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SUPPORTING GRADUATES INTO THE WORKPLACE www.journeytowork.net
Providing you with the information you need to stand out in a highly competitive job market.
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SUPPORTING GRADUATES INTO THE WORKPLACE www.journeytowork.net
Welcome!
We at journeytowork are passionate about supporting graduates into the workplace.
Everyone in our team has been in your shoes, we know what it’s like to be well educated, to
have aspirations to succeed in securing the dream job, and we too have a history of sending
countless job applications and getting few invitations to interview in return.
The team at journeytowork remembers well how terrifying those first few interviews
were, not knowing how badly we were perceived by the interviewers and only now, after
many years of career success, can we appreciate the mistakes we made.
The UK graduate employment market is incredibly competitive with some graduate positions
receiving 240 applications for a single job vacancy¹. News from around the world is even
more concerning…in 2011 China advertised 16,000 civil service jobs that attracted a total of
1.4 million applications. That is an incredible 87,500 applications per job!
How does anyone compete in this type of employment market?
Our training, whether delivered through our portfolio of written materials, workshops,
career coaching, virtual training or this handbook, is designed to ensure that you raise your
employability skills, impress the recruiter, and secure your dream job.
When commissioning this guide we were very clear about our approach. We listened to our
customers and found the answers to the most common questions, concerns and worries,
and included them all.
You need to ensure that you read this handbook, fully understand the messages contained
within, and finally take action to ensure that you get offered the job and not someone else!
If you feel you need further support or guidance, please enquire about our full range of
services by emailing [email protected]
Good luck and best wishes for your future success.
Wayne Boardman
Founder & Managing Director
¹ Aldi Retail Group’s management scheme 2010 received 12,000 applications for 50 available positions
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Contents Introduction 1 - 4
Founder’s Welcome 1 Contents 2 Your journeytowork 3 - 4
Chapter 1: Job Search Preparation 5 - 8
Getting Started 5 Career Campaign Plan 6 Why You Need A CV 7 Planning Your Campaign 8
Chapter 2: Writing a Powerful CV 8 - 17
Creating A Powerful CV 8 - 13 STAR Stories 8 - 10 Example CV 14 - 15 CV Tips and Checklist 16 - 17
Chapter 3: The Ideal cover Letter 18 - 22
Cover Letters 18 - 20 Cover Letters Checklist 20 - 21 Example Cover Letter 22
Chapter 4: Effective Job Search Methods 23 - 30
Starting Your Search 23 - 25 Effective Networking 25 - 30
Chapter 5: Interviewing Techniques 31 - 50
Different Interview Processes 31 - 34 Example competency Based Questions 35 Assessment Centres 35 - 39 Interview Preparation 40 - 43 Successful Interviewing 44 - 49 Interviewing Tips 50
Appendix
Action Verbs 51 Our Group Provisions 52 Our Individual Provisions 53
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Your journeytowork
Many graduates mistakenly think getting a job is about sending out as many CVs as possible
and sitting back waiting for a response, and hopefully an invitation to attend an interview.
When the invite arrives for an interview you dress smartly and turn up ready to answer the
employer’s questions on your suitability for the position. You might have done a little
preparation around what type of questions you can expect to receive, but otherwise you’ll
attend the interview in the hope that it simply ‘goes your way’.
I suppose it could be as simple as this, and I’m sure for the lucky few it can be this easy.
However, for the vast majority of graduates I can assure you that following this procedure
will only end in frustration at the lack of response you get and the apparent failure of your
CV.
Currently employers report that at many as 80% of graduate CVs fail to encourage them to
contact the graduate, the CVs they receive are simply not giving the employer the type of
information they need to make an informed decision on whether you are worth investing
time in seeing. Employers and graduate recruiters are very busy people and if they have a
single doubt in their mind as to your ability to do the job, they won’t invite you to interview.
So what is the right way? At journeytowork we think there is more work that
graduates must do before they even start to think about writing a CV, here’s the cycle that
we believe is the right approach to successful job seeking; and everything in the outer circle
is closely related to the result in the inner circle.
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career objective
skills analysis
mindmapping
campaign plan
cv writing
interview training
interview preparation
JOB SUCCESS
We have a continuous circle as we believe you should never stop assessing your career objective, and every time you do you will need to reassess your skills, update your career plan and so on.
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Getting Started
Knowing where and how to start your search for a job can be difficult. You first need to
understand that there are many different types of employers, each one using different
recruitment processes. Your responsibility is to understand each type and adapt your
approach to meet the objectives of each one.
If you have already started looking for employment you will have noticed that some job ads
are traditional ads asking for a CV and a covering letter, some perhaps requesting just a CV,
plus more modern techniques where you are asked to complete an online application form
and perhaps take part in various online tests.
Understanding all the different types of recruitment processes from the beginning of your
search will enable you to develop a campaign plan and if followed, will determine your
approach and how quickly success comes your way.
When starting out on your search for employment, there are a number of things you want to
know:
Why do I need to write a CV?
What can I do to make my CV compelling and attractive?
What do I need to do to ensure I am telling employers and recruiters want they
really want to hear?
Where do I look for available positions?
What can I expect during an interview and how should I prepare?
This handbook will provide these answers and more.
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Career Campaign Plan
If you don’t already have a copy of your career campaign plan request one here.
You will receive your Career Campaign Plan via email formatted as an Excel spread sheet.
This document provides a framework to help effectively manage your new career campaign.
To use the document to its full potential, move through the worksheets from left to right,
completing each one in turn.
For the Core Objectives and Task Identification worksheets, there is a brief set of
instructions at the top of the page. Within these sections, you are asked to consider the
over-riding objectives you want to achieve through your campaign and the associated tasks
that will help to ensure those objectives are met.
The Master Sheet worksheet is then effectively your project planner, allowing you to have
visibility of the timings relevant to the completion of your tasks, to record and track the
progress of any vacancy applications through adverts and agencies and to keep track of your
networking activities and contacts. Please see the example worksheet to show how this can
be used in practice.
The final Progress Updates sheet should be used to record any action you have taken during
any month and the outcome from that action. This provides a running commentary of your
actions and helps in keeping track of your progress.
Please take time to study this tool and work out how best it can work for you.
If you need further help or guidance, your career management coach will be happy to help.
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Why you need a CV
The primary way to sell yourself on paper and getting your message across is through your
CV. There is no such thing as a ‘perfect CV’, the chances of your CV being a success or failure
depends entirely on how it meets the demanding expectations and criteria of the reader.
Your CV is your advert and its main purpose is to open doors to an interview. Your CV is
your primary marketing tool and it needs to be effective. Your CV needs to make a strong
statement that demonstrates your skills and achievements. It needs to contain information
that will provoke a reaction from the reader to pick up the telephone or send you an email
and invite you to an interview.
Try to think of your CV as the shop window and yourself as the product. What do recruiters
see when they look through that window? Are you presenting yourself in a way that will
make them ‘purchase’ your product? Does your shop window encourage the recruiter to
walk in through the doors and browse? i.e. will they want to invite you to an interview?
Your CV remains an essential part of the job search process and you need to allow yourself
time to think about who you are, what your key skills are and what achievements set you
apart from others. You then need to consider how you can ‘dress-up’ your CV and ensure
that it presents the right image with the right information to the right person.
It is your responsibility to:
Give your CV as broad an appeal as possible
Make it as user friendly as you can
Ensure the contents are appropriate and relevant to each individual reader
Ensure the contents are honest, open and friendly
Delivers the impression that the recruiter’s time spent interviewing you will be time
well spent
Now is the time to reflect on your skills, your achievements and your successes to date –
from work experience and from your time at university – and to celebrate them in your CV!
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Planning Your Campaign
Before you can start your campaign you first need to know what your objective is and keep
this in mind throughout the execution of your plan. Your objective could be any of the
following:
You may be looking to find your first ever job after leaving university
You may be looking for your second or third career move in a similar sector
You may be looking to find a similar job in a new sector
You may be looking to explore your career sector options
You may be looking to start your own business
Whatever your campaign is you need to remember that anything and everything is possible
if you plan for it, execute your plan timely, consider any adjustments along the way, and
remain confident throughout.
Creating a Powerful CV
Most graduates create a CV that simply lists their education background and academic
achievements, and if they have any work experience they simply list details of their
responsibilities. Seldom do graduates create CVs that celebrate their skills and
achievements, usually because they think they don’t have any. You have a lot more than
you think!
To best way to begin to learn about your skills and achievements is by developing STAR
Stories. This tool encourages you to access your memory files and locate your long
forgotten achievements; stories that will help you create a compelling CV and better prepare
yourself for interview.
STAR Stories
You should have received your STAR Stories Template via email as a Word document.
