Graduate recruitment requires both adequate planning and the appropriate tools. With tens of thousands of students graduating from universities every year, businesses can experience difficulty in finding the right individual with the skills, ability and determination to fit the requirements of their graduate plans.
Thousands of national and international businesses around the world have graduate programs that are prepared to hand-pick the most promising applicants, but choosing between them can be the tricky part, as a list of names and qualifications offer very little information about the people themselves. Personalities, ambition, and work ethics are all aspects that need to be considered when recruiting graduates.
Top Graduate Programs and Competitive Salaries
ABB Global Trainee Program for Information Systems is a global company that seeks recent university graduates who have earned a degree in Computing, Information Systems, or a related major, at the MSc or equivalent level, and then places them in a program in their area of residence. They offer extremely competitive salaries to recruited graduates, and conduct extensive searches for the right graduate for each position. Airservices Australia and Reckitt Benckiser is another example that offers as much as $50,000 – $55,000 for graduate trainees. Major banks often offer salaries near the $60,000 mark.
In addition to high salaries, many graduate programs offer graduates significant responsibilities. These responsibilities include solving IT problems, networking with key clients, or providing support to government departments. For example, the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) gives graduates roles across multiple offices. Graduates may network between offices and work with managers and staff to communicate the company’s goals and needs.
Graduate Responsibilities and Rotational Work Experience
Graduate programs often give applicants the chance to work in multiple departments. This requires individuals to adapt to different work environments over 12 to 24 months. At Telstra, graduates rotate through departments such as engineering, finance, commerce, IT, human resources, and marketing. Selecting the right graduate is crucial, given the competitive salaries, significant responsibilities, and thousands of applicants competing for the same positions each year.
Assessing Skills, Personality, and Cultural Fit in Graduates
Whilst a degree can demonstrate an applicant’s academic abilities, it is often difficult to assess behavioural or personality characteristics. Graduate programs remain highly competitive for recent graduates. Businesses often need more information about the applicants they are considering.
Many of the best applicants may not appear superior on paper, while others that are not ambitious could shine on their resume. To ensure that the best graduates are selected around both attitudes and ability, RightPeople have developed a range of graduate and apprenticeship assessments that target factors such as learning potential, maturity and cultural fit. Unlike others, RightPeople’s tests have been developed in Australia, taking into account our culture, experience and educational system.
