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How do SMEs recruit Grads?

Written by:
Brandon Shah BA
Junior Consultant


Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) differ from big companies due to their size and stature, with SMEs having up to a maximum of 250 employees. SMEs play a massive part in the UK economy with over 5 million businesses in operation – a nation in itself, with diverse small businesses operating in every sector. With the growth of SMEs, they surprisingly employ significantly more staff than the large UK companies that dominate the job market including opportunities for graduates.

In this blog, we will discuss the recruitment and application of graduates into roles within SMEs, the current challenges graduates face to enter graduate roles, and how graduates can stand out in the application process.


What do SMEs offer Graduates?

SMEs most often do not follow the traditional entry-level and rigid structure of graduate programmes. Rather, they are particularly interested in finding out if the candidate is the right person for the job, if they are willing to become part of a dynamic team with early responsibility and whether they have the potential to add tangible value to the organisation. Additionally, while bigger companies often place more emphasis on the specific qualifications the candidate has achieved, SMEs show less interest in the candidates’ qualifications and more on their individual characteristics, personality, and potential for growth.

There are also several benefits of being part of an SME which include:

  • SMEs offer a clearer communication network from colleagues to senior managers for advice and development.
  • SMEs are known for having fast and easy promotion prospects and job satisfaction for graduates.
  • There is a prominent level of responsibility with a mixture of teamwork and independent working.
  • As you progress in the company, you are gradually more exposed to having a higher profile.

These benefits present when working for an SME overlay the potential negatives of not offering a clear graduate scheme or programme for training which a graduate would obtain when working for a larger company. However, even this potential negative has limitations as this process with larger companies brings high demand and increasing levels of competitiveness, which may not be a suitable or comfortable environment to work in.

Challenges Impacting the Application for Graduate Roles

Traditionally SMEs have been hesitant hiring graduates for roles in their company due to the concerns over finances involved with training and guidance. This becomes a concern when the graduate is joining the company short term, purely to gain this experience to move forward in their career outside of the company.

However, Covid has had a significant impact creating new limitations not only regarding the number of roles available but also the high number of current applicants at the time of writing. According to the Financial Times, nearly a third of graduates from the past year in the UK lost their jobs, and over a quarter lost internships or had job offers rescinded/deferred.

These changes have had a subsequent impact on the number of applications per vacancy, across all sectors and roles. The ISE recorded the highest recent growth of number of applicants per vacancy since 1999. This high density of applicants has created a greater need for graduates to stand out in the recruitment process.

SMES’ Graduate Recruitment Process

Most small, medium-sized businesses recruit candidates by advertising on-job boards and social media channels such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.  SMEs face a strong challenge in the form of other conventional recruitment processes. These more conventional ways of recruiting graduates are recruitment fairs, internships, placements and promoting programmes through universities

This process is very time consuming and costly when the purpose is to recruit a graduate for a single job role. As a result, SMEs find it difficult to go through this process as they can’t put out the average cost of recruiting many graduates like big companies can, who spend around £900 million per year attracting the best and brightest graduates. This limits the range and potential talent of applicant for their roles.

To replace the more conventional recruitment process, all SMEs have their own specific process for finding the right hire for the proper role at the right time. To get a positive result, some make use of an assortment of some of these processes.

  1. Identifying the hiring needs
  2. Preparing a job description
  3. Attracting qualified candidates by posting job ads to job search sites
  4. Filtering, screening, and shortlisting applicants
  5. Online Assessment
  6. Interviewing selected candidates
  7. Making a job offer
  8. Onboarding new hires

Of these processes the most common and notable hiring methods for SMEs include CV submission and Interviews, this is due to how these processes supply SMEs who commonly utilise smaller HR teams and resources the opportunity to make informed decisions. This recruitment strategy builds a solid talent pool of potential hires which can be utilised for identifying and hiring individuals for future positions. However, for SMEs this strategy offers more than just finding potential new hires, it is also a cost-effective method for improving employer brand awareness and expanding their network into a more streamlined and direct system.

How a Candidate can stand out in the Recruitment Process

This more streamlined and direct recruitment process used by SMEs implies an importance of making sure that an application catches the attention of the company over the other prospective candidates. To accomplish this, there are certain characteristics that should be made evident in the applicant’s description that will increase attention.

What are they looking for?

