As a new-comer to the teaching profession, finding your first job in education can be a bewildering and nerve-wracking experience. However, by following a few simple guidelines, it is possible to ensure that your application is a good as it possibly can be.

To begin with, it is important that you start thinking about work before you have left university. Indeed, the earlier on in your degree it becomes a priority, the less time you will spend browsing through UK jobs supplements once you've graduated.

During your degree, you should attempt to gain as much teaching experience as possible. If you are a post-graduate student, or in the final stage of your undergraduate degree, your university may have tutoring and mentoring programmes you can join.

These will allow you valuable teaching experience and look very good on your CV. Many educational institutions refuse to hire new teachers with no track record in any classroom.

As well as helping to improve your CV, taking up a tutoring post also benefits you in other ways. It is a chance for you to really improve your teaching and to develop any practical skills that may be lacking.