It goes without saying that graduate job hunting has been made tougher than ever by the coronavirus pandemic.
A survey by Prospects earlier this year found that as a result of the national lockdown:
- 26.1% of uni students lost their work placement or internship
- 29.2% of uni students were made redundant from their job
- 28.2% of uni students had their job offer cancelled altogether or deferred.
What’s more, other research has found that only 18% of graduates managed to secure jobs this year compared to the usual 60% seen in previous years.
But it’s not all bad news…
Despite the challenges that COVID-19 is currently presenting to today’s job-hunting graduates, there are plenty of things you can do to and bolster your chances of landing graduate jobs in Gloucester and beyond!
Read on to discover our nine top tips…
Top 9 graduate-hunting tips during COVID-19:
1. Make sure your CV is up to date and presentable
As a graduate, writing your CV can feel a little daunting – especially if you have limited or no work experience.
The good news is that employers won’t just be looking for your employment history when hiring – they’ll also be on the hunt for any transferable skills you have gained during your degree, or through any hobbies and interests you undertake in your free time.
For example, if you enjoy creative writing as a hobby, you can use this to demonstrate that you have strong writing skills and a keen eye for detail. Or, if you take part in team sports, you can say how this has made you a strong team player.
The more well-rounded an individual you are and express yourself to be in your CV, the better your chances will be of finding graduate jobs in Gloucester and the rest of the county! We have more info on how you can go about writing the perfect CV in our blog here.
Even if your CV is experience-limited, you can also bolster your chances for success by making sure it presents well physically. So when you come to work on your CV, ensure it is neat, tidy and uniform –this is something we’d be glad to help with here at i2i Recruitment – just register with us here!
2. Prepare some cover letters
As a recent graduate, you’ll hopefully have some idea already of the kinds of jobs you want to apply for – which means that you can start thinking about practising some cover letters before you even start looking.
If you were interested in working in events management, for example, you could look at our Inside The Job: Events Manager blog to get an idea of the kinds of skills employers will be looking for, and use our cover letter writing blog to draft a cover letter that outlines how your skill set, experience and personality matches up to that role.
Alongside CV writing support, we also offer guidance on cover letter writing here at i2i, which you can benefit from by registering with us.
Even if you don’t end up using the cover letters you write, they’ll be great practice and offer a good template to work from for when you are asked to provide the real thing!
3. Set up job and newsletter email alerts
Many websites will offer you the opportunity to sign up for email job alerts and newsletters. By doing so with the companies that you’d love to work with that offer graduate opportunities, you’ll be the first to hear about any upcoming roles and stay one step ahead of the competition.
We send out a regular newsletter here at i2i Recruitment with all our latest graduate jobs in Gloucester and nearby, which you can sign up to receive here.
4. Get networking
You’ll very likely have heard the phrase “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” While we’d mostly disagree here at i2i Recruitment (your knowledge, skills and personality are the most important things to us), it certainly helps to put the feelers out there!
As a recent graduate, we’d highly recommend staying in touch with your old university lecturers in case they hear of any opportunities, or contact your friends and family to see if they know anywhere that is hiring.
We’d also recommend setting yourself up a LinkedIn account and making connections on there to people you know currently, and follow the pages of the businesses you’d like to work for in case they advertise any of their upcoming roles. We regularly share new graduate jobs on our i2i Recruitment LinkedIn page, so be sure to follow us on there, too!
At i2i Recruitment, we have contacts at a wide variety of different businesses, so by registering with us, you’ll be able to expand your network almost instantaneously.
5. Check over your social media accounts
Nowadays, it’s not just your CV and cover letters that your employers will look at when you apply for a job with them.
In fact, according to YouGov’s research, a whopping 80% of employers now look at candidate’s social media profiles as part of their recruitment and onboarding procedures, and over one in five employers turn candidates down for roles because of their online activity.
It’s therefore really important that, as part of your job-hunting process, you check back through your social media pages and remove anything that may be perhaps deemed unsavoury by potential employers.
