Repeat After Me: 'I See Pride, I See Power...'

If you’re old enough to remember the quote ‘I see pride, I see power…’ from Cool Runnings (1993), this tip is for you. When Junior is reciting this mantra to himself, it’s a way of him overcoming the fear of his parents' disappointment. A similar attitude is needed when approaching the graduate job market. Create a catchy, short mantra for yourself that you can use when you get down about unsuccessful applications. This way you can motivate yourself to get back out there in the job market and search for the next opportunity. Positivity is also discussed in the following article by one of GRB's reporters, read more …

Do Your Field Research

This one applies mainly to those graduates and students applying to part time work, internships and graduate roles within commercial retail companies. You will need to have done your research on the company to who you are applying, but how about taking it further than a simple Google search?

Visiting the store to which you are applying is a great way to do extra research that shows you have really thought about your application and are invested in getting the role with them. Think about their market position, store layout, products and strengths/weaknesses so that in an interview you can show what you would bring to their company and how you would be a good investment. Such an in depth knowledge of their store operations would set you apart from the majority of applications, ensuring you are remembered after interview.

Making The Most Of Recruitment Fairs

The season is almost upon us for recruitment and career fairs, these can be a priceless resource for your graduate job search and when approached well can really rocket your job hunt forward.

Firstly, make sure you dress appropriately. Ensure you make an impression by dressing smartly and appearing confident and professional.

Make sure you are prepared too, take copies of your CV with you. Don’t hand them out aimlessly, but if you are really interested in a role then ask if they are accepting CV’s currently.

Be careful not to take too many free items, you don’t want to appear as if this is the main reason for your attendance, and if you do take the free merchandise make sure you have a bag to stash it in, that way you keep your hands free for handshakes and accepting company literature.

Finally, practice your sales speech beforehand. You will have only a couple minutes to make an impression and inform the employer about yourself, going with a short, snappy pitch helps make sure you leave a lasting impression.

Also, collect business cards of the people you have spoken to and follow up immediately thanking them for speaking with you and reiterating your interest in the role you spoke of. You may not receive a reply but it could help bring your CV to the company’s attention.

Know The Hidden Market

There are loads of graduate jobs advertised directly from companies each year, however this isn’t the complete overview of what is available. In order to gain a complete insight into the job market it is important to consider a number of different avenues.

The internet is pretty much everyone’s primary resource these days, with instant ability to search for graduate jobs. But there are other useful sources, such as job boards and recruitment consultancies that can offer a broader insight into what is available.

Signing up to just one of these resources is not enough though, different job boards and consultancies will have different clients and therefore different jobs to recruit for, so signing up to as many as possible increases the opportunities available to you. These can be registered for either online or through events such as Fresher Fairs and Recruitment Fairs that the university will be holding at some point during your time there, so make sure you attend these and make the most of every opportunity available.

Do Something Memorable

Are you still unsure of where you want to focus your degree? Have you considered taking a gap year at the end of your studies to explore the world and figure out your next move? It’s a great thing to do to gain the life experience and soft skills companies love whilst giving you the opportunity to make a real difference to the lives of others.

There are a variety of different organised projects you could get involved with on your time out, for example Africa & Asia Adventures, a fantastic not-for-profit organisation offering amazing voluntary projects in a range of areas with fantastic benefit for the community in which you would live.

Recently more and more we are noticing an increased preference from companies for applicants who have been involved in extracurricular activities and voluntary projects in order to demonstrate the key soft skills they seek and a great personality fit for their company culture. Africa and Asia Adventures and other like companies are able to provide such experiences, offering you the ability to be truly involved with new cultures, living with the locals within a totally new community, whilst gaining work experience that truly makes a difference to both you and the people you are helping.

It would definitely be an experience you would never forget and ensure that you yourself are unforgettable.

Think Carefully Before Making That Call

Missed a call? Do you think about who it could be before calling back? Do you even call back? Whether during a graduate job search, or just in general, it is so important to do this.

Firstly, if you have missed a call and there is a voicemail then listen to the voicemail. It will contain information on the caller and the reasons behind the call as well as possibly a direct line for you to call. This will allow you to prepare and seem organised and informed when calling back.

Also think carefully about your phone etiquette when calling into a company, our consultants advise that lines such as ‘Hi, My name is…I had a missed call from…earlier on today/yesterday etc. Is it possible to speak to them now?’ are always winners; it sounds professional and gives a great first impression.

