The Perfect Elevator Pitch

You may or may not be familiar with this term but an "elevator pitch" is a phrase to describe when you literally have 20 seconds to sell yourself or product. You never know who you may meet and when so in a graduate's case this pitch is a vital selling tool which you must perfect. Your content should outline who you are, what you do and why you're good at it. Ultimately the use of this pitch will make you come across as confident, focused and your passion unquestionable - a very important characteristic for employers trying to avoid the people that are looking at their industry as a second or third choice. You could also use this as your opening personal statement on your CV.

Questions that question your application

Are you asking the right questions? As we've said in the past - interviews are a two way process however there are some things you could accidentally hint which might bring doubt to your application. In its most obvious form this would be any question related to the role/company that was covered on the job specification/website - make sure you read everything extensively. Making sure they believe the role is perfect for you is the number one priority so don't ask questions about travelling or re-locating if you know the role hasn't suggested any aspect of it or hint at certain skills you would like to use when you know they are unrelated. Other questions like how much holiday do I get? or how often does everyone go out? could make you look unfocused

On a side note GRB are looking for questions from candidates to ask in a graduate employer poll. It must be a multiple choice question so they can vote and you will be accredited for it on our website! Submit your question here

Cut above the rest

It's firmly believed that if you want to guarantee success in this market you should always be on the look out to over-deliver. Remember, the expectations of a company are what they see as a benchmark so the people that come through the ranks are the ones that always look to blow away the competition through acts of sheer confidence and skill with the ability to bring evolution to standards. So how can you achieve this? Well one way is to first understand the needs of a role/company. Work out what ultimately is the end goal (usually revenue!) and come up with ways how you can not just support this requirement but actually better it using your skills. This understanding is crucial when writing your cover letters and even more so at interview.

Have a professional output

For an employer or consultant one of the most talked about "pet-hates" has to be the way in which some candidates choose to communicate. For example you should never be using the title "mate" when referring to them - "cheers mate" or "catch ya later mate" is just not the way to address people you a) don't know and b) are working with on a professional level. The same goes for using text language in emails like "thanx 4 ur email. every1 thinks id b really gud 4 this job". Also - smiley faces, joke email addresses and silly voicemails are a big no no! All these things are fine among friends but look very unprofessional in the graduate market and can really put people off - make sure you're projecting the right first impression.