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Changing jobs is undoubtedly one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions. If you are a motor trade professional and this goal also happens to be on your list, make sure you set to look for a new automotive job well prepared, so you can stay ahead of the competition. After all, data from pervious years shows that January sees nearly 40% of working-age Britons looking for their next career move, the highest percentage than in any other month of year.
Although the number of job seekers is at its highest this month, the good news is that at the same time even more vacancies will be created. This will not only be owing to the fact that companies’ new budgets come into place in January, but most of all, because those budgets are likely to be significantly higher than in previous years as motor industry is in a period of record sales and profitability. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders revealed yesterday that UK new car sales hit an all-time record last year as some 2.63 million vehicles were registered in 2015, up about 6% on 2014 and the fourth consecutive year of growth. As a result, the employment of automotive professionals, including vehicle technicians and MOT testers is set to grow as more and more skilled workers are needed to secure the automotive sector growth in the UK.
Although jobs outlook is very optimistic, before you start applying for new motor trade vacancies, there are some things that should be high on your to-do list, so the job-search runs as smoothly and effectively as possible:
1) Check and update your CV
Make sure all information is up to date and all your experience, skills and training are reflected in your CV. It makes sense to have one CV that you use as a template and adjust it accordingly depending on a job you are applying for.
When preparing a CV to apply for a particular vacancy, don’t forget to emphasize experience that is most relevant to the new job. A good CV should also list your duties in previous roles, because responsibilities performed by people with similar sounding job titles can vary significantly. Try to give the exact dates of the start and end of work, they are important for recruiters’ data, allowing them to ask you about reasons for your career breaks or frequent change of employers.
Last but not least, remember that grammar mistakes look bad on a CV, but can be easily avoided. Run your CV through a spell-check and possibly show it to a trusted person who will carefully go through it with you.
2) Collate your documents and qualifications certificates
Employers require certain documents for insurance purposes and in order to ensure candidates are eligible to work in the UK and hold relevant qualifications to do the work, so make sure you have the below at hand and up-to-date:
• Driving license and counterpart
• Passport, birth certificate or EU national ID
• Copies of your qualifications certificates (e.g. IMI, HND, SVQ, NVQ, City& Guilds, BTEC, ATA)
If you are seeing work as an MOT Tester you will also need:
• Smartcard/ MOT User ID
• VOSA/DVSA certificate
3) Decide what you really want
Make sure you take time to understand what you’re looking for, what you’d like to achieve by changing jobs and asses your own situation before applying for jobs. Consider the following:
• What would be your ideal next role?
• What is particularly important to you: salary, atmosphere, location?
• What would be your ideal work pattern (full time or part time, permanent or temporary contracts)?
• What kind of company would you like to work for (small independent garage, national dealership or maybe a fast-fit outlet, etc.)?
• Would you be willing to relocate for your new job?
4) Register with a recruitment agency that specializes in automotive industry
There is a good reason why you should sign with a specialist recruitment agency like Autotech Recruit. Not only do we have strong knowledge of the motor trade but we are also trained to effectively analyse and match your skillset to a perfect automotive vacancy, provide advice to boost your application and prepare you for interviews. Autotech Recruit has links to numerous motor trade companies, meaning that we have access to hundreds jobs advertised by hundreds of employers. This saves valuable time, especially if you’re already in full-time employment.
If you stick to this advice, it will be much easier to find job best suited to your expectations. We hope that the New Year really can be the jump start you need to move on in your career!
Good luck!