Akenham, St John’s Innovation Centre, Cowley Road, Cambridge, CB4 0WS Phone: 01223 421155

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Graduate Recruitment An Employer’s GuideAre universities producing employable graduates?

This question came up during a conversation earlier this year between Akenham, The University of East Anglia (UEA) and their Careers Service.

Following the discussion, Akenham decided to find out. We surveyed a number of regional and national employers, across a range of sectors, all of whom take in a number of graduates every year.

This is a summary of what they told us.

Degree gradesThe overwhelming desire among companies was for 2:1 degrees or better. This is in contrast to 10 or 15 years ago when a 2:2 was considered the norm and a 2:1 ideal.

But there was also a trend to look beyond the degree grade and consider other factors.

One law firm reported that, while its normal requirement was for a 2:1 degree, its best recent trainee held only a 2:2. The graduate had taken paid employment to fund their degree.

A financial services company said that its basic requirement was for a 2:1 – regardless of subject. For them, a 2:1 in leisure studies scored over a 2:2 in business administration. When challenged, the reply was that they get so many graduate applicants, it is essential to have a ‘cut off’ point – even if it does eliminate good candidates.

Companies in manufacturing, engineering, IT, hi-tech and biotech sectors were more likely to consider those with 2:2 degrees – particularly in relevant subjects such as engineering, physics, earth sciences, electronics, pharmacology and maths.

The degree subject was not considered particularly important, yet most financial services, media, legal and retail companies preferred ‘classical’ subjects, such as English, maths, history or languages. Business related degrees have come of age, too.

Indeed, a legal practice reported that a 2:1 in leisure studies or tourism, for example, was considered “just fine because we have many clients in those areas”.

There was no intention to increase the intake of those with higher degrees or PhDs in organisations who already recruit this calibre of graduate (engineering, legal, IT, biotech). The financial services and media companies questioned did not take on graduates with MScs or PhDs, and had no intention of changing this position in the future.

Key skillsThese are the top 5 skills that employers look for in graduates.

Communication skills

Every respondent reported this as key, but what does it really mean? Companies wanted graduates who could communicate well by writing clearly and succinctly, with good grammar. They should also speak well: clearly, confidently, objectively and with enthusiasm. These skills can be assessed at an early stage with CVs and interviews.

Team behaviour

Again, very important. This is perceived as being able to perform a team role; working closely with others towards a common objective. Clearly, this will link to the graduates’ communication skills as well.

Commercial awareness

Identified as those who have a knowledge of ‘how business works’, understand change, time restraints, making decisions with limited information and, particularly, a keen interest in the company’s business and activity. This is often picked up at interview and via assessment centre processes.

Interpersonal skills

Similar to communication skills and team behaviour, but includes being comfortable dealing with people at all levels, particularly customers; basic good manners; and being able to listen as well as talk.

Problem solving and analytical skills

The ability to analyse issues, break them down into component parts, and make rational judgements based on the relevant information.

Technical and IT skills were also high on the list. There was a desire for thorough knowledge of the degree’s subject matter and how to apply this to the company’s product or service, particularly amongst the hi-tech, pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Numerate and verbal reasoning figured highly amongst financial service employers.

The other common response to this question concerned the behaviour – rather than skill – of the graduate. A good attitude, enthusiasm, willingness to learn and passion were all desirable.

Competency, compatibility and motivation remain on the wish list of every recruiting employer.

What turns employers off

Akenham was also keen to find out what attributes employers try to avoid. It was a tricky question for many, but ‘arrogance’, ‘over confidence’, ‘cynicism’, ‘the finished article’, ‘non-team player behaviour’ emerged fairly frequently. Useful information for university career services!

a

b

cd

e

f

Employers surveyed, by industrya. retail

b. financial services

c. media

d. IT / hi-tech /biotech

e. manufacturing / engineering

f. law and professional services

Akenham, St John’s Innovation Centre, Cowley Road, Cambridge, CB4 0WS Phone: 01223 421155

www.akenham.com

Recruitment sourcesThe majority of companies use press advertising, websites (both their company’s and specialist graduate job sites), personal introductions, graduate fairs and direct links with relevant departments at selected universities. Larger employers continue to do the milk round, and smaller, growing companies intend to use the milk round in the future.

Aside from one or two of the smaller employers, respondents are not using agencies for graduate recruitment (“why waste money paying agency fees, when it can be better used on a thorough selection process such as an assessment centre?”)

A wide range of universities and departments were mentioned with ‘redbrick’ and Russell Group universities generally preferred – although it was accepted that this was probably laziness and/ or prejudice on behalf of the recruiters. In East Anglia there was a strong willingness to consider UEA and Cambridge graduates, particularly from respondents based closer to these universities. Some concern was mentioned about the lack of engineering degrees suitable for the manufacturing sector that are currently on offer.

Overwhelmingly, the most satisfied recruiters were those with strong links to a specific department (or a number of departments) at universities who could regularly arrange placements, internships and work experience schemes.

