Rising Stars 2011

Now in its second year, GRB are delighted to announce that nominations are open for Rising Stars. Our exclusive list of exceptionally talented finalists from the UKs top institutions will be shortlisted, screened and showcased on our website in February 2011. GRB then actively promote our list of the 50 best graduating students to a select portfolio of leading recruiters with the sole objective of securing employment for our Rising Stars before they graduate. Apply today!

PS. Here's a Rising Star we placed last year!

Universities Challenged

With one of the oldest University systems in the world it was inevitable any change would attract passionate opinions from Government, Students, Graduates, Employers and Parents across England. The problem is no-one can agree but a decision could be made based on Lord Browne's report.


From our point of view we can see it from many angles and despite it being an increase in cost to parents and students they are now consumers with rights. Students should expect value for money and a world beating education for the investment they are making in further education. For Universities they now have the much needed funding to get them back on an even keel and start climbing back up the world league rankings and deliver on student expectations. Meanwhile, employers will continue to benefit from the pool of talented graduates with skills and intellect to drive this country out of the recession.

I have kept in touch with about six University friends since we left Brighton University in '94. I stayed on the south coast whilst all the others returned home. I recently met with them all and one guy reminded me it was 20 years ago that we all started at Brighton Uni! Apart from feeling really old and wondering where the years had gone it made me realise how our choice to go to Uni led us directly onto the paths we now lead.

Back then you could still get a grant and there was certainly less debt. It was just as much fun then as it is now and after three to four years (I did a year placement) we entered the world of work. All bar one have taken careers related to their degree interestingly. I asked him if he would change anything and he said, studied harder for his A Levels and become an Investment Banker!

Whilst we are not all money-motivated, for him, like many others his choice was predetermined by exam results and hindsight is a wonderful thing but I think everyone finds their level and we have all done pretty well for ourselves. Will I be recommending Uni for my son? Most definitely, the difference this time is I'm the one paying for it!

The Guardian UK 300

Today see's the launch of a survey of students and graduates and the companies they want to work for. Similar to the Times Top 100 this survey adds 200 more to the list. It's great to see that more graduate recruiters are being revealed in this suurvey but it is by no means the full picture.

This year there were 60,000 graduate jobs available. 16,000 or 27% were from blue-chip recruiters, most are included in this survey. Graduates should and will apply for these roles and, as ever, competition will be tough. Smart graduates will have a strategy that appreciates 73% of graduate jobs remain hidden and include other techniques so they have the best possible choice of job offers. The only way to hear about these hidden jobs tend to be from either knowing the right people in ther first place through your own personal connections or enlisting the help of recruitment agents who have exclusive contracts with employers to source graduates.

The economy has changed forever forcing graduate recruiters to look for more cost-effective ways to recruit which very often can mean outsourcing to recruitment specialists so from now on graduates must adapt their job hunting strategy too to take in as many information sources as possible.

Survey Here

What Counts Is Brain Power!

GRBs new survey has again revealed a fascinating dichotomy between this year’s graduates and employers. Graduated place a higher value on work experience than degree class when it comes to selection for jobs

This summer, news headlines have been dominated by the plight of graduates emerging into the labour market, the most striking statistic was that employers were receiving 69 applications for each graduate level vacancy they had on offer*. All of which presents employers with the practical challenge as to how to reduce the numbers to manageable proportions.

GRB, the UKs leading, independent graduate recruitment consultancy, decided to turn the tables and ask graduates what criterion they would apply to narrow down the field if they were an employer. From the four options offered, an impressive 61% selected work experience as their preferred option. A further 21% voted for the degree classification, while 17% opted for the university attended. Only 1% of respondents thought it a good idea to use ‘A’ level as a selection tool.

Dan Hawes, co-founder of GRB, commenting on the findings, was impressed if a little surprised by the findings, “Before the results came in, I would have expected the degree class to have topped the list, so it is fascinating and revealing that almost two thirds would look at the work experience that candidates had had in narrowing down numbers. We wanted to put graduates in the shoes of recruiters and I think it has made a lot of graduates think more about how they should be spending time at Uni to give them a fighting chance of finding a good graduate job.”

Hawes went on to say, “What the findings say to me is that graduates value work experience highly to the extent that a candidate with a first class honours degree but with no, or very little, experience of the world of work, is less attractive than a candidate with an upper second and bags of work experience. But the reality is quite different.”

