ProGrad Brisbane

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.

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

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.

The “Hobbies and Interests” section of a resume is one which puzzles many.  What are employers looking for in this section?  Is it entirely relevant to the employer whether you like to play tennis?

Well, actually yes.  It is important to many companies as they use this section to establish a cultural fit.  If you like sports, then this might be a great fit.  People who enjoy sports and regularly exercise will come across as an active employee.  This is important for employers, as they’re not looking for lazy people.

Reading is a great hobby to have and something we see regularly on resumes.  If you genuinely enjoy reading then please do list it, but beware.  Don’t use it unless you mean it.  So many employers use this as a tool for questionning you and they’re aiming to identify if you truly are well read.  If you’re putting it down simply to look more intelligent, it probably is going to trip you up in the interview.

One of my least favourite hobbies to see is “travelling around the world”.  Like many employers, I have been on the receiving end of employees leaving roles simply to “find themselves” in Europe for 6 months.  A move like that doesn’t seem too costly for the employer, yet it can affect an employer dramatically based on the training and development that will have been invested in that person.  A hobby that describes an interest for travelling will send shivers down the spine of most employers.  Better to be safe than sorry, just lose it from the resume.

Technology and computing is likely to be a hobby of most graduates these days and a key reason why organisations like to recruit graduates.  That said, be careful about how this passion is described.  Hanging out on Google is not necessarily going to inspire employers that you have great social skills and are looking to build internal and external relationships.

The key message however, is simply to be honest.  Never lie on your resume as it only disappoints you and the business you enter.  Be honest, be proud and be yourself.  The rest will fall into place if it is meant to be.

Firstly, you’re probably not alone in not getting any interviews and so please don’t worry.  Currently in the job market there are fewer roles and more people competing for them.  With such high competition, it is definitely not easy to get offered an interview.  This is particularly difficult for graduates at the junior level with limited experience.

First and foremost, have someone look over your resume.  Ask someone who is close to you, such as a family member or someone you trust.  What I like about this approach is that they are incredibly honest, almost brutally so and will probably provide you with some strong feedback. 

If you’re applying for jobs, you should be making a note of what you’re applying for and follow up those applications with a courtesy call.  At the very worst, someone might be too busy to take this call.  The best outcome however, is you will get to speak directly to the person who is recruiting the role and you have a great opportunity to impress them with your confident commication skills!

The key here is to be proactive in your job hunt.  Currently, there is this expectation that employers or recruiters will just get back to the job seekers when the time is right.  But that could be weeks!  Don’t rely on waiting for their calls.  You could be waiting for too long.  Cease the moment and get proactive. 

We’re like so many other recruiters and are receiving hundreds of applications each week to sift through.  We simply don’t have enough man-power to get through all applications and therefore rely on the proactivity of candidates.  If you call us directly, you get priority – easy as that.  Employers want proactive people.  Clearly they don’t want to hire lazy reactive people.  And so, in applying for jobs what better way to demonstrate this proactive nature than getting on the phone and making it happen.

Good luck!

Interviewers are looking for a few key things during the face to face time.  In our business, we are responsible for recruiting graduates at a junior level and progressing them through the business. Our roles are primarily in the Business to Business Sales space and therefore we are looking for the following qualities:

1) Presentation.  In short, how well groomed is this person?  Do they care about their appearance?  Someone who cares about the way they look, will care about they way they represent your business.

2) Firm Handshake.  Yes, I know it sounds lame and basic, but it counts for a lot.  In our business we are looking for people with the natural confidence to shake hands and greet everyone they meet.  If they can’t get this simple piece right, it’s too late to train them.

3) Strong preparation.  The candidates must be able to articulate exactly why they are there in the interview.  They need to articulate what we offer as a business, and how it adds value.  I am looking for a full understanding about the role also, and be able to speak openly about what it involves.

4) Natural Confidence.  For me, this comes through basic eye contact and natural gesticulation during the interview. 

