Title of presentation Name of presenter Title of presenter School / Faculty / Division xx Month 201x

1. Title of presentation Name of presenter Title of presenter School / Faculty / Division xx Month 201x • MasterClass: Applying for Graduate Employment • 20 February 2014 • Career Development Centre • La Trobe University

2. MasterClass: Applying for Graduate Employment • Workshop Overview • Introduction to and researching graduate programs & graduate positions • Resumes • Online applications & responding to behavioural questions • Interviews • Graduate Employers Panel, Interview Activity, Q & A • Psychometric testing and assessment centres • Networking • Attending employer events

3. Introduction to Graduate Programs

4. What are graduate programs? • Structured professional development programs designed specifically for new or recent graduates. • Generally range in length from 1 – 3 years. • May include rotational or fixed roles. • Typically commence after completing final year of study. • Aim to develop professional skills and abilities of new graduates to suit the particular needs of that organisation. • Source: Graduate Careers Australia

5. Eligibility for graduate programs • Applications are open to final year undergraduate students. • Some organisations are looking for specific disciplines, while others recruit from a range of disciplines. • Some organisations require that applicants are Australian citizens and/or have permanent residency. • Source: Graduate Careers Australia

6. Typical application timeline*

7. Typical selection process*

8. Researching Graduate Programs

9. Who offers graduate programs?

10. Researching graduate programs www.graduateopportunities.com www.unigrad.com.au http://au.gradconnection.com http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum/136

11. Graduate program info and resources

12. Resumes

13. Your Resume needs to give employers... • clear evidence of the qualifications, skills, experience and qualities you have that match their specific job and workplace / organisation requirements.

14. How? • 1. Keep it simple • Make sure the first page includes all key information. • Try and keep it from being too long – 3 pages at most. • 2. Pay attention to layout and presentation • Keep the layout clear, simple and uncluttered. • Use clear headings and make use of dot points where you can. • Include page numbers. • Proof-read it!

15. How? • 3. Include relevant information • Limit content to relevant information. • Organise information so it’s easy to follow. Present information in reverse chronological order, listing the current or most recent activity first. • Highlight your key skills and provide clear evidence of these (and qualities) you claim to have. • Adapt your resume for each job application so it accurately reflects the key skills, and other requirements, of the job you are applying for. • Use key words that reflect essential aspects of the position description and organisation.

16. Your Resume is a marketing tool but... will anyone read through it? • Only if it looks professional, clear, relevant and easy to follow. • Use and demonstrate your skills in... paying attention to detail.

17. Your Resume is a marketing tool but... will it get you an interview? • Only if it clearly demonstrates the specific skills, knowledge and personal characteristics that the position requires and the organisation is looking for. • Use and demonstrate your skills in... researching, assembling and presenting relevant information.

18. Research and think about what employers want. • Interpersonal & communication skills (written and oral) • Passion/ knowledge of industry • High calibre academic results • Work experience • Teamwork skills • Leadership skills • Selected requirements from 2012 Graduate Outlook Employer Survey • http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/research/surveys/graduateoutlooksurvey/

19. Use your Resume to show employers you have what they want. • Interpersonal and communication skills (written and oral) • quality of your resume, studies, activities, communication with employer • Passion/ knowledge of industry • studies, professional development, prof. memberships, practical experience • Calibre of academic results - special achievements and awards at uni • Work experience • relevant employment, internships, volunteering, p/t work • Teamwork skills - p/t work, uni projects, sports, clubs and societies • Leadership skills - p/t work , mentoring, positions of responsibility

20. Communicate your selling points in your Resume • Career Objective • Achievements • Skills (industry specific + transferable) • Awareness of, and participation in, the relevant discipline/industry/profession • Qualities that match the needs of specific graduate jobs and employers

21. Career Objective – what can you offer and where are you going? • specific & targeted • demonstrates your motivation and awareness of the different sectors of industry • not vague or general EXAMPLE I am seeking a graduate role in government where I can contribute my research and analytical skills to the development of policies in youth justice and community engagement.

22. Achievements – what makes you stand out? What extra value or potential do you have from... • holding positions of responsibility • increasing sales figures • running a project to change something in your university, community, company • winning an award or prize • achieving good results in exams or assessments • gaining additional qualifications • receiving customer service / quality awards • managing achievements outside of your studies or workplace, such as raising money for charity, being elected to a committee • achieving as an individual or in group sports • being awarded a promotion • working as part of a team that…

23. Provide evidence of your achievements • Detail your achievements in different sections of your resume (e.g. education, employment) or create a single list of examples. • When and how did you positively affect a project, a community, an organisation, the bottom line, your boss, your co-workers, your clients? • What awards, commendations, publications, etc., have you achieved that relate to your career objective?

24. Show your awareness of, and participation in, the relevant discipline/industry/profession • Student placements or internships • Volunteer work • Paid work • Active membership of professional association/s • Extra-curricular activities

25. Skills–what can you do for an employer? • Don’t assume that anyone reading your Resume will know what skills you have gained through your degree, placements, part-time work etc. • Including details of your skills or competencies in your resume increases your chance of being offered an interview by 30% (Bright and Earl, 2007). • Assess and know your own skills and strengths. Make them clear.

26. Make it easy for the employer to see that you have relevant industry and transferable skills. • Include key skills words from the position description / duty statement in your resume to connect what you can do with what they want. • You can include a separate skills section, with sub-headings for the skills that you want to highlight and examples of what you’ve done. • Use action verbs to show what you can do e.g. research, manage, plan, create, analyse, install. • Provide evidence of where and how you’ve applied specific skills.

