Resume Preparation - PART 2
March 30, 2009 by ProGrad · Leave a Comment
Experience:
This is very tough for a graduate. You don’t have a lot of experience so what employers are looking for is experience that relates to the role you are applying for, so you really need to think laterally about what you’ve done in the past.
What you need is 3-4 previous work experiences with 4 bullet points in sentence format. In this part you really need to tailor the wording. You need to relate what you have done in the past to what the potential employer will be looking for. For example if a company is looking for someone with ‘Great communication skills and the ability to work proficiently in a team environment’ you need to give examples of when you have used your effective communication skills and team work and how it would be of benefit to the context of their business.
Achievements:
This is one of the most important things on your entire resume. Employers are looking for high achievers for their teams. People who show competitiveness and drive will stand out amongst the bunch.
You need to remember that Managing directors and CEO’s of companies are there to generate profit- increase sales/manage costs. They will be looking for people who can help achieve these goals within the organisation.
You need to think of anytime you’ve made it to the final few of something or anything that has required lengthy commitment. The sorts of things that you can include in this section are:
- Duke of Edinburgh.
- Being captain of a football team.
- Making it to the Grand final of a sport.
- Academic awards.
- Exceeding sales targets.
- Promotions in previous employment.
Remember for each role a company may be looking for completely different personality type. So make sure every time you apply for a job you tailor your resume by changing your Profile and Experience so it’s relevant to what they are looking for. Good Luck!
- Jarrod.
Resume Preparation – PART 1
March 23, 2009 by ProGrad · Leave a Comment
Today I am going to talk about ProGrad’s recommendations on how to structure your resume in the most effective manner. First off let’s talk about the title. I thought it would be fairly obvious to write ‘Resume’ at the top – It’s not. All you need is your full name.
Details: When it comes to the details a lot of people waste a lot space on their resume. All you really need in this part is your name, where you live, contact phone number and email address.
Profile: This is a very important part of the resume. In this section you need to analyse the job description and focus on the kind of person they are looking for. You need to tailor your resume to match the role and the person that they want for their organisation. If the role is for accounting and you have marketing plastered all over your resume you’re really going to diminish your chances of getting the position or even getting a first round interview interview.
Education: Education is a pre-requisite to get to the interview stage; the rest is about you as an individual, the personal attributes you possess and how they will be applied in a new business environment. At ProGrad we recommend all you need is 1 line – which University you went to, the dates you attended and what you majored in. Not every module you ever studied! (Unless specifically outlined in the job description).
In the next part of ‘preparing your resume’ I will be running through the ‘Experience’ and ‘Achievement’ sections – both of which are essential in making your resume stand out amongst the bunch!
- Jarrod
Has Generation Y met its match?
March 18, 2009 by ProGrad · Leave a Comment
A rude awakening for Generation Y
Friday, 13 March 2009 | The Australian Financial Review | Alex Boxsell, Katja Buhrer and Khia Mercer
“Generation Y may have met its match in the recession.”
In Friday’s edition of The Australian Financial Review, Alex Boswell, Katja Buhrer and Khia Mercer write about the impact of the recession on Generation Y.
“A certain feeling of satisfaction has returned to employers with the realization that Gen Ys will gave to be as humble and hard working as their bosses were when they first stepped onto the corporate ladder. Work/ life balance is yesterday’s mantra. Now anyone who demands to work from home might be told to stay there.”
“The Olivier Job Index showed advertisements for graduates in January slumped 73% in a year in the banking and financials services sector, 64% for accounting, 53% for law, and 41% for mining and engineering.”
“Less committed Gen Ys coasted through the working day only to skip out at the stroke of 5pm, or on an extended trip overseas, convinced they could always find another job if they needed to.
But now the party is over. Perks, promotions, and big pay rises across professional services firms are relics of the past.
Laden with credit card and higher education contribution scheme debt, having studied longer and earned for a shorter period of time, and quick to buy expensive mobile phone contracts, cars and laptops, Gen Ys are becoming the human equivalent of sub-prime investments.
