Graduate Jobs Competition Creates
Demand For Office Skills Training
The papers reported this week that there are 69 applicants for every graduate job this summer and even then, the minimum degree standard acceptable to employers will be a 2:1.
That’s bad news for hundreds of thousands of graduates across the country. So what can graduates do on leaving college or university to improve their chances of getting jobs?
Three Tips To Help You Get A Job.
There are three obvious solutions here:
1. Learn how to write a great CV even if you have little work or
jobs experience
2. Develop interview skills
3. Add value for the employer by demonstrating a high level of
office skills
Let’s look at each of these in turn.
CV Writing & Interview Skills.
Writing a CV when you don’t have much to put on it is quite an art but that is no reason not to bother.
If you’re not sure where to start, visit http://www.holborntraining.co.uk/Links/CV-Advice.htm
for some free advice, or enrol on Pitman Training’s quick, low-cost job hunting course entitled Go Get That Job.
The course will give you lots of practical information on how to stand out from the crowd when you're looking for jobs.
It will also help you develop your interview skills. No matter how shy you are, you must demonstrate excellent interpersonal skills in such a competitive jobs market and Go Get That Job will help you learn how to shine at interviews.
When you think about it, employers are always going to be impressed with candidates who appear confident and who will easily fit in to their working environment.
Learn Office Skills To Add Value.
CV and interview skills aside, developing your office skills is often the clincher when you’re fighting for selection.
If you can demonstrate that you know how to communicate by letter, email and phone; have typing skills and mastery of the MS Office suite, employers know you’ll need a shorter induction period and less supervision than someone who hasn’t developed these skills.
You’re reducing their costs and adding value to the jobs for which you’re applying.
Don’t be fooled by the two most disappointing statements a recruiter can hear in this regard:
“I did IT at school so I’m good with MS Office.”
“I’m self-taught but I’m good enough to have typed a 15,000 word dissertation in Word.”
Recruiters find this such a turn-off because both statements reveal that despite your own confidence in your ability, it is highly unlikely you will have a sufficiently high level of skill to hold your own in the commercial world. You'll come across as arrogant.
To increase your chances of being hired, as a minimum take a typing course (to improve speed and accuracy).
Then check out Pitman Training’s Effective Business Communication course to make sure you structure business letters and emails.
Then take a Word course and an Excel course to a least intermediate level.
Without these you’re going to slip to the bottom of the selection pile.
Probably the most cost effective and fastest way for graduates to develop all of these skills is to earn Pitman Training’s MS Office Plus diploma.
Tailored to their specific needs, most graduates plump for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, touch typing and Effective Business Communication as a package.
To find out more about any of these options, why not talk to one of their friendly Course Advisors:
Notting Hill – 020 7792 5214
Holborn – 020 7025 4700
Manchester 0161 923 6814
Or contact them by email.
