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.