Interestingly, in reality what many employers look for, according to the Association of Graduate Recruiters are primarily the degree classification (77.5%) with relevant work experience was in third place (33.5%). Hawes concludes, “This clearly shows that employers need to get the message out to graduates that they need to study hard and worry less about work experience. What counts is brain power.”

* Taken from the AGR Graduate Recruitment Survey 2010 – Summer Review.

Is Your Location Stopping You Hire The Best Graduates?

With big name graduate recruiters based in London offering over 40% of graduate vacancies how can your company attract the best?


Luckily our national marketing campaign throughout 2010 has created a talent pool of thousands of the UKs top graduates near you! Check the graduates in your area that we have on our books today.

We have grouped Business, IT, Maths, Engineering, Physics and Humanities graduates that are currently looking for work across the UK, not just London. Take your pick and give us a call to see their CVs.

Click here for our interactive map

The UKs Top 50 Graduates Available Online Now

We have spent the last 3 months searching, screening and selecting the UKs top 50 graduates so you don't have to. Presented on our website as GRBs Hot Graduates you are exclusively invited to view their CVs today. Discover more...

ONE IN THREE GRADUATES ADMIT THEY COULD HAVE TRIED HARDER

With more and more employers using the 2:1 degree class as a screening tool in the graduate job selection process, a timely survey from Graduate Recruitment Bureau (GRB) reveals that 35% of respondents with a 2:2 admitted they did not work hard enough to get the grades.


According to Dan Hawes, GRB Co-Founder, "This refreshing honesty among graduates is welcome and might actually help them to find ways of overcoming what increasingly appears to be a barrier to graduate jobs. Employers do appreciate frankness and those who do not stick rigidly to the 2:1 class when screening candidates may well be impressed with a candidate who admits that they could have worked harder as long as they emphasise what else they have to offer."

A surprisingly high number of respondents pointed to external factors affecting their performance – financial, health and family issues affected 21% of graduates suggesting that employers should not jump to conclusions why results might have been low. A further 15% felt that the course they studied was much harder than they expected while 22% admitted that they did the best they could do suggesting perhaps that they were satisfied with their results.

Reflecting on the results, Hawes commented, "There is a growing emphasis on the need to achieve a 2:1 but employers should be reminded that the degree classification system in the UK is not intended to be a national standard so comparing one candidate with another on the basis of their degree award is potentially misleading. The results of this survey also suggest that other factors can affect individual performance. I'd suggest that recruiters of graduates, despite the rising number of applicants in the economic downturn, do their best to treat each application on its own merit and not to make assumptions as to why someone should obtain a lower second or a third class degree for that matter."

Graduate Schemes V Graduate Jobs

So the graduate class of 2010 face just as tough a jobs market as 2009. Of course in a recession and in slow growth phases employers are naturally cautious but lets look at the big picture. The AGR survey represents 199 recruiters - the big, well-known firms - offering 17,900 vacancies on graduate schemes but did you know that there are thousands more jobs with these employers and many others that are NOT on a scheme!

These jobs might not be well advertised and offer fast track promotion to management but they all require a degree with little or no experience. This slice of the jobs market often gets overlooked as they do not come under "graduate schemes" and as such gives a skewed view of the graduate jobs market. My message to graduates is look at the big picture, do your research, target niche areas and tailor your CV. What you read or hear about the graduate jobs market may only be the tip of the iceberg as many jobs for graduates are not advertised and remain in the hidden jobs market.

Meet GRB at the AGR Conference

Chris and Steve from GRB will be travelling down to Newport, Wales for the fantastic AGR Conference held at the Manor Resort Hotel next Monday/Tuesday. This has always been a high point in our calendar as it gives us an opportunity to meet our clients, learn something new, enjoy great food and get entertained! If you are coming look out for these two chaps during the two days.

Meet GRB at the Guardian London Graduate Fair

GRB will signing up graduates and giving away freebies at the Guardian London Graduate Fair from The Careers Group on 23 & 24 June 2010, Business Design Centre, London.


·1000s of jobs
·Over 80 top employers
·Free CV and Application Form feedback
·Guardian Sessions Room

Exhibitors include: Abercrombie & Fitch * The Army * The Bodyshop * Civil Service * Enterprise Rent-a-Car * FDM Group * IBM * Journalist Works * KPMG * Learning and Skills Council * Make it Happen * RAF * Waitrose
FREE to attend!
Pre-Register now at London Grad Fair

10 Job Hunting Tips for Graduates

Good article aimed at US graduates which I thought I would pass onto you guys.

