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 …

Standing Out in Group Interviews

An Job related websites have reported recently of Giles Metcalfe, the Leeds Graduate who stood around in the City of London for 9 hours handing out CV’s and talking to professionals passing by sporting a placard saying ‘ Leeds graduate looking for an opportunity in the financial services’. From this he got entered into a few interview rounds and had a few offers on the table. This is a unique example, but if you’ve got through to an assessment centre and you are being asked to stand out next to ‘the guy with the placard’, how do you stand out?

Firstly, make sure you get to the interview, punctual and well presented. Interrupting a group interview that has already started is a lot worse than having a couple of head hunters wait an extra 5 minutes for you to arrive for a one-on-one face-to-face.

Secondly, as obvious as it sounds by now, do your research around the company. Practice selling the company to friends and family, then look for the qualities that you have that make you a right fit for the company, then re-sell yourself using these qualities. On the day of the group interview, show these qualities as best you can, be comfortable in the surroundings, look forward to the future with the company which may help in the Q and A sessions as well.

Finally, be a team player. This doesn’t mean dominating every conversation but it’s not about being a wallflower either. Find the balance, be personable, get to know the team your working with a little so your oinions are valued later on in assessed group discussions. Also, be tacitical in the role-playing exercises, don’t just say the first thing that pops into your head, really think about it as one contribution that can be used by the business is better than 10 lacklustre ones that are either impractical or unexciting.

Location, Location, Location

This tip applies to those still clueless as to what the future holds after university. Deciding on graduate jobs and schemes is a difficult task; it really is a big deal deciding what you’re going to be doing for up to 50 hours a week for the next 4 years. If you use this tip, you’ll at least be able to make an informed decision.

The first location stands for just that, your geographical location when you finish university, for some people the ideal situation is living at home with mum and dad, rent and bill free until you save up to move into your own place, but for some, getting far away from mum and dad and spreading your wings as a young professional appeals. There are serious pros and cons to both so make a list and also take into account where the opportunities are, be practical in your decision, be happy with your decision.

The second location applies to your location within the company, where do you see yourself in 4 years; make a list from 1 to 5 of the most important things to you. Do you want to progress as quickly as possible, learn your trade in a graduate programme that’s qualification or training heavy, are you driven by money, success, targets, all these factors need to be accounted for in your top 5.
The final location is with reference to the company, are they the market leader, a medium size company, an ethical company. Again, make a list of what matters most to you, do you care most about the company’s annual turnover, ethos or general environment, it’s important to be comfortable with the company so that progressing upwards after the scheme, if that’s what you want, isn’t too daunting.

Never Say Never

It’s very tempting to ignore all the practical advice given by career’s services, recruitment companies and your parents, but eventually it comes to a point when you start think they may have a point. Our marketing team at GRB recently carried out a survey on students and found some really interesting results. Of the 590 plus students that responded to the question ‘What do you feel is your biggest weakness?’ over 50% of them said work experience, if you’re in this category, this tip is for you. In addition to this, of the 1000 plus students who responded to the question ‘If you were an employer who received a huge amount of equally good applications, how would you narrow them down?’ over 60% said work experience would be the dividing factor.

Never say no to looking for work experience in your 1st year, never say no to having for part time job in your summer or during term-time if your timetable allows, and remember that positivity is key. If you get a few rejections, always get back on the horse. Try, try and try again, yes to internships, yes to work experience, yes to societies and yes to reaping the rewards of hard work.

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.

Don't Forget You

It’s a stressful time thinking about finishing university and all the different elements that come along with it. There is so much to do and we know that sometimes it seems like there just aren’t enough hours in the day for everything and it is very easy to let everything take over your life, but it’s so important to try and retain a healthy balance between work and relaxing.

Don’t lose touch with your friends and your social life, these elements are actually just as important as the work. Achieving a good balance, ensuring you see your friends and maintain an active lifestyle will make you feel happier in general and therefore more productive, aiding your university work and your job search.

Planning your time and writing out a timetable can help achieve this balance, ensuring you utilise the time you have in the best possible way. This structure will ensure you are reserving some time for yourself, enabling you to relax and rejuvenate, ensuring you give yourself the best possible chance of success.

Honesty Is the Only Policy

Everyone wants to give themselves the best possible chance of finding the graduate career of their dreams and because of this it is very easy to get carried away when writing your CV. However, it is so important to ensure that you remain honest and, yes, write up your experiences to paint your abilities in the best light, but do not stretch the truth to the point of no return.

