ProGrad Brisbane

An Accountant, an Admin Clerk, and their Manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp.

They rub it and a Genie comes out.

The Genie says, “I’ll give each of you just one wish.”
“Me first! Me first!” says the Admin Clerk.

“I want to be in Hawaii, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world” Poof! She’s gone.

“Me next! Me next!” says the Accountant. “I want to be in Bali, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of cocktails and the love of my life.” Poof! He’s gone.

“OK, you’re up,” the Genie says to the Manager.

The Manager says, “I want those two back in the office in an hour.”

Moral of the story: Always let your boss have the first say!

According to ‘The Telegraph’- Article by Jeremy Warner (DEC 2011)

ProGrad is trying to put out the warning for all graduates that there may be some tough economic times ahead.  (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news)

Now is the time to brace yourself and get clued up about the types of industries and roles available.  Our recommendation is to research the industries which will come out on top during the uncertain times ahead. Try looking at publications such BRW (Business Review Weekly), The Australian, SMH, Marketing Mag, CRN, ARN, Adnews and B&T to name a few.

To give you a helping hand, ProGrad have done some of the work for you. We have researched the top performing Industries that will help you make an educated decision on the best suited career path after University.  

With January kicking off to a rapid start, 2012 is looking to be a very busy year!

This brings GOOD news and BAD news

The good news is that there are many organisations that have great Graduate positions available through ProGrad.

The bad news is however that it is an extremely competitive time of year for graduates as many students graduated at the end of the previous year and are actively looking for full time corporate positions.

As I said before, the news is good and bad!

At ProGrad we understand the frustrations of looking for a job. This competitive time of year can bring an abundance of rejections and many broken spirits. However it’s important to remember that thousands are in the same boat as you and every ‘NO’ received can only bring you closer to the perfect ‘YES’ position. If a job is worth fighting for, then of course it’s going to be competitive!

To help you ‘Get your head in the game’ ProGrad has the following game plan to help you win:

-          Create a perfect Resume that’s tailored to every position applied for

-          Get a professional Voicemail

-          Invest in a suit

-          Ensure your looking well groomed

-          Research the company

These are some of the strategies to ensure you score the perfect position!

ProGrad specialises in Corporate Business Development Graduate roles. With many years of experience and reputable corporate clients behind us, the opportunities we can offer are huge. If you would like to be a part of the ProGrad network to see how we can offer you a foot in the door, then contact ProGrad at: info@prograd.com.au or call: (02) 8235 8300.

We are feeling festive here at ProGrad! The office is nicely decorated and everyone is cheerful! We have had such a fantastic year and are very much looking forward to having a successful 2012!

With so many success stories from 2011, we can only keep striving to help and place more graduates year by year.  

If you would like to become a part of ProGrad’s network and want to hear about all the opportunities we can offer you, then please contact ProGrad on (02) 8235 8300 or email ProGrad at: info@prograd.com.au

LinkedIn has released the most overused Buzz words for 2011. The words that made the list are:

•       Creative’
•       Effective’
•       Communication skills’
•       Strategic planning’

These Buzzwords have come from professional profiles all over the world! The study mainly focused on Countries such as: France, Spain, Ireland, Singapore, USA and Australia.

At ProGrad we have come up with some alternative words you can use for your LinkedIn Profile. These include:

•       Tech Savvy!
•       Young and willing!
•       Open to anything!
•       Ready and rearing to go!

ProGrad would love to see these phrases make the next linked in Buzz Word list! For more suggestions and inspiration of buzz words please feel free to contact ProGrad directly on (02) 8235 8300. Or Email ProGrad at info@prograd.com.au

Have you ever felt defeated by the job hunting process?

Have you ever questioned if you will ever get the right job?

Do you spend an endless amount of time on seek?

ProGrad can help you! Let ProGrad be your librarian who guides you to the right book.

ProGrad can help take the stress out of trying to find the right job for you by:

• Showing you the full contents of what is expected by each role
• Can guide you to the right page number that has the most relevant information for your interview
• Can provide an index of understanding that explains all the questions you may have about a company or a role

If you would like to find out more on how ProGrad can assist you on providing employment opportunities, please give us a call on:

(02) 82358300

Alternatively, you can email Prograd on:

info@prograd.com.au

Prograd can help you write your next chapter in your career that is always guaranteed to have a happy ending!