In recent years, human-resources teams were desperate to attract and retain Gen Ys and they knew it all too well. The frantic overuse of the marketing term “Work/ life balance” was all thanks to Gen Y.
“They learned early on, ‘We’re the kings. We choose the job. Forget the interviewer – we’re interviewing them”.
Now the rules have changed.
University of Western Australia business school MBA program director Renu Barr says Gen Ys will succeed if they abandon a transctional or “whats in it for me” view of their jobs in favour of concentrating on how they can add value to an organization.
Top 5 Myths about the ProGrad Assessment Day
March 4, 2009 by ProGrad · Leave a Comment
For any recent graduate applying to ProGrad, they will have to pass a telephone interview prior to being invited to attend an assessment day. Unlike a typical recruitment company, we screen all of our candidates through a 5 hour competency based assessment framework. We know it sounds intense, but organisations use ProGrad because of this screening process and so its a necessary part of our process.
All graduates turn to the internet to start researching the company prior to attending the day, and many of them will come across various blogs which outline experiences from graduates (both good and bad). There are many myths about the ProGrad Assessment Day, such as:
You’re not allowed water.
Well, we definitely do allow water on the day, and I’d always suggest bringing your own on the day. We’ve had various experiences when providing water at the assessment days, but the real explanation is here. When you provide unlimited water to over 40 candidates at an assessment day - we’re faced with many time delays as those 40 people need to make several toilet stops, each. I appreciate this sounds quite ridiculous, but it has caused a number of frustrations to employers on the assessment days as our candidates duck off for various toilet breaks and miss crucial parts of the exercises. So, there it is. Myth revealed. You are allowed to drink water, we just recommend you bring your own.
There are no toilet breaks.
Well we do have toilets, and there are several parts of the day where its easier to take a toilet break than others. For example, if you’re in the middle of a 10 minute exercise, its not an opportune time to run to the bathroom. If you’re missing from the group, its difficult to assess you. We aim to have a bit of momentum in the assessment day, and we like to keep up the pace to avoid frustration in the group. We’ll always allow a toilet break (its clearly in our best interests!), you simply need to ask.
ProGrad are Sales People.
Well, this is not a myth. ProGrad are heavily made up of sales people, in fact approximately 80% of the team are in sales. They are tasked with finding employers who will take graduates into the teams, and yes, in many cases that requires more selling than you realise. Truth is, some employers are still not convinced that a graduate is a decent investment. We aim to change that preconception and prove that graduates can add a lot of value to an organisation. We service over 500 clients in Australia and at some point, they have all received a cold call from a sales person at ProGrad. That is how we have generated our client base - through selling. We’re not an HR company, we are a sales led business.
The Psychometric Test is not marked
We don’t look at the psychometric assessment on the day as we feel it is unfair to use this as a tool to decide whether someone will be “successful” or not. We’re fully aware that these personality tests can be manipulated and therefore we feel it is far better to keep them for reference only. Clients will often ask to see the results prior to interviews, and at this point we will share the information.
You’ll feel humiliated.
This is certainly not our intention at any point during the process, and if candidates are made to feel that way I hope that they can feed that back directly to ProGrad. The ProGrad Assessment Day is a competitive day, which is designed to highlight candidates with the competencies which would make them successful in business to business sales. Not everyone makes it through the assessment day, but the entire experience is worthwhile, certainly for candidates that are new to the interview process with employers. We provide a presentation during the assessment day, titled “The Importance of 1st Impressions” which is designed to provide useful information to job seekers. Ultimately, candidates are investing an afternoon of their time with us, and it is our responsibility to make that session worthwhile. If nothing else, we hope candidates leave with some information which will assist them in their career search, whether that includes ProGrad or not.
Over the last 3 years in Australia, over 8,400 candidates have been through our ProGrad Assessment Day. ProGrad specialise in assessing recent University Graduates for the competencies which make them effective in business to business sales.
Davinia