How to find graduate jobs and successfully apply for them.

SSPSSR Employability Month

• Nicola Urquhart• Careers Adviser• Careers and Employability Service• www.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm

What is Employability?

‘A set of attributes, skills and knowledge that all labour market participants should possess to ensure they have the capability of being effective in the workplace – to the benefit of themselves, their employer and the wider economy.’ (CBI, March 2009)

Changing world of work:

•Global economy•More career changes•Roles change•New technology/social media•Need to focus on employability as opposed to just employment •Changes to graduate recruitment

Changes to graduate recruitmentPreviously…

Degree + good application + good interview = graduate role

What do employers want?

Degree awarded at 2.1 or above

Employability skills

Extra-Curricular Activities

Professional attributes

Work Experience

Commercial Awareness

What skills and attributes do employers want? Communication

Report writing

Team working

Leadership

Planning and organisation

Project management

Enterprise

Problem Solving

Reflection

Adaptability

Energy

Drive and resilience

Integrity

Reliability

Enthusiasm/passion

Self awareness

Confidence

Contextual/cultural awareness

Capacity to develop

NumeracyPositive attitude

Business and customer awareness

IT skills

Adaptability

Maturity

What skills and attributes do employers want?

Transferrable skills

• Communication (oral, written)

• Negotiation • Team working• Planning and organisation• Time management • Leadership• Problem solving

Attributes

• Integrity • Adaptability • Energy• Drive and resilience• Reliability• Enthusiasm and passion• Self awareness and

confidence

Why are employability skills so important?Increased competition – over 400,000 graduates leaving university each year.•‘Our latest UK recruitment campaign closed having attracted c.24500. The bank will offer c.475 places in 2012.’ HSBC newsletter April 2012

•Saatchi & Saatchi – 3000 applicants for 12 summer internships 2012.•Kent Probation – 300 applicants for 6 jobs in October 2012.

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How can you develop employability skills and provide evidence for them?

Through your course:•Written work•Research•Problem solving•Presentations•Working in groups•Using ICT skills•Understanding complex information

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How can you develop employability skills and provide evidence for them?

Through extra-curricular activities:•Clubs/societies•Volunteering•Student Ambassador Scheme•Careers Employability Award on Moodle•Employability Points •Learning a language•Travelling

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How can you develop employability skills and provide evidence for them?

Through gaining work experience:•Part-time work•Internships/placements•Company events

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Where to look for jobs

Research how the sectors you are interested in recruit

Where to look for vacancies• Check job vacancies to find out

about the types of roles being advertised

www.prospects.ac.uk

www.milkround.com

www.targetjobs.co.uk

www.kent.ac.uk/ces• Graduate directories• Careers and Employability Fairs• Social Media• Recruitment Agencies

Vacancy Sites - graduatewww.kent.ac.uk/careers/graddirectories.htm

• www.prospects.ac.uk • www.get.hobsons.co.uk• www.targetjobs.co.uk• www guardianuk300.com• www.top100graduateemployers.com/

• www.kent.ac.uk/ces/vacancies.html

Graduate Schemes still open ... • Accenture• Aldi• Arcadia • BAE Systems• BBC• Bloomberg • British Sugar • Cancer Research UK • Deliotte• DFID • Diageo

• Ernest & Young • EU Careers • IBM• L’Oreal • Mars • McDonalds • MI5 • National Grid • Penguin • TeachFirst • BBC

Example Graduate scheme (Bloomberg )• Finance• IT• Media• Sales

Example graduate scheme: DFID • Engineering• Finance• General Management• IT• Purchasing• Research and

Development

Other resources

• Professional bodies• Institute of Practitioners in Advertising www.ipa.co.uk/• Chartered Institute of Marketing www.cim.co.uk• Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development

www.cipd.co.uk/

• Recruitment agencies • FASHION - George Ellis Recruitment• MUSIC - Handle Recruitment• ACCOUNTANCY - Hays Accountancy Personnel• SECRETARIAL - Nice People Employment Bureau

Graduate EventsThe Summer Graduate Fair ExCel, London, 5th June 2013 www.summergradfair.co.uk

TARGETjobs/The Careers GroupThe London Graduate FairBusiness Design Centre, Islington 20th March www.londongradfair.co.uk/summer

For fairs elsewhere in the UK, seewww.prospects.ac.uk/links/careerfairs

Careers Fairs

What else can you do?