Complete the table within this template and start developing your stories today. You can
get another copy of this template here.
To complete the table you need to think about Situations that have happened that are
related to certain competencies. You then need to break this down further by remembering
the specific Task, what Action was taken by you and what the final Result was.
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Remember that your CV is a document that projects positive messages, so ensure you only
include happy and positive stories!
A competency is a behaviour or skill you use, such as teamwork, problem solving,
improvement or crisis management. When you read job adverts you should be able to spot
the competencies that are key to the position being advertised; when you do, ensure you
write them down or highlight them so that you can refer to them when tailoring your CV.
Situation
Think of a time and place where you have used the particular competency and write it down
in the Situation box on the template; use a trigger word to aid memory recall.
Task
What task or problem were you confronted with? Write a word or two in the Task box that
allows you to keep telling the story.
Action
What action did you as an individual take? Write a word or two in the Action box that helps
you recall the action you took.
Result
What was the result of your actions? This is the key part of the story as it highlights to
employers the type of benefits you can bring to their business. Try and consider what
commercial benefit was brought about by this story:
Increased revenue for a company, saved money, cost or time saving
Made something look better, tasks completed more quickly, cut costs
Received recognition, improved client relationship, improved teamwork
Improved brand awareness, accessed new customers/territories, improved turnover
If the story is related to a situation not in the workplace, perhaps it is based on a university
project that you were involved in, you might like to consider the following benefits:
Met deadlines, developed team performance
Introduced new processes, avoided potential problems
Saved time and delivered ahead of schedule
Lead an effective team, delegated and diversified tasks
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Your STAR Stories will form the basis of your CV and will also be useful in promoting your
skills and achievements in interviews. Your STAR Stories will be most useful if you attend a
competency based interview; more on that later in the handbook.
Back to your CV
Your CV should start with either a Profile or Career Objective; or perhaps a combination the
two.
Recruiters usually decide whether to continue reading your CV or whether to reject it within
just a few seconds. The information given in your profile & career objective statement will
hopefully encourage them to continue reading. To further capture the reader’s attention
you also need to think about listing your key achievements and behaviours.
Profile & Career Objective
It can be tricky to get the right balance between being too vague with information and giving
so much information that you put the reader off. This section requires a lot of thought and
deserves at least a couple of hours of your time. You can call it ‘Personal Profile’, or
‘Personal Skills’, or even ‘Skills & Attributes’. Whatever you decide to call it remember this,
this section is NOT about your experience or training, but is about focusing on your personal
abilities and aptitudes – things you are naturally good at; plus some details on your career
plans and focus.
This section of your CV can be tailored to suit the role you are applying for, so long as it still
remains truthful and accurate. The rest of your CV can be based on unchanging facts such as
education, past work experiences, qualifications etc.
After the normal name and contact details we suggest you start your profile with a headline,
a clear and positive sentence that will get the reader’s attention and acknowledges your
career objective.
Examples include:
An Accounting & Finance Postgraduate now looking to apply my knowledge and
skills within the Financial Services sector
An experienced Technical Analyst now looking for a new challenge to continue my
career in the IT industry
A recent Marketing Graduate with practical work experience in the Fashion
industry, now looking to further develop my skills in a new sector
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You then need to include a bullet list of key behaviours; your competencies, skills and selling
points that are relevant to the role:
Results driven, logical and methodical approach to achieving tasks and objectives
Strives for quality and applies discipline towards optimising performance
Understands the importance of customers and delivering excellent customer service
Happy to take on any task to meet the needs of the business
Articulate and comfortable in a variety of different situations
Sees tasks through to a result
Always worked and played in teams
Can work on own initiative and take responsibility
Keen to learn new tasks
Can be relied upon to do a good job
Identifies and develops ideas and opportunities
Lots of energy, drive and enthusiasm
Excellent attendance record
Act responsibly in the workplace
Can take instruction and follow procedures
A bullet list of key behaviours allows the reader to create a mental picture of who you are
and how you might fit within the existing teams. It is also good practise to include some
STAR Stories, especially those that highlight commercial benefits:
Won award for developing an innovative idea
Number 1 revenue generator during my internship at XYZ Ltd
Sat on the Campus Recruitment think tank panel
Streamlined administration that saved 35% man hours
You should aim to have between 4 – 7 bullet points as long as they are all relevant and
where possible they should provide some idea of a result you delivered as a consequence of
using that skill or behaviour.
The information you present will generally be unchanged as it will usually be based around
your past experiences. If you are lucky enough to have a large number of achievements,
then you will need to tailor the ones you list to the type of role you’re applying for.
When listing an achievement ensure you include any facts and figures to justify why it was
an achievement. For example, a candidate has listed that whilst working for Pro Capital she
‘Achieved regional investment balance growth of over £20million per annum.’ If she’d
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simply written, ‘Achieved a large regional investment balance growth target’ - the statement
loses its appeal as the achievement hasn’t been measured.
Education
If you are new to work or have very little practical experience to mention in your CV, your
education and academic achievements become more important. The subjects you took and
the grades you received from your time at university are more important than what you did
at high school.
As a recent graduate it is worth including the core modules from your final year as this could
highlight any areas where you might have exceptional knowledge; you might also want to
consider adding details on your dissertation, especially if it is related to the
role/company/sector to which you are applying.
Professional/Vocational Qualifications
If you have any professional and/or vocational qualifications that are relevant to the role you
are applying for, then include them here. The qualification is more important than the
institution where it was obtained, so state the qualification and date obtained working
backwards. For example:
Certificate in Mortgage Advice & Protection Obtained 2008
Employment History
It is customary to start with the most recent role and work backwards. Start with the job
title, dates and employer’s name, and then add some detail about the role and any
achievements/successes from your STAR Stories. It is difficult to know how much or how
little to write, you will need to judge this carefully.
Your CV should not be any longer than 2-pages; if you have had many jobs you only need to
include STAR Stories from the most recent two or three. As you go further back in time the
jobs become less relevant to the reader, so reduce them to a one-line statement. If you
have a great STAR Story from an old position, include this within your profile.
Training & Development
If you have little work experience to highlight and your CV is looking a little empty, consider
adding details of any training and/or professional development that you have been involved
in. Include any training courses, seminars and conferences attended whether you gained an
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accredited certificate or not. Employers and recruiters are interested and it all adds further
evidence of the standards you operate at.
Interests & Hobbies
How important this section is depends on how much information the reader wants on the
person who owns the CV, in order to generate the mental image we mentioned earlier.
Some readers like to know how you fill your time away from work and study; others will be
too busy to read it.
Usually people tend to either write a few single words to describe their interests; e.g.
Reading, Cinema, Travel; while others will use bullet lists, e.g.
My passion for reading is demonstrated through the book club that I founded at
university
I am a long distance runner and belong to a local running club and compete in team
and individual races
Highlighting that you can balance your time between work, study and social life is a positive
thing as it keeps you fit and productive – things an employer wants its employees to be.
Turn over to see the example graduate CV we have put together for your reference.
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Miles Bagshaw 145 Acacia Avenue
London
00766 007007 N6 4PA
Profile & Career Objective
A 1st Class Accounting & Financial Management Postgraduate with practical experience,
now looking to apply his subject knowledge in a career within the financial services sector.
A confident communicator as evidenced when I presented at the prestigious
Institute of Chartered Accountants’ annual conference
Exceptional mathematician and results driven analyst
Very articulate and comfortable in different situations
Can work on own initiative and happy to take responsibility
Understands the importance of delivering excellent customer service
Excellent attendance record, ambitious and motivated
Determined and decisive; uses initiative to develop effective solutions to problems
Education
Hertfordshire University 2011 – 2012
MSc. Accounting & Financial Management 1st Class
Core Modules included:
Advanced Corporate Finance Investment Management Asset Pricing Derivatives Pricing Corporate Governance Fixed Income Markets Advanced Management Accounting Essay entitled “Financing SMEs during the Economic Downturn” was published in the
Project Finance magazine
University of Leicester 2009 – 2011
BA Accounting & Finance 1st Class
Core Modules included:
Financial Accounting Management Accounting Decision Modelling Taxation Harry Wilson Grammar School 2003 – 2009
A Levels
Economics (A); Business Studies (B); French (B)
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Employment History
Investment Consultant Assistant Summer 2012
Inscape Securities
Summer internship placement, responsible for supporting Senior Consultants, delivering financial planning and analysis solutions.
