What they say they want... and what they actually mean!

There are some standard competencies and skills that most companies say the want in their graduates. This is for all the obvious reasons why those skills are needed for the job, but also for reasons that they might not explicitly call-out to you - e.g. because of some of the less interesting elements of the job, because of the challenges you might face, because of the parts of the job that are not enjoyable.

I hope that by hearing what they are "really" asking for in part, when they ask for these skills/qualities, it will help you formulate your answers better, and help you think about what else the job might involve.

Flexible/Adaptable
- Are you someone who realises that change is continuous in most companies and being able to roll-with-it and not complain when it happens to you - e.g. you get a new manager / move teams / move offices / move roles?

- You are going to have to do some of the less-fun stuff in the beginning. That's the reality of joining the lower echelons of a company. Will you accept that, make a name for yourself as being great at it, and get something better, or will you be 'difficult and demanding' of more from the start.

- We might hire you for one thing, and in a year ask you to do something different. Are you going to be open to that?
- Sometimes you will work hard at something and do a great job on it only for it not to be used / be changed completely. Are you going to be ok with that and realise that is part of working life and a corporate environment, or is that going to make you really demotivated?

- Sometimes (or a lot!) you will have to work late and miss a big night out / weekend away / dinner with friends. You'll become the person who pulls out last minute and messes up the table bookings / plans. Will you cope with this? Will your friends/family? - and if not, how will you cope?

- You might have to do lots of traveling, which will be fun and glamorous and exciting. It will also cause you to miss parties, birthdays and big events. Are you ready for that?

Problem Solving / Analytical Ability
- Can you use data to tell a story and come up with ideas and recommendations based on the data?
- Can you work on your own without too much supervision?
- Can you think outside of the data or information that you are given to assess if anything is missing that might help provide the solution?

- Can you make sure the problem gets solved quicker next time arises, or even better, make sure it doesn't arise again?
- Do you know how to teach yourself new skills? This could be using online forums, help functionality in applications, books or tutorials, web research, but you must be able to teach yourself quickly - or J.I.T. training/learning ('just in time' - as in 'when you need it') as its called.

Communication skills
- Can we put you in front of clients and be certain that you wont say anything silly?* (see below for examples I've witnessed)

- Do you understand what it is to write good emails?
- Do you understanding email etiquette? (e.g. lots of grads resort to cc-ing someone's manager on an email if they can't get an answer on something - this is a big mistake to make as a grad!)

* "I'm just a graduate so I'm just here to observe and learn"
* "I don’t really know much because I've just started, so I'll have to ask my manager"

Hope that helps a bit. Remember ALL jobs have good points and bad points. Make sure you consider both when you are thinking about what you want to do.

Dealing with difficult situations during the application process

A lot of the questions that get asked on forums or that students find particularly difficult to deal with is when a clash of some sort occurs with dates or offers.  The advice you will get will often depend on who  you are asking - the employer, the careers service, your friends, your family etc. So, I thought I would give you my honest advice as a recruiter on dealing with some of the more common scenarios that occur.

You have an offer from your second favourite company that expires this Friday and an invitation from your favourite company to attend an assessment centre next week.

The first thing I would do is check with your favourite company (I'm going to call them Company 1) and explain that you have an offer from Company 2 but that they are your preferred employer and is there any way you can attend sooner. A graduate with an offer in hand from a competitor is always of interest, and so if they can slot you into an earlier centre, or make some alternative arrangement, then they usually will.

The next consideration is whether the offer is verbal or written. If the offer is verbal, then I would just accept it. The reality is that this is not binding. It will take at least a few days for them to send out the contract and they will need to give you a week or so to look over it. By then, you should have heard back from Company 1 after the assessment centre and if you get an offer from them too, then you can decline the written contract and write a letter of explanation (more on this later).

If the offer is written and about to expire, then that is when it is trickiest. Essentially, you have 3 options:
1-call and ask for an extension on the offer
2-sign the offer but intend to renege on it if you get an offer from Company 1
3-decline the offer.

