Graduate schemes offer graduates a chance to gain real on-the-job experience, something they might not ordinarily be able to get without years of experience behind them.  They also allow graduates to lend their enthusiasm and energy to a temporary placement with a view to impressing employers and being kept on in a permanent full-time capacity once the graduate scheme ends.

These schemes offer a number of different benefits; from the chance to gain full-time employment and getting a salary straight out of university, to learning a number of different skills across a business in a varied and exciting placement.

The following set of helpful hints and tips will make sure you stand out from the crowd when it comes to applying for your next graduate scheme.

Research, research, research

Whenever you apply to a graduate scheme, it’s incredibly important to do your research on the company you’re applying to. Learn about the company’s history, what they do and where they came from. What do you like about the company? What don’t you like?

Follow some of the staff on Twitter and look at the company’s Facebook page to try and gain an understanding of their culture and company ethos. Learning about a company and its latest comings-and-goings shows that you’ve taken an active interest in the business, and that you’re willing to learn. Both of which are excellent qualities when it comes to successfully obtaining a place on a graduate scheme.

Tailor your CV

Depending on the company, industry or type of graduate scheme you’re applying for, tailoring your CV is one of the best weapons a graduate can have.

As a graduate, you won’t have much in the way of on-the-job experience, but as an enthusiastic, energetic person straight out of university, you should have gained experience through any extra-curricular activities such as personal projects, or any community work relevant to your industry, as well as work-experience, part-time work or internships.

Always tailor your CV to the company, the description to the graduate scheme, or something else that you feel would speak to the people or company you are applying to.

Know thyself

Perhaps the most important thing to understand when it comes to being successful at interviews and showcasing your talents and skills to potential employers is the ability to know yourself. If someone asked you why you want to work in this industry – could you answer them? Can you articulate why you’re passionate about this industry or the role you want?

Can you tell them why you’re the person for them? One of the hardest questions to be asked at an interview is “what is one of your weaknesses?”, but if you can answer this with confidence and some humility, you’ll be well on your way to impressing the panel at your next graduate scheme.

We hope these Online Resourcing tips prove useful when you apply for your next graduate scheme!

Picture credit: Pavel Strezhnev/123RF

Unsurprisingly, as this field is so new (especially from the point of view of potential graduate careers), there’s very little information online surrounding how to start a career in Bitcoin, a career that can be performed entirely remotely. Although we haven’t included it below, the most important point you’ll need to consider ahead of looking to start a career in Bitcoin is that you must know Bitcoin inside out — everything from how it was conceived to how it verifies transactions via miners, and everything in between. Once you feel you’re as knowledgeable about Bitcoin as you’ll ever be, you’re ready to…

Search for Bitcoin jobs

For a new graduate looking for a Bitcoin job there are a small number of sites you should instantly look towards online, with Coinality, a “job board where employers and job seekers can connect for job opportunities that pay in digital currencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, and yes, even Dogecoin,” a great place to check out first.

Similar to other job consolidation sites, Coinality brings together all Bitcoin-related jobs being posted online, although it should be noted that they also publish jobs that pay in Bitcoin, as well as jobs that deal with Bitcoin, so it’s important to filter these jobs out of your search before continuing.

As well as looking online you should also take advantage of your social network (both your real social network in the old meaning of the word, and your friends on Facebook and Twitter) to ask around for any particular job opportunities in this field. Even though the majority of your friends will, in the majority of cases, also be recent graduates, because this is such a new field there’s every chance you may know somebody who’s also secured a job in a Bitcoin-centred role who can recommend your services to their employer.

Interview well

Even though you’re looking to start a remote-working Bitcoin career that doesn’t mean you won’t have to answer interview questions and, therefore, be able to interview well in order to secure your chances of getting the jobs you’ve applied for.

