Tools and tips for facilitators and helpers

Helping people to identify their skills is a good starting point for career planning and job hunting

To help with career planning, follow these three stages:

• encourage self-awareness – help people reflect and think about themselves
• explore the options – use job-matching tools for ideas, and use our databases
• encourage goal-setting and action-planning.

Encourage self-awareness

Helping people to be more self-aware can better prepare them to make choices about their next steps, and whether they will be a good fit with their skills, interests and values.

Use job-matching tools for ideas

Use job-matching tools to help people generate ideas if they are still uncertain about the direction they want to take. Use listening skills and clarifying questions when discussing career ideas. Act as a sounding board, and ask people to explain their choices when talking things through.

Tools to help you:

• CareerQuest guide - generates job suggestions based on interests and skills
• Skill Matcher - provides job suggestions based on skills
• Subject Matcher - provides job suggestions based on subjects

Search our databases for key information

You don’t need to be an expert – you just have to know where to go to find out information. Our job and course database can help you search for information about entry requirements for jobs, the job market, and courses.

Tools to help you:

• Jobs database - search our database of over 600 jobs
• Jobs in skill shortage - find out which jobs are in high demand
• Course database - search our database of NZQA-approved courses

Encourage goal-setting and action-planning

Help people to identify next steps, keep track and meet their goals. Use action plans and checklists to help them work out what they need to do, and by when.

Tools to help you:

• Going into tertiary study or training action plan (Word - 228KB) (PDF - 161KB)
• Going into workplace training action plan (Word - 192KB) (PDF - 87KB)

For some people, real or perceived challenges can be a barrier when looking for work or making career decisions. To help them clarify these challenges and make it easier to identify and take steps to deal with them, you can use these Challenges card sorts.  

• Challenges card sort guide (Word - 81KB) (PDF - 149KB)
• Challenges card sort  (Word - 2MB) (PDF - 210KB)
• Youth challenges card sort (Word - 2MB) (PDF - 212KB)

Effective job search comes down to helping people sell themselves well. That means helping them identify what they can say about themselves, and targeting their applications appropriately to jobs.

Focus on skills and achievements first

The hardest part for many people is identifying the skills they can offer employers. Do this before getting into the specifics of CV writing. Help your students reflect on what they have done during their course or training. Work experience, voluntary work and assignments can all contribute.

Help people target their CVs

Use sample job advertisements and role definitions  to help identify what the employer is looking for and how a CV should be written to reflect it. Look for key words in job descriptions and help them use those in their CV. You can usually download role definitions from job vacancy websites.

The job descriptions from our job database can also help give ideas.

Try critiquing a sample of CVs

Try an exercise where people select from a sample of CVs and decide which is the best.

Use your networks

Use your networks to bring in employers to talk about the employer's point of view about CVs. Ask them what makes a good CV.

Help with writing a CV:

• CV Builder - create a CV online
• CV and cover templates
• CVs - getting started
• Just the Job video - how to research a job and write a CV
• Using my transferable skills worksheet (PDF - 163KB)

Job hunting preparation:

• How to get a job - job hunting information
• Job search basics (MS Word - 85KB) (PDF - 247KB)
• Just the Job video - how to pitch to potential employers on the phone

Job vacancies:

• Job vacancy websites
• Jobs database - check job vacancies and the chances of getting a job section for over 600 occupations

Ways of working and rights at work:

• Types of work arrangement and hours - information on different ways of working
• Department of Labour website - minimum employment rights

The best way to prepare for an interview is to practise – and that means getting people to answer questions. Role plays and mock interview questions are a helpful way of getting people prepared.

If you can, follow up on how each interview went and encourage reflection on it to help next time around. 

Tools to help you:

• How to get a job - interview tips
• Just the Job video - how to prepare for job interviews
• Just the Job video - what employers wantin a job interview
• Just the Job video - what type of body language to use in interviews
• Trade Me website - interview preparation tips video

Webchat mentoring gives you the opportunity to chat online to a career consultant about your plans and ideas, and how to further develop them. Chatting to a consultant can help you:

• develop your ideas for helping others with their career direction or plans
• find useful online career planning and job search tools
• answer questions you have about our website.

At the end of your chat, you can be sent a copy of the transcript, which you can save for future reference.

To start chatting – click on the 'Chat Now' button.

Our chat hours are 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday.  If the button says 'chat not available' during those hours, it's because our team is busy. Try reloading the page in a few minutes.