Which industries are popular for graduates?
February 19, 2010 by ProGrad · Leave a Comment
At ProGrad we’re always listening to our candidates for information about what graduates are really looking for. We rely on this information to put together proposals for graduate programs within leading organisations in Australia. We consult to many companies around graduate programs, and what candidates are looking for.
Historically, we have always seen the best success for graduates within technology companies. This is due to the growth within these businesses, which offer graduates strong exposure, along with quick career progression.
Our graduates have also been doing well within FMCG companies, typically within territory management roles and also in online media companies. Companies which experience good growth opprtunities will always offer graduates a strong career progression.
That said, we need to hear from our candidates directly. If you have any information to share about graduate opportunities and what you’re currently looking for, please get in touch be emailing info@prograd.com.au
ProGrad is Australia’s leading assessment, placement and training company. We specialise in assisting graduates to launch their business career with a variety of leading organisations.
For more information, please visit our ProGrad website or contact our ProGrad Graduate Management Team on 02 8235 8300. ProGrad currently service Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.
Account Manager Role - QLD
February 19, 2010 by ProGrad · 1 Comment
- Progression into a management role
- Strong verbal and written skills
- Construction Industry knowledge is desirable
Almost 20,000 employees, in more than 120 countries around the world, this large organisation enthuse their customers and build a better future across the globe.
The corporate culture is founded on integrity, courage, teamwork and commitment.
Our client excels through outstanding innovation, top quality, direct customer relations and effective marketing.
Two-thirds of the employees work directly for the customer in sales organizations and in engineering, which means a total of more than 200,000 customer contacts every day.
Our client is looking to bring a graduate on board who is a fast learner, has strong verbal and written communication skills, and has the desire to progress through the business into a management role, within the Cairns location, QLD.
What we are looking for:
• Recent University Graduates who are ambitious and passionate about sales and management
• Graduate candidates from Business, Marketing and Engineering Disciplines are desired
• Construction Industry knowledge desirable
• Demonstrated ability to work under pressure
• Strong verbal and written skillsIf you are interested in this opportunity please apply now by sending your CV to jenna.daly@prograd.com.au
Role in the Sunshine Coast for ProGrad Graduate
February 19, 2010 by ProGrad · Leave a Comment
- Exciting, fast moving company
- Great working culture
- Excellent starting salary
Our client is one of the leading distributors of beauty equipment in Australia. They are involved in IPL, spray tanning and other beauty related equipment. A well recognized and valued company, they are looking to expand and need a graduate who has excellent communication skills and a passion for building realtionships.
Requirements for the sales and customer services executive position:
• Research hot new leads
• Contacting existing customers and maintaining relationships
• Reporting issues
• Ensuring every customer is a happy customer
• Preferred candidates from the Sunshine Coast.Competencies that will make you successful in this role:
• Determination
• Someone who will enjoy a laid back, but hard working work environment
• A willing and positive attitude
• Ambition
• Confident
• Completed a Degree in any field
• Excellent phone mannerIf this sounds like the dream job for you (who wouldn’t want to work for a company like this!) then don’t miss out on the opportunity, and apply now! Visit our website to apply for the ProGrad opportunities.
Behavioural Based Questions
February 19, 2010 by ProGrad · Leave a Comment
It is becoming more and more common for candidates to encounter behavioural based questions during the interview process, particularly at a graduate level where it can be hard to assess work experience from a resume.
Our recommendation to all graduates is to learn what is expected from these questions and try to prepare answers in advance of the interview. There are a few key areas which job seekers need to be aware of in order to prepare suitable answers in advance.
Here are some examples of these questions:
Time Management / Planning & Organising:
- Describe your involvement in a task or project that had to be done within an agreed time frame and be of an excellent standard.
- Tell me about a time when you were in charge of a project which fell behind schedule. What did you do?
- Tell me about a time when you had to prioritize tasks?
Attention to Detail:
- Give me an example of how do you stay organized?
- Can you provide some examples of a time when you discovered errors in your work?
- How do you know if a project you are working on is going successfully?
Initiative:
- Can you give me an example of a time that you showed initiative and took the lead?
- Tell me about a time when you identified that a policy or procedure needed changing. Explain what you did in order to bring about your suggested changes.
