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Looking for work in Ashfield

Choosing a job or changing a career can be a major life transition – one that requires careful thought, planning and work. If you are exploring new career options, you will need to ask yourself 2 questions:

  1. What do you want to do?
  2. How do I get there from here?

The first question deals with the goal of your career search, the second one with the process of finding a job or career – how to actually go about reaching your goal. The 2 are interrelated; you could have a new career clearly in mind but don’t know how to achieve your goal, or you could talk to all the right people and do all the appropriate career exploration tasks without any clear sense of direction.

The purpose of this page is to suggest how you can find support with both these needs.

Who am I?

The more you understand about yourself, the better your decisions will be and the more effectively you will be able to implement those decisions.

There are several ways to gain this information, you can speak with a career adviser and / or you can take some assessments such as Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The MBTI was developed by Isabel Myers and Katherine Briggs as a measure of Carl Jung’s theory of psychological types. About 1.5 million people take the test online each year, and more than 88% of Fortune 500 companies, as well as hundreds of universities, use it in hiring and training. It’s by far the most popular assessment to support careers guidance.

You can take this test for free on websites such as:

This will give you an insight into your ‘best fit’ personality type and with this you will understand more about your natural strengths, challenge’s and what career themes are more likely to suit you. To have a more accurate assessment you will need to pay for professional feedback, to help you understand your results in more detail from a qualified MBTI Practitioner. 

What do I want to do?

The answer to this is often not clear for most people. It may be helpful to break down an enormous issue like this into smaller, more manageable questions such as:

  • What do I want to do on a day to day basis?
  • Where do I want to be in one year? 5 years? 10 years?
  • What would I like to have accomplished in one year? 5 years? 10 years?
  • What kind of people do I want to work with?
  • What kind of working environment do I find most comfortable?
  • What kind of work environment allows me to be most productive?
  • What motivates me to do my best?

When you know yourself better you can categorise occupations by their ‘fit’ with your personality type, interests and skills, then you will be able to find a job that more closely matches your natural preferences.

How do I get from there to here?

The process of career change involves many activities. 

People naturally tend to engage in those tasks that are consistent with their personality type and avoid those that require them to ‘work against the grain’ of their preferred styles. However, all activities will need to be accomplished in order to be successful. So if you are struggling to do certain stages, then this is where you need more support.

The good news is that there are plenty of organisations available who can assist you.

Job search organisations

Futures

Futures offer honest, straightforward, and practical advice and support. They can help you to explore your options, find opportunities and prepare for the future.

They can also assist you with self-marketing:

  • Advice to get your cover letter noticed
  • Tips to move your CV to the top of the pile
  • Interview techniques that give you confidence and prove your capability
  • Support with your job search or securing a training placement.

National Careers Service

The National Careers Service provide careers information, advice and guidance. They can help you to make decisions on learning, training and work at all stages in your career.

Try the free online skills assessment and search the library of job profiles to gather information on what roles might best suit you. You can find out more by how they work by watching their 'About us' video on YouTube.

Workray

This is a free app that manages your job search, from application to start date. It gathers job alerts from the UK's most popular job boards into one simple view.

Having an organised approach will increase your chances of not missing opportunities, so this application helps to take the strain out of the ‘task’ of tracking multiple job applications.

  • Manage all your jobs and applications in one place
  • Track the progress of your applications
  • Obtain tips for every step of your job hunt
  • Get job recommendations that match your skills
  • Don’t just search. Be found with your CV.

Free training for Ashfield residents

Towns Fund project Enterprising Ashfield in partnership with Nottingham Trent University are able to provide free training courses to Ashfield residents living in Kirkby in Ashfield or Sutton in Ashfield.

The courses take place in person at the Summit Centre in Kirkby in Ashfield, are one day a week and will take around 2 to 5 weeks to complete.

  • Product Photography Using Smartphones - starts 14 June 2023
  • Event Planning and Management - starts 4 July 2023
  • Better Writing Skills - starts 4 July 2023
  • Rapid Prototyping Techniques for Businesses - starts 5 July 2023
  • Introduction to Copywriting - starts 6 July 2023
  • Visual Merchandising for Retail Spaces - starts 6 July 2023
  • Confident Presentation Skills - starts 11 July 2023
  • Rapid Prototyping Techniques for Businesses - starts 12 July 2023
  • Social Media and Content Creation for Businesses - starts 13 July 2023
  • Digital Designs for Textiles and Fashion - starts 19 July 2023
  • Website Design for Small Businesses - starts 8 August 2023
  • Graphic Design for Marketing and Communications - starts 15 September 2023
  • Introduction to Public Relations for Marketing - starts 27 October 2023
  • Customer Service for Excellent Visitor Experience - New dates TBC
  • Introduction to Retail Success - New dates TBC
  • Introduction to Graphic Design - new dates TBC
  • Video Content and Production for Digital Marketing - new dates TBC
  • Copywriting and Content Writing - new dates TBC
  • Event Planning Essentials - new dates TBC
  • Sales Success for Retail - new dates TBC

More information about how to enrol on the course is available on the University's website:

Closing date for the Enterprising Ashfield project is 31 March 2026.