Graduate Recruitment: A Tale from the Inside

At INK I work within the client services team, which means I get to work with both our fab clients and our really talented team making sure projects stay on track and everyone is happy. This can be from making everyone in the team a brew, to helping out with new business, client strategy and user experience.

My first six months at INK have flown by. I already feel like part of the furniture at INK Towers and, you know what, it’s lovely. I’m really enjoying learning my craft in the real world and I’ve already worked on so many projects; from brand new sparkly websites, to apps and infographics just to name a few (some of which you can see here and others which are still top secret!) and of course, I’ve learnt heaps!

As a new graduate, I understand those fears of uncertainty that many students have. I know that you often find yourself asking many questions, and on top of that, the big question on everyone’s lips - or at least in my family - is always, “Have you got a job yet?”

Why am I telling you this? Recently, I was very kindly invited to speak at #CREE15, an employability event organised by Creative Resource, a Northern recruitment agency for the creative, digital and PR sectors. It was held at Manchester Metropolitan University, the very place I graduated from. It was great to go back, but very strange to be stood on the other side of the lecture theatre.

The talk that I gave, “What I Wish I’d Known”, enabled me to share some of my knowledge and tips on what working life is really like after graduating. My presentation outlined my three years of study and details about my work placement, along with some personal anecdotes, e.g. I never wanted to be someone who cried in the library.

That’s true! And it got a few laughs through my presentation. In all honesty, I worked really hard at university, and was one of only a few that really enjoyed the course. I knew that after graduating (and seeing a little bit of the world) that I wanted to move back to sunny Yorkshire and to work in an agency where I could really get my teeth stuck into client projects.

My biggest pieces of advice have to be:

Make yourself stand out - you’re all going to graduate with the same degree, so you need your own USP. What have you been involved with outside of your degree? Join some clubs and societies, volunteer, work part-time and get involved in the local community. Don’t be afraid to include this information in your CV too.

Get some work experience - a day, a week, a month, a year - whatever time you can commit to working in your field will be the reason you’ll get your foot through the door. I’ve been told that I secured my role at INK, above all the other candidates, because of my placement.

It helps to know what you want to do - if you do, then go for it and look for your dream job. If you’re not sure, aim for something you enjoy and that plays to your strengths.

Don’t be afraid to say ‘No’ - I turned down a couple of opportunities because my gut feeling was that they weren’t right for me.

Ask exactly what the role involves - find out what you’ll be doing on a day-to-day basis, ask about the people you’ll be working with and what your responsibilities will be.

Above all, stay positive – applying for jobs is tough. It’s easy to lose hope after knocking on lots of doors, so be open-minded about what to apply for. It’s likely that your vision of career bliss won’t pan out as expected, but taking an alternative route could very well lead you to amazing things.

Speaking in front of an audience of peers was a great opportunity and I’m already looking forward to doing similar things again. I also can’t wait to see what the next six months at INK will bring.

Steph Coulton is an account executive at INK Digital Agency.