Vocational Training: Should I do it?

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I have been emailed previously in regards to completing vocational training courses, and whether this is good training to have on your CV. Obviously, there are plenty of courses available for pretty much anything and everything publishing related. If you are considering a vocational training course, then consider the questions below in order to make an informed decision.

Consider these questions:

1) What are your reasons for wanting to complete a vocational training course?

Create a list of your reasons and what areas you specifically feel you need training in. For example, when I was considering vocational training it was purely for improving English skills like, grammar, proof reading, editing etc. However, I found that if you do your own research, and use a search engine to look up e.g., ‘how to proof read?’. By doing so, you will be able to pick up plenty of skills/tips. Thus, I would encourage that you do your own research first, in the areas you fill you need help in the most, before undertaking a vocational course.

2) Is it feasible?

If you’re a student contemplating a course over summer, think about the feasibility of undertaking a course. This covers all aspects such as, cost, travel and time, as when you’re a student time is very valuable for building up work experience and skills.

If you’re a graduate seeking work and wondering if a course will improve your CV, it probably won’t. In the grand scheme of things, employers will be looking at the whole package. Your time will be better spent researching companies and applying for full time jobs. Expand your search if you’re not getting anywhere. Someone once told me that it’s easier finding a job when you’re already in a job.

3) Is your time better spent doing other things?

This comes back to whether the training is feasible as once you get a full time job in publishing; this is when you’ll be able to focus on your skills. Some companies will train up new employees too. Remember, publishing is a fast-paced industry, where you’ll be able to pick up and improve skills quickly.

4) What are your other options?

As I said before, if you want to improve your proof reading skills, you’re probably better off becoming a writer for your student newspaper, and experiencing editing first hand. Many areas that you may feel you are weak at can be improved by covering those aspects in a working environment.

Weigh up the pros and cons, everyone is different and will have different reasons for completing a vocational training course. As long as you have considered all the questions above, then you should be able to make your own informed decision. Don’t forget, you can also use my previous blog post ‘Working Skills: A Guide to the Six Thinking Hats’, to help you make the best decision possible.

Would you like any further blog posts on vocational training? Use the comments box below or tweet me to let me know.

CV Workshop - 'Extracurricular Activities' heading

If this is the first time you are viewing this blog series, please refer back to the first summary post called ‘CV Workshop – Top 5 Headings for your CV’.

If you have done a lot of extracurricular activities at school or university, then this heading is definitely a good optional extra for you to have on your CV. For instance, I’ve worked on the University student newspaper, which is significant experience as it is part of my journalism experience. In particular, the student newspaper is well recognised in the publishing industry, so if that’s the direction you want to go in, then the student newspaper is a great starting point. Furthermore, it’s really important to detail all your activities, even if they don’t directly relate to the work you’re applying for. This is because these activities develop many skills e.g. team work, which all relate to the work place.

As I have emphasised before, make sure that all the extracurricular activities are detailed in chronological order starting from your most recent position at the top, and work your way down. Also, as an added thought, try to make sure that you’re consistent throughout your CV in terms of layout, font and sizes etc. If you’re following this blog series, an easy way to format the extracurricular section is to do so in the same way as the education section. So, you’ll be using a template that looks a little bit like this:

{Start date} – {End date/Present} NAME OF POSITION/ROLE, LOCATION, Brief DESCRIPTION

Please do remember that the above template is just a guideline of what you could do with your extracurricular activities section. I would strongly advise doing some of your own research and having a look at CV’s that are considered strong.

The next and final CV Workshop will be for the ‘Skills’ heading.

Website Pick of the Week

The Society of Young Publishers is a great starting place for young budding publishing professional. The main aim of SYP is to provide people with the industry services they need, to get their publishing careers off to a fantastic start. The society offers, regular monthly speaker meetings, a free subscription to the InPrint magazine, industry contacts, a comprehensive job database and more. The only snag is that you have to pay to be a member of SYP. Memberships for students are slightly cheaper though at £24 as opposed to £30 for adults. Nevertheless, this society is highly recommended and I’m definitely going to consider joining.

For more information visit: http://www.thesyp.org.uk/