For young people trying to get their all-important first job there are schemes which reward employers (of all sizes, but typically small to medium enterprises with less than 35 employees) for giving new starts a break - often in the form of a part-time or apprenticeship post which carries the promise of a job at the end.

These are jobs in Glasgow and surrounding area of the sort that be maxed up by someone with an inbuilt talent or interest relevant to the type of work involved - for example you could be interested in ecology issues, and find a niche in some area of the renewable industry.

This sort of skills match also recognises that while “getting a job” is obviously all-important, if only for basic solvency, getting career path at the same time is doubly valuable.

If a part-time commitment expands your knowledge of a field where you can hope to develop your skills you’ll be automatically better placed to take advantage of opportunities as and when they arise.

Meanwhile it probably goes without saying that the first port of call for any kind of jobhunting is obviously online, where most regular employers advertise exactly what they are looking for in some detail.

Are they specifying a wage? Is it one of the notorious “zero hours contracts”, and does the specification of the job point towards possible promotion and skills development?

These are some of the questions any job seeker should be asking, because it is never inconceivable that two offers - just like buses - could come along together.

Glasgow and the Clyde Valley is a hothouse of knowledge, entrepreneurial endeavour, particularly in the IT and other specialist industries where young talent can expect to develop rapidly under the right conditions, and despite the recession all of these operations depend on a regular if modest intake of new workers.

Job fairs are definitely worth attending, because the people manning those local authority enterprise or employers’ stalls are actively trying to match skills to emerging opportunities, and even if they can’t produce a job over the counter can point the way to college and other training routes that can greatly improve the chance of gaining employment in a particular field.

If you are able to find a scheme which gives you a part-time or fixed term placement with a firm you may also be able to attend college on a block release basis as part of the deal, so that you can actually get the benefit of regular working and improve your overall prospects at the same time.

Meanwhile should you already have work experience and an established skill you may be able to take the alternative route of self employment, which needs a very focused approach and solid guidance from the relevant agencies - depending on your circumstances you may also be able to obtain start-up cash or cheap running costs for a set period.

Every piece of advice is useful, and even interviews which appear to go nowhere can yield practical tips about how to deal with the same situation next time.

The modern world of work is challenging and unforgiving, but thanks to the internet, and the mass of communication information available at a click, the opportunities that do exist can be hunted down and carefully analysed on their own merits - the end result is definitely worth the trouble.