INSIDESHERPA
INSIDE SHERPA FIRST
March 2017 YEAR JOB GUIDE
So you have arrived at university and you’re now in first
The separation is in
year. Year 12 exams are behind you, getting a job is a
the preparation…
long way in front of you… no need to worry about
anything, right?
Not quite!
While getting into uni is a fantastic achievement which you should be
proud of, the hard work is ahead of you. With 300,000 students
graduating from university each year, securing internships and
graduate roles is challenging. For example, there are 65,000 practising
solicitors in Australia, but there are 15,000 law students graduating
every year – that’s a lot of students potentially not getting a job!
However, there are some strategies, actions and resources that you
should begin to employ now to maximise your chances for securing the
best role possible post-university.
This guide is not meant to be exhaustive, but it should be treated as a
good starting point for all first year students looking to develop
themselves professionally. Feel free to email our team at
tom@insidesherpa.com if you have any questions about careers or
employment opportunities.
SO HOW IS A UNIVERSITY STUDENT USUALLY HIRED
AFTER UNIVERSITY?
Let’s start at the end of the process. We bet your university hasn’t
actually explained how recruitment typically occurs after university?
Well, in the professional service space (this covers law, banking,
accounting and consulting), the large firms typically hire:
2
- through an internship program: many of the major accounting
You don’t have to see firms (e.g. KPMG, EY, Deloitte & PwC), investment banks (e.g.
Goldman Sachs, Macquarie Group, JP Morgan and Credit
the whole staircase,
Suisse), law firms (e.g. MinterEllison, Gilbert & Tobin, Clayton
just the first step Utz) and management consulting firms (e.g. McKinsey&Co, Bain
and BCG) hire students in their penultimate year of study for a 4,
Martin Luther King 8 or 12-week internship. These participants usually are offered a
graduate role and in many instances the firms hire the bulk of
their graduates from this pool. In this sense, it is important to be
aware that you should be application ready early in your
penultimate year. If you’re doing a commerce degree for
example, that means your graduate role could be determined
almost before you receive your marks for your third semester of
study (assuming it’s a three year degree); and
- through a graduate program: large corporates and firms will
also hire graduates from students who are in their final year of
study. Applications typically open in February and close around
April (however this does change from firm to firm).
The recruitment process usually involves the following steps:
- Initial application: Submitting a cover letter, CV and academic
transcript which details your work experience, academic
achievement and extra-curricular activities.
- Testing: Many firms now conduct psychometric and logic testing
for students who get through the initial vetting process.
- First interview: Different firms adopt different approaches to the
first interview. Sometimes it can be a 1 on 1 interview between
HR or junior staff and the student (either in person or on the
phone) or it may be a group interview / assessment day.
- Second interview: Is usually a more personal conversation with
a partner or senior manager within the company. The purpose of
the interview is usually to determine whether the applicant is
compatible with the culture of the firm.
All in all, it’s important to be prepared and be aware that job hunting is
a rigorous process which needs to be treated with respect.
SO WHAT SHOULD YOUR CAREER STRATEGY BE?
Of course there is no set science to setting out your strategy. But what
you should be thinking is what experience can I gain which will make
me a stronger candidate when the time comes to apply. These are the
types of experiences we find that successful candidates have:
3
- Non-professional work experience: This work experience can
In a world of infinite be jobs that you’re happy to work hard in a challenging
choice, context, not environment with time demands and responsibilities. It can
include retail, hospitality, childcare or labouring work. Typically
content, is king this experience is gained at the start of a student’s degree.
- Professional work experience: Of course, developing
professional work experience is a big plus on your CV. It doesn’t
matter where you start, whether it’s on the photocopier, doing
the filing or answering the phones. In fact this is probably where
you will start but after time your responsibilities will naturally be
expanded. The ability to tell future employers that you have
already developed office skills before starting in their program is
a massive bonus.
- Volunteer experience: This is a great way, particularly at the
start of your degree, to build up skills and get a way in to
professional experience. Also it is an opportunity to contribute to
organisations and causes you care about.
- Extra-curriculars: Get involved with student socities and sports
and culture clubs. It shows that you get along with other people,
happy to work in a team and demonstrates leadership
capabilities.
- Demonstrate a passion in your field of study: This one which
is often neglected. For example, commercial law firms want to
know that you are have a genuine interest in the law above
anything else. How can you show this interest? Well you could
write journal articles on selected legal topics, help tutor other
younger students or attend legal knowledge sharing events /
conferences. If you want to be a trader, then enter as many
virtual share trading competitions. You need to demonstrate that
you beyond your class you are passionate about your chosen
field.
- Good grades: Finally (and I wish this wasn’t the case) but
marks are important. They are not the be all and end all but
strong marks shows more than the fact that you’re smart but it
also shows that you are disciplined and most likely have a
strong interest in your chosen field of study. It’s going to be hard
to convince an employer that you love marketing when you’re
just scraping through your marketing courses! So study up and
find like-minded students to study with.
If you can gain a variety of the experience higlighted above you’ll be an
incredibly strong applicant by the end of your degree!
4
WHAT RESOURCES SHOULD YOU BE USING?
There are some awesome resources that you should be using, both
provided by your university and by private providers. Here are some of
the key ones:
- www.gradconnection.com.au - is a great resource for applying to
grad jobs, internships and getting to know the types of
employers that are out there
- Use your uni careers centre, careers hub page, career planning
pages to the extent you can
- https://ribit.net/ - Great intern based platform which can really
help you get a step ahead in identifying new and interesting
opportunities.
- https://unigrad.com.au/ - very similar to ribit but is a great way to
identify graduate and internship opportunities out there
- https://govolunteer.com.au/ - we also love this platform to
identify volunteering positions out there!
- www.insidesherpa.com - we of course let you connect with
professionals working in a range of companies. Organising to
chat with them can help you get career direction, identify
opportunities and build networks with successful young
professionals. We also have a range of free job help resources
on the site to help you!
It is never too early to start getting expeirence! Showing initative early
in your degree will separate you from the bulk of other students. And if
nothing else you will learn a lot, meet many, and work out the types of
things you are and are not interested in.
The above should be a starting point but always get in contact with us if
you’re after other resources!
OTHER TIPS
These are our other key tips:
- Network, network, network: Building networks early can make
securing a role later significantly easier. You would be surprised
how willing people within your networks are to help you when
the time comes to apply for jobs. Even better, they will often
reach out to you to let you know about opportunities that other
students don’t know about. There is no specific science to
networking, but some ways you can network include attending
careers days early on, going to alumni and employer
presentations, and to specified professional networking events
- Be prepared: Put together your CV now so you can send it out
quickly when opportunities arise. It doesn’t have to be a content
5
heavy CV, but something that is clean, concise and professional!
Our mentors can help you put one together.
- Have fun: Uni is a great time in your life so be aware and
prepared for the challenges ahead of you but most of all have
fun, makes friends and get into the social aspects of the uni.
You’ll be surprised how many opportunities can result from
these aspects of uni life!
HOW CAN INSIDE SHERPA HELP?
Reach out to one of our young professionals who work in investment
banking, big 4 consulting, law, corporates, marketing or big 4
accoutning firms who can help you plan your career and the things you
should be doing at uni. We have a fantastic network which we hope
you will take advantage of at www.insidesherpa.com!