Communication:
- Tell me about a time when you had to convey complex information to someone.
- Tell me about a time when you had to use your presentation skills to influence someone else’s opinion.
Customer-service orientation
- What was the most difficult customer service situation you ever had to deal with?
- How did you handle the situation with the difficult customer?
- Describe a time when the customer was aggressive towards you. How did you handle it?
Conflict Resolution:
- Give me an example of a time when you had to resolve conflict.
- Tell me about a recent situation in which you had to deal with a very upset customer or co-worker.
Teamwork
- Describe a situation where others you were working with on a project disagreed with your ideas. What did you do?
- Tell me about a time when you worked with a classmate or colleague who was not doing their share of the work. How did you handle it?
- Describe a situation in which you had to arrive at a compromise or help others to compromise. What was your role? What steps did you take? What was the result?
- Tell me about a time when you had to work on a team that did not get along. What happened? What role did you take? What was the result?
We’re certainly not suggesting that you rehearse answers for each and every possible question, but do familiarize yourself with the types of questions that are likely to be asked and try to think of how to handle them.
Interviews are about being honest and so always be truthful about your examples. For graduates, these examples might not be work related but rather related to your experiences at University. This is not necessarily a bad thing. It is merely evidence that employers are listening for.
ProGrad are a specialist graduate recruiter and offer practical recommendations to job seekers at a junior level. If we can help you in any way, please let us know!
Experienced people are guilty of bad interviews too
February 16, 2010 by ProGrad · Leave a Comment
When I’m looking to fill senior roles, we naturally look to recruit experienced people who can bring an established skill set, with a proven track record.
And so we do the same as many companies, and we advertise online, receive lots of resumes, conduct telephone screening and invite people in for interviews. With experienced people there is an expectation particularly in interviews that they will perform in a more superior manner to graduates. The good news for graduate job seekers, is that this isn’t always the case. With experience, comes confidence and sometimes laziness around preparation and performance in interviews.
The common mistakes that experienced people make are as follows:
1) A lack of preparation which they are quite often honest about. They might be “experienced professionals” but they miss the basics of preparation and research. It comes across as lazy. If this is how they approach an interview, how will they approach the role?
2) A lack of questionning ability. This is one of the saddest things to see from an experienced person as it is a fundamental part of any interview, regardless of your experience.
3) Talking too much. Perhaps this one is more prevalent with experienced people as they have so much more to say. Talking too much is a crucial error for anyone in interviews.
The bottom line is that no one is perfect in interviews…but there are some fundamental principles to be aware of when you’re meeting someone in this environment. Regardless of your experience levels, always research the company and be sure to articulate this knowledge. Such a basic thing to remember, and yet so rarely so we see it in a face to face interview.
If you’re a recent graduate who is new to job hunting and interviews, take some comfort in what is being revealed here. Experience doesn’t necessarily lead to a great interview, trust me. Even with a lack of experience, just stick to the basics and you’re likely to outperform even those with 15-20 years in the industry!
Davinia
Davinia is the Sales Director of ProGrad Pty Ltd, and is responsible for the sales division within the organisation. ProGrad is a graduate assessment, placement and training company and specialises in the placement of graduates into B2B sales careers across a number of industry sectors. For more information about our unique model, please call 02 8235 8300 or visit www.prograd.com.au
When interviews are not going well
February 16, 2010 by ProGrad · 2 Comments
Today was a difficult day. I had to explain to a candidate why they were not getting job offers from employers. The reason this was difficult is that I didn’t want to say anything that would cause offence, or later upset. The reason it had to be done however, was that it is hard to improve if this feedback isn’t given to job seekers.
To give you a bit of a background, I have a fantastic candidate who we will call John. John has all of the raw aptitude to truly be successful in any organisation. He is confident, a great communicator, well presented, he is driven and comes across as motivated to do well. The only issue is that despite seeing 8 companies for interview, John simply isn’t being offered any jobs. The jobs he really wants, aren’t inviting him back to a second stage interview. The jobs he isn’t keen on, still aren’t inviting him back for another interview.
And so this begs the question “why?”
The feedback from the employers had been that John comes across as too confident, too cocky and not keen enough on the roles available. I know from my dealings with John that he is incredibly keen on the positions, yet this doesn’t seem to be coming across. So where is he going wrong?