5) Finally, and most importantly I want to see that this person can listen.  They must truly listen to what is being said take time before jumping in with a response. 

These are the keys things that we’re looking for in graduates that interview with this business.  That said, they are pretty generic and highly transferable to other companies and other roles. 

Ensure that any interview you attend, you think of sitting in the hiring seat yourself.  What would YOU want to see from this person?  This is a good place to start and will help you build a picture about how to represent yourself in the best light.

It is incredibly frustrating when you spend time and energy in preparing and attending an interview or an assessment session, only to wait for a response.  And wait.  And wait some more.  And eventually, when you don’t hear anything, you are forced to make the assumption that you just didnt make the cut.

And yet you don’t know why.

This is common for many people attending interviews and it is incredibly frustrating.  We need to remember that there are always several people going for an interview and for one reason or another, it is not the interviewer’s top priority to call you and give you an answer or even feedback.  So, it is up to the job seeker. 

If you are attending interviews and not hearing back, pick up the phone, make contact and reach out.  Simply by asking about the next steps, you will be able to understand whether you have made the short list.  If you haven’t, then ask for some feedback.  It is essential that you start to identify what is going wrong, particularly if it is happening more and more frequently when you’re attending interviews.

Attending interviews is daunting, even for the most experienced people.  That feeling of sitting in front of someone who is judging you can put even the calmest people off track.  

Always make sure you enter every interview feeling very well prepared and don’t be afraid to take control and follow up after any interview.  You can easily be the one to lead the conversation and ask for feedback. 

So, in short – don’t be afraid.  The worst that will happen is someone will tell you some harsh truths.  Which, let’s face it, you probably needed to hear anyway.

Interview preparation is key, and easily wins or loses the chance of being offered the role.

If you’re in charge of recruiting for the role, which candidate do you pick?  The one who arrives with a well prepared preparation document, or the candidate that is unable to fully articulate what you do as a business and what the role would entail.

When we’re at University, we spend so much time and energy into putting together essays, seminars and presentations.  In the job hunting process, where there is something so much more at stake, we cruise into interviews hoping that our charm will be enough to swing the interviewer over and demonstrate why we’re the right one to be hired.

We’re so full of self confidence that we’re blinded by the truth of what we’re facing in an interview.  The interview is a test.  How will this person behave in my business?

Will this person be late?

Will this person dress well?

Will this person prepare well?  Do they demonstrate good attention to detail?

Will this person be reliable, trustworthy, and answer questions with intelligence and thought.

This is what employers are assessing for in a face to face interview.  Of course they’re also assessing for a cultural fit, but more than anything they are looking at the individual assessing whether their behaviour fits into the expectations of the business.

To enhance your chance of success in an interview, it is essential that you prepare carefully.  Preparation is not a simple case of jumping online, browsing a website and assuming you know what they do.  Rather take the time to research the business, perhaps put together a SWOT and speak to people that work there.

Understand what a company is trying to achieve and ensure you can articulate this (in your own words) in the face to face interview. 

For any more interview techniques, have a look at one of our other sites such as www.progradsydney.com.au

For years we have been quite literally telling graduates how they should dress for interviews, there are certain basic principles to adhere to.  Wear a suit to an interview (of course), ensure it is well cut, clean and teamed with a clean shirt and tie.  Polish your shoes, cut your hair, shave any facial hair and look clean-cut and well polished.  For the ladies, wear a suit, iron a shirt, tie your hair back and ensure you are free from distractions. In short, the ladies should “dress for business, not for fashion”.

And yet, time and time again – despite this message we see candidates will still march to the beat of their own drum and wear what they feel comfortable in.  Which in essence, makes me think the advice we have given needs a new approach.