Exaggerating your experiences and skills may seem like a good idea when you are receiving calls regarding interviews, but what about when you are questioned on these during the interview? Any interviewer for any role will ask you extensively about your previous experiences to gage how transferable your skills are, if you have exaggerated within your CV or embellished beyond what you have actually done it will be easy for the interviewer to stumble across weaknesses and you will appear unorganised and come across as an unprepared candidate.

Think carefully about what you have been involved in outside of your academics and what skills and abilities your work experience has provided you that can be related to the role to which you are applying. We are sure you will have plenty to discuss with any interviewer, without having to stretch the truth.

Be Specific

Interviewers will have a lot of questions to ask you in any interview for any job, because they will want to make sure you are right for their company in many different ways. However, don’t make the mistake and ramble when answering questions, be specific.

Think carefully before the interview about your experiences to date and what they can be used as examples for. Due to the volume of questions interviewers have to ask, the more efficiently you are able to answer will mean they can fit in more, leaving you in a better position on completion of your interview. It will also ensure that you appear both prepared and knowledgeable as well as keeping the recruiter engaged, ensuring that you are able to impress the potential employer and convince them that you are the perfect fit for their company, bringing all the relevant skills they seek.

It's Never Too Late

A lot of graduates are now well in to their graduate job search, have begun interviewing and maybe even potentially have secured roles for the summer onwards. However, not everyone chooses to take this approach, some students prefer to focus solely on their exams and then think about their job search. Both approaches are completely fine, but if leaving it later, it is important not to lose motivation.

Leaving your graduate job search until after your exams avoids distractions, additional stress and timetabling conflicts between exams, revision and interviews. However, it also means that companies will have already started to fill their schemes and roles before you have begun looking, making your job search potentially more complicated, having to investigate less obvious avenues for applications. The most important factor is to not lose motivation; there are roles out there and a whole hidden market to discover. Join as many recruitment agencies and consultancies as possible to get the best overview of the job market as a whole and remember to always tailor your applications and avoid trying to cut corners.

Always Proofread

As we write this we are sure many graduates are sending off numerous job applications and CV’s to potential employers. But are they perfect? When sending out numerous applications it is very easy to make little mistakes that go undetected by you but can cause you to be screened out of the process.

Important things to check are you email address and mobile number, if you have these wrong you aren’t contactable in the first instance. May sound silly? It does happen, numbers get typed incorrectly and email addresses change without being replaced.

Also ensure the dates on your CV are all correct and concise. Even if this is wrong but doesn’t give a bad impression, if the mistake is misleading and this comes up in an interview it will be an issue and make your eye for detail seem weak.

Finally, remember to check spelling and grammar in every instance; cover letters, CV’s, Thank you notes etc. Ask family members and/or friends to proof read them; they will bring a fresh pair of eyes and pick up on errors that you will miss, preventing you missing out on job opportunities.

Make The Most Of Every Opportunity

In today’s current climate it’s more important than ever for graduates to have work experience when entering the job market. Most commonly are summer internships and industrial placements whilst at university; both are invaluable when it comes to your graduate job search.

While at university, a lot of courses and universities offer the option of an industrial placement or, more and more commonly, require it to get the degree. Don’t shy away from this opportunity, leaving university with a degree that included a year’s work experience helps give you an edge.

For those who haven’t had that opportunity, the summer is upon us and a lot of graduates are still in the midst of their search for employment. A great utilisation of time would be to secure work experience in the form of an internship within a field of interest and that you are applying to. On your CV this shows a proactive approach to your spare time and helps ensure you have less of a gap on your CV as well as highlighting to employers that you will have the skills and attributes they are searching for.

Interview Follow Up

What do you do after a job interview? Do you go home and wait or do you improve your chances of progressing to the next stage and getting the position? Following up after an interview is a great way to make sure you stand out from the multiple applicants and here are some tips on how to write a great ‘Thank you’ follow up.

Always remember, a thank you is a nice touch, but it can be a great strategic move. Include anything you think of after your interview that you wish you had said in retrospect (not too much though, keep it short and sweet).

If there were any concerns shared about your suitability, address them and reiterate your reasoning behind this potential weakness not being a problem and your suitability for the role.

Finish by highlighting your three top experiences and qualifications and how they would benefit the company from what you learnt during your interview. Reiterate information you learnt and your increased interests and determination, promising to deliver in the role, as we are sure you will.

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.

