Guest Blog Post: Rohan Holland
Guest blogger Rohan Holland from ReadyGrad has advice for you on employers expectations. Rohan is renowned in the Australian HR and Graduate industries as a graduate recruitment and development innovator. With over 12 years' experience in managing graduate programs and professional resourcing roles in small consultancies through to large multi-national organisations, Rohan has worked throughout Australia and abroad.
Are you JobReady?
Many employers agree that graduates are not always prepared for the demands of commencing in a real graduate job – in fact 9 out of 10 employers prefer graduates who are Job ready!
The transition from life as a student to an employee within an organisation is challenging one. Basic things that employees in a business take for granted aren’t always clear for a student who has spent their whole life in a study environment. As 1 of 8000 new graduates starting work in companies across Australia every year, competitive advantage is everything.
As experienced graduate managers, having worked within large corporates across Australia, we have witnessed the many missed opportunities. The main object for a graduate starting day 1 seems to commonly be to just get through the first day, week and month and attempt to integrate into a world which is usually quite foreign. How will people perceive me? How do my communication skills (both written and verbal) transition from a university environment on campus to presenting a business case to leadership group in a corporation?
These are common questions. The key is, once you have secured a graduate job offer (and even before!), to start thinking about these things and how you will manage this transition. Companies are prepared to develop you in areas such as on-the-job training, technical skills and specific software skills however, the ‘soft skills’ such as problem solving, time management, understanding your personal brand and basic business skills and etiquette are commonly expected by employers by recruiting you as a young professional – but not always apparent.
With more and more employers expecting graduates to be doing a ‘real job’ from day 1 and to add value immediately, this transition becomes even more critical. The better prepared you are for entry into the workplace, the easier your transition will be – which will also allow you to access the best development and future career opportunities.
Are you jobready?
Jobready by Readygrad is a new product which allows students to access face to face training in a 3 day program held in a central city location. The aim? To empower you with the skills required to successfully prepare for your commencement in a real graduate job. On completion, you will graduate with a Certificate 4 in Business (JobReady).
This program is FREE for eligible students* providing registration is completed by 29th June 2012 – for eligibility criteria