Graduation season is here, and thousands of new job seekers are joining millions in the job market. What does the new kid on the block need to do to be successful?

10 Job Hunting Tips for Graduates

Employing Overseas Workers

CIPD has just released a useful factsheet to help employers understand the ways in which the proposed cuts in immigration will affect recruiting from this talented pool of candidates, many of which are graduates.

This factsheet gives basic introductory guidance. It:

1. Offers advice to employers considering employing migrant workers

2. Introduces the law and employers' responsibilities

3.Covers some other HR areas.
 
Learn more

Some Graduates Face Marathon Job Interviews

Who likes being interviewed? Let's be honest, very few of us and those that do are the types who like talking about themselves!


Final year students are probably concentrating on their final exams just now, not the happiest of times, but they probably prefer exams to face-to-face interviews. What is it about interviews that we don't like? Being exposed? Opening up to a complete stranger (or two)? Talking about ourselves? The fear of rejection?

Whatever it is, the truth is that if you want to get ahead in the world of work you are going to have to get used to being interviewed. And the better you are at it, the better your chances of landing that dream job. Just how long do candidates have to endure life under the microscope? According to a recent survey conducted by GRB, the longest interview that most candidates face was less than an hour (58%) much to their relief one suspects. However, 27% had to cope with interviews that went on for as long as 2 hours, a further 7%, 2-3 hours and a similar proportion more than 3 hours!
What these poor candidates found to talk about for 3 or more hours is difficult to imagine unless they decided to tell their life story, very, very slowly. The problem is that candidates in these difficult times probably feel that they have no choice but to endure whatever interviewing techniques are thrown at them. Perhaps employers should consider the needs of candidates a little bit more. After all, employers should be trying to create a good impression too and going on and on with question after question, is not necessarily a good thing. And how much information can anyone reasonably be expected to digest over a three hour period? Graduate employers should always structure their interviews in advance and ensure they stick to the cogent issues, asking questions that are relevant and appropriate. Of course, it is possible that the longer interviews were attributable to candidates being unable to shut up!

The survey did not ask if there were any natural breaks in these interviews but if not one can only imagine how stressed some candidates would become. If an interview is scheduled for 3 hours perhaps the employer should suggest that candidates bring a sandwich with them!

Footnote: Other things you could think of doing for 3 hours include, a flight to Spain, run a marathon (if you are fit) or watch Lord of the Rings.

Great News From Britains Leading Employers

Demand for highly-skilled people will intensify during the recovery, and employers fear they will not be able to find people with the skills they need to fill high-level jobs, a new survey reveals today.


The new CBI report, called Ready to grow: business priorities for education and skills, is sponsored by leading qualifications awarding body EDI. The survey was answered by 694 employers, which together employ over 2.4 million people and represent companies of all sizes and sectors.

Read the full report
Download the PDF

Now it’s all over, will the election make a scrap of difference to graduate prospects?

I held off writing my latest epistle for the GRB until the results of the General Election were known. Then I was going to predict how the emergence of a new government might impact on the graduate recruitment market.

Well, as we all know, the result was confusing to say the least and now that we have our first coalition government for 70 years, no-one, perhaps even Cameron and Clegg themselves, can say with any certainty how things will work out.

To say that we are moving into unchartered territory is an understatement. Nevertheless, the early indications are that the nation as a whole favours the arrangement, breathing a sigh of relief that the cloud of uncertainty that hung over the UK has been blown away like volcanic dust, at least for the time being.

Uncertainty is something that people are not comfortable with. The markets certainly get very nervous when they can’t see into the future. Uncertainty also impacts on business confidence and that in turn has a knock-on effect on recruitment. Businesses look forward when considering their graduate intake. They want to know with as much certainty as possible that the talent they are recruiting and developing will be needed to cope with growth and attrition. When businesses are unclear about what the future holds, then they reduce their intakes. Trying not to be too political, I suspect that most CEOs and Boards of Directors are happier with the coalition than some of the other possibilities that were being mooted just a few days ago.

As if to prove the point, in AGR’s latest graduate recruiter confidence poll, 55% of respondents were more confident about the prospects for their business than they were in January. 37% have higher recruitment target levels than a year ago and 58% are still actively recruiting.

