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Hi,
Welcome to another issue of
Career Communiqué x-Press,
and especially a warm
‘hello’ to all of our new
subscribers. We consider it
a real privilege to have you
join us! Please drop me an
email to let me know how we
can continue supporting you.
The team at
CareerCommuniqueRadio.com
have had another busy week
attending Monash
University’s ‘Vacation
Internship & International
Career Fair’ last week. We
interviewed a number of
stand holders and learned
some very interesting things
that all current tertiary
students and graduates
should be aware of. [See
this week’s article].
Here's a photo of me, Judi
Green (Deputy Director of
Monash University's Career &
Education Department); and
Keith Keller. Additional
photos of the event are up
on our Community page –
www.careercommuniqueradio.com.
We are now listened to in
over 52 countries, which is
very exciting. Our goal is
to reach people in every
country across the globe.
Help us spread our message
and
sign up
to our radio community –
today!
Anyway, on to this issue’s
article:
Graduates: Must-do
strategies to enhance your
job application
If you're currently a
tertiary student and are
putting all of your
attention and energy into
studying without considering
work experience and other
involvements, you could be
setting yourself up for job
search disappointment. This
fortnight's article
identifies what employers
are really looking for in a
potential candidate.
Bringing
you empowering career
related topics to support you in accelerating your level of success in the job market and the workplace
across the globe.
Co-hosted by Annemarie Cross and Keith Keller. When: Every Monday
at 9.00am AEST
A Special Edition with Iggy
Pintado: Author of The
Connection Generation.
Join Annemarie Cross and Keith
Keller as they interview Iggy
Pintado about his great new
book The Connection
Generation. Learn how you can
improve your networking skills
to increase your chances of
landing that great job.
Keith will also be
interviewing Annemarie about
her fantastic networking
article;
“10 habits of highly effective
networkers”
The live chat facility will be
operational during the show;
alternatively ring in live and
share your question/comment
on: (914) 338 0714.
Join us in our new tweetchat
room:
www.tweetchat.com. Ask
questions and follow the
discussions at #ccradio:
Coach’s Corner:Graduates:
Must-do strategies to enhance your
job application
Recently, I
attended a career fair at
one of our local
universities with many of
the career development
educators and industry
representatives sharing some
interesting and critical
information that all
graduates and current
students should be aware
of.
Employers
are now more than ever
placing greater emphasis on
a candidate’s employability
skills than they are on a
candidate’s grades in the
selection process. While
Australian employers have
been following this
principle for some time -
interestingly international
employers (who were, up
until some time ago, focused
primarily on grades) now too
are far more interested in a
candidate’s employability
skills than just their
grades alone. So students
beware – if you think top
grades alone are going to
guarantee you a role, you
could be sadly mistaken.
The Australian Bureau of
Statistics early this year stated that youth
unemployment levels had risen to 24%. This
means that all students should be implementing
sound career management strategies whilst
studying to ensure they are able to
differentiate themselves within a competitive
market.
And, according to the feedback
I’ve been receiving, being able to demonstrate
employability and transferable skills is
critical and will allow a graduate to have the
upper hand in the job market.
So what are employability
skills and how can you develop these?
The Department of Education,
Science and Training (DEST), the Australian
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) and
the Business Council of Australia (BCA) have
developed the following list of employability
skills, which can also be referred to as ’soft
skills’:
Initiative
Communication
Teamwork
Technology
Problem Solving
Self Management
Planning
Learning
[To learn more about
employability skills, click here to read a
previous
blog post
which provides more details about each of
these skills.]
While studying it is important
to continue developing your employability
skills. Here is a list of activities you can
consider to increase these important skills:
Voluntary
work – even if the work is not necessarily
in your field of study.
Part
time/casual work – again, either in your
field of study or any other environment that
will allow you to demonstrate development
and growth of the above-mentioned skills.
Join
school groups, societies, committees and any
extracurricular activities and ensure you
are an active participant in their events.
