By John Bult
As an undergraduate sitting in the back of a lecture hall one can get away with all sorts of things, like attending lectures dressed "casually" or having forgotten to shave, or even being only half-awake after a late night the night before. But trying to attend graduate employment interviews, or even to begin your new career, like this would not be too smart.
It wouldn't be that difficult, I suppose, to plan to just set this sort of behavior aside for a day or so in order to "perform well" at a graduate employment interview. But then one would have to question whether this would actually be such a good idea. After all, having "looked good" at the interview, there would surely be expectations that, if appointed, one would always behave thus.
It would probably be far better to simply accept that there are things that might have been acceptable for a student, amongst other students, that will probably be less likely to be acceptable for those employed in, or seeking, graduate employment. Anyway, once you start thinking about these things it does rather seem as though it would be a reasonable idea to start moving away from the student image when you are ready to start looking for that first graduate employment. For different people this will mean different things but, for many, a good start might be .
Make an investment, buy yourself whatever you consider to be a smart set of working clothes. If necessary, start to adjust your lifestyle so that you sleep what would be considered "normal" sleeping hours. Try to avoid evening "activities" that would tend to reduce the chance of your being 100% alert in the mornings. Then, try not to fall into the trap of being "too selective" when it comes to vacancy-selection. For the fact is that one's first job in graduate employment is very unlikely to be the last. It would probably be helpful, therefore, to consider the first job as if it was just a stepping stone to the next and even further jobs, possibly hoping for that "perfect" job to turn up eventually.
At this stage the traditional approach to vacancy selection has been to buy newspapers and magazines; the ones where you know that your kind of graduate employment opportunities are being advertised. But there is a new approach now available, an approach that is rapidly growing in popularity. You may well find your next job advertised on the new Internet jobs boards; these are specialized inter-active web-sites. Look for one that specializes in the sort of jobs suited to your particular skills and qualifications, educational discipline.
But, finally, if after searching the newspapers and jobs boards you haven't found any success in your quest for graduate employment you could consider the pro-active approach. Basically, rather than waiting for companies to advertise vacancies, you set the ball rolling by writing them an exploratory letter asking your details on file in case a suitable graduate employment vacancies should occur in the future.
However, a few words of caution about this final suggestion. Do make a professional job of it, taking advice if necessary; and do thoroughly research the company before approaching them (thus avoiding inappropriate approaches!). You could at least start off by studying their web-sites before offering your services in graduate employment.
It wouldn't be that difficult, I suppose, to plan to just set this sort of behavior aside for a day or so in order to "perform well" at a graduate employment interview. But then one would have to question whether this would actually be such a good idea. After all, having "looked good" at the interview, there would surely be expectations that, if appointed, one would always behave thus.
It would probably be far better to simply accept that there are things that might have been acceptable for a student, amongst other students, that will probably be less likely to be acceptable for those employed in, or seeking, graduate employment. Anyway, once you start thinking about these things it does rather seem as though it would be a reasonable idea to start moving away from the student image when you are ready to start looking for that first graduate employment. For different people this will mean different things but, for many, a good start might be .
Make an investment, buy yourself whatever you consider to be a smart set of working clothes. If necessary, start to adjust your lifestyle so that you sleep what would be considered "normal" sleeping hours. Try to avoid evening "activities" that would tend to reduce the chance of your being 100% alert in the mornings. Then, try not to fall into the trap of being "too selective" when it comes to vacancy-selection. For the fact is that one's first job in graduate employment is very unlikely to be the last. It would probably be helpful, therefore, to consider the first job as if it was just a stepping stone to the next and even further jobs, possibly hoping for that "perfect" job to turn up eventually.
At this stage the traditional approach to vacancy selection has been to buy newspapers and magazines; the ones where you know that your kind of graduate employment opportunities are being advertised. But there is a new approach now available, an approach that is rapidly growing in popularity. You may well find your next job advertised on the new Internet jobs boards; these are specialized inter-active web-sites. Look for one that specializes in the sort of jobs suited to your particular skills and qualifications, educational discipline.
But, finally, if after searching the newspapers and jobs boards you haven't found any success in your quest for graduate employment you could consider the pro-active approach. Basically, rather than waiting for companies to advertise vacancies, you set the ball rolling by writing them an exploratory letter asking your details on file in case a suitable graduate employment vacancies should occur in the future.
However, a few words of caution about this final suggestion. Do make a professional job of it, taking advice if necessary; and do thoroughly research the company before approaching them (thus avoiding inappropriate approaches!). You could at least start off by studying their web-sites before offering your services in graduate employment.
Finding graduate employment
Graduate employment for graduates in the UK
Graduate employment for graduates in the UK
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