Author : john mce
As a graduate, employers will not expect you to have extensive work experience! However, they will look for skills, behaviour and experience which can transfer into a working environment Make sure your CV reflects this
Start with a list of the activities you have done inside and outside of your academic record You will need to demonstrate that you have the kinds of skills employers are seeking These activities will give you ideas for ways to do this For example, outside of your academic activities, have you:
- done work experience?
- had part time jobs?
- been a member of or run clubs/societies?
- held any offices, such as school council rep or university posts?
- played team sports?
From your academic activities; have you:
- done presentations to a group?
- used PowerPoint?
- worked on group projects?
- produced a creative piece of work for your course?
- researched and organised material for assignments?
Then identify the skills likely to be required for your area of interest For example, if you are interested in finance or banking, can you demonstrate experience with numbers, handling money and attention to detail? If you are looking for a sales role, can you demonstrate good communication and presentation skills?
Here are some skills employers will be looking for and some examples of how to demonstrate those skills
Communication
Aim to demonstrate how you can express ideas and give information in a way that is easily understood by a variety of other people
Potential experience
- work experience – bar or restaurant work, retail, telesales
- presentations within your course work
- student representative
- group projects on your degree course
Team working
Aim to demonstrate how you can interact and co-operate with a group of other people
Potential experience
- Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme
- team sports/outdoor pursuits
- group project work
- organising an event with club/society members
- playing in a band
IT skills
Aim to demonstrate your competency in using computers and telecommunications systems
Potential experience
- familiarity with email and internet
- word processing reports and essays
- web design
- desk top publishing and/or photo packages
- PowerPoint for presentations
- specific programming languages and software packages
- work experience – information systems, database management
Numeracy
Aim to demonstrate you can understand and use facts or ideas expressed as numbers or graphs
Potential experience
- work experience – processing invoices, handling cash, balancing till receipts, and making monetary calculations
- treasurer of a committee
- budgeting (as most students do!)
- having read the financial or relevant press
Creativity
Aim to demonstrate how you have been original and inventive in order to solve problems, generate ideas or produce novel designs
Potential experience
- thinking of ideas for fundraising events
- mixing or composing music
- creative writing
- designing your own website
- creating sets or costumes for a drama production
Problem solving
Aim to demonstrate how you devised a solution to a particular problem
Potential experience
- creative solutions to coursework problems
- overcoming obstacles to achieve an ambition
- work experience involving customers and dealing with complaints
- research skills
John McE writes articles for GRB (Graduate Recruitment Board), a specialist recruitment agency offering graduate jobs over a range of sectors. GRB offer support with CV help, industry knowledge and graduate job advice.
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