Standing out from the crowd is crucial this year, reports Jennifer Taylor

The jobs market may be picking up but recruiters expect it to be doubly competitive this year. Graduates will be up against those who failed to find a job when they finished college last year or took a year out to travel or get more qualifications.

The temptation for graduates is to adopt a scattergun approach and send out lots of CVs, even for jobs they do not want. This strategy is misguided, says Sarah Shillingford, graduate recruitment partner at Deloitte.

“Do not adopt the approach of thinking that the more jobs you apply for the bigger chance you have got of getting a job.”

She recommends doing research, first to decide what to apply for and then to tailor applications to each organisation.

“You should not necessarily assume that everybody will be looking for the same thing so you have to check that you understand what they are looking for and tailor your application
towards that. It’s a little bit like answering an exam question — read the question.”

Getting the basics right is essential. Spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and getting the company name wrong will push applications straight to the “no” pile. In today’s market, graduates need something to make them stand out. When applying for permanent jobs the best preparation is work experience, says Ros Kindersley, managing director of JFL Search and Selection.

“With the burgeoning use of social media and digital communications, a lot of firms find it helpful to bring in young graduates who know how to communicate in that way.”

Getting work experience is competitive and it will be hard to find an opportunity in the field that a graduate wants to enter, but a job in a shop, factory or bar will still show the ability
to work in a team, deal with customers and adapt to a different
environment.

The Graduate Recruitment Bureau has compiled a list of the top 50 finalyear students in the country, a group it calls Rising Stars, which it is now marketing to recruiters across the UK.
The list includes students from top universities such as Oxford and Cambridge, plus other colleges where students have something that makes them stand out — particular work experience, a sporting achievement, involvement with a charity, evidence of entrepreneurial flair or perhaps something more unusual.
Recruiters are likely to be looking for team players and anybody who has competed at a high level in team sports will usually be at an advantage.

When he speaks to graduates on the telephone, Dan Hawes, co-founder and marketing director of the Graduate Recruitment Bureau, looks for communication skills, good rapport and some pizzazz. Commercial awareness is another plus. Being familiar with how an investment bank’s back office works makes a better impression than not knowing how to use a fax machine.

Hawes recommends chasing up applications, asking if you have been selected for an interview and if not why, getting feedback every step of the way. “People will stand out if they are proactive and phone up. They are not pestering, they are just keen.”

John Morewood, senior graduate recruitment and development manager at HSBC, believes the best candidates will be those with a unique selling point. He remembers one graduate who had gained research work experience during university, then worked in the US to get international experience. After university he taught English in a school in China. These situations provide fertile
ground for questions during an interview, Morewood says. “All these experiences give an individual a much better showcase to demonstrate their talent and their capability.”

Reserve wacky tactics for creative industries such as advertising, where something eccentric can get you an interview, Kindersley says. Otherwise, steer clear of gimmicks because
they could backfire.

And leave Mum and Dad at home. A surefire way to make recruiters
cringe is to bring your parents to a careers fair and let them do all the talking.