Page 27 - Graduate Recruitment Handbook 2024

2. Invest time into internships or work • Can you afford the costs involved in further
experience study? How long will it take before you can
One of the most common frustrations among job- expect a return on investment (ROI)?
seekers is that so-called “entry-level” roles require • Are higher degrees valued/expected by
experience. It’s a catch-22 situation: how can you employers in your field? Are they a “must
get a job without experience, and how can you get have” or a “nice to have”?
experience without a job? • Is there an opportunity to gain some practical
experience during the course of study?
The answer lies in internships and work experience.
These programs give graduates practical skills, a 5. Get your resume in order
greater knowledge of the industry, and all-important Write a winning resume to get yourself noticed by
workplace experience. In exchange, the employer employers. At this stage in your career, it will be
benefits from your voluntary or low-paid labour, weighted more towards your academic history than
usually involving low-level, office-based tasks. work experience, but you can expect this to change
over time.
Getting on-the-job experience is an effective way of
making yourself work-ready and in some cases, can Keep the document short and sharp by using the
even lead to a full-time job. following basic framework:
But- be aware that internships are sometimes • Contact details
problematic. Unpaid interns can be exploited by • Brief overview and key strengths
unscrupulous employers, and the practice is known • Work history (if any)
to worsen income inequality as not everyone can • Education and training
afford to work a volunteer job. • Referees
Become familiar with job descriptions in your field Make sure you identify keywords from the job ad
to determine if internships or work experience are a and include them in your resume to help it get past
must-have in your targeted profession. any potential screening process. There are plenty of
templates available to download, and professional
3. Understand where to look for job resume writers are available to hire if you need some
opportunities guidance.
Where do employers in your industry advertise job
opportunities? Places to look for jobs include: 6. Look into grad programs
• Industry-specific job sites such as ArtsHub Graduate programs are harder to get into than
• Company careers pages internships, as they’re geared towards fast-tracking
• LinkedIn and other professional networking future leaders into a specific organisation.
platforms Grads benefit from networking opportunities,
• Word-of-mouth referrals or unadvertised jobs competitive salaries, training programs, and
found through your network professional development opportunities to gain
• Recruitment agencies experience in multiple roles through a rotation
program. At the end of the program, a grad will
4. Consider improving your employability with typically be offered a full-time role.
further study
Postgraduates are around 10% more likely to Grads get a lot more support and attention than
find full-time employment within four months of interns, but in exchange, the work tends to be more
graduation than undergrads. demanding with a greater level of responsibility
involved. Grad programs range from six months to
Before making the decision to embark on further three years in length.
study, ask yourself:

2024/2025 Graduate Recruitment Handbook 27