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A degree is just the start for young job-hunters, says Margie Elley-Brown
Your new degree is displayed proudly, and for months now you've been thinking about being offered your first job, anticipating that exhilarating feeling of your first day in the workplace.
Applying with enthusiasm at first, you've even had a few interviews. And there was that one job where you felt you had nailed it. Then the call came. It was a no.
This was the story with Emma Holmes, a recent arts and management graduate who had applied for more than 40 positions. There was one job when out of 150 applicants Emma made the top five who were interviewed individually, followed by profiling and online testing.
"I just had such a positive feeling, my gut instinct was that it was mine, and they said they would call me, but as the rest of the day dragged on I was less hopeful," she said.
"It was late when I got the call, 'Thanks so much for coming into the interview. You did really well in the testing and interviewed superbly. You were runner up, another candidate was stronger. All the very best'.
"It was gutting."
Kate Mason had always wanted to be a teacher. Entering her final semester of study towards her teaching diploma after completing a Bachelor in Education, she was determined to secure a position well before she graduated in December.
"I started applying for jobs back in August. I would send off my elaborate and glossy CV dozens of times and would get decline after decline. It was really hard to stay positive. Sometimes I wouldn't even get a reply."
After applying for near on 40 jobs over five months, and having had four interviews, Kate was still waiting.
"I was determined. I knew I had to keep on trying."
John Lawson, specialist recruitment consultant and principal of Lawson-Williams Consulting Group, says: "It's a frequent story in today's marketplace.
"The graduate situation remains difficult. You can be the best you can be and still struggle to secure that first job.
"Graduate programmes have tended to disappear as organisations have become thin during the recession, which means employers tend to look for workers with two to seven years' experience.
"Graduates with zero experience who need to be developed by an employer are chosen only as a fallback position. The start of the year has been quiet. People have been hopeful of increased activity and there are some positive economic indicators, but the reality is it's more of the same. We have many graduates on the books seeking a first position."
Lawson says: "A lot of securing your first job comes down to personality and emotional intelligence. Today's graduates are leaving university with more skills than in previous generations but most have little idea about their strengths and weaknesses; how these impact on their workplace behaviour. "If a graduate does a bit of self-analysis such as a SWOT activity - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats - and they know, for instance, that they're not naturally a good team player then they can modify their behaviour accordingly.
"A lot of graduate positions have team assessment situations. Graduates tend to go into those without any thought of how they might come across.
"Some self-awareness will also help in a behavioural interview which is often used in the selection process.
"The other thing we always look for in a candidate is leadership skills and extra-curricular activities. If a person has been a prefect at school, we know then that they will have been picked because of certain abilities and will have further developed those.
"Sometimes, I comment 'I notice you haven't been involved in any extra-curricular activities' when a person has as an interest only in computer games. I might be wondering 'does it mean they are a severe introvert? What is it?' The thing is: people need a balance of other activities.
"The most important thing, however, for a graduate is to have a better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. You have to have the ability to fit into the workplace."
Kate Mason is now happily teaching a Year 3 class in Auckland.
"It was difficult and time-consuming combining study with applying for jobs but it paid off that I started applying in August because a lot of positions were advertised early," she says. "The payback also came because by going through the process of applying over and again I benefited in several ways.
"I learnt a lot about myself. I grew in confidence by going through the interview process several times. Plus, I developed knowledge of the kinds of questions that might pop up. I also learnt how to better craft and improve the quality of my cover letters.
"This time it was so good to hear that it was my application which stood out and that I was the top candidate."
And Emma? "Although it's really hard to, keep on persisting," she says.
"I kept on applying for jobs and being positive. I also contacted the firm again to thank them and tell them I'd be happy to work part-time for them if something else came up."
A month later she had a phone call: "There was another position. Was she still available? Would she consider it?"
Margie Elley-Brown is an Auckland career consultant and writer. Contact margieeb@gmail.com