  • Individuals that are flexible with work and are all round
  • They possess good critical thinking skills.
  • They can work independently and work in teams.
  • Fast learners and work through a task with a short deadline

Concluding Remarks

While SMEs may not use the more conventional methods for hiring graduates, they do look to hire graduates into working roles and with a strong focus on collaboration, communication and development opportunities for the future. The increasing number of applicants to roles has brought an importance for graduates to ensure that their application stands out from the rest. By using the criteria stated, the graduate will be able to accomplish this and be one step ahead of the competition for the foreseeable future.

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NEW Assessment Centre Exercises

Written by:
Peter Thornton MA
Consultant


NEW Assessment Centre Exercises

We have seen the utility our existing assessment centre resources have had for many careers services and students alike in improving chances of assessment centre success. As such, based on popular feedback from our partners, we are delighted to have further expanded on the exercises you have at your disposal.

On your portal, you will see that you now have access to 10 unique assessment centre exercises designed to replicate the style of exercise that students can expect to face at the real thing. Each with the candidate brief and an assessor pack with suggestions on positive indicators and suggestions on the answers one should give during the task presented. The GF research and development team have now added the following to your assessment portal:

  • Two New Role play exercises
  • Group discussion exercise
  • In-tray exercises
  • Case study exercise
  • Presentations

Our extensive range of assessment centre exercises can be used in two primary ways:

  1. By Students: Assessment exercises can be accessed by students in their own time. They can take the time to get familiar with and complete an industry-standard task, and review their own performance with the assessor pack, with insights into what assessors are looking for on the day.
  2. By Careers Teams for Students: Assessment centre exercises also continue to be leveraged by careers teams for mock assessment centre sessions with students, during which students can get a first hand experience of a day at an assessment centre.

Your new resources can be accessed today on your assessment portal via the assessment centre tab. 

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NEW AI Video Interviews 3.0

Written by:
Peter Thornton MA
Consultant


NEW A.I. Video Interviews 3.0

Introducing our latest development, Video Interviews 3.0, seeing your selection of pre-made interviews increase to over 50 on your GF Portal!

We continue to see the use of video interviews by employers at all levels in their global recruitment processes, indicating how important it is for students to increase their familiarity across a whole range of video interviews. Through the GF platform, students can now develop their video interview technique during a wider variety of interview questions in topics such as:

  • New Employer Specific Interviews, such as Accenture, P&G, and JP morgan
  • New Case Study, Business Acumen & Logic Interviews
  • Further Industry Specific Interviews in Non-Profit, Public, and Sustainability Sectors

When a video interview has been completed and all responses have been recorded, their feedback report will be instantly generated. For all interviews, students can now benefit from in-depth suggested possible answers to guide students on how they could have approached each interview question. They can also receive Artificial Intelligence facial expression feedback, exposing them to the technology frequently used in particular by top employers. For further video interview technique development, students can also easily share their reports so that their recordings can be reviewed and feedback can be given on their performance.

These new Video Interviews are now live now under your Video Interviews tab!

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Video Interviews and the Role Artificial Intelligence (AI) Plays

Written by:
Fern McCann LLB
Graduate Consultant


As the pandemic began, there were changes in the way we work, and some of these ways seem likely to stick around. Remote work and virtual recruiting are among them, meaning that your next interview may take place online. Video interviews have become a new way for businesses to employ and assess candidates. With many of us working from home, video interviews present an opportunity to continue hiring; but at what cost? In this article we give the lowdown on video interviews, and why they are effective. We then move onto assess the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in video interviews and its pros and cons. We will then close with top tips to give candidates the best chance to ace their video interviews!

What is a Video Interview?

You may think of video interviews simply as a job interview that takes place remotely and that use video technology as the communication medium. There are two main forms of video interview: automated video interviewing and live video interviewing. Both are alike your typical interview in the way that questions are asked of candidates, all designed to probe and discover whether you should be hired for the job at hand. As you may expect, they help interviewers address any concerns from previously in their application, to assess if the candidate can do the job well, and importantly if they would mesh with the existing team.

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In automated video interviews on the one hand, candidates are typically given a set amount of time to answer a series of pre-determined questions. There is an allocated time for each response, often with the opportunity to have multiple attempts at recording the answer. Once completed, the recruiter receives the recording and can play back the interview responses. Examples of such software include Assess Candidates and HireVue. In live video interviewing on the other hand, the interview is simply conducted live between the candidate and interviewer using platforms such as Skype, Microsoft Teams or Zoom. These will often be recorded for later reference, and always involve real interaction with a member of the employer’s team.

