Graduate Prospects 67

4 PROSPECTS GRADUATE Issue 67 · 14 May 2008 · Fortnightly www.prospects.ac.uk ASK THE EMPLOYERS TIPS TO TIP THE BALANCE PREPARATION SARA READING, HR MANAGER FOR KPMG PERSONALITY BRIAN BEECH, MANAGING DIRECTOR (MANCHESTER/ EDINBURGH) OF EURO RSCG BISS LANCASTER YOUR VOTE If you’ve been to graduate fairs, were they useful? (SEE PAGE 2 ARTICLE) Deciding where to begin your career can be difficult, and most graduates will choose to apply to a number of different organisations. However, as an employer, we want to know why you want to work for us in particular! The interview process covers questions to try and find out if you have fully researched the career that you are applying for and thought carefully about why you want to work in it. If we are going to invest in your future, we want you to make the right decision and in order to do this, it’s important to have researched and considered your options carefully. From day one you can expect plenty of exposure to clients, and challenging projects that help you develop the skills you need to succeed as a professional. We will support you every step of the way and give you highquality training both in technical areas and soft skills, such as: effective communication, presentation and negotiation techniques. Try to think about some specific ways to show that you have considered your own personal career goals and have an idea of how your future career will progress. YES NO Best advice I can give graduates looking for a job is that first impressions really do count. If I get a letter addressed to ‘Dear Sir or Madam’ I don’t read it. If people can’t be bothered finding out my name then it makes me think they have no eye for detail and aren’t right for us. Likewise if they get my name wrong. I have lost count of the number of times a letter has begun ‘Dear Brain’, ‘Dear Mr Leech’ or, even, ‘Dear Mr Letch’! It’s fine to top and tail a letter with ‘core copy’, especially as you could end up sending hundreds, but make the middle paragraph bespoke to the company that you are writing to so that they know you have made an effort and not just sent a round robin letter. And start your CV from your latest achievements – no one wants to know that you worked in a shoe shop when you were 14. Employers want to know about you – what was the last book you read, the last film you saw and, in my case, what football team do you support? With so many graduates on the market people are appointing on personality and as an RESULTS NEXT TIME THE VOTE LAST TIME Most readers try to network in their job hunting 62% attempt to make use of contacts 38% do something else organisation takes its personality from the person at the top, whenever you can, make sure you find out about the person who is interviewing you. Good luck – you’ll need it. SEND QUESTIONS FOR EMPLOYERS TO editorial@prospects.ac.uk SEE THE BAD BUSINESS ARCHIVE http://www.prospects.ac.uk 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/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Feature_articles/Bad_Business/p!egimFbd

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Graduate Prospects 67

Fair Do’s Bloggers at Work Royal Mail Ask the Employers MOD Accountant Development Scheme Propeller Training Singapore Airlines Derivatives Consulting Group Discovery Recruitment and Training University of Brighton TAC UK Ltd Meltwater News UK Norfolk County Council Russell Finex Ltd Finning Toyota Motor Manufacturing (UK) Ltd Enterprise Rent-A-Car Matson Driscoll & Damico UK British Airways Plc JD Williams Group FSA South Bedfordshire District Council Making Waves European School of Management Loughborough University National Graduate Recruitment Exhibitions University of Glasgow Summer Graduate Fair Summer Fairs 2008

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