In the majority of cases there are three words every interview needs to hear from an applicant during the interview process, and this applies whether you’re interviewing in person or via a video conferencing facility. In the case of a remote working role you’re nearly always going to interview via video, and while this allows you to have more material in front of you during an interview (such as the Bitcoin website open on a browser tab, and any other information about Bitcoin and the specific job in question), it doesn’t mean you can slack off and turn up unprepared. Video interviews should be taken just as seriously as in-person interviews; you must study the job criteria beforehand and dress the part — even if that means only dressing the part on the top half of your body.

Purchase office space

If you get the Bitcoin job you were after you’re now going to have to find somewhere to work from as, in the majority of cases, Bitcoin roles are remote-working opportunities. This is fine, as it allows you to find an office space that best suits your needs, rather than having to make do with whatever a company has already decided is best for you.

When looking at different office space providers you’ll want to consider a few points surrounding what, exactly, you’ll need from them in order to ensure you’re able to keep up with your duties in your new Bitcoin career. Things you should look out for include:

Do they have fast internet? The ability to work with Bitcoin goes hand in hand with your ability to find a fast internet connection. All office space providers should have fast internet by default, but you should ask each space their specific speed before handing any money over.

Do they offer a range of office services? Will they take messages from your boss while you’re on lunch, for example, or will they provide you with IT support as and when you need it.

In conclusion, if you’re a recent graduate looking to start a career in Bitcoin you need to know Bitcoin inside out. If you were into Bitcoin while at university this is certainly a plus, but you must do all you can, now, to swot up on the topic before searching for, and eventually interviewing for, a position.

Author Bio:

Lauren Downey is a writer who works on a freelance basis for a company in the UK with the highest staff-to-client ration in the office space industry. MWB Business Exchange is a leading provider of commercial spaces for rent.

Picture credit: Shao-Chun Wang/123RF

The first thing we noticed was that it is very easy to get started on building a resume on ResumeGig. You arrive on the homepage, click on the call-to-action “create resume” button and then you are taken to an overview page which explains in three simple steps how to create your resume on ResumeGig. At this point you click through and begin creating your resume.

You start by picking the the style that you want your CV to be designed in, from which you have 12 different themes to choose from. You are then greeted with the first data entry page where you put in basic details, such as your name, address, phone etc. The great thing about this platform is that from the outset you know exactly how many steps are involved in creating your CV and moreover how far along the chain you are with the help of the handy little nav bar that sits at the top.

Graduate Job Tips found ResumeGig to be a very intuitive platform and with a drag-and-drop functionality that allows one to customise each template to their preferential layout.

When it comes time to filling in your education, work experience and skills, ResumeGig has a set of really good templates to suit a wide array of work backgrounds. This can save the user a lot of time and also help provide the user with a good base of attributes/skills to work from. The only criticism is that when you attempt to fill in the template sections it should highlight the whole word or set of words, instead of the user having to do it.

The only other feature which Graduate Job Tips felt could be improved upon was the user interface relating to dates. It would be easier if they listed the month names rather than the numbers and also when you attempt to select a date it takes you straight to 2024 instead of the current year.

All in all the tool performed to an exemplary level, and is certainly a tool which we will be promoting on GJT going forward. Other positives include, great online support and a large range of formatting tools, including, font size, side margin, indent, and section spacing.

Lastly, there is excellent functionality around printing, emailing and downloading in plain text, PDF, Web Page and Word formats.

Not all Masters degrees are created equal. Master’s degrees in fields like Business Administration, Economics, Marketing, and Engineering are proven to yield a significant increase in pay while others do little more than make you more poor. How can you make sure that pursuing a Master’s degree will make you more marketable?

Consider these tips to help you make an informed choice.

Know the Market

You should always follow you passion, always, always, ALWAYS, after all, you have a working life of forty years left in you, but you may need to temper it with an ounce of reasoning. Know what skills your chosen industry are looking for and develop those skills. Not all courses teach current methods, so make sure you are getting the kind of degree that makes you marketable.