Now, with an understanding of Video Interviews in place, we investigate why they’re so commonly used by employers in their hiring processes.

Why are Video Interviews here to stay?

There are various reasons why companies use video interviews. We’ve already seen that Covid was the catalyst for their increased use. In the section, we are going to outline three key reasons why video interviews are effective and hence continue to be used. We will discuss three key areas: their effectiveness, the benefits to the employer and the benefits to the candidate.

Video Interviews are Effective

The first reason why Video interviews continue to be popular is their effectiveness, which can be broken down into three components.

  1. Provide consistency
    • Video interviews are typically structured in nature. All questions are prepared in advance and remain consistent for all candidates. Candidates have a clear timeframe for accessing the interview, and for sitting the interview. This consistency ensures that all candidates are assessed fairly.
  2. Reflect today’s working environment
    • Video interviews are very reflective of current-day technology, especially during the recent pandemic. People are talking online on a daily basis. This means that candidates may feel more comfortable doing a video interview as covid has forced them into this way of working for at least the two years prior.  For example, some candidates each day in their current role or place of study will be communicating online or over a screen. Should a candidate show they are comfortable when doing an online interview, it suggests they are ready to use online software and communicate virtually during that particular role.
  3. Help to maintain clear records
    • Online interviews most often record what candidates have said. This means that the essence of their answers will not be lost. One potential risk of face-to-face interviews may be the varying depth of candidate notes on which to make hiring decisions. This makes video interviews effective as it ensures interviewers don’t forget about a certain candidate or what someone may have said as it will all be easy to access online. The questions asked are both monitorable and trackable, which means all interviews are assessed in their entirety, to ensure applicant are more likely to be assessed fairly.  

Video Interviews Benefit the Employer

Video interviews certainly have their benefits for the employer when on a recruitment drive.

  • Social distancing: When social distancing rules were introduced because of the pandemic, it made it almost impossible for companies to interview people in-person. By having interviews online, employers can continue with their hiring process, while also making their hiring process more accessible to candidates.
  • Video interviews save time: Video Interviews allow employers to hire candidates more easily, by conducting interviews more quickly and efficiently, because arranging face-to-face meetings or even phone calls can be a lengthy process. Also, because the interview is online, it will be saved and easily accessible to employers at any time to review. This has the added benefit of being less time consuming because they won’t have to find and sift through their notes on how a particular candidate answered a certain question.
  • Increased Applications: Video Interviews have increased application; more people will be able to apply and attend the interview because they won’t have to worry about how far they live from the business. More and more employers are willing to hire from further afield, recognizing that the same work can often be achieved when working from home. According to an ISE student recruitment survey, up to 93% of employers were hiring online in 2021. It is expected that this trend will continue despite the dwindling effect of the pandemic.
  • Save Money: Another advantage for the employer is that it allows recruiters to expand their reach at a fraction of the cost of the traditional recruitment model. Face-to-face interviews are extremely expensive, largely due to travel costs, interview wages, and accommodation. This is exactly where video interviews can help employers improve their recruitment process, while also making it more cost-efficient.

Video Interviews Benefit the Candidate

There are also benefits of the use of video interviews for candidates applying.

Firstly, candidates will have less worries about being late for their interview due to traffic or public transport delays, simply because they won’t need to leave their house to do it. They’ll just have to worry about setting their alarm!

Secondly, video interviews are more low cost for candidates than in-person interviews as they won’t need to spend money on travelling expenses, food and lodging. Some job opportunities may also be based from home, which is an advantage if the candidate is a good fit for the role but lives far away. The ISE student recruitment survey outlines that 13% of employers said employees don’t need to live near to the workplace, suggesting they will rarely need to venture into the office, if at all.

Also, candidates can go back to their regular activities as soon as they are done with their online interview, which means it doesn’t get in the way of anyone’s productivity in their current role for example. If the candidate is employed and looking for a new job, it will make it more convenient for them as they may be able to conduct the online interview on their lunch where normally they would have had to take a day’s holiday. Alternatively, if they are currently unemployed, they’ll have a choice of doing the interview in the comfort of their own home. This will ensure, they won’t face the stress of visiting a new place for the first time in the way that you would if you were having an in-person interview.

