Graduate CVs for non-graduate roles

[rog007]

It has been widely reported that many graduates are struggling to secure work. The UK job market has seen a notable decline in vacancies, driven by rising employer costs and changes to workers’ rights, making organisations more cautious about hiring.

What I’m increasingly being asked about is how to support those graduates who are also finding it difficult to secure entry-level, lower-skilled non-graduate roles, such as retail or warehousing positions, once they experience not being able to secure a graduate position. With that in mind, I wanted to share an observation that will be obvious to some, but continues to challenge many.

In short, graduates often need to downplay, or at least de-centre, their academic achievements and instead focus on clearly demonstrating their ability to do the job being advertised. This can be difficult, particularly when individuals are rightly proud of what they’ve achieved. However, from a hiring manager’s perspective, an academic CV can signal that the candidate is seeking a stop-gap role. Even when that may be true, employers in these sectors are often looking for reliability and longer-term commitment. I’m sure there are a number of hiring managers here who have experienced this. There will of course be some who are happy to hire graduates in a non-graduate role for the skills they can bring.

I hope this helps a few people navigate what is currently a very challenging market.

[fooman]

I get a few graduates applying for warehouse roles, some have been employed usually a stepping stones but that's ok. Agree though they should target CV for role in a different way to say a professional job.

[rog007]

Employers plan to reduce graduate hiring because of AI, research finds.

Four in 10 employees fear entry-level roles will disappear in the next five years, as companies increase investment in the technology.

https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1946118...

[Ultuous]

rog007 said:

However, from a hiring manager s perspective, an academic CV can signal that the candidate is seeking a stop-gap role. Even when that may be true, employers in these sectors are often looking for reliability and longer-term commitment. I m sure there are a number of hiring managers here who have experienced this. There will of course be some who are happy to hire graduates in a non-graduate role for the skills they can bring

Absolutely spot on...

I'll often look towards graduates for roles that don't specifically need a degree but pay similarly to a grad scheme and may benefit from harnessing and cultivating degree-level talent over previous experience.

Too often if I ask something along the lines of "What do you think makes you a great candidate for this particular role?" qualifications on their CV are simply regurgitated (I've already read those and want to know why the person in front of us is is likely to feel interested and motivated in the job). If I ask "where do you see yourself in 5 years time?" it's to help guage if they're interested in building a career with us - not just to hear about their ambition to earn big!

Also, get familiar with competency based questions - we want to know how YOU approach situations and tackle problems, not just that you've completed xxx task!