6. Do some research around the job roles you want
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s a lot of news being released daily about the virus’ impact on different sectors; the Food & Beverage industry, education, marketing and entertainment, for example.
However, there are also a lot of other regular updates about these industries in the mix – and, as a graduate job hunter, it’s a great idea to keep an eye on them!
By staying up to date with the latest news in the industries you’d like to work in, you’ll not only become more motivated to keep searching for roles, but you’ll have plenty of knowledge to demonstrate in any applications and interviews you have on the horizon.
7. Take part in online training courses and volunteering.
One of the greatest assets of the internet is that, even in a lockdown scenario, you can still access an abundance of training opportunities from the comfort of your own home. And the best part is that many of these are free or easily affordable for recent graduates!
For example, if you’re looking for marketing graduate jobs in Gloucester or nearby, you can find an abundance of different free and paying courses on websites like Udemy, FutureLearn and others.
By completing online training, you’ll not only refresh and boost the knowledge and skills you gained during your degree, but you’ll have something to add to your CV and demonstrate to employers that you’re conscientious and willing to go the extra mile for your chosen career.
Similarly (although it’s not currently as straightforward as it would be under normal circumstances), exploring and engaging in local volunteering opportunities will give you some great practical work experience to add to your graduate CV, as well as real-life working examples to discuss in your upcoming interviews. It’ll give you a great confidence and morale boost, too!
Of course, we know here at i2i Recruitment that this is all easier said than done – especially amid the current pandemic – so should you decide to register with us, we’ll take on the role of your very own job-hunting personal trainer and help you get any training/volunteering opportunities off the ground!
8. Look after your physical and mental health
While it’s really important to maintain focus on your graduate job hunt during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s also crucial that you take care of yourself, both physically and mentally.
Sadly, one in four UK adults’ mental health has been negatively impacted by the effects of the virus, and this has then made it more difficult for people to commit to regular exercise. And, since physical exercise has been found to have a positive impact on mental health, there’s a risk that this could become a vicious downward spiral.
This risk is especially high in graduates, with research consistently finding an increase in post-graduate depression – especially as a result of difficult job hunting climates.
During your graduate job hunt, it’s therefore really important that you put your physical and mental wellbeing first by doing regular exercise (a 30-minute walk per day is a great start), and taking time out every day to do something for you, such as enjoying a favourite hobby.
At i2i Recruitment, we know how stressful and even lonely job hunting can be, which is why we place so much emphasis on meeting and working face-to-face with every candidate when they register with us.
9. Put all the above into a productive job-hunting routine
If you’re not currently working, it can be really easy to get distracted and let your job hunting efforts slide – especially if you’re currently house-bound due to lockdown restrictions.
One of the best things you can do for your graduate job search in both these cases – and, in fact, during the COVID-19 pandemic in general – is to draft yourself a productive job-hunting routine.
In fact, you could take all the above tips and suggestions and put them into a daily timetable; for example, spending a couple of hours in the morning catching up on the latest news in your ideal sectors, hunting for jobs and submitting applications, a couple of hours in the afternoon working on your CV and cover letters or online training, and so on.
If you’re currently working but looking to progress in your post-graduate career with a new role, you can spread these tasks over the course of a week. For example, you could spend your free time on Monday catching up on all the latest job sector news, Tuesday practising interview techniques and so on.
According to headspace.com, having a daily routine not only helps to ensure that you do things well but can also significantly alleviate anxiety and stress – so it’s well worth the effort of getting yourself into one!
In conclusion…
The COVID-19 pandemic may have put a lot of things on hold – but your graduate job hunt certainly isn’t one of them!
The most important thing to remember is that as difficult as the current situation is you are not alone in your job search. Here at i2i Recruitment, it is our mission to really get to know you as an individual (not just a job hunter), understand what your career goals are and ensure that you have the opportunity to shine by mentoring you in your job search!
If this sounds like something you would benefit from, be sure to register with us here or contact our friendly team.
We also have lots of graduate jobs in Gloucester and other local areas of the county available on our website, which you can explore by following the link below…
