Always Make A Good First Impression

Sounds pretty obvious? Good. Then you are more than likely making a good first impression. But as recruiters we have seen and heard of our fair share of bad first impressions. And when we speak of first impressions this is with anyone involved in your graduate job search, both recruiters and graduate employers.

Make sure you have an appropriate voicemail set up; we recommend you check this regularly, you never know who has got hold of your phone. Graduate recruiters and employers alike won’t find things funny like your friends do; it could cause irreparable damage to your application. In fact, make sure you actually have a voicemail set up; the inability of a recruiter to leave a message may stop your application dead in its tracks.

Even more importantly, think about the first impression you are giving at your interview. Make sure you are dressed well and appropriately. No dresses or skirts above the knee, no low cut blouses, no unbuttoned shirts. If you are taking laptops or folders make sure they are clean and tidy, not run down and tattered. When sat waiting do not sit on your laptop, read through notes, but make sure you are able to react in an instant to the person arriving. Sit corporately, do not lounge around in their chairs, no matter how comfy they are. Finally, if you want water, accept their offer of a drink, do not take a sports bottle and swig from this throughout an interview.

With an ever increasing pool of talented graduates being produced by universities, these tips are of the upmost importance, no matter how obvious they may seem.

Being Numerically Minded

This week's tip comes from a recent graduate, Arnab Datta. Numeracy is one of the key skills needed to secure most graduate jobs, along with writing and IT skills. A basic knowledge is assumed for most jobs but of course there are certain career paths that required a more detailed understanding. So, how important is it to develop numerical skills during your studies?

A recent study has revealed that STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) graduates earn on average 4.47% more than other graduates. This report aimed to ascertain the ‘labour market value’ of qualifications, but other research has shown even greater discrepancies in favour of STEM graduates ranging from 18.8% to 33%. Still, there is not complete agreement over the value of science and engineering degrees, since other statistics have conversely shown that the salaries are lower.

Although a salary should not be your sole motivation for a graduate job, it is a fairly good indicator of the demand for graduates with certain degrees, and will help to assess your job prospects. The main reason why STEM graduates are in greater demand is that they have developed transferable skills, which can also be used in careers like Finance. Also, some STEM degrees enable a greater choice of modules at university and give the opportunity to learn more about business. This helps to create more well rounded individuals who develop both a theoretical grounding in their subject and a commercial awareness that they can take into the workplace.

Still, the most crucial message outlined in these types of research is the general importance of numeracy, since employers think that this is one of the skills that graduates lack most. Even if you do not study a Maths related degree, you should still try to keep your basic skills up to date. This will be useful for any career, since usually there are work plans and budgets to complete or proposals, which all require calculations. Making a mistake in the office could be costly, so you need to ensure that you are accurate. Indeed, numeracy skills are linked to IT, since a lot of work is done in spreadsheets. Therefore, developing considerable experience of this will definitely help in the future.

Overall, don’t worry if you are not that numerically inclined, since the key is to develop the core skills that are regularly used in the majority of careers. Still, it is worth bearing in mind that if you do manage to develop these types of skills, then it will not only help you to secure most graduate jobs, but will also put you more at ease in the workplace.