Episode 43: How to use a graduate recruitment agency, with Rob Blythe from Instant Impact

March 21, 2016 Podcast

In episode 43 of the Graduate Job Podcast, I am joined by Rob Blythe founder of graduate recruitment agency Instant Impact, as we explore how to successfully use a graduate recruitment agency. We delve into why you should think about using a graduate recruitment agency, what they look for in their candidates, and how they can fast track you through to the later stages of the recruitment process. Rob takes us through what you need to do to stand out as a candidate, the importance of spending the time to really think about your career, to why an SME or start-up company could be the ideal place for you to start working. No matter where you are on your job search this is an episode you won’t want to miss. As always, all links to everything we discuss and a full transcript are available in the show notes at www.graduatejobpodcast.com/instantimpact. Before we start many thanks to those of you who have completed the survey over at www.graduatejobpodcast.com/survey, your feedback helps me to create the episodes you want to hear I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Right, let’s get on to the good stuff.

MORE SPECIFICALLY IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

  • How a graduate recruitment agency can accelerate your job search
  • What graduate recruitment agencies look for in candidates
  • Why an SME or start-up could be the ideal place to start your graduate career
  • Why you should be thinking about an internship
  • Common mistakes candidates make
  • How to ensure your application stands out from the crowd
  • Why you should think about your career IQ

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE:

IF YOU LIKE THIS EPISODE CHECK THESE OUT:

Transcript – Episode 43: How to use a graduate recruitment agency, with Rob Blythe from Instant Impact

Announcer: Welcome to the Graduate Job Podcast, your home for weekly information and inspiration to help you get the graduate job of your dreams.

James:   Hello and welcome to the Graduate Job Podcast with your host James Curran. The Graduate Job Podcast is your weekly home for all things related to helping you on your journey to finding that amazing job.

Each week I bring together the best minds in the industry, speaking to leading authors, entrepreneurs, coaches, and bloggers who bring decades of experience into a bite-size, weekly thirty-minute show. Put simply, this is a show I wish I had when I graduated.

In episode 43 of the Graduate Job Podcast, I’m joined by Rob Blythe founder of graduate recruitment agency Instant Impact as we explore how to successfully use a graduate recruitment agency. We delve into why you should think about using an agency, what they look for in the candidates, and how they can fast-track you through to the later stage of the recruitment process.

Rob takes us through what you need to do to stand out as a candidate, the importance of spending the time to really think about your career, to why an SME or start-up company could be the ideal place for you to start your working life. No matter where you are in your job search, this is an episode you wouldn’t want to miss.

As always, all links to everything we discussed and a full transcript are available in the show notes at http://www.graduatejobpodcast.com/instantimpact

Before we start, many thanks to those of you who’ve completed the survey over at http://www.graduatejobpodcast.com/survey. Your feedback helps me create the episodes you want to hear. The survey is still open, so if you haven’t already filled it in, get yourself over there now. It only takes you about a minute to do and I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Right, let’s get on with the good stuff.

Before we start though, I want to welcome today’s sponsor which is www.CareerGym.com. Career Gym is the number one place for you to undertake all of your psychometric tests which you will face when you apply for a graduate job. You can practice verbal, numerical, and abstract reasoning tests all produced by experts, and exactly the same as the ones you will see in the real tests. You can just practice them or you can do them in exam mode, under time pressure, and they come all with detailed explanations and solutions, and you can track your progress and see how you compare against your peers.

I’ve been recommending this site for years to the class I coach and it comes very highly recommended. What’s even better is if you use the code GJP, you will get 20% off of all of their tests. You can’t say fairer than that. So, head over to www.CareerGym.com and use the code GJP to get 20% off and start practicing today. Now, on with the show.

I’m very excited today to have Founder and Director of Instant Impact on the show, Rob Blythe. Instant Impact is the UK’s leading intern and graduate recruitment agency. Rob, a very warm welcome to the show.

Rob:  Thanks, James, great to be here.

