Sarah Pettigrew

Company: meta-morphose International
Title: Director of Recruitment

Meta-morphose specialises in the selection and training of graduates in B2B sales. We telephone screen candidates before meeting them at an assessment centre. If you’re successful, we’ll put you forward for interview with our clients.

Once you’re hired, you’ll share your first few months between meta-morphose and your employer, gaining expert training from us and specialised business insight from your company. We also provide you with a designated coach for the first year. There’s no cost for the candidate, but you receive thousands of pounds worth of training and support.

I receive 300 CVs a day and those with typos and bad grammar are automatically screened out. Don’t forget to include sporting interests, travelling experiences, or even that you worked in McDonald’s; we’re looking for rounded individuals. You can’t just walk into a job because you’ve got a good degree; it’s not enough.

You need to be aware of the market and know the type of organisations you want to target, as well as the specific business areas within an organisation. Tenacity is such an important attribute. Be proactive; don’t wait for people to come to you as there are lots of candidates looking for the same opportunities. And if you’re unsuccessful, ask for constructive comment; how can you grow if you don’t know what you’re doing wrong?

If you’re applying for lots of jobs, tailor your CV to individual job descriptions; give them back what they’re asking for. If they’re looking for excellent communication and leadership skills, put that on your CV and think about examples that will illustrate you have them at the interview.

Keep a list of the roles you apply for in your pocket so that when someone calls you, you’re not confused about which job it is. There’s nothing worse than ringing a candidate only to hear a confused and unprepared person on the end the end of the phone.

Before interview, do your basic homework: visit the website; put together a dossier of your research with the company’s logo on top and take it along to the interview; use the Careers and Employment Centre; look on milkround.com or meta-morphose.co.uk for interview tips. Being prepared and looking professional is vital.

The type of people I look for are enthusiastic, energetic and have the right attitude. After all, we can give you the necessary skills. I advise you to get as much as you can out of uni: join the debating society; get a part-time job; find a work experience placement during the holidays off your own bat; carry out some mystery shopping over the phone. It all goes towards showing you have the right attitude.

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