Job application coach

[cvchap]

I am very good at helping friends/family get jobs. Several friends have had results after I've stepped in and helped write CVs, completing application forms and then coaching for interviews. I have interviewed many people over the years in my job in local government and I am always struck by a) how many applications are simply dreadful with people lacking understanding on how to apply and b) how badly some people interview. I wondered if I could turn my skill in helping people get a job into a business start-up offering a similar service to those who have been out of work for some time, those who are unaccustomed to how to apply for jobs etc. If this is a service that you would consider using I would appreciate any feedback. I have a young son who will be starting school next year and I would love dearly to have a role that means that I can be more flexible than my current role allows me to. Thanks in anticipation!!

I think you have to think very carefully about your market. If you're aiming at the 'long-term unemployed who aren't accustomed to applying for jobs' how will you earn money? There is already govt help (admittedly crap, but there you go) for this group, which is funded for them. And people who have been unemployed for a long time generally don't have money to throw around. If you're setting up as a business, you have to put altruism aside and work out how you're going to make money.

I'd also be concerned that it's a one-off sale. But if you wrote an eBook, provided workshops for schools and offered CV writing you might have the basis for a business.