Title

Careers Videos: Job Search Skills

Choosing a Career

How do you actually decide on a career to follow? What influences do parents, family, friends and teachers have on your decision? What bearing does your natural personality have on the matter? How important are your manual skills and physical characteristics ? What makes you develop interests in one area rather than another? How do you make sensible decisions about the subjects you need to take? How can you gain experience and 'test' your choices?

(25 mins.) - Year of Production 1993

Documentation

From the employer's viewpoint, what are some of the common mistakes people make when making a job application? What documents should you send in? How should referees be listed? Who should you include as a referee? Why is it so important to provide a telephone contact for an employer? How should the academic details of a resume be set out? In what way is a 'character reference' different to a 'work reference'?

(21 mins.) - Year of Production 1993

Presentation

What sort of dress is suitable for young men and women in different work environments? How important is personal grooming? How important is punctuality? What is the standard practice with regard to shaking hands? How important are first impressions , and how can you be sure you make a good one? What are the most important things to bear in mind about 'body language'?

(16 mins.) - Year of Production 1993

Education

How much detail needs to be supplied with a record of school and college grades? What sorts of qualifications need to be mentioned besides academic ones? What is the importance of Maths and English? How important are computer skills? What extra-curricular activities are worth mentioning? How can communications skills, and problem solving skills be developed? What happens if your educational background doesn't exactly match the job description? How important is it to fit into the 'work culture' of an organisation?

(24 mins.) - Year of Production 1993

Set of 4 Careers Videos (1-4)

The Interview

What is the general etiquette observed in conducting an interview? What are some strategies to help overcome nervousness ? What is the value in doing research on a company prior to the interview? How much detail should you supply when answering questions? When and how should you ask questions? What should you be aware of with regard to body language and eye contact? When is it appropriate to discuss the benefits and conditions of employment?

(24 mins.) - Year of Production 1993

Writing a Resume

What should and shouldn't you include in your resume in order to give yourself the best chance of being contacted by an employer? How do you set out your personal details? What is the best way of setting out your work experience? What does an employer want to know? What is a 'functional resume'? When would you be better advised to adopt this style? What is the etiquette of requesting references? How do you ensure your resume looks professional in its presentation?

(21 mins.) - Year of Production 1993

Writing Letters

How do you strike an appropriate tone for the covering letter? What are the standard rules for indenting, paragraphing and punctuating a letter? How can you make sure you express yourself concisely? How do you sequence your paragraphs? How do you write an acceptance letter for a job offer? How do you you write a cold canvassing letter of enquiry for a job?

(14 mins.) - Year of Production 1993

Using the Telephone

How do you penetrate the defences (such as receptionists charged with the duty of 'screening calls')? How can you minimise distractions and interruptions when receiving calls at home? How do you train your family to take messages? Preparation before the call - the job ad, your resume, your diary and notepaper. How do you deal with 'lulls' in the conversation? How can you advance your case by 'volunteering' extra information? The secrets of controlling and using 'tone of voice'

(16 mins.) - Year in Production 1993

Set of 8 Job Search Skills Videos (1-8)

Career Videos: Work Skills

Retail Sales Work

What qualities are ; needed to successfully work in sales? What aspects of personal presentation are important? What is 'customer service' and why is it so important? What skills are needed to demonstrate products? What are some tips for relating to other staff and the manager? How important is product knowledge? Accepting payment: cash, cheque, credit, EFTPOS. How should you handle difficult customers? What responsibilities are there besides on-the-floor sale? Are some people just 'born salespeople' or is this a myth?

(27 mins.) - Year of Production 1993

Waiting and Waitressing

What personal qualities are required in this line of work? What are the necessary fundamental skills? What responsibilities can be assumed? How should clients be addressed? How do you take an order? What is the easiest way of acquiring menu knowledge? What different systems are used in different establishments? What are the secrets of carrying crockery and glasses efficiently and elegantly? What is the correct time and manner of placing and removing meals on the table. What are the conventions of serving and pouring drinks? How should you handle customer complaints?

(28 mins.) - Year of Production 1993

Bar Work

What personal qualities are needed to successfully work as a bar attendant? What terminology is used in the business? What are the golden rules for maintaining harmony with other staff? What safety measures need to be observed? What social skills are required? How should orders be taken, and glasses cleared away? How should beer, wine, cocktails and mixed drinks be poured, presented and served? How are quantities of spirits measured? How should you deal with 'difficult customers'(loud, obnoxious, drunk or overly friendly)?