Questions like, ‘Are you getting the knowledge, skills, and certifications they are looking for through your degree? Is your field growing or shrinking? Can you cross your skill set into a different industry with the same degree?’ all help you evaluate what you need to have the edge above the competition and if a graduate degree is a good career move.

Leverage What You Already Know

Although it has been all your life for the last two decades, you need to consider your education as a snapshot of your career development so far. Theory may be necessary, but class room learning is not enough to make you competitive in today’s market. Internships, voluntary work, employment, co ops – literally anything that gives you work experience during can give you and edge in the job market. It may seem like an unbearable workload, but it will pay off in the end. It can also help you gain a place at grad school or know if it will help. By making networks you can cultivate the relationships that can guide you to making the right decision and the most of a post graduate degree so you know it is not wasted time, or money.

Add On

While you are studying your undergrad degree, look at professional certifications in your chosen industry. Consider investing in those rather than a Master’s degree as they will be tailored to what is current, what is needed and what is important. Join as many professional bodies as you can network them to find out what would be a good post grad degree to take, or alternatives that make you desirable to potential employers.

Choose Wisely

If you consider a Masters as an option, look for colleges that have forged relationships with local businesses and are actively partnered with them. They will have current courses and will make you more marketable to a prospective employer.

Consider Swapping

If you want to take a Masters to upgrade your education, consider swapping disciplines. Business Administration, Economics and Marketing Masters degrees do not always rely on an undergrad degree in the same discipline. It will be a challenge, but may lead to the job of dreams in the long run.

Be a Brand!

How are you marketing yourself? Have you created a career portfolio of your work and experience?  Do you have strong resumes tailored to each job opportunity? Have you engaged social media outlets and branded yourself professionally online? With so much digital media available it will be easy for a perspective company to find out about what you do, who you are and if you will be an asset to their company. If you want to stand out for the other candidates social media may not be the best way to do it. Create a network to find a job, and if it doesn’t happen and you chose a Masters, keep it current and professional to aid your future career.

Whatever your decision on a Master’s degree use your time wisely to make yourself the perfect candidate that employers feel they cannot live without. Grants and bursaries may cover the cost of some of your post grad studies but not all, so your investment in further education better be a good one.

By taking into account all the information you have and making a smart decision, make sure that if you manage to date an arts student sometime, that you have the kind of career that will be able to pay for it – because the chances are, they won’t.

Guest post courtesy of Free Resume Builder

The Shot in the Dark

If you had wanted to be a brain surgeon, a medical degree is usually a pre-requisite rather than a semester in ant psychology. As you search for the perfect job you will see many jobs that are fleetingly attractive and will be tempted to apply for them even though you are hopelessly out gunned by … well… just about everyone! Do not be distracted by their ‘shiny’ appearances, as to put together a great resume package takes a long time and if you haven’t got a chance – don’t bother. Another more suitable opportunity may come up later and if you have applied for job that you are ridiculously unqualified for it will undermine your credibility. Some HR generalists are like elephants – they never forget.

Apply for the jobs you studied for and are capable of doing and wait for the right one to come up. Do not apply for any job in desperation, keep hopeful, and the right job will come.

Lacking in Letters

Some web sites are claiming that 50% of cover letters are not read and advise not to bother with including one in your application. Isn’t that like playing the equivalent of job application Russian Roulette? If 50% of employers don’t read it – 50% of employers do! And they can pick some pretty strange reasons to weed out candidates for the next round. Don’t let it be you!

Cover letters are a great way to put a ‘human’ face on an application and allows you to add information that does not fit anywhere else on your resume. It can sell yourself, and your resume to a prospective employer, so why take the chance?

