Today's blog post is an interview with Dan Hawes, co-founder of the Graduate Recruitment Bureau.The GRB is a recruitment agency specialising in placing graduates into graduate jobs. I ask Dan some of the questions that had been been at the forefront of my mind when starting this blog, such as the true merits of an academic degree, the effects of the recession on the graduate job market, and advice on how to maximise your chances when applying for jobs. His answers offer unrivaled insight into the perspective of someone with expertise in handling recruitment into all sorts of industries, including marketing. Be sure to comment and let me know what you guys think!
- Do the recruiters you work with at GRB tend to have a preference for certain types of degrees over others? For example, do they look for degrees that are directly relevant to the job role, do they specify a preference for top universities etc.?
Our clients look for graduate calibre individuals with a mixture of hard and soft skills. In over 15 years of matching students and graduates into full time employment (internships and graduate jobs) we have worked with a diverse range of graduates. The most popular with our clients tend be STEM graduates – those who have studied Science, Technology, Engineering or Maths degrees. Very often employers will also be specific about where these graduates have studied, such as Russell Group Unis, as these Unis require strong A Level qualifications. We explain to our clients to look beyond the general Uni rankings and instead look at those that are exceptional by degree subject area. Sometimes this will include non-Russell group Universities. There may be other reasons recruiters choose certain degree subjects and unis due to historical success or even down to where the Chief Exec studied!
It could be argued that this is a lazy way to recruit but it has increased of late as recruiters have faced an unprecedented amount of applicants and need a quick way to manage who gets through. This could be set to change with the introduction of HEAR qualifications which removes the 2.1, 2.2 and Third classification and instead includes other non-academic skills learnt during a person’s time at Uni much the way a GPA score is used in the States which will force recruiters to take a more inclusive approach.
- How much do you think degree subject matters in the graduate recruitment process?
It could be argued that this is a lazy way to recruit but it has increased of late as recruiters have faced an unprecedented amount of applicants and need a quick way to manage who gets through. This could be set to change with the introduction of HEAR qualifications which removes the 2.1, 2.2 and Third classification and instead includes other non-academic skills learnt during a person’s time at Uni much the way a GPA score is used in the States which will force recruiters to take a more inclusive approach.
- How much do you think degree subject matters in the graduate recruitment process?
Depends on the graduate job. If you want to be a Doctor then definitely but less so if you want to get into Sales. Apart from in depth knowledge of a subject, studying for a degree in a University environment equips an individual with many transferable skills.
- Do recruiters look favourably on candidates from the more 'elite' universities, or does that not really matter?
As an example, if you were considering someone who had studied English at UCL (top of The Guardian's University Guide 2012 league table for English) versus someone who had studied English at University College Plymouth St Mark and St John (bottom of The Guardian's University Guide 2012 league table for English), and they were more or less equal in terms of experience and application quality, would you be swayed to accept/reject based on the university attended?
- Do recruiters look favourably on candidates from the more 'elite' universities, or does that not really matter?
As an example, if you were considering someone who had studied English at UCL (top of The Guardian's University Guide 2012 league table for English) versus someone who had studied English at University College Plymouth St Mark and St John (bottom of The Guardian's University Guide 2012 league table for English), and they were more or less equal in terms of experience and application quality, would you be swayed to accept/reject based on the university attended?
Again this comes down to the recruiter's preference. In the example you have given a company based in Plymouth may chose the local graduate over one that needs to relocate so it really depends on their criteria and the priority they assign to each.
Do you have a point of view about the benefits of studying an academic degree in a traditional subject? Is there any tangible difference between the skills that academic grads tend to bring to job roles versus grads from 'newer' and more specific subjects?
Do you have a point of view about the benefits of studying an academic degree in a traditional subject? Is there any tangible difference between the skills that academic grads tend to bring to job roles versus grads from 'newer' and more specific subjects?
Both types of course have their merits depending how the individual embraces the learning opportunity. In my experience, I took a vocational subject (Business) so I could get an all-round understanding of how business operates but what I really valued was my year in industry which closed the loop in terms of my understanding and gave me extra skills and therefore advantages over other graduates.
- Do you think that academic grads from top unis are less favoured than they were before the recession?
No, the opposite! For many larger recruiters a strong academic degree still trumps a vocational degree. Last year saw the most graduates enter the job market ever which unfortunately coincided with the on-going recession. This meant recruiters had the upper hand and many raised the bar in terms of what they were looking for so in fact 2011 was a record year from GRB placements as the majority of candidates were exactly the calibre they were looking for.
- If a graduate does not have a degree specific to the role to which they are applying, what other traits, achievements and experiences do you look for?
The degree subject takes precedence for most of our clients. Where we help graduates start a career in sales or recruitment, the degree subject is less important, and instead clients demand a range of skills and competences. This could be demonstrated through paid or unpaid work experience, sport, extra-curricular activity or other achievements.
- I see from your LinkedIn profile that you studied Business - do you think that this has fared you better (in terms of skills development and employability) than if you had studied something more traditional?
It gave me a basic understanding of business, for sure, and is still a desirable course for certain employers (and great if you want to start your own business!) It was the year in industry that really helped improve my skillset and commercial awareness compared to other graduates at the time.
- What do you think that academic grads could do to better themselves in their uni life/job hunt and achieve their career goals?
We see so many graduates who leave graduate job hunting to the last minute but we are noticing a change (at last). GRB are on a mission to push this trend further. We have designed a year-by-year action plan from fresher to graduate to help students make the most of their time at uni, build their skill set, create an amazing CV and secure work before they graduate. It works – I’ve seen it happen but we so many get distracted along the way – come on everyone, focus!
- Do you think a marketing degree is necessary to be successful in marketing?
Not necessarily. It definitely helps to know the theory but if you show you have relevant skills from other experiences you have had (like writing a blog!) then you will get a recruiter's attention.
