Commercial Awareness Top Tips!

What is Commercial Awareness? Commercial awareness is a term that refers to a candidate's general knowledge of business, their business experiences (or work experience) and, specifically, their understanding of the industry which they are applying to join. If the candidate has a better idea of what the business does and the sector the business fall in then they can see that the candidate has done research and is genuinely interested.

How to develop your Commercial Awareness… There are a few ways to develop your commercial awareness that will benefit you if you are asked questions about it. These are things such as: Reading/watching the news. Finding a sector of business that you are interested in and researching it. Attending business open days/events so you can speak to businesses about what they are currently working on and what problems they have faced. Lastly, use work experience as an example.

Work Experience! Think about what you have learnt from any job or work experience… What did you find out about the customers? What did you know about the competition in that area? What did they do well or not so well? How is the company run? All of these things contribute to your commercial awareness as with each question you’re learning more about the business or the business industry. I have learnt these transferrable skills from my work experience…

Create a SWOT Analysis. This analysis strategy will allow you to see different aspects of the business and then make a decision on what they could so better. A SWOT analysis will get you to highlight the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of a company. By doing this you are allowing yourself to have a better understanding of the commercial aspect of the business. Internal External Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats

What Employers look for: 67% of employers feel that young people are not as commercially aware as they could be. That is why when they are interviewing people they ask people about different aspects of the business. They are impressed by people who: Understand what the business does (what products/services do they sell?) Are aware of competition in that industry Know a good amount about the area they are applying for

Summary Improve your commercial awareness before going for any interviews. The company will favour you more if you have done your research. Check the newspapers or watch the news. Check professional bodies/associations websites they sometimes have little posts about how the industry is looking at the moment. It gives you that little extra to talk about in an interview which will put you in a good position when they come to choose the right person for the job.