In the current market, I wouldn't advise taking option 3. A bird in the hand, etc… an offer from a company you would like to work for is not to be sniffed at.  I'd probably try option 1 and ask if you can have an extension on the offer. They will know that you have someone else that you want to work for, which isn't ideal, and unless they are feeling generous probably wont extend the deadline, but it's worth a try. They won't withdraw the offer on the basis of you asking the question. 

If they wont give you an extension, then I would go for option 2. Sign it and send it in. OK, I'm a recruiter and maybe you'd expect me to say otherwise, but the reality of the situation that you are in is that Company 2 have left you with no choice here. If the other offer from Company 1 is forthcoming, then ultimately yes, you are in a difficult situation, but I will advise below how to recover as best you can. 

You have been invited to two assessment centres on the same day 
If you are fortunate enough to get invited to multiple assessment centres, it is immensely frustrating if suddenly you find out that the date clashes for 2 (or more!) of them. Whilst many companies will have multiple assessment centres, especially for the larger programmes, the reality is that there does come a point when all the places on a programme are full. Some of the smaller specialist programmes that might take only 10-20 people will often have only 1 or 2 assessment centres a year as a number of the places are likely to be filled with last year's interns.

When faced with a situation where you have two A.C.s on the same day, try to take a logical approach. Yes, you can probably phone and move to another assessment centre date for one of them. But there is a risk that the roles will be gone in the one that you move, or they will already have a number of people from a similar background as you and will be looking to round out the programme with people from a different degree, etc.

When you have to prioritise one A.C. over the other, there are two major things to consider 1) which is the job you most want and 2) which is the A.C. you are most likely to get an offer from. If those two are one and the same, then the choice is clear. Call the other A.C. and see if it can be changed. If it can't, then you do have the option of going back to the other and changing that - but remember, you are then de-prioritising it and taking a risk that the positions will no longer be available. The earlier you can get invited to an assessment centre, the better your chances of getting a role - not least because there are more roles to be had. My advice would be go to the one that you most want, even if it means not going to the other at all. 

You have accepted an offer at Company X and then get another offer from Company Y which you would prefer

This is similar to the option above where you have accepted an offer and then want to pull out and take another.  My advice is to take the one that you really want, if you don't, you will only regret it for some time to come. But only decline the one that you have, once you have signed and accepted a written contract (not on the basis on having received a verbal offer only). 

Declining an offer you have previously accepted - Recovering the situation

Most graduates send an email or a letter. Make no mistake, we know this is because they are scared to phone and just can't face it. I understand that. It's awful. But, unfortunately it really, really is the best thing to do to ensure you eliminate collateral damage. The most difficult thing to do is actually phone up and explain what has happened, how sorry you are, etc. They will still be annoyed, but they will be a lot, lot less annoyed than if you send an email.  They will respect the fact that you made the call.

To put it in context, the reason they are annoyed is:

- that graduate will have been promised to a particular team. That team will now be without a grad. In the eyes of that team, the recruiters have 'failed' them. No one likes to fail.

- there will have been other grads that were very close to an offer, that they really liked, but you were picked over them. Just. Now they are wishing they picked 'the other guy'.

- often the induction will be planned - facebooks produced, teams allocated, FSA exams lined up, etc. Your name and details will be in all of these things, so it might well mean quite a bit of rework for them.

Follow up your call with a letter, explaining the situation, how difficult you found making a decision, enjoyed everyone that you met, that you sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused, etc, etc. It sounds awfully grovelly, but in all honesty, it costs nothing and it makes sure that they don't hold it against you as ultimately they understand that these things happen and we all get on with it. 

In the current market, some graduates are accepting two offers and keeping them both in hand right up to the last minute incase a company pulls out. This I can also understand. However, what I would say is the longer you wait, the more likely you are to get yourself 'blacklisted' at a company for a longer period. Depending on the HR set-up at the particular company, once you are loaded onto the HR system as an employee (which could be anything from when they receive your contract back, to 2-3 weeks before you start), if you withdraw, you are then updated on the system as a 'no show'. This could then show when you later apply for experienced hire roles later in your career.  That's not to say that that definitely means they wont hire you - the longer the time that passes, the better.