This last statistic is important to Class of 2010. Uncertainty about the future is something that many finalists feel as they approach the end of their higher education experience. I imagine that most final year students will be focused on their final examinations as they strive to get those few extra marks to guarantee a 2:1 but, if it is their intention to enter the labour market this summer, they would do well to take a little time out to investigate what vacancies are available. A jobs board sales manager told me the other day that they had received details of a thousand new vacancies in recent weeks.

Graduate job seekers must do all they can to research the market. The most certain way to allay uncertainty is to find out the facts. A year ago, we faced a situation where many graduates had given up the ghost of a chance of a graduate job yet some of the country’s top employers were screaming out for applications in May and June. The same could occur this year. Just as the Tories have decided they need to work with the Lib Dems, graduate job seekers would do well to forge alliances with those who know what the market holds, including making use of their careers services and agencies such as the GRB.

Carl Gilleard

Chief Executive AGR

The Career Fair Season Is Upon Us

You can finally get an opportunity to meet GRB as we hit the road and visit campuses up and down the country. "What's in it for me?" I hear you say, well apart some wicked freebies you can find out which recruiters are looking for graduates this Summer and get useful tips and advice from our 14 years expertise helping thousands of graduates launch their career. In effect, we are representing hundreds of recruiters who can't make these fairs and want us to meet you guys - just as well really as we really enjoy meeting students and graduates! 

If we don't see you then here's some useful advice on making the most of careers fairs plus a follow-up letter template you can use to send to recruiters after the event - makes a difference y'know.

Pass It On - Graduates Helping Graduates

One thing humans often fail to do is learn from mistakes so we see generation after generation making little or no progress in their lives. I would like to change that - for graduates at least! Use this blog to post your lessons learnt in one or two sentences during your job seeking at University and help other students and graduates make a leap and choose the right path in their lives.

Refer Graduates To GRB And Claim £100

Refer a friend now and claim £100 when we find them a job. It’s really simple and it works!

- Get your freinds to complete the form below
- When we find them a job we’ll give you £100.

Refer your friends to this short registration form now!
http://www.grb.uk.com/Jobs/shortform/ShortForm.aspx?id=339&name=MGM

6 Mistakes New Grads Make in Their First Jobs

Useful tips here on this site for grads about to enter the world of work.

1. Thinking that because you have your degree, you shouldn't have to do grunt work.
2. Not being thorough.
3. Thinking that what you post on social networking sites doesn't matter.
4. Procrastinating.
5. Not putting effort into forming relationships with older colleagues.
6. Not saying "thank you."

Read more > 6 Mistakes New Grads Make in Their First Jobs

GRB Graduate on Radio 1 Newsbeat Today at 12:45pm

Great news! Rhiannon Jenkins, an Oxford University Chemistry graduate we placed last month is being interviewed today on Radio 1. Listen in today at 12:45pm!

Reasons To Be Cheerful

There is a massive disconnect at the moment between what graduates think the jobs market is like and what is actually occurring! If you're reading this then spread the word because it's really not all doom and gloom. Only today I read a survey showing over 50% of finalists were not confident finding a graduate job whereas in fact, among the large traditional graduate recruiters, they have 30% of their vacancies UNFILLED! So get searching for these employers - look at the Times Top 100 Graduate Employers, use your Careers Service, network like mad and use specialist recruitment agencies like GRB.

Unpaid Internships

I recently gave advice on hiring interns for employers following a briefing by the CIPD however across the pond it seems the norm for students to work on unpaid internships and as such is creating a huge backlash from students who don't have the opportunity to work for nothing. I found this article in the NY Times "The Unpaid Intern, Legal Or Not" however the comments say more than the article!

As a member of CIPD, a professional association for those involved in Human Resources, I get to meet some very interesting people and attend some thought-provoking seminars. I went to one last night and it got me thinking about how graduates could use what I learnt.

The subject was effective communication and looked at how you first need to know about different personality types, including yourself, and then being able to adapt your communication style to suit. I found several crude versions of the test we used last night based on Earth, Wind, Fire and Water personality types. Google it and see what you find . Here's a list of personality tests I found.

Are You Top Of The Pops?

With over 270,000 students about to graduate and enter the world of work I thought we should ask them what sectors they are making a beeline for. The results should give recruiters a realistic idea about what response they are likely to get to their graduate recruitment campaigns.

So which sector has got "it" and which hasn't in the eyes of graduates?