Well, firstly John isn’t preparing in the same manner as the other candidates. We spend a lot of time briefing candidates to prepare for roles in a certain way and yet he isn’t taking in the same level of preparation to interviews as other candidates. He is definitely researching the company prior to an interview, but is not able to articulate enough of this knowledge when quizzed in the interview.
As someone who interviews candidates myself (both senior and junior) it is frustrating and sometimes offensive when meeting a candidate that has not researched the business. This screams out that this person doesn’t care about the interview. If they don’t care about the interview, perhaps they don’t care about the company, the role, the interviewer, the management…the time spent investing in the interview itself. Overall, it can come across as disrespectful. It’s funny, isn’t it? How something so small can have such large repercussions?
And yet, the confidence is there in all of us. We all assume we will be able to “wing it” in an interview and impress the interviewer with our natural charm. In fact, on many occassions, this probably is enough. Unless you’re up against an individual that has gone the extra mile to demonstrate their research and understanding of the business they’re being interviewed for. Then…well, you’re quite literally screwed.
You see, as a potential employer you want to hire the dilligent, hard worker with a genuine passion for your business. In fact, you would probably hire that dilligent, hard worker over the better qualified, more experienced candidate that appeared badly prepared and disinterested. It seems so obvious what employers are looking for, so how can you ensure that you’re preparing effectively before an interview.
Always make sure that you understand WHAT the company does. And ensure you can explain it in your own words. How do they add value, and who do they do this for? Ensure you can familiarise yourself with their competitors and have a rough understanding of what makes each company different. Why do clients choose to engage with them and who are some examples you can refer to? This type of research should be documented and prepared in a structured manner which can be referred to during the interview. Many of our candidates put together business documents to demonstrate their understanding of the business and the marketplace in which they operate. When employers see a well presented document, it immediately sends out the right message.
More than anything, its essential to get feedback and learn why interviews might not be going well. John was keen to hear feedback and took everything on board. He was in fact pleased to hear what had been happening and even provided feedback to us (as recruiters) which would further help him in interviews.
Next step from here is to keep proividing John with interviews that are in line with his career objectives and providing some coaching around preparing for interviews and conducting them face to face. I feel pretty sure that John will find a good role very soon which fits his needs and desires.
Once he is in there, I have every confidence that he will be a phenomenal success!
Davinia Noble
ProGrad is a graduate recruitment company working on behalf of some of Australia’s leading organisations to assess, place and train graduates into B2B sales and marketing roles. For more information, please call our ProGrad office on 02 8235 8300.
The latest myth about the ProGrad assessment day
February 15, 2010 by ProGrad · Leave a Comment
I have seen some pretty interesting things written about ProGrad over the years. Some posts have been valuable feedback to hear and whilst no organisation will take pleasure in reading negative comments - we can all benefit from hearing what your customer base has to say.
That said - there are many incorrect statements made about ProGrad and the infamous assessment day. One blogger stated that ProGrad “claim to be friends with NASA”, which I think we all know is ridiculous. Anyway, that to one side there are a few myths that definitely do need to be put to rest.
1) Firstly, ProGrad do provide water and toilet breaks. Sounds bizarre to even have to make the point but hey, there it is.
2) Men don’t have to wear red ties to make it through the assessment day, clearly the colour of your tie is irrelevant. Mind you, a tie is considered appropriate business wear and so we do recommend you wear one.
3) ProGrad is a scam. Not entirely sure where this one originated but ProGrad are simply a business. We place graduates and charge a fee to our clients for doing so. We make money in order to operate, it’s pretty simple. Our roles are primarily in the business to business sales teams of organisations (this is made clear on all of our marketing collateral) and we offer sales training to placed graduates to support them. Again, this is at the cost of the company, not the graduate.
4) ProGrad salaries are all $35k. Our salaries range from $35k to $50k depending on the role and organisation. Naturally, some industries such as advertising and media are likely to offer less money on the base salary, whilst companies in technology and financial services will typically offer $40k - $50k. The salary packages are also likely to be dependent on the experience and skill set of the graduate.
