Tuesday, 30 March 2010

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

Monday, 29 March 2010

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!”

Friday, 26 March 2010

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.

Wednesday, 24 March 2010

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

Friday, 19 March 2010

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

Friday, 5 March 2010

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.