CV requirementsThe CV is seen as a graduate’s self-marketing document and its importance cannot be underestimated. Poor spelling and grammar continue to be the bête noires of CVs, while bad layout, lack of focus, length (too long or too short), and no evidence of a life outside study remain bugbears for employers.

Key CV headings looked for, in approximate chronological order, are:

Personal contact details

Name, address, email and telephone numbers.

Brief profile

VERY brief and generally not considered necessary.

Current Education attainments

A/AS level and GSCE results – the latter being very important

indeed.

Work experience, volunteering, interests

In the past it was often sufficient to merely list jobs, charity work, interests etc. but now graduates need to explain how these experiences are relevant to their future career.

All but one of the respondents identified ‘outside interests’ (including work experience) as ‘important’ or ‘very important’.

Whilst it is clearly important to develop a good CV, many of the larger employers ask applicants to submit their details via online application forms. This seems to be a growing trend as a means to standardise the application process and ask competency questions as part of the filtering process.

The main complaint here is that graduates either don’t complete the form as requested or send the CV as an attachment when it wasn’t asked for!

Covering lettersIndividually written covering letters are welcome, especially when they include reasons why the person is applying to the company, and why their skills/degree/experience is relevant to the business. Letters should be short – no more than one page – and in the same type face as the CV.

Generic letters are a definite no-no – regardless of the CV. A small percentage of respondents from the hi-tech area were more relaxed about CV and covering letter quality – they were looking for specialist knowledge of a specific area, or a high degree of creativity and lateral thinking skills. As such, they were prepared to put up with poor presentation and even lack of social skills: “we can always put them into a suit and train them to smile at customers” was one interesting comment.

Shortlisting processesPrior to selecting for interview, respondents used a wide variety of filtering processes. Larger organisations – especially those who use online applications – use verbal and numeracy tests, as well as points systems. Points are allocated to factors including GCSE results, degree results, relevant work experience, CV layout, and covering letter content.

A common theme was to ask candidates their reasons for applying for a role, and for examples of how they would behave in particular situations (to ascertain if they possessed the desired skill-set).

Another common policy was to form a team of reviewers to consider graduate CVs, letters and application forms in order to bring objectivity to the process and reduce prejudices.

Speculative and unsolicited applicationsAkenham asked respondents what they do with unsolicited applications from graduates, outside the formal process. Universally these are welcomed, particularly if the applicant is prepared to take on, initially, non-graduate roles.

“Given a choice between a graduate and non graduate, all others things being equal, we would always choose a graduate. Why wouldn’t we?”

It was felt (despite no real evidence) that graduates would be able to contribute more quickly to the organisation; a better ‘return on investment’.

Also, it was reported, speculative applicants perform just as well in the long term as those taken on through a formal process.

Applicant approachThe majority of employers preferred to receive emails rather than letters. It was felt that letters required a letter in response and this was considered more time consuming than email.

Employers preferred the covering letter to be the email with the CV as the only attachment. It was considered very important for the email to be formally presented with ‘Dear sirs’ and ending ‘yours sincerely’ rather than ‘hi’ and ‘cheers’ and the use of text language which employers h8.

A phone call prior to an application was welcome; although the applicant would usually be referred to the formal process after a brief discussion.

Akenham, St John’s Innovation Centre, Cowley Road, Cambridge, CB4 0WS Phone: 01223 421155

www.akenham.com

Selection and interview structureThere was a clear correlation between the size of the organisation, the number of graduates recruited and the complexity of the selection process. Smaller employers would often rely on a normal structured interview: a CV/job description/personal profile and a one hour HR and line manager interview were considered sufficient.

Many employers also requested presentations and some psychometric tests, numerical/verbal reasoning and personality questionnaires.

The larger organisations, particularly in professional services and legal practices, carry out a full ‘assessment centre’ approach. A typical process would be:

• Candidates receive an initial structured interview to get a first impression of the applicant and test competency/ compatibility/motivation.

• Candidates are then filtered and shortlisted for further assessment.

• Successful candidates are invited to attend a further interview or an assessment centre.

• The assessment centre is two days of group and individual exercises, panel interviews, tests, presentations, problem solving exercises involving ‘real’ business problems, and case studies.

These assessment centres are run by the organisation and use HR and line managers to help with the process, possibly with help from outside consultants – such as Akenham – facilitating the process.

A key factor often mentioned was that the best graduates are selecting the organisations they want to join, as well as the other way around. It’s therefore important to put on a ‘good show’, using PR as a recruitment process. It was also frequently commented that since so many graduates are coming onto the market, it’s become necessary to conduct much more sophisticated and imaginative filter processes – way beyond the academic record of the applicants.

Finally, it was noted by us that a number of the participants were recent graduates who had benefited from a thorough two-way selection process, and there is a general feeling that the assessment centre approach will continue and develop.

Graduate induction programmesAgain, there was a clear correlation between the size and type of organisation and the sophistication of their induction programmes.