Always Ask Questions

Everyone has experienced it, knows it’s going to be asked, or both. The question at the end of every interview; ‘Do you have any questions?’ The only answer to this question is ‘Yes’.

This is your opportunity to shine. Have questions prepared before you have even entered your interview so that you will have things to ask without fail, for example, ‘why is the position vacant?’, ‘what are the long term goals of the company and the department’, ‘what is the company culture like?’, ‘what is a standard day in this role like?’ and asking if the interviewers themselves like working there and why. Asking such questions shows your interest in the company and expresses long term intentions.

Also ensure you take a notepad and pen (in a folder, neatly presented, no chewed up old biros) into the interview with you so that if you think of a question from the interview you can jot it down to remember later. Such interest, preparation and organisation is sure to leave a great, lasting impression.

Do Your Research

Last week’s tip was to ensure you have researched the role you are applying to, and the career path you are set on. This week’s tip follows on in same nature; research.

Another element of research you will need to do is on the company to which you are applying. Ensure you have done this before applying, it will help you tailor your application to the company properly, helping you stand out from other applicants. You also never know when a company may call so doing this research at the earliest stage of the application will ensure preparation when receiving a surprise call.

When you are invited to an interview, do more research, don’t just rely on your initial research. This research will need to be far more in depth, and you will need to consider the external environment too, such as competitors and the market in which they operate. Doing this will enable you to tailor your answers, think of good questions to ask at the end of your interview and give a great overall first impression, making sure you stand out from the crowd.

Know What You Want

When applying to graduate jobs, in a time when too many people are falling into the trap of applying to any role, you need to know what you want. By this we don’t mean narrowing down your job search to only one specific type of career, we mean avoiding making a very common mistake; not truly understanding what you are applying to.

Research your chosen path thoroughly, just because you may have heard of the job role at university doesn’t necessarily mean you completely understand what that position entails. This may sound obvious, but it is a mistake we see regularly. As a job applicant you need to be able to answer what you understand about the career and role and why you are interested in it. For example, consultancy, there are many different types, yet more and more we speak to people who want to go into consultancy, but don’t realise consultancy ranges across every industry and therefore haven’t thought about which interests them.

Having a thorough understanding of the career path you want and the role you are applying to will leave any interviewer impressed and far more convinced of your interest, sincerity and suitability for their vacancy.

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.

Is Your CV Up To Scratch?

With the incredibly high volume of applications received by graduate employers and recruiters alike, the presentation and content of your CV is of the upmost importance. Here are some simple things you can do to ensure your CV doesn’t ruin your chances at that dream role.

Ensure all your personal and contact information is clear and correct. Make sure you have included an up to date mobile number, a home number (if applicable) and email address, and that you have written them correctly. If you miss numbers or use an old university email address then you are not contactable.
Provide all information clearly in sections and make sure elements are shown in reverse chronological order and that this is kept consistent throughout your CV.

Declare your A level or equivalent results, not just subjects studied or they may be assumed to not meet the requirements. Also provide a predicted final grade (or actual grade if already achieved) for your degree, along with a couple relevant module results.

Finally, avoid paragraphs and mini essays of information within your CV. These days it is so important that potential employers can recognise your achievements, both academic and extra curricular, quickly. If you have provided this within a half a page of writing it isn’t clear and won’t show you off to your full potential.

For more information on CV’s please refer to our CV guide: http://www.grb.uk.com/cv_makeover.0.html

Be Patient

We know it isn’t easy to be patient when it comes to your graduate job search but it is important for a number of different reasons.

Firstly, be aware that you won’t be the only applicant for a role. It may take a little bit of time for you to receive feedback, do not chase progress after a few hours or a day, they probably haven’t even had time to look at any applications yet. It’s always good to be keen, but you don’t want to risk annoying your potential employer and seeming high maintenance.

Secondly, if you have any questions that’s great, but don’t expect an immediate answer. Questions about the role will more than likely be easy for the interviewer to answer, but if it isn’t and they have to find out give them time to do so. Questions you have after an offer of employment may also be simple to answer, but there are many variables here, such as number of new employees, number of the years the company have run the role and logistics of the job. It can be frustrating if you do not have all the answers immediately, but remember, they want you to work for them and you are in a great position. They will be doing their best to sort everything; it just may take some time.

Finally, everybody will receive rejection at least once before finding the graduate job for them, do not get disheartened. Be patient and keep going, you will succeed and it will be worth it when you do.