Graduate Prospects - February 6, 2008 - (Page 4)

4 PROSPECTS GRADUATE Issue 60 · 6 February 2008 · Fortnightly www.prospects.ac.uk DEAR CAREERS CONSULTANT RETURN TO THE UK After graduating I worked abroad teaching English. Now I have returned I am finding looking for work difficult. I am not sure I want to look at graduate training schemes or whether employers will still consider me for them anyway. Do you have advice? GEMMA Many employers of graduates look for students in their final year of study and for recent graduates. Interpretations of the term ‘recent’ vary between organisations. It is not unusual to find graduate trainees who graduated up to two years before joining an organisation. Some may have taken a break and travelled for some of the time since graduating, while others may have worked but decided to try something new. Much will depend on how long ago you graduated, the employer and job that you apply to as well as how effectively you present your experience, knowledge and abilities. However, if you completed your study more than two years ago, many organisations could feel that you are no longer a recent graduate. If this is the case, applications made for graduate trainee positions are likely to be unsuccessful. Some employers will clarify eligibility in the details about their recruitment, but if in doubt, do ask them. Also ask if you are not clear about appropriate entry routes into a particular organisation. If you have developed significant experience that relates to the work that interests you, it is possible that a graduate trainee position is not appropriate for you, but other positions might be. You do not specify what kind of work you are looking for and I wonder if you are clear about this. If you are unsure, you might want to try Prospects Planner which includes a job matching exercise (www.prospects.ac.uk/link/pplanner). This cannot tell you what to do. However, you might be sufficiently interested in its suggestions to explore some of them further. Your university careers service might still offer you help. This can depend upon the time that has passed since you graduated. Contact details will be at www.prospects.ac.uk/links/careersservices. Meanwhile, ensure that you are presenting yourself positively in applications you make. You will have an interesting range of experience, skills and knowledge to offer an employer, including your recent time abroad. Many organisations have global interests, so the insights you have gained abroad could play to your advantage. If you have also developed skill in another language, this can add to your strengths. Good luck with the applications. LAURA HOOKE, CAREERS CONSULTANT, PROSPECTS YOUR VOTE Are you actively pursuing a ‘dream job’? (SEE PAGE 2 ARTICLE) YES NO RESULTS NEXT TIME THE VOTE LAST TIME Being questioned by phone doesn’t make interviews any more comfortable for most readers. 65% said telephone interviews are no better. 35% were happier being quizzed over the phone. PROSPECTS SERVICES • GRADUATE FORUM • INTERACTIVE ADVICE • CAREERS CHAT LIVE SEE THE BAD BUSINESS ARCHIVE http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Graduate_jobs/p!edcaefX http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Feature_articles/No/p!eaLeijF http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Feature_articles/Yes/p!edcbjiF http://www.prospects.ac.uk/link/pplanner http://www.prospects.ac.uk/links/careersservices http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Interactive_advice/p!eacXi http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Feature_articles/Bad_Business/p!egimFbd

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Graduate Prospects - February 6, 2008

Editorial: The Power of Dreams Jaguar Land Rover Editorial: Return to the UK KPMG B&W Group Ltd Royal Mail Makro RWS Translations Ltd Two Rivers Housing Black & Decker South Lanarkshire Council Entrypark Graduate Prospects Eng Design Ltd Environment Agency NTC Economics Ltd Editorial: Extra School Work Training and Development Agency Liverpool Hope University University of Manchester University of Southampton

Graduate Prospects - February 6, 2008

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