One Happy Intern...

Last updated 10-Aug-10 11:30

Ok so it's not a great time to be a graduate in the UK, but it's certainly not the worst. I was more than happy to guest blog for Graduates Yorkshire as I genuinely believe we're very lucky to have such an excellent service running here in Gods own county, in fact it's that good I was a little shocked when at the end of the recruitment process (I was lucky enough to win an internship thanks to them) that they didn't ask me for a fee!

 

Having gone through the Graduates Yorkshire programme from start to finish, I really appreciate the experiences I learnt from it, even if I hadn't got a job at the end of it, I would still have felt more equipped to tackle the employment market. You see, Graduates Yorkshire is itself a kind of crash course school for finding a job.

 

The first thing any applicant has to do is apply online for a job (or internship), fill in some competency questions (to make sure your actually taking it seriously) and submit a decent CV. What struck me when I first did this was the level of support offered to help me just complete that stage, there were a multitude of advice guides on writing CV's and even now you can send your CV off via email and they'll help you with it. If they don't think it's good enough, they tell you and how you can improve, a reality often avoided by other career services.

 

After that was the phone interview. I was apprehensive doing mine as it was unchartered territory for me. Again, it was a learning experience and if I remember correctly, if I didn't pass that stage I would have received feedback to help me next time.

 

Through to the next stage was an invitation to an assessment centre with other grads (all applying for different jobs in my case). This was a full day of interviewing, group challenges, essay writing and networking with my fellow graduates. It seemed like all the Graduates Yorkshire team turned up to help it run smoothly, everyone was friendly and they answered as many questions as they could. Importantly, the reason it was a valuable experience was because it was being treated like a proper job application - I had to wear a suit and interviewed by the CEO, Martin Edmondson (which surprised me to see someone so senior be on site and be at hand to make the experience as business relevant as possible). The day was very much about recreating a business environment as close to the real thing. As I said, I would've paid for that level of prep but we're very lucky that Graduates Yorkshire, a social enterprise itself, means cash strapped Grads don't have to. Again, if you're ‘knocked-out' at this stage, you still get feedback and advice on how and where to improve.

 

By the time I came to my actual interview with the company I would be interning for, I'd already undergone several interviews, several assessments and had felt more confident in my ability. I think had I just been referred straight to the interview stage with the employer, I would have been less experienced, less prepared and less confident.

 

In my case, I got the internship (and permanent job) here at Venturelab and love every second of the work I do. But even if I hadn't I think the experience from the Graduates Yorkshire selection process was exceptional and a brilliant asset that all Yorkshire Graduates should to advantage of. Throughout the entire process I was well looked after and felt that they really wanted me to get the most out of their services. They obviously spend a lot of time matching the right individuals to the right jobs and are passionate that Yorkshire graduates stay in Yorkshire (Though I can't understand how anybody could survive outside Yorkshire without a real Yorkshire Sunday roast). This is one graduate who isn't moving, and that's all down to them.

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