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1 Develop your course project  In the case of an application for a specific firm (in a spontaneous application),
especially a large or multinational group, the potential trainee should focus on
and start your research the benefit that he could bring to this organization, and should indicate what his
motivation and his personal and professional skills would be likely to offer the
The first step is to define the professional sector, the fields of activities and the business. (These should appear on his CV and covering letter). He might also
projects which might cover the required course. By professional sector, we mean mention the different departments he has identified as being of interest, by using
the grouping of organizations that have the same main activity: Construction, the company's organizational chart. Finally, he should indicate whether he is ready
agriculture, hospitality, IT, commerce, health, industrial sector.... Once this first for a geographic mobility, in cases where the group operates on several sites:
would he accept an offer anywhere in Europe, or even on other continents…? Before
work has been completed, it is necessary to specify the activities of interest to
the trainee and then to consider the various missions that could be carried out. sending in his request, he could contact the Human Resources Department in
order to discover the trainee employment policy in the company, and their current
Not only does this exercise allow the trainee to structure his research, but it needs. When courses are not common practice in the country he has chosen, the
also clarifies his ideas and the expression of his profile in the drafting of the trainee may have recourse to databases and offers of employment to carry out his
covering letter (see Key Point 5: help with drafting a CV and covering letter) and research and to make a reasoned application to the companies he has identified.
at any possible meetings with the employer. This preparatory work shows the In terms of timing, in the case of a spontaneous application, he should research
candidate's sincerity, and increases his chances of finding a good-quality and his list of companies early enough to be able to send in his written request five
genuinely informative training course. The list of projects and activities to be to six months before the course start date. This allows him to send reminders 15
carried out during the probationary period is specified by the institution attended days later by e-mail or telephone. This deadline varies, however, depending on the
by the trainee, and is linked to the content of his training. It is on these conditions activity sectors and their levels of pressure: if the turnover is high, the proposal
that the training contract will be signed. Clearly setting out his profile does not may receive a fast response; but if the course requires greater availability on the
make a trainee unacceptable to an employer who might be seeking a trainee for part of a tutor, or any particular budget planning, it is better to allow six to eight
a project different from that stated, provided that the trainee takes the trouble months.
to mention the extent of his field of research and training, and indicates that he
would be open to other proposals. 10 steps for researching a training course by spontaneous application
1. List the activity sectors and sub-sectors chosen
Frequent error: the trainee deliberately leaves the formulation of his search for a 2. List the target countries
course vague, in order to leave all the doors open to the employer being approached, in 3. List the relevant companies
the hope that an offer will be made. He is afraid that if he is more specific, the employer 4. Consider the possible projects
will limit his proposals. However, the application may then give the impression of a 5. Research the names of HR managers
lack of focus, and risks being ignored. Only a company actively looking for a trainee, 6. Draft a covering letter and a CV (which should be adapted each time)
or seldom asked, is likely to be interested. If previous observations or experiences can 7. Send a written request
justify this type of request, it is rarely the case for a course leading to a high level of 8. Two to three weeks later: send a reminder by e-mail or telephone and
qualification. request an interview
9. Once the proposal has been received, ask the training department for a
When the course takes place at the start of a training programme, the context of training contract, and possibly have it translated
the projects may remain quite broad. This is the case for an experience designed 10. Have it completed by the employer and then endorsed by the educational
to explore the working environment, which, in addition, is international. The closer institution
the course come to the end of his training programme, the more it will impact  In the case of a response to a training offer, the methodology is substantially
on his professional career. Knowing how to be precise about the typology of the the same, but passes through increased monitoring of sites, media and key social
desired company and department, in the projects aimed at, then takes on a greater networks. The search must begin by identifying them ten months earlier and then
importance. Some courses taken at the end of the curriculum, in France as well by consulting the offers regularly, six to eight months before the course start date.
as abroad, give a springboard effect towards more long-lasting employment. Responding to an offer requires considerable reactivity and a certain degree of

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