We have discussed many of the benefits of video interviews both to the employer and candidates. In the next section we will give your more of an insight to how artificial intelligence is used in video interviews, as well as the pros and cons that come with it.

What is Artificial Intelligence?

Think a human is reviewing your video interview? Think again. If you’re being interviewed by a large company, it is very possible that your performance could be assessed by artificial intelligence before ever interviewing with a human. Artificial intelligence is the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence, such as virtual perception, facial expression recognition, speech recognition, decision making, and translation between languages. The use of artificial intelligence has become increasingly widespread in recruitment over the last few years. Candidates are often asked to complete video interviews or online tests without any awareness that an algorithm will be the first assessor of their application.

Major companies such as Hilton, HSBC and Unilever have used AI interview software. These interviews allow companies to interview large numbers of potential candidates even more efficiently than they otherwise could, AI- enabled hiring software can quickly scan interviews with hundreds of applicants. When a video interview is using AI, it can’t infer what applicants might be applying

It may seem on the face of it that the use of artificial intelligence in video interviews are a good thing. However, it will be explored in the next section how there are many different positives and negatives to this certain type of interview.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Artificial Intelligence Video Interviews

In this section, we will now explore the advantages and disadvantages of artificial intelligence (AI), we will explain both why AI makes our lives easier and why it can hinder the interview process.

Advantages:

  • On the face of it, AI-powered video interviews create fair chances for each candidate to succeed, making the application process as unbiased and as objective as possible. (See the last disadvantage for the reverse perspective!)
  • AI systems lower human error rates. Interviewers may lose concentration or forget what the interviewee has said after asking a lot of candidate’s questions. AI has the potential to provide a more accurate result and can be revisited by the interviewer if needed.
  • Manual data analysis is time consuming; Al-systems can process and analyses massive amounts of data at remarkable speeds. They can quickly find relevant information, identify trends, make decisions and offer recommendations based on specific data.

Disadvantages:

  • Many applicants feel that being assessed by AI is even further impersonal than a person reviewed online interview. Some candidates feel uneasy about how their data is being used.
  • We should all remember that people are more attracted to employers who value their skills and want them to join. Without interaction, we must ask ourselves whether one-way video interviews really help.
  • Many people who are excellent in the workplace but can be terribly camera shy. Others who are relaxed with videos can feel greater pressure with scrutinising eye contact. This may suggest, the AI video interviews may unfairly judge people who would otherwise be good for the job.
  • Some have brought into question the use of AI video interviews as unbiased tools. Many suggest that when creating the parameters for AI, certain biases creep into the system, and can be reflected in the results. For example, it was found in a Harvard business review that facial analysis technology in AI video interviews, has higher error rates in minority women.

Employers have to weight up these advantages and disadvantages of AI video interviews to decide whether to utilize this technology when interviewing candidates. In fact, 83% of the respondents in an ISE student recruitment survey highlighted they need to work on diversity moving into 2022, in particular improving racial diversity in their company. This focus and importance placed on diversity highlights the need to seriously consider if AI interviews are a good fit for their values.

It is all well and good knowing about artificial intelligence, but if candidates don’t know the steps they have to take whilst undergoing the video interview, it can be a barrier to success.  In the next section, we are going to discuss some useful tips to help you pass the interview with flying colors.

3 candidate tips to give them an edge when doing Video Interviews:

Video interviews are becoming increasingly difficult with more companies using them instead of in-person interviews. Here are 3 tips to help candidates prepare for a successful job interview.

  1. Be prepared before the interview
    • We advise that candidates plan well in advance before they do the interview. Even though, the interview is online, we suggest candidates still think of it as their first day of work. Generally, the kind of appropriate attire is a suit jacket or a shirt/blouse. Candidates may be at home but there are still things that can go wrong. Use a quiet location, where noise and people won’t disturb. Make sure the room you choose is tidy and use a clean and simple background so that the recruiter is focused on nothing else. Candidates need to also think about the lighting, if there is no natural light, use a lamp. Furthermore, close anything on the computer that may play notification sounds and switch all devices to silent, so there are no distractions. Another tip is the use of hand gestures whilst answering questions, for example: movements such as touching your fingertip, clasping palms and moving your hands as you speak are signs of honesty and openness.
  2. Use Positive body language:
    • When doing any type of interview, it is best to avoid slouching or fidgeting too much. We suggest making good eye contact with the camera, listen and take an interest in what they’re saying. For pre-recorded answers candidates should imagine they’re speaking to a real person. When taking an interview, if you’re nervous, ensure you speak carefully and clearly and be careful not to interrupt.
  3. Get technical:
    • Test the computer a few days before, as well as the camera and software to ensure the picture is clear and quality is good. Ensure everything is fully charged. Also, we suggest if you’re having a problem on the call, tell the interviewer, technical difficulties may happen and it’s not the candidate’s fault if you checked everything the day before – it may be easily fixed, or the interviewer might ask to redial. To prevent this from happening, ensure you have a backup, have another device set up so you can swap if needed.

