Helping graduates with job hunting, Covid style
AFUNNY OLD year and a half. Early last year as the pandemic started to take hold, the unemployment forecasts were dire. At Resource we braced ourselves. We were expecting the worst. Until that point, levels of unemployment had been at an all-time low. In the end, the forecast of record levels thankfully didn’t materialise, partly thanks to the furlough scheme that allowed companies to hold on to staff.
However, for our graduate clients — those just leaving university — it was a different story. Employers’ belts were tightening: their graduate schemes became smaller and thus more competitive.
Our job is to help students and graduates become as employable as they can be. In other words, to stand out from the crowd. As a client, each is assigned an experienced and knowledgeable volunteer advisor to provide the highest level of professional guidance on careers and work placements, covering everything from CV and application form preparation to mock interviews and assessment centres. And, I should add, all of this is provided free, thanks to our generous donors and supporters.
We did more. We launched our graduate buddy scheme. Under this scheme, graduate clients were paired with a mentor, someone who had recently been through the same careerfinding-job-search experience and successfully come out the other side. They offer practical help and moral support alongside the advisor.
We also held a ‘How to Graduate with a Job’ event in conjunction with the UJS and livestreamed to Facebook. It took the students on a journey, from searching for job opportunities to finding the right role, and was so successful we’re planning to hold more of these in the coming year.
As we contemplate the year ahead, Resource’s graduate clients, working alongside and following the advice of their advisors and buddies, will continue to be among the more successful of their cohort in their career and job hunting. Their dilemma is most likely to be: which of the more-than-one employment offers to accept!