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Job search preparation

Job search preparation can substantially reduce the likelihood of young people being NEET by equipping young jobseekers with skills to navigate looking for work.

Last updated: 26 August 2026

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Employment

Training

Little or no difference made to recent employment

For every 100 young people who are NEET and take part in job search preparation as a component of a targeted youth employment intervention, around the same number of young people are in employment 12 to 24 months later compared to those who did not take part. This component makes little or no difference to recent employment.

Key findings

Headline insights about this component based on current high-quality evidence

Reducing NEET

Positive impacts

Job search preparation can substantially reduce the likelihood of young people being NEET (not in education, employment or training).

The probability of a high positive impact on NEET reduction at 24 months after the start of an intervention is 62%, with over 80% probability of any positive impact on this outcome. This may reflect relatively higher levels of engagement in learning and training, and possibly longer periods spent in work.

The evidence strength rating for NEET reduction as an outcome is ‘consolidating’.

Longer duration

Job search preparation could increase the length of time young people are in employment.

Sub-group analysis

Age effects

Young people aged 16 to 20 may see larger benefits from learning about how best to present work-readiness and skills to employers compared to those 20 to 24 years old.

What is job search preparation?

Job search preparation focuses on equipping young jobseekers with the tools and skills necessary to navigate looking for work effectively.

Typically job search preparation

includes workshops for crafting professional resumes, cover letters and online profiles

may engage with employers to understand their vacancies and skills gaps

can link in to wider public services and local labour markets

may involve additional and more extensive support services, from training providers and/or from the third sector, for those furthest from the labour market

Who is job search preparation for?

Young people aged 16 and over who are still in education, or who are unemployed, NEET, or economically inactive.

Who can offer job search preparation?

In the UK, job search assistance can be provided:

by a careers adviser via government provision such as the Jobs and Careers Service for adults and eligible young people under 18
by schools and colleges, for young people still in education

How long is job search preparation?

We do not have sufficient evidence on the specific duration for delivering job search preparation as part of a multi-component intervention.

How is job search preparation funded?

Funding may come from diverse sources or from a mixture of public and private sources including:

government (local or central)
charities

What are the delivery settings?

Workplaces of participating employers
College, university, or independent training provider in-person or virtual
Schools and communities

Benefits for young people

Job search preparation can support individuals to:

create a suite of resources that will help them showcase skills, experience and qualifications to future employers
increase understanding of awareness of the relevant and necessary skills and competencies expected of employees
grow their likelihood of employment through developing transferrable skills that can be applied to future applications

Benefits for employers

Job search preparation can support employers to:

more easily identify suitable candidates for roles
access a wider pool of talent

The cost rating for job search preparation is moderatemoderate

Calculations are based on insights from available high-quality studies on the complexity of delivery requirements and estimated associated costs.

Outreach and recruitment activity

Tailored and varied with associated staffing, materials, scheduling and administrative costs, promotional activities and campaigns. Delivery to young people with complex needs or vulnerabilities may require a more targeted approach to recruitment.

Delivery intensity

Evidence on the most effective duration for this component is limited. When the support includes personalised guidance, this requires additional time and mentoring skills from staff.

Delivery partners

Training providers and potential intermediaries that need to co-ordinate in partnership, supported by programme planning and management, requiring additional admin resource

Delivery expertise

Specialist, requiring expert work coaches with the skills to develop intelligence on local labour markets and to liaise with employers and other local stakeholders.

Wages, financial assistance or incentives

Recruitment costs and wages for specialist tutors, and provision for programme administration and management staff where appropriate

Delivery settings

General group settings rather than personalised or 1-2-1 and can be at a college, university, or independent training provider in-person or virtual. Often require physical learning materials and resources. Can be integrated and combined with other intervention types and support packages.

Outreach and recruitment activity	Tailored and varied with associated staffing, materials, scheduling and administrative costs, promotional activities and campaigns. Delivery to young people with complex needs or vulnerabilities may require a more targeted approach to recruitment.
Delivery intensity	Evidence on the most effective duration for this component is limited. When the support includes personalised guidance, this requires additional time and mentoring skills from staff.
Delivery partners	Training providers and potential intermediaries that need to co-ordinate in partnership, supported by programme planning and management, requiring additional admin resource
Delivery expertise	Specialist, requiring expert work coaches with the skills to develop intelligence on local labour markets and to liaise with employers and other local stakeholders.
Wages, financial assistance or incentives	Recruitment costs and wages for specialist tutors, and provision for programme administration and management staff where appropriate
Delivery settings	General group settings rather than personalised or 1-2-1 and can be at a college, university, or independent training provider in-person or virtual. Often require physical learning materials and resources. Can be integrated and combined with other intervention types and support packages.

