GRADUATES

Very occasionally we have clients wanting to employ a graduate. But these roles are few and far between because our clients usually require experienced candidates to fill their roles.

We suggest to our graduate candidates to purchase the New Zealand Computer & Internet Directory, which is published every year by IDG Communications who are located at Level 8, 246 Queen Street, Auckland. This is an A-Z guide of all the companies in the IT industry; it lists their product and technical specialties, and key contact information. We suggest you market yourself direct to relevant companies.

Other tips we can offer include:

Get Work Experience
If you haven't had the chance to gain much work experience consider doing so now. Look at working part-time or volunteering to get the experience you need. Talk over any skills gaps with a Careers Adviser at your teaching institution and develop a plan to develop the required skills.

Balance Your Life
Employers look for "all-rounders" with interpersonal and social skills as well as technical/academic skills. Get involved in activities other than study: join a club, take up a sport or hobby, work in the community, tutor students, volunteer, become involved in student radio or the student newspaper. Find something you're interested in and do it!

Prepare for Job Applications and Interviews
Don't wait until you find the "perfect" job. Start preparing a basic CV and learning interview skills now. We have some great tips on our website. See our advice to candidates section.

Networking is a skill you will need right throughout your business life and your personal life.
It is something you are probably doing already, whether you realise it or not. In fact, it's something we all do quite naturally. It is important to develop contacts in your chosen area of work. By consciously planning your networking, you can harness the skills, knowledge and resources of a range of people and use them to help you achieve your business and career objectives. It means you can actively start to use the networks of people in your life to create a widening range of opportunities in these areas.

The most important steps to networking, therefore, are: tell people your job-hunting goals; ask the right questions; listen; keep in touch with your contacts and, if you've asked for something ongoing (such as assistance with job hunting), provide them with feedback on your progress.

Every experience, including part-time, vacation or "temp" work, has networking potential. Your student friends may well be the start of your business network. You will continue to build relationships throughout life, through each part of your career journey, through study, and through a wide range of life experiences.

Networking is for life. Make it a priority and start collecting contact details and business cards now. The more contacts you have, the better.

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