Episode 114: What to do if you are on a waiting list for a graduate job

March 29, 2021 Podcast

Welcome to the 114th episode of the Graduate Job Podcast, the UK’s number 1 and longest-running careers podcast. The clocks have gone forward the days are getting longer, and the graduate recruitment process is in its final throws for another year, and I’m here for another episode of career’s advice. Today, I’m going to take you through a predicament which many candidates currently find themselves in, for all different sorts of graduate schemes, being on the dreaded waiting list! In today’s episode, I share 5 tips for what you can do if you find yourself in this annoying position. Nobody wants to be on the waiting list for a graduate job, but you don’t have to just sit there twiddling with thumbs, and after today’s episode you won’t. You can find a full transcript including links to everything I discuss in the show notes at https://www.graduatejobpodcast.com/waiting

MORE SPECIFICALLY IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

  • Why patience is the key
  • Why you need to show your flexibility
  • The importance of practising as you do wait
  • Why you should reflect on how you can improve
  • Why you should look at the positives from the situation

SELECTED LINKS INCLUDE:

Transcript – #114: What to do if you are on a waiting list for a graduate job

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 Curran: Hello and welcome to the Graduate Job Podcast, with your host James Curran. The Graduate Job Podcast is your home for all things related to helping you on your journey to finding that amazing job. Each episode I bring together the best minds in the industry, speaking to leading authors, graduate recruiters and career coaches who bring decades of experience into a byte size show. Put simply, this is the show I wish I had when I graduated.

And a big hello to the 114th episode of the Graduate Job Podcast, the UK’s number 1 and longest-running careers podcast. The clocks have gone forward the days are getting longer, and the graduate recruitment process is in its final throws for another year, and I’m here for another episode of careers advice. It’s been a busy year so far, I know I’ve been light on the episodes but I’ve been working away in the background helping some great candidates, from members of the ‘How to Get a Graduate Job’ Course to other coaching clients, and I have been working with them all coaching them through their application processes for the big 4, law firms, FMCGs, banks, consultancies and everyone in between, and, I’m pleased to say the results have been brilliant for everyone, with multiple offers rolling in and candidates in the enviable position of being able to pick and choose what the best role is for them. I’m going to get some of them on the show soon to talk about their experiences and to share their hints, tips and insights, so stay tuned for them soon.

But today, I’m going to take you through a predicament which many candidates currently find themselves in, for all different sorts of graduate schemes, being on the dreaded waiting list! So in today’s episode, I’ll share some tips for what you can do if you find yourself in this position.

Now, I don’t have to tell you that it is a competitive graduate job market out there at the moment, the number of graduate jobs is slightly down, and as a result, many firms are seeing record levels of applications for each graduate job. This is why it is more important than ever to be doing the right things with your application and avoiding the basic mistakes that most candidates make, and why so many people have been getting in touch for coaching. If you haven’t got a job yet and you haven’t been in touch for help, then why not? You are putting yourself at a disadvantage to the people you are up against, check out how I can help and the free half-hour coaching session I offer in the show notes at www.graduatejobpodcast.com/waiting

Now as I mentioned it is a competitive market, and recruiters are receiving a ton of applications, there are lots of rubbish ones which go straight in the bin, but, there will also be lots of good ones, and lots of people who are making it through at each stage, and more good applications than there are roles for. And as a result, the graduate application process is slow!!! Very slow, with lots of waiting at each stage. Nowhere is this more the case than waiting for the assessment centre, which is a position I know lots of people are in at the moment. Waiting for an assessment centre which may or may not ever happen. So what should you do in this situation? Today I will run you through the 5 things you should do if you find yourself in this waiting game.

1 – Be Patient

Number 1 is…have patience. Now you might be worried that all the roles are filled but don’t forget, lots of candidates who get offered graduate jobs turn them down. Most of the members of the ‘How to get a Graduate Job’ course have had multiple offers this year. The advice I give them is always to accept the offer in the first instance and then withdraw later on. This happens all the time, companies know this is a fact of life and expect a certain number of candidates to pull out of the process, so firstly don’t despair, just because you are on the waitlist, it doesn’t mean it is the end of the world.

