ProGrad Brisbane

Whether or not you’re successful at the ProGrad assessment day, we do aim that the experience is a positive one and relevant information is provided to job seekers which can assist for future interviews.  We acknowledge that time is being spent at our offices conducting a long interview process, and therefore we dedicate over an hour to a presentation on “The Importance of First Impressions”.

This presentation covers a number of topics, around resume writing, cover letters, the application process for jobs, preparing for interviews and even how to approach different interview styles.  Whilst it may not all be relevant to every job seeker, we do aim to provide an insight which will add value to the job hunting process.

Here is an email we received this morning, from a candidate who was present at the ProGrad assessment day yesterday:

Hi Davinia,

Just wanted to say thanks for giving me the opportunity today. The presentation given today about resume writing was invaluable!! It would be great if you could send me the presentation as I remember hearing you say we could request them. Also, feedback would be great too! I Which number can I ring?

Thanks once again for the experience, it was very helpful in many ways,

yours sincerely,

Carmen

Prograd is Australia’s leading graduate placement organisation and we’re expanding each month which in turn is providing more and more graduate opportunities to our candidates.  If you would like to know more about attending a ProGrad assessment day, either in Sydney or Melbourne, please call us on 02 8235 8300.

Yesterday was a good ProGrad assessment day in Sydney, seeing 18 graduates make it through the process.  Naturally, we were impressed with the calibre of all graduates, and with over 45 people in attendance it was certainly competitive.

We have a number of clients present at the assessment day yesterday and are anticipating many successful graduate placements to follow this week. 

One email was sent to me this morning, which I wanted to share in this post.  It was written by a graduate that attended the day yesterday:

“Dear Davina,

Thank you kindly for your time and for having me sit in today. I quite enjoyed the assessments as a whole, but in particular found your input with the CV/application process/interview tips/Proposal documents to be immensely helpful.

I will call you tommorrow morning for a debrief, if I can.

Again, thank you for your time and help.

Sincerely, “

The key thing is that graduates find the process valuable, even if they are not successful through the process.  We aim to provide an insightful presentation which is aimed at increasing the success levels of our candidates in the interview process. 

ProGrad assessment days are running weekly in Sydney and fortnightly in Melbourne.  If you would like any more information about the ProGrad opportunities, please contact ProGrad on 02 8235 8300.

Time management is something that most people struggle with.  It becomes too easy to become absorbed by our day to day distractions that carry little or no relevance on our key objectives.

Every now and again, you need to step away.  Take a step away from the situation to distance yourself from the work load.  Identify what you are spending time doing.  What are they key distractions or interruptions that you’re facing each day?  Make a list of these, and then identify what will happen if things don’t change.  If distractions are having an impact on your completing your work, what is the end result?  Longer hours, less time at home, a lack of work-life balance.  Perhaps you will end up leaving your role as it all becomes too much to bear.

The results can be damaging. 

Take a step back and list the distrations.  Then list your priorities each week.  What MUST you achieve each week?

By identifying the key tasks that need completing each week, you now have a base framework to create a timetable.  Nothing too restrictive, but just something that provides a basis for concentrated and focused sessions to complete key activities.  If there are distractions such as emails/ phone calls/ Facebook and MSN distracting you, then allocate a time each day to deal with these.  Be disciplined with yourself. 

The average person apparently checks their emails 200 times per day at work.  This is insane!  By limiting the time accessing your inbox, you will immediately buy more hours in your working week.  Aim to open your inbox 6-8 times each day.  A huge relief will be felt.

ProGrad are a training provider and regularly deliver Time Management Training sessions to companies.  If you would like any information on this topic, please call our team on 02 8235 8300.

ProGrad can be found on slideshare where there are a few presentations to view.

This unique website provides the opportunity for companies to upload their presentations to be accessed by viewers at their leisure.  www.slideshare.net has become a popular website for a number of organisations, and can also be used as a great source for research purposes prior to interviews.  For ProGrad presentations click here.

If you’re a job seeker then this is definitely a good place to start researching on companies, markets, products or even competitors.

ProGrad have been servicing companies in Australia since 2005 and have established an impressive client base over the years.  As a graduat recruitment specialist, our core activity is assessing graduates for key competencies, placing them into business to business sales and marketing roles, then providing them with training in their first year to guarantee their success.

It is a unique concept and one that is suitable for candidates looking for a business career within the sales or marketing teams.  Whether it be withing FMCG, Media, IT, Pharmaceuticals or even Events, we will have roles available for keen, driven graduates looking to start their corporate career.

We are currently receiving in excess of 1,000 applications each week nationwide and therefore would strongly urge any candidates to contact the office directly in order to have their application processed.

Our contact number for the ProGrad head office is 02 8235 8300.

ProGrad have anumber of assessment days coming up in Melbourne over forthcoming months.  Our assessment days are an integral part of the ProGrad process and must be attended prior to any engagement with our clients. 

