The Careers Fair
The Careers Team invited a mix of companies and recruitment agencies to the Careers Fair and Rachel led the project in securing some of the top employers and recruiters to attend on the day. Both employers and recruiters were excited to talk to students about the wide range of full-time jobs, internships and part-time jobs on offer and many of the companies even came armed with some cool freebies for the students. Students were eager to put their best professional foot forward and many took the advice of the Careers Department and came with their CV's at the ready, in professional attire and ready to network. The feedback from companies was overwhelming, with many employers mentioning that they were highly impressed not only the academic qualifications of the DBS students, but with their pro-active and friendly manner. Comfort Keepers were delighted to report that they had received over 60 applications for their full-time positions and internships as a direct result of attending the DBS Careers Fair and the good news is that they will be in touch with successful candidates shortly to begin interviewing them.
On they day of the Careers Fair an 'Employee Attributes Survey' was issued to each of the companies where they were asked to rank, in their preferred order of preference, which attribute they were most keen for potential graduates to have. The results made for interesting reading,with 'Communication Skills' the number 1 attribute that companies were looking for graduates to have. See below the full list of the 'Top 5 Employee Attributes'.
1. Communication Skills
2. Motivations Skills
3. Teamwork Skills
4. Problem Solving Skills
5. Attention to Detail
It was really inspiring to welcome back some of our recent DBS Graduates who have since gone on to find exciting roles with well known companies, back to DBS to represent their new employers. Congratulations to the following graduates:
- Susan O’Beirne who is a former graduate of the Higher Diploma in Science in Computing, Software Development and is now working with Version 1 as Software Developer.
- Jonathan Gildea who is a former graduate of the Higher Diploma in Science in Computing, Web & Cloud and is now working as a Cloud Support Associate with Amazon.
- Colin Kinnear who is a former graduate of the Higher Diploma in Science in Computing, Web & Cloud programme and is now working with Cortechs Connect.
- Ntsoki Phakoe who is a MBA graduate of DBS and is now working with Comfort Keepers as a Business Support Officer.
DBS Careers Team would also like to extend their thanks to the following companies for their continued support in making this such a successful Careers Fair.
We interviewed different organisation leaders, as to what is expected from today's graduates.
Amazon - For Amazon, they are looking for IT students that are passionate about technology. They want motivated individuals with good interpersonal skills and have the potential to grow in their business.
Adecco - When interviewing a graduate, what the leaders from Adecco look for most is confidence; the confidence to speak well about past experiences and to answer questions professionally. They are searching for vibrant candidates that have a lot to offer to the organisation. Leadership, communication skills, the willingness to learn are amongst the few attributes that they look for in today's graduates.
Robert Walters - A hardworking, driven and realistic student is the ideal candidate for their organisation. Most graduates nowadays, have unrealistic expectations of the working world and it is important to understand that you have to work your way up in a company.
Barden - A representative of Barden gave us a touching advice to students, "The best time to take risks is now". The best thing about being a recent graduate is that you don't have commitments. You're young and the time to take risks is now more than ever. Take a leap of faith when choosing & be passionate about your career option because you more than likely, to be doing that for the rest of your life.
Additionally, we interviewed Russell and Niamh (from the careers department) to get an insight on what they believe is important from students graduating.
Russell - Nowadays, what employers are looking for more than anything are good communication skills. Often, what happens in colleges is that students become very focused in their studies and getting their degree that they forget to improve on their soft skills. Communication, being the most valuable skill for employers now is not being prioritised during 3rd level education. This is something we need to shift our focus on, as in the real world, effective communication is a major skill that leads to achieving greater success.
Niamh - Excellent grades, good work experience or a great balance of extra curricular activities, which one should be prioritised? A question that many students struggle to find the answer to. For Niamh, an attractive candidate to most employers will have a balance of all the three. Joining in clubs and societies, becoming part of the student union, getting involved in various activities will prove beneficial in interviews. The experiences and skills you acquire outside the classroom will give you something to talk about during interviews and will be different from other candidates going for the position.
It was a pleasure getting to chat with different companies and seeing from their perspective.
|