These 3 tips will help any candidate have a successful video interview and will be sure to relieve nerves, as this can be an unfamiliar experience.

Conclusion

Video interviews continue to be used by many organizations across the globe. As discussed, video interviews have many benefits and drawbacks. At GF we have focused solutions to help candidates prepare when applying to their dream role. Practicing these can help ensure you are even more effective at completing online interviews, it will reduce the chance of error, such as technical issues and unfamiliarity with the assessment type itself.

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NEW Law Video Interview

Written by:
Peter Thornton MA
Consultant


We’re delighted to announce that due to feedback popular demand, we’ve added a new Law Video Interview to all our partner’s portals.

As you probably already know, the GF team take suggestions extremely seriously, and are always looking to do our utmost to help students in their career journey.

Your students now have the opportunity to practice and record a typical law interview, based on 9 of the most common questions in the field.

In line with our range of Video Interviews, students and graduates interested in pursuing their career in Law can review, share and receive feedback on their performance to ensure they meet their true potential.

Live now under the Video Interviews tab!

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NEW Gamified Assessment – PassCode™

Written by:
Peter Thornton MA
Consultant


As GF look to continue our game assessment repertoire, we are delighted to introduce to all of our existing partners a new addition to their portal: ‘PassCode’. This means that candidates can be even better prepared for the game technology being harnessed by the top employers.

Some examples of notable employers that have utilised this assessment include PwC, HSBC, and Tesco. This game is used by top employers alongside other game assessments, in order to form a more rounded picture of applicants from technical ability to competence and personality.

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PassCode™ is out now

This most recent addition to our game assessments available for practice measures a candidate’s ability to attend to information and be resilient in failure. We know that this ability to attend and focus on the task at hand underpins many of the game assessments that are being used across all industries. The aim of PassCode is to fill the missing passcode on the mobile presented. Only when the coloured number is highlighted can the candidate input the number. Failure to press fast enough, or over-eagerness to press early, will result in the candidate being taken to the start of the assessment.

It can very much be likened to the assessments created by game publishers Pymetrics and Arctic Shores. Some of the games used by these publishers include Stop, SkyRise City’s Security Door game and Cosmic Cadet’s Rocket Launcher. Using our PassCode game, candidates can grow familiar and increase their chances of success with this style of game-based assessment.

Students can head to the ‘Games’ tab today on the GF portal to start their PassCode practise.

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What is it like being a Grad in a post-Covid world?

Written by:
Eru Osia BA
Graduate Business Psychology Intern


Note: As part of this piece, I interview a number of graduates to help provide further insight into their experiences and how their concerns may best be remedied going forwards.


There is no doubt that COVID-19 was an impactful experience for all graduates. As a graduate, you often have little time to process the situation of being a new grad and often need to move quick to the next stage of securing a job. This changed with the pandemic.

In my experience, those in their final years, whether undergraduate or postgraduate, were fearful. One can only empathise with how scary the prospect was of uncertainty around your safety and security in both health and in working life. As cases continued to increase, so too did the feeling that the whole covid pandemic would never reduce or eradicate.

How was this at the start of the pandemic?

Following a spike in cases towards the start of the pandemic, things turned around pretty quickly for students, with most ceasing to come onto campus. At the first sign of the virus, many talked about superstitious beliefs about the virus and struggled to find accurate information. Some ideas included 5G, and how this leads to the virus in addition to ways of curing the illness. Many students relied less so on the news, but increasingly relied on social media where often they found a myriad of conflicting ideas.

After the government issued the lockdown, a lot changed. All students were told to switch to online classes. Some placement students were told to stop working, many were told to finish their placements early, and only some had previous experience working from home. The hardest part of it all was that some students could not go to their families because of the restrictions, and they had no other choice but to stay by themselves because they had no one around. While so many other students lost some of their loved ones to the virus, they were not permitted to see them or say their goodbyes.

