or job and ask participants to reflect together which of the values, attitudes and competences from the cards would be needed in order to do a good job. You can either use the professions, participants tell you that they want to work in or choose something yourself (e.g. nurse, cook, engineer, teacher, mechanic etc.). Close by underlining the importance of having a clear idea of which competences might be needed for a certain job position before going into the job interview.

Activity 5: Role play

1. Distribute the different scenarios to the groups and tell them to make a roleplay out of them.
2. Participants themselves will have to determine how they would approach the situation and how they want their character to interact with the others.
3. The other groups observe the representation of all other roleplays, afterwards the whole group discusses how they would have reacted, what they would have done in the same way and what could have been done differently.

• Papyrus project: Outstanding candidate
• Job Emotions Club consortium: How to manage Job Emotion Clubs
• Different types of curricula: end of this article
• Canva for attractive CV templates: canva
• Common questions in job interviews

• Explain everything clearly;
• Support your participants in thinking outside the box to reflect on their potential and find new working opportunities;
• Motivate – job search might be frustrating!