Planning assistant jobs

A career in town planning may be lucrative, hard, and difficult to enter into; regardless of whether you are graduating this summer and searching for your first full-time job or migrating from another sector, a career in town planning can be difficult to break into.

Have a look at some of the best advice we have to offer in order to get started in a successful career in planning.

1. Make sure you do your homework.

Do some study into the many sorts of town planning positions that are available before you start applying for employment. Think about whether you would be more suited to working for a local council or a planning consultancy, for example, and base your decision on the findings of your research.

As a graduate town planner, you will be given the opportunity to work on a wide range of projects, some of which may involve retail, commercial, and industrial activity, as well as residential developments and town center revitalization. In order to be successful, you will normally need to show a number of fundamental talents, such as strong client interaction skills, outstanding communication skills, the ability to utilize GIS tools, and an awareness of the planning process in the UK.

Getting work experience or doing internships in the field of town planning is the greatest approach to get a feel for what it's like to be employed in this industry. Before deciding to pursue a career in the planning industry, it is best to acquire some work experience in a variety of planning organizations of varying types. This will allow you to formulate an idea of the kind of role that most closely aligns with your goals and the kinds of responsibilities that you would rather avoid.

2. Create a superb curriculum vitae.

Even if there are some people who believe that the CV is on its way out, it is still the most effective way to get a recruiter, HR representative, or hiring manager's attention at the beginning stages of the recruiting process. A well-written curriculum vitae gives you the opportunity to showcase your abilities and expertise while also allowing you to convey some of your personality.

A well-written curriculum vitae should be able to capture the attention of the recruiter and persuade them to want to meet with you for an interview. Because recruiters don't spend more than a few seconds reading through CVs in the first instance, you need to make sure that it is simple to comprehend, clear, and brief. It should be proofread many times to verify that it is free of typos and grammatical issues as well.

3. Compose an impressive application letter.

A powerful cover letter is required to go along with a superb curriculum vitae. Do not make the mistake of thinking that your cover letter is a rewriting of your CV; rather, use it as an opportunity to elaborate on the professional overview that your CV should convey. Before you begin writing the letter, you should give some thought to the reasons why you are interested in the specific post at hand and how your qualifications meet the needs. Learn more about the services provided by the organization as well as the dynamic of the team. Because of this, you will be able to effectively emphasize your talents and abilities.

After you have completed all of your research, you can next begin organizing the letter. Be careful to address your letter to the appropriate person, who is often the recruiter or the manager of human resources. If you are unable to locate a name, you should attempt to get in touch with the firm in order to find out who the appropriate person is to receive your message. In any other case, you might address the person as "Dear Sir or Madam."

4. Keep your various social media profiles up to date.

Once we have seen your CV on a job platform like Planning Jobs and it has piqued our interest, we as recruiters will typically next check out your social media sites, just as hiring managers will be doing the same thing. Recruiters are going to be left wondering why you don't have any kind of social media presence at all. Are you trying to hide anything, or do you just not have anything to say?

It's possible that the initial impression we receive of you from your activity on social media will determine whether or not we invite you to an interview. Make sure you have an impressive profile on LinkedIn even if you don't do anything else. Make sure that the information you provide is accurate and that it does not contradict the information that is on your CV. Compose an introduction that concisely summarizes your capabilities, traits, and experience in the field. You also have the option of requesting recommendations and attaching samples of your previous work.

Twitter is an excellent venue for both keeping up with the latest developments in your sector and exhibiting your interest in those developments. Follow and communicate with relevant planning consultancies and local authorities, post things that you find interesting, and express your opinions in a thoughtful way while avoiding being overtly contentious or political. If you want to express opinions that you wouldn't want a potential employer to read, you might think about creating a second personal account and giving it a name that isn't the same as your actual name.

5. If you want to improve your chances, look for job experience that's related to your field.

Your resume will benefit tremendously from your efforts to network with the local governments, consultants, and developers in your area in order to accomplish some volunteer work. Work placements may last anything from one week to an entire summer, and candidates are encouraged to seek out and participate in as many of these experiences as possible before beginning the interview process. Your passion and commitment to get your planning career started are evidenced by the fact that you have organized job experience for yourself. Since not all degrees include work placements as a required component of the curriculum, securing your own job experience outside of school is often enough to propel your application to the top of the stack.

6. Get yourself ready for the job interviews.

When it comes to job interviews, practice makes perfect; thus, you shouldn't anticipate the first one you go on to result in a job offer, although anything is possible! Be sure that you are familiar with every aspect of your curriculum vitae and that you are ready to expound on the information that you have included. Have some research about the organization, and if you know someone who has more experience than you do in interviews, practice with them so they can help you predict the kinds of questions you will be asked.

One of the questions that is asked the most often is, "What is your greatest area of weakness?" It is common practice to respond to this question by identifying a strength rather than a flaw, for example by saying, "I work too hard," but the interviewer is unlikely to be impressed by this approach. It is in your best interest to admit to a true deficiency, although one that is not absolutely necessary for the position. You may respond to this question with anything along the lines of: "I used to have trouble prioritizing work, but now days I utilize time management software to better organize my workload."

You might also be questioned about what you know about the firm's clientele, what work the company performs that you find inspiring, why you believe you would be suited to the job, and what your most significant accomplishments to date have been. You should go through several practice sessions answering questions like these before going in for the actual interview. This will help you feel more at ease and prepared.

In most situations, you will also be given the opportunity to ask questions of your own, so be sure to prepare some in advance. These might cover a wide range of topics, from inquiring about the most pressing issues facing the organization to pondering the characteristics of effective employees in the function.

It might be challenging to find your footing on the job ladder, but everyone has to begin somewhere, and if you have the appropriate counsel, abilities, dedication, and a good attitude, you should be well on your way to achieving your goals.