It was a difficult time. Graduates (myself included) must now find a way to overcome the stress and uncertainty left about by the pandemic. The country has bounced back well with things returning to normal. Students and graduates now have the opportunity to meet up with their friends and families again. Nevertheless, everyone has a story to tell about how this virus has affected them. I interviewed some graduates to tell us more about their experience and how things have changed for them as graduates of 2020 and 2021.

Interviewing grads in a post Covid world

A lot of frustration came out from interviewing graduates across different universities. I thank them for voicing their concerns.

Engineering Graduate (he/his)

He felt a lot of his interest in things had waned given the pandemic. A primary concern he raised was how the pandemic has affected his job search as a fresh graduate.

The graduate had applied to over 200 jobs with no success. He expresses his pain by saying he is not looking for a rewarding career but a stable job that can help him build his experience over time and pay for his bills. When asked to describe the application process, he says that the procedures of constantly drafting a personal statement and needing to complete an online assessment were complicated, and that submitting his application became exhausting.

Furthermore, not getting feedback didn’t help as he feels he is not too confident speaking on camera. The whole process has been nothing but time-consuming and very challenging for him. He mentioned that sometimes he asks, “What’s the whole point of applying?” when you only receive an automated rejection after trying your best.

In the end, he decided to do a Master’s (MSc) to give himself a break from applying.

Business Graduate (she/her)

She explains that this experience will stick with her, as it became exhausting to motivate herself to attend online classes, which she found far less engaging than the face-to-face experience. It was particularly difficult as she could not make new friends and communicate with her peers.

Additionally, she highlighted that everyone became more reserved given the pandemic, and kept to themselves. Studying became harder as she had to use her face covering in the library, which was uncomfortable for longer periods. She could not focus, so she borrowed books and studied at home instead.

Before the pandemic, she had the freedom to walk into her lecturer’s office. During the pandemic, there was no option but to wait for drop-in sessions online, and it was uncomfortable to voice concerns and ask questions with everyone else present.

With regards to the job search, she had received roughly 20 rejection letters for entry-level positions. To her, it felt like “the coronavirus pandemic has had both beneficial and negative effects on the economy and social mobility“. Even though it was an exhausting experience, she has still managed to secure a job and is pleased that the hard work has paid off.

Economics Postgraduate (he/his)

An international student with a lot to say about the process of being in the UK and experiencing the lockdown.

He explains that this was a tough experience as he had no family around him. His parents panicked, and he could not go home as the borders were closed for a while. He was troubled when he would go to the supermarket. Everyone was panic buying, and he feared going out because he did not know what he could touch given safety concerns. Thankfully, he managed to overcome this by getting used to the best supermarkets to visit for his needs. Indeed, it was a stressful period for him.

With regard to studies, he finished his Master’s in the first few months of the pandemic, so he did not experience much online learning. However, like many, he experienced issues in applying for jobs. The issue worsened as he needed a company that would sponsor his visa.

In the end, he decided the best route was to seek a Doctorate (PhD) as he had a bit more time to process his admission. When asked if he felt forced because of the circumstance, he said Covid-19 made things hard, but he discovered a desire to expand his knowledge in Economics and getting a postgraduate could help him improve his job search and advance his career. “I had a unique perspective on what education and research entailed, and as a result, I discovered my job path and life objective. I would never have pursued a doctorate and found my true purpose in life” he says, adding that he had not meant to do a PhD, but the whole pandemic helped him discover his true passion.

Closing Remarks

From conversing with these individuals and considering my own experiences, it seems Covid has had a lasting impact on the lives of some graduates.

It is inspiring to hear how these graduates continue to find ways to motivate themselves and overcome the situation, whether it be securing a role or progressing to further education.

Educational institutions have a role to play in continuing to educate students about their future prospects and provide tools for how to apply for jobs. Perhaps through online workshops where they can practice, train, and prepare for online tests and video interviews.

Ultimately, we need to recognise the influence covid has on graduates and their career development prospects. Improving access to university tools and resources is essential, and should help graduates develop their employability and related skills further.

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All-in-one Tool for Students

Written by:
Abdul Wahaab MSc GMBPsS
Organisational Psychologist


Our dedicated QIT Tool generates likely competencies for every role. Great for students who wish to know which skills and competencies to focus on for any given role.

