If you're currently doing your Level 5, then the apprenticeship boat has, rather, already sailed.

Out of curiosity, if you're not currently working in HR what led you to begin your Level 5 rather than a Level 3? Was it because you were already educated to Masters degree level? I don't think that's a problem, btw. But I was curious to know what advice people were being given about the right level to begin their HR training.

These days, online applications are the standard route. The days of "just dropping in" with a CV are pretty much behind us for anything above manual labour. And although there is an argument to be made for speculative applications ("I'm sending you my CV in case there should be a suitable vacancy..."), my opinion is that these are barely better than spam and should be avoided.

Online applications take two forms: one involves applying for vacancies on job boards and sending in your CV, sometimes with a covering letter. The mistake most people make for these is not tailoring their CV to the role they're applying for. This is fine if you're applying for a job very like the one you've just left, but not if you're looking to make a change of career direction, like you. You need to make your CV an "HR" CV that illustrates your exposure to and experience of key HR functions like employee relations, personnel administration, payroll and policy. And you should ideally seek to tailor your CV to each new application you make to maximize its relevance. At the end of the day, this approach is a numbers game. Throw enough accurate mud and something will eventually stick.

The other form of online application is the... er... online application form. This is a web-based form in which you re-state the contents of your CV in a slightly more laborious fashion. I recommend you hunt down these (they are commonly used by public sector and large organizations). Although they take longer to complete than just attaching a CV, they allow you to focus your answers to their questions, explicitly illustrating how your fulfill their selection criteria, even if you've not done a similar job before. And their laboriousness works in your favour because they discourage the less highly-motivated jobseeker and very efficiently highlight the less competent.

Finally, let me repeat that it's a numbers game. So the more you do to maximize the number of jobs for which you can apply, the more likely you are to get one. So consider your level of geographical mobility, your salary expectations and the kinds of market you're willing to work in. The wider all of these are, the more applications you'll be in a position to make and the quicker you will be successful.

In reply to Robey:

Hi Robey

Many thanks for your reply - great help! Yes I have started with CIPD Level 5 because I have had a masters degree.

As regards to online application forms for public sectors, I have heard about it several years ago but I had not came across myself recently, do you mind to give me an example of routes of finding them? Do you mean to work in a council etc?

Many thanks, greatly appreciated!