Introduction
Graduate employment offers special opportunities for new graduates to gain important skills (Alpaydın 2015; Mason, Williams, & Cranmer 2009). Such programs allow new employees to work through several divisions within an organization, thus helping to create an all-round employee (Beenen & Pichler 2014). The following Graduate Employment Plan Checklist offers important insights for graduates:
Checklist
- Develop an action plan
- Develop goals and timelines
- Focus on increasing self-awareness by assessing personal strengths, skills, work preferences, and interests (Decker 2014)
- Download application forms for graduate employment opportunities
- Research companies
- Attend graduate career events and fairs.
- Participate in employer information sessions.
- Identify organizations affiliated to the university.
- Use the world wide web to visit company websites and recruitment online directories.
- Research on industries and identify the major players, competitors, and trends (Jackson 2014).
- Research on graduate salary trends.
- Prepare Applications
- Prepare your resume and cover letters for each individual graduate application submitted.
- Book appointments with recruitment agencies for resume review.
- Apply online and prepare for assessment centers/interviews
- Render the application through email or online recruitment portal of the company.
- Attach resume in the form of a word document, Pdf or as specified by the company since some companies may require other formats.
- Dress in official outfit or as specified by the company.
- During the interview session, answer questions with clarity while sticking to the necessary points (Roberts & Roach 2009).
- When answering questions, always look into the eyes of the interviewer(s).
References
Alpaydın, Y 2015, ‘Identifying Higher-Education Level Skill Needs in Labor Markets: The Main Tools Usable for Turkey’, Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 945-967.
Beenen, G & Pichler, S 2014, ‘Do I Really Want to Work Here? Testing a Model of Job Pursuit for MBA Interns’, Human Resource Management, vol. 53, no. 5, pp. 661-682.
Decker, S 2014, ‘Careers’, Communications of the ACM, vol. 57, no. 11, pp. 106-119.
Jackson, D 2014, ‘Factors influencing job attainment in recent Bachelor graduates: evidence from Australia’, Higher Education., vol. 68, no. 1, pp. 135-153.
Mason, G, Williams, G & Cranmer, S 2009, ‘Employability skills initiatives in higher education: what effects do they have on graduate labor market outcomes?’, Education Economics, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 1-30.
Roberts, S & Roach, T 2009, ‘Social Networking Web Sites and Human Resource Personnel: Suggestions for Job Searches’, Business Communication Quarterly, vol. 72, no. 1, pp. 110-114.