THE most vital step to land a job is preparing for the interview.
Most of the time, only properly trained applicants go through the process feeling cool and calm.
After attending a two-day workshop last week, jobless youths from the KwaDukuza Municipality felt confident their situations would change.
The 11 young people who attended the event, organised by the municipality and the United States diplomatic mission in South Africa, received job readiness certificates on Thursday.
The workshop was aimed at people with little or no experience.
They were shown how to prepare for job interviews, create well-structured CVs, build self-confidence and apply for jobs online.
Sinenhlanhla Ncanana (22), from Shombela in Stanger, said she learned how to properly structure a CV. “I am unemployed and maybe one of the reasons I don’t get jobs is because my CV was not well structured. I think now that I know how to do it, I will get better.”
Chairman of the portfolio committee on youth, sport and gender John Phahla said they appreciated the opportunity given to the youth.
He said the workshop gave them the necessary skills to apply for jobs online as well as skills required for interviews.
He said it was something many employers identified as a problem.
“The youth have been given an opportunity to develop their own action list on how to market themselves, prepare for interviews, search and find potential opportunities for jobs.
“We encourage the youth to use this job preparation workshop as an instrument to master every interview obstacle they might encounter,” said Phahla.
