The graduate employment process: Researching the organisation and the specific job vacancy

In the blog this week, we begin a short new series on managing the challenges faced by graduates in the increasingly competitive job market. One of the main reasons that graduates can experience a sense of frustration during the employment search process arises from the tendency towards optimism bias. This planning fallacy motivates the typically doomed strategy of submitting mass untargeted applications that tend to be immediately rejected.

Researching general background information on the employer organisation

Before making any application for a job vacancy, it is essential to spend time researching the prospective employer to determine whether the organisational culture is appropriate for graduate employment and offers opportunities for future career development. While it is understandable that some graduates might be tempted to accept any offer, this frequently leads to what is called underemployment.

This term refers to the situation, in which graduates who are unable to find a job in a chosen field accept a position that is not commensurate with their level of education, skills, or prior future expectations. Moreover, while offering limited career development opportunities or day-to-day interest, they also provide low levels of renumeration. Put simply, they are often labelled as dead-end jobs. We will explore more positive alternative options in the blog next week.

To avoid this situation, the key issues to prioritise during the initial stage of researching prospective employer organisations is shown below. Furthermore, note very carefully that this information is not only invaluable in determining whether to submit a job application, but will also be essential later in the recruitment process when completing the application documentation and at any subsequent interview.

Researching more specific information about the job vacancy

The next focus of the research process is to obtain as much information about the specific job vacancy. While this will be explored in more detail in future blogs in this series, below is an initial list of the key information required before considering the submission of any job application.

• The current role available

• The salary and benefits

• The experiences required

• The qualification needed

• The hard skills demanded

• The soft skills prioritised

• The recruitment process

• The application documentation

• The contact details

• The application deadline

• The graduate recruitment scheme or policy

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Question 1

How can students improve their employment prospects while still at university?

Question 2

Why might overseas graduates experience more pressure to take any offer of employment?

Question 3

What financial factors might restrict graduate employment opportunities?

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We will examine the issue of cost-benefits in relation to initial graduate employment next week.