David Bowes
Company: SRG
Title: Account Manager
SRG is the UK market leader in scientific, engineering and clinical recruitment. We place graduates from a science background with pharmaceutical, food and beverage, and chemical companies. We have an exclusivity deal with Pfizer and have recently won an award for Best Candidate Care and Best Healthcare / Medical Recruitment Company.
Graduates are unique because they often have relatively little experience. That’s why we look at soft skills like communication and leadership abilities. I see a lot of graduates and the ones which impress me most are affable, will clearly mix well in a team and can answer a question in some depth without protracting the process or waffling.
You need to be able to convince me that you are what you say you are on your CV. It’s easy to put down that you’re a team player who goes the extra mile, but you need to illustrate this with examples such as setting up a club or being course representative.
A good degree isn’t everything but it can indicate other capabilities such as organisation and dedication. Extra curricular activities that have involved working with people are positive, because it shows you can be productive when you haven’t needed to be.
My top five tips for graduates:
- Get your CV right – basic errors, spelling mistakes, poor layout and gaps in your CV history will stand against you.
- Know all the different routes you can take, such as approaching a company directly, going through agencies or finding employers at Careers Fairs.
- Rejections can be disheartening but don’t give up.
- Prepare for interviews and never try and wing it. Speak to your Careers Service and recruitment consultancies like SRG and get as much as you can out of face to face meetings.
- The interview’s not over until you’re 100 metres away from the building. Even if it’s gone well, you can still hang yourself at the last minute with something you say on the way out. You have to make a good impression to the very last second.
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