Archive for February 2012
Winning the Graduate Recruitment Game – Twelve Tips
Applying for Graduate Recruitment Programme positions and internships has long been a feature of preparing for life after university. Navigating a path through the process to a successful outcome is a rigorous test of organisation, motivation and stamina. You will be aiming for the high grades that most graduate recruiters expect, as well as attending career expos, employer presentations, career development workshops, and preparing applications for graduate jobs and internships; you may also be in part-time paid work as well as working as a volunteer. It will be an exhausting schedule at times but the prize could be a well-deserved graduate position or internship.
It’s an intensively busy time too for employers, as they set up recruitment and selection processes designed to identify exceptional candidates for their organisation; individuals who will meet their needs, display motivation and adapt to their business culture and values. The supervision and professional development of new graduate recruits, usually takes around two years; that’s two years before the employer sees a financial return on their investment in each recruit. Robust selection processes comprehensively and objectively assess each candidate to minimise this investment risk.
Naturally not everyone will be offered a place on a graduate programme, but everyone who takes the time to engage with the graduate recruitment will be better-prepared for future job application and selection processes. So what should you do to win the graduate recruitment game? Here are my 12 tips:
Geeks vs Nerds – The Difference That Makes No difference
I’ve always maintained that there’s an important distinction between being a geek and being a nerd. This is probably because I for one strive to be a geek but would be offended for days if you call me a nerd – seriously, what a great way to send me into a spiral of introspection – I’d be awake at night wondering whether my pants we hitched up too high or if maybe I should lose the pocket protector (but as uncool as the protector is, ink stains are way uncooler).
If you also feel the need to determine whether you’re a geek or a nerd for once and for all then here’s an infographic on Geek vs Nerd which attempts to draw that line in the sand. I find it fun and informative enough to include here and the more I look at it the more I find that line blurs again.
On first glance it seems the overarching difference between geeks and nerds is social awkwardness versus hip factor. It’s entirely cool to be a geek these days, but geeks who can’t take advantage of this new-found popularity because their social ineptitude is too overwhelming to get over… well, sorry, you fall back into the category of nerd.
Is it me or is the nerd less annoying?
Toughen up: leaders need a thick skin
Or do they? A colleague recently forwarded me a blog musing on the common advice that a good leader needs to develop a thick skin in order to cope with criticism and negative comments which, like or not, will always come with the territory. We have all felt the ‘sting’ of criticism and if you’re in charge you have to be able to deal with it. Is it essential to have a thick skin to be an effective leader when faced with detractors, and what exactly is the meaning of this well worn analogy?
The obvious interpretation is that criticism will be unable to permeate a thick skin, instead bouncing off like sonar hitting a rock or sliding like the proverbial water off a duck’s back. By not letting critics get under your skin, your reaction will be controlled rather than emotional, enabling you to wade through the flak unscathed. Often having a thick skin is seen as an admirable quality and one that earns respect. Because of this aspiring leaders, particularly women, get told to harden up.
However, it is worth pondering on whether the tough guy approach is necessarily the best. Being more inclined towards the thin-skinned end of the scale myself (this is someone who cries at kids’ movies like Charlotte’s Web here), I was heartened to read that it’s not always necessary to have the hide of a rhino and there are some advantages to being a more sensitive soul. Really thick-skinned people can appear aloof, indifferent and rather unapproachable. Showing some compassion helps people feel comfortable around you and it also enables you to be empathetic towards others and where they (and their criticism) are coming from.
Why Graduates Need Creative Thinking
Creative Thinking is one of the Victoria University graduate attributes. Your course work embeds this attribute into what and how you study and University life offers you opportunities to develop this skill academically and through extracurricular activities. Students should consider making the most of their time to enhance this important attribute. It’s not just a natural ability that you have or don’t have. Creative thinking isn’t just for the ‘ideas person’ or the ‘artistic one’. By having a wide range of different experiences you can improve and sharpen your creative thinking. Sometimes you will make mistakes and sometimes the new ideas are not the best. Through this you learn to listen to criticism and learn by it.
Creative thinking involves students in learning to generate and apply new ideas in specific contexts, seeing existing situations in a new way, identifying alternative explanations, and seeing or making new links that generate a positive outcome. Creative thinking in practical situations can mean finding alternative ways to approach problems. Organisations are constantly changing, the economy around them is changing, the people are changing, the competition is changing, and the world is changing. Employers need people who won’t get locked into ways of doing things, people who can adjust.
Workspaces
Our surroundings can affect our emotions; if a workspace is sparse and devoid of features of interest it can be hard to feel creative in it.
With that point in mind I present this tumblr image blog dedicated to workspaces. It mostly features photographs of the workspaces of people who work in isolation and in a creative field and as such they can create their own creative space. Beautiful and inspiring photographs and subjects – check it out:
Accessing student support services whilst studying
I’ve enrolled to do a postgraduate diploma which starts next month and will take me around 3 – 4 years to complete. I will be combining full time work with part time, distance study and since the last time I typed anything remotely academic was way back in 2001, when I completed my BA, it would be fair to say I am feeling slightly anxious. At the same time though I am very excited to begin studying something I am really interested in. For those of you about to embark on the same type of journey you might find this article helpful.
It was very interesting going through the enrolment process at a University that is not Victoria, and finding out about what support services will be available to me whilst I study. One of the benefits in working for a student support service here at Vic is that I do know what services I can access and let me tell you, I fully intend to make use of EVERYTHING available to me.
The process did get me thinking about how our students and graduates utilise our careers service. We see a number of students at Vic Careers who are at the end of their undergraduate degree or starting their postgraduate degree who say they wish they’d known about us earlier. In contrast though, we get high school students coming to see us before they even start University. So, why does what we have to offer get through to some and not others? Is it simply whether you’re ‘ready’ to hear what we have to offer? Does it make a difference if you are a ‘second degree’ student versus a first time tertiary student?
Here we go again – Recruitment for 2012/13 Internships and 2013 Graduate Jobs starts now!
Employers are recruiting earlier and earlier each year. You wouldn’t think that you would need to apply now for an internship at the end of the year or a graduate job next year, but that’s the reality 
for many organisations. Don’t miss out! This is when key employers advertise for their summer internships and graduate jobs. For some employers, this is the only time they recruit. It’s time to get your act together and be prepared.
What you need to do:
- Visit your local Careers Office, find out what they offer
- Get your CV ready and checked by a Careers Consultant
- Do your research on the organisation that you are interested in
- Attend careers related events: Expos, workshops, seminar, presentations…