1. Marketing, PR or Media 21%
2. Engineering 16%
3. Banking, Finance and Insurance 16%
4. IT 13%
5. Accountancy 9%
6. Public Sector (Teaching, Nursing, etc) 9%
7. Law 8%
8. Charity 6%
9. Retail/FMCG 2%

For more interesting insights to help you understand the graduate market discover more graduate poll results.

Oxford Graduates Land Job With Google

It seems to get the attention of the one of the worlds most popular firms is to prove your idea works first!

Securing a graduate job this Summer is going to be tough so being innovative can really pay off. Oxford graduates, Mark Cummins and James Philbin, set up PlinkArt a painting recognition app that caught the attention of Google HQ. Spotting a niche, Google talent scouts approached the pair, made them an offer and hired them. What a day that must have been!

Having studied mobile geometry the pair will now be focusing their talents on Google Goggles, the group's first photo-based visual search engine.

How Will The General Election Affect Graduates?

My contacts in the graduate recruitment industry are extensive and enable me to bring you exclusives from time to time. Here's one from the industry's main spokesperson, Carl Gilleard, Chief Exec of the Association of Graduate Recruiters.

"Have you noticed that there's a general election taking place on 6 May? You would have to been living the life of a hermit to have missed all the media hype that’s been generated since the dissolution of Parliament a week ago and there's still a month of campaigning to go!

A question for employers, parents, students and academics to consider is 'Will the election make any difference?' The result itself may not immediately make an impact although a hung parliament might send jitters through the markets and impact negatively on business confidence and prospects.

But what of specific policies in relation to higher education and graduate recruitment? Last month AGR (The Association of Graduate Recruiters) launched its first ever election manifesto in which we made seven clear recommendations:

- Abolish the 50% target for HE participation
- Lift the cap off student tuition fees and drive up standards
- Embed employability skills in all courses
- Introduce the Higher Education Achievement Report to provide recruiters with more meaningful data on which to base selection
- Strengthen university and schools careers services
- Introduce tax breaks for employers of graduates
- Introduce a more flexible visa system for employers.

All seven recommendations are intended to raise standards and create more and better opportunities for graduates. How much notice an incoming government will take of the manifesto remains to be seen but one thing is certain the challenges of funding cuts in Higher Education while at the same time safeguarding if not improving standards is one that will not go away.

Not unexpectedly, the proposal to remove the cap on tuition fees attracted most reaction especially from students themselves. We suggest removing the cap gradually to enable prospective students and their families to make provision. We also propose safeguards to ensure the most disadvantaged students are protected. And it should be remembered that tuition fees are only repayable when the graduate is in employment and currently earning a salary of more than £15,000. Repayment of fees is at a very competitive interest rate and spread over many years.

Of course, we would all like to provide 'free' higher education but there is no such thing as 'free' education. Someone pays and in our view it is right that the students themselves should contribute a proportion of the overall cost as they benefit from higher education especially if the experience is a quality one and quality does not come cheap! We expect student expectations to rise as they pay more and that in itself will help to drive up standards.

Given the choice between quantity and quality in Higher Education we are certain that employers too will vote for quality. You can find the full manifesto at www.agr.org.uk. Happy electioneering!"

Using Social Networking For Recruiting

Social networking sites like Facebook or Linkedin are becoming increasingly popular and are unavoidable in day to day life. A recent GRB poll of 500 students said that 73% felt it was an invasion of privacy for an employer to "snoop" on their profile so what's a recruiter to do?

Making the best recruitment decision comes down to having as much information on a potential candidate in order to judge their suitability. Typically we resort to CVs, Interviews, Assessment Centres and the like but now employers are including social networking sites as another slice of information on which to base their decision.

There are no rules restricting the use of these sites however employers run the risk of attracting claims for discrimination. For instance if an employer announced she was pregnant and as a result you retract an employment offer you could liable if there is any documentation pertaining to show that this announcement led to the retraction.

I think most employers understand students make the most of university life and now have a way to express this openly online. To other generations this seems way too revealing and question why they would want to let the world see some of the things that get posted but unless something is seriously anti-social, illegal or defamatory users of social networking sites should have nothing to fear. For selectors, by all means take a look once the decision has been made to hire someone but where it can really help is especially if you have a few people starting as you can contact them all through Facebook and get them talking to each other before they start. See it as a pre-induction strategy to spend time communicating with employees before they start which will help them settle in better to your firm and everyone benefits.

Good News

This is the kind of thing the nation wants to see more of - especially graduates about to enter the job market. Email me any similar stories to feature on my blog! dan@grb.uk.com

Half Full or Half Empty?

