Should you accept your first job offer?

This is a typical question asked by graduates. There is not one correct answer so instead the following post just discusses the subject, letting you make a better decision.

After deliberating your future career for three or so years, most will have some idea of what they want to do and this will draw them to apply for jobs in particular industries. Others may just send off applications to jobs with a decent salary and an appealing job description. Therefore these people are likely to send several applications, seeing as I have found few job descriptions that fail to extol the virtues of the job, no matter if everybody knows it is a boring job.

In this job market, unless you are a particularly strong candidate who has honed their CV for a specific career, you will probably find yourself interviewing for jobs that were not initially top of your list; jobs you didn’t really know existed. This is no bad thing; interview experience will prove very useful.

The confidence you build from getting invited in for interviews and then a re-invitation to meet more senior people is quite addictive. At some point in the interview process, the penny should drop and you will suddenly think, someone other than my mum likes and believes in me. The ‘high’ you get from the belief these firms seem to have in you often helps carry you along what can be a grueling process. You will be busy applying for other jobs and preparing for interviews and therefore you may not pay particularly close attention to what the job entails.

The prospect of independence, money and the temptations of city life further helps convince you that the job you are currently interviewing for is a good one and the people who you have met seem friendly. If all goes well you will soon find yourself sitting in front of the boss. Suddenly you get a job offer and only then do you look closer into the job role and more importantly consider do you actually want it! This seems a silly question to pose after you have spent weeks interviewing; yet many graduates are scared by the fact there are a lack of good jobs and success in any interview process is better than being overly choosey and remaining jobless for longer.

Make sure you understand your motivations for applying for the job and what the job involves that will keep you interested. The promise of a salary and moving away from home is definitely not enough reason to accept an offer. However, graduates need to be aware that there are not a huge number of jobs available at the moment. They can’t dream up which job they really want and expect to get it. The typical 11 year old rock star/astronaut dilemma certainly does not apply.

To help to make your decision about if you should accept a job or not, consult people. Your family should be the first port of call and try to get the view of people from within the industry, either your friends who might be considering a similar job or older contacts. Recruiters you have worked with will also be able to help (they will be biased but will still give you an angle). Ideally you will have a mentor figure, who will be able to help you make these sorts of decisions.

You can always ask the employer from time to consider your options, but due to the number of people that will have applied for the role, you won’t be given much time, a week maximum, but normally just a few days. Remember the offer you have for a job may not be particularly lucrative, exciting or prestigious, however, it is a start. It lets you get on the career. Bare this in mind when looking at your options! For more information and chat about graduates and jobs, please follow this blog!

5 Fundamental Tips For Effective Networking

Networking can be a fantastic way to learn about an industry, build a contact base and make friends. For some reason I have found a stigma associated with the word ‘networking’. It’s the sort of contrived term that many relate to what people in faceless offices do, whilst wearing boring shirts and drinking cheap wine.

Yet these people might be well connected, they might be happy and successful in their job. Then again, they might have said they have been networking last night, because they were too embarrassed to admit they have no friends, so just went home for a pot noodle and warm Wispa bar.

Most people don’t consider themselves as networkers. Nevertheless, this activity can prove useful for job seeking graduates. You never know whom you are going to meet. Take a quick look at one of my older posts that explains the importance of coming across as being friendly and inquisitive. To further help rookies successfully tackle a networking event; I have listed 5 crucial things they must remember.

1) Smile: I appreciate this is not a dating blog, however, there is nothing more off putting than a moody facial expression. This will ensure people steer clear from you. A smile puts people at ease.

2) Save ‘fashionably late’ for dinner parties: If at an official event, there will be less people at the beginning so it is easier to meet more people, before the room form groups. Plus you have first choice of the nibbles (if offered) and they won’t run out of wine after your first glass - an ounce of two of Dutch courage has been known to help loosen the larynx.

3) Leave your sales chat at the door, along with your ego: This is a relationship building exercise, not a ‘who can sell the most’ contest. Keep your conversations informal and forget that you could potentially sell to the people to whom you are talking.

4) Talk AND Listen: Let others ask what you do, rather than boring everybody with a mini pitch as soon as you have shaken hands. People will be quick to move away if they think you just want to talk at them all night. Keep plenty of eye contact and nurture the conversation. Be a conversationalist, not a talker.

