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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Why do part-time work?

How can part-time work help you in your career search after university?  There are a number of ways:

• Get English work experience for your CV: this is valuable primarily if you are going to seek work in the UK after graduating rather than returning home.  In some other countries, part-time work isn’t valued as if it doesn’t relate to the industry you are trying to get work in, however in the UK employers do value it.

• Get soft-skills examples for application forms and interviews.  At the application stage you will be expected to give example of times when you have used skills like teamwork, interpersonal skills, leadership etc.  These are skills you will have often used in your part-time work, so it can provide examples for you.

• Improve your English: whether you are planning to try and get UK work or to return home, a high standard of English is invaluable.

• Gain cross cultural understanding: part-time work will give you the chance to mix with people outside of your course who may have a different age and background to yourself or your peers at uni.

• Gain useful contacts for your job hunt: the people around you in your part-time work may know people who work in the industry you want to get into. You could ask to be put in touch with them to find out some more about job roles in the industry, how to get into it and any other useful information.

• Understand the professional work environment in the UK: in every country the work environment differs.  It will help you at interview for a full-time job if you know how to interact with employers and how you will be expected to behave in the work-place.

Content supplied from International Futures website written by Abi Sharma.

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Welcome to UCL everyone!

I hope everyone is settling in nicely to the new academic year, weather your returning or new to our campus.

We had a great turn out for our first workshop from our international programme last night, aimed at careers planning for masters students and for those of you who didn’t get to attend, the slides will be posted through the careers service shortly.

On Tuesday I’ll be running a session on ‘Working while you Study’ which will cover a range of things from job hunting, typical part time jobs, how to present your work experience, and how to do up a part-time work CV.  It will be from 1-2pm in the Harrie Massey Lecture Theatre.  To book or for more information please visit the careers events page.

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