It fascinates me how people lap up bad news over good - Is it schadenfreude or the just the British state of mind?! Take graduate recruitment. I have been interviewed on BBC Radio recently in response to surveys showing lack of jobs for graduates; questioning the "value" of degrees or how graduates are two-a-penny and I counter all these arguments because I see things differently.

Every graduate will find their degree helps them get a job in some form or another. My company, GRB, has launched the successful careers of thousands of highly capable, switched-on graduates and it gives me great satisfaction to use them as examples against the doom and gloom so often portrayed by the media. In fact I relish the opportunity to show the glass is half full and graduates DO go on to lead fantastic, and very influential, careers in their lifetime as a result of their investment in their higher education. So my message to graduates is not to give up, keep trying and you will find your rightful place in this world!

Top Student Gets Job Four Months Before Graduating

As the economy crawls out of recession, one of the UKs top university students has landed a graduate job in only 4 weeks with the help of Graduate Recruitment Bureau (GRB). Dan Hawes, GRB co-founder says, “Kristy was identified as a particularly outstanding student and we included her on our exclusive shortlist of the top 50 final year students in the UK – Rising Stars. My team of recruitment consultants have invited then rigorously screened and selected exceptional students over the last six months published their CVs online and watched recruiters flock to peruse these Rising Stars.”

Rising Stars was launched in response to the most competitive job market to face this year’s graduates. Dan Hawes says “With so many high-calibre finalists registering with us, we felt duty bound to go the extra mile this year and try and secure as many of them graduate jobs before they leave in the summer. That way it takes some of the pressure off these students so they can concentrate on getting a good exam grade in the knowledge that they have a well paid job ahead of the 270,000 other finalists and 7 million others from across the EU before they flood the market.”

Kristy, a Physics student from UCL, explains how it worked out for her, “"I first heard about the Rising Stars list was through an email sent to me by GRB. I thought I would apply and fortunately I managed to be one of the lucky applicants. Within a month of being on the list, I was approached by GRB. They told me that a global geophysical services company was interested in me and after looking at their website I knew that it was the ideal job for me. I particularly liked it as it allowed me to put my Physics degree to good use. The interview process consisted of a slide show describing the company and what my job would entail. I had a tour around the office and had an 'informal chat' with the VP of the company. After only a week of waiting, I finally heard that they had made me a job offer. Of course I accepted and am now due to start working in July. I owe a lot to GRB; the employees are extremely supportive, friendly and genuinely want you to succeed. I would thoroughly recommend signing up with the GRB and to apply for the Rising Stars list. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Chris and Dan. I very much appreciate everything they have done for me."

Learn more about our Rising Stars

To Vote or Not To Vote? Graduates Speak Out

According to the latest GRB poll of students and recent graduates, 68% will trek to the polling booths on Election Day to cast their vote. This compares very favourably with the national average in the 2005 General Election when a mere 61.4% of those registered to vote actually bothered. The final figures could be much higher as 14% are undecided and are waiting to be wooed by the political parties.

Commenting on the results, Dan Hawes, co-founder of GRB, said “It is encouraging that a healthy majority of graduates think politics important enough to go out and vote for one party or another. Encouraging but hardly surprising bearing in mind that graduates and undergraduates are directly affected by government policy on such things as tuition fees and employment prospects. And perhaps they have more than a passing interest in alcohol duty rates!”

Advice On Hiring Interns

I recently sent this advice out to an employer looking to take on an intern for the first time.

For clients looking to hire an intern or a graduate or for any other short term project recruiters tend to use our website, www.grb.uk.com, to place an job advert. This is the most cost-effective service for this recruitment exercise. Our search and selection service is usually more cost-effective for hiring someone for a permanent role as a fee is payable on remuneration. Our advice to those companies hiring interns is therefore largely based on;

- Having a good job description and skills profile for the hire from the outset. Be clear about what the person will be doing with outcomes and expectations from the outset.
- Paying them at least expenses or minimum wage as you could get a better calibre person plus it gives a better impression of your firm but I understand there may be financial constraints from employers. Certainly the advice given by the CIPD is what I would follow.
- Writing good recruitment adverts with impact. There will be completion for graduates so make sure you stand out.
- Using a targeted approach to make sure you are attracting the right people. So many graduates are applying for anything as they get desperate and the last thing you want is an inbox full of unsuitable CVs.
- Having the resources to sift and select the best person. Turning applications round to interviews and offers should be done as quickly as possible to avoid losing candidates to other employers.