Considerations for decision makers

Based on existing evidence, we’ve identified some common features that support the commissioning, design and delivery of effective youth employment programmes:

Ensure outreach and awareness activities are effective and targeted to reach those most likely to benefit

Read more about Ensure outreach and awareness activities are effective and targeted to reach those most likely to benefit

Design, fund and deliver outreach and recruitment activities that raise young people’s awareness, with targeted initiatives to reach under-represented group who are most likely to benefit.

This might include:

Young people who have been out of work and/or learning for longer periods.
Young people without Level 2 qualifications.
Young people whose life experiences put them at higher risk of marginalisation in the labour market, for example those with experience of the care system and/or with SEN.

Discover more about risk factors associated with being NEET.

Also consider how best to identify and engage the most suitable partners and employers for a programme. Engagement should be timely and clear, in ways that raise awareness and facilitate recruitment, enrolment, and sustained engagement.

Effective programmes may use direct community outreach activities for engaging under-served groups, alongside up-to-date local and administrative data, working with public employment services, or advertising vacancies along with eligibility criteria.

Tailor and structure programmes well to support access and maintain engagement

Read more about Tailor and structure programmes well to support access and maintain engagement

Design, fund and deliver programmes that

Take a joined-up, collaborative approach

Read more about Take a joined-up, collaborative approach

A strong relationship between policymakers, learning providers, employers, community organisations and local skills delivery organisations including Mayoral Strategic Authorities and Local Skills Improvement Plan areas supports effective youth employment support programmes.

Design, fund and deliver programmes that foster collaboration with education providers such as colleges to improve access to relevant teaching experience.

Encourage systematic monitoring and evaluation to help build and strengthen the evidence base

Read more about Encourage systematic monitoring and evaluation to help build and strengthen the evidence base

Support providers and delivery organisations to accurately and systematically capture and communicate data and milestones and track programme outcomes. This may include structured and standardised tracking forms, or developing realistic programme-specific performance frameworks.

For funders and commissioners – ensure recorded data, reporting and assessment captures a full range of appropriate and relevant youth employment and related outcomes to help rich understanding to ensure rich picture of what programmes do.

Encouraging reporting commonly recognised metrics allows evaluation to be easily comparable and included in the growing evidence base.

Prioritise staff recruitment, retention and training to build trust and reduce turnover

Read more about Prioritise staff recruitment, retention and training to build trust and reduce turnover

Design, fund and deliver programmes that:

recruit staff as early as feasible, allowing time for training which can support initial engagement and familiarisation
pay staff appropriately and seek where possible to employ staff on long-term or permanent contracts to ensure consistency and continuity of delivery
hire staff with appropriate knowledge, experience and/or qualifications, and provide sufficient training, ongoing support, and opportunities for peer learning
consider hiring staff with similar lived experiences to the target population and/or prior experience of working with young people in the local area
ensure low staff-to-participant ratios where possible, to support capacity to engage with participants on resource-heavy tasks such as co-designed action plans
clearly define roles and responsibilities and communicate intended outcomes and benchmarks to strengthen accountability

About the evidence

What’s included in the analysis?

Read more about What’s included in the analysis?

Included studies	65
No. of effect sizes	202
Location(s)	High-income countries
Outcome	Labour force status, earnings, employment duration, hours worked, and education & skills
Comparator	'Services as usual' / Business as usual
Demographics	?

The Youth Employment Toolkit brings together evidence from robust studies in high-income countries that:

measured the intervention’s impact against what would have happened without it
defined job search preparation as a component of a targeted intervention to support youth employment outcomes

Find details of individual studies, as well as other systematic reviews of youth employment evaluations, in the Youth Employment Evidence and Gap Map.

More information about included studies can be found in page 55-60 of the full CNMA report and the specific evidence profile for job search preparation can be found on page 123.

The evidence strength ratings for job search preparation reflect the number of studies included in the meta-analysis. Studies were scored on reported design, sample size, approach to attrition, and definitions of interventions and outcome measures. More detail can be found in the technical guide.

Implications for evaluators and commissioners

Read more about Implications for evaluators and commissioners

The current evidence can be strengthened by taking a consistent approach to incorporating standardised metrics for education, employment and training outcomes as well as outcomes that indicate work quality.

Prioritise further understanding of component duration to identify typical delivery and what might be optimal for success.

Job search preparation