Especially when applying for jobs, make sure you answer your phone professionally and with an engaging tone, never screen your calls and always call back using the best phone etiquette, you never know when it will count.

Top 5 Tips For A Successul Study Period

We know it’s not easy to remain focussed when revising for those all important exams, especially with so many distractions around at university. With the study period well underway and exams looming we have put together 5 of what are, in our opinion, the best tips to improve your chances of studying success.

1. Start Early. Sleeping in and revising late will leave you sluggish, unmotivated and distracted. Starting early will ensure you feel you have achieved and also have some time to relax with friends.

2. Put a timetable up and send it to your friends. Then people will know when you are supposed to be revising, which will lessen distractions and increase motivation.

3. Go Old School. Print all the information you need from your computer then switch it off. With technology comes many distractions, take it old school with paper and colourful pens for increased success.

4. Utilise what you are learning. Don’t just sit and stare at facts until you think you have memorised them. Answer practice questions and write mini essays about what you are learning to ensure you truly understand and can use your knowledge.

5. Potassium. Eat bananas to enhance focus and increase energy. Don’t fall into the trap of living off caffeine, go for a slow energy release and feel sustained for longer.

Good Luck!

Rejection From A Graduate Job Interview – A Worthwhile Lesson

Chances are at some point you will have to face some sort of rejection from a graduate recruiter, but it is how you deal with this rejection that sets you up for your interviews for future graduate jobs. Criticism can be a good source of useful information, as long as you can take it on board and learn from it.


If you receive, or do at some point in the future, a rejection from a job application always ask for feedback. It doesn’t matter what stage of the process you are rejected at, always request the reasons behind their decision. Once you have this do not let it negatively affect you and your motivation, instead use it as an excellent means of improving. Now that you know what your stumbling block was you can set actions in place to resolve it, whether it is something on your CV, your attire or perhaps even something you said during an interview. Criticism can definitely be a worthwhile lesson, just make sure you take the good from the bad and move forward.

Be Aware Of Graduate Jobs All Year Round

A common misunderstanding amongst people these days is that graduate jobs are seasonal. This isn’t the case, a large amount of graduate recruiters have a continual year round recruitment process.


Graduates need to remain vigilant the whole year round for opportunities that match their skills and interests. If you don’t have a job offer after the initial August/September intake do not panic or let your motivation and confidence take a hit. There is no seasonal slow-down and we have been and will carry on listing new graduate jobs every day. The mistake most people make is giving up because they haven’t snagged one of the early recruiting graduate schemes. These are just one of your options for roles after university, so do some more research, consider direct entry roles and keep the applications going, there are plenty more opportunities available to you!

Know The Market Of Your Potential Graduate Job

A lot of people these days are sold stories on which graduate jobs are glamorous, which industries and sectors are the big money earners and which markets are the most stable. However, how much do you really know about the market of the role you have a graduate interview for?


Having an in depth opinion of the industry shows you know what you are talking about, truly know what the job entails and are passionate about it. Graduate recruiters don’t want to hire someone who wants to get into the industry simply because they know people who have said it’s good or they’ve heard about the success of others. Interviewers will be looking for graduates who can tell them what they like about the industry, recount its history and give an opinion on where they think it will be in 5 years time. It is also important to get an idea of the market too so that you know who the competitors are and what the market position is for the company you’re interviewing with. Being able to comment on such factors, or possibly even compliment, sets you in motion to establish common ground and build good rapport.

Don't Leave Your Graduate Interview Preparation Too Late

You’ve worked hard on applications to graduate jobs, your graduate CV is great and you have landed yourself an interview. This doesn’t mean you can sit back and relax though, you will need to start preparing for it straight away so that you have the best possible chance of impressing those graduate recruiters.


Before attending a graduate interview you will need to have done a lot of in depth research. Make sure you know their market position, their latest moves, their products and services and their strengths and weaknesses. Ensure you know their history, their target markets, their marketing campaigns and their competitors. In fact the information you need to know goes on and on. Make neat notes from your research on a nice paper pad or in a folder that can be taken into an interview with you and keep them short so you can easily refer to them. Take a pen for making notes in the interview and jot down lots of questions you could ask so that you won’t be left with ‘no you answered everything’ and instead will be able to ask intellectual questions that will impress.

Tweet Your Way Into Graduate Jobs

There are many different networking opportunities to explore when searching for graduate jobs. Recently social media has been becoming a popular medium for reaching out and finding potential graduate recruiters, one of the most notable being Twitter.

