Graduate - Using Agencies?

davida1992

Hi everyone! I am about to Graduate from University in 2014, and I am looking everywhere for potential jobs.

I currently work at a major retail store in the UK and I asked them if they have any IT services internally, unfortunately most of it is outsourced so i was wondering what the base places are to go to in order to find a graduate job in IT or a normal job in IT. The company i work for did suggest looking at agencies as they are supposed to look for jobs for you and match you with what other companies are looking for, but it isnt something i know much about.

As I am looking for a job in IT/Computing on the side of help desks, IT support or Computer Networking, would you suggest that approaching agencies would be a good idea? If so, could anyone recommend any agencies or the way forward as I am really struggling.

Thanks very much in advance!!

AP007

Try looking for jobs on

www.reed.co.uk
www.monster.co.uk
www.totaljobs.co.uk
www.jobsite.co.uk
www.indeed.co.uk


Most jobs will be advertised by agencies

Maybe a bit early to look now though depending on when in 2014 you are talking?

Do you have a LinkedIn page? Any IT experience too?

de_minimis

I'd go direct via a company graduate recruitment scheme where possible, but we get some graduates in via agencies so it can work - generally these agencies pick up graduate CVs from jobsite etc. and match them up with what we have advertised publicly though, rather than the graduates going direct to the agency in the first place.

Saying that, if there's a specific location you want to work it might be worth getting in touch with an agency based there, especially if it is outside the major cities. They may well know the local job market better than anyone else.

The other thing to remember about agencies is that while some are good and will work to find you a suitable role, there are many who fire your CV off anywhere regardless of suitability in the hope they get lucky and get the commission. As a result agency-provided CVs can get very little attention, especially when received unsolicited (often!), so you need to make sure your one stands out effectively or you'll be lost in the noise.

So...

- write your CV (get the university careers service to help)

- identify companies you would like to work for (get the university careers service to help), apply direct.

- alongside that, upload CV to jobsite, monster, reed, etc. Wait. You'll probably get a fair bit of nonsense from agencies, but some good leads too. Don't be afraid to say no. The quickest to respond are likely the ones who will send your CV anywhere regardless, and you'll get all sorts of rubbish miles from where you want to work. But some may find roles that would suit you, so worth doing.

- don't bother approaching an agency yourself unless you're after a particular location

- DON'T PAY AN AGENCY ANY MONEY! Ditto CV-writing services, career coaches, gurus, etc. You will get these offers too

- use a dedicated email address for the job sites, so you can ignore it once you find something. The spam will keep coming. But pick something sensible, I had a CV from one 'lagerslut@...' once :undecided and it doesn't look good

szam_

I got in to the IT a couple of years after working in retail.

The whole reason they employed me is because I understand retail and till systems, as well as my previous voluntary work, working on networks, hardware and developing a bit of software in VBA (let me stress, i have nothing more than GCSE's).

Firstly, depending on where you live, Torex (not sure if they're called that these days) are located in Bolton, so if you're a student in Manchester, that might be an option as they have a large turnover of staff and are a retail EPOS company. I work with a few people who left there for a better job. Alternatively, if you drive, you might have luck with any of their offices around the UK being an engineer.

Secondly, it's one thing to have a degree, but it's another to have experience to resolve issues. I've seen some IT graduates come in to a role, quite cockily, and when it get's down to it, haven't a clue what they're doing or where to start, there was no intuition and no sense of being proactive. I'd suggest dealing with some real life problems on networks, volunteer at events that may need it or go out and fix problems. It's also something positive to put down on your CV and show's you're willing to gain some experience.

Lastly, there are tonnes of people looking for engineers, at least in the Manchester area. I see endless posts for network and hardware support engineers. You just need your driving license, either way, this is a good thing for you (I don't have mine yet, but working on it).

I found it's better to go where you have experience, or at least some experience or knowledge of the types of systems you'd use, I.E. I went from retail to EPOS IT support, to Online Payments for a huge company, somewhat related to each other in at least one or two aspects.

Jordo

Go for graduate schemes at large companies. They are very competitive to get on but there's always hundreds of places. Be flexible where you are going to work, some of the best companies are in odd locations.

Oh, and get a 2:1, almost no grad schemes take less than this.

Usually no need to use an agency for your first job, but no harm in getting your CV to graduate specific recruiters. And comments about your CV being spammed to get the commission are daft, that's only once you're placed somewhere so you'd have a job then anyway so it's win-win.

If you don't get a grad scheme placement, the best way to get into IT is starting out in helpdesk or support, and moving upwards and onwards.