London Spring Fair

Hi

Just thought I would report back on our attendance at this recruitment fair last week. My colleague, Dan went along with two student helpers and was able to sign up over 300 grads and students to our service. Whilst he was there Dan was interviewed and it was also featured on a website. Click below for more info.

Students spring into job hunting
GRB Interview (scroll down)

Finally we have a new poll on www.grb.uk.com asking grads and students what sectors they would most like to work for. Take part and see the results!

Bye for now

Dan

GRB Latest Poll Results

Good afternoon

Plenty of news in the press and tv about the University funding cuts so no need for me to cover this however you may be interested to see what the AGR had to comment about it on BBC News At Ten yesterday. (11m54s).

Internships seem to be all the rage at the moment with graduates keen to snap up any work experience for their CV. An interesting guide was published recently by the CIPD and you may find it useful especially the bit about pay! I also found some more info about interns being exploited.

Other interesting news articles I have picked up lately are:

Graduates condemned to coffee-shop jobs
Hard work? No thanks!
AGR Manifesto

GRB also published the results from two web polls we recently hosted:

So why did you go to University?
Graduates show resilience when it comes to their career

We've had a great few months placing graduates so we're treating all the GRB team to lunch in Brighton at 3pm. Have a great weekend.

Dan

GRB Are Hiring

Good afternoon

Lots of positive news this week about graduate recruitment. Here's a summary,

Teaching under-rated as a career
Languages as important as Maths
Association of Graduate Recruiters says investing in graduates is a sensible move

GRB have a fantastic graduate job working at GRB! We are on the look out for a Resourcer to join us in Brighton so let us know if Recruitment is a career you are thinking of pursuing. Great prospects, nice people and superb earning potential.

Enjoy the weekend.

Best regards

Dan Hawes

PS. Did you know we have a YouTube channel offering sector specific career advice and tips on writing CVs all geared to help graduate job seekers.

Come And Visit GRB

Hello and welcome to this weeks updates from GRB

There are lots of ways to interact with the graduate recruitment experts here at GRB - you can visit us in Brighton, email us, meet us at a fair or find out more from your Careers Service. We also have regular polls on our websites and the results often find a their way into many newspapers and magazines so its worth taking part. We have one for students/graduates and one for recruiters.

We are members of a few professional associations one of which is the CIPD (popular with HR and Recruitment people). One of their recent seminars I went along to talked about the impact of your voice and how to use it to your advantage. It's an underused technique and can help leave a positive impression during interviews for instance. Think about how your voice alters under different situations and the results may surprise you!

OK, have a great weekend. I'm off to pick up my motorbike from its 8,000 mile service and then tomorrow off to Twickenham with my Dad to see England (hopefully) beat Ireland. Come on!

Dan

GRB Recruitment Surgery Anyone?

Happy Friday everyone

The momentum continues at GRB this week with our team representing many graduates as they apply for jobs we have with our clients. Normally this time of year is the low season because as you'd expect most activity takes place in the Summer/Autumn yet we seem to be bucking the trend and unusually busy because I think companies are in "rebound mode" as they play catch up with any shortfall they have from their graduate programmes and schemes from 2009.

Equally we have had more than usual enquiries from recruiters seeking graduates to join them as interns so keep an eye out for these jobs to be advertised shortly on our site. Barclay's is already on there.

Other news to mention is that we have now launched a monthly poll for graduate recruiters to participate in so these results will make useful reading for them but also for graduates. The first poll asks what time period they expect to hire a graduate and early indications are positive.

Finally, I am thinking of running a "Recruitment Surgery" for my Facebook friends and wondered what day and time would suit most people. I plan to allocate one hour to answer questions from job-seeking graduates so let me know and if enough people request it - I'll do it!

Best regards

Dan

Dan Hawes at a UCL Q&A

Hello graduate job seekers and graduate recruiters of the world

Got a lot done this week. Three visits to London made me feel like all the other miserable commuters trekking up to London from Brighton everyday. Don't get me wrong I love London and but I'm glad it's not a daily visit. Anyway on Monday I was in Borough to hear the results of the latest AGR Winter Survey and despite slightly fewer vacancies it was not as bad as people thought. The main points of the survey are here. If you want more details I have the full survey on my desk!