James:  Excellent. Today, we’re going to cover a few things from how graduates can use recruiters effectively to some of the benefits of working for smaller companies. But, before we do, could you tell us a little bit more about Instant Impact, what you do, and, also, how you came to set them up not long after leaving university yourself?

Rob:       Absolutely. Yeah. So, Instant Impact is an intern and graduate recruitment agency as you said, James. We’ve been going for coming up to five years now. Our aim is to unite the very best graduates with fast-growing startup and scaleup businesses to provide an alternative to the traditional graduate programs that you get at the big corporates that I’m sure all of your listeners are well aware of.

As a background to how we started, I started it by myself and business partner, Felix Mitchell. We met at university and we were underwhelmed, to say the least, about the range of opportunities that were available. So, we actually went traveling, as you do, and decided at the beginning of going away that we wanted to set up a business together. We came back, spent a couple of months working out what the best business idea was, so Instant Impact was born on Bondi Beach in Sydney.

James:  Oh, wow. Nice place to start a business.

Rob:       Yeah, it was. Exactly.

James:  What type of companies do you tend to work with?

Rob:       The businesses we work with tend to be fast-growing small businesses, so startups and scaleup companies, your Deliveroos, HelloFresh, companies like that who are up and coming, growing quickly, and really looking to develop. The thing that, I guess, ties together all of our clients is they’re trying to disrupt their industry and really do something new and innovative, and they want graduates to be a key cornerstone to what they’re doing. So, a lot of the roles we are able to offer and give more responsibility in a wider-ranging role than you might often get with other opportunities.

James:  Most of the clients I coach tend to be drawn towards the big milkround type companies that they see advertised around their campuses. What are some of the advantages you think of working for a smaller, up and coming, fast-growing company?

Rob:       I think the first thing I’d say is those big milkround companies are absolutely the right place for a lot of people, but they don’t work for everyone. The smaller companies that we work with offer some very different USPs to those bigger corporates. One of the core components is that you get to work very closely with the founders and directors of the business, so get an exposure to business leaders and future leaders of, hopefully, large, growing businesses.

Then, in terms of the roles offered, they aren’t as pigeon-holed as you often get at some of the larger businesses as the companies that we work with are smaller, their teams are less well-developed, and as such, as a graduate joining the business, you can see a lot of different areas and divisions of the company. So, if you join in a marketing role, you may also get some exposure to sales or operations and actually get a really wide-ranging understanding of how the business that you’re working in actually works and develops.

I think, then, as a smaller company as well, as one of the first people joining the business, you have a real opportunity to stand out. It’s much easier to stand out at a company where you’re one of a few employees total than it is at a company where you’re joining as one of a 300-strong cohort of graduates. So, the opportunities for quick progression and development are very open to fantastic people and you’re able to join really show their worth from day one.

James:  Thinking, then, about applying for these smaller companies, do the graduates need to tailor their applications and CVs specifically for the smaller companies?

Rob:       I’ve always been an advocate of taking your time with any application. Whenever you’re applying to a business, whether it’s big or small, I think tailoring the CV and tailoring the cover letter or any information will always go a long way to show that you’ve actually thought about what the company is looking for. So, yeah, I’d absolutely say so. They don’t use the same very long application forms and online written questions and tests as a lot of the big graduate programs do, so the barriers to applying are a lot lower, but I still think you should put in the time, effort, and energy to think about what the company is looking for and how to make your CV stand out.

I don’t think there are any general rules that would be different to tailoring your CV towards a smaller business than there are towards a bigger business. They’re still looking for a lot of the same skills from the individual, but maybe a bit more of an ability to take responsibility and work in an ever-developing and changing environment rather than needing a very clear training program, which you are able to get at the bigger companies.

James:  So, looking for more adaptability and being a self-starter.

Rob:       Yeah, absolutely, self-starter. We hear that word so often from our clients. We’re looking for self-starters – people who can get on with it and push through their own ideas as well as other people to achieve the best results.

