How employers recruit
The job market can be bewildering when you first start looking for a job. You're not sure where to begin or what employment possibilities organisations offer graduates. What are selection criteria? How do employers recruit the best applicants?
Graduate recruitment programs
Other graduate positions
Selection criteria
Selection techniques
Graduate recruitment programs
Graduate recruitment programs are run by many organisations in both the public (eg. government) and private (eg. multinational business) sectors.
The selection process
The first stage is your initial application. At this point, most employers will be looking at your qualifications and experience (academic results, work experience and extra-curricular activities). In the subsequent stages, employers are mainly interested in your technical and generic skills. They use a range of different selection techniques to recruit the best applicants for the graduate program.
Other graduate positions
Other graduate positions are any other jobs offered to graduates by an employer. Most graduates get their first job through means other than graduate programs.
These other positions are often advertised online, in newspapers, on noticeboards or by recruitment agencies, etc. However, many positions are unadvertised so you must find out about them through other sources, like networking, information interviews and friends and contacts.
Selection criteria
When an employer advertises a job, they usually provide 'selection criteria' for the job. Selection criteria tell you:
- what skills and qualities the employer thinks applicants should have for the job
- what skills and qualities you need to demonstrate in your application.
In other words, in your application you must demonstrate that you have the skills the employer is looking for. You need to match your application exactly to the selection criteria they provide, and use examples that demonstrate exactly when and where you have used the skills they require.
What if there are no job selection criteria?
Sometimes selection criteria are very vague, particularly for jobs advertised by recruitment agencies. If you are applying for an unadvertised job there may be no selection criteria at all. In such cases, you need to adopt a different approach to finding out what the employer wants.
If you know the name of the organisation, you can do some research to find out what skills or competencies they're looking for in graduates. Read their graduate literature, check their website, or ring them up and talk to a Personnel or Human Resources Officer.
If you don't know the name of the company, because the position has been advertised through a recruitment agency, then you can phone the agency and speak with the consultant handling the position. Ask them for more detailed information about the position so that you can put together a better application.
Selection techniques
Employers might use one or more of the following selection techniques to recruit the best applicants for the job. Resumes, application forms and interviews are the most common techniques used. For graduate programs a range of techniques is used. All these techniques, however, are designed to give you an opportunity to demonstrate your skills and capabilities.
- Resumes
- Application forms
- Interviews: individual and/or group
- Psychometric tests: numerical and/or verbal reasoning, logical reasoning, personality, etc.
- Portfolios
- Work samples
- Presentations
- Case studies
- Assessment Centres: a longer process, using a combination of techniques
