1. IS IT REALLY THAT HARD TO GET A GRADUATE JOB? Ross Whistler Marketing Executive ross.whistler@graduate-jobs.com

2. New Job Market is Tougher Than Ever! Number of graduates in menial jobs doubles in five years with 10,000 taking posts that do not require a degree! http:// bit.ly/ NwxSkl

3. PRESENTATION OVERVIEW > My story > Where you should look? > When you should look? > Tailoring your Application

4. My Story In Short  UEA - Media & Politics  2:2  Travelling  Doing nothing  Hopelessly Applying  Getting my act together  Re- Applying  Interview  Success!

5. Where should I look? 1. University Careers Service Make an appointment or drop in - www.kent.ac.uk/ces/advice.html Use the Job Vacancies database - http://kent.prospects.ac.uk 2. Online Job Boards – good for SME and Large organisations Company Websites 3. Print Local/ National papers, magazines

6. What should I look for? Think about what is most important to you. Location? Salary? Company? The job description? The Big Boys

7. Don’t forget SMEs! Small and Medium sized enterprises are a great employment option for graduates In 2010 SME’s employed 60% of the British workforce You may not know...

8. When should I look? Most graduate recruitment is ongoing: Don’t wait until the Summer Get searching now Traditional Graduate schemes open now! Open from Sep – Dec/ Jan To start work in September 2013 Target the ‘top’ graduates i.e ‘well prepared’ graduates

9. TAILORING YOUR APPLICATION MESSAGE Make it unique Spend more time on applications Make it easy for the recruiters Read job spec Match requirements in cover letter & CV Be creative / differentiate Follow up

10. SUMMARY 1. Don’t necessarily follow the crowd 1. Stand out – Be innovative with your job search 3. Do Something! graduate-jobs.com

11. THANK YOU marketing@graduate-jobs.com @graduatejobsuk /graduatejobsuk Graduate Jobs graduate-jobs.com