James:  You mentioned Deliveroo and HelloFresh there, those two companies that you’re working with. What would the application process look like for applying for jobs with them?

Rob:       Well, the first thing is that people register their CV with us. If they look appropriate for the role or they apply to it on the internal pages of our website at https://instant-impact.com/, we would then have an initial discussion with the individual, make sure that they’re well-suited to the opportunity, and that they also understand what’s offered. We would then recommend the person towards the company, then they would have either one or two rounds of interviews before, ultimately, hopefully then getting the job offer. It’s simple as that.

I think the other big difference with smaller companies is instead of working on the graduate program typical structure of applying between September and December, and then start the following September, smaller companies tend to operate with “We have a real need for someone to join and we need them to join as soon as possible,” so the turnarounds tend to be very quick. So, with those companies we mentioned before, if people are interested, it could be as quick as talking to us and then starting a couple of weeks later. I think, the main thing they’re looking for is the right person and companies will always be willing to wait for the right talent – it’s just a case of sooner the better.

James:  Well, that’s brilliant. You mentioned you think about the, again, going back to the big graduate schemes with online applications, wait two months to get back to you, telephone interview, wait a month to actually have it, this is such a shorter, sharper process.

Rob:       Yeah.

James:  As a result, would you recommend that people apply only once they’re ready and available to work?

Rob:       So, applying to us, I’d absolutely not say that. We’re keen for any and all students and graduates to sign up whether they’re in their first year at university or have already graduated. The reason for that is we actually offer a summer internship program for current students, so we’re able to offer everyone from first year all the way through to people who have graduate. That, kind of, carries on on a year-round basis, and we’re able to offer advice like yourself and resources to help with the job search.

However, in terms of specific opportunities, yeah, the majority of them are available immediately, so the applications for the permanent graduate jobs that we work on would typically be a case of “I’m available within a month and, therefore, I’d like to apply for that position.” So, for those people who are currently in their final year and haven’t secured a graduate program or haven’t been interested in the opportunities available, what I advise that they do is really focus on your studies, get the best grades that you possibly can do, and then as you as graduate, there are going to be a load of opportunities to start pretty much immediately. You definitely haven’t missed the boat to get your dream graduate job even if you haven’t secured it and friends of yours have.

James:  Ah, there’s always that pressure when your friends start getting the job offers and you might not have it. You just feel the weight of expectation coming down on your shoulders.

Rob:       Absolutely. We see that all the time and I think the advice I’d give to people is enjoy university, it’s an amazing time of your life. Focus on your studies and extracurriculars. If you see the right jobs for you, then absolutely focus on them, but you need to put the time and effort in to get the opportunities and get the job offers. Otherwise, you could end up disappointed having put in some time and not ended up with the result that you wanted. So, spend the time working out what it is that you really want to do and then focus on the applications. If none of the graduate programs appeal, don’t feel like that’s the only option.

James:  There is plenty of your life to be working, there is no point rushing into it if it’s not the right opportunity.

Rob:       Exactly, yeah.

James:  You mentioned extracurricular activities there and also focusing on their studies, with the companies you are working with, are you still finding there’s a focus on minimum degree classification or is that dependent on the other things that you might be doing at the university?

Rob:       A lot of companies do really care about academics, specially a lot of our clients who are looking for the best graduates from leading universities. I think we very rarely, if ever, hear the company saying that they want or it has to be a first-class degree, but we do often hear that they’re looking 2:1.

One of the things with the recruitment agency though is we can use discretion. If we are speak to someone who has a 2:2 or a third-class degree, but there are mitigating circumstances or they were focusing on other very impressive things and they are really well-suited to an opportunity, we would never view it as a complete red flag. Instead, we’d look to recommend that person and explain to the company that, yes, they may have got a 2:2 or third class, but we think they’re really well-suited for the opportunity for reasons X, Y, Z, and we’d thoroughly encourage them to meet with you.

