Graduand Struggling to Find a Role

• 

  weetyrs on 29/01/2019 - 00:04

  +3

  Why don't you volunteer more at the moment? Build up your resume in whatever way you can and volunteering in any capacity will help that area.

  Also, if you get a chance, try attending those CA or CPA networking events.

  You never know who you can meet, and if you get along well you could always broach the topic of work experience (2 weeks, one month, who cares, anything you can get!)

  Builds your resume and gives you experience in an accounting firm - which is crucial.

  At my old job two people got their jobs from doing work experience (one of them did it so brilliantly that the accountant he assisted the whole time told my boss they needed to hire him. So he started on a part time basis and after one year he went full time. He has been there full time for 3 years now)

  Networking/volunteering is what I'd suggest, especially when you don't have much in your resume, a low WAM, and fails on your transcript.

  At least networking/volunteering might get you an interview and you can impress them there, rather than getting your resume overlooked constantly.

  • 

    burningrage on 29/01/2019 - 08:18

    As a former CPA mentor, I suggest you get in touch with a CPA mentorship program (back in my days, there was no such thing so I am not 100% sure CPA's current mentorship program is like currently but it is better than nothing) and through this, you would hope the mentor may have business connections who can give you a chance to work as internship.

    I can say your degree in BIS would come quite handy as these days many finance systems are going into cloud and database analyst suddenly becomes the new fad and BIS is the key value creator in business because of its expertise in business process improvement.

    My last mentee was exactly like you (graduate) and he got the opportunity at one of the aged care business and I mentored him until he is now skillful in the finance system enough to be able to create his own solution. He is now in TAFE.

    All you need is an opportunity to showcase this. I suggest trying in Non-Profit sector for internship.

  • 

    Sheng on 29/01/2019 - 15:27

    Thanks for the feedback! I'll definitely look into more volunteering roles and networking events to improve my specs.

• 

  xyee on 29/01/2019 - 00:14

  1. Have a chat with the careers people at your university. They may have contacts in the industry and are probably better informed of any available positions. I’ve known a few recent graduates who got jobs that way.
  2. Try networking events to meet people and advertise yourself. Information systems is quite in demand at the moment so leverage your qualifications there. I know someone who majored in IS and got a job with one of the big four banks through networking.

  Goodluck.

  • 

    Sheng on 29/01/2019 - 15:29

    Thanks for the advice. Hopefully, I can be another graduate who gets a job like those you know.

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  BargainHuntrr on 29/01/2019 - 00:26

  Are you based in a city? Try applying with larger national/international businesses - at any level, even in their call center - and use it to get some valuable work experience in a big corporate. While there you can start your post-grad studies and might be able to do it via their Graduate Program. In many big companies they will look for appropriate candidates internally before going to the market so you'll have a chance to land the commerce role you've beed studying for.

  • 

    Sheng on 29/01/2019 - 15:30

    Unfortunately, I quite far into Western Sydney but this hasn't prevented me from applied to locations.

    • 

      WreckTangle on 29/01/2019 - 20:48

      +5

      I don’t understand by ‘unfortunately quite far into western sydney’…western sydney is still part of sydney - like only an hour on the train (or less)

• 

  Findo on 29/01/2019 - 01:19

  +1

  Due to my own faults…

  Do something to reverse these faults then. It’s not impossible to find a job with fails on your transcript, I’ve got 2 fails on mine. I got interviews for every position I went for, because I was able to show prospective employers what I had done to right my wrongs.

  • 

    Sheng on 29/01/2019 - 15:35

    Thanks for the positive words from someone who has shared a similar situation.

• 

  trustnoone on 29/01/2019 - 01:24

  +1

  I had to cold call a few places (send in CVs to random companies) basically asking if they needed an intern for free, or if they're interested to let me know. I specifically emailed through to a person, though I hear linkedin is great for talking to people for that as well.

  This landed me my internship, which gave me 3 months of experience, which is the reason I got employed into my graduate role, otherwise I don't think I would've got it.

  For me it took about 1.5 yrs of applying for jobs after uni before I got my graduate role, so I know it sucks, but keep at it mate, you'll get there.

  • 

    slosh on 29/01/2019 - 10:01

    Do you have any tips for cold calling? By cold calling you're referring to emailing in your CV or Resume asking if they need an intern? I'm about to do the same and wondering if you have any tips. Is emailing a better approach in comparison to calling or walking into the business? Thanks

    • 

      trustnoone on 29/01/2019 - 14:04

      +1

      Yep yep thats it, basically sending through a CV and asking if they need an intern.

      Its an odd one because its hard to imagine they look at it, but surprisingly worked for me. Typically I email, usually something along the lines of being excited to be part of the industry and would love to help out for free (at least I did free).

      In terms of tips what I've noticed is that, they might not get back to you straight away, for me it was 2 months before they felt that they needed someone, they couldn't be bothered advertising, interviewing etc and they remembered my email being eager so they called me up and asked me to come down. I started interning the next week.

      I find email to be a good approach, it isn't too forward though I guess it depends the industry. I've heard of people connecting through LinkedIn which apparently has worked well but its not for me personally. Apparently some people just ask to have a 'coffee' with someone from a company, just to learn more of the industry face to face, they don't ask for an internship specifically but it gets them an 'in'.

      Some other random tips, I found it easier due to the place being more of a teaching culture, basically, it was a company that are willing to teach and take people on, some companies don't have the same culture. Unfortunately you don't really know if its like that until you're there.

