Helpful tools, job sites and tips
Understanding your skills and making the job search work for you
Part one:
Career assessment and skill evaluation tools
What’s the point of career assessments?
Career assessments aren’t about boxing you into one job – they’re there to help you reflect.
They give you useful insight into your interests, strengths and values, so you can start making clearer decisions about your next steps.
When are they useful?
They’re especially helpful when you’re:
Not sure what to do next.
Thinking about changing direction.
Struggling to explain your strengths.
Wanting to feel more confident in interviews.
Type of career assessments
You don’t need to do all of them, but here are a few worth exploring:
Personality assessments
Helps you understand how you work and communicate (16Personalities, MBTI-style).
Strengths-based tools
Shows what energises you at work (CliftonStrengths, Strengths Profile).
Values assessments
Helps you prioritise what matters most to you in a role or organisation.
Skill audits
Lets you compare what you’re good at now with what’s needed in your target roles.
Free tools to try
How to use your results
Use the language from your results in your CV and LinkedIn.
Focus on roles or industries that match your strengths and values.
If you're stuck, share your results with a career coach or adviser – talking it through helps.
Don’t treat results as gospel – they’re just one tool in your toolkit.
Part two:
Job sites & search tips
Where to start your job search
- Indeed – huge listings, good filters
- Totaljobs / Reed / CV-Library – generalist boards, lots of admin, customer service and support roles
- LinkedIn – great for networking, company research and job alerts (sign-up required)
- Guardian Jobs / CharityJob – ideal for public sector and non-profit roles
- Job Centre Plus – useful for local opportunities and support
- Chat GPT – AI tool that can be prompted to suggest job sites, career advice and more
- Head-hunters – there are lots of specialists, agencies and job boards that can help you with your job search
Using filters to save time
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, but filters help narrow it down.
Try filtering by:
Location
Look for remote/hybrid options too.
Job type
Full-time, part-time, contract, temporary.
Salary
Don't be afraid to set a realistic range.
Date posted
Aim for roles posted within the last week.
Experience level
Entry-level, mid, senior.
How to use alerts and save time
- Set up email alerts on each site using your search criteria.
- Create a folder to save roles you're interested in.
- Apply in batches to stay focused
- Keep a simple spreadsheet or tracker – job title, link, date applied, follow-up notes.
- Don’t forget to update your CV for each application (small tweaks go a long way).
Stay motivated
- Job searching can be draining – give yourself breaks.
- Set small, realistic goals (e.g. 3 applications a day).
- Celebrate the wins, even if it’s just getting shortlisted.
- Talk to someone if you're feeling stuck – reach out to friends and family.
Remember...
Knowing your strengths and having a good system makes job searching feel less overwhelming.
Use the tools that work for you and keep your search focused.
Be kind to yourself along the way.