Graduate Prospects - May 28, 2008 - (Page 2)

2 PROSPECTS GRADUATE Issue 68 · 28 May 2008 · Fortnightly www.prospects.ac.uk BLOGGERS AT WORK ‘‘Chances are I’ll end up some kind of “assistant”.’ AYEESHA’S NEW OPTIONS ‘I have accepted the offer of an MA place.’ KIRSTIE’S FIRST MOVES that announce illusory vacancies just to expand the numbers on their books. Put quality first: It’s easy to email masses of CVs but the scattergun approach is ineffective. Likewise, leaving a CV on a job board has low odds of success; advertised vacancies are a better bet. Take your time: It’s worth the trouble getting an application right, including running it past someone else. Recruiters say many applications have gross mistakes of spelling and grammar. Being error-free shortens the odds. IT’S CROWDED ONLINE HOW CAN YOU STAND OUT? The internet is becoming the only game in town for graduate job-hunters. Eight out of ten graduates carry out their job-hunting exclusively on the internet, or so said a sample of users of Reed Graduate employment agency, recently. Not shock news perhaps: the few other ways of jobhunting are harder than clicking a mouse. The main alternative in the survey was using specialist agencies, which are partly online too. But though going online is so popular, it does not follow that the internet is being effectively used. Despite the richness of information online, 57% of the sample said they spent less than an hour researching jobs they were pursuing, and one in ten went to interviews without any preparation. This snapshot of ill prepared candidates could be good news for their rivals, however – like proactive readers of this publication. ‘Using the internet as a tool to search for jobs is effective for graduates,’ says Stephen Harrison, operations manager at Reed Graduate. ‘What is important is the background research undertaken on the choice of career and the company to which they are applying. Tailor your applications - make the recruiter feel special.’ Graduates need to get their online job hunting right because the internet, for all its ease of use, is not so easy to get a good result from. At this time of year, for instance, there are many new graduates offering much the same to employers. To help with this situation here are some suggestions for getting the best out of the internet. Go in closer: Whether you are after information or job vacancies, start by searching widely and then narrow the focus. So you might explore types of jobs on Prospects and then move on to specialist websites for the industry you’re interested in. But don’t close off other options prematurely. Know your market: As you close in on a sector, you should be discovering how it recruits and where it advertises vacancies. For example, it’s no use looking on Monster for social work jobs. And jobs in some fields like arts and media are often ‘hidden’ - not advertised anywhere. Investigate agencies: Specialist agencies can help but this depends on the sector. Some agencies do not have first career jobs. When dealing with agencies watch out for the ones Did they get it? Follow up your online application by contacting the recruiters in person (except for massive blue-chip grad schemes). If you have received no response, have they actually received it? If they have it, what happens next? Keep track: Applying via the internet makes it possible to chase lots of vacancies. But each application form should be tracked and a copy kept. Otherwise you will be left wondering exactly what you said to company A or whether you have already contacted agency B. Get advice: Keeping track of their applications, some graduates find they have made little progress. And because the process is impersonal, they have no idea why they were rejected. After university many graduates can still use their careers service, in which case you can discuss what is holding you back. It can also be worth paying for a one-off discussion with Prospects or London University’s C2 service. While online job hunting delivers for many users in the end, the longer you search, the more you need to use old-fashioned human contact as well. Try getting on the books of agencies who interview candidates, network, become involved in professional organisations, talk to other job hunters, approach companies speculatively. It can all feed back to make your internet job search successful. Online job links JOB-HUNTING INFORMATION www.prospects.ac.uk/links/appsinterviews TEST YOURSELF www.prospects.ac.uk/links/tests WHAT JOB SUITS YOU www.prospects.ac.uk/links/pplanner GRADUATE EMPLOYERS www.prospects.ac.uk/links/coprofiles ALL ABOUT APPLICATIONS PROSPECTS INTERACTIVE SERVICES • GRADUATE FORUM • ADVICE AND COACHING • CAREERS CHAT LIVE http://www.prospects.ac.uk http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Feature_Articles/Feature_articles_2008/Ayeesha_s_job_log__3/p!egjiLba http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Feature_Articles/Feature_articles_2008/Kirstie_s_job_log__23/p!eiFgafa http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Feature_Articles/Feature_articles_2007/Links_to_job_sites/p!eaLijjj http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Interactive_advice/p!eacXi http://www.prospects.ac.uk/links/appsinterviews http://www.prospects.ac.uk/links/tests http://www.prospects.ac.uk/links/pplanner http://www.prospects.ac.uk/links/coprofiles

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