ProGrad Brisbane

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!

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.

It’s not all plain sailing working with University graduates, particularly for organisations that have never done it before.  We work with a number of graduate employers and for many, it is their first time recruiting a person at a junior level.  It can be easy for any experienced business professional to forget exactly what it was like in their first role. 

Graduates are hungry, ambitious and demanding and it is common for them to want to take on added responsibility.  This can be hugely beneficial for a business who can embrace that concept, yet it can be intimidating for a business which is not equipped.

The drive and enthusiasm of graduates in a business is great, yet causes issues amongst existing team members who have stronger business and product knowledge.  When graduates aim to challenge these people in the business, it can to friction and upset within the organisation.

The bottom line is that all graduates need to be aware of the wonderful things they offer an organisation – yet should also be respectful that their lack of experience means they need to start from the bottom and work their way up, exactly how everyone else did in the company.  A degree is simply the start and provides you with an entry-level role.  The rest still needs to be learned and it must be appreciated that a degree is not necessarily a fast track to the top.  That piece will still need to be earned by the employee.

Always appreciate the difficulties that organisations experience when inducting graduates, and be respectful that for many they are having to change their structure for the graduate intake.  Not all organisations are experts in graduate recruitment, not can you expect them to be.   Communicate openly with your mangement and those around you, and demonstrate some humility in any role you undertake.

ProGrad has placed over 2,000 graduates in the last 4 years and has had many experiences in placing graduates across a multitude of roles.  For more information, please contact us on 02 8235 8300.

Our client is looking for an energetic graduate who is motivated by a bonus package, backed with a detailed training and development program to ensure your success.

This technology organisation is a recognized market leader and is used by many leading architectural and construction companies both locally and internationally.

Key responsibilities of the role include:

- Acquiring a detailed knowledge of the Company.
- Possessing the ability to professionally demonstrate these offerings at all levels.
- Working with the sales team to promote and develop new business opportunities.
- Maintaining client satisfaction, ensuring growth within our current installed base.
- Consulting with clients on new projects and the subsequent set-up of these within the company.
- Customer training on all facets.
- Attend and participate in sales meetings, technical seminars and trade shows.
- Occasional local and international travel may be required.

The successful candidate will:

 -Be highly motivated, well organised, disciplined and self managed.
-Be an excellent communicator and strong listener, possessing outstanding relationship building skills.

The successful candidate is assured of a strong career path in our fast growing international business team.

In order to be considered for this opportunity (or any of Prograd’s roles) you must apply immediately. Once your application has been received you will be contacted by a member of the Prograd team to discuss your application further. If you are successful you will be invited to attend an assessment day.

To apply for this role, please click here

Our next assessment day in Sydney is taking place on Thursday 11th Feb 2010 at our offices in the CBD.

We have already invited our top 40 graduates to this assessment day and therefore all places are currently filled.  If you would like to attend an assessment day, please firstly apply on line at www.prograd.com.au and submit your resume.  In order to receive priority from our Graduate Management Team, please then call us on 02 8235 8300 and they will process your application.

Our assessment days run on a weekly basis at our offices in Sydney and therefore we will be able to place your name on a waiting list if necessary.

The assessment day is a 5 hour competency based assessment framework and assesses for five key competencies:

1) Confidence

2) Verbal Communication Skills

3) Drive and dynamism

4) Ability to influence and persuade

5) Structure and Logic

We have placed over 2,000 graduates in the last 4 years in Australia and our primary goal is matching graduates with prospective employers.

To find out more about the ProGrad model and how we can help graduate job seekers, please contact our graduate management team on 02 8235 8300.

Only yesterday, I was on the telephone to a candidate that recently attended the ProGrad assessment day.  Sadly, she didn’t make it through the day, and was feeling rather deflated at the prospect on continuing a difficult job hunt.

One of the reasons this candidate did not make it through the assessment day, was due to a lack of preparation on the day.  Despite knowing what to expect, and being advised accordingly – this candidate didn’t prepare and therefore struggled to compete with the other delegates present.

Outside of that, when I was running through some assessment day feedback, I asked the question “How are you getting on with other interviews?”

She explained that the process was hard, she had some decent experience yet was finding it hard to even get in front of employers for the face to face interview.  A few minutes spent looking at the resume was all that was required.  Very quickly, I noticed a few gleaming errors.  I will share these errors here as they might help demonstrate some of the common mistakes made from graduates when applying for jobs.

1) The Career Objective

This part of the resume (in this case) was poorly structured and didn’t explain what the actual career objective was.  The overall feel was generic and flaky and it lacked relevance for the jobs which the job seeker was applying for.

2) The Work Experience

In this case, the work experience was strong, and great roles had been held and maintained for long periods of time.  Under each employment section, came a long list of the duties completed in the position.  Which was fine, but there was absolutely no mention of the SKILLS gained in these roles.  Those skills would have been transferable to other organisations and other roles, however the duties may not.  SKILLS are essential to identify in the work experience.  It is not about “data entry”, or “cashier work”.  It is about the competencies developed in the role.  Competencies such as confidence, communication skills, drive and determination, negotiation skills, structure and logic.  These are far more relevant to mention.

Length

The resume was over 3 pages long, with a poor use of space.  Information was long, waffly and unlikley to be read.  It was too easy to skim over the resume in a matter of seconds, let alone minutes.

Format

The resume was badly formatted.  In short, there were spelling errors, grammatical errors and a mixture of different bullet points used in no particular fashion. It was screaming “poor attention to detail”.

And this was the document utilised as the first impression sent out to an organisation.  With some basic formatting and a bit of care and attention, it wouldn’t take long to turn this document around.

I have provided some basic guidance to the job seeker and fingers crossed, it starts to have an impact!

• 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

Every placement includes four programmes designed to give candidates the basic skills right the way up to more advanced account Management. For more information about the ProGrad concept, please contact us on 02 8235 8300.  Or visit our website on www.prograd.com.au

Everyone has heard the saying “its not what you know but who you know.” This sentence couldn’t be more spot on, especially in the business world. Rapport building is all about finding a connection with someone and using that to build a strong relationship.

At the end of the day, people like people like themselves and people buy from people they like.

Here are some tips I have found quite useful when building good rapport:

      -                 Always make good eye contact

-                 Be professional, yet personable

-                 Ask open ended questions

-                 Use positive and open body language

-                 Find out as much as you can, without being intrusive

It’s important not to come across as fake, strong rapport is best built when people are open, honest and friendly.

Sophie

Call us at ProGrad for more information on our services. Our Sydney phone number is 02 8235 8300 or visit our website at www.prograd.com.au