ProGrad celebrated Halloween in style this year as we all got our best costumes on to celebrate!
Everyone in the office enjoyed some horror movie trivia, followed by some seriously competitive apple bobbing!

To see more photos of the Halloween dress up day at ProGrad, please go to our ProGrad Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/ProGrad/126475642525

If you would like to discuss any ProGrad opportunities, please do not hesitate to contact ProGrad on (02)8235 8300 or email us at: http://info@prograd.com

A big thumbs up to the Graduate Management Team here at ProGrad, who put in an enormous amount of effort to pull off a very successful week!

With such a hard working and dedicated team, it’s no wonder they did so well!

Another big thank you to the wonderful ProGrad boss who appreciates all the hard efforts and takes them out for breakfast to say thank you!

If you would like to find out more about the ProGrad team environment, please give ProGrad a call on (02) 8235 8300. Alternatively, you can email ProGrad at info@prograd.com.au

GO THE PROGRAD GRADUATE MANAGEMENT TEAM!

Here at ProGrad we see the importance of dressing well for interviews every day. The first impression is the most critical part of the interview, it only takes one instance to make a good first impression, however it takes 21 meetings to undo a bad impression.

With these stats in mind, it’s important to really pre-plan an outfit for an interview.

Here is a friendly ProGrad criteria that will help guide you:

For men:

• If you look in the mirror and think ‘should I get a haircut?’ YOU SHOULD.
• If you are thinking:’should I iron my shirt?’ YOU SHOULD.
• If you are thinking: ‘should I have a shave?’ YOU SHOULD.

For women:

• If you are thinking: ‘is my skirt too short?’ IT IS.
• If you are thinking: ‘should I take my ear brow piercing out?’ YOU SHOULD.
• If you think, am I wearing too much eye makeup? YOU ARE.

If you follow this fool proof ProGrad checklist, you are guaranteed to have an impressive first impression!

If any more questions on first impressions and ProGrad interview tips, please send all questions to: info@prograd.com.au. Alternatively, you can call ProGrad on (02)8235 8300.

So you have finished your degree, maybe travelled a little, are well and truly sick of your part time job and decided you are finally ready to bite the bullet and get into full time work. But what job is that?

If you are a recent graduate looking to get into the business sector, it can be daunting knowing where to start, especially if your studies haven’t necessarily directed you into a one stop job.

One angle you may want to consider is a role in sales. 

No not tele-marketing, and don’t worry I’m not talking about standing on the street corner trying to get people to sign up to the latest scam.

I mean genuine corporate sales, working within a well established company on a competitive salary, getting that all important foot in the door and gaining the valuable experience that can take you from new comer, to old pro.

Sales provides graduates a unique opportunity to learn about a business from the inside out. Working in correspondence with all other parts of a business, the sales department gives you the best exposure and often a great head start into avenues usually closed to entry level positions.

It might not be an option you had ever considered before but for graduates who are ambitious, eager to work and wanting to get some hands on experience in a role that will help them progress in their career, Sales may be the yellow brick road for you.

ProGrad specialize in placing recent university graduates into business to business sales roles. For more information or to apply for any of our roles, contact the ProGrad Graduate Management team on 02 8235 8300 or alternatively email us at info@prograd.com.au

Since June 2010, ProGrad have felt the demand of Graduate vacancies grow within QLD, which has prompted our focus in the market.  Historically, ProGrad have focused primarily in NSW and VIC and only worked in QLD occassionally depending on the roles made available.  In June, ProGrad made a company-wide committment to offer more dedicated and more proactive resource to the area, to ensure we have a heavier presence amongst the graduate community.

Since June 2010, we have already seen over 100 graduates attend our ProGrad Assessment Day in QLD, and have already successfully conducted interviews for them with over 30 organisations in the area.  “This marks a new chapter for ProGrad and one that we’re all excited about.  We’ve always wanted to work more closely

with Universities and Graduates in Brisbane, however we didn’t ever experience the same level of interest from our corporate clients here.  This has definitely changed in recent months, and we now forecast significant growth in QLD over the next 12 months.”  Davinia, General Manager for ProGrad explains.

