You’ve Been Googled – What Employers Don’t Want To See On Your Online Profile.

Conducting an online search, more commonly known as ‘Googling’ a potential employee, has now become a common practice among interviewers - like it or not. Making sure that your online profile reflects a genuine, honest and positive portrayal of yourself is very important so before attending an interview you should check your online profile and moderate anything which could act as a repellent. Google your name and see what comes up. An impressive online profile should show attributes such as positive hobbies, strong business networks and community involvement. Look over any photos that can be publically accessed (like profile pictures) bearing in mind that these will paint a picture of your character. No employer will be too impressed to find their candidate tagged in photos showing disorderly behaviour. Photos of wild nights out, revealing clothing, engagement in unsociable activity or immature/controversial comments could put you on the spot or even cost you the interview for your dream graduate job.

What Not To Put On A CV

When applying for graduate jobs, your CV should be a positive reflection on the time, effort and dedication invested into acquiring the relevant skills for the job. Including certain things in your CV can overshadow these valuable and hard-earned skills and create an instant unsuitable profile. Relevance is a key element here, therefore any experience or personal attributes that would be deemed irrelevant for the job should be carefully considered and extremely brief or ideally, excluded. This also applies when listing qualifications. Be economical with the space you have; give priority to the highest level (a-levels and above), and if listing GCSE’s or equivalents, abstain from listing each subject and grade individually. Avoid listing generic hobbies such as reading/going to the cinema as these are over used and fail to show originality. Try to use hobbies relevant to the job and/or convey dedication and integrity. Another detail to consider is your address. If you are applying to a role that’s far away, even with the intent to re-locate, it’s sometimes best to keep your current location anonymous until you have had a chance to impress. A CV showing an address at a considerable distance from the workplace could disconcert an employer.

And lastly no silly email addresses!

Graduate Interviews - The Big Question

It is standard interview practice for an interviewer to end with ‘have you got any questions’, which to some people, seems to activate inevitable ‘freeze’ mode!  Even if you feel that you have covered the job spec in full and discussed any concerns, it is crucial that you ask a few questions when prompted to do so. This shows interest, enthusiasm and preparation, all being highly desirable qualities in a potential employee.  Failure to ask any questions at the end of an interview instantly conveys a lack of interest and willingness to engage and learn about your potential employer, substantially diminishing your chances of getting the job.  Not asking any questions will inevitably overshadow any part of the interview in which you excelled and exceeded your interviewer’s expectations.  It is also vital to remember that asking questions at an interview is your chance to initiate and set the topic of conversation.  Use this to your advantage, and use it as another chance to promote your skills.

The Importance Of A Good Voicemail For Graduate Jobs

If you're applying for graduate jobs make sure you have your mobile phone voicemail set up, as you wouldn’t believe the number of people that don’t. Further from that, a personalised message is very important if you want to make a good professional first impression - no jokes or gimmicks, as they really don’t go down well! As employers and recruitment consultants have to call so many applicants a good voicemail answer message, confirming they have got the right number, will make them more inclined to leave a message and not just move onto the next candidate. Everyone always talks about making a good first impression so are you failing on the first level? Update it now!

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.

Preparation Tips for a Graduate Interview

At the root of every well executed plan is good preparation, and this is especially the case for assessment centres, interviews or any kind of important meetings for graduate jobs. Using forums and information websites is a great way to get an insight into what your interview or assessment day may be like and to anticipate possible questions that the company may ask. Be ready for an unfamiliar commute by running through the journey on Google Street View the night before. Improving on that, give yourself at least 30-45 minutes breathing time to get to the entrance and be sure it’s the right place, and then find somewhere close by like a cafe to have a moment to compose yourself and run through your notes. To make a good first impression make sure you know who will be interviewing you and greet them by name with a confident handshake. Knowing their job title and role in the company is also a great way to build a picture in your head of the right things to say to them so get this information from your consultant or LinkedIn.

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!