The ideal graduate

Graduating this summer? Not quite sure how to go about bagging your dream job? Here’s a short guide to what makes the ideal graduate from the employers themselves.


At the graduate careers festival where 65 organizations came together at St Georges Hall, they provided a few tips for us students in despair….

  • Volunteering, placements, internships all look great on your CV but if you’re lucky enough to get an interview, banging on about the 2 weeks of work experience you did in a primary school when you were 16 really isn’t going to cut it.

  • According to Aegis Media, they felt that showing a sense of responsibility and passion by being a president of a society or sports team is more valuable to them than a graduate that has been working in a retail store for a year. Somehow I don’t think they’d be too enthusiastic after hearing stories of what many presidents get up to on a typical AU night…

  • It is common knowledge that a lot of us students don’t really have the time to sit there tailoring every cover letter and CV to match the criteria of the hundreds of jobs we’re applying for (especially if the new series of Made in Chelsea is on). However it turns out copy and paste in this case won’t get you very far. Employers are looking for a personal spin on the typical, chronological CV‘s they receive.

  • Relevance is key. Grant Thornton explained that regarding the application process you don’t have to do much research on the company, simply regurgitating what you’ve read on the website is an easy way of showing your awareness and interest in the company.   

  • Finally, your degree does not limit your options. Companies aren’t specifically basing their judgement of potential employees on their degree but their personality! (Although if you don’t have a personality, you’re out of luck)

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