Extreme Resumes

We’ve all seen the ‘extreme sports’ and ‘extreme ironing’ photos floating around on social media but have you ever seen ‘extreme resumes’? There’s a reason for that – they are not very impressive. If you are looking for an art based job then a full color resume, with 40 photos on 8 pages edged in crochet is a great idea. It showcases your talents and gives them an idea of your artistic nature. If you’re going for an IT position, then it’ll get you noticed, and remembered, for all the wrong reasons.

By being too clever you send out a subliminal message. Resumes full of clever enigmas send out an, ‘I’m too intelligent for this job’ message, scented animal stickers an, ‘I’m not out of the orthodontic phase yet’, and the Jokerman font in fiesta colors screams, ‘They’ll be itching powder and a whoopee cushion under your seat before home time’. If you feel overcome with the ‘I need to be clever’ – Don’t… just don’t.

Sloppy resumes on the other end of the scale are also a mistake. For crying out loud – your computer has a spell checker! Use it! Something as simple as a spelling mistake can spell disaster, even if you are the perfect candidate for the job. As will ‘Lol! Gimme a job, ‘cos IMO I’m Awesome’. Getting a job is joining the business world, so use the appropriate language to show you belong there.

Losing Your Focus

Don’t be fooled into concentrating on finding the perfect job, look more for the perfect first job. It’s far easier to swap jobs once you have one than to find a job, so look for a position that will give you experience you can leverage and create a network from.

Generic resumes also fall into this category as they have no focus on the job you are applying for. You need to show that you have the skills that the employers are looking for and a ‘one size fits all’ resume will not work.

Bullet point skills and experiences that are easy to scan and tailor your resume to that particular job. If you don’t, you’ll probably lose out to someone who will.

Elaboration

I get it – I really do! You need an edge to get noticed, and that’s OK. But really – lying on an application? It’ll get you noticed all right … Elaboration of the facts is nothing more than misrepresentation, and it will be painfully obvious if you get an interview what the truth is. You will get caught one way or another – even if your elaboration is you being economical with the truth. Anything missing that needs to be included to check the ‘ethics’ box will come to light with checks or questioning – we HR professionals are programmed to wheedle it out of the most proficient deceivers – we can smell a lie whilst it’s still formulating in your brain. Trust me on this… if you’re tempted, that’s no, just no.

Networking

With any job, not just your first job, you need to network. You are more likely to get a job from your network of friends and associates that know you, than from the internet. Be proactive about your search and look for opportunities from the network you have been nurturing. Finding a job is no time to be lazy about prospects that you unearth, someone has to get the job and the earlier you can make your candidacy known, the more likely you will be of success.

Boring Biographies

Do not make your resume into a boring biography that lists the courses you have studied and your summer jobs. Make stronger statements about what you want to do with your adult life and how this position will help you progress, and how you will make the company progress.

Think about what you have to offer the employer, not what the employer has to offer you. Bring out these points in your resume and tailor it to the position offered.

It is easy to wonder with so much competition how you will ever find your first job in the current market, but by avoiding these common mistakes you will increase your chances and soon be on the road to your first job.

Guest post courtesy of Free Resume Builder

Create a website

Everyone has a website today, and with good reason. A website is a homepage for you and your work, and somewhere where you can showcase your talent in your industry. If you’re a photographer, having an online portfolio of all your best work where potential employers or clients can get a feel of your skills can greatly improve your chances of getting an interview, whilst a designer with a well-designed website and online portfolio will stand above a candidate without one. For more information on how a website can help you stand out, check out this post.

Get a name for yourself

Social media can be a great tool to market yourself on, though this can easily go either way as Emma Way found out when she tweeted that she hit a cyclist with her car. Whilst this isn’t the sort of notoriety you should be trying to imitate, take a look at any journalist on Twitter. They will regularly tweet things relevant to their industry/niche, retweet interesting things and offer opinions – all of which are a great way of earning followers and making more people aware of your name and work. You can also add a link in to your website, referring people interested in you to your website.