The tool asks students to indicate the importance and frequency of given work behaviours to generate this list.

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The QIT is an all-in-one tool highly recommended for students

Students are also given a competency-based question per competency as well as model answers. Indeed, the QIT is an all-in-one tool heavily recommended for students prior to taking a Situational Judgement Test or Competency-based Interview.

Head to the Question Identifier Tool tab in your portal to learn more.

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NEW Gamified Assessment – Flanker Task

Written by:
Abdul Wahaab MSc GMBPsS
Organisational Psychologist


Attention-suppression appears to be increasingly valued by employers, and our new gamified assessment looks at just that.

As used by employers, such as within consulting, banking and technology, the Flanker Task (Eriksen & Eriksen, 1974) ultimately seeks to identify how you fare with regard to selective attention and executive control.

Candidates are required to focus on the centre fish, and the centre fish only. They must indicate, using their mouse, touchscreen or keyboard, which direction the centre fish is pointing, regardless of the direction of surrounding fish.

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The Flanker Task now available in your portal

The biggest factor at play is suppression, as it requires greater cognitive function to ignore the neighbouring fish when they are pointing in the opposite direction. It is far more straightforward from a cognitive standpoint to answer when both the centre and neighbouring fish point in the same direction.

Indeed, it is suppressing neighbouring fish that is the most challenging aspect of the game. Time pressure adds to this.

The simple nature of the Flanker Task game and many other game-based assessments keeps tips to a limit, however adopting a narrow field of view helps candidates focus on the centre only.

Simply head to the Games tab within the portal to try the assessment for yourself. The Flanker Task – now live for all our partners.

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How has getting a job changed for grads?

Written by:
Eru Osia BA
Graduate Business Psychology Intern


Covid has caused a negative push in the job market for all graduates. Most of the 2020 and 2021 graduates have found it challenging to cope with the pandemic and the lockdown. Stress and confusion about their current and future plans have increased because of the global crisis. There were no directions, guidance, or other measures to support recent graduates in getting a job. Of course, graduates were not the only ones put in this position. The nation and countries worldwide were challenged with this new virus Covid-19. The virus affected the economy’s productivity and, with the restrictions set in place to avoid the spread of the virus, caused a negative shift in the economy’s growth. As a result, everyone was on lockdown, people lost their jobs or redeployed, some companies went bankrupt or had to shut down.

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But where does this leave graduates?

The research figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) shows that the unemployment rate for graduates in the labour market was high and peaking at 12.0% in the third quarter of 2020. This indicates that the pandemic has had the most significant impact on recent graduates in terms of unemployment. The information suggests that unemployment is still rising for forthcoming graduates and those who graduated in 2020 and 2021. However, with that being said, the economy is getting back on its feet and there is a progressive impact of companies recovering from the pandemic’s economic hit. Meaning the unemployment rate for graduates could take an upturn, although recruitment will most likely slow rather than completely stall.

Graduate Job Market and Covid

Before Covid, final year students could attend a face-to-face job fair at their universities, and there were more graduate jobs available. The new normal requires less physical appearance with virtual appearances expected to continue. This change has compelled many companies to cut costs, reduce the number of stores available and the number of staff. Ultimately, this has influenced the 2020-2021 academic year and the forthcoming 2021 graduate recruitment cycle.

Furthermore, the crisis has made it difficult for employers and the economy to make decent decisions. The economy not only faced a high unemployment rate, but the pandemic pushed the UK economy into recession. This recession was unlike the previous downturn the country has faced. The recession was the biggest drop on record, affecting the nation greatly. However, some employers still employed new workers and published more jobs online, seeking skilled workers that know their way around.

Where are we now?

Not all was doom and gloom. The economy started properly recovering after the lift in the lockdown. Although the 2020 graduate faced a big drop in the number of people being recruited, it is one of the most significant drops since 2009. In addition to this, it made the graduate jobs fall below the progressive line on unemployment level in the UK in the year 2020. However, there has been room for recovery in the job market.

The lift in restrictions and a higher vaccination rate has helped put the economy back on track, encouraging companies to slowly make it back to their usual activities. Despite the disruption the pandemic caused, researchers pointed out that the year 2021 has displayed a modest rise in the number of graduate vacancies on offer.