2 – Be Flexible

What you should focus on is point number 2, which is, be flexible. Just as people will pull out of graduate job offers, once they have a job they really want, they will also withdraw from the other application processes they are in. People pull out of assessment centres all the time, often at the last minute, which is why you need to get in touch with the graduate recruiters and let them know that you are completely flexible and available to attend an assessment centre at very short notice should anyone pull out. Graduate recruiters hate running assessment centres below capacity, so make sure that they know you are good to go at short notice should the need arise.

3 – Keep Working

This leads us nicely onto point 3 though, it’s no good telling the graduate recruiter you are good to go, if you aren’t ready to perform should the need arise. What this means is that you need to be on top of your interview practice, that you are well versed in everything that is going at the company in question, your competency answers are on point, you know their job spec back to front and know exactly what competencies or strengths they are looking for, and if required, that your numerical reasoning skills are finely tuned. If they get in touch at short notice, you don’t want to be starting from scratch to get up to speed as you will be making things more difficult for yourself. So keep your practice up, get some practice sessions booked in with me and I can make sure that you are like a finely coiled spring ready to perform at the right time.

Now let’s move on to what you should do if they tell that you actually they are full. No room at the inn, scheme closed for the year. Now, this depends on the company, but if you are applying to a firm that has several schemes/locations on offer, then the first thing is again….show your flexibility.

4 – Be flexible to location/role

When you are applying you will choose the scheme and location that you want. Maybe you applied for a tax accounting role with the big 4 in say an exciting location like Leeds or London. Now the most popular scheme and locations will often get filled up first, but get in touch with the recruiter and tell them that you love the company, you really want to work for them and are flexible, you would happily work anywhere in the country, and that you would take any role with them, not just tax accounting, but any scheme that is still relevant. Show them that you are flexible. The caveat to this is only do and say this if it was true. Yes, you might be able to move roles and locations further down the line, but you aren’t going to be able to do it straight away, so don’t sign up for a role you are going to hate. Location wise, all I would say is Londoners and I take that to mean people living in the greater South area, this might come as a shock, but there is life outside of the M25. Don’t be snobbish about roles in the rest of the UK. I know from some of the clients I coach they have an aversion to anything north of the Watford gap, but there doesn’t need to be. Be flexible and you never what might come of it.

Now maybe you have been flexible, you’ve been patient, and still nothing has happened. The schemes have shut up shop and you are jobless. What do you do now?

5 – Learn and Reflect

Look this is the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. You do your best, try your hardest and it doesn’t come off. That’s life. But, what you should do is learn and reflect from the situation. Firstly acknowledge that you have really done well, the company has put you through the very final stages of their process, this is a great thing! They would only do that if they think you are a great candidate, so take pride from that fact. It wasn’t a no, it was a not yet. And maybe if you had applied earlier things would have been different. And that is an important point to reflect on, you were in a queue of candidates that they were working through. What could you have done to get yourself to the front of the queue? Did you leave your application until the last minute to apply? Did you complete each psychometric test or video interview on the very last possible day? Each day you delayed was maybe another 10 candidates in front of you in the queue. Be honest with yourself and learn for next time. It is a balance between rushing an application and prevaricating, and from my experience with the clients I coach, often the balance is to prevaricating, so think if that is true for you.

Now I know it is really annoying to be in this position, waiting and waiting when you have put the hard work in, but as I said, see the positives, they want you, they like you as a candidate! No’s in the application come very quickly, so no news is good news. And if needs be, take this positivity with you into the application cycle later in the year, you know you have got to the assessment centre stage in the past, you can do it again, and this year go one better and get the graduate job. Be honest as well about if you want help and coaching. Olympic athletes have coaches, so why wouldn’t you want help as you try and get the most difficult job of your life? Check out my coaching which will be linked-to in the show notes at www.graduatejobpodcast.com/waiting and also the step by step online course www.howtogetagraduatejob.com which has successfully been helping graduates this year to get multiple offers on prestigious schemes. It will be the help you need to get you over the finish line in the next application cycle.

Right, so I hope that has helped some of you who are still waiting for those assessment centres. Be positive, your time will come. That is everything from me today, remember to check out the show notes at www.graduatejobpodcast.com/waiting, get in touch if you would like a free 30-minute coaching call, details of which you can find in the show notes. I hope you enjoyed the episode today, but more importantly; I hope you use it and apply it. See you next time.