27. Example • Organisational Skills • Planned and coordinated training sessions for the Eltham Junior Basketball Team for 3 years • Planned, managed and filled fortnightly rosters for up to 12 staff at the Toys ‘R’Us Brunswick store for 18 months including two peak Christmas periods.

28. Remember... • Tailor your resume for each job and every application. • Do your research. • Identify and communicate your skills using action verbs. • Use key words that show you match the requirements of the job, and the needs and interests of the organisation. • Get input from others – online career resources, a skilled proof-reader, La Trobe University Resume Booth. • It’s not a lottery – you can take action and optimise your chances.

29. Online Applications

30. Online application forms • 77% of employers have an online application process. • Designed for you to provide evidence that you have the skills and attributes matching the selection criteria. • The selection process has started – applications will be either shortlisted or rejected • Filling out application forms can be time consuming - allow at least 1-2 hours per application. Source: Unigrad 2012

31. Tips for online applications • Diarise the application closing date and submit your application well before then. • Allow plenty of time to complete the application form. • Read and follow the employer’s instructions!! • Stick to word limits!!! • Proof-read for spelling, grammar and punctuation. • Ensure your documentation is of a professional standard. • Save files in a version that anyone can open. • Keep a copy of your submitted application.

32. Strategies to succeed Research the position (what questions are likely to be asked?) the organisation (what attitudes & skills are valued?) your background (what evidence can you provide?) your motivation, experiences, skills Communication summarise your key selling points keep it simple and structured

33. Online Application Questions • Closed questions • Requiring right/wrong or yes/no answers • More common in assessment tasks, exams, tests • Open general questions • Behavioural questions

34. Typical questions relating to your goals, career objective, knowledge of company • What’s the achievement you’re proudest of? • What are your strengths and weaknesses? • What four words best describe you? • What appeals to you about our firm and why you would like to work here? • Why are you interested in joining our graduate program? • What are your long term aspirations? • Please describe what interests you about a career in ......

35. Sample Online Questions Question Why do you want to work for the Victorian Public Service as opposed to other graduate opportunities? What do you feel you could contribute to the work done by the Victorian Public Service? Please limit your response to 250 words or less. Information that exceeds these limits will not be considered. (42 words in the question)

36. Developing answers to open general questions • Demonstrate self-awareness on main issues • your skills and qualities, both personal and professional • how you chose this career pathway • motivation: why working in this industry and occupation is important to you • what makes you passionate about your work in general and this job in particular Link your own story to the industry and the organisation • use your research – what skills & capabilities are valued for this position, by the organisation, and by the industry? • based on this, identify your key selling points for this position

37. Behavioural Questions

38. Behavioural/Competency-BasedQuestions Types of questions: behavioural questions • Used at application and interview stages • Companies identify the competencies required to do the job – these form the basis of the questions • “We can predict future performance from past behaviour” • You are asked to discuss concrete EXAMPLES from your own experiences to prove you possess the required competencies • Cues: • “Can you tell me about a time when….?” • “Can you give us an example of a time when…….?”

39. Example Questions Communication “Can you give us an example of a time when you had to deliver a difficult message to an individual or team?” Teamwork “Can you give me an example of a time when you have been part of a successful team?”

40. Sample Online Questions Question Please provide an example of a time when you had to work as part of a team to accomplish an objective. Describe the task, what your role in the team was, and what outcomes the team achieved. Please limit your response to 250 words or less. Information that exceeds these limits will not be considered. (46 words in the question)

41. Tips for answering behavioural questions • Don’t provide general statements such as “I have extremely well developed communication skills” without backing it up with evidence. • Provide real examples from your studies, work, and extra-curricular activities that are relevant and specific. • Include an indicator of success or the result. • Try to use examples from different areas of your life – study, employment, extra-curricular. • Adhere to word limits. • Don’t exaggerate or apologise.

42. Structure your response in a four-step process: S T A R • S ituation – What was the situation/context • T ask– What was the task/event you encountered • A ction– Describe the action you took • R esult– What was the outcome Use specific examples - ideally within past 1-2 years, from your studies, placements, employment, voluntary activities.

44. Example Can you tell us about a time you have demonstrated excellent organisational skills? (i) I have developed excellent organisational skills through my part-time job as an event assistant at XYZ Events. In this role I am responsible for booking staff to set up marquees at private functions. To perform this job I need to identify all jobs booked for that day, calculate how many staff are needed to set up each event, and ensure that there is sufficient time to set up each event by the time required.

45. Example - action Excellent organisational skills (ii) Last month I discovered that one of the sales staff had booked an event, but forgot to enter the booking into the system. As I had already created the schedule for the event staff to follow, it was too late to make changes. I quickly made some phone calls to other event staff not rostered on for the day and found two people who were able to come to work immediately. I then arranged for a spare truck to be loaded with the marquees, so that when the event staff arrived, they were able to deliver the marquee to the customer immediately.

46. Example - result Excellent organisational skills (iii) The result was that the marquee was set up in time, thus avoiding a major disruption to the customers’ event. My supervisor was very impressed with the work that I did to resolve the issue and started giving me tasks where I could use my initiative and work more independently.

47. Building up your own examples to answer behavioural questions

48. Interviews

49. Why an interview? • The employer’s objective is to attract and appoint the best candidate for the job. An interview is used to find out: • Can you do the job? Do you have the skills, knowledge and experience appropriate for the role? • Will you do the job? What’s your motivation? Are you enthusiastic about the position and the organisation? • Will you fit in? Do you fit into the team, within the organisation’s culture and workplace environment?

50. Phone screening • Many organisations conduct a brief phone interview early in the selection process. • This can happen when you least expect it. If the timing is inconvenient let them know when would be more suitable.