Â鶹Éç

For Helen Williams and Ian Campbell, it's been a long time since they had to look for work.

Ian, from Cardiff, worked for a security company for 17 years. With four children to provide for, he needs a regular income. But he's worried he'll face tough competition in the job market.

"Presenting myself to a new employer is a worry for me", he admits. "You need to get past the first stage so your CV is not tossed aside. There's going to be a lot of people out there looking for work, because I'm not the only one in this boat."

Helen Williams from Wrexham is a mum to three year old twins. She used to work in a pharmaceutical company and has been searching for work since she was laid off three months ago.

"I was the main breadwinner," she explains, "so I need to find a position pretty quickly. Every month we're getting more and more conscious of it and more and more worried about it."

Helen and Ian spend a lot of time scouring the local jobs market. At Job Centre Plus they check the database of vacancies. They've also signed up with recruitment agencies, jobs websites and they check the local papers.

Both say they're open minded about learning new skills or even changing career altogether.

If you've been made redundant you probably don't feel lucky. But if you live or work in Wales and you've been made redundant within the last six months, you are entitled to extra financial help and advice from the Welsh Assembly government's REACT scheme.

At Careers Wales, Anna Howells' client list has tripled in the last year due to the increase in redundancies - and she spends most of her time helping people apply for REACT funding.

"It could be something new and exciting," she says, "or it could be something they want to build on from their previous types of work.

"In fact the training could be in any part of the country because on top of the £2,500 is an extra £1,000 for travelling expenses, accommodation, childcare and that sort of thing."

Helen is a big fan of the REACT scheme and she's already had a grant to brush up on her computer skills.

"My second course is scheduled for August and that's a project manager practitioner course", she says, "so hopefully both together will help my CV and make me more employable."

Ian is also looking at REACT funding for courses which could improve his career prospects.

After working for the same employers for so long, it's hardly surprising that both Ian and Helen are feeling daunted by the prospect of applying for jobs.

Careers Wales has already given Helen some free advice on her CV, but Ian needs some expert help. So what does Anna Howells think of Ian's CV?

"Initially it's quite good," she says, "but he hasn't actually highlighted his skills, the things he's good at and what he wants to sell. In fact the skills section is only about five short lines.

"You really have to look at the job you're applying for to see what they want you to do in that particular job, so you might need two or three copies of a CV."

Anna also has some tips on how to make your CV stand out. "Employers normally have maybe 15 or 20 CVs landing on their desk and you want yours to stand out.

So use words that are more powerful than you would normally use - words like liaising, managing, demonstrating, implementing, to show that you're more positive."

It's been so long since he had a job interview, Ian admits he hasn't got a clue how to prepare or what to wear. Do people even still wear suits?

"I'd like some tips on how to present myself in a job interview," he explained. "What they would expect? What is permissible? For example, could I take a notepad and paper in to make notes and ask questions? These are things I just don't know."

Here's Anna's advice for a successful interview. "Make sure you try and stay calm, have a relaxing time before you go into the interview, make sure you know where you're going so perhaps you might want to do a dummy run before you get there.

Choose clothes feel comfortable in because there's nothing worse than having a suit ready and finding out you've put on a couple of pounds."

And what about taking a pad and pen into the interview to make notes? Anna would advise against it.

"I think it would distract from any questions you're asked because you'd be too busy writing down answers and making notes. It's not an exam, you're not going up in front of Alan Sugar so try and relax and be yourself."

Ian and Helen would never have chosen to leave their previous jobs. But they're both feeling optimistic about the future and they're determined to make redundancy into an opportunity for a new career.

Helen says, "The positive that I've taken from redundancy, it's really given me time to reflect on what I want to do."

And Ian agrees: "I really want to get back into work. I want to use any help and advice that is out there to give me the best chance."

Careers Wales can advise on training courses, how to access REACT funding and provide information on writing a CV and applying for jobs.