Successfully introduced appropriate investment strategies to corporate investors under the supervision of the Senior Investment Consultant; which resulted in investment revenues of over RMB10million
Took ownership of summarising weekly reports and information in relation to macro-economic levels, banking and real estate industry and two specific companies, which helped improve my communication skills as had to report this information to senior managers
Developed brand loyalty by taking the time to explain complex technicalities of stock market, such as terminologies and how to understand candle lines and moving averages, to customers who struggled to understand
Assistant Financial Planner Summer 2011
Provincial Bank plc.
Summer internship placement, responsible for providing appropriate financial product information to customers whilst delivering excellent customer service.
Responsible for introducing and selling a range of financial products to customers; won employee of the month during my term
Generated 100% customer satisfaction through assisting customers with their understanding of calculating NPV and IRR of their investments
Analysed the various investment environments that the business was exposed to and supported Senior Financial Planners by summarising this information to customers
Accredited as a representative of Provincial Bank at a major industry conference; gave a successful presentation highlighting some security problems that were being experienced
Training and Development
Attended a seminar on Derivatives Pricing to gain a deeper understanding of the
methods used for valuing derivative securities
CFA Level 1 obtained 2011
Interests
Cycling: Part of a touring club that rides up to 80 miles during a weekend
Reading: Keen student of financial management and business as well as enjoying a
good autobiography to relax
Travel: Enjoy visiting remote destinations and engaging with indigenous population
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CV Tips & Checklist
Below you’ll find an outline of all the things you need to consider in order to create a
powerful and successful CV, together with a checklist that we encourage you to run through
every time you are about to send it out.
Tips
• Start by drawing up a list of skills that describe relevant strengths and abilities
• Present these strengths and abilities as bullet points, and quantify them with
positive statements
• Ensure bullet points include the outcome of what you achieved
• Give an indication of how you did something by starting with an action verb e.g.
“Speedily resolved a conflict situation….”
• Do not use pronouns such as “I”, “my”, or “our”; write in the third person
• Avoid jargon, or if you use jargon provide an explanation if you feel you need to
• Six or seven bullet points is enough; omit irrelevant information
• Try to use the profile section to create a mental picture of who you are
• Use examples from work, studies and hobbies
• Try to keep your CV to two pages, unless the employer has specifically asked for a
one page CV
• The most recent data needs to be read first, so work back from your current position
• Keep the presentation simple, don’t be tempted to show style and flair at this stage
• You only have two pages so ensure you don’t write endless sentences that include
unimportant information
• Always spell check your document!
• Remember to always only include positive statements in your CV
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Checklist
Now that you’ve written your CV we advise you to think about the following and if possible,
to ask a friend to read your CV and also give their feedback.
1. Have you put your name at the top and NOT Curriculum Vitae?
2. What impression does your CV create?
3. Is your CV appealing? Is there enough ‘white space’ or too much writing?
4. Do you as a person sound interesting? Would you want to know more about the
person in this CV?
5. Have you used any jargon or sector specific acronyms in your CV?
6. If you have many technical IT based skills that use acronyms, should you include
an appendix explaining what the acronyms mean?
7. Don’t forget your degree is a big selling point, make it more prominent by
including modules or projects
8. Do you have a wide range of interests listed? Are they a mixture of team work
and lone working, social and professional, active and creative?
9. Check grammar and ensure there’s consistency in the text (tenses and
pronouns)
10. Are the margins the right size? Is text correctly aligned?
11. Ideally font size should be 11 and in the same style
12. Have you used Bold, Italics or Underlining consistently?
13. Save a template copy to your hard drive and also to a memory stick.
14. Email a copy to yourself if using internet based email (Yahoo, Google etc.), as
you’ll then always have access to it wherever you are
15. Keep a separate list of your skills and achievements (why not create a career
portfolio?), and edit your CV to tailor to the role you’ve applied for
16. Keep your CV up to date by checking it regularly
17. Make sure you account for any gaps in your timeline as these will raise suspicion
and look sloppy
18. Don’t be tempted to go in for fancy borders or jazzy fonts – keep it sober and
professional
19. Don’t include reasons for leaving previous jobs – remember to focus only on the
positive
20. Make sure you spell check and proofread your CV – spelling and grammatical
errors are an instant fail
21. And finally? Do another spellcheck!
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Cover Letters
Whether or not to send a covering letter is usually determined by the company doing the
recruiting. Covering letters used to be very important, but with the current employment
market conditions, the UK sees approximately 87 applications per graduate jobs, recruiters
seldom have time to read them.
If the job advertisement requests a covering letter follows these tips.
A covering letter needs to demonstrate your motivation for applying for the role,
commitment to the sector and/or company, and any relevant skills that make you suitable
for the role.
Never use a standard template, instead always tailor your covering letter to the specific role.
Show you have researched the role, the organisation and the industry and outline why you
are attracted to the specific opportunity and highlight your unique selling points.
Your covering letter should be no more than one page of A4 paper and include around three
or four paragraphs. Here is an example of what each paragraph might include:
Paragraph 1: A formal introduction outlining how you heard about the opportunity
Paragraph 2: Highlight why you are interested in the role and/or company and how this
fits with your career objective
Paragraph 3: Demonstrate your suitability for the role by outlining your key skills and
experiences
Paragraph 4: A positive and assertive ending stating that you welcome the opportunity of
discussing how you meet their requirements in more detail and outlining
when you will be available for interview
Recruiters want to know what YOU have done and how YOU have helped a team, school,
company achieve its objectives. They want to read active and not passive phrases; some
examples include:
Active Phrases Passive Phrases
“I managed a small project…” “My role allowed me to do…”
“I organised and developed a…” “I was responsible for…”
“I completed the task…” “This allowed me to…”
“I implemented…” “I was able to…”
“I delivered…” “This resulted in…”
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The Essential Ingredients
Writing a cover letter for a job is a bit like baking a cake. In most instances the ingredients
are essentially the same – what determines the flavour is the quantity of each ingredient,
and how and in what order they are blended and ultimately presented for consumption.
There are certain ingredients that go into almost every letter, whether it is a cover,
broadcast, networking, follow- up, acceptance, rejection or resignation letter. There are
others that rarely or never go in, and there are those special touches (a pinch of that, a
smidgen of this) that may be included, depending on your unique situation and the need
your letter will satisfy.
Brief is Beautiful
Adverts and job search letters have a great deal in common. The vast majority of ads in any
media can be heard, watched or read in less than 30 seconds – the upper limit of the
average consumer’s initial attention span.
It is no coincidence that both job search letters and CVs adhere to the same rules, as they
compete for attention from distracted consumers, and their initial purpose is simply to grab
the reader’s attention so that your CV will get read with serious attention – a seemingly easy
goal that isn’t necessarily so easy in its execution.
Before getting started on an advert, good copywriters imagine themselves in the position of
their target audience. They understand their objective is to package and sell the product, so
they consider what features their product possesses and what benefits it holds for the
purchaser.
This is an approach you might find useful in creating an effective cover letter. Imagine
yourself in one of your target companies, or in the personnel department screening
applications. Fortunately, it is a slow morning and there are only 30 CVs and job search
letters that need to be read. If you were to read all 30 applications without a break, you
would probably feel disoriented, as if your brain has turned to mush. If nothing else, you
would learn a very valuable lesson: brevity is beautiful.
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Contact Information
Once you have determined a primary contact number you must ensure that it will be
answered at all times. There is no point in mounting a job-hunting campaign if prospective
employers can never reach you. Invest in an answering machine or voicemail system. Keep
the message business-like and, once recorded, replay it and listen carefully to the message
for clarity, tone of voice and recording quality.
Does it present you as a clearly-spoken, confident professional?
In your letter, you should always list your email address immediately beneath your
telephone number, as initial contact is often by email. Under no circumstances should you
ever use your company telephone or email for any job search, as that can only lead to
heartache and regret.
Cover Letter Checklist
Most cover letters should:
• Be addressed to a person, not a title, and whenever possible a person who is in a
position to make the decision on whether to employ you
• Be tailored to the reader as far as is practical, to show that you have done your
homework
• Show concern, interest and pride for your profession
• Demonstrate energy and enthusiasm
• Clearly establish why you are writing and the outcome you hope to achieve
• Maintain a balance between professionalism and friendliness
• Include information relevant to the job you are seeking
• Ask for the next step in the process, clearly and without apology or arrogance
• Always use a professional tone – never use text language!
Consider the following when putting together your cover letter:
• Gather information
• Identify and research your target job
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• Go through your recent work history
• Consider teamwork and your professional profile
• Add in your previous work history and compile endorsements
• Create punchy sentences and keep it simple
• Voice and tense
• Appearance: length, layout and font
Please turn the page to see an example covering letter for your reference.