This information is extremely
valuable when developing your personal
marketing document – your résumé. The fact
that you will probably have limited experience
in your field of study, including the
information from your extracurricular and
other involvements as detailed above, will
allow you to create a document of substance,
while demonstrating key employability and
transferable skills to a potential employer.
Consider including these
sections when developing your résumé:
Extracurricular involvements:
memberships and sporting involvements are
always a great way to highlight
employability skills;
Volunteer work;
Work Experience, completed
either through your tertiary or secondary
schooling years;
Awards and other areas which
have recognised you for your contributions
and achievements;
Technologies and
understanding of computer applications,
specifically if they relate to the
industry/role you are targeting;
Special projects and
assignments that you received impressive
marks for to demonstrate your understanding
of the information. Include information
about the projects, your specific
involvement (especially if this was a
team-based assignment) and the outcome of
the project;
Academic achievements,
including the subjects you have successfully
completed, especially the subjects you
received top marks in to demonstrate a solid
grasp of the information.
As you can see, the list is
quite extensive and should provide you with
some impressive information to include in your
résumé, in order to highlight your
transferable and employability skills to a
potential employer.
All the very best!
Annemarie
About
Annemarie Cross
Annemarie Cross is a Career Management & Personal Branding Strategist, Speaker, Consultant, Radio Broadcaster, and Author of ’10 key steps to Ace
that Interview'. She also heads the
firm - Advanced Employment Concepts,
which offers powerful programs for people
desiring career success and fulfilment, as well as savvy companies committed to building/retaining their most important asset – their staff.
Your can learn more about
Annemarie's products, programs and
services by visiting:
www.a-e-c.com.au
Interview How tos:
“How
do I prepare for a
job fair?"
Dear Annemarie,
I’m planning on
attending a job
fair soon. Do you
have any advice on
how I can best
present myself to
potential
employers? –
Denise R.
Dear Denise,
Job fairs can be
overwhelming and
disheartening for an
unprepared attendee,
particularly if they
encounter long lines of
hopeful job seekers, lack of
time available by the busy
HR representative, and
receiving little or no
response after handing out
hundreds of resumes.
First of all, you should
never look at a job fair as
a chance to get hired. Sure,
it can happen, but it’s
rare. The job fair is (1) an
opportunity to make contacts
for follow up; (2) a chance
to find out who is hiring;
(3) a way to gather
information on local
companies; and (4) and as
there are often many
education institutions that
attend these fairs, a great
way to learn more about
potential professional
development opportunities
for you, which could
eventually support you in
making a career change –
should that be something you
decide to do in your career
journey.
Here are some tips:
Do your homework:
Job fair event managers
always list the
participating companies in
their ads, which means that
you can do your homework on
any companies you may want
to target beforehand. That
way you will be more
prepared for approaching
target companies.
Go prepared:
Have plenty of copies of
your resume with you, but
avoid gimmicks geared to
make you stand out, like
neon colored papers. Also,
don’t use your resume as a
shield by approaching a
booth with your resume held
out before you. An employer
will probably take it, place
it in the growing stack, and
say they will review it
later.
Rather, approach the
employer, saying something
like, “Hello, my name is
__________________. I am
very interested in your
company and would love the
opportunity to find out if I
have what your company looks
for in a candidate for a
position in
_________________. I see
that you are very busy, so
would it possible for me to
follow up with you later
this week?” This could lead
to the resume being reviewed
with feedback or the
all-important opportunity to
get contact information.
Be direct and professional:
Remember that you are there
to make a positive
impression, which goes
beyond professional attire.
Avoid making common mistakes
like being too casual, not
making eye contact, or
monopolising the employer’s
time.
Get the scoop:
A job fair is a terrific
time to gather information,
especially when it is busy.
Collect literature from
every booth for careful
review at home, allowing you
to further research and
target the company
strategically.
I hope that gives you a few
ideas on how to prepare. All
the very best.
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Advanced Employment Concepts are thrilled to announce their partnership with JibberJobber Career Management 2.0 – the gold standard in career management technology.