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Guides to getting your first graduate job

Written for people applying now. Each guide answers one question and says what to do next.

Interviews

Questions, structure, video rounds and what happens after.

  1. InterviewsCommercial Awareness for Graduates: What Interviewers Mean by ItCommercial awareness means understanding your sector, the organisation you are applying to and the pressures on both, and employers often test it during recruitment.
  2. InterviewsCompetency-Based Interview Questions for GraduatesCompetency-based interview questions ask you to describe something you have really done, and the interviewer compares your answer with criteria set in advance.
  3. InterviewsHireVue Interviews: How They Work and How to PrepareA HireVue interview is a recorded interview you complete on your own, answering set questions to camera at a time you choose.
  4. InterviewsHow to Answer "Tell Me About Yourself" in a Graduate InterviewA short, tailored answer that starts with what you are doing now, names one achievement and links both to the job beats a life story.

Guides on this are being written. Pip can talk it through in the meantime.

Psychometric tests

What each test measures and how to practise it.

  1. Psychometric testsSHL Tests for Graduates: The Main Types and How to PrepareSHL publishes different assessments, so the test you sit depends on the employer and your preparation should start with the format you have been sent.
  2. Psychometric testsWatson Glaser Test: What It Measures and How to PractiseThe Watson Glaser test measures how well you reason from written information, and you can prepare by practising each question type under timed conditions.

Guides on this are being written. Pip can talk it through in the meantime.

CV and resume

What to put on the page when you have little experience.

  1. CV and resumeHow to Write a Graduate Cover LetterA graduate cover letter introduces you alongside your CV, explains what your evidence means for the role, and has to be rewritten for each application.
  2. CV and resumeSelection Criteria Examples for Graduate Jobs in AustraliaSelection criteria in Australia ask you to show how you have already used the skills a job needs, with a specific example rather than a claim.

Guides on this are being written. Pip can talk it through in the meantime.

Schemes and programs

How UK schemes and Australian programs recruit.

  1. Schemes and programsHow Australian Graduate Programs Work: Stages and TimingAustralian graduate programs are structured programs at larger employers, entered through a staged recruitment process that can run for months.
  2. Schemes and programsHow UK Graduate Schemes Work: Stages and TimingA graduate scheme is a paid, structured training programme at a large employer, usually lasting one to three years and opening for applications in your final year.

Guides on this are being written. Pip can talk it through in the meantime.

First job

Choosing, starting and the awkward bits nobody explains.

    Guides on this are being written. Pip can talk it through in the meantime.