So I have been thinking about how in interviews, you are selling yourself.  It is as though you are a product, or a brand if you like.  You are representing this brand in a face to face environment.  How you dress that brand demonstates how that brand would be positioned.  If you are a “premium brand”, dress yourself in a premium manner.  If your brand is casual and laid back, then your dress is likely to be the same.

Once you’re clear about the brand you’re representing, it is easy to establish what to wear for an interview.  Typically, the safe option is to wear a business suit.  The Managing Director doesn’t wear a suit?  Well, he doesn’t have to.  He has probably done his “hard yards” and has proven himself enough to run a business.  The approach of visiting this individual without wearing a suit could be read as disrespectful…so be careful. 

To play it safe I would strongly recommend that all graduate job seekers should wear a suit.  You’ll quickly be told if it is too formal for their office environment.  If that is the case, then at least you have the opportunity to turn it around for the second stage interview.

ProGrad regularly provide advice to job seekers at the graduate level and try to assist where possible with organsing interviews.  On a weekly basis, we also provide a training session for graduates highlighting the importance of first impressions and how to be successful in graduate interviews.  For more information, please contact ProGrad on 02 8235 8300.

Assessment days are becoming more and more common as a screening tool utilised by a number of employers across a number of indsutries.  It seems these days that many HR departments are implementing assessment days as a key part of an internal screening process.

I will share some insights here about our assessment day, which might help to prepare for other assessment days you encounter along the way.

Self Introduction session

1) Assessment Days are about competencies.  Suddenly, you academic qualifications are no longer important, this is all about you and the competencies you possess.

2) They are designed to bring out the best and the worst in you.  In pushing you outside of your comfort zone, you are likely to shine yet also you might make mistakes and feel nervous due to the pressure.  This is completely natural and something that employers make allowances for.

3) Assessment Days are an interview process and should be treated as such.  Please ensure that a strong level of research and preparation is conducted prior to attending to ensure you maximise your opportunity to be successful.  Speak to the assessment team prior to the session and ask them for some insights.  They want you to be

 

Group Dynamic Exercise

successful and they want you to do well.  It is likely they will tell you what is required!

If you’d like to attend an assessment day with ProGrad, you must firstly apply online and then pass a telephone interview.  Following this, if you are invited to attend a session then you will be briefed about what to expect and how to prepare.  And yes, you do need to prepare for our sessions.

For more information, please visit www.prograd.com.au or contact our team on 02 8235 8300.

A key part of our offering is training.  Initially, it was simply training provided to graduates once they had been placed with our clients.  These days, we offer training to graduates who are looking for employment that need help with the application process. 

As someone that offers the training myself, I am keen to understand what makes a good trainer.  What is the best training style to ensure that an audience is engaged? 

I have seen some great trainers over the years, and my favourite style has always been a thought provoking, challenging style where the trainer gently coaxes the audience to think outside the square.  This works in a formal training environment which might take place over 1-2 days, but what about training around interview techniques and job hunting?

During our assessment days, we offer a “training session” which is titled, The Importance of First Impressions.  This training session lasts approximately 1.5 hours and covers the basics of:

1) How to write your resume

2) Covering Letters

3) Preparing for face to face interviews

4) Interview techniques to use

5) how to follow up from an interview

This session does not cost the graduates anything to view and is aimed to give something back to those graduates investing their time in attending.  It is the least we can do!

Whilst the feedback is generally good in this area, we could always do better.  So if you can recommend any ways to increase the engagement of our audience when training, we’re ready to listen!

Telephone interviews are a large part of screening processes across Australia.  Organisations see this as a quick qualification tool to identify very quickly whether or not a candidate has strong communciation skills and has the ability to work well in their environment.

There are a few basic principles to keep in mind when thinking about telephone interviews, and here I have tried to list a few pointers to help you out.

1) Remember, every phone call from a prospective employer is a telephone interview.  They are listening for the way you respond under pressure and whether you have a professional phone manner.

