Time to look past the chips and
gravy and give more graduates
from the North a go.
Katie Jamieson details her frustration as a graduate looking for
employment before a PR company took notice of her blog and gave her a
chance…
Upon my graduation from Lancaster University in 2010 I returned the rented
accommodation,library books and mortar board intact, but the 2:1 and the
pocketful of dreams were mine for keeping. Everything was packed into storage
and I headed home for Manchester. Despite the comedown from The Best Three
Years Of Your Life, I was keen to enter full time employment, but needed to start
looking, like most of my friends. In fact, there was only a handful of people I ever
knew who were blessed enough to have known since birth that it was their dream
to do something called a ‘graduate programme’ and somewhere between the
dissertations, revision and Come Dine With Me marathons they had managed to
secure such a rare opportunity.
The first few weeks into my search, I encountered a lot of ‘No’s – or pure
ignorance, which was even more annoying – and I chastised myself for being so
naive as to think my diligence alone would get me any job I liked. As weeks turned
into months, I began to step up the application process until there was no
employment stone unturned that didn’t have my CV attached to it, in the NorthWest at least.
I decided to expand my job search further afield with desperate reasoning that if I
was offered something, then I would make it work. After signing up to and
scouring a wealth of recruitment sites, having my CV changed around by various
job experts (I ended up with 24 different versions) I felt no more special than any
of the other graduates who formed the endless paper sift that I was stuck in. I
decided to revisit Give A Grad A Go and saw a one month paid placement with PR
company, TopLine Communications, which sounded fantastic. Fantastic, but
London-based. Not only did the job appeal, but after working 9-5 days of filling in
extensive applications and often knowing I would never hear back, GAGAGO’s 50word manifesto application appealed to the desperate, downtrodden, adjectivefriendly graduate that I was. 50 words to make an impression. I have never used
so few nouns and verbs in a sentence before. Then something amazing happened.
My phone rang. Of course it was GAGAGO asking me a few more questions to see
if I was right for the job and requesting a link to my blog, which I sent them. They
also asked how I could do a job in London, when I lived in Manchester. This is
something I suspect a lot of the recruitment sites and jobs I applied for often
rejected me for. In fact, the week prior to this phone call I had been at an
interview where I was the only one of fourteen from outside of London. While
others got time to tell the group about their achievements, I was asked “Why
London?” “I’ll do it, don’t worry” I assured them, not really knowing if I could,
logistically. Skip ahead a few pages and the very next day I was on a train to
London for the interview and got offered the placement. When that finished, I was
made permanent.
Although I haven’t looked back since, I have of course made sacrifices. I had to
leave my family and friends and find a flat. I spent three months sleeping on blowup beds of various friends’ living rooms and each day was a daily shock at the cost
of living down here. I couldn’t have dreamed of doing it if TopLine hadn’t offered
a paid placement. But, I have no regrets. I was one of thousands
of graduates in the North, stagnating and nearing an implosion of confidence. My
advice to recruiters who are London-centric is to look outside the capital for
highly capable, excellent graduates. Being forced to make life changes to pursue
a career is only going to increase work ethic, and it is about time recruiters look
past the chips and gravy and give more
graduates from the north a go.
view my kloodle profile here
https://kloodle.com/jamieson
Kloodle interview – Netsource at
Manchester’s Grad fair
We talked to Netsource at the Manchester graduate fair. They wanted to promote
their warm and friendly working environment they strive to create for freshly
graduated employees. Grad Fairs are a good chance to get a feel for a company as
well as put yourself on the radar of these companies by impressing them at their
stalls. The opportunities within the company for graduates were mentioned and
they talked about the responsibilities and constantly changing roles within your
1st year as a gradaute, you will learn a lot. Adaptability is king! learn more about
Netsource and watch the video here…
http://kloodle.wistia.com/medias/oxs0aqdxvg?embedType=iframe&videoWidth=6
40
Kloodle interviews Majestic at
Manchester Graduate Fair
Here Majestic talk about why graduates should want to work for the UK’s largest
wine retailer. They typically appoint graduates in trainee management roles, with
the view to becoming a fully fledged manager within about 2
years. Entrepreneurial skills therefore are high on their agenda, they look for
people who want to be proactive in developing their own skills constantly. Clearly
someone who has acheived well at University will be favourably thought of but
majestic appreciate what you have done outside of study can be equally as
relevant or impressive. You may have got involved in sports, working in a bar,
working in retail, all of these roles could have developed skills which could make
you perfect for Majestic. Through the training, the company want you to
understand what it is that will make you the best manager or employee at
Majestic.
Why
majestic?
read
here
to
find
out
more… http://careers.majestic.co.uk/management-careers/why-majestic
http://kloodle.wistia.com/medias/v4iautex10?embedType=iframe&videoWi
dth=640