(28 mins.) - Year of Production 1993

Telephone Sales Work

What is the most effective way to greet a caller? What qualities of voice are important to control? Handling a telephone enquiry:listening, questioning, controlling the direction of the call, putting the caller onto the right person. What are the most important details to record in taking a phone message? How can you deal effectively with difficult callers? How important are 'follow up' calls? What etiquette needs to be observed when putting the caller on hold? What is the best way of finishing a call?

(21 mins.) - Year of Production 1993

Set of 4 Work Skills Videos (9-12)

Set of 12 Careers Videos (1-12)

Career Videos: School to Work

Apprenticeships and Traineeships

Which jobs involve apprenticeships? What are traineeships - in which occupations do they apply?What are pre-apprenticeship courses? What is involved in fulfilling an apprenticeship? What is the balance of work and study? What levels of skill need to be reached and how is this assessed? How has the system changed from the old days? What are the pros and cons of this change? What can a student do to increase their chances of getting an apprenticeship or traineeship of their choice?

(27 min) - Year of Production 1994

Transition from School to University

What are the basic differences between school and university in the areas of: term and holiday time, class hours and attendance, examinations, practical work (e.g. lab experiments), sports, clubs. Lectures - taking notes. Seminars: preparation for and participation in. Fulfillment of academic requirements: reports, papers, essays and theses. Footnoting. Finding your way around the library. Undergraduate and post-graduate research. Austudy and part-time jobs.

(24 min) - Year of Production 1994

What I Like About My Job

We talk frankly with a wide variety of people about their jobs. Hours: length and flexibility. Pay: salary bands - chance to earn more. Holidays. Working conditions. Fringe benefits. Variety. Intellectual Demand. Physical demand. Skills. Social Contact. Stability of Employment? Future prospects.

(22 min) - Year of Production 1994

What I Like About My TAFE

How did you decide on this course? Differences between TAFE and school or university? Short courses and long courses. Entry requirements? Hours? Vacations? Homework and Assignments? Exams? Balance between practical and theoretical? Social contacts? Qualifications? The Job Market? Professional development?

(23 min) - Year of Production 1994

What I Like About My University

How did you decide on this course/ university? Entry requirements? Hours? Vacations? Homework and Assignments? Exams? Balance between practical and theoretical? Social contacts? Qualifications? The Job Market? Professional development? Associations.

(22 min) - Year of Production 1994

What I Like About My Trade

How did you come to choose this trade? Training. Regularity of work. Rates of pay. Working conditions. Fringe benefits. Opportunities. Working for someone else versus going into business for yourself. Tools and equipment required. Clothing. Employing other people. Paperwork.

(16 min) - Year of Production 1994

Set of 6 'School to Work' Videos

Career Videos: Work Education

The Hidden Job Market

Getting the family to help make contacts. Using your network of friends. Networking through teachers/supervisors/lecturers. Cold Calling - using the Yellow Pages. Juggling a number of applications at once. Types of employment: casual, part-time, contract, permanent. What types of jobs have potential to develop into something, and what type don't. Jobs that look good on a CV. Working for nothing.

(23 min) - Year of Production 1994

Newspaper Employment Ads

How is the newspaper organised with regard to employment ads? Display ads versus classifieds. How much detail is included in ads? What is the basic amount of information? What laws relate to advertising of jobs? What are some particularly suspect ads? What ads are constantly in there? Why are there always so many ads for sales positions? Professional positions. School and Teaching positions. Hospital and medical. Use of 'Dear Applicant' column? Tally kept on job ads as an indication of the strength of the job market. Casual Work. Situations Vacant. Part time. Pointers. Job classification title. Common requests in ads: ringing after 9 am, handwritten, with references. Executive positions - agencies. Display ads. Cost to employers of advertising. Repeat ads.

(28 min) - Year of Production 1994

Computer Positions

The computer employment pages are notorious for their use of industry jargon in describing the requirements of applicants. We talk to industry professionals from companies like Fujitsu, Sun Microsystems, Silicon Graphics and so on in an attempt to translate terms such as Unix, C and C++, Lans and wans, Oracle, Informix, Windows, TCP/IP, etc. We look at the structure of employment in the computing industry - minis, micros, mains and networks. We also examine key industry roles - programmer, systems analyst, project manager and consultant.