Our confirmed dates for ProGrad Assessment Days in March and April, Melbourne are as follows:

Friday 26th March, starting at 12.30pm

Friday 30th April, starting at 12.30pm

We will have limited spaces available for each session and will have a number of clients attending also. Please contact the graduate management team in order to secure your place on the day.  Our Graduate Management team can be contacted on 02 8235 8300. 

ProGrad is a graduate recruitment organisation working with over 600 companies across Australia.  Our roles are typically within the Business to Business sales divisions of our client partners.

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!

ProGrad also own and manage an online jobs portal for recent graduates www.graduatejobs.com.au

This site is aimed at University job seekers and offers employers free advertising to drive more graduate placements.  A number of graduate employers are currently listed, including the RTA graduate program and JP Morgan. 

Ericsson is currently recruiting for their graduate program and applications are open until 31st March.  These roles are predominantly in Engineering and IT, based in Victoria.  If you’d like to apply for these roles, browse the Graduate Jobs website and follow the links to the Ericsson application page.

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.

ProGrad can be found on Twitter at www.twitter.com/progradgraduate

We’re looking to extend our social media presence as a way of listening to our candidates and understanding their needs.  This information will assist us to adapt our business model accordingly to suit our candidates. 

As ProGrad ages, our candidate base is getting younger and it’s essential that we understand the generation that we’re dealing with. 

Only this morning I have received an email explaining that Linkedin.com has over 1 million members in Australia alone.  Linkedin.com is one of my favourite social media tools and certainly one that I strongly recommend all graduate job seekers are using.

ProGrad can be found on linkedin.com here where we have a ProGrad graduates group.  Feel free to join us!

We’re on a mission at the moment to identify some of the top sales incentives which would be well received from graduates in a business-to-business sales role.  Our core activity is placing graduates at the start of their career into B2B sales roles across a variety of industries.  These roles could take the form of Territory Management, Campaign Coordination, Account Executives, Sales Representatives, Business Developers – quite literally everything. 

Most organisations will have some form of incentive or bonus plan in place which will drive new business sales activity.  For some organisations, a cash incentive is put in place to excite employees, whereas other organisations will offer prizes, vouchers, cinema tickets – the list goes on.

We’re often asked by employers to suggest ideas which will inspire the candidates we’re placing in sales roles.  And so we would like to hear from you; what types of sales incentives are appealing as graduates?  Are you always going to be attracted by prizes?  Or, is extra money the incentive for you?

ProGrad is a graduate recruitment company and our core activity is placing graduates at the start of their career.  Experience is not relevant for our roles as full training will be provided.  We would like to hear from you if you have any ideas in this area, and we can be contacted on 02 8235 8300 or emailed info@prograd.com.au

Today is “Super Tuesday” at the ProGrad offices in Sydney, which means we’re conducting a day of high sales activity. 

In order to introduce our business concept to new organisations, it is essential that we initially make contact on the telephone with a view to book a business meeting.  As a team, we aim to exceed internal KPI’s in order to attend hundreds of new business meetings each month.  Every business developer at ProGrad works hard in order to build and maintain relationships with high level decision makers and this is initially driven through out-bound calling.

And so, with Super Tuesday about to kick off, I am confident there will be many meetings booked today.  Managing Directors….stand by your phones.

Davinia

ProGrad have recently recruited another ProGrad graduate to join the team in a business development capacity.

As a business, we rely on proactive sales in order to drive graduate opportunities on behalf of our candidates.  As part of Jon’s role as a Business Development Executive, he will be driving new business opportunities with a view to placing multiple graduates across a variety of businesses.

Jon’s background is unique, and as a graduate of Aviation Management he left University with a few interesting options.  Passionate about business, Jon applied to ProGrad and shortly after he attended a ProGrad assessment day.  Having passed with flying colours, he was invited to attend an interview with ProGrad and soon after accepted a role within our business development team.

Everyone in the team wishes him the best of luck, and we look forward to following his success here.

Are you wondering where all the Brisbane vacancies for graduates are?

ProGrad are based in Sydney and service Sydney and Melbourne primarily.  We do also offer placements in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth however there is simply a limited presence for us in those areas which naturally means we don’t generate as much demand for our ProGrad service.

ProGrad are a business model which sells.  We sell our graduate concept to organisations and build relationships with companies who are looking for a new talent source.  We currently work with over 600 companies across Australia, however less than 10% of the roles available are based in QLD.

If you’re looking to move inter-state for graduate roles, then please contact our ProGrad office who can offer advice about the next steps.  We still urge you to apply, however there will be a different method if you’re looking to relocate.

ProGrad are Australia’s largest assessment, placement and training company and place over 500 graduates each year.  If you’d like to be considered for any of our roles, please contact the graduate management team on 02 8235 8300.

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.

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!

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

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.