Davinia continues, “Our initial focus is to work alongside our existing client base, who might have a presence in Brisbane.  We would like to ensure current clients are given primary focus for their recruitment needs at a junior level.  We’re currently sourcing roles for QLD companies in Sales, Lead Generation, Marketing, Research, Analysts, and Project Managers to name a few”. 

If you have an office in QLD which you think might benefit from a ProGrad discussion, please contact our Business Development Team in Sydney on 02 8235 8300.  Alternaitvely, you can email us sales@prograd.com.au

ProGrad will service QLD from the NSW office for the remainder of the year, however based on company demand, we may open an office in the not too distant future.

For any information about ProGrad, our proposition, and our process – please view our website www.prograd.com.au or contact us for a more in-depth discussion 02 8235 8300.

ProGrad Assessment Team:

The ProGrad Assessment Day Team will consist of 5-10 people depending on the day.  The team is a combination of our Graduate Managers, our Business Developers and our Facilitators. 

During the Assessment Day, each candidate will have a series of score sheets.  These score sheets are for assessment purposes which are scored against a competency based framework.  During the session, it is not about your academic qualifications.  We are looking to highlight key competencies which are listed below:

1)      Confidence

2)      Verbal Communication Skills

3)      Drive and Dynamism

4)      Ability to Influence and Persuade

5)      Structure and Logic

Following the ProGrad Assessment Day, each candidate is welcome to contact ProGrad for feedback about their performance.  We are happy to share all feedback with you as it may assist with further interviews being attended.

Our ProGrad Graduate Management Team can be contacted on 02 8235 8300.

Assessment Day – Hints and Tips for success!

What is the Assessment Day?

ProGrad assessment days are by invitation only and competition is high between graduates wishing to secure their place on the day. At ProGrad, we assess your competencies to help you find a suitable graduate position that can offer you the support and development you will need to be a success. You will be at our assessment day for approximately 6 hours, during which time we will be evaluating your skills and attitude.

The assessment day also offers you the opportunity to gain access to our top graduate recruiters, careers advice and tips for successful interviews. We also provide you with feedback on your performance.

Becoming a ProGrad candidate will give you a head start over other graduates in the market place. We only represent candidates that have been selected at our assessment days, who have demonstrated a real focus to launch their graduate career with a leading company.

In attending the ProGrad assessment day, you will:

• Experience a graduate selection process

• Have access to top graduate employers

• Gain information regarding careers from our graduate recruitment team

• Feedback regarding your performance

If you’re successful through the process

• You will be represented by ProGrad for interviews with our Client partners

• Gain unlimited access to your graduate recruiter who will provide you with

assistance,training and feedback during the interview process

• You will be eligible to take part in certain personal development programs

• You will stand out from other less prepared graduates in the job hunting market

What to expect at the assessment day

• Psychometric testing

• Self introductions

• Group dynamic exercises

• Feedback sessions

• Business Case Study

• Feedback sessions

• Group Presentation

• One to one interviews

• Verbal and numerical reasoning tests

• Individual presentations

The exercises are designed to enable us to assess you against a competency based framework.

We are not concerned with whether you got the answers right, we’re more interested in how you deal with the challenges in front of you. We want to understand your drive, your motivation, how you respond to pressure and how you deal with people around you.

We also invite some of our Client partners to the assessment day who are looking for ProGrad candidates to start in their teams. This is often where many of our graduates are “scouted” by graduate employers.

What to wear at a ProGrad assessment day?

This is a formal interview process, and so you will be asked to attend our Assessment Day in “formal business dress”.

Remember: First impressions count.

General rules for “formal business dress”:

For men: wear a dark suit, with a plain shirt and tie

For women: try to keep your suit as conservative as possible. Dress for business, not for fashion.

Shoes must be polished and plain black or dark brown.

What are we looking for?

We will be measuring you against a competency based framework at the assessment day. We are looking for:

• Confidence

• Verbal Communication skills

• Drive/ Dynamism

• Ability to Influence and Persuade

• Structure and Logic

How to prepare for the assessment day:

“Fail to prepare and you prepare to fail!”

You must prepare a 3 minute presentation prior to the assessment day, titled “Why should we select you for a career in business to business sales?”

We are not only testing your presentation skills – we are testing your ability to prepare. Do not underestimate the importance of preparing for this!