James:  You talked there about just having that flexibility and, you know, being able to have the dialog with the companies that you work with. I often find that, again, with the people I coach, as they’re drawn to the milkround companies, they overlook working with a recruiter such as yourself. Why would you recommend that students think about using a graduate recruitment agency rather than just going directly to the…?

Rob:       I think the first thing is we’ve got a really good range of clients. So, ultimately, if the recruitment agency that you’re working with or the recruitment agency that you’re thinking of working with doesn’t have  companies that you’re interested in working with, then maybe it isn’t the right route to go down. But, if you are interested in that client portfolio, they can be a really big help to your job search. Not only are all of the people that you’d be dealing with well-versed in graduate careers and how to find the right roles, but, also, they know the clients and their recommendation for you to any one of the clients will hold a large degree of sway.

For example, in working with us, we only recommend between three and five candidates per role that we run and we run almost all of our roles on an exclusive basis. So, if you apply through Instant Impact for an opportunity, you’re going in much further down the process than if you just apply directly in one of a hundred or thousands of applicants of the opportunity. Here, you have a discussion with us, we understand your career objectives and aims. We’ll then put forward a personal recommendation to the company, at which stage, you may go straight into a final round, may go into one of two rounds, but you’ll certainly be one of very few candidates, and we’ll know that the company is really investing the time and energy into meeting with you and seeing if you’re the right person for them.

James:  Excellent. Having spoken to some of the graduate recruitment managers at some of the big firms, and they talked about how, as you mentioned, they’re going to get, oh, two hundred applicants for each of the places that they’re offering.

Rob:       Yeah.

James:  To go into the final stage is such an advantage.

Rob:       Yeah. I think so, anyway.

James:  Yeah, definitely. From the candidates that you see, what are some of the mistakes you see them making when they first come to you looking for work?

Rob:       I think CVs is an obvious place to start. Good or bad, whatever you think of them, they are a big part of making a first impression with any employer or recruitment agency. I think getting that CV right, keeping it brief, well-written, professional, nicely-designed, good use of bullet points and not long paragraphs of prose, as well as really bringing through the key details about your application, and having your education towards the top and showing the key details without it taking up loads and loads of space.

Sorry, I’m just throwing a load of CV advice, titbits in here…

James:  That’s all good stuff.

Rob:       But, making sure that you’re sending it through as a PDF instead of a word document so that you can control the format, and make you’re your surname doesn’t have a red underline squiggle because people think it’s spelt wrong. All of these things do make a real difference.

The next thing I’d say that really stands people out are those who’ve had a real proper think about what they want to do. We have a term a called “Career IQ.” We’re really looking for people who have career IQ. You don’t necessarily need to say “I know I want to do this” and “I’ve been wanting to do this since I was knee-high to a grasshopper,” but coming in and saying “I think these are the areas that I’m most interested in because of these reasons” just brings everything through to a really good starting point for a conversation.

Then, the recruiter can ask a few probing questions and really get under the skin of exactly what it is that you want to do to make sure that we only recommend people for the roles that they’re really well-suited for. So, I think that career IQ and thinking beyond “My parents did this as a job,” “My friends are applying for it,” or “It’s the only thing that I’ve seen.” Going a bit deeper really does make a difference.

Anyone’s who’s active on a job search – it is a volume game. You need to apply to a lot of different things. But, before you do that, I think it’s best to spend a week or a period of time to really investigate and research the industries or the areas you’re most interested in, so that when you come to apply, you’re well-versed in those and you can feel confident as well that you’re applying for the right thing and there’s not something out there that’s better for you.

James:  So, I love the term “career IQ.” What would different someone with a low career IQ with someone with a really high career IQ?

Rob:       I think the main thing is being able to express what you’re interested in and why. The “Why” has to be backed up by the skills you think you already have. I think someone with a high career IQ is able to look out into the big world of all of the jobs that are available, identify the areas that are most interesting to them, but then turn that back to self-aware view on things. So, “These are my best skills, which is why I think I’ll be well-suited to this or that industry.”

