One of the most important milestones in life and one of the most stressful is gaining your first job. It is also an exciting time in a person's life when they discover independence and themself. The job search journey for a school leaver or graduate is rarely a smooth one. Most of the time it's hit and miss, but the important thing is to never stop trying. Sure you'll come up against rejections, sure you'll come across some nasty pieces work, sometimes you'll walk away thinking is it all worth it. Trust me, it is. You'll learn from every experience and you'll learn a lot about yourself and people in general. My advise to anyone looking for that first job, regardless of your background, age, sex, socio economic status, is to be humble and open minded. Aim high but know that you may have to start low. There are many ways to source your first job, you just need to be a little creative, patient and persistent. It took me about 6 months to find my first job. I tried for everything, got nothing. There were times when I made phone calls to employment agencies and was made to feel like a complete retard. I had no experience, no car, no qualifications and no clue. I kept all my rejection letters (yes, back then rejection letters were mailed out). Every job interviewed I secured, I would keep mental notes and asked for feedback when I didn't get the position. Most people were very helpful in giving advise, some were just bitches. I learnt something from all of them.

BASIC JOB SEARCH STRATEGY

1. Ask yourself a few questions

Before you start, ask yourself a few questions first. Do you want part time or full time work? are you just after some vacation work? What you do want to do? What would you like to do? Realistically what are you most likely to get? How long do you think you can sustain commitment to a certain job? What are youwilling to do? How can this help you with your future jobs or career plan? Who do you want to work for? What skills or competencies do you already have even without work experience?

2. Finding the opportunities

Like with anything you want in life, you have to go out and get it. It's great when good luck and fortune falls on your lap, but lets not rely on this to happen. In order to get your foot in the door, you need to focus on getting the opportunity. There are many ways to find those opportunities. Look in the paper, local, state, national papers, online - go onto the job boards in your country, look at the community announcement boards at your church or social congregations, to onto employment agency websites and check out their vacancies, shop fronts (people still put "help needed" signs in their shop fronts), write to the companies you want to work for, look at the employment section of your university website, ask your local businesses whether they need any help, ask your friends if they know of anyone looking for an employee, ask your parents' friends, ask your family. I'm a big fan of networking and I believe, it's a good habit to get into at a young age. Start off volunteering if you have to. Don't go for one at a time, go for several at a time.

3. Communicating your desire to work

Before you start applying for jobs make sure you have a resume and letter ready. Regardless of the job. In your letter be sure to

• Express why you want to work for the company,
• Add a little bit about yourself - don't write a sob story, focus on a few positive sentences about yourself and your aspirations.
• Explain why you want a certain position (if you are applying for an advertising position)
• If there is no particular position, list in your letter what you are willing to do
• List your capabilities, skills and competencies. Everybody has skills and competencies, even if they've never had a job before. the most common transferrable competencies are communication skills, interpersonal skills, learning capabilities, customer service skills, commitment, dedication, good work ethic, computer literacy. Can you type fast - well, that's a skill even if you've never had a job in your life? Are you pretty good at formatting documents or creating spreadsheets? Well they're also skills that are sought after in most offices. Small business with older owners who tend to not be so savvy with technology will appreciate these skills. Have a think about examples of when you've demonstrated these in everyday life.
• Thank the reader for reading and advise them how they can contact you. Even if you think they're not going to read the letter.

I'm don't expect 16 year olds to have profound career and life goals, but when I read a cover letter from someone this young who shows that they want to achieve something, I really want to help them. If this is your first job ever, have a generic cover letter which you can send to anyone. Also have one for each specific job you are going for. Next comes the resume.

Again, if this is your first job ever, it's going to look a little thin. But you can make it look impressive. Remember, you need to show that you are resourceful and create a certain perception (positve, professional one please). It's not always about how much content you have, it's how you portray it. In your first resume all you need are the following:

Personal detail: name, phone number, email address

Career goals or aspirations: a paragraph is sufficient

Education: University, degree, estimated completion date, school, what year level you completed,

Employment History: If you don't have any, list the work experience you did with your school, or volunteer work you've done in the past, other unpaid work you've done.

Achievements: Academic, sporting, social, personal - if you feel you don't have any, don't include this section. But ask those around you and they'll tell you what you've achieved if you can't find anything for yourself. People are often very modest when it comes to this.

Referees: List those who will be a referee for you. If this is your first job, it will be more of a character reference. Teachers, mentors, volunteer team leaders are all good people to put down. Don't put your relatives down as references. As you gain more work experiences, you will have more professional referees. This comes with time.

4. Approach these opportunities

Now that you have your application tools ready, go for it!! If you get knocked back, who cares, try again somewhere else. I've worked for 2 agencies who rejected me earlier in my career. I just stayed in regular contact with the consultant who interviewed me at the time so they were able to track my career. I interviewed a young candidate last week who really wanted to work in real estate. After she finished school she approached Ray White Real Estate here in Adelaide and asked them how she could get a job with them. They told her to go out and get herself the toughest sales job she could get, work there for a year then come back and talk to them. So she got herself a telesales job with Telstra (this is a pretty tough gig for a 17 year old), stayed there for a year, then came back to Ray White and they gave her a job as an admin assistant. After a short time, she was promoted to property manager, now she has worked for some of the world's biggest brands and she's only 23.

ATTITUDES & IMPRESSIONS

Once you secure an interview, your attitude will make or break the progress of the opportunity. I've interviewed thousands of people in my career, and I've noticed that those who are positive are more likely to be shortlisted by my clients. Even if they don't have all the required hard skills. People are drawn to those who are positive. You'd be surprised at how a negative attitude (even if you are not aware of it) impacts on others' perception of you and what they think you might be capable of. The general consensus is positive people are more capable than negative people. Simply because they think they can, so they go for it and they are good for the office morale.

The first impression you make on someone is a lasting one so the positive attitude is very important. Positivity will project a positive feel to the meeting. That is never a bad thing for you. Portraying your can-do attitude is also another great way to gain brownie points. Even if you are feeling down on yourself because job search has been one big rejection chapter, never show your resentment. Remember that the world doesn't owe you anything and you are responsible for your own achievement and success.

PRESENTATION

Always go to an interview presentable. When the interviewer is organising an interview with you, ask them what dress code they have at the business. If in doubt wear business attire. If you have a suit wear it, if you don't, slack and a shirt and tie does the trick for boys and for girls team skirt, pants or dress with a shirt. Think of how people dress in the office. And for goodness sakes, iron your clothes. Present yourself professionally regardless of what job you are going for, even if it's to wash dishes. Think appropriate. I had a girl come to an interview once who wore a nice shirt with the shortest skirt in the history of the world and heels that I see on adults entertainment adverts. I wasn't quite sure how to react when I came out to meet her. Classic example of what not to wear to a job interview. I didn't hold this against her, but I did address it with her before I sent her off to see my client the next day. If you have face piercing, take them out for the interview.

DON'T JUST TALK ABOUT IT, DO IT!!!

Ok so in conclusion, have a brief idea about what you want to do, look for the opportunities where you can do it, let people know you want to do, convince them why you are the person they should hire. Most importantly DON'T GIVE UP!!! Keep trying because as cliche as this sounds every "no" brings you closer to that "yes". It's true. Tested by your parents, your friends, your family, and billions of other people around the world who are in the jobs that they are in today. I can telll you from personal experience that patience and persistence will get you to where you want to be. Good luck. If you need help, you know where to find me.