Check your social media

Not tweeting that you hit a cyclist and checking your social media channels often go hand in hand. Whilst you might not have caused a road traffic incident, tweeting questionable material, posting an unsuitable image or making reference to drug use are all reasons recruiters have given for not inviting an applicant to an interview. Making sure you have a professional social media presence is just as important as making sure your CV is correct, especially as a graduate – having just finished university there must be at least one status, tweet or image that you’re not entirely proud of. Don’t miss out on the perfect job just because of a drunken tweet!

Be predictable

Having one consistent tone of voice across your website, social media channels and job applications allows recruiters to get an idea of what you’re like as a person, and whether you’d be a good fit for their company. All companies have brand guidelines that they take meticulous care over and showing you can not only stick to guidelines but make up your own will play well with potential employers.

Applying for the job

So you’ve found the perfect job, deleted the picture of you that your mum had a go at you over and feel ready to apply for a job. How do you do it?

Writing a covering letter

A covering letter is where you expand on the points in your CV and make an employer want to pick up the phone. You can write about what you got from the experience you’ve outlined in your CV and detail why you’d be the best applicant for the job. A covering letter is a chance to make the most of your CV, and you can find a guide on how to write them here.

Extreme job hunting

For some people, a covering letter and CV isn’t enough. People like Adam Pacitti and Dan Conway decided that the normal methods of applying just weren’t doing it for them, so they took their job applications to the next level. They made their job hunts extreme.

“I was getting no results using the same old boring traditional methods that everyone else was using so had nothing to lose trying a different approach. What was the worst that could happen?” says Dan. Adam had a similar experience “I applied for 250 jobs the conventional way and only had two replies – both telling me I wouldn’t be getting the job. I thought I was doing everything right.”

After launching their own job hunts – Adam rented a billboard and pasted his face and website on it, whilst Dan started a website and ran different stunts in an attempt to find employment – they did both find employment. Although Adam faced some slightly unsavoury feedback “One guy threatened to burn down my house. He didn’t like my supposed self-entitlement or my big nose” they both say that extreme job hunting can be a good way of getting noticed “You have to have an edge that makes you stand out. Using extreme job hunting tactics can give you that edge if done right” says Dan.

For any graduate job hunter, Dan has some final advice “Whatever job or field you want to get into, start a website where you can showcase your relevant skills, experience etc. There are lots of cheap, easy to use self-make websites that are simple. Also use social media channels and a blog. Having as many courses as possible to drive people to your website is key.”

Gallup recently did a poll that surveyed 635 employers, many of them household names, on how well they thought new graduates were prepared for a role in the workplace. The outcome? A sad but staggering four out of every five said that the majority of graduates were not ready for employment. 17% went so far as they say that NONE of the graduates were ready for work, that’s nearly one in five. These preconceptions are very hard to work against but must be done to make sure you secure a good position. How can you ensure you are not one of the graduates that is considered unprepared for work?

Let’s take a look at the reasons employers feel that modern graduates are not ready for the workplace.

Teamwork

Most employers look for team players. With the internet and advances in the digital age there are very few jobs that don’t have a significant element of team work. When a team works well together less time has to be used to manage them and they are more productive. Working in a team is a skill that is learned and does not come naturally to some people. Experience in any type of team work is worth its weight in gold.

Communication

There are not many places for texting in business world. There is an art to communication, as well as a business language that still flourishes and works effectively, which is not common in the ‘r u ok?’ vernacular students are used to operating in. Learning to communicate in the appropriate language is important to business success. Not only using the right words but also knowing how to communicate them is a skill. Knowing when to email, have a face to face conversation and when to call can make all the difference, as well as the tone of the conversation. The workplace is not home or school, you are payed to be there – and to be effective.

Punctuality

This is a very simple, but oh! So HUGE problem to an employer.  Attendance is not optional at work – but being employed is. Being late reflects your attitude to the quality of your work, so is never viewed as a good thing. Even being late back from lunch is a big thing – get used to it.

