Congratulations! You’ve graduated. But what’s next? You probably want to turn your degree into a graduate career. If you need help finding a graduate job, you’ve come to the right place.
Here at Graduate Coach, we have helped 500+ students and graduates land the job of their dreams. They are now highly successful and are thriving in companies such as Google, Facebook, JP Morgan and many more, check out our successes.
1. Get a Graduate Coach
Finding a graduate job can be difficult. Only 52% of graduates land themselves a graduate-level job the remaining 48% work in roles that do not require a degree.
However, finding a graduate job is one thing, but finding the RIGHT graduate job is quite another. 50% of graduates that do land a graduate-level job quit after 2 years after realising the job isn’t right for them.
Our one-to-one coaching program will accelerate your journey of turning your degree into a graduate-level career.
We are the only graduate career coaching company in the UK that can guarantee you a graduate job.
2. Learn how to write an achievement-based CV
The aim of your graduate CV is to convince the employer to invite you in for an interview.
Think of it as a sales pitch.
Include the following sections on your graduate CV:
- Personal statement
- Key skills and achievements
- Academic achievements
- Non-academic achievements
For more information on how to write an achievement-based CV read the blog post that we wrote in collaboration with Chris Pennington from Your CV Consultant on 4 of the best tips for writing a graduate CV.
If you are thinking of sending your CV to graduate recruitment agencies, make sure that your CV is the best it can be.
Along with an achievement-based CV, it is important that you learn how to write great cover letters.
3. Optimise your LinkedIn profile
Graduate recruiters are increasingly using social media platforms such as Linkedin to look for suitable graduates to fill graduate-level positions.
If you do not have a profile, or if your profile has not been completed you could be missing out on great opportunities and narrowing your chances of finding a graduate job.
With an optimised LinkedIn profile more potential employers will visit your page and reach out to you directly if they feel you’d be a good fit for their company.
Secondly, many graduate employers post ads on LinkedIn’s job board. Before applying to any of these jobs via the platform, it’s a good idea to improve your profile so that you give off the right impression.
Here are some tips on how graduates can create an eye-catching LinkedIn profile.
4. Work out what jobs are right for you
Before you start job hunting, identify your career typology.
Graduate jobs can be divided into 3 broad categories:
- Specialists
- Knowledge architects
- Communicators
Grads are hired into each of these categories for different reasons.
Specialists such as doctors, nurses or pharmacists are hired for their expert knowledge in a particular field.
Knowledge architects such as consultants for financial analysts are hired for their ability to interpret data and derive valuable insights from them.
Communicators such as account managers and salespeople are hired for their ability to maintain profitable, long-term relationships with clients and to relay important information to other team members.
Identifying which of these career typologies you identify with the most will help you to narrow down your job search so that you’ll be more likely to apply for jobs that are more aligned with your skillset.
5. Brush up on your interview skills
Here are 5 key points when it comes to graduate interviews:
You must prepare adequately for your graduate interviews.
If you want to boost your chances of successfully finding a graduate job, this step is vital.
This sounds obvious, however, the average candidate spends on average 36 minutes preparing for their interviews. This is not enough time.
Before your interview, make sure that you know everything that is humanly possible to know about the job description of the role that you are applying for, the company and the industry.
It is a good idea to review all of the work placements and internships you have done in the past and write answers to common competency-based questions using the STAR format.
The more prepared you are for the interview the more confident you’ll come across to the interviewer.
Confidence is very important in interviews. If you are not confident in yourself and your ability to do the job really well, how will the interviewer be confident in you?
You must demonstrate that you have the skills required to do the job really well.
If you have adequately prepared for your interview, you’ll be able to confidently draw upon your work experience and skills to articulate why you should be selected for the job over other candidates.
You must show empathy to the interviewer.
It is important to show the interviewer that you truly understand what they are looking for. It’s about showing the interviewer that you care about what truly matters to them.
Again, your ability to understand your interviewer’s thoughts, motivations and feelings will depend on how prepared you are.
You must ask for the job!
The idea of asking for the job may seem daunting at first, but with practice, you’ll get the hang of it.
You get a couple of minutes just before the end of an interview to ask questions.
Use this time wisely.
Reinstating why you really want the job and asking for it will help you to leave a lasting impression on the interviewer.
Remember they may be interviewing several other candidates for the role. How you end the interview is vital.
Most graduate jobs require candidates to complete a video interview
It is important that you find out as much as you can about how to perform highly in video interviews.
Here’s a guide on how to prepare for a video interview.
Do you keep failing interviews?
If so, you probably have a good CV, but a poor interview technique.
Our founder Chris Davies wrote a post for CV-library where he explained in detail the reasons why you’re failing your interviews.
6. Embrace the process of finding a graduate job
Many graduates struggle to find a job after university.
Sometimes the process of finding a graduate scheme or job can make candidates feel stressed.
However, we encourage you to use this stage to gain some lifelong skills such as learning how to interview really well and how to write strong CVs.
You’re not taught these skills at school.
The chances are that you’ve never received proper career advice. Many students do not visit their university career service for help.
That’s why we step in with our graduate coaching programmes and courses to help you bridge the gap between your academic career and your graduate career.
Want everything you need to know to find the graduate job you really want? Check out this book written by our founder Chris Davies.
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