Because I've been feeling a little fed up with getting nowhere at all on the job application front, I decided to do a little bit of interviewing for graduate advice. I asked three top recruiting agencies what their advice was when it came to graduates who were just trying to get their feet in the doors.
"You find a lot of graduates with lots of experience in one area, be it university events or sport organisation blindly applying for sales jobs. They think they have the skills, but if they aren't passionate about earning money and reaching targets then they'll never get that job. Transferable skills aren't really valued any more. Instead, you need blind, focused experience."
What about for those grads who just aren't sure what they want and are trying to make their minds up in a difficult job market?
"Those sorts of grads won't get jobs in today's market. The market is so competitive these days that you won't get a job if you just want to 'try it out'. I advise all grads who aren't sure what they want to do to complete some kind of internship or unpaid work placement so they can get a real taste for the field they want to go into".
On average, how many job applications do you get per job?
"Well, obviously it completely depends, but often no fewer than 800 per job. Often the numbers push into the thousands for the more popular jobs."
And how do recruiters whittle down 1000 to 1?
"By reading and evaluating applications carefully and eradicating ones with silly mistakes or those with not enough experience."
Are you sure that they don't just throw half in the bin to reduce numbers, I jokingly asked?
"Of course not." Icy silence.
So how do people get that elusive job then?
"By having exceptional amounts of experience, a CV that stands out, and an excellent degree result."
How do graduates get lots of experience?
"By doing unpaid work experience."
And how do they afford that when they come out of university with lots of debt?
"I know, the job market is incredibly tough right now. But graduates will just have to take a further loan out, or ask their parents for more help to get the experience."
What's the most common mistake graduates make on applications?
"Apart from strange punctuation sometimes, it's sending out the same generic CV and covering letter to every employer. More time needs to be spent on these CVs. If you're going to be competing against 1000 other applicants, it really has to be top notch. Also, graduates often apply for events assistants after working in events at university. It just isn't the same. You need more experience."
Any tips or advice?
"Don't forget, in this market, you're often competing against people who have been made redundant in these areas. A lot of the time senior events managers are applying for junior jobs, editors are applying for editorial assistantships. You have to be very, very good to stand out.".
I thanked them all for their time.
