Graduated 2011 - No grad job, need further guidance.
Discussion
aucklander said:
right mate- i cant speak from a wisened point of view with the experience of age on my side, but having landed a grad role in the tax team of a big 4 i can at least tell you what helped me get there
1 Knowing people
just meet as many people as you can at uni. a lot of students do internships at big firms and knowing them helps. dont name drop them and expect the employer to go to them for a reference, but explain how you are friends with x and y who both work in xyz department. once they know you have the technical ability they JUST WANT TO KNOW THAT YOU FIT IN. I made a few friends that happened to work at this firm and so i told them this at the interview. they reason that if you socialise wth these people on your own accord you will work well with them too.
2 Be confident
all the big firms do phone interviews. when mine came i happened to be working at a client downtown accross the rd from their offices. I simply told the hr guy- look, I can see your office, do you mind if I just come up for a chat? it worked well and we had a nice talk. at the end he asked if I had any questions- i didnt of course it was just a little phone interview ('why do you want to work for us?' why do you want to work in this service line?' and a general knowledge question) so i just said "well whenever I meet someone I like to learn a bit more about them- so tell me about yourself. how long have you been here?"
it worked well to build up some kind of relationship between us. thats important when hr will be dealing with 2-3k applicants/plebs.
SAMe goes for the interview of course. be relaxed. dont be afraid to sit back in your chair. show that you are not terribly nervous. in my second (well second partner interview) there was just one partner. we sat at a circle table opposite each other. I said "this is a big table, you dont mind if i just move around a little do you?" . little things like that will mark you out as not being nervous to the extent that you will stop thinking.
3 be prepared to turn negatives into positives
On my CV i have a lot of work experience (working since 12 so 8 yrs now) but none of it is a formal internship or anything with a big firms training programme. when this was pointed out i said "this is what I am so proud of. Look, I have a lot of REAL experience. in my jobs I have never been sheltered or pampered, i have always been dealing with REAL problems in REAL time".
4 have very specific examples
while some employers are bigger on behavoural type questions than others, all will bring them up. You need to have very specific examples as these are what make you look credible.
5 be polite
For gods sake dont forget this. when the receptionist asked "whats your name" to call up the interviewer, I responded "and whats yours?" then we had a nice chat, and the 2nd and 3rd times I came back we talked again. when I dropped in my contract she was saying "im so glad youre joining us, you were one of the only candidates who actually took the time to talk to me" . Always remember please, thank you, and peoples names. talking to people like the receptionist shows that you do just like people and are not interested in talking only to people higher up because they will be the ones giving you a job.
6 have fun!
I am told that recruiting by holding a networking evening is becoming popular. after my interviews this was the last step. 2 hours having drinks and nibbles with ppl from the firm. While I would not reccomend doing exactly what I did (they had a range of 5 or 6 beers and I sampled all of them and then some- wasnt drunk but prob had a bit too much) I can give a bit of advice on how to handle these events. Firstly, you need to have a beer if youre a guy. they just want to see that youre normal. if you dont drink at all then thats ok, have a coke or whatever, but many of the seniors like their beer, and like to see the staff drinking with them.
Make jokes where appropiate. Proper, memorable ones. For instance at a networking evening i was hoping to talk to a person who was in charge of a certain division. someone pointed me his way and I went over to him- as usual about 4 or 5 female applicants were huddled around listening. i introduced myself and said "so you are the division x guy" yes thats me he replied- "and a ladies man too by the looks of it" I said, and it went down well. after a 5 minute chat i made my excuses and he shook my hand and said "I really hope you join us here".
So what it comes down to is making a name for yourself. This goes for whether you are applying for a job or starting out in a big firm. Until then you are just a number- one of a million. You want to get people talking about you. A good sign for me was when I talked to a senior manager and they said they had heard about me- being incredibly friendly had made me a name for myself at the firm during the recruitment process.
Dont think i am one of those students who gets offers from everyone they apply to. I didnt go to all of the red brick schools the big firms recruit from here, i dont play rugby/cricket/soccer etc which they love, and as mentioned earlier i never did an internship. 15 months ago i was just a shy, diligent, and boring student. I changed all that because it was s
t and have never been happier. I just stopped worrying and caring obsessively about grades and all that, and gained the confidence to just live like the person I always wanted to be. I was the genuine me and that is what any people hiring a graduate wants to see.
Good post! 1 Knowing people
just meet as many people as you can at uni. a lot of students do internships at big firms and knowing them helps. dont name drop them and expect the employer to go to them for a reference, but explain how you are friends with x and y who both work in xyz department. once they know you have the technical ability they JUST WANT TO KNOW THAT YOU FIT IN. I made a few friends that happened to work at this firm and so i told them this at the interview. they reason that if you socialise wth these people on your own accord you will work well with them too.