Network!• ask your friends• ask your relatives• ask your “network”• ask a past Kent graduate• ask a careers adviser

www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/CJ.htm

Not all jobs are advertised : the hidden job market

APPLICATIONS AND INTERVIEWS

How to succeed

Successful applications

What employers say…"Few students are able to articulate what they have gained from their experience in higher education." (Association of Graduate Recruiters, 1995)

What is the purpose of a CV?

• To inform the employer about your education, work experience, skills and interests

• To show how you meet the criteria so the employer can not deselect you

• To ‘sell’ your qualities and to persuade the employer to invite you to interview

Producing a CV

Matching up your CV with the position/company

• It is not ‘one size fits all’, you need to tailor your CV to each position you apply for.

• Research the organisation. Do they have a mission statement or core values? What will they be looking for in you? Who works there at the moment? What are they passionate about?

What makes an effective CV and covering letter

• Right format• Well presented• Proof read/consistent tenses • You have included all the necessary

information• Your skills and abilities are clearly

evidenced • Conveyed your understanding and

enthusiasm for the job• Targeted it to the job

What does it need to contain?

• Personal details• Education and qualifications• Work experience• Skills• Interests and additional information• References

Don’t be constrained by headings.• Languages • Scholarships/Awards• Voluntary work • Relevant experience• Positions of responsibility • Publication/Presentations • Conferences attended • Research skills • Additional skills

Hints on wording• Avoid personal pronouns -

No “I’s”• Avoid producing a passive

CV• Start with verbs wherever

possible• Use short sentences &

concise phrases• Focus on accomplishments• Refer to specific projects

with quantifiable results• Try to incorporate wording

used in that sector

Make use of Action Verbs

created instructed analysed produced

negotiated designed calculated maintained

administered controlled reviewed observed

consolidated delivered founded increased

studied invented supplied detected

programmed recommended distributed

developed solved prepared installed selected

arranged formulated solved started

Application forms (online)• Read the question!

• Re-read and highlight the main points

• Write your answer

• Check you have covered each point

• Include key words

STAR approach (online)

For questions where you are asked to ‘explain a time when…’, it is useful to use the STAR approach:

•Situation – set the scene

•Task - what needed to be done/achieved?

•Action - this should take up about 80% of the answer, what action did YOU take?

•Result - this is the ‘proof’ that you succeeded, try and give evidence such as statistics if possible

Applicant Tracking SystemsSome major recruiters rely on Applicant Tracking Systems to initially scan through CVs, covering letters and application forms. If you do not pass this stage, your application may never be seen.

Case Study: Olu – Business and IT

I applied for 120 placement schemes, the most disheartening thing about it was receiving rejections at 1am in the morning. My applications weren’t even getting to a human being! Allianz was my last shot, and for the first time I made my application relevant, I used key words and I practiced psychometric tests. Not only did I get the placement, but they asked me back after graduation, so I have now started on their graduate scheme.

Beating the system• Use their KEY WORDS from:

• Job description• Person specification• Values and mission statement section• ‘What we look for’ section

Example: Candidate must have strong communication skills and must be fluent in German

(ensure highlighted words feature in your application)

Here comes the (computer) science bit… Concentrate!

1. Never send your CV as a PDF: Applicant tracking systems (ATS) lack a standard way to structure PDF documents, info can be mis-read

2. Don't include tables or graphics: ATS can't read graphics, and they misread tables

3. Call your work experience, "Work Experience": The computer might completely skip over your work experience if you haven’t labelled it as such

4. Don't start your work experience with dates: To ensure applicant tracking systems read and import your work experience properly, always start it with your employer's name, followed by your title, followed by the dates you held that title.

INTERVIEWS

Does what I wear really matter?

