You are fresh out of matric or college and looking for a full-time job. Where do you begin?

To help you answer that question an employment agency has issued a list of tips.

Topping the list is mental attitude. Even in a tight job market, there are always openings.

The first challenge is to uncover those opportunities.

'Use entry-level opportunities as the springboard to greater things'

Secondly, get into the habit of checking all the newspaper job ads and career websites and simultaneously develop your own network of contacts who can alert you to new opportunities. It suggests you speak to family members and friends and circulate your CV.

Jobs often require work experience but matriculants question how they can have work experience if they have just left school.

According to the agency's managing director, Tracey Czakan, there are many ways to start building a CV.

"Find part-time or weekend work while at school. Take a job, even if it is a lowly paid one. This provides an entry point into the job market and can set the scene for greater things to come," she said.

Other tips on how to gain work experience included working for a reputable employment agency and look out for opportunities. Working as unpaid back-up or gaining experience at a basic level can pay off big time.

Czakan said one of the biggest success stories in South African marketing entered advertising by working for nothing in a small
advertising agency.

"In less than 20 years he has built up a global agency."

Virgin founder Richard Branson learnt his marketing skills by selling goods from a market stall.

"Use entry-level opportunities as the springboard to greater things."

"It is also important to stand out from the crowd. A good way is to equip yourself with useful skills that add to your employability," said Czakan.

Another tip was familiarity with a range of software packages. Computer literacy has become a critical skill in almost every job or vocation.

Czakan pointed out finishing your school career did not mean you had finished learning.

"Never become mentally rusty. Keep learning new things. Skill-sets at the workplace are constantly changing."

"This is an opportunity for those who keep on learning. If you stand still, you fall behind," she said.

• This article was originally published on page 6 of Pretoria News on January 11, 2005