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To back this up, there are now more available vacancies for graduates, although in specific key industries and business sectors. Graduate jobs or graduate schemes are still lower compared to 2019, however this is a marked improvement to where we were. Improving industries and business sectors include accounting, professional service firms, engineering, industrial companies, investment banks, and public sector employers have increased their recruitment targets for graduates.

What’s the leading industry for graduates?

The Office of National Statistics reveals that the highest recruiter of new graduates in 2021 is the public sector as they have been more impactful than other large industries. The public sector offers a considerable entry-level of over 5,400 jobs for graduates in different civil service organisations, Tech First and Police Now.

What’s changed for graduates applying?

Anxiety

Graduates are concerned about their future in the post-pandemic economy. A survey done by the National Union of Students found out that over 10,000 graduate students expressed fears about the impact of the coronavirus on the economy and were concerned about their careers. This challenge has cost some their work placements, internships, and graduate schemes. Some sectors, like travel, retail, and hospitality, struggle to recover, while technology, finance, and health care are faring reasonably well.

Additionally, many feel the anxiety of constantly applying to different vacancies, being rejected, and sometimes not getting a response or feedback from companies.  The level of competition adds to this worry, with top UK employers and other medium to small businesses are hoping to recruit more graduates from this recruitment wave.

Career switches

Many graduates have seen the importance of switching to some of these sectors, and so they have seen that it will take time for most businesses to get back their standard job offers. Furthermore, many graduates were obliged to shift their job trajectories because of the uncertainty of how long the pandemic would extend. It’s all about rethinking the strategy and making use of the chances that are accessible. For some graduates, nothing feels certain right now, even though many employers are virtually continuing their graduate schemes. Some companies have stopped accommodating graduate schemes, whilst others have deferred graduate job start dates by a year.

Virtual vs Face-to-Face

The pandemic has had an impact on how employers and employees collaborated within the organisation. The restriction of face-to-face contact to reduce Covid 19 cases led companies, schools, and other sectors to go into lockdown and start working from home. This resulted in many workplace changes that made companies adopt online platforms, such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams. This new strategy of working from home or remote working has changed how recruitment processes are to be carried out.

Many organisations had to start moving their interviews and assessment centres entirely online. This falls in line with the graduate recruitment process. As technology is constantly advancing, the pandemic prepared many people to get used to the new norm and learn new ways of working from home via media platforms. However, this way of working was already in place but not as rampant as it became in 2020 and 2021.

The application process became more efficient, accessible, and cost-effective for both the organisations and employees. Some companies realised these benefits and are currently combining both online and face-to-face methods. Virtual recruitment allows applicants to spend less time travelling and more time preparing for a video interview, making it easier for those living outside of major cities.

Currently, for graduates, nearly all interviews, assessment centres, and psychometric tests are conducted online. To get a job, graduates have to get used to this process to avoid any health risks. Having a face-to-face interview is very different compared to an online interview, as some graduates are not too comfortable or used to talking professionally on cameras. In my interviews with graduates, it was clear that they found it hard to express themselves on camera.

Where do graduates go from here?

The best decision for graduates is to start getting used to this new process, as it will continue for a while. Graduates should prepare themselves for this by doing a mock online interview. Graduates should familiarise themselves with the organisations to which they are applying. As a graduate, you should note that there is more competition for a specific job role, and you need to stand out from the crowd by building up your skills and LinkedIn profile.

You should note these changes as some recruitment agencies are already investing and upgrading their technology for high-performance video interviews and video conference solutions for their business. Many of these businesses have surveyed the impact of Covid 19 on remote jobs, and have adapted by identifying methods of contactless recruitment. For example, Aldi has also adapted this method of recruiting new graduates. Whereby their group assessment has been replaced with a one-to-one video interview. These are excellent opportunities for candidates to share their previous experience and showcase their fantastic skillsets.

To stand out in the job market, graduates need to enhance and update their skills. In which case, they will be able to update their CVs with something they are comfortable with, that will impress the evolving employers. In addition to this, a director of a graduate recruitment firm advised graduates to think about what they were good at and what they enjoyed during their course, work, life, and voluntary experience. It will help draw a wide range of experience, and it will assist them in becoming more employable.

Concluding Remarks

The National Centre for Universities and Business explains graduates are still highly employable and are more likely to work in sectors of the economy that have been less affected, such as health and IT. In other words, if some graduates keep improving their skills or switch to a different sector, there is a higher chance of them being employed.