Job Search for New Graduates

It seems that this new generation of graduates relies more on their parents for career advice. Technology plays a role as cell phones and e-mails facilitate regular contact. It is in this context that Merrill Lynch & Co. invited their interns' parents to visit company offices, Ernst & Young LLP packaged company information for parents, etc.

Nothing is worst than studying for three or four years in a specific field and having nothing to show but a transcript... so plan ahead!

Becky Remington, head of graduate services at Reed Consulting, said: "Employers need to ensure that every part of their recruitment process runs smoothly from attraction all the way through to the final offer stage to protect their businesses performance and employer brand. With the current war for talent in graduate recruitment, where candidates often progress quickly to senior levels of the organisation, employers need to treat their applicants as future company directors when designing and delivering their recruitment processes."

Big organizations tend to focus on grades more than small ones... I guess because they have so many to choose from that they can afford to be picky.

The main thing to keep in mind though is that grades are only part of the equation. You can "almost always" overcome bad grades by compensating with other accomplishments or strengths.

If a candidate has high grades, but nothing else to show, this might give the impression that he or she is "good at school", but not necessarily "apt for the workplace", and so forth. By the way, high grades don't help at the interview (they only help at "getting" the interview).

"Academic research reviewed by The WorkPlace Group in Florham Park indicated that GPA has a positive, though not large, relationship with work performance, wrote Domniki Demetriadou, Ph.D., director of process management and assessment. He also said other factors like general cognitive ability, emotional intelligence, conscientiousness and learning goal orientation often overrule the academic performance."

Well, all that I meant to say was: "do not fear your grades". Just work with what you have to make the best of what you have. Although if you have bad grades because you're lazy, well... too bad for you.

Sue Shellenbarger discusses in her article the involvement of some parents in the job search process. Employers are slowly starting to cope with this trend. She cites the example of parents accompanying their children to interviews (they don't wait in the car... but in the lobby), parents calling recruiters to convince them to hire their children, parents calling after their children received an offer trying to negotiate a better deal, etc.

"Figuring they can't beat the trend, some employers are joining it. Ferguson Enterprises, a Newport News, Va., building-supplies distributor, last year started offering to send a copy of recruits' offer letters to their parents, says Denise Francum, director of recruiting; "more than half of them say yes.""

It seems that they are, according to industry groups in Australia. The problem is that universities are turning out graduates that are not "job-ready".

When in university, most students worry about getting good grades. But how can that help in the real world? Some will argue that it helps because good grades mean that you "know your stuff". I would argue "so what?". Other skills are more important such as team work, problem-solving, client relations, motivation, etc.

Grades are important because we need an objective way to evaluate students based on similar criteria. Maybe the problem resides more in what is taught and how students are evaluated.

There seems to be a disconnect between what industry wants and what universities are doing. What's the role of universities after all? To prepare students for the job market or to give them the basic necessities to become better citizens? I would argue both.

I guess it comes down to one thing: there needs to be more communication between the various parties involved. How about including students also?

Graduates 'Lacking Job Skills', The Australian