Firstly, remember that you are far from alone. A large proportion of people who take on a new job applied for it while in an old job, and it’s neither disloyal nor unusual to search for new jobs.

Secondly, remember that while it’s up to you when you volunteer information, you should not lie in response to direct questions. Even if you are sure you’ll be leaving, being dishonest to a current employer is a bad idea, particularly if you wind up staying in the job.

As a general rule, you only need to tell your current boss once you have received a firm job offer. You certainly don’t need to tell them you are applying or that you are going for a job interview. Depending on your employment arrangements, you can either take a day’s leave when going to an interview, or call in sick. While the latter tactic can be seen as dishonest, the situation you are in is so common that most reasonable employers will understand it can be the only solution. (This only counts for jobs: Leeds shopping trips or London theatre breaks aren’t a viable excuse for pulling a sickie!)

Generally a company recruiting new staff will only need to use references from your current employer once you are offered a job, and will make this clear on the application form. If you are uncertain, you can request in your application or covering letter that this be the case. Remember that unless you have misled your new employer, it is extremely unlikely that your current boss’s reference would lead to a job offer being withdrawn: most companies are too scared of libel issues to say anything unfairly or excessively negative about employees.

The most important thing is to remember the delicate balance between honesty and keeping quiet. Unless a job application form asks why you left your last job, you do not have to volunteer that you were fired. If it does ask, you can use a term such as “employment terminated” and explain later if asked. However, you must not directly say something that is untrue, such as claiming to have been made redundant.

When it comes to the interview, however, you must be prepared for the inevitable question. If and when you are asked why you were fired, you should answer briefly but honestly, making sure not to dwell upon the subject. Don’t go into too much detail unless you are asked for specifics, and do not lie.

However you choose to explain your firing, avoid being critical about your former employer. You can calmly and professionally explain that you disagreed with a particular element of the firing, but do not make personal insults about your old boss or attack their judgment. Maybe he or she did make it one of the most miserable shop jobs Birmingham’s retail sector has ever seen, but that doesn’t do anything to promote your abilities. Be wary of phrases such as “personal differences” as your potential new employer may feel this says as much about your personality as that of your previous employer.

If your firing was the result of your own failings, but you can reasonably assign some of the blame to problems in your personal life, you may feel it appropriate to mention this as long as those problems are now resolved. Remember that potential employers are less interested in what went wrong in the past and more in whether everything will go right in the future.

The most obvious situation is if you become unemployed and find yourself in a “beggars can’t be choosers” situation. However, even if you are currently in work, it can be worth considering. One example would be if the new job has a lower salary but a better overall package such as pension contributions, health insurance, or the opportunity to earn commission (assuming that style of work suits you.)

You may also find a lower paid job feels like a better deal because you get more holiday time, work fewer hours, or have a better deal on overtime. What’s right for you here depends on both your personal circumstances and your financial needs.

Travel can also make a big difference. When it comes to choosing between different jobs, Manchester workers know that where you work can make a big difference. Even a salary that’s hundreds or even thousands of pounds lower can work out a better deal if the job means paying out less in petrol or public transport fares, let alone whatever value you place on the extra time.

There are also some points of comparison that are harder to quantify. For example, your current high paid job may offer no realistic prospect for promotions (for example, your line manager is the boss’s son), while the lower paid job might have more potential to up your salary. You may also be lucky enough to afford to take on a lower paid job that you know will be less stressful or give you more satisfaction.

The main thing to remember is that employers are not inherently against the idea of employing older candidates: they are against the idea of hiring candidates with the negative qualities they stereotypically associate with older people such as inflexibility or a lack of ambition. As with any candidate, the key is to figure out what they are looking for and make sure you can prove you can offer it to them. This applies in all types of jobs: Manchester United hired Sir Alex Ferguson when he was 45, and are still happy with his services now he’s 70!