As a micro-blogging site Twitter allows its members to remain up to date with the lives and events of the people and companies they choose to follow. This is beneficial as it keeps you up to date with latest graduate job postings and prepares you for graduate interviews by keeping you informed of latest company news. It’s also a good opportunity to show off your writing skills, especially if interested in a literary career path. Taking advantage of Twitters many functions can result in your appearance under key word searches, giving you more presence.

If you haven’t yet created an account sign up today and begin building your presence. If you do have an account but don’t use it much, keep it fresh, you never know when companies may view it and if you do use your Twitter frequently be careful of what you post, your online identity says a lot about you to graduate recruiters.

Procrastination Isn't The Key When Graduate Job Hunting

After a lovely Christmas break and a no doubt boozy New Year it’s difficult to get back in the swing of things, especially when repetitively filling out application forms and altering your graduate CV and Cover Letter. However, it’s a crucial element of your graduate job search.


Unfortunately there is a whole world of distractions as soon as you turn your computer on. You may have the best of intentions and sit down with a resolution of not checking your Facebook, not tweeting about everything you do and staying at the desk until you have finished but how long do those intentions last?

Before you sit down do the cleaning, washing, cooking and tidying or you will probably end up being distracted by them. Eat before you begin so you don’t constantly feel to get up and get food and, if you don’t need the internet, unplug it so you avoid distracting sites. If all else fails then employ your willpower, the task at hand is important and the less distracted you allow yourself to get, the quicker it will be done and the better quality your applications and your graduate CV will be.

Your Graduate Job Hunting Stategy

Are you totally happy with your current approach to finding a graduate job? If so, and you're getting the results then fantastic, but if you’re getting nowhere have you actually taken a step back to see what needs changing? We know this sounds obvious but in the blinding light of bookmarking/registering with countless websites and firing CVs in all directions, are you reserving time to analyse your strategy? It's just as important as the applying itself and will really help next time you sit down to job search and think "where do I start?!" A spreadsheet for this is essential - study how many jobs you see potential in every week, how many do you apply to, do you always customise your CV and covering letter from head to toe? If so does this make a difference? Who gave you feedback and who didn't? This is just the start of the detail you could go into to ensure you’re doing the job of finding a job properly. If you're doing none of these then you can bet someone else is, and beating you to the post in the process.

Productive Procrastination

When you have exhausted all plausible forms of procrastination, ie, the washing up is done, the laundry is folded and arranged by 'genre', you have batch cooked enough food to feed a small town and have repeatedly 'refreshed' your Facebook page, it is time to stop and focus on what you should really be doing!  If you're looking for that dream job, writing your CV and ensuring it stands out from the crowd can be extremely time-consuming and requires a great deal of care and attention. Avoidance tactics may seem to be your body's natural defense mechanism against CV writing but prove only to disrupt and confuse this vital part of job-hunting. Always remember that initially your CV is the only means via which a prospective employer will form an opinion of you.  It should therefore reflect you in an honest yet favourable manner.  Procrastinating disperses your attention and makes you lose the momentum essential for a well-written CV.  So, next time you feel the nagging 'urge' to re-arrange your desk, de-fragment your PC or any other non-urgent task, only to avoid writing your CV, consider what you could be risking!

Working Together

Do your friends know what kind of graduate jobs you are looking for? In a tight market it’s important that your reach remains further than your own computer. Work together with your friend group and make sure that you all know what each other is looking for so you can help each other out. Sharing jobs via email or social networking links is a really good way to reveal new opportunities as everyone uses the internet differently. You can instigate it by forwarding a few jobs to your friends so next time they will think to do it back. Discussing application and CV ideas can be really enlightening as well. Learning from each other’s mistakes or successes can excel your skill at job hunting far quicker than on your own. If you are using a good service and you know your friend doesn’t know about it then recommend it! We offer £100 to you if we find your friend a job...

Bringing Graduate Value as well as Skills

In this competitive market companies will always seek exceptional individuals who can not only do the job but also add value to their organisation. As a graduate you can bring useful skills, but in order to show your value you need to be able to present them in a relevant way to show you’re making the connection. In a graduate interview, one way to find out what they look for is to ask who are the good role models in the organisation and why? This way you can provide evidence of your suitability based on the reply. Researching everything you can on the company is key so make sure you are up on their current news as well as their history. This research can be integrated with your answers to keep everything relevant and stand out from other applicants they speak to.