I think, then, someone with good career IQ as well… There’s an interviewing technique that every interviewer uses, which is probing. So, if you receive an answer that you want to go into marketing, the obvious next question is, “Okay, well, what areas of marketing?” Then, one someone says Digital Marketing, you can very quickly see those who have and haven’t looked into every area of Digital Marketing. That’s the thing that really stands people out as having taken the time to look into what they want to do.

I think those with low career IQ typically answer the “Why” with, “Well, other people are doing it,” or “I didn’t see any other areas that I thought would be more interesting to me,” or couldn’t compare or contrast different… So, again, using the marketing example, couldn’t answer the question of “Why Marketing rather than Advertising?” or “Why Marketing rather than Sales?” those sort of questions as well as someone with higher level of career IQ.

James:  Now, it all makes complete sense.

Rob:       I think the other finer point in that is that as a graduate leaving university, they won’t be expecting a completely finished article. You don’t need to know what you want to do in your career for your next ten years with absolute clarity, but we want to see that you’ve thought about it. Given currently available information to you, which looks like everything available in the web, but not having actually worked in anything for an extended period of time making well-informed decisions based on that and then having the intelligence to say but things could change and I’m open to hearing different alternative opportunities based on my skillset.

James:  Having worked with hundreds of companies, I’m sure, and sent thousands of graduates through for jobs. What are some of the feedbacks you get from the companies about how candidates might let themselves down when it comes through to those final couple of stages?

Rob:       Oh, good question. I think… It’s weird. There’s a wide variety of different feedback always. I think some of the consistent pieces of feedback: not having done the necessary research into the company, not feeling like the person actually wants the job enough. I think, one thing every interviewee should remember when going forward to meet companies is that it is a two-way process. You should be going there trying to impress as much as you are trying to get information and make sure that it’s the right place for you to work as well.

That’s something we tell all of our clients that a good interview process should leave the person going forward for interviews more interested in the role than when they started. So, making sure that people have good questions and have well thought out reasons for going forward for interview, also understanding the industry that they’re in, understand the company that they’re meeting, who their competitors are, etc. Those are some of the obvious things.

Beyond that, for smaller companies, specially, a lot of it comes down to personality. In a big business, there’s the opportunity to move to a different office, or a different floor, or a different team, if you don’t get on with the people immediately around you. In a smaller company, there is no such option. You’re working directly and closely with the individuals that you’ll be meeting at the interview. If they don’t feel that you’re the sort of person that they would want to work with for an extended period of time, then that’s going to be the biggest indicator of whether you’re right or wrong for the role.

So, I think, sometimes people think the interview is this big, bad scary thing and actually don’t just relax and enjoy it, and, kind of, use it as an opportunity to see whether you’d want to go for a drink with the person on the other side of the table, because that’s what a lot of employers are looking for. They’re looking for people with the skills to fit in to their business, but also the personality to be a great part of the team. Especially when that’s a growing team, that’s even more important because the company’s really intent on the culture of the business and you need to show that you’re a good fit for that.

James:  Definitely. It’s interesting you mentioned would you like to go for a drink with that person. Back in episode 9, I interviewed Alastair Paterson, the CEO of a hot UK digital startup called “Digital Shadows.” They had twenty or thirty people at the time and they’ve doubled in size since. One of the parts of the application process at the end is a beer test, so they take them to the pub with the rest of team. It’s, you know, “Does this person get on with everybody else?” because if you’re in a team, as you mentioned, of four or five people in a company of thirty people and you don’t get on with people, there’s nowhere to hide.

Rob:       Yeah. We use that very same term “Beer test.” We’re careful not to encourage or say that people have to drink or anything like that. That’s not what it is about. It’s more can you survive? In a social setting, do you get on with each other? Can you talk about non-work stuff? I think it is really important. I completely agree with Alastair. We see quite a few of our clients have a very similar processes as well where the final stage looks like a very friendly meeting, be that coffee or pub.