Also, many graduate recruiters at different firms know each other well. I know of several situations where they have called each other and said 'we have had this person not show up - are they at your firm?'. I even know one case where a graduate had accepted the signing on bonus from several banks and then (obviously!) only showed up to one. He was found out within a day and fired from his role and blacklisted from all the major banks immediately. To be honest, that was a fairly extreme scenario - not many people are that stupid! - but I just want to demonstrate how well the recruiters know each other.

Some final advice. Don't waste hours and hours thinking what you would do if you find yourself in any of the situations above. Spend your time on activities that add real value to your CV, your interiews, your assessment centres.  If you are "lucky" enough to be in one of those situations, then you will deal with it then as best you can. There is no point worrying about them and planning for them. And to be honest, no matter how many you plan for and think through, in my experience, it is always the one scenario that you haven't thought about that is the one that eventually arises! 

"Networking is key" - but what does that really mean?!

Many people you meet in the course of looking for a job will tell you how important networking is and how it is the key to a successful career. Not many will actually tell you what that MEANS from a practical point of view - how to start a network, how to develop it, and how to utilise it.  I want to outline for you some ideas to help you make a start.

Get Organised

If you really want to network successfully, you need to start treating it like a professional activity that you are undertaking right from the outset. Decide how you are going to keep track of your contracts from a practical point of view - will it be using an address book in your gmail account, a filofax, on your laptop, on your phone, LinkedIn, etc.  Don't feel obliged to use the most technologically-advanced option available - use the one that is going to work for you because of the way you like to work - this is the only way you will remain committed to it. Lots of executives still use a rolodex or file of business cards because that is what has worked for them over their careers.  Never assume that you will remember names, contact details, roles, etc, because you wont… capture everything.

The most successful Networkers… 
… are help providers. The people who have amazing networks across the globe of people who are willing to help them, are those who have helped others the most. If you make your overall objective to help as many other people as you can, in any way you can, then you yourself will have favours owed to you all over, that people will be keen to repay.

From a practical perspective, in order to be a great resource provider, again you need to be very organised. Not only does it mean having contacts and ideas to provide to people, it is about having practical things that you can provide. This includes, (but is not limited to), links to great websites you've seen on a huge variety of topics, articles you've read in the news/magazines, any presentations or advice you have been sent that might be of help to others, blogs/podcasts/lectures that you have downloaded or links to that might be of interest to others.

The key to being a great resource provider is not waiting to be asked for help. On overhearing someone mention something they are looking for, or a passing comment that someone makes that you have ideas on, pro-actively provide some of your collection in order to help them. Don't ask for anything in return, and don't make it your explicit objective to have loads of people owe you favours. But if you provide help to lots of people, inevitably, that will be the result. 

Be Culturally Aware Networking in different cultures can be fraught with unintended faux-pas. E.g. In many Asian countries, including Japan, it’s insulting to pocket a business card in front of the person who gave it to you, and even more insulting to write on it.  In the USA, networking is much more open than in the UK and you could find yourself being asked for a favour by someone you only met once quite frequently.

Practical Examples of things you could do to help enhance your network - If you've done an internship over the summer, offer to help the HR team / the school team at the company with their events on campus. This could include advising of the best venues, or trying to get some of the top students in your class to come along. An offer to do a presentation of what you did over the summer there could work. These activities will enhance your profile at the company and can help if you are going back there, or if you're not. They will also expose you to meeting a breadth of people inside the company and the university.

- Keep in touch with those you were involved with in various societies at Uni. They will go off into many different walks of life, any of which you could find yourself crossing paths with again.

 - LinkedIn has grown massively as a networking tool in the last eighteen months or so in the professional workplace. Make sure you set yourself up with a profile there asap and start linking in with those you know. It is a great way of keeping track of people when they move companies.

Remember, a professional network is not the same as a network of friends. You do not need to be on lets-go-for-drinks terms with everyone in your professional network. The terms you need are 'we are both responsible, successful people who have helped each other or worked together in the past in some small capacity, and we might well do it again in the future'. For most people that's enough, as long as there is give and take. So make sure you give, so that when the time comes, others are definitely willing to share with you too.

Other articles that might be of interest:

http://www.womenintechnology.co.uk/networking-advice-community

http://freelanceswitch.com/finding/9-steps-towards-genuine-effective-networking/