2) Voicemail is a good idea when job seeking.  Switch your phone to voicemail to ensure that you’re not speaking to a prospective employer at a time which is inconvenient.  Don’t create a bad impression on the telephone simply because you’re distracted at the time they call.

3) When speaking to a prospective employer, try to do so in a quiet place where distractions are limited.  Aim to have a pen and paper in front of you to take notes if needs be.  Prior to starting that conversation, you should know who you are speaking to, and be able to articulate the role you have applied for.

4) The tone and pitch of your voice says a lot about the individual also. Whilst employers are naturally looking for up-beat, enthusiastic and vibrant people – they are not necessarily looking for giggly, or immature sounding people.  If in doubt about how your voice sounds to others, please record it and simply ask your friends and family.  They are more likely to give you some very honest feedback.

Outside of those basic tips, be yourself.  That is the key for any interview, whether it is on the telephone or face to face.  In pretending to be someone that you’re not, everyone will be disappointed with the outcome.  Be true to yourself and ensure that you answer any telephone interview questions honestly and truthfully.

For more information about Interview tips and hints, ProGrad have a number of other websites such as www.progradsydney.com.au and www.progradmelbourne.com.au

ProGrad run weekly assssment days in Sydney to ensure a steady stream of graduate talent can be matched with our pool of graduate employers.  We aim to make these matches all year round, regardless of the graduate seasons.  This is because ProGrad are the primary conduit between graduates and getting a job in corporations.  There is no other graduate recruitment company has the same scope as we do, working on the level of opportunities that we are.

The assessment process is rigorous and only the top performers will make it through.  From over 500 applications received each week, we only invite the top 40 to attend an assessment day.  From that day, there is no set number of candidates that will make it through.  On average 30-40% of graduates that attend the session will make it through the assessment day.

After the assessment day, ProGrad starts to make introductions with our client partners for interviews.  We aim to align you to the roles you have specified you’re looking at, during your one to one interview at the ProGrad assessment day.

On average, graduates will attend 2-3 interviews to ensure they are able to find the right cultural fit for their career goals and aspirations.  Once a graduate is offered a role, they then consider whether it is the right opportunity for them.  We would recommend speaking to your family and friends about the position and ensure that it is with total confidence that you accept a role.  If for any reason it doesn’t feel 100% – it is probably not the role for you.

Once job offers have been made and accepted, ProGrad will then see you for training during your first year of employment.  Most employers have a very comprehensive training program internally, however the ProGrad training ensures that you have the basic business skill sets which will ensure a quick progression within an organisation.

If graduates are not successful at the end of the ProGrad assessment day then we urge them to contact us for feedback.  During the ProGrad assessment day, we will have made an assessment based on our competency based assessment framework and provide recommendations for future interviews or assessment days.  Typically, if a candidate doesn’t make it through the day, it could simply mean that they are not right for our roles.  We understand that every candidate has a different desire and drive for certain roles and we’re aslo fully aware that not everyone wants a career in B2B sales.

If you’ve attended an assessment day and didn’t make it through the process, please do not get disheartened.  We are simply one mechanism of many to help find a role.  Take the positives from the experience and aim to increase your skill set by taking on board feedback.

ProGrad can be contacted on 02 8235 8300.  Alternatively, more information about our graduate assessment model can be found on our website www.prograd.com.au

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!

ProGrad recently started a ProGrad facebook group as an area which can be utilised by graduates looking for roles using our service.  Within a short period of time, we have already generated over 200 fans and hope that you will join us also.  We are always looking for contributors in the graduate arena, and we’re open to hearing suggestions from job seekers about their requirements.

We need to learn about what it is that you require from a learning perspective.  Is it that you require interview hints and tips, ideas and suggestions about how to find a job?  Or just an arean to connect with other prospective job seekers to exchange ideas.

Whatever it is you need, we would like to hear from you.  Your input is essential for us!

Visit our ProGrad Facebook Group here

ProGrad is a graduate recruitment organisation and we specialise in helping graduates to start their career.  If you would like to learn more about our opportunities, please contact us on 02 8235 8300.