On Wednesday I was invited by UCL Careers Service to take part in a recruitment consultancy Q+A with a group of graduates. Thoroughly enjoyed answering their questions and helping them increase their chances in this very competitive job market.

And finally today I was in Farringdon to listen to RBS and Centrica give case studies on their graduate recruitment marketing campaigns. Very interesting, especially their use of social media to engage with students. 98% of students have a facebook account - wow! When do they find time to study ;-)

Have a great (Valentines) weekend

Best regards

Dan Hawes

GRB's Chris Cater in Sunday Times

Hello

After a brilliant weekend snowboarding in Meribel I am back raring to go and put our new marketing plan into practice. Our co-founder was recently quoted in the Sunday Times about how positive the graduate jobs market could shape up to be in 2010. Read it here. The good news keeps flowing in this article too.

We have had several new jobs listed on the site this week. Here's a few that may interest you,

Graduate Financial Software Developer
Executive Search Associate
2010 Technology Scheme - Investment Bank
Health Research Analyst

If you are a Sussex based graduate we have partnered with the University of Chichester who have links with local employers looking to take interns. For more info click here.

Have a great weekend. I'm off to Liverpool this weekend and no unfortunately not to see the derby ;-(

Bye

Dan

Rising Stars

Dear all

Another eventful week at GRB with lots of graduate recruitment activity occurring. For instance we have been asked to tender for several graduate recruiters looking for suppliers - and these campaigns are for hundreds of graduates so everyone benefits enormously if we secure these contracts. The ultimate is reaching a recruiters PSL or Preferred Suppliers List - for which we are already on many. For graduates this means they will only be able to apply for this employers graduate roles through GRB. These jobs remain hidden from other graduates so it is imperative to sign up with a specialist agency as they can provide the most direct route to some top-tier recruiters.

Apart from that our Rising Stars programme has been well received by over 300 members of AGR including Universities who are keen to have their students considered. We have taken many enquiries from interested recruiters and have begun to schedule interviews for some of our Rising Stars. New additions to the site include several news articles referring to the positive economic outlook and healthy predictions for this years graduates seeking work. We also launched our own YouTube channel full of video advice on seeking graduate jobs.

Check it out!

Best regards

Dan Hawes

GRB Staff Make It In Despite The Snow

Good afternoon

Thank goodness all the snow has cleared. The South Downs looked very pretty but try getting into work on a motorbike! Thankfully the trains and some buses braved the conditions and well done to everyone at GRB making it into the office. Well the highlight of this week has to be the launch of our new graduate recruitment initiative - RISING STARS.

We anticipate the graduate jobs market to be slightly better than last year (a recent survey predicts a 12% rise in graduate vacancies) however it will be more competitive as this years grads tough it out with last years grads who either went onto further study, travelled or temped. We therefore feel, as the UKs leading graduate recruitment consultancy, duty bound to go the extra mile for this years graduating students.

As a new service to finalists GRB has launched RISING STARS to profile this new wave of future movers and shakers. The GRB team have searched, screened and selected 50 of the UKs most exceptional finalists looking to launch their career in 2010. Employers can request an account here or students can apply to be considered here.

I also noticed an interesting statistic this week released by HESA. The HESA Destinations of Leavers from HE Survey 2007/08* revealed that "recruitment agencies/websites" accounted for 34,190 sources of jobs, higher than many other traditional routes. More info here.

And finally, the GRB Marketing team released the new homepage for GRB giving users an easier and better-looking interface. Hope you like it!

Bye!

Dan Hawes

GRB Celebrates Christmas!

Hello and Happy New Year to you!

Welcome back after the festive break. As you can see from the photo GRB celebrated by going for a meal at a local restaurant, Seven Dials, which was very nice. This picture shows charades being played and one of our staff members falling down (and no that wasn't the film he was trying to act out!).

Anyway we all came back on the 4th and it's all systems go here at GRB despite the weather. January is when we plan our objectives to help even more of the UKs finest graduates launch their careers so expect a new look site, new content, new initiatives and even more recruiters forecast to use our services so it's going to be an improvement on 2009.

General predictions for the economy this year are showing very "sluggish" growth and flat being the new up, whatever that means, but for graduates entering the job market in the Summer it will be more competitive as they find themselves competing with last years graduates so it pays to use as many job hunting strategies as possible to increase your chances of finding work.

I'm off to Brick Lane tomorrow for a Birthday curry so see you again next week. Here's to a good 2010.

Best regards

Dan Hawes