      You also want to be careful of places that have a busy HR or a pre-designed process in place, they'll likely just palm you off to the next internship recruiting round not giving you an in.

      Also you want to try to get a manager or supervisor if possible, HR is usually more about the process while a supervisor will just try to get you in asap.

      Smaller companies can also largely be more flexible and open then places with more stricter restrictions.

      Keep in mind I'm pretty sure free internships are illegal unless its part of an educational course (I think, not a lawyer) so some more advanced places will outright say no.

      Good Luck!!

  • 

    Sheng on 29/01/2019 - 15:38

    Congratulations on the success story and thank you for your words of encouragement. By you referring to cold calling who did you go about this? Did you just call and email the general business enquiry or did you target HR departments?

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  Nugs on 29/01/2019 - 06:12

  +17

  word of the day - graduand.
  I thought it was a spelling mistake….
  .

  • 

    feebo on 29/01/2019 - 09:58

    +2

    I clicked thinking it said "Grandad struggling to find a role"
    Disappointed to find it wasn't.

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  pm88 on 29/01/2019 - 07:16

  My brother took 2 years to find a role after earning his degree. He was working in a factory the whole time but kept applying. He made a breakthrough after changing the design of his resume. I think the role he landed initially was a business banker (call centre type of work). One year on he is doing well for himself now climbing the corporate ladder.
  If you are looking for any work in the meantime, I would try local cafes/restaurants and build on those customer service skills. Graduate roles can be competitive as well so don't put all your eggs into one basket, keep applying for everything. You can learn a lot from failed interviews!

  • 

    Sheng on 29/01/2019 - 15:44

    Congratulations to your brother for his dedication to hard-work. I'll definitely try and get some type of employment whilst applying. Thank you for the motivation.

  • 

    Cynicaloflife on 03/02/2019 - 10:12

    This is good advice.

    2 years ago I was struggling to get to the Assessment Centre (final round), but last year I did quite well. I spent a bit of time and effort getting my resume looking good last year and have since gone to all the final round interviews with all the graduate companies that I applied for.

    I have another final round interview lined up for a graduate role with a large American Tech Company.

• 

  sheamas88 on 29/01/2019 - 09:08

  Cold calling and networking. That is how I got my job after graduating in a time when the relevant industry was in a down-turn. Most places weren't hiring or had seriously reduced graduate intake, so there were hundreds of people applying for the same job. Cold calling companies then you probably won't be competing with anyone.

  Make sure you research each company before contacting them, don't just dump a CV at their feet. Make sure you know what their business is about and how you can be an asset.

  Also I agree with the comment above about volunteering. It's great for networking as you should be telling everyone you meet there that you are looking for a job. You never know who someone else might know who is looking for someone like you. It also gives you something to put on your CV while you look for a job since most recruiters don't want to see big gaps in study/employment.

  • 

    Sheng on 29/01/2019 - 15:41

    Thanks for the reply. I knew that there were other applicants but never did truly realise the scale that the recruitment process is. I'll take your advice and explore the cold calling route to see if there is any interest in my industry.

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  swapsey on 29/01/2019 - 09:26

  Unfortunately, you are learning what life is like in low-demand industries for the average graduate. Any degree whereby there is no special knowledge or skill that can differentiate the graduate from the crowd will result in years of applications for internships and other types of roles. These are the dime-a-dozen careers.

  That said, I would start with your communication skills. Read your OP again. Edit it. Paste the edit as a comment in this thread. Improve any piece of it you can. Market yourself before we let you market our company.

  I am graduand from a G08 with a degree in Commerce
  …
  Does anyone have any recommendations on secure a role?

  (examples of a poor opening sentence and an incoherent sentence)

  • 

    Sheng on 29/01/2019 - 15:57

    Thanks for the feedback. You brought up really good points that I agree with.

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  Lunarboogie on 29/01/2019 - 16:39

  I'm assuming you finished your course in November and will conduct the graduation ceremony when Uni recommences in March. It's very early days for you. Keep applying and you'll eventually find something. Even if it's not in your chosen field, you'll be able to transfer shortly afterwards with a bit of experience under your belt. Consider starting low - even bank telling - and work your way up. Whatever they teach in uni these days, nothing will fall into your lap. Apart from the very few who jagged graduate jobs before uni finished, the vast majority of us were in your flipflops once. (For me it was 1999 and listening to Double JJ's 1998 hottest 100 yesterday took me right back).

• 

  fl360 on 06/02/2019 - 16:09

  everyone needs to start somewhere.

  the top grad roles which they advertise officially is hard to get because there are many students better than you.

  If I am you I will try everything, temp work, casual work, in the companies which you like to work for.

  try the job centre in universities, try your network, try your friend's friend's relo's who work in a bank to see if there are any casual positions…

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  Shiny Mew on 20/02/2019 - 16:26

  Try to pick up a trade instead. My cousin is on 90k per annum in his second year of an apprenticeship with a commercial electrician. He's 19 and will be able to retire when he is 40.

  I graduated from a G08 with good marks (including academic prizes) and two degrees (not Arts). I've completed five internships, have more than five years of continuing (albeit casual) volunteer experience in multiple roles, held several other relevant contract/temporary paid work roles and I interview well. I've gained a Grad Dip since then and still haven't found any work that is remotely relevant two years after graduating. Unless you're of gifted intelligence or have powerful connections, tertiary education is a huge waste of time and money.