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Stanley Lee
71 Birmingham Road
Manchester
M4 7QE
26th October, 2011
Mrs M Forrester
Graduate Recruitment Manager
Bexhill Financial Accountants
39 High Street
London, EC1V 5TP
Dear Mrs Forrester,
I was very interested to read your advertisement for a Graduate Trainee on Manchester
University’s recruitment database as it precisely fits my career plans.
I am particularly interested in a career with Bexhill Financial Accountants because of the
excellent reputation of your graduate training scheme and your commitment to giving new
recruits early responsibility.
I first became interested in accounting and financial management during an insight seminar
that I attended whilst studying for my A Levels at Beijing University. Since then, discussions
with my careers adviser and my own research have confirmed my belief that this is a career
that will enable me to use not only my interest in business and finance, but also my skills
working with people, both in an advisory and a managerial capacity.
During my time as a student I have held a variety of internship positions, all of which have
required me to work as part of a team and to deal directly with the public. I found my work
at Inscape Securities particularly valuable in teaching me the importance of ascertaining
clients’ needs and providing clear and accurate information to response to those needs.
I am available for an immediate interview and look forward to the opportunity of discussing
my strengths and the benefits I could bring to your organisation.
I enclose my CV for your consideration.
Yours sincerely,
Stanley Lee
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Starting Your Search
The traditional methods of job searching include:
Scouring through newspapers
Using the internet
Approaching recruitment agencies
Trade and professional journals
This approach is a REACTIVE approach which targets jobs that are visible and known to
everyone. Because of this it is extremely competitive and you have to have a very slick,
powerful and compelling CV in order to get shortlisted. It is not impossible to secure a job in
this way, especially in the early stages of your career. However, it is only the tip of the
iceberg.
If you use a more PROACTIVE approach, you will access the HIDDEN JOB MARKET.
If you look at the job market as a whole, only 25% of existing opportunities ever appear in
the Visible market whereas 75% of jobs exist in the Hidden market. Yet 80% of jobseekers
tend to use the Visible or reactive method and only 20% use a more proactive approach.
In other words:
20% of Proactive job seekers are chasing a huge 75% of available jobs
whereas 80% of Reactive jobseekers are chasing as little as 25% of available jobs
It’s fairly obvious which group of jobseekers will secure a job quicker!
One popular method that can be used to access the hidden job market that every jobseeker
needs to have as their major strategy is Networking, which requires energy, drive, time and
creativity.
Before we look at Networking let’s establish how those of you who are new to Networking
might still find success using the Reactive method.
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Direct Approach
Direct approaches have never been easier as employers publish their current vacancies on
their websites. Select the companies you wish to approach and find their websites. Most
websites have a ‘contact us’ page – this gives you the ideal approach.
Alternatively do some research and contact companies direct, speaking with the HR
department and asking for their Recruitment Manager or the person in charge of
recruitment.
Sample questions to ask include:
Do you have any vacancies for (your speciality)?
Are you expecting any in the near future?
Do you use contactors or consultants for (your speciality)?
Do you know of any other companies who might need (your speciality)?
Which Recruiters do you use for (your speciality)?
Never randomly mailshot companies without first doing some research and targeting, if you
send out random and untailored letters it will just end up in disappointment.
The Internet
There are many different types of job sites to choose from; general vacancies, specialist
industry sectors, local geographical sites etc. You will also find job sites that are specifically
for graduates and provide many opportunities for internships, work placements and
permanent positions.
The variety and choice is amazing so we suggest you first concentrate on the job sites
designed for graduates. If you want to see what the other non-graduates sites have to offer
you could be overwhelmed by the task of sorting out which ones are right for you. Try
www.alljobsuk.com as they have done the hard work of grouping together all the job sites
into categories.
In addition to the individual job sites you will also find web crawlers that have been designed
to narrow the internet job search for you. Web crawlers are sites where you put in your
search criteria and the site goes out to many other job sites on your behalf. At
www.alljobsuk.com you will see on the left-hand side ‘search for jobs now’ – this is powered
by ‘1job’ and is a good place to start your search. You could also try www.ukjobsnet.co.uk
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Recruiters
You find recruiters or recruitment agencies on the high street and also online. Creating and
developing a good relationship with a recruiter can pay dividends and could be worth the
time it takes to develop this type of relationship. However, for graduate positions this can
be difficult.
Recruiters make money when they place a candidate into a new role, unless you can make
the recruiter believe that you are a valuable commodity, and you keep chasing them to
recommend you and introduce you to employers, it could prove a worthless task.
If you do want to try this method you should first visit the Recruitment and Employment
Confederation membership database at www.rec.uk.com and look for recruiters that
specialise in your target sector. Recruiters who specialise in graduates positions include:
Graduate Recruitment Bureau www.grb.uk.com
The Graduate Recruitment Company www.graduate-recruitment.co.uk
Milkround www.milkround.com
GradJobs www.gradjobs.co.uk
Effective Networking
Networking can be done in many ways, some of the more popular ways for graduates to
network are explained below.
Employer Presentations
Quite often graduate recruiters visit universities to promote their brand and highlight the
type of employment opportunities that exist for graduates. You should always check with
your careers department on campus which companies have presentations in the dairy and
ensure you reserve yourself a place.
If the presentation is being given by one of your target companies, ensure you listen to the
presentation while making notes for future reference. If there is a question and answer
session (there often is), this gives you a change to make yourself known to the company
representatives. Given that this is a target company you will probably have a question or
two so ensure you stand up, introduce yourself and clearly and confidently ask your
question.
If the company representatives invite the audience to an interactive session after the event,
or you see the representatives milling around while the audience is leaving, think about
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introducing yourself again in a more personal environment. You never know what impact
this small gesture could have; it will certainly help them to remember you.
Insight Days
Many graduate recruiters organise insight days which are group events held on the
company’s premises. Your careers service will have details of any relevant insight days so
check early on during your final year and ensure you get your place reserved.
If you attend an Insight Day ensure you engage wholeheartedly; ask questions, provide
answers, introduce yourself personally to any company personnel you get to meet, and
make the most of this wonderful opportunity.
Stand out even further by writing to the facilitator after the event and thanking them for a
wonderful experience.
Volunteering
Try and find some time in your weekly schedule to get yourself involved in volunteering. Not
only does volunteering present opportunities for expanding your skills sets, it gives you an
opportunity to network with a wide scope of people.
Many companies nowadays have corporate and social responsibility budgets and to promote
their brand as a caring and community based organisation they may use this budget by
sending employees, often senior management, to volunteer on community based projects.
Imagine how comfortable and easy it would be to get to know the Finance Director of a
major blue chip organisation while painting the garden fence at a local school, or digging the
garden at your local nursing home.
Most large organisations promote the charities and other good causes that they support on
their website. If you have a target company ensure you search their website and get
yourself involved by volunteering in the same activities. You never know where this could
lead.
Work Shadowing
Spending a day or two shadowing someone doing the job you hope to eventually secure can
be an excellent way to network. Not only do you get to know someone who perhaps works
for your target company, this person might also be able to introduce you to other
connections they have elsewhere in the industry.
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Work shadowing is a relatively new concept and you seldom see these opportunities being
advertised. The responsibility lies with you; you need to do some research and target those
companies at which you’d like to work shadow. You then need to pick up the telephone,
introduce yourself and state your request.
You might be thinking, what’s in it for the company? Well consider this. Recruiting a new
team member is expensive and can be a hugely time sapping and distracting task for a
company. By inviting graduates into their business to take part in a work shadow experience
gives the company the opportunity to develop a talent pool that they can turn to when they
need to recruit.
If you impress them during the work shadow, the chances are they will contact you before
engaging with expensive recruitment agencies or spending budgets advertising available
positions.
This is the hidden market at work right there!
Information Interviews
Information interviews are another new weapon in the job seekers artillery and they
put you in the driving seat. You ask the questions, the reverse of a job interview and they
are useful if you:
Need information to help you decide about a particular career direction
Have found a job to apply for, but need some insight into the work and employer
before you can make a convincing application
Have an interview coming up and need to know more about the employer
Identifying Suitable Contacts
Look at your networks - direct personal contacts within organisations are always
best. Is there someone who could help you access the information you want?
University careers services or alumni offices sometimes keep lists of contacts willing
to talk about their jobs
Professional bodies may help find a contact, or may hold local social events where
you could meet potential leads to the information you seek.
Setting up a Meeting/Telephone Appointment
Do this informally via email or telephone if you already know the person and use a formal
letter if you have been given the name by a third party.
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Introduce yourself and either enclose a CV or describe your background briefly in your letter.
Explain the purpose of the information interview; for example, say that you would be
grateful if they could spare a little time to talk to you about their occupation and/or
employer to help you decide on your next career move. Ask if they can refer you to
someone else who may be more appropriate if they are unable to help.