37% of employers decided against hiring someone because of what they were wearing

80% of interviewers think it is inappropriate to wear red to an interview

99% of bosses interviewing female applicants say they would be inclined to mark them down if they wore dangly jewellery

95% find low-necked tops and no tights unsuitable interview attire(The Ladders)

Interviews – do your research• Be familiar with the employer website

• Re-read employer information/ your application form

• Remind yourself why you find this employer attractive

• Keep up to date with current affairs

Body Language

• Shake hands warmly, but wait to be invited to sit down.• Smile• Try to relax - don’t sit on the edge of your chair, but don’t

slouch.• Speak clearly and not too fast• Don’t fidget• Keep up good eye contact with the interviewer

Interview QuestionsInterview questions may be:

• Hypothetical (what would you do if…)• Competency based (describe a situation where you…)• ‘Traditional’ interview questions (tell me about yourself)

In your answers, keep in mind the skills and attributes the employer will be looking for.

Be honest.

Prepare answers to obvious questions• Why are you applying to us?

• Who else have you applied to?

• What do you know about our competitors ?

• What makes you suitable for this placement/job?

• Why should we employ you?

• What do you know about the company/industry/scheme?

• Tell us about yourself

• What are your strengths and weaknesses?

• What do you do in your spare time?

• What is your greatest achievement?

Prepare for Competency Questions

Describe a situation where you had to .....

• show leadership • make a difficult decision • overcome a difficult obstacle • work with others to solve a problem

What would you do differently?

Hypothetical Questions – What would you do if ………?

• What would you do if an irate customer complained about the length of time they had been waiting?

• What would you do if you disagreed with something your manager was doing?

• What would you do if a person became aggressive when talking to you?

Thinking on your feet

• Used precisely because it's impossible to work out your answer beforehand

• Tests your ability to think quickly, logically, produce practical solutions

• Don't panic! Take a few seconds to think - this shows confidence

• There may be many possible solutions.

Difficult Questions• Ask for some thinking time

• Tell them you would need to research the answer

• Ask if you can come back to that question later

• “I’m afraid I don’t know” is better than waffle

• Keep the answer short if you are operating at the edge of your comfort zone

Prepare Some Questions to Ask

• Will I have a mentor in the workplace?

• How many people work in the team?

• How did you progress to your role?

• Would I have a role in the project you described?

Useful resources • I want to work in ….

http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/siteach.htm • What can I do with my degree in …

http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/Sociology.htm • Interviews (includes assessment centres and

psychometric tests etc.) www.kent.ac.uk/careers/applicn.htm

• Example CVs & Covering Letterswww.kent.ac.uk/careers/cv/cvexamples.htm

• Employability Skills http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/skillsmenu.htm

• www.prospects.ac.uk

Undecided about what jobs would suit youSpend time thinking about your values, skills and attributes and which jobs would give you the opportunity to use these. •www.prospects.ac.uk (Prospects Planner)•www.kent.ac.uk

(Choosing a Career )•Make use of the Careers and Employability Service

Where to find the Careers and Employability Service

Opening Hours:

9-5, Mon - Fri

Speak to an adviser: • Quick query, drop in and speak

to an adviser 10.30am -12.30pm and 2pm-4pm Monday to Friday.

• E mail @careerhelp and an adviser will respond to your query.

• You can also book a longer career guidance appointment over the phone or pop in.

Action Points

• Research how the sectors you are interested in recruit• Plan a strategy for your job-hunting (& review it regularly)• Update your CV and revise it every time you use it to apply for a job• Continue to build up your skills and experience (stop-gap jobs,

internships, work shadowing, etc)• Network - discuss your career ideas with as many people as possible• Use a variety of vacancy and information sources• Employ creative job-hunting techniques as well as conventional

methods• Keep motivated and don’t give up! No,no,no,no,no.no,no,noYES!• Use the Careers and Employability Service

Stay up-to-date with what is happening

• www.kent.ac.uk/ces

• www.kent.ac.uk/employability

• Follow us on Facebook at University of Kent Student Employability www.facebook.com/UKCES

• Follow us on Twitter at @unikentemploy

Slides can be downloaded atwww.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm