Tips for new graduates: How to make yourselves more employable by Enterprise Rent-A-Car

 

Car hire giant Enterprise Rent-A-Car, one of the UK’s ten biggest graduate recruiters, has set out some hints and tips for graduates looking to make themselves more appealing to potential employers.

1. Experience matters

Work experience and internships will often make you stand out. Employers know that a taste of the commercial world will sharply reduce the learning curve when you join the workforce full-time.

2. Volunteering

Unpaid volunteering highlights graduates with a social conscience and proactive work ethic.

3. On-campus activities

Make the most of clubs, sports teams and social groups on your CV, particularly in positions of responsibility. Remember to show how they  helped build teamwork and leadership skills.

4. The academics isn’t everything!

Unless you’re going down a route where you need explicit technical skills, it’s often good to position yourself as a well-rounded individual. A good degree matters but so does everything else you did at university.

5. Confidence shows

Some people are great at writing CVs but lack interpersonal skills. How well do you communicate what’s on your CV? How well do you sell yourself? Do you say “I’m afraid I’ve only done this…” or “Actually, I’ve achieved this…”?

6. Have you done your research?

Ensure you know at least something about the business where you’re applying for a job. A question that begins “I was looking at your website and wondered…” is a good sign to employers. Also, it’s often worth calling the company up before the interview to ask for more details about the job on offer.

7. Professionalism

It’s amazing how many new graduates don’t turn up on time for their interview or dress appropriately. Not every company expects a suit, but you should at least make the effort to find out about its dress code.

8. Using your initiative

For employers, the most promising recruits are usually those who really made an effort. That can mean everything from entering undergraduate awards and competitions while at university, to making the best use of your contacts afterwards.

9. Networking skills

Business is a social environment, so you will often have to demonstrate your skills at listening, making small talk and putting other people at their ease.

10. Motivation

If you get asked “Why do you want to work here?” you should have a real answer and not just a pat response. You might not yet be thinking in terms of a lifelong career, but you should at least know why you’ve chosen that company.

 

With thanks to Enterprise Rent-a-car

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How to get an internship or graduate job! – UCL Careers Service Graduate Scheme Summer Schools 2011 now open!

Get the skills this summer to secure an intership

There are only 120 places for the 24,000 students currently at UCL on a first come first serve basis, so I’ve tried to pass this information on immediately so readers of this blog can benefit.

The Careers Summer School is a fantastic opportunity  to gain the tools and secrets of how to secure an internship or graduate job; so come autumn’s recruitment season you’ll be well ahead of the curve.

Details below

*
UCL Careers Service Graduate Scheme Summer Schools 2011*

*Week 1: Wednesday 14th to Friday 16th September OR*

*Week 2: Monday 19th to Wednesday 21st September*

Approximate Timings: 10.00am to 4.00pm each day

Graduate schemes and internships are offered by many larger employers looking to recruit future talent and are seen as a fast-track route to career progression. Competition for places can be intense and it is important to apply as early as possible as recruiters often start selecting candidates long before applications deadlines close.

The summer school is a bespoke programme of activities designed to give you a real head start for schemes opening for applications in the Autumn of 2011 or for remaining places that recruiters are looking to fill for immediate start.

Programme activities include:

· an introduction to the UK graduate labour market, graduate schemes and what employers are looking for;

· an opportunity to meet and hear from current graduate scheme employer staff

· an application ‘toolkit’ including workshops on CVs & applications, aptitude tests; interviews and other assessment centre techniques;

· an insight into how to make the most of the careers service support available to you

Priority will be given to those attending all 3 days. A returnable £25 deposit is required to confirm your place. To find out more and register for your place see: _http://www.ucl.ac.uk/careers/events/skills/summerschool_. Please note that the careers office is closed for its annual closure week re-opening on Monday 8th August. If you have problems registering, please contact the career service then.

UCL Careers Service

(Thanks to unknown for photo)

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Master class in securing a graduate job – with Tim Webster from FreshMinds.

If there’s a question I get asked time and time again it’s the one that goes something like, ‘Do you have any extra special advice that would make the employer love me and give me the job.’ So today I’ve got a man who maybe able to answer that question and also shed some light on the world of being a graduate recruiter.

Tim got involved with grad recruitment at FreshMinds after working in a business start up for 3 years. He moved across to further his ambition to have a career with a strong people focus. Tim works with some for the biggest players in graduate recruitment and specialises in the consultancy sector.

I asked Tim his killer tips for the must hire candidate:

Number 1 – Passion and knowledge

The golden rule is always; always demonstrate a passion and knowledge for the company that’s interviewing you. Rocking up having just skimmed the website is a big mistake as it shows you have no real interest in the company. Good things to do are meet the employer at an open day, read the companies news section and annual report, do an information interview with someone from the business, possibly an alum of UCL.

Number 2 – Know the differences

When applying for several companies in the same sector in is crucial to know how they differ. Tim says the candidate that tells the interviewer all consultancies are the same, is the candidate that’s going home. Really do your home work in this area and understand the different values and cultures at each firm.

Number 3 – Experience

Employers are looking for people that will quickly integrate into their business and start giving them a return on their investment. The best way to demonstrate your desire to perform in a role is having evidence you’ve done it before. Work experience placements or part time work are a tried and tested way of letting an employer know you’re a safe bet and have the relevant skills.

Number 4 – Perseverance

If you don’t get the degree result you expected and the sky seems to be falling down. Tim suggests taking a few days out to reflect on your change in circumstance. This should give you some perspective; as the great qualities you had before the result was announced are still yours today and with hard work you can still make your career a success.

Number 5 – Securing jobs as an international student

Tim said that the market has become tougher in recent months due to changes in Visa regulations but maintained that Top employers were still hungry to employ star talent. There seems a consistent message; that for great candidates there is still plenty of opportunity.

I also asked Tim what it was like to work in the graduate recruitment industry. He said it was fast paced with lots of client interaction and expectation. The role was based around building strong rapport quickly to gain buy in from candidates and employers. Tim said to expect the unexpected as working with people can throw up interesting challenges. He’s seen people drop job offers because they’ve just split with their girlfriend or suddenly decided to go travelling. It does keep it interesting.

His final tip was that if you’re a technical student particularly with a degree in computing there lots of operations roles within finance and banking that companies are having trouble filling. So if you have a Computer science degree and some first class communication and teamwork skills the market is looking for you!

For other insights see Nomura, JP Morgan

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