5) Follow up on leads: Any networking becomes a waste of time if you fail to follow up on leads or business cards you collected. I would get in touch within three days of the event and make reference to something you talked about, no matter how random. You now have a warm lead to chase! Choose to follow these simple but effective rules and you will gain the most from any networking event. For more graduate hints and tips please follow this blog!

What job should you do?

This is a particularly difficult question to answer, as there is not a correct answer. Naturally your degree course and grade will significantly influence your future career options/prospects. Although comprehensive work experience and a real passion for a particular career unrelated to your degree should be enough to get you into the interview process, unless the job has strict prerequisites, which you simply don’t satisfy.

If you are really unsure of what the future holds, the best way of finding out is by doing something. Doing something gives you experience. Experience is what tells you if you will like something or not. How do you know if you would like to climb Mount Everest, if you have never climbed a hill? How do you know you would like Las Vegas, if you have never been? If you haven’t experienced something, your opinions on the subject are created by what other people have said and what you have read. Vegas only sounds great because most rave about it. However, they are ‘other people’ and when it comes to choosing jobs, they might find a job enjoyable that you find impossible or irritating. In short, find out what ‘you’ enjoy and what you want to do! What is important is you understand what sort of environment you want to work in; a buzzy sales office or a quiet research based position. Do you want to work people, in team or prefer working alone?

Any temporary or permanent position will start to show you the environment in which you might enjoy working. Love partying, go and work in a nightclub. You will probably be shocked at how little you enjoy working in the same environment in which you revel, when partying. At the begging of your career, what you do doesn’t really matter, as it just gives you experience. This helps you make a better choice of career.

Doing something also means you open yourself to opportunities you would have not been exposed to if you hadn’t thrown caution to the wind and tried something in the first place. This is why I don’t see the unpaid internship debacle as so outrageous. As long as they pay for your travel costs, you are getting free, fantastic work experience. What more can graduates in this recession ask for? You never know who you are going to meet and what might happen. See my other post for the importance of making a good impression when meeting people!

Graduates forget they are just graduates and have little commercial experience that can make the company money. So in this economic climate, they can’t expect to rock up for some work experience and get paid handsomely for their time. This whole topic is hotly debated, so I will refrain from commenting further at this point.

However, to summarise, if you want to help yourself don’t hang around after university on endless family holidays. For those without jobs, your search has now become a full time job, so treat it like one! This may sound harsh, but I want to see you employed and getting on with your career. So if this means taking jobs for just a few months, to earn some cash and help you get closer to finding your dream job, so be it! For further info on graduate employment please follow this blog. Who knows what might happen...

Do you know who you are talking to?

People always complain their job search stagnates because they can never get in front of a decision maker. Yet, they assure me if they could only sit opposite the boss, they are confident they can be sufficiently compelling, exude a charming personality and plenty of gravitas and obviously have the skills to thoroughly impress the Managing Director. For many, getting a one to one opportunity can be tricky as you, a good but not outstanding candidate gets siphoned off onto the reject pile early on, before you have had a chance to sell yourself to a fellow human, rather than an online application form.

Provided you are not a hermit who finds solace in all-night stints on World of Warcraft, I am sure you will find yourself out for drinks or dinner. When out and about, especially in central London, you are surrounded by important people and by that I mean city workers, directors, people that own companies. In short, people with influence and the power to open doors. People that could potentially help you out.

Instead of thinking you must switch on a professional and enquiring persona as soon as someone that looks important enters the room, train yourself to always be like this, no matter who you are with or where you are.

This is crucial because you never know to whom you are talking. Come across like a hapless slob, before suddenly realising you are standing toe to toe with a CEO, and you have essentially compromised any chance of getting help from them. No matter how quickly you stand up straight, begin correctly enunciating your words or offer to buy them a drink, it is usually too late. Even a poor handshake gives an impression and can dampen things, literally.

You would be surprised how much business gets done over a pint/glass of wine. In this tough market, I suggest candidates have a more entrepreneurial approach to finding a job as the usual routes are clogged up with hundreds of other fantastic candidates. There is always an element of luck when it comes to building contacts and if any of them can be of use. However, just make sure you use and capitalise on opportunities that present themselves and by this I mean you give always give a great impression whoever you are meeting and always follow up on people’s offers of help. Whether at a birthday party, wedding, or drinks after work, you never know who you are going to meet! So get your game face on. For more job-hunting hints and tips please follow this blog!