Preparing for the Meeting
It is essential that you do not waste the contact's time - so be fully prepared with the
questions that are most important to you. Don't ask questions that you could answer from
other sources such as the company’s website. Research the occupation or employer by
looking at websites, annual reports and other published material.
Prioritise your questions so you cover the most important before time runs out.
Getting the most from an Information Interview
Prepare a script (look at the questions below for ideas) but be flexible and react to
your interviewee's answers
If a career obstacle is mentioned, ask how it can be overcome
Ask for elaboration if something isn't clear to you
Listen to the advice given and act on it
Ask for more referrals to continue your research. Get specific names and titles and
ask if you can use your contact's name when setting up the meeting
Thank your contact during and after the meeting (in writing or by email) for their
valuable time and keep them up to date with your progress. You never know when
they may hear of an opening
Be willing to return the favour in the future. The key to successful networking is
helping others in return
Questions you Might Ask
Only you know what information you need to fill the gaps in your knowledge, but here are a
few ideas.
Finding out about the organisational culture and the role:
Describe a typical day. Do the days vary?
What attracted you to the job/career?
Describe the most rewarding aspects of the job?
What do you like most/least?
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Do you feel that your work is recognised individually or as part of a team effort?
How would you describe the working environment, e.g. culture/resources/hours?
Is there anything you would change about the job/employer?
What was the recruitment process for your job?
Has the job changed since you started?
What are the challenges of the job?
How much control do you have over the direction of your work? Short term/long
term?
What are the possibilities for further training/development?
What skills do you have that make you good at this job/do you use a lot in this job?
What facilities are available to help people with work/life balance? (e.g. childcare,
flexible hours)
What rewards can I expect? (e.g. salary/personal recognition/fulfilment). Are
salaries comparable with other similar organisations?
Finding out about getting into this particular field:
These questions are more general and the answers potentially more beneficial to you. They
could take you to areas you hadn't considered or known about previously.
How does my background fit with opportunities in this area? Which skills or
experiences should I emphasise?
What advice would you give me for an effective job search? What techniques
worked for you?
Where are vacancies advertised? Are there particular agencies I could sign up with?
What fields are going to develop in the future? Are there areas that are going to
lead to fewer opportunities?
Would you be willing to give feedback on my CV?
Could you suggest who might have positions I could apply for?
Do you know of anyone else who might have advice for me?
If you have been an active member of our LinkedIn group, Graduate Careers Advice & Jobs
UK, you will already have a good idea of the power of LinkedIn.
An excellent place to commence your networking is on LinkedIn, the world’s largest online
platform for professional networking. LinkedIn is used by 175-million executives around the
world and it’s quickly becoming the first place a recruiter looks when searching for potential
candidates. Anyone can create a personal profile and the basic package is free.
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LinkedIn can be an incredibly useful and effective tool to finding your dream job, but the site
operates within defined rules and protocols and users must know what these are and ensure
they adhere to them. Failure to comply could result in your profile being removed, which
could be a catastrophic blow to your job seeking strategy.
When we tour universities to deliver speeches on careers advice we’re amazed by the
number of graduates who have heard about LinkedIn through their career service, but
haven’t been given any tutorial in how best to use this amazing platform. This led to the
creation of our highly popular LinkedIn e-Course, a series of remotely delivered lessons that
illustrate how to create a 100% completed profile (important if you want to be found be
recruiters), and how best to work within the protocols to network effectively.
This then lead to the launch of our highly successful LinkedIn Masterclass Workshop, a half-
day workshop that guides you through suggested strategies to ensure you and your online
profile stand out, enabling you to be found by recruiters and employers more quickly.
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Different Interview Processes
Let us introduce you to the variety of interview processes and practices that you could find
yourself involved in when you are invited to take part in a company’s selection process. As
we’ve mentioned before employers use many recruitment practices and to excel you need
to know what they are, how to approach them and how to succeed, regardless of the
process your chosen employer decides to use.
Interviews
Informal and/or Information Interviews
Dropping in for a chat is an increasingly popular and preferred style of many employers.
Hopefully an informal interview can help put you at ease as you will naturally feel less
stressed, and this is the objective of the employer who uses this approach. However, just
because the environment may be relaxed, it doesn’t mean you don’t have to try as equally
hard as you would during a more formal interview.
An interviewer will take notes and try to remember what was said in the interview, and
when delivering their verdict other factors will come into play:
Did they like you?
Had you made an effort?
Had you showed desire for the role?
Were you open and honest?
Our advice to approaching an informal interview is as follows:
Dress appropriately and ensure the interviewer can see you’ve made an effort
Take a copy of your CV
Ensure you have prepared your Pride and STAR Stories
Always have positive stories and statements to engage the interviewer
Be open and honest, and that includes telling them if you’re struggling to answer a
question
Telephone Interviews
Many graduates like the idea of a telephone interview as they feel they are more likely to
succeed as they’ll be more relaxed given that they will usually be at home and that the
interviewer can’t see them.
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However, don’t be fooled! In our experience telephone interviews, despite being shorter
and simpler in terms of the direction of questioning, can create an incredibly difficult
environment in which you the candidate is able to influence the interviewer.
Many recruiters report that they usually end up employing the candidate that not only was
better prepared and met their minimum criteria, but was also someone they liked and felt
comfortable with. The feeling that they liked you comes from the first impressions you
offered when you first met; your eye contact, your body language, and how these helped
the interviewer get a feeling of how open, honest and friendly you are.
During a telephone interview the interviewer can’t see your eyes or your body language and
so you have to work much harder at portraying the right image, and you can only do this
through your voice.
Nevertheless many graduate recruiters use telephone interviews at stage 1 and they are
designed to dilute the numbers of candidates going through to the next stage. Our tips for
telephone interviewing are as follows:
Have a copy of your CV in front of you for reference
Have your STAR and Pride Stories in front of you for reference and categorised by
competence (teamwork, leadership, communication etc.)
Have a pen and paper to hand and make notes of what your interviewer is telling
you
Take your time to think carefully before you give your answer
If you didn’t catch the question remember its ok to ask the interviewer to clarify
Ensure you stand up throughout the interview and if possible where what you’d
normally where to the interview
The last tip above is really important as doing this enables you to project your voice and
ensures you are using the correct tone. This, together with the air of formality you wearing
your interview attire brings, will ensure you can positively impact the first impressions you
are giving even though the interview can’t see you.
Panel Interviews
Some companies like to use panel interviews, especially if the role being interview for has an
impact on numerous departments within the business.
Many graduates worry about being interviewed by more than one or two people, but panel
interviews are a chance for you to impress a number of people at one time. Also, the
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decision whether to recruit you or not is made by more than one person, so you could have
a better chance of securing a job through this route.
The same tips and advice as you’ve seen above are applicable to panel interviews and in
addition:
Ensure you address your answers to the whole panel and not just the person who
asked the question
Think very carefully about your answer and try and think about how what you’re
about to say could impact each department being represented by the panel. Your
aim is to develop synergy and not to alienate.
Competency Based Interviews
Throughout the process many organisations may use criteria or competency-based
interviews, these are structured interviews and selection processes matched against key
criteria such as communication/problem solving etc. Popular ‘competencies’ explored
include planning and organising, creativity, communication skills and resilience.
They want to know what YOU did. You might have worked in a team – but what was your
contribution? If you remember:
• Situation – describe the project/ background
• Task – what specific task did you have to perform?
• Action – what actions did you take to achieve the task/ project?
• Result – what was the result?
• Improve – what did you learn – what would you do differently next time
Many candidates tend to use STAR and miss out the Actions – you should mention briefly
the Situation and Tasks and concentrate on the Actions that YOU did and mention the
Results achieved. Also what did you learn from that situation? What would you do
differently next time? Remember that although you worked as a team, you must use the
I/My words – “I did this”, “my role in the group was ….”
It is essential to prepare your STAR Stories in advance because it is unlikely that the right
story “pops into your head” in the interview. List your achievements and activities (such as
work for university societies, interests, hobbies, internships or placements, voluntary or
casual work), make notes on the skills you used and ones you learnt, and what contribution
YOU made to different situations.
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Try to find at least two examples for each competency and find multiple projects / situations
– very often when we’ve have been interviewing graduates they rely purely on one project
for most of their examples – this gets very boring and does not sell the graduate very well.
Many of the questions start off with “Tell me about a situation when…”; “Give me an
example when…”
If they ask “What would you do if ….”, try to think of an example where you have
demonstrated what they are looking for.
Interviewers, like most other people, like interesting situations to listen to that are easy to
remember. So find relevant, concise and specific examples – try to quantify things to make
them more real.
These days it is generally more than a matter of a simple interview. Interviews themselves
have become much more structured than they were a generation ago and are likely to be
‘competency based’, which is to say focused on your strengths in relation to the job rather
than where you went to school or your hobbies and interests. It is of course fairer and more
valid, but do come armed with some examples you can discuss of how you have
demonstrated those very strengths.
There are literally hundreds of competency based questions and sub questions that
employers can choose from, so preparing your STAR Stories can sometimes be difficult. To
help you we have included some of the more popular questions on the next page.
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Example Competency Based Questions
1. Describe a time you led a team or group project?
2. Describe time when you inspired others to meet a common goal?
3. Describe a time when you’ve been given the task of improving a service, product or
project
4. Describe a time when you’ve provided excellent customer service?
5. Describe a time you’ve solved a problem using initiative?
6. Provide an example of working outside your comfort zone?
7. Provide an example when you decided not to sell to a customer?
8. Describe a challenging situation at work or university?
9. Describe a situation where you showed persuasiveness?
10. Describe a situation when you’ve had to work on several tasks at one time? What
challenges were faced? How did you prioritise?
11. Describe when you’ve worked with someone with a different style, how did you get
on, and what was the outcome?
12. Explain when you’ve given a presentation, how did you prepare, who the audience
was, what was the outcome?
13. Describe a time you’ve developed yourself?
14. Give an example of when you’ve taken ownership of a problem or showed initiative
when something wasn’t going to plan?
15. Provide an example of when you’ve been decisive?
16. Describe a situation when you’ve delayed a decision to give yourself more time?
17. Describe when you’ve ensured your level of service consistently exceeded
customers’ expectations?
18. Describe when you’ve reviewed the service that you provide?
19. Describe a situation where you have dealt with a difficult customer?
20. Give an example of when you’ve had to respond to a customer’s or colleague’s
objections?
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Psychometric Tests
Psychometrics is a useful tool to get an understanding of people, especially from people who
struggle to say positive things about themselves. Tests vary in format but have a common
type of output. Typically they will show a general profile based around your type of
character, style of communication, style of working, preferred environments etc.
Follow the instructions, be completely honest in your answers, take your time and use the
time allowed, and look forward to the results – they are often complimentary.
Finally, remember there are no wrong answers!
Literacy and Numeracy Tests
These are not as hard as you might first think; they are designed to check your basic level.
Take your time and follow the instructions carefully, and concentrate on getting each
question in turn, right – don’t be tempted to leave a blank answer and move forwards, with
the plan of returning to it – you might run out of time!
If you get the chance to do some practise tests beforehand then ensure that you do. You
will feel more comfortable and confident with the real test.
In-tray Exercises
In-tray exercises are hypothetical work situations that give you the chance to show how you
understand the role. These are very popular with graduate employers as they test many
things at the same time:
To understand the exercise you will need a good level of literacy
To complete the exercise you will need to work to a deadline
To deliver the exercise you will need presentation skills
To answer questions on the exercise you will need a depth of knowledge and
understanding of the role
Increasingly popular are E-tray exercises which can be completed online.
Presentations
Similar to In-tray exercises, presentations assess a candidate at multiple levels. Planning,
organising, communication, depth of understanding, even IT skills if you’ve to deliver a
PowerPoint presentation.
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Our advice:
If you are asked to deliver a presentation in PowerPoint do so
Keep the slides brief and clear – no more than 4 or 5 bullet points per slide
Practise your presentation in advance if you are able to
Plan your presentation to include:
o an ‘introduction’ – tell them what you are going to tell them
o main body – tell them the reasoning
o conclusion – tell them what you told them with conclusions
Keep it simple and avoid overrunning
Group Discussions and Activities
This is your opportunity to show employers how you can interact with your peers. Usually
you will be asked to participate in a problem solving exercise or group discussion, and
sometimes you might find yourself involved in a role-play situation.
Make sure you participate and give the assessor something to assess
Don’t dominate in the hope of getting noticed, this could count against you
Be inclusive in your approach and think teamwork
Approach the task with a smile and enjoy it
The way you have participated in the task is often more important than the result
Assessment Centres
Some organisations prefer ‘assessment centres’, collections of assessments including group
exercises, where you frequently work in a team with other applicants to solve problems and
make recommendations. Other popular components of assessment centres are written
exercises (mock letters of complaint, press releases etc.) and presentations.
Sometimes the content of your presentation matters to the assessors while on other
occasions they are simply looking at how you present and what you talk about is less
important. On such occasions you are often given considerable freedom on the subject of
your presentation. On others you may have to analyse some information and base your
presentation on that.
All this may seem like a lot to go through, but employers are keen to take on the very best
candidates they can and current market conditions with its increased number of applications
allows them to be choosy.
(why not practice your assessment centre skills at one of our mock assessment centre events?)
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Most employers are very fair in letting you know how you will be assessed and how you can
prepare. Many will give you example questions of the sort that appear in their tests and
there are many more available online – try doing them under timed conditions somewhere
quiet for the best effect. For most of the other assessments, it is simply a question of being
yourself, being honest and taking some time to think about what you have done and what
you have learned from it for the interview.
In the end, employers who assess thoroughly do so because they care: they want to get
candidates who are best suited to do the jobs available and to be comfortable and happy in
a job is to everyone’s advantage.
Role play is often used as part of an assessment centre’s selection process and is usually the
most feared task. Many believe that acting or improvisation skills are essential in order to
past the test. Here are some tips on what to expect and how to do well at role play
exercises.
Why have role play exercises?
Employers will design a role play exercise based on a specific aspect of the role so they can
see the prospective candidate demonstrate their skill in handling the situation. For the
candidates it will give a clear indication of what the job will be like and how comfortable
they will be in it.
What to expect
The best way to prepare is to know what competencies or skills the exercise will be
measuring. The company should give these to you. Typical competencies might be:
Communication and influencing
Decision making
Problem solving
Time management
You will be given a brief and you should read it carefully. Make notes to ensure you fully
understand what is required of you. It is likely that a manager or a trained assessor will play
the other role. There will be an observer with you taking notes – but not taking part in the
discussion.
Typical scenarios
Roles that are most likely to involve role play are those that have direct interaction with
people. Here are some typical scenarios you might expect:
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Performing a sale: The first step to making a sale is to establish the relationship through
introductions. Then move on to data gathering to identify and understand the customer’s
needs. The next step will be to sell the benefits of your product based on identified needs.
There is likely to be a strong objection from the customer. Your aim would therefore be to
handle the objection, seek commitment from the customer and confirm the order.
Dealing with a customer complaint: Establish the nature of the complaint through open
questions, using skills to calm the customer down and build rapport. It is essential to
maintain credibility at all times and engage the customer for future business.
You don’t have to be an actor – but you do have to meet the needs of the brief
How to do well
Make sure you read the brief properly. Make notes and try to establish the objective of the
exercise. Plan on how you intend to manage the role but don’t write a script. You will have
time to write a plan, but writing a script is time intensive especially as the other role player
may have a different agenda from your own.
Listen well, make notes and concentrate on what is being said. Remember to use your body
language to build rapport –smiling, nodding and giving direct eye contact to show that you
are fully engaged in the discussion. It is important to finish the exercise on time. Keep to
your plan and move on if you feel that you are getting bogged down in a particular aspect. It
is better to finish the exercise and then ask all your questions. The aim at the end of the
exercise would be that you have a satisfactory outcome for both parties.
Be prepared to discuss your plan with the assessor after the exercise. Be concise in your
answers and clear about why you took the decisions that you did. It is also important to be
prepared to reflect back on what you could do differently next time.
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Interview Preparation
Well done! If you have an invitation to interview it means that the employer likes what they
have seen so far and they want to know more – either by telephone or face to face. You
could be one of many candidates called for interview or the only one – it does not matter,
you just have to perform to the best of your ability.
As previously highlighted graduate employers use different kinds of interviews or
assessments at different stages of the recruitment process. So before you begin the
interview process – study any literature available as well as the web site. Better still ring up
the organisation to see what type of interview will be used, approximately how long will it
take, who will be interviewing you and what competencies will be assessed. This also gives
you an initial opportunity to create a first impression as a person – rather than relying upon
a CV or application form.
Step 1
Research the Company
• Read the ‘About Us’ page on the company website
• Find out where they are located
• Think about who their target market is
• Know their products and understand their services
• Google the company and check for recent news articles, recent developments
• Understand what their future plans are
When you have some of the information mentioned above, think about the role they’re
recruiting and how it fits into the organisation, what can you bring to the role, and how can
you support their future plans.
A company will be very impressed if you have taken the time and made the effort to think
about how you can fit within their organisation. It shows that you are not only interested in
getting a job, but that you want a job with their company.
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Step 2
Research Yourself
• Prepare a short paragraph that tells them in about 2 or 3 minutes, who you are,
what your character is like and why they should want to recruit you and not
somebody else. You could elaborate on the short profile or career objective
statement you might have at the top of your CV
• List your key strengths and try to think of examples of when you’ve used these
strengths to achieve something (your Pride and STAR Stories)
• Also list one or two weaknesses and think of ways in which you’ve tried to overcome
them. Give specific examples if you can
• Think of the one major achievement that you are most proud of and reasons of why
you are proud of it
• When listing your strengths, weaknesses and achievements don’t just use examples
from work. Try to include something you’ve done at university or something that’s
been part of a hobby of yours
• Think of a summary sentence that tells the recruiter why you think you’re the right
person for the job, this will give them something extra to remember you by
• Employers want to get to know the ‘real’ you so don’t be embarrassed to talk openly
and positively about yourself – they expect it of you!
Step 3
Practise
Your interview could be your one and only opportunity to directly get your message across,
to encourage and motivate the interviewer into employing you. You should view your
interview as a live performance and consider this - no live performer, whether actor or
singer, magician or conference speaker, would stand up and present themselves in front of a
live audience without first rehearsing.
Too many graduates fail at their first interview simply because they weren’t able to
coherently and confidently discuss their skills and achievements. Imagine the work you’ve
put into creating your amazing CV and this has enabled you to get an interview with your
‘dream’ company. If you fail to impress them at the first interview opportunity they give
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you, you simply won’t be offered the job and you probably lose all hope of ever gaining
employment with your ‘dream’ company. Why risk that?
We encourage all job seekers, not just graduates, to engage with mock interview practice
sessions as they allow you to test your messages in a safe environment.
Prior to your interview you must practice your interview technique with a friend, a family
member or just record yourself answering questions – listen to your answers – don’t just
think them in your head – hear yourself. This way you may identify any annoying
mannerism you have – such as “um, err” “that’s a good question”.
If you have access to a careers service, try to book a mock interview. It’s much easier to
practice in a safe environment and it won’t matter so much if you make any obvious errors.
In an interview people tend to talk faster so slow down and speak up – if you mumble or talk
too fast you cannot be understood - it’s fine to pause before responding to questions to
gather your thoughts, if you’re unsure about a question it’s also OK to ask for clarification.
We provide excellent opportunities to practice your interview techniques, get in touch to
discuss your options.
Step 4
Plan the Day
Plan for your interview day in fine detail – buy tickets early to get any discount and avoid last
minute panic. Also plan to arrive at the area where the interview is being held 30/45
minutes before your interview and arrive at the actual premises approximately 15 minutes
before your interview time.
In case you or the public transport you’re using is running late, ensure you have contact
details for the organisation that you are visiting in hard copy and stored in your mobile
(mobile should be fully charged – and put it on silent / switch it off for the interview!!).
Make sure you know how you should dress – best advice is that if it’s a business meeting -
clean shoes & clean, neat hair – normally if you feel good about how you look it will give you
more confidence.
Take a fresh copy of your CV or make a new copy of your application form and organise any
supporting information you'll be taking with you.
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Step 5
Plan to make a Good Impression
When you meet your interviewer(s) – a firm handshake, eye contact and a smile will help to
create a good first impression. Add this to your interview practise.
Remember you may be watched as you approach the building where you are being
interviewed – and as you leave – so make sure that your entrance and exit is as professional
as possible. Avoid ringing friends telling them how the interview went until you are well
away from the building – and definitely not on a train – you never know who is listening!!
Finally, if the company has a receptionist always treat them very well and try and have some
meaningful engagement with them. Often senior managers will approach receptionists and
ask what they thought of you, were you well-mannered? did you engage in conversation
with the receptionist?
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Successful Interviewing
Interviews are designed to do just one thing: identify the best possible candidate for the
advertised job. Sometimes it may feel that the questions being asked have been designed to
deliberately catch you out or make you question whether you are up to the job or not.
But that's not their intention. Some questions aim to establish how well you cope under
pressure, others will be to reveal your personality or to see what your career aspirations are.
Just remember that there is no need to draw a blank or clam up if you have done your
research and preparation beforehand.
When it comes to answering questions in the interview room, there is never a
straightforward easy method. However, these examples of potential questions will help you
along the way.
Answering Closed Questions
Interviewers should always ask you open questions that allow you to respond with full,
example-laden answers. However, interviewers aren’t always perfect.
Open questions:
“What do you like about your current job?”
“How do you get on with your colleagues?”
“What would you say are the key skills for a manager?”
Closed questions:
“Do you like your current job?”
“Do you get on with your colleagues?”
“Is leadership a key skill for a manager?”
As you can see, it’s perfectly possible to respond to closed questions with a simple “yes” or
“no” and leave it at that. However, if you do you severely limit your chances. Treat any
closed questions as if they were open ones. Say “yes” or “no” as appropriate, and then
follow up with a relevant example or anecdote. For example:
“Do you think attention to detail is important in this sort of job?”
“I would say attention to detail was very important in this type of job. If I may give an
example, in my last position (give an example of how checking details was part of the job
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and, if possible, how your particular eye for detail saved time, inconvenience and/or money
for your previous employer).”
Note how the applicant softens the answer very slightly by saying “If I may give an
example…”
Dealing with Negative Questions
If you’re supposed to remain positive and upbeat during your interview, showing interest
and enthusiasm throughout, what do you do when the interviewer asks you a question that
seems to invite a negative answer? This section looks at how you can deal with these
questions without criticising your job and other people, or criticising yourself.
Criticising your job and other people
Sometimes, interviewers seem to want you to be negative about your job or people you’ve
worked with, asking questions like:
“What do you dislike about your current job?”
“What did you dislike about your last boss?”
“What are the sorts of things colleagues do that really irritate you?”
They’re not actually interested in what you disliked; what they really want to know is if
you’re going to be a moaner or complainer. Are you going to criticise the company outside
work? Don’t take the bait. Smile, and give a neutral answer. This is the one time you don’t
give examples or anecdotes.
“What do you dislike about your current job?”
“What appeals to you least about this job?”
‘I find that (a routine task that everyone dislikes, such as form filling, filing, record keeping,
etc.) is probably the least demanding part of my work. However, it’s one of my
responsibilities and important to the job as a whole, so I get it done as quickly and efficiently
as I can, which allows me to attend to the more rewarding aspects of the job.”
Criticising yourself
Another sort of negative question appears to invite you to criticise yourself:
“What is your greatest weakness?”
“What do you find most difficult to deal with in yourself?”
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“What would you change about yourself if you could?”
As before, the interviewer isn’t really concerned with your weaknesses as such; what they’re
more interested in is how you react to implied criticism and your degree of self-awareness.
All these factors are keys to how well you will take direction, or how you will be able to
manage in the future.
The problem is that you are caught between two difficulties. Either you give an answer that
reveals damaging flaws in your character, or you claim, improbably, to know of no
imperfections in yourself. How do you give an answer that steers a path between the two?
You could try one of the following:
A ‘flaw’ that most people would see as a strength;
A humorous flaw that most people would sympathise with;
A former flaw that you’ve overcome;
A flaw that will have no impact on the job you’re applying for.
A ‘flaw’ that most people would see as a strength:
“What is your greatest weakness?”
“I’m a bit of a perfectionist. I won’t rest if I know something isn’t right.”
“My family would probably accuse me of being a workaholic because I can’t relax
while there’s something that needs doing.”
A humorous flaw with which most people would sympathise:
“What do you find most difficult to deal with in yourself?”
“My passion for chocolate…”
“Still expecting to wake up and find I’m a millionaire/rock star/Booker prize winner.”
A former flaw you’ve overcome:
“What sort of things do you find difficult?”
“I would once have said speaking in public and giving presentations was a bit of a
problem, but since I went on a course last year to improve my skills I find that it’s no
longer a problem.”
“I used to have difficulty keeping up with all the filing the job entails. I’ve learnt from
bitter experience to do it first thing in the morning so that I’m free to concentrate on
more demanding responsibilities.”
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If you want to avoid an interview disaster, here are some of the toughest interview
questions and suggested responses.
"Tell me about yourself"
This is perhaps the most open-ended question of them all and is typically used by
interviewers as a warm-up question to give you the opportunity to shine. But resist the
temptation to start talking about your life history. What your interviewer is looking for is a
quick two or three minute snapshot of who you are and why you are the best candidate for
the job. So keep your response relevant to the position you are applying for. For example:
I am a recent accounting and finance postgraduate and have gained some valuable practical
work experience during two separate summer internships. During my time at university I’ve
developed a deeper understanding of the finance sector by attending related seminars and
workshops, and continual professional development is important to me. An article I wrote on
Asset Pricing was published in the Finance Project Magazine and I’m keen to establish myself
as a writer of influential and thought provoking editorials. I am now looking to secure a
position that enables me to further develop my skills and understanding of the financial
markets whilst also providing some new thinking and ideas to any team that I’m fortunate
enough to join.
"What are your salary expectations?"
You should have done some research into the average salary and remuneration that this
type of position will pay. Try to deflect the question by turning it around and asking the
interviewer about the salary on offer. Typically, they will start with a lower figure than they
are prepared to offer because they want to keep their costs down. So if you are pressed to
give a number, its best to give a range to avoid pricing yourself out of contention. For
example:
I'm sure whatever salary you're paying is consistent with the rest of the market average of
£23,000 to £25,000.
Why should we hire you?"
This can be a killer question and can make or break your chances of winning the job. And
how you answer will depend on how well you have probed your interviewer about their
requirements and expectations. So what the interviewer is really asking you is, "What can
you do for my business?" Your response needs to answer that question. For example:
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As I understand your needs, you are first and foremost looking for someone who can increase
your advertising sales and has experience of managing a sales team. I have a proven track
record in successfully managing and developing my territory within this sector, having
increased my sales from £150,000 to £210,000 over the last two years alone.
"Why did you leave your last job?"
You know this question will be asked at some stage, so have your answer ready in advance.
The rule of thumb is to always remain positive about your current and previous employers
because you never know when your paths may cross again. Besides, who are you going to
turn to for a reference? For example:
I learned a lot from my previous employer and enjoyed my time there. However, promotional
opportunities were few and far between and I am keen to advance my career sooner rather
than later.
"What are your weaknesses?"
Career manuals abound with ways to tackle this question. And most of them seem to
suggest that you should take one of your strengths and portray it as a weakness. For
instance, I work too much. But this will actually work against rather than work for you
because it may imply that you do not organise your workload effectively, or that you have
poor time management skills. Instead, opt for a genuine weakness but highlight how you
have worked on this weakness to limit its impact. For example:
I used to struggle to plan and prioritise my workload. However, I have taken steps to resolve
this and now I have started using a planning tool and diary system on my laptop.
"What motivates you?"
Short of telling your interviewer that you are motivated by the prospect of earning a
footballer's salary, driving a Bentley or having a holiday home in St Tropez, try and give a
constructive answer that will excite your interviewer into understanding what benefit you
will bring to his business. For example:
I get a real kick out of seeing my team exceed their sales targets and completing the project
on time and within budget.
"If you were a car ... tree ... animal what would you be?"
Baffling though it may seem some interviewers still insist on asking silly questions, such as If
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you were a car, what type of car would you be and why? There are no right or wrong
answers. The interviewer is simply testing your reactions under pressure to see how you will
cope with the unexpected in an attempt to gain an insight into your personality and how you
view yourself. Don't get hung up on the implications of what type of car you say you would
be, just be mindful that you will be expected to explain your choice. For example:
I would probably be a 1962 Alpha Romeo Spider -- classy, stylish, driven and fast off the mark
"How would your former colleagues describe you?"
This is a sure sign that the interviewer likes you and is already thinking about contacting your
previous employer for a reference. And this is the time when you realise how important it is
to choose your referees carefully. So answer this question in the way that you would like to
think your employer would respond. For example:
I have an excellent working relationship with my manager and we have mutual respect for
each other. He considers me to be hardworking, dedicated, reliable and able to work well
using my own initiative.
Taking Notes
Take notes throughout the interview of important or detailed information about the role
and its responsibilities. Make notes on what went well at the interview – the types of
questions asked etc. – and what you could improve on. If you get invited back the
interviewers will have their notes in front of them, you should too.
Getting Feedback
Getting feedback from interviews where you have been unsuccessful is invaluable and most
recruiters are happy to provide it. A good line to use is “I’m disappointed that I was not
successful, I am not challenging the decision but if there were a couple of things I could
improve on what would they be?”
Not only does this allow you to gather vital information that could help you improve your
interview techniques or develop additional STAR Stories before your next interview, it might
also lead to the recruiter inviting you back. Sometimes the recruiter’s first choice of
candidate will let them down after they have informed all other candidates that they were
unsuccessful. If this happens and the recruiter is suddenly talking to you on the telephone,
he might just invite you back for another attempt.
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Interview Tips
• Ensure you fully understand the role and company that you are being interviewed
for and by
• Fully understand who you are, why you’re applying for this job and what your career
objectives are
• Create your STAR and Pride Stories and ensure you memorise a few so that you can
recall them during the interview
• Ensure you have practised your interview technique to help reduce nerves and
improve your performance
• Don’t be late; plan your route to your interview
• If there’s a receptionist, be good to her! Receptionists are seen as key members of
the organisation and recruiters will ask how you treated them while you were
waiting for your interview
• Smile, use good eye contact and remember to use the recruiters name during the
interview
• Dress well and take notes! You might be asked back for a second interview and you
might need your notes to help you put together a presentation. Also you might use
them to ask further questions
• Ask probing questions and ‘interview’ the recruiter. This shows you’re not only
interested in knowing more about the job, but it shows you really want to ensure
that the company is the right one for you
• Don’t be scared to ask the interviewer to repeat a question or provide clarification
• If you don’t have an example to a particular competency based question, don’t be
tempted to make one up. The interviewer is well trained and can spot when a
candidate is making up a story on the spot. Be truthful and tell the interviewer you
can’t think of an example. They’d prefer you did this.
• Be confident and be yourself
Finally – enjoy the experience; interviews can be great fun!
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Action Verbs
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Need Support? Additional
At Journey To Work we are passionate about supporting graduates into the workplace and our team of careers advisers and trainers are here to help. Below you can find a list of services that we offer to graduates and other young people seeking help with their job search strategy. Free resources can be obtained from our website and regular articles and videos on careers advice can be found if you follow our Facebook page.
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Our Popular Group Provisions ASSESSMENT CENTRE SIMULATION EVENTS Our mock assessment centre workshops provide you with an opportunity to experience the pressures of corporate graduate selection in a safe environment; an environment where you can make mistakes and learn from them - ensuring you raise your chances of success during the real test. INTERVIEW SKILLS TRAINING If you have had little or no interview experience then you need to attend one of our interactive interview technique workshops. Our team of highly experienced recruiters will explain all you need to know to allow you to fully prepare for your next interview and impress employers to secure employment. Our seminars give you the opportunity to practice your interview technique and get constructive feedback to ensure you perform at your very best when it matters most. LINKEDIN MASTERCLASS LinkedIn is an online platform that allows you to connect and network with almost 200-million professionals from over 2.6-million companies in over 200 countries around the world. Not only that, LinkedIn is fast becoming the number one choice for recruiters to find potential new employees for their or their clients' organisations. Our workshops take you through each step of developing your LinkedIn profile to ensure that employers and recruiters find you while you take care of your studies. EFFECTIVE NETWORKING WORKSHOP Networking is about talking to credible connections in an informal environment whilst seeking mutual benefit. Networking gives the job seeker a unique opportunity to discover new and possible unadvertised opportunities and uniquely, it allows you to sell your USPs in an informal setting. Our workshop teaches you every aspect of effective networking, helps deliver solutions for overcoming your networking fears, and provides you will ideas to develop your own strategy to network effectively.
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Our Individual Provisions CAREER COACHING Career Coaching can lead to increased self-awareness, clarity of focus and help you develop a strategy for achieving your career goals. Your coach will help take the stress out of job hunting and help you plan to achieve your objective much quicker than if you did it alone. We offer individual career coaching sessions by the hour that are delivered either via Skype or telephone. Discounts are available when booking multiple sessions. INTERVIEW PRACTICE & COACHING To be successful at your interview you need to have an effective interview technique and do relevant and targeted research and preparation. Your coach will ensure you arrive at your interview with the right mindset, having done the right research and with lots of encouraging interview technique practice under your belt. We can provide individual interview practice and coaching sessions by the hour that are delivered either via Skype or telephone, or if preferred, we can arrange for your session to take place in person. JOB SEARCH PROGRAMME If you know which type of job you are after or even just the sector that you wish to work within, our Job Search Programme will support you throughout your job search campaign. Your coach will create a job search strategy and develop a route that will guide and signpost you into your dream job. The programme includes a CV review and writing service, interview practice and coaching, a personalised job search plan, access to eBooks, videos and other online resources, plus 121 support from you dedicated coach. The Job Search Programme is highly tailored to meet the individual’s needs and can run for as long as the coach and client deem fit and necessary.
Don’t leave it to chance; seek some professional support to speed up your job search.