(38 min) - Year of Production 1994

The Language of Employment

The process of setting and following awards. Typical award rates. Annual leave loading. Meal breaks. Superannuation. Allowances: meals, clothing. Sick Leave. Annual leave. Long service leave. Rostered Days Off. Day in lieu. Unionisation - compulsory, non-compulsory. Non-discrimination. Equal opportunity. Sexual harassment. Affirmative action. The glass ceiling. Enterprise bargaining - the trade-offs involved. Work such as nannies, tutoring and domestic help where awards are sketchy. Worker's compensation.

(34 min) - Year of Production 1994

Set of 4 'Work Education' Videos

Study Skills Videos

Space Management

What is the most effective way of organising your physical space? How should your desk, chair, light, papers, bookcase and files be positioned? What are some tips and tricks for storing your stationery? What advantages are gained by computerising? Are there any risks in terms of lost data, or time, in doing so? What are the good housekeeping rules for computer management? What is the most efficient filing system? How do you deal with wastepaper (and paper you're not sure whether you should keep, or throw away)? How should you archive your material so that you can access it again?

(19 mins.) - Year of Production 1993

Note-taking

We take notes because of the fallibility of the human memory, but how can we take notes more effectively? What variations are there in peoples preferences for certain tools - pen and paper? What level of detail should we use in taking down notes? What is the advantage in developing our own shorthand? Is there a danger in transcribing everything from the blackboard without thinking about it critically? How should we deal with references and handouts? Once notes have been taken down, how should they be filed to allow us to access and use them effectively?

(21 mins.) - Year of Production 1993

Reading Skills

Since Gutenberg invented the printing press no civilised person has been able to neglect reading as a skill. With so much to read these days, how can we improve the effectiveness of the time we devote to reading? How can we develop a 'goal-driven' view of reading? How can we 'read to remember', and be discriminating about what we read? In what way can we take greater advantage of the table of contents and indices ? What approach should you use when faced with the task of reading 'literary texts' as opposed to non-fiction ones?

(22 mins.) - Year of Production 1993

Conserving Your Energy

Energy is a critically important resource which varies from person to person (and within the one person from time to time). The ideal is to match your energy level to the demands of the tasks you have in hand. What is the value of an exercise program in your studies? How should we make sure we get enough sleep? What is stress, and what are the best ways of curing it (or, even better, avoiding it)? What is the value of establishing a routine for your daily activities? How can we achieve a 'holistic' approach to planning our lives?

(16 mins.) - Year of Production 1993

Time Management

Time is finite, each of us has the same amount of it every day. But some of us achieve s o much, whilst others achieve so little. Why? How can we analyse where all the time in our lives is going? What are the first steps in getting organised? What is a 'to-do list' and how can it help in conquering our short range planning? How can a calendar be used to aid us in our long range planning tasks? Avoiding bottlenecks in our life activities. The art of 'creative re-scheduling'. How can we set about achieving life goals through micro-goals. Setting up a flow chart of achievements.

(22 mins.) - Year of Production 1993

Exam Preparation

At the start of the year you are given an outline of the exams: how many there are; when they are held and how long they last. Once this information is 'seeded' into your subconscious, your preparation begins. What is the distinction between the knowledge and the skills of a subject area, and what are the best strategies for developing each? What is short term and long term memory, and what effect does this have on our preparation? (How effective, really, is 'cramming'?) The importance of 'striving for understanding', not just rote learning. How can 'aids to memory' help with the preservation of scientific or mathematical formula? Curbing exam nerves - or, at least, making them work in your favour.

(22 mins.) - Year of Production 1993

Examination Strategies

During the examination the passage of time is a constant against which you measure the completion of all tasks. (A bit like life.) What should you do during reading time to speed you along the way? How do you budget your time? How do you decide which questions to answer? In what order should you tackle the questions on the exam paper? What are the best strategies for tackling multiple choice questions? What approach should you adopt to answer single-line and short paragraph questions? How can you use abbreviated planning in drafting an outline for your essay? Time saving hint - 'make sure you answer the question concisely and with supporting detail.'

(22 mins) - Year of Production 1993

Set of 7 Study Skills Videos

Presenting Yourself Videos

Male Grooming

Male Clothes & Dress Sense

Set of 2 Male Presenting Yourself

Female Grooming

Female Clothes & Dress Sense

Set of 2 Female Presenting Yourself

Set of 4 Presenting Yourself videos