Graduate Profile: Economics

We asked one successful mature age Flinders graduate about their experience of looking for graduate employment. They had completed a Bachelor of Economics degree.

It was suggested there is a need to have a well prepared application and to be prepared for interviews. Of equal importance was investigating what type of person the employer is seeking, selling your strengths and treating the process seriously.

What advice would you give to graduates seeking work?

"Probably one of the most helpful hints is to come to the CV and Interview Workshops. I thought that it might have been my academic results that were getting me interviews but I started to realise it was not......I talked to friends with the same kinds of marks as me and.. some were getting hardly any interviews at all."

What did you do when preparing your application?

"It should be a pretty serious attempt. One of the things I always tried to work out was ‘why should I be selected, why do I want to work for them’. So I started to take that to heart and I thought why do I want to join these organisations."

So, it is more than just academic results?

"I had a demonstration of this. I applied to an organisation and went along and undertook a aptitude test and had to write a 500 word essay. I actually made the last 200 from 2000, and that is without my academic qualifications."

What other hints do you have?

"Be confident and do not undersell yourself. I had worked for 20 years and what I had in my CV for what I did was only 10 lines... I detailed what I had done in the community - President, Public Relations or Liaison Officer for the clubs I have been a member of. It is extremely important because it is demonstrating that you are motivated and that you will work hard."

"Also follow a process of answering the criteria the employer is seeking. When I wrote about team, oral or written communication skills, I came up with a demonstration of these."

How did your previous experiences help you in the job search?

"One thing was that employers are seeking people with a well rounded & diversified background. Like if you are working in a chicken shop do not think you actually have not learnt anything as you have learnt a whole lot of people skills which are extremely important."

"I have heard so many people say ‘Oh I have only done this and I have only..’ I say it is not only! You have learnt lots of skills and you, have done more than you thought"