1. How to find graduate jobs and successfully apply for them
How to find graduate jobs and successfully apply for them. SSPSSR Employability Month
Nicola Urquhart
Careers Adviser
Careers and Employability Service

2. 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)

3. 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

4. Changes to graduate recruitment
Previously… Degree + good application + good interview = graduate role

5. Degree awarded at 2.1 or above
What do employers want?
Commercial Awareness
Work Experience
Extra-Curricular Activities
Professional attributes
Employability skills
Degree awarded at 2.1 or above

6. What skills and attributes do employers want?
Leadership
Communication
Adaptability
Energy
Contextual/cultural awareness
Self awareness
Report writing
Adaptability
Problem Solving
Positive attitude
Numeracy
Reflection
Confidence
Integrity
Team working
Capacity to develop
Reliability
Drive and resilience
Project management
Enthusiasm/passion
IT skills
Business and customer awareness
Planning and organisation
Enterprise
Maturity

7. What skills and attributes do employers want?
Transferrable skills
Attributes
Communication (oral, written)
Negotiation
Team working
Planning and organisation
Time management
Leadership
Problem solving
Integrity
Adaptability
Energy
Drive and resilience
Reliability
Enthusiasm and passion
Self awareness and confidence

8. 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 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.

9. 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

10. 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

11. How can you develop employability skills and provide evidence for them?
Through gaining work experience:
Part-time work
Internships/placements
Company events

12. Where to look for jobs

13. Research how the sectors you are interested in recruit

14. Where to look for vacancies
Check job vacancies to find out about the types of roles being advertised
Graduate directories
Careers and Employability Fairs
Social Media
Recruitment Agencies

15. Vacancy Sites - graduate www.kent.ac.uk/careers/graddirectories.htm
4/19/2017
Vacancy Sites - graduate
www guardianuk300.com
These will link you to employers’ own graduate recruitment sites – but if you have employers that are of particular interest to you, you can always access their sites directly!

16. 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

17. Example Graduate scheme (Bloomberg )
Finance IT
Media
Sales

18. Example graduate scheme: DFID
Engineering
Finance
General Management IT
Purchasing
Research and Development

19. Other resources Professional bodies Recruitment agencies
Institute of Practitioners in Advertising
Chartered Institute of Marketing
Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development
Recruitment agencies
FASHION - George Ellis Recruitment
MUSIC - Handle Recruitment
ACCOUNTANCY - Hays Accountancy Personnel
SECRETARIAL - Nice People Employment Bureau

20. Careers Fairs www.prospects.ac.uk/links/careerfairs Graduate Events
The Summer Graduate Fair
ExCel, London, 5th June 2013
TARGETjobs/The Careers Group
The London Graduate Fair
Business Design Centre, Islington 20th March
For fairs elsewhere in the UK, see

21. What else can you do? Network! ask your friends ask your relatives
ask your “network”
ask a past Kent graduate
ask a careers adviser

22. Not all jobs are advertised : the hidden job market

23. Applications and interviews
How to succeed

24. Successful applications

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

26. 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

27. Producing a CV

28. 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?
If you know someone at the company, ask them for advice.
You have a chance to show evidence of how your values match those of the company.

29. 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

30. What does it need to contain?
Personal details
Education and qualifications
Work experience
Skills
Interests and additional information
References

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

32. 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

33. Make use of Action Verbs
4/19/2017
4/19/2017
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 33

34. 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

35. 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

36. Applicant Tracking Systems
Some 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.

37. 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)

38. Here comes the (computer) science bit… Concentrate!
Never send your CV as a PDF: Applicant tracking systems (ATS) lack a standard way to structure PDF documents, info can be mis-read
Don't include tables or graphics: ATS can't read graphics, and they misread tables
Call your work experience, "Work Experience": The computer might completely skip over your work experience if you haven’t labelled it as such
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.

39. Interviews

40. 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)

42. 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

43. 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

44. Interview Questions Be honest. Interview 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.

45. 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?

46. 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?

47. 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?

48. 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.

49. 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

50. 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?

51. Useful resources
I want to work in ….
What can I do with my degree in …
Interviews (includes assessment centres and psychometric tests etc.)
Example CVs & Covering Letters
Employability Skills

52. Undecided about what jobs would suit you
Spend time thinking about your values, skills and attributes and which jobs would give you the opportunity to use these.
(Prospects Planner)
(Choosing a Career )
Make use of the Careers and Employability Service

53. Where to find the Careers and Employability Service
Opening Hours:
9-5, Mon - Fri

54. Speak to an adviser:
Quick query, drop in and speak to an adviser 10.30am pm and 2pm-4pm Monday to Friday.
E and an adviser will respond to your query.
You can also book a longer career guidance appointment over the phone or pop in.

55. 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

56. Stay up-to-date with what is happening
Follow us on Facebook at University of Kent Student Employability
Follow us on Twitter

57. Slides can be downloaded at www.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm