How To Get a Graduate Job (post-pandemic)

Being at university during 2020 and 2021 was tough enough, but now you need to find a job. As much as your over-opinionated uncle claims you can ‘walk right up to the boss and say, “I’m your guy!”, it doesn’t really work like that anymore. So how does it work? The job process To get […]

How To Get a Graduate Job (post-pandemic)

The job process

To get your foot into the door, you need a CV to send. One common misconception is that recruiters and those in HR actually read your CV. However, for many larger companies, this does not happen. In fact, many use software that pre-scan your CV. Ever got a rejection email at 2:45 am? That’s not Susan from HR – that’s their prescreen CV software.

What comes next in the job process depends on the company. You should expect at least one interview and or competency-based test along the way. Nonetheless, even finding the right job or getting your foot in the door can be the main challenge for grads. So, I’ve compiled 3 key tips below to help out my fellow grads:

Realising what skill set you already have
What is commercial awareness? Breaking down the buzzword
Reject tradition, embrace modernity

Realising what skill set you already have

As a recent graduate myself, the task of finding a paid role was daunting. Especially since I was in the mindset that I was competing with hundreds of others – those who had internships through family friends, those who didn’t go to university who now have professional work experience and so forth. Yet, what many of us don’t realise is that we already have skill sets we aren’t aware of. Employers aren’t necessarily looking for solid experience in their graduates.

Digital literacy

If you have just graduated, you are most likely part of Gen Z. Compared to our predecessors, we’ve never not been immersed in technology.

[Unlike her, I was a whizz at WordArt and Paint by year 6]

As a graduate, you have been exposed to and used software that employers are looking for. The basics are your Outlook packages: Word, Excel, Powerpoint etc. It is a given you’ve used them, and for some, mastered them. You have probably used social media before too – you understand engagement, posts and trends. This is another skill within your digital literacy. It is worthwhile to have a think about what other specific software you might have used in the past couple of years. Maybe even give your typing speed a check to subtly flex on your CV next time.

The soft skills

In a nutshell, think of soft skills as your non-technical skills. 97% of employers said soft skills are essential, yet, 54% of the employees say they have not included soft skills in their CV. Evidently, these play a key role in your job search.

The obvious examples might be that you can display teamwork through playing on your university’s netball team. Yet, your soft skills go beyond that. You have researched for your dissertation project, showcased time management through your deadlines, perhaps enhanced your administrative skills through being part of a university executive team. The options are endless, and as long as you have evidence to back it up, you’re set up for success.

2. What is commercial awareness? Breaking down the buzzword

Now enough of the self confidence boost. You may have come to the realisation that you are a master of many skills but there are still areas you need to work on. Most importantly, everyone’s favourite buzzword: commercial awareness.
However, Google-ing and grasping the definition of commercial awareness is not sufficient, putting it into praxis is.

Stalk them

Not literally, just… internet-ly. LinkedIn is a good place to check a company’s contemporary updates – some tend to have either outdated websites or websites that only cover basic updates. Knowing specific details about a company’s place in the landscape of their industry… get ready to sign that contract.

[Joe from You was clearly about that grind]

Learn the buzzwords within the buzzword

Learn the lingo of the field you’re interested in. Solely knowing about the company you are applying to can only get you so far. For instance, say you want to take on a marketing role. You’ve researched the latest company updates, work culture and CSR policy.

Yet, what comment can you give on the general landscape of the industry? As soon as you throw in an ‘SMS’ ‘Google Analytics’ and ‘SEO’ – you sound like you know what you are talking about. In fact, this little trick is great if you’re in a pinch. Sounding like you know your way around the field, understanding the basic concepts, shows a willingness to learn. Or help you fake it til you make it.

3. Reject tradition, embrace modernity

Most importantly, it is paramount to remember that for many graduates in our current climate, we might not need or have to follow the traditional path. You do not specifically need to get a summer scheme at firm x, then become a junior and then senior at the same company.

Instead, a good way to get started in your career path is to think a bit outside the box. One way in which you can do this is by working in a startup. Startups often provide internships and junior positions that don’t require tons of experience – great for grads.

Moreover, you don’t have to get into the field you want straight away if you can’t find the right opportunity. Open your horizons! To become an operations lead, a temporary customer service job will help you build transferable skills. Alternatively, you might really enjoy working at a startup, and decide you prefer the work culture it sustains rather than your original career path. It’s good to get a taste of occupations you haven’t considered before; why buy an ice cream before asking for a sample?

Extra resources:
If you’re rearing to go, check out the websites/resources below:

https://workinstartups.com/stillhiring

www.workinstartsup.com

www.adzuna.com

What I Learned Working At A Small Company – A Graduate story

You have finished university and it’s time to find your first job. We’re now usually encouraged to apply to a graduate scheme, usually within a big company where competition is incredibly high. If you’re lucky enough to get into a graduate program, it can be a great experience and a strong start to your career. But, I’d argue that working at a small company, where you get real responsibility from day one, will teach you more and actually be a better start to your career.

Work In Startups being my first job out of university has been a great experience and I have learned a LOT. The learning has both been through the more traditional route of more experienced people teaching me, and through trial and error.

From day one, I’ve had responsibilities and been encouraged to figure out how to do certain elements of the job myself. Of course, there has been plenty of guidance but less of a rigid structure to what you’d expect to have in a corporate company. When you’re encouraged to think about how to do certain parts of the job and give it a shot, like being thrown in the (almost) deep end, you learn and pick things up so much faster!

At a smaller company, you are a bigger factor in the day-to-day running of the business, this does increase the pressure on you, but also gives you a voice. As soon as I had settled in, I had a say in how things were done and was involved in decision-making that related to my part of the business. I was always encouraged to share my ideas – this was even part of my goals – which opened me up to many different roles, not just tying me down to the exact job description. The best part about this was if my idea was good enough, we implemented it and I got to see the outcome – pretty cool huh?

Employed as a Marketing Assistant in a large company within their grad scheme, then marketing and most probably, only marketing, is what you’ll do. This might be great and you might love it! But leaving uni, a lot of us have no clue what we will actually love or be good at. In a startup or small business, you get to wear all the hats. In my role as a Business Development intern, I was lucky enough to not be limited to sales.

My sales part of the role involved being the first contact to finalizing the sale and customer aftercare, making sure they are happy with the service. On top of that, I maintained the social media channels and created content such as blogs, interviews and newsletters. I was able to learn and be involved in product development, working closely with our developer looking for ways to improve our product as well as our internal processes to make things both faster and more efficient. I created and maintained our CRM system, giving us better oversight over our customers.

I was in constant communication with our customers both through our email and over the phone, helping them with writing ads and what to include to find the best applicants. Digging through our Google Analytics to understand where our users are coming from and where we need to put in more effort to get users from. And, most recently I’ve been doing some graphic design to improve our social media presence.

All this experience has really allowed me to understand what I enjoy doing the most and what I’m the best at doing! I’ve now successfully completed my internship and I’m leaving with a wide range of skills which has helped me decide which direction I want to take my career.

Why You Should Pay Your Intern

We at Work In Startups believe that everyone should get paid for their work, regardless of age, experience, or any other factor. As more and more people get university degrees, the competition for entry-level jobs becomes tougher. Everyone is looking for something that puts them ahead of their competition, and the biggest advantage is having […]

Why You Should Pay Your Intern

We at Work In Startups believe that everyone should get paid for their work, regardless of age, experience, or any other factor.

As more and more people get university degrees, the competition for entry-level jobs becomes tougher. Everyone is looking for something that puts them ahead of their competition, and the biggest advantage is having experience. Getting said experience can be difficult though, as companies will naturally select the person with more experience. Creating a weird paradox of needing the experience to get experience, but you can’t get experience because you have no experience.

This desperate need for experience by fresh graduates is something companies have started to take advantage of. Offering unpaid internships because the employee gets valuable experience. Unpaid internships that are more than just shadowing or part of the intern’s studies, qualify the intern as a worker and must be paid at least minimum wage.

Experience is invaluable for people new to the job market, but unfortunately, it doesn’t pay anyone’s rent. It’s not right to expect someone to either live with their parents or hold down a second job next to your full-time job. This will also automatically exclude a large portion of the population as only a small demographic is in a position to complete an unpaid internship. And lastly how much effort can you expect from someone that isn’t getting paid?

If your company is in a place where you can’t afford to pay anyone a salary, maybe you shouldn’t be hiring just yet. There is no shame in taking it slow and building strong foundations before you start hiring people. Taking on an intern will require both time and effort from your side on teaching and guiding them through everything they need to learn.

However, there is a way that benefits both the startup and intern. The 16-24 age group has historically been the one struggling the most with unemployment, the pandemic hasn’t done them any favors in that aspect. The government is looking to fight that via their Kickstart Scheme. Adzuna’s co-founder Andrew Hunter wrote an article explaining the scheme and how it has changed since its first iteration.

If you have the skills, knowledge, and time required to properly train someone, this is a great way for a startup to get extra hands-on board without incurring extra costs.

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