General Guidelines for your presentation:

i. Keep to the 3 minute time-frame (you will be timed on the day).

ii. Answer the question posed in the title

iii. If you require notes, ensure they are tidy

iv. You are welcome to use visual aids or props to enhance your presentation

v. Practice makes perfect!

What is business-to-business sales?

Business to business sales, is the transaction from one business to another. Business to business sales involves building and maintaining high level business relationships with key decision makers. Your role may be a combination of dealing with existing Client relationships and forging new business contacts. High-level business to business sales can involve a number of activities to include:

• Managing key Client relationships

• Generating new business opportunities in new and existing accounts

• Booking business meetings

• Attending business meetings, generating requirements

• Assisting with pitches, marketing campaigns, exhibitions etc

• Assisting with proposals/ tender responses

• Forging strategic relationships with key decision makers

• Dealing with Clients both on the telephone and face to face

Why start my career in business to business sales?

There are 4 key things that all graduates want from their career:

• Training

• Autonomy

• Progression into Management

• A good salary

A business to business sales career is the only career where your hard work will be instantly rewarded with quick progress, increased earning ability and unrivalled training. ProGrad graduates are put into the most important part of any organisation, the business to business sales team. They are immediately part of the success and growth of the company and this forms a key part in their importance to the business.

Salary expectations are progressive with most candidates earning $40-60k in year one and moving that to the $50-90k mark in year two.

It has been reported that over 70% of Chief Executive Officers began their careers in business to business sales. The two most important facets of any organisation, are the strengths of its financial departments, and its ability to generate revenue through the business to business sales teams.

Graduates entering into either of these divisions, are exposed rapidly into the business world, and are able to add tangible value to a company’s growth and development. It is due to this, that Graduates statistically speaking, enter senior management quicker than their peers – because they understand the mechanics of the organisation.

What kind of company could I work in?

ProGrad has become the partner of choice for not only the best graduates in the country but also the best companies. We work across a variety of sectors to include:

• Information Technology

• Telecommunication

• Media

• Publishing

• Advertising

• Finance

• Industrial

• Events

All of our roles are in the business to business sales teams of our Client partners.  For more information about ProGrad and our positions, please contact one of the ProGrad Graduate Management Team on 02 8235 8300.  Alternatively, you can view our website for more informaton.

ProGrad is a graduate recruitment specialist focusing on assessing, placing and training graduates across a variety of industries.  Our roles are primarily in the business to business sales and marketing teams of some of Australia’s largest organisations. 

Due to the success of this model, we have designed and developed a number of options for other offerings to assist our Clients.  We have recognised that Managing Graduates is often an area which companies require assistance with, and we have therefore put together a course which is available to our Client partners.  The one day workshop is aimed at managers of our graduates, and offers practical, outcome focused sessions to ensure delegates attending are skilled at managing levels of expectation, providing structure, setting goals and KPIs and managing a motivated environment.

OBJECTIVES

By the end of the course participants will be able to:

• Manage graduate expectations around the content of the role, KPIs and role progression

• Align graduate expectations from both parties

• Set clearly defined goals and objectives with your graduate

• Promote high activity levels in a successful, rewarding way

• Provide structure to the graduate, both short term and long term

• Offer a work environment which promotes and supports high activity levels

CONTENT

• Graduate Expectation

Managing expectations around progression levels, incentives, rewards and offering clarity around

your expectation as the manager

• Structure and Time

Providing Structure to your junior employee

Setting the balance for access and time

• Managing Consequences

Dealing with issues internally such as timekeeping, attitude levels, activity

“What’s wrong here” syndrome

• Managing Expectations

Aligning expectations from both parties and ensuring consistent levels of communication

How is this done, and how best to communicate this from day 1 of employment?

• Moving from Altitude to Activity

Setting clear roles and expectations

SMART KPI’s (Structured, measurable, attainable, realistic targets)

Breaking it down into activity levels

Conversion ratios

Setting KPI’ s new business development quarterly, monthly, weekly, daily

• Environment

Managing the environment at work

The value and limitation of Rewards and Incentives

Managing levels of motivation

Weekly Planner

Daily call sheets

Daily goal setting

Tracking KPI’s

For more information about this training course, or any other courses offered by ProGrad, please contact our ProGrad Training Team on 02 8235 8300.