James:  And you mentioned earlier about internships. When I’ve spoken to graduate recruitment managers before, they’ve talked about just how many people who go through the internship process and get around to getting offered a job. Are there any key differences between the internship application processes you see with the companies you work for and the graduate job application processes?

Rob:       So, I think, the first thing to say is, just quickly, that we do both student internships, which happen over the summer, and then also graduate internships that happen all year round. So, companies who have very new roles or graduates who aren’t quite sure about the industry they want to work in and want to take an internship before diving into a permanent role, both of them have a very similar process to the permanent.

Permanent roles, I just think they’re slightly easier expectations on the company side because there’s just lower commitment for that three months internship than there is for a permanent role. So, I think they’re still looking for exactly the same talent, but just, maybe, there’s slightly lower demand on previous work experience for an internship application than a permanent graduate application.

James:  With the internships you have, are they all paid?

Rob:       Yeah. Every single one of our internships is paid, at the very least, minimum wage, but we always push for living wage. We won’t touch anything that’s expenses only or unpaid. We’re really not a believer in unpaid internships. I think the students and graduates that we deal with, they deserve to be paid for the valuable work that they do for any company.

James:  Definitely. What advice would you give listeners who are thinking about doing an internship, but, maybe, haven’t applied yet?

Rob:       I would be very positive. I think any internship and any work experience stands you in great stead for future job applications. And, if you really enjoy it, as you’ve said before, there’s the opportunity to turn that internship into a permanent job at the end of it. Internships are now an ever growing and big part of the graduate recruitment process, so I would strongly encourage anyone who’s looking for an internship, whether you’re a student or a graduate to absolutely apply and certainly get in touch with us as well.

James:  Definitely. In the show notes, everything we’ve discussed and all the links to Instant Impact and everything we’ve talked about will be on the show notes – http://www.graduatejobpodcast.com/instantimpact

Rob, time is running away with us, so before we move to the weekly staple questions, maybe one more question.

Rob:       Yup.

James:  So, you’ve talked about working with all these hot new startups, really fast-growing companies, how much hope is there for candidates who get the job offer to, maybe, get some skin in the game and get some equity with these companies?

Rob:       Oh, yeah, absolutely. That’s a very company to company thing, but a lot of our clients have share option schemes. We’ve got one ourselves. It really depends on the stage of the business and it may well be on development part of a lot of our clients if they don’t have it already. So, yeah, absolutely.

I think people who are looking for startups and are interested in equity, that’s a very positive thing for us and is something that is always a question that can be asked of companies as well at this size.

James:  Definitely. It’s always good to get, if you can possibly get them.

Rob:       Yeah, absolutely. I think the thing there, well, we see more is maybe you don’t get it Day 1, but if things go well in your first six months or a year, if there’s the knowledge that you can be part of a share options scheme or can take full equity, then that’s a really great incentivizing factor for any business and a lot of our clients do offer that.

James:  Super. So, Rob, moving on to our weekly staple questions. Firstly, what one book would you recommend that our listeners could read?

Rob:       It’s not directly related to graduate recruitment, but I read and thoroughly enjoyed Steve Job’s autobiography. I think he’s a very… I mean, he’s an incredibly intelligent man who did incredibly well with Apple and went through lots of ups and downs. I think, specially anyone interested in startups and scaleup businesses, can learn from the roller coaster of his professional career. I think it’s a fantastic read if anyone has the opportunity to do so.

James:  Actually, it looks… I’ve seen it on the tube. It looks quite a meaty tome.

Rob:       It is meaty, but there’s a lot of stuff that happened in his life and I, personally, reading it, running a business, learned a lot from the different mistakes that he made as well as the obvious and clear successes. There’s just a really good thought process that comes through, so I recommend it to anyone.

James:  Next. What one website would you recommend that listeners visit?

Rob:       Well, it’s a bit cheeky, but I feel as though I’ve got to recommend our own website. I don’t know if that’s okay, James.

James:  Yeah.