I hope this clears up a few of the latest myths about the ProGrad assessment day. Ultimately, our assessment day is an interview process and like any interview process - not everyone makes it through. We pride ourselves on only working with strong graduates who see a business career with a leading corporation. We have partnerships with leading brands such as Microsoft, Nestle, Simplot, Experian, and Dell. We are proud to have placed over 2,000 graduates in the last 5 years in Australia and are experiencing excellent growth.
If in doubt about the ProGrad assessment process, please feel free to contact the office and speak to any of the graduate management team on 02 8235 8300 who will be pleased to help answer your questions.
You can read more abour ProGrad and view our testimonials here www.prograd.com.au
Graduate Design Role
February 15, 2010 by ProGrad · Leave a Comment
ProGrad are currently recruiting for an unsual role, requiring a recent graduate with design skills to join one of our client partners. We have worked successfully with this organisation for the last few years in Australia and they have recently created a new role for one of our candidates looking for an entry level role where they will have an impact on day to day design work.
Whilst the ProGrad model is typically aimed at placing graduates into business to business sales and marketing roles, we do occassionally work on other opportunties that perhaps don’t fit into this space.
If you have skills working with Photoshop and Illustrator, along with a natural creative flair please contact ProGrad directly on 02 8235 8300 and ask to speak to Jarrod. Alternatively, you can email Jarrod directly on jarrod@prograd.com.au and send over your details!
ProGrad is Australia’s only dedicated graduate recruitment company working with over 600 companies across a variety of industries. More information can be found on our website www.prograd.com.au
Tips for graduates who want to travel
February 15, 2010 by ProGrad · Leave a Comment
For many recent University graduates, now is the time to weigh up your options.
You’ve had some time out enjoying the Australian Summer which is quickly drawing to a close. And you’re facing a couple of options:
1) Do you enter full time work, please Mum and Dad and start your career?
Or
2) Do you fulfill that dream you’ve had for awhile, and travel around the world?
Well, there are a few pros and cons for both, right? The bottom line is, that travelling is far better to do BEFORE starting a full-time job. It is unfair to commit to an employer, only to know in the back of your mind that in 6-12 months, you’re going to jack it all in and pack your rucksack.
If travelling is on your radar as something you’d like to pursue, go for it! Employers like it, and feel reassured that its all out of your system. Don’t start a full time career unless you are able to offer full time committment for at least 3-4 years before taking a long break to travel.
Please try to plan your return back to Australia at a time when you won’t be competing for roles against other, fresher graduates. This simply enhances your chances of finding a suitable career opportunity.
ProGrad like many organisations in the recruitment space will have opportunities all year round and therefore can offer assistance for recent graduates even outside of graduate seasons. With this in mind, don’t ever be concerned about returning at a quieter time. Some of the most popular months for our graduate intakes have been outside of the peak graduate periods.
If you would like more information about ProGrad and recommendations for graduate opportunities, please contact our graduate management team on 02 8235 8300.
Setting SMART goals
February 15, 2010 by ProGrad · Leave a Comment
Setting SMART goals is key for ProGrad graduates
Many training workshops talk about setting SMART goals and we are certainly one of them. Regardless of whether you’re applying goal setting to a sales career, or simply job hunting - the rules still apply.
So what are SMART goals?
When we’re training our graduates about setting their own professional goals, we recommend they are made:
S: SPECIFIC
M: MEASURABLE
A: ATTAINABLE
R: REALISTIC
T: TIMELY
It’s a simple method and something which is referred to a great deal by managers, coaches and trainers alike. When applying for jobs, the same rules should apply.
Job seekers need to set specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely goals. An example of this, is as follows; “This week, I am going to highlight 8 companies that reflect the values I want to be aligned to. I am going to send at least 8 applications to these organisations on Monday and follow them all up by the end of the week. My end goal is to secure at least 2 interviews by Friday.”
This is a good example of SMART goal setting for graduate job seekers and something which we recommend to any candidates we’re working with.
ProGrad is a graduate recruitment organisation and we specialise in working with recent University graduates to secure them full-time employment following University. Whilst our core activity is in placing graduates into B2B sales and marketing roles, we do work on a number of other projects also with our key clients. If you’d like to know more about our organsiation, please email us info@prograd.com.au or contact us directly on 02 8235 8300 and ask to speak to one of the graduate management team.
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ProGrad are on Flickr