Ericsson 2011 Graduate Program
(Melbourne, Australia)

At Ericsson we are innovating to empower people, business and society. Our mobile and fixed networks, multimedia solutions and telecommunication services make a real difference to people’s lives and the world we live in, and are an essential part of a sustainable society. Since 1876 we have shaped the way the world communicates and today we are a global business with 82,500 employees spanning 175 countries. 

We are pleased to advise that we will have a number of graduate positions available in our state-of-the-art Docklands Office in Melbourne. Commencing in February 2011, you will join the organisation as a Graduate Engineer and begin a specialist career in one of a variety of technical fields including Core Networks, Transmission, Systems Integration, Mobile Multimedia, Software Development, Customer Support and Network Rollouts.

This is a unique opportunity to start your career with a global leader and specialise in mobile networks, fixed networks, multimedia solutions, network infrastructure or customer support.

We are seeking final year students or graduates in the following disciplines:

• Information Technology
• Computer Science
• Software Development & Multimedia
• Engineering – Telecommunication
• Engineering – Electronic/Electrical

You will display a high level of academic achievement, a customer centric focus, a passion for excellence, strong communication and team skills, and reflect our core values.

Please note that our graduate positions usually involve extensive global travel and at times you are likely to be assigned overseas for both short term and long term periods.

At the time of application you are required to upload:

• Resume
• Proof of Australian or New Zealand citizenship or residency
• Copies of most recent academic transcripts

For additional information or to apply, please go to http://www.ericssongrads.com.au/?TargetID=1062

or come and see us at the graduate career days at Swinburne, RMIT, Monash or Melbourne universities.

Applications close on 31^st March 2010.

If you’re coming to a ProGrad assessment day any time soon, you will be asked to prepare a three minute presentation in advance of the day.

Firstly, be aware that you will only present this presentation in front of a panel of assessors (not the entire room of graduates!).  You will be given three minutes to present on the topic “why should we select you for a career in business to business sales?”

Naturally, the aim of the presentation is to sell yourself!  Most importantly, you must answer the question posed, “why should we select you for a career in business to business sales?”

The easiest way to prepare this presentation is to break it into three parts, as you would usually. 

1) An introduction, setting an agenda

2) The content, providing evidence of your argument

3) Summary and conclusion

In organising the preparation so that each piece lasts approximately 1 minute you will find it easy to complete the presentation in the allocated time with a strong structure to boot.

Think about the competencies you have, and provide exmaples of where you have demonstrated these competencies.  Ensure your skill set is transferable and meets the criteria of a business to business sales person.  ProGrad are not looking for experience in this area, however we would anticipate that suitable candidates are confident, strong communicators, driven, dynamic, motivated, tenacious, persistent, methodical and persuasive.

It is all about having a raw aptitude and a lot of personal drive and ambition.  We can provide the training and development, all we ask for is that the indvidual is focused on achieving a career in this space.

We’re on hand to help with your preparation and so please don’t feel alone.  You should have been allocated a Graduate Manager who is on-hand to assist you and your preparation in this space.

If you would like any further assistance, please call the office on 02 8235 8300 and I’m sure there will be someone on hand to help.

All the best!

As another ProGrad assessment day approaches in Sydney, we’re noticing an increase in applications, and as a result attendees. 

Over the last 6 assessment days, we have had an average number of 38 people attend each session. This week we are forecasting to have over 45 people attending the day.

Our roles are increasing also with confidence returning in the market and new hires on the rise.  Companies in the technology space are doing particularly well and are generating strong opportunities for recent graduates, particularly in a sales and marketing space.

We have a variety of different roles available for our grads at the moment, whilst business to business sales remains our core focus, we are seeing more marketing positions on the market.  Marketing has always proved to be more popular with the graduate community however employers are ideally looking for candidates with marketing or sales experience prior to taking them on in that type of role.

If you are a recent University graduate and you’re now looking to kick start your graduate career, please contact ProGrad on 02 8235 8300 and discuss your options with one of our Graduate Management Team.  We may be able to help you, however if we cannot – we will still do our best to offer any assistance we can in the way of applying for other roles.

Visit our ProGrad website for more information.

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 skills

If you are interested in this opportunity please apply now by sending your CV to jenna.daly@prograd.com.au

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!