Maximising your job prospects during the downturn

Three questions to Manuelle Malot, Head of Alumni Career Centre at Edhec In the current economic context, what advice would you give to young graduates looking to join the job market for the first time? There's no point in hiding the truth: young graduates are generally going to need a lot more patience and perseverance than last year before they manage to land a job. While last year, recruiters were rolling out the red carpet, the same cannot be said right now. However, you need to stay confident and in control of the situation. More than ever, you need to follow a scrupulously well-planned and well-marketed approach. Looking for a job is the same as launching a service offer on the market. You need to adopt a marketing approach because you're going to offer your skills to a specific market, in other words the job market. And this market also obeys the laws of supply and demand, even when there is less demand. When looking for a job, do you think it's a good idea to focus on certain companies and certain job areas in particular? Yes, absolutely. I recommend concentrating your energy and your efforts on the companies you came across during your degree programme: i.e. during company presentations, career days, career forums, or via case studies, Business Games, student associations and, above all, companies where you did a work placement or a sandwich year internship. And in these difficult times, companies will be concentrating on areas that are indispensables such as those which: - ensure their development: jobs in sales - help them save money: management control - reduce their risks: risk management, law, general inspection - externalise their costs: consulting - are mandatory: audit What other advice would you give a young person looking for their first job? Think about applying for a voluntary in-company or embassy post abroad (VIE): these will give you real, hands-on experience, which is appreciated by business organisations like any other first experience, and will often lead to a permanent job offer. Take a fixed-term contract if that's all the company can offer. They are just as valid and will let you to get your foot in the door. Don't stay without working; a short experience will be appreciated more than doing nothing at all, and it's much better for the morale. Take advantage of your work placement if it's possible to extend the agreement. Be versatile and mobile in geographical, functional, sectorial and cultural terms. Stay confident: your choice of placements, academic mobility programmes, majors and specialisations were the right ones. It's not your fault if the market is going through a hard time, and all the professional players are well aware of the situation, whether they're in-company recruiters, agencies or operational practitioners. In most cases, they are the first to regret that right now they cannot recruit the new profiles that they saw during a work placement or that they met during an interview. Lastly, use your network, not just to find a job, but also and above all, to get information, to make yourself known and to raise your profile.