It can be tempting to try to dress up the fact you are an older candidate by clumsily attempting to “turn a negative into a positive.” In practice though, using euphemisms such as “maturity” or “long track-record” can just draw attention to your age and away from your skills and ability.

Instead, try to take advantage of the fact that your longer working career has given you more ammunition to make your case. Instead of listing every menial role you’ve done in every job like a younger candidate padding our their CV, concentrate on the key examples that relate to the job you are going after.

Remember to think carefully about the message you are trying to convey. The fact that you learned WordPerfect 20 years ago is of little inherent benefit today. However, the fact that you were able and willing to learn a new skill quickly remains highly relevant.

First of all, you should almost never be in a situation where the letter is the first your boss knows you are leaving. In all but the most extreme circumstances, you should tell your line manager in person first, preferably in a private meeting; the letter is merely a formality. Be wary of telling other staff about your departure until management knows and everything is in place.

The main function of the letter is to include a few key details, namely that you are formally giving notice and your intended departure date. Anything else you add is purely a matter of politeness. For example, unless you utterly despise your job and colleagues (and perhaps even if you do), it is courteous to thank your boss for the opportunity and the support they have given you.

You don’t have to give a reason for leaving, and short of a simple one-line explanation such as “I will be taking up a new post elsewhere”, there’s no real purpose in doing so. Whatever you write, do not include anything that is negative or critical of your current employer. Even if you never intend having anything to do with the company again, there’s no point souring them on you unnecessarily. (There are of course exceptions for some jobs: Leeds MP Colin Burgon took his resignation letter as an opportunity to criticise his party’s political stance, creating great press interest in his views.)

It’s also worth making clear in the letter that you will be cooperative and helpful in the transition, for example in explaining the role to your successor, or in gathering together passwords and documents that the company will need once you have left.

Before going any further, it’s important to note that if you are receiving Jobseekers Allowance and related benefits, you have far fewer options: turning down an offer could affect your eligibility for benefits and you should think very carefully before doing so. This isn’t always the case: when looking at offers of jobs, London relocation being a must might be accepted as a reasonable cause to say no if you have a family.

That aside, there are cases where saying no is the right thing to do. The main one is if the offer turns out to be much less generous than you were expecting, for example if the basic salary is at the bottom end of an advertised scale, or if it turns out you’ll be working on commission. Turning down a job in this situation is effectively saying you are worthy of getting a better deal elsewhere and confident of doing so, but if this is the case, don’t be afraid.

Of course, sometimes you’ll conclude it’s better to take what you can get, and as long as you think you can do the job without hassles, there’s nothing wrong with this approach. That said, if you feel a company has been deliberately misleading before making the low offer, you may want to think about walking away rather than acting out of desperation.

It can also be valid to turn down a job if you conclude that you don’t have the skills to do it, if you don’t like the people you’d be working with, or you simply decide working at the firm would make you miserable. In all of these cases, however, you need to turn the offer down with grace, dignity and professionalism so there’s no risk of the hirers bad-mouthing you to other companies.

Preferred vs Required

If you meet “preferred” criteria you may stand a better chance of getting the job, but if you don’t there’s no need to worry — it just means you might have to do a better job of selling yourself.

“Required” or “essential” is a trickier area. In some forms it may be a genuine legal requirement, such as passing an enhanced criminal records check for jobs working with children; another example is that for Westminster based taxi driving jobs, London knowledge really is a must. In other cases it may be something you can overcome, so don’t automatically dismiss the job. Remember that some qualities aren’t clearcut: “experience essential” doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve worked for a particular length of time.

Knowledge/proficiency/command

These terms usually refer to a combination of skills and experience in a particular task such as using a named computer program. What each means and the difference between them is a very grey area, so don’t worry too much. What really matters is that you can back up any specific claims you make, particularly over skills that will be a key part of the job.

