Graduate advice

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An Australian Association of Graduate Employers survey found more than 80 per cent of employers use "behavioural interviewing'' when selecting graduates.
This means candidates will be asked how they' have handled a situation rather than how they would handle it.

Drawing on all your experience including part time work, sports, hobbies and community work will tell the potential employer a lot more about you than focusing only on what you've done at university.

"If a grad was asked about teamwork what's more interesting? The grad who talks about working on a group assignment at uni or the one that talks about what happened when the chemist shop he was working in was flooded and the team all had to pull together?'' explained AAGE executive director Ben Reeves.

"I've done a lot of recruitment in different places, including the UK and Australia, and the candidates who get short-listed are the ones with interesting backgrounds,'' he said.

Mr Reeves said grads could also be asked how they prepared for their job interview. The yawn candidate will answer "visited the company website'' or "read your graduate recruitment brochure''.

The stand-out candidate will have used their family and personal networks to find someone who works at the company to chat to and or have read media clippings about the company.

My advice is to rehearse at least a few times before an interview. It's ideal to rehearse with someone from the industry you wish to but if that's not possible a family member will do. Rehearsing is great for nerves; ensuring you know your resume inside out; and practicing answers that draw on all areas of your life.

Find more advice on behavioural interviewing techniques and tips for grads in the Job hunting advice section of careerone.com.au

By Kate Southam, Editor of careerone.com.au, April 4 2006.

Ben Reeves, executive director of the Australian Association of Graduate Employers. Image supplied by Ben Reeves.

Graduate-hunting season kicked off this month. You'll read lots of interesting info right here in the CareerOne section but we've also created an editorial special on careerone.com.au listing a bunch of useful stories . It's called Tips for grads and you'll find it in the Job hunting advice section of careerone.com.au. Just use the links on our homepage.

I got the idea for the Grad special after receiving an email from "DU", a statistics/mathematics major who had spent five years working in a pharmacy - information he was considering leaving off his resume.

"Would I even bother adding my previous work experience as they would probably read it and think, 'irrelevant' or this guy should have just studied to be a pharmacist," he wrote.

The answer to "DU's" question was "absolutely", said Ben Reeves, executive director of the Australian Association of Graduate Employers.
"Many graduates are living under the false impression that the only thing that matters is academic results,'' AAGE executive director Ben Reeves said. "This is not true.''

He said DU's time at the pharmacy had taught him team work, a work ethic, how to problem solve on the spot, customer service skills and to deal with people of different ages and backgrounds - all valuable skills for the work force.

KPMG recruitment boss Lisa Geerlings agreed. "We specifically look for graduates with a well-rounded lifestyle. That means work experience, participation in a social club, involvement with student committees or sports,'' she said.

"It is easier to do well academically if all you do is study. We want people who can excel while doing several things because work is multi-skilling,'' she said.

Being able to draw on a variety of experience also means being able to provide better answers in a job interview but more on that subject next week.

By Kate Southam, Editor of careerone.com.au, March 30 2006.

Visit CareerOne and read the Blog with posts from "Ask Kate" and other job seekers - www.careerone.com.au and click on Kate's Blog on the home page.