A career in recruitment for grads - how to get from 300 to 8!

We recently participated in the graduate careers day in the Smurfit Business School. I really enjoyed having a chance to chat with the students about their career hopes and expectations. The main reason we were at Smurfit was to talk to students interested in a career in recruitment and to tell them all about our grad programme and what Hays has to offer. We had six grads start with us recently and three of them had completed master’s degrees in Smurfit. We thought we might get a head start on next summer’s grad intake.

The day was a great success. There were four of us in attendance from Hays. Myself, our marketing exec Caroline Kelly, business manager Sean O’Kane and trainee consultant (Smurfit Graduate Siobhain Smyth). I’m certainly glad there were the four, because there was a lot of attention around our stand and it wasn’t because of free sweets! We were providing something a lot more useful: advice on CV preparation, interview preparation tips and sharing our market knowledge. The advice went down a storm.

It was fantastic to meet so many young people with lots of potential and enthusiasm and for me the best thing about the day was getting a chance to speak to the students about a career in recruitment. I started with Hays over ten years ago and love the excitement and challenge of the industry. For some it was the first time they’d considered recruitment as a career and for many after speaking with us they realised that it was a career that ticked all the right boxes for them: best-in-industry training, excellent career development opportunities, a world leader in our field in 25 countries. But most importantly the role of a recruitment consultant is one that truly gives you a fantastic well rounded grounding in business.

Our grad programme this year has already been a great triumph. We had six talented trainees start with us in August and they are doing fantastically well. Right now we are in the process of selecting another eight ambitious individuals to begin their career with us in January 2011. We’ve had an amazing response, hundreds of cvs and I’ve personally spoken with nearly 100 of these individuals. So what can you do to improve your chances of going from one of 300 applicants to being one of the final 8? What will make you stand out?

Top Tips

• Always know what you’re applying for. I found that some people I spoke with weren’t quite sure of what it was they’d applied for – obviously not good! So don’t blast your cv around to any job that has “grad” in the title.
• Make sure your cv is relevant for the job and of high quality and supply a cover letter for every job, it really makes a difference.
• Don’t assume. Do your research on the job. Too many people I spoke with thought that recruitment was solely a HR job and hadn’t properly researched and considered all the other aspects to the role.
• Enthusiasm: You need to convince us that you are committed to the job as a career and are excited about it, enthusiasm goes a long way.