Read more about how you can prepare yourself for the world of work despite these challenging times…

Preparing for a unique hiring processes

We are getting closer to a time of year when final year students are thinking about graduation, a time normally filled with excitement and anticipation.

This year will be understandably more challenging than ever before – despite having the same worries of needing to have an updated CV, LinkedIn profile, and know how to network effectively and pick the right company and job.

The newest challenge and concern for most students is the impact of spreading or catching the Covid-19 virus. More and more, companies are asking their employees to work from home to reduce the risks of viral transmission.

Such social distancing methods undertaken by employers will now translate into their hiring processes, with the use of video and telephone interviews starting to trend. So how can you prepare for this?

Telephone and video Interviews

Phone interviews can be challenging because you cannot see the person you are interviewing with. This means you may find it difficult to pick up on social cues, and know if the answer you provided to a question was liked or disliked. You also miss out on the chance to see the organisations offices to see if you like the feel and so on.

However, a major advantage of the phone interview process is that you can have notes in front of you to help you prepare for questions and keep focused. It is key to practice this technique of telephone interviews to build confidence with speaking professionally on the telephone.

Whilst most people have had experience of FaceTime or Skype, it is important to remember in video interviews that the tone needs to be formal. Take advantage of our CCCU Interview Simulator online on the Careers and Enterprise Online Hub. Use this tool to practice with randomly generated interview questions with the option to record yourself and playback your responses to see how you come across.

Access the Interview Simulator by clicking here!

LinkedIn and Your Online Social Media Presence

We honestly do not know how long the need for social distancing will be required based on the current situation. It is therefore even more important to work where you can on your online presence and use your social media platforms as a tool to market your potential.

Take LinkedIn for example – if you have not already created a profile it would be greatly recommended that you do so. For those who already have one, a great thing to do would be to connect with companies you would like to work for. Ensure you are liking or sharing any content produced by companies on these platforms to show your interest in their work.

You can also use this platform to showcase what you are great at, giving life to anything you have done in the past or looking to do in the future. Examples can include images of any community work you have done in the past with a tagline on how such work has helped you recognise the value of supporting others and developing a sense of self worth.

Whilst this may sound trivial, employers want to see that you know what skills and experiences you have developed overtime that make you the unique and very employable person that you are now.

Be Ready for Challenging Times

It is really important during these uncertain times to be emotionally and mentally strong – since job hunts are bound to become longer than normal with this unique challenge of Covid-19. It is completely understandable to feel deflated after investing into a university education only to be faced with a unique and very uncertain job market.

It is really important to manage your expectations at this time. So many companies are going through disruption as a result of this outbreak and are focusing on the wellbeing of their own staff as a priority – this may explain why they delay in responding to any applications from you. You can expect interview processes to become slightly disorganised from their side as they look to navigate how they can maintain their priorities as well as try to bring in new highly skilled recruits like CCCU students.

Where you can, try and keep your expenses down during your job hunt to reduce any extra debt being incurred during this potential longer job hunt ahead. Temporary local work will slowly become more available after the initial outbreak subsides.

What should you do now?

Most importantly, use any time you have now to work on yourself. Consider what you want to do with your life and career. You can still book 1 to 1 confidential careers appointments with The Careers and Enterprise Hub online. An adviser can speak with you either online via video call or via a telephone call. These can be booked by visiting The Careers and Enterprise Online Hub here.

Finally, everyone in the Careers and Enterprise Team at CCCU are here for you and understand that you will get through this. This is an incredibly tough time and we will do our best to provide the same excellent level of service to support your career ambitions and answer any questions you may have.

We are looking to run online webinars that you can access from wherever you are – with the first one happening on Tuesday 22nd March on Starting Your Career and Developing Financial Awareness. Read more about this here.

We are here for you – we know that you have the ability and desire to push through these difficult times. It most certainly will be hard to begin with but we know you will have the a great sense of reward when you land the graduate role that suits you best even despite all of barriers that may have been in your path. You can and will prevail – please contact us for more help if you need it now.

Getting further support from The Careers and Enterprise Team at CCCU

You can get ongoing careers support via the following ways:

• Email careers@canterbury.ac.uk
• Log onto the Careers and Enterprise Online Hub to access resources such as CV360, Interview Simulator and more. Our Live Chat function will be launching very soon!
• Register for GradForce if you are a final year student that wants to gain a graduate level job in the local area (Kent and Medway)