Rob:       Our website http://instant-impact.com. Loads of graduate jobs, student internships, and then a lot of career advice, and a really, hopefully, insightful blog with great content and resources, so anyone looking for student or graduate jobs really recommend you get online there.

James:  Yeah. The blog has got lots of interesting articles on, so definitely well worth a read. Finally, Rob, what one tip should listeners implement today to help with their job search?

Rob:       I think the main tip I would have is planning your job hunt. I think it’s all too easy to jump straight in and forget the fact that, as a graduate looking for roles, you’re just at the very beginning of your career. Whilst everyone around you may be rushing, if you plan and take your time, and a well-researched… So, instead of first week just diving straight in and making applications, have a look at the industries that you want to work in, do a bit of research, study the areas you want to be applying for, have a look at recruitment companies etc., before then finding out the timeframes within which you want to be making applications.

You’re treating the job hunt like a job itself and being disciplined in saying, “You know what? I’m going to be sitting down for two hours here. These two hours I’m researching this industry, and then the next week I’m sitting down for four hours just making applications to these companies.” If you can be that structured in the way you look for things, I’m almost certain you’ll get the results you want at the end of it.

James:  That’s brilliant advice. Just with my personal friends, there’s so many people who dived straight into a job at the beginning, weren’t happy with it six months in but are still there five or six years later. Once you start getting paid and the money’s coming in, it’s a lot difficult to leave.

Rob:       You don’t have that benefit of as much time to plan the job hunt when you’re in another job because you’re working 9:00 till 6:00 or whatever that job requires.

James:  Definitely. So, it’s well worth putting in the thinking early doors and making sure you’re heading in the right direction.

Rob:       Yeah.

James:  Rob, it’s been an absolute pleasure to have you in the show. What is the best way for people to get in touch with yourself and also Instant Impact?

Rob:       Yeah, the best way to get in touch with myself, if you head to our website, you’ve got an about section with my face and details there. You can get in touch by email, you can also add me on LinkedIn @RobBlythe, there’s a phone number on our website as well, so if you want to have a chat, just give us a call. Then, in terms of the business, if you head to our website and click “Sign up,” it’s very quick and easy to register and then you have access to all of the information on all of our clients and our job board as well.

James:  Rob, many thanks for appearing on the graduate job podcast.

Rob:       No problem. Thanks, James. Thanks for having me.

James:  Many thanks to Rob for his time and insights. I really enjoyed that chat and I hope you did to. Lot’s in there for you to mull over. Definitely have a think about how you rate your career IQ at the moment. Also, ask yourself honestly – have you really taken the time to think about what you want to do in your career?

The key point for me is for you to think about using a graduate recruitment agency. They can really make the process of getting a graduate job much easier and certainly less stressful. They’re there to help and advice you and, ultimately, it’s in their interest to help you get the job. As Rob said, if they put you forward, you’re down to the shortlist stage straightaway. It certainly beats the odds of applying to some of the big milk round schemes.

That said though, don’t think that this is some sort of easy alternative. In the initial stages, you need to put as much effort into impressing the recruitment agency as you would the company. Make sure you’re not cutting any corners on how you approach them or the quality of the CV which you send them initially. They’re there to help you, but not to do it all for you, so do the work and make sure you’re one of the candidates they can’t help but shortlist.

So, there you go. Thanks for listening. Please leave me a review in iTunes if you’ve enjoyed the show, particularly if you’re a UK-based listener as you’re certainly lagging behind. I’ve had an unbelievable 79 five-star reviews from the USA and only 29 from the UK. So, UK listeners, pull your fingers out and get yourself on iTunes. Please leave me a 5-star review and I’ll be eternally grateful.

If you want to get in touch, please do contact me on Twitter @gradjobpodcast or email me at hello@graduatejobpodcast.com. Let me know if you enjoyed the show and I do love to hear your feedback on how you’re getting on with your job applications. Please also do check out my short couple of questions www.graduatejobpodcast.com/survey, you’ll be a big, big help.

I hope you enjoy the show today, but more importantly, I hope you use it and apply it. See you next week.