Member Article

Employability: The best undergraduates are doing this…

Competition for graduate positions has never been stronger. Studies estimate that as many as 50 applications are received for every graduate job in the UK. Coming out of university with academic achievements alone is not enough. Lord Winston famously made reference to the fact that he would discriminate against students with first class degrees in favour of those with lower level qualifications where the candidate had a more diverse interest background.

So what are the highest quality candidates doing to improve employability?

Global Thinking and Communication

Being able to think on a global level is a high level skill which graduate recruiters are interested in. If you can travel to the corners of the earth and establish a life for yourself, get a job, find a place to rent then you have a distinct advantage. Such experiences demonstrate adaptability, communication, cultural awareness and resilience. My advice would be to seek out opportunities for travel throughout your undergraduate studies whether this be through your course, the students union or even some time spent independently travelling.

Work Experience to develop Commercial Awareness

At a recent graduate careers fair a representative from PricewaterhouseCoopers informed me that one of the key competencies they seek is commercial awareness. I would describe commercial awareness as ‘having an understanding of how your actions in a business context ultimately impact the bottom line.’ Included in this is a demonstration of entrepreneurial behaviours.

The very best undergraduate students are seeking opportunities for work experience which is more hands on than part-time work for income alone. Great opportunities lie within internships where you are given very clear responsibility for a set project which will have tangible business outcomes. My advice would be to seek out opportunities that allow you to make a commercial difference.

Entrepreneurial Flair

Many students think ‘Entrepreneurial’ behaviour is reserved for the business and management students but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I regularly deal with students from arts, humanities and scientific backgrounds who are starting their own businesses. Quite often these take the form of a hobby from which they can make money. One recent conversation I had was with an English Language graduate on a scheme with Tesco. During her time at university she had started a karate club for women in the local parish hall. I’ve seen law students doing web design and physics students starting soup businesses. These types of experience demonstrate entrepreneurial capability, leadership, innovation and tenacity.

Positions of Responsibility

Societies are obviously a great way to build the CV. Not everyone is cut out to be the president of the society however there are various other positions which can help build experience. Secretarial and treasury type positions demonstrate commitment, organisation and team-working capabilities. These experiences invariably lead to opportunities to get involved with planning events and fundraising which are appealing experiences for graduate recruiters.

Structured Volunteering Opportunities

We live in a world where Corporate Social Responsibility is becoming a focal point for international business. As such corporate recruiters are more interested than ever before in graduates who can demonstrate a natural affinity towards people in less advantaged situations. One of the best ways to do this is through voluntary work.

Rather than undertaking voluntary work just to build a CV the best students are looking for voluntary work which mirrors their career paths. These include recently qualified law students undertaking pro-bono work, engineering students promoting STEM subjects in schools and graphic designers working with charities to develop promotional campaigns. All of these are examples benefit the student and the charitable cause.

Networking & the Personal Brand

Whether online or in real-life the high flying undergraduates understand the importance of the personal brand and the network. They regularly attend campus events at which important figures from the companies they want to work for are in attendance. They are also using alumni networks to connect and seek out work experience opportunities.

The personal brand is also managed online. Savvy students ensure that the social media history hides any information that shouldn’t be made public, and they have a polished Linkedin profile. The savvier undergraduate student is also increasing their profile by blogging regularly and building a community of interest within the subjects they are passionate about.

General Employability Skills

Finally the best students are very clear on their employability position. They are seeing careers counsellors, getting application feedback and support, practicing interviews and assessment centres in order to provide themselves with the best opportunities for success in real life applications.

These activities should not be to the detriment of the studies. Furthermore, rather than all these things, top students are perhaps doing a combination of a few of these activities. However, by just doing one or two of these types of activity you are certain to improve your employability than by doing nothing at all.

What great examples have you seen of students improving employability?

Daniel Knowles is a SME Placements Project Manager at Lancaster University and Careers Coach at Lancaster ICV.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Daniel Knowles .