2 Be confident
all the big firms do phone interviews. when mine came i happened to be working at a client downtown accross the rd from their offices. I simply told the hr guy- look, I can see your office, do you mind if I just come up for a chat? it worked well and we had a nice talk. at the end he asked if I had any questions- i didnt of course it was just a little phone interview ('why do you want to work for us?' why do you want to work in this service line?' and a general knowledge question) so i just said "well whenever I meet someone I like to learn a bit more about them- so tell me about yourself. how long have you been here?"
it worked well to build up some kind of relationship between us. thats important when hr will be dealing with 2-3k applicants/plebs.
SAMe goes for the interview of course. be relaxed. dont be afraid to sit back in your chair. show that you are not terribly nervous. in my second (well second partner interview) there was just one partner. we sat at a circle table opposite each other. I said "this is a big table, you dont mind if i just move around a little do you?" . little things like that will mark you out as not being nervous to the extent that you will stop thinking.
3 be prepared to turn negatives into positives
On my CV i have a lot of work experience (working since 12 so 8 yrs now) but none of it is a formal internship or anything with a big firms training programme. when this was pointed out i said "this is what I am so proud of. Look, I have a lot of REAL experience. in my jobs I have never been sheltered or pampered, i have always been dealing with REAL problems in REAL time".
4 have very specific examples
while some employers are bigger on behavoural type questions than others, all will bring them up. You need to have very specific examples as these are what make you look credible.
5 be polite
For gods sake dont forget this. when the receptionist asked "whats your name" to call up the interviewer, I responded "and whats yours?" then we had a nice chat, and the 2nd and 3rd times I came back we talked again. when I dropped in my contract she was saying "im so glad youre joining us, you were one of the only candidates who actually took the time to talk to me" . Always remember please, thank you, and peoples names. talking to people like the receptionist shows that you do just like people and are not interested in talking only to people higher up because they will be the ones giving you a job.
6 have fun!
I am told that recruiting by holding a networking evening is becoming popular. after my interviews this was the last step. 2 hours having drinks and nibbles with ppl from the firm. While I would not reccomend doing exactly what I did (they had a range of 5 or 6 beers and I sampled all of them and then some- wasnt drunk but prob had a bit too much) I can give a bit of advice on how to handle these events. Firstly, you need to have a beer if youre a guy. they just want to see that youre normal. if you dont drink at all then thats ok, have a coke or whatever, but many of the seniors like their beer, and like to see the staff drinking with them.
Make jokes where appropiate. Proper, memorable ones. For instance at a networking evening i was hoping to talk to a person who was in charge of a certain division. someone pointed me his way and I went over to him- as usual about 4 or 5 female applicants were huddled around listening. i introduced myself and said "so you are the division x guy" yes thats me he replied- "and a ladies man too by the looks of it" I said, and it went down well. after a 5 minute chat i made my excuses and he shook my hand and said "I really hope you join us here".
So what it comes down to is making a name for yourself. This goes for whether you are applying for a job or starting out in a big firm. Until then you are just a number- one of a million. You want to get people talking about you. A good sign for me was when I talked to a senior manager and they said they had heard about me- being incredibly friendly had made me a name for myself at the firm during the recruitment process.
Dont think i am one of those students who gets offers from everyone they apply to. I didnt go to all of the red brick schools the big firms recruit from here, i dont play rugby/cricket/soccer etc which they love, and as mentioned earlier i never did an internship. 15 months ago i was just a shy, diligent, and boring student. I changed all that because it was s
t and have never been happier. I just stopped worrying and caring obsessively about grades and all that, and gained the confidence to just live like the person I always wanted to be. I was the genuine me and that is what any people hiring a graduate wants to see. 
written after far too many drinks down at the pub hence the spelling and grammar carnage...
i do feel compelled to help other students where I can. the first time internship recruitment came up i went in completely uniformed and screwed it up badly. when the graduate stuff came around i knew i had to get it right. no one told me any of these tips, they were just things i observed/realised worked for me. if someone had told me it all earlier then i would have been very thankful.
whats the french saying- noblesse oblige?
i do feel compelled to help other students where I can. the first time internship recruitment came up i went in completely uniformed and screwed it up badly. when the graduate stuff came around i knew i had to get it right. no one told me any of these tips, they were just things i observed/realised worked for me. if someone had told me it all earlier then i would have been very thankful.
whats the french saying- noblesse oblige?
Thanks very much for your insightful post aucklander. Congrats on landing that job 
I might as well give a small update (and let off some steam) while I am here.
Went for a few interviews during the quiet period in the thread.
Bloody hell is it irritating how long they will take to get back to you (even the lesser known companies). Really fed up with everything. Causing me so much stress and other problems.
I might as well give a small update (and let off some steam) while I am here.
Went for a few interviews during the quiet period in the thread.
Bloody hell is it irritating how long they will take to get back to you (even the lesser known companies). Really fed up with everything. Causing me so much stress and other problems.
Edited by AnonymousCaller on Sunday 8th April 23:30
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