• 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

ProGrad service Australia yet only have offices in Sydney.  Because of this, we do tend to service other locations on a fortnightly basis, depending on Client demand.

ProGrad are currently working hard to highlight opportunities for our graduates in Brisbane and surrounding areas and once we have highlighted an abundance – you can be sure to see us running an assessment day.

If however, you are keen to relocate to Sydney or Melbourne for opportunities, please call us directly and speak to a consultant here about your options.  ProGrad have a variety of options available for candidates looking to relocate. 

You would still need to attend an assessment day in either Sydney or Melbourne, however once this has been attended it does mean we can start to propose you for interviews with our client partners.  All of our roles have an immediate start date and so you will need to be in a position to relocate immediately.

If this is the case, please contact one of the ProGrad Graduate Management Team on 02 8235 8300 and explain your situation with us directly.

It will come as no surprise that the job market is absolutely flooded with applications at the moment.  For any aspiring graduates who are looking for roles, they will be applying for every job available on Seek.  You’re not alone.  Every job seeker is doing the same thing…and guess what?  That great sounding job that sounded exactly what you were looking for?  That very job probably has the same appeal to hundreds of other job seekers.

In the event that you are applying for lots of jobs but not getting any responses, you must take action.  Lazy job seekers will get left behind.  It is the proactive job seekers out there that are creating opportunities and creating interviews for companies to see them.

As an example, we receive over 1,000 applications each week from graduates looking to start their graduate careers.  That is too many for us to physcially get through as a business and therefore we do give priority to the proactive graduates out there.  If a candidate contacts us directly to explore which opportunities we have, we immediately process their application.  Where possible, we will invite that job seeker to an assessment day and aim to place them as soon as possible.

Proactive graduates will always get priority in this office as it is a signal to our team about the way you conduct yourself professionally.  If you’re not a lazy person, don’t act like it.  If you’re an active, driven, enthusiastic person then behave that way in your job hunt.

If you have recently applied for any of our roles and have not yet heard back from the team, please firstly accpet my apologies.  Secondly, my recommendation is to call us directly on 02 8235 8300 and we will aim to process your application immediately.

Our office number is 02 8235 8300.  For more information on ProGrad please visit www.prograd.com.au

ProGrad will see hundreds of candidates each month through our assessment days in Sydney and Melbourne.  We value any feedback provided to assist in improving the sessions, and would like to welcome your feedback on this site.

Recent feedback we have had includes:

“I really had a great experience yesturday and gained valuable knowledge and insights.
I would really appreciate it if I could get some feedback about my assessment, my strenghts, weaknesess, area’s I need to improve and information as to why I wasn’t successfull.
It would also really appreciate if I could acquire informaton on how to close successfully from a job interview, and how to create a strong job prospect.
Thanks again for your time.”

During a ProGrad Assessment Day, we will make a few recommendations about interviews.  One of the key things to remember is preparation.

Whilst there is a lot of research and preparation you can do at home…it is rather pointless putting all of that effort in, if you’re not going to demonstrate it in an interview.

We recommend to all candidates to take in a physical notebook to the interviews.  In this notebook, have your research already written down.  Also, we recommend having a list of questions you would like to ask.  Take in a pen too, and write down any relevant information covered off in the interview itself.

Not only does this show good preparation, but it demonstrates professionalism.  If you were to attend a business meeting, you would arrive with a notepad and a pen.  An interview is no different.  In essence, it is simply a business meeting.  So treat it with the same level of respect.  Take a pen and paper, and write notes to contribute to any other preparation you have completed.  Not only will you feel more confident, but you will look far better too.

ProGrad help many graduates with interview preparation and even provide a presentation during the assessment days, all about how to be successful in interviews.  If you would like to learn more, please contact ProGrad on 02 8235 8300.

Davinia