Pressure

If you think you were under pressure at university – wait till you get a job. With any job there are elements you love and elements that are monotonous, but you have to endure both. The business world runs to make money and pressure is part for the course. There is no ‘easy’ career. You will experience pressure and many employers are finding that graduates do not cope under that pressure as it is alien to them. There is great merit to an employer in the old adage ‘if you can’t stand the heat – get out of the kitchen’.

Common Sense Economy

One surprising element that came from the study – employers were not impressed with their graduate’s dependency on search engines. Gone are the traditional methods to solve a problem, and with it some of the vital skills that were valuable in other areas of the job. This economical use of common sense in favor of instant gratification also fostered a lack of patience that is also vital in a work place setting.

You have, and will learn, many valuable things from your degree studies but these life skills are just as valuable and learned in a different arena. To present yourself as the best graduate for a position you need to demonstrate your abilities in these areas to allay any fears the recruiter may have about your candidacy as a graduate.

Build up experience in team work outside of your university course. Make note of any team building exercises you have done, or courses taken, get involved in the community and volunteer. Make sure you have some experience of pressurized work place or courses. Competitions, sales numbers, difficult volunteer work, leadership are all examples of being able to cope under pressure. Make the most of them. Any part time jobs also demonstrate quantifiable workplace experience so excel at your part time job – even flipping burgers is getting you one step closer to your dream job … if you flip them well.

When you apply for the position make sure you use business appropriate language and communicate well. Send a thank you note where appropriate, look for opportunities to call and always adhere to any rules or guidelines they give. Be proactive in your communication and always use it to further your application. They want a business person who they trust to do the job, not a friend, that can come later.

Whatever happens – do not be late EVER. Be early if possible. Reply to communication in a timely manner and be interested. These things contribute massively to a picture of your integrity as a worker. Make sure you communicate other interests that show you have the ability to investigate other avenues. Reading, volunteering, an internship, genealogy, writing, preparing your own tax returns, absolutely anything that shows you can ‘think outside the search engine’ needs to be bought out, as well as enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is the antidote to laziness and is quite impressive.

Use this research to guide you in presenting yourself at the peak of your qualities and be smart – you’ve worked for the last four years for this, don’t blow it by arriving late! By following these guidelines you can show them you are not like four out of five graduate candidates, impress them with your knowledge and your parents will have a picture of you at your desk at work before they get back your graduation photo.

This guest post was courtesy of Free Resume Builder

The Science

Alan Scoboria, an associate psychology professor at the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada did research into this very question where candidates were encouraged to answer, ‘I don’t know’ in potential employment interview, even when they felt under pressure to provide an answer that would be a wild guess. The results firmly indicated that those who honestly answered the question that they didn’t have an answer were more successful than those who guessed.

It would appear that by admitting you don’t know the answer and saying so buys you time to think of a reason. “What we remember depends on how we’re asked and the situation we’re asked,” Scoboria says. “It’s O.K. to take a couple of seconds and try to cue yourself for additional information because the context might be narrowing what you remember.” No one can deny the pressure an interview can put you under so those few extra seconds may be all you need to put the information into context and come up with the right answer. It shows how well you work under pressure and how you can strategise. Both are very valuable skills.

The Practice

Does this give you the green card to use it on every question and still land a job? No. Those three little words are acceptable ONLY when you can back it up with reason. Saying, ‘I don’t know’ to the interviewer then awkwardly staring at each other in silence is not the kind of strategy to use to get a job.

“A hiring manager is unlikely to do so, so you’ll have to take the ball yourself and build on your initial response,” Scoboria says. “Elaborate on why you can’t answer the question right away and how you’ll figure it out. That’s a demonstration of strategy for answering the question.” If you can explain why you don’t know but how you’ll change that, it’s says far more about you as a candidate than guessing.

