Tag Archives: employability
By Mike Grey There’s no doubt that students are brilliant. You are brimming with skills, ideas and potential. So why is this not always fully reflected in graduate recruitment processes? I often talk with students about the Dunning-Kruger effect in relation to their performance in graduate recruitment processes. It has prompted powerful reflective discussions, supported them to develop their self-awareness and often encouraged them seek help from careers professionals to develop their competence in making graduate job applications. What is the Dunning–Kruger effect? The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias stating that people with low competence at a task often ... read more
By Rebecca Fielding We’re well into the graduate recruitment season and in the coming months quite a few graduates are going to find themselves in the position of having multiple job offers. And despite a general Brexit-related economic gloom, all signs seem to me to be pointing to an increase in the number of graduates finding themselves in the position of multiple offers – particularly in high demand areas such as Teaching, Engineering and Software. Why do I think multiple job offers might be on the increase? • The ISE (Institute of Student Employers) graduate recruitment volumes have increased in ... read more
By Jane Clark The traditional university milkround has come and gone for this graduate recruitment cycle. An intense period for graduate recruiters travelling up and down the country on delayed trains and planes, laden with cumbersome boxes, bags and penguin stands. For those recruiters hiring high volumes of graduates, the assessment centre schedule is starting to wind down and for some recruiters, the hiring target has been met and it is now time for that well-deserved holiday. But beware, in my experience, there is still a way to go. Here are three major themes at this time of year that ... read more
With year-end activities and lengthy to-do lists, Christmas parties and celebrations in full swing, you may have missed, or may not have had time to sit down and read, the DfE’s new 36-page report on Career Strategy, released on 4th December. It’s the government’s long-awaited plan for raising the quality of careers provision in England ‘Careers strategy – making the most of everyone’s skills and talents’. So here at Gradconsult we have compiled a summary for you of the key things you need to know. We’ve purposefully not made this a critique, political or opinion piece, just a summary of ... read more
The Cover Letter conundrum Today, I am going to attempt to teach you how to tame a beast that has been wreaking havoc in the recruitment world. This beast leaves many a candidate dazed and confused over how they could have applied for so many jobs with no success. Yes, you guessed it, I am talking about the Cover Letter. A modern day conundrum for even the brightest of the graduate bunch. In my first year managing recruitment processes and sifting applications, this is where I have seen a tremendous number of applicants fall down. I can only imagine the ... read more
Before you start telling me I am an egotistical maniac with narcissistic tendencies, this article is NOT about me. It’s about a guy called Mike Grey. Apart from being distantly descended from the bloke that gave the name to the famous tea, he has rather taken the University Placement world by storm over the past decade. #fact On Friday last week, other’s in the industry made sure he knew about it. Mike scooped the award for Outstanding Contribution at the National Undergraduate Awards ceremony. Mike led the EC Futures Team at Coventry University from its inception in 2011, through to ... read more
No, not contextual recruitment and not even employers scrapping degree or UCAS requirements. That is mere small fry compared to the impact the upcoming Apprentice Levy will have on the early careers market! With the government announcing ambitious targets to increase apprenticeship starts to 3 million by 2020, it was only a matter of time before the methodology to fund this grand plan became clear. From April 2017, all employers with a wage bill exceeding £3m will pay a levy of 0.5%. For many corporate employers this equates to millions of pounds of new tax liabilities that can only ... read more