Unlimited income potential

This usually means that your earnings will be largely or entirely driven by commission and that any base salary will be quite low. Whether that’s good or bad news depends on your financial situation and your sales ability.

Responsibilities

This is arguably the most important part of a job ad. What’s listed here is what the successful applicant will actually be doing. If you know and can prove you can do these tasks well, you stand a good chance regardless of any other criteria.

Talking too much or too little

Most of us can figure out that monosyllabic grunts create a bad impression, particularly for interviews for roles that involve dealing with people. But waffling on too much is also a bad idea as it suggests you lack focus and attention, even if the reality is simply that you are suffering nervous.

Not paying attention

Job interviews may feel like an episode of Mastermind, but there’s more to them than a simple barrage of questions and answers. If you don’t listen to what the interviewer or panel says during the discussion, you may wind up giving a response that is redundant or inappropriate. Asking what delivery jobs Nottingham drivers have to do won’t go down too well if the interviewer has already explained the firm only covers the West Midlands area.

Giving standard answers

You don’t want to sound like a robot when responding to questions. To avoid this, try to work out the main points you want to communicate rather than relying on a fixed wording. Remember to take notice of exactly what is asked rather than just slotting it into a category such as “strengths and weaknesses” or “skills from last job”.

Arriving too early

While it’s vital to avoid being late, you can go too far. If you turn up much more than 15 to 20 minutes before your scheduled interview time, you not only look a bit desperate, but you risk filling the dead time by “psyching yourself out.”

Asking dumb questions

Don’t just ask a question for the sake of it. In particular, don’t ask questions that you could already have easily found the answers to, such as how many branches the firm has, or whether its stores open on Sundays.

A CV must be a certain length

You can tell this is a myth by the fact that there are so many variations of the rule, with claims a CV must be one page, two pages, 500 words or any other figure you can imagine. In reality, it’s not the length that matters, but the content. A CV isn’t too long because it has too many words, it’s too long because it has unnecessary words: aside from entry-level journalism jobs, “Nottingham Forest fanzine editor” isn’t going to help most applications. As long as your CV says everything you need to communicate to the recruiter at this stage but without any waffle, length shouldn’t be an issue.

Everyone fibs on their CV

This certainly isn’t the case, and even if it were it’s no longer a sensible reason for you to lie or mislead. Living in the information age means its easier and cheaper than ever for recruiters to check up on what you say, and as a general rule you should assume anything on your CV that might influence you getting an interview or a job offer is going to be checked out.

You must include all your educational details

This really isn’t necessary and can waste valuable space as well as looking a little desperate. Generally you should only include GCSE’s, A Levels or other further education if you haven’t done any higher education, and even then only the highest set of exams need listing. The purpose of listing exams and education is to show what overall level of study you’ve reached, along with what qualifications you have that specifically relate to the job for which you are applying.

Rule number one is to always always always risk being too formal than too casual. If you get things wrong, it’s far better to be seen as overdressed than underdressed.

For men, a suit is nearly always the safest bet for a starting point. If you’re going for a management or professional role, suit and tie is safest. If the role is more junior, you can maybe ditch the jacket; for creative jobs you might be fine with jacket but no tie; and you might be able to get away with just a shirt and no tie in more casual jobs. Leeds United mascot is about the only job where you could go even more casual, but again, always go for too smart rather than not smart enough.

For women, you’ve got more options, such as suits (with skirt or trousers) or a blouse and trousers/skirt combination. You might be able to get away with a dress for more creative jobs, but remember that understated is usually safer. Remember that style is more important than fashion in this setting.

As far as colour goes, keep things simple. Generally you should only wear one colour other than black or white, and even this should be relatively restrained. Keep jewellry simple and understated, and steer clear of novelty ties or those with busy patterns.

Make sure that everything fits (you may have changed size or shape since you last looked for a job), is in at least reasonably good condition, and is clean. Don’t forget to polish your shoes if necessary, and never underestimate the value of a haircut and a shave.