The Strategy

So how can you give the right answer to the question, ‘How many cows in Canada?’ The simple answer is – you can’t. It’s a brain teaser. Do they really expect as a part of your marketing major you studied the bovine population of first world countries? No, they don’t. Questions like that are used to test your strategy when experiencing an unexpected problem. Which do you think impresses them most; an unquantified stab in the dark or an honest ‘I don’t know – but I’ll find out’? The answer gives the interviewer a good insight into how you would tackle a complex surprise event to your working day and that’s the kind of eventuality they need to know.

Heidi Golledge who runs the website CareerBliss had an interesting event when recruiting for her own company. “Saying ‘I don’t know’ at the right time could give you an edge and show off a rare trait. Each time we interviewed for an executive in our company, we raised a complex business question we had been grappling with for years,” she says. “Every candidate provided an answer except for one, who said, “I don’t know.”

“Then, [he] proceeded to explain that he would need more time and data to formulate the best answer and come up with a strategic plan. This was refreshing,” Golledge says. “If we spent a year on the topic, how was any candidate to know the answer within the time allotted in an interview?” The payoff for his honesty under pressure when his instincts must have been screaming ‘Answer this!’? That candidate was offered the job.

As you prepare for any interview consider the option that you can use those three little words appropriately to impress your interviewer. Formulate reasons for using it and how to present them in their best light. Will it secure you the job? There’s only one answer to that – “I don’t know…”.

This guest post was courtesy of Free Resume Builder

How ready are you?

The way jobseekers search for meaningful employment has changed significantly over the years and we can expect it to continue changing and evolving at a rapid rate as technology, most importantly social media, plays a larger and more important role in the recruitment process.

Understanding recruitment trends is important for any young person about to enter the bustling, increasingly crowded job market and they also need to understand how to prepare themselves for the challenges that lie ahead.

If you haven’t as of yet graduated from university you’re strongly advised to start preparing yourself for your job seeking efforts with plenty of time to spare before graduation and to utilise the resources at your university.

All universities have a career guidance office or something to that effect and by using their resources you’ll gain a better understanding of what’s required of you to successfully source meaningful employment upon graduation.

Consider interview role playing, CV and application letter writing classes and don’t forget to take note of the recruitment trends discussed below because you’ll need to prepare yourself for these trends also.

Moreover, if you’ve several years of study ahead of you, seriously consider an internship – many employers are more willing to hire a candidate with a relevant internship than one with higher grades and no experience.

2014 Recruitment trends

Recruitment trends in 2014 are both reassuring and worrying, naturally for some more so than others, particularly with regard to the use of social media in the recruitment process which is a reason in itself why you should think twice before uploading information of any kind to Facebook.

Social media

Social media is fast becoming the most important and powerful tool in recruitment and will likely continue to be for many years to come.

Social media has been found by employers and recruitment agencies to be an excellent recruitment tool and means of promoting job vacancies, but it’s also fast becoming a free and insightful tool with regard to performing background checks on potential candidates.

Video CVs

In a survey by online survey firm ‘Your Say Pays’, 94 percent of recruiters have said that video provides greater insights into what candidates have to offer than the traditional CV.

Marks & Spencer, amongst other major companies, have been quick to embrace video as a recruitment and screening tool and many others are following in their footsteps.

Along with role playing interviews and practicing application letter writing, making video CVs is another area in which university students should be preparing themselves. This handy link provides some insightful tips into preparing a CV video.

Recruitment agencies

Another trend that young people can’t afford to take note of is the way in which companies and government bodies are hiring, most notably the increase in outsourced recruitment, which means that companies and government bodies are increasingly outsourcing their recruitment needs to recruitment agencies.

Moreover, they’re not only outsourcing solely with the intention of sourcing permanent employees to work in their office space, but also placing more emphasis on contract work which means you could work for the government but actually be employed by an agency.

The transition from university to the workplace needn’t be daunting; however, that depends on how ready you are.