Highly sophisticated are those of professional services firms (such as legal practices), where new joiners are obliged to follow a professional qualification path: learning and practising across different areas for two or three years. This would include a formal process of appraisals, reports and mentoring.

Elsewhere, the duration of induction programmes ranged between one and three years, with most averaging two. Intake is mostly in August and September – although April is not uncommon. During this time, the graduate would be exposed to all areas of the business alongside actual project work measured with KPIs (Key Performance Indicators).

At the end of the programme a process of mixing and matching takes place depending on the graduate’s preference and the requirements of the business. It’s clear that even in smaller organisations a great deal of thought is given to the early months of a new graduate’s employment, with a strong emphasis on real work as early as possible (“after all, they are costing us money from day one”).

One small organisation in a fast-moving hi-tech area readily admitted that, on appointment, their graduates (they only employ graduates) are assigned to a project and allowed to ‘sink or swim’. However, even here there was a coordinating process to constantly try and match projects to an individual’s skills. This same organisation reported very low turnover because of the excitement in their jobs – “it’s not rocket science, but not far off!”

Finally, we detected a definite trend to shorten the training period as much as possible, as trainees’ feedback indicated a frustration about not being given real work soon enough or that initial work is “not challenging enough”.

Are graduates prepared for the world of work?Nearly half of all respondents believed that graduates are better prepared for the world of work now than ever before; while a fraction less than half disagree. A small proportion simply commented “some are and some aren’t”.

Legal practices were generally happy with their intake, although one believed that writing skills had deteriorated in recent years.

Those who reported negatively indicated that, although life skills and commercial awareness were better (perhaps due to outside work during vacations and in term time or GAP year experience), literacy was poor in a number of cases, and there was still a mismatch between graduate expectations and what employers deliver – not necessarily what they promise!

Behaviour and motivation at interview was also seen as a problem by some. Interestingly, those who reported negatively do not believe it is the function of universities to train graduates in social skills, although career services can be very helpful.

Graduates fare better in the pay and promotion stakes during the early years of their career, but later on, in the higher ranks, there is no real difference between graduates and others.

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Other comments In addition, we asked for any other comments about the graduate recruitment process not covered in the questionnaire and here is a selection:

“We would like to build closer relationships with the UEA.”

“We are very concerned about the high turnover of our graduates – we train them and then they leave.”

“We like to recruit locally, but once they have the experience they go to London; so what’s the point?”

“We are getting so many females now coming into law; we would like to employ more men and those from ethnic backgrounds.”

“Graduates should be encouraged to do online tests prior to coming for interview and research the company thoroughly. Career services could help here.”

“Students need to take more ownership about why they want to join the organisation.”

“Graduates need to know how to use business emails and conduct themselves at business meetings using business language.”

“Universities do not generally prepare people for the world of work, but that is not their role.”

Final thoughts In November 2008, as this report is being prepared, the world seems to be on the edge of an economic abyss. But we need to remember that bright, motivated young people are our future and it was pleasing to see that the Association of Graduate Recruiters reported that 69.5% of employers have more graduate vacancies than last year.

While recognising the current economic difficulties, Gerwyn Davies, Policy Adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, commented: “Those firms that have abandoned their graduate recruitment programmes are less well placed to prosper when the economy does get back on an even keel.”

Akenham would like to thank the following organisations for taking part in this survey: JARROLD AND SONS LTD

OGILVY GROUP UK

LEATHES PRIOR

EVERSHEDS LLP

MAYER BROWN INTERNATIONAL LLP

CATLIN GROUP LIMITED

CAMBRIDGE BUILDING SOCIETY

WILLIS LIMITED

AVIVA PLC

ARTHUR J. GALLAGHER & CO.

BMS GROUP LTD

GLENCAIRN LIMITED

JDR CABLE SYSTEMS LTD

MAY GURNEY PLC

ARM LTD

INFOTECH SOLUTIONS (UK) LIMITED

VECTURA GROUP PLC

THE TECHNOLOGY PARTNERSHIP PLC

GRANT INSTRUMENTS (CAMBRIDGE) LTD

Akenham - it’s our people that make the difference

Since 1990 Akenham has been helping organisations to:

· achieve high performance work cultures

· realise the potential of executive management teams

· develop the skills of supervisors and managers

We’ve been there for our clients through periods of growth and change. We recognise that every business is unique. What works for you, probably won’t work for anyone else so we design our approach around you, starting every time with a clean sheet.

Our advice is creative yet practical and based on clear insight. It’s also refreshingly uncomplicated.

We believe that chemistry is a vital part of any programme we devise together, so we bring together teams of specialists, matching people to projects.

That means you’ll get someone who’s just right for you and for the challenges you face.

Above all, we believe in building long term productive relationships based on trust and continual achievement… and it works. Just ask our clients!

To find out how we could help with your graduate assessment and development programme, call us for a chat.

Akenham, St John’